• Tag Archives Jon

  • Hooray for the Red, White and Blue

    Posted on by Charles Comment

    Summer                                            Waning Strawberry Moon

    Hooray for the red, white and blue.  That is, the blueberries, the raspberries and the white clover among which I picked them this morning.  Worked outside for an hour and a half, moving an outdoor table back to its original place on the brick patio outside our garden doors, a plastic table into the honey house for some  more space.  Can’t set the smoker on it though.

    (Georgia O’Keefe, 1931)

    This all has two purposes, getting the house nicer and in better shape for our own use as the summer begins to take up residence and for our guests in July:  Jon, Jen, Gabe and Ruth and the Woolly Mammoths.  I also moved some potted plants around and am mulling painting a post I stuck in concrete a few years ago.  Painting it some bright, contrasty color that will make the green pop.

    Only 83 this morning but the dew point’s already at 67.  Glad the bee work got done yesterday.  On the bees.  The president of the Beekeeper’s Association lives in Champlin (near us, sort of ) and has offered to come over himself after the fourth.  I’ll be glad to have his experience looking in on my colonies.

    While I picked mustard greens this morning, I noticed a bee making a nectar run on a clover blossom near my hand. “Keep up the good work.  Glad to see you out here and hard at work,” I told him, rather her.  She jumped at the sound of my voice.  One of those workers best left to her own initiative.

    Haven’t heard yet from Kate but the plan is for her to come home today at some point.


    📂This entry was posted in Art and Culture Bees Family Friends Great Work Weather +Climate Woolly Mammoths 📎and tagged

  • Emma’s Last Adventure

    Posted on by Charles 3 Comments

    Beltane                                                Waning Planting Moon

    Emma’s excursion yesterday gave her, as things turned out, her last chance to wander on her own, beyond the woods and backyard that have been her home for over fourteen years.  She died last night, in her crate.  It was probably an arrhythmia that did not convert like the one several weeks ago.

    Emma has been old for a couple of years.  I mean bow-legged, wobbly old.  Her hearing had diminished and she didn’t eat well.  Dogs though, and Emma was no exception, take their infirmities in stride, as part of the way things are.  Really, are they ever anything else?

    We got Emma and her sister Bridgit, dead now three years or so, from a breeder who had sought the perfect whippet.  Through line breeding, sort of the doggy equivalent of incest.  We didn’t know that at the time and were happy to have two new puppies.  Iris and Buck, our last whippet pair at that time, had both died.  We missed them.

    As they matured, though, Emma and Bridgit were both peculiar, shy and reclusive.  Emma, for years, and I mean, like 10 years, wouldn’t allow us to come near enough to pet her.  She flinched and ran away.  We’ve had dogs always and many dogs so we could see aberrant behavior and not blame ourselves.  It was just the way they were.

    Bridgit left us to live with Jon because he needed a companion.  In that one-to-one situation Bridgit took the turn toward a normal doggy life, running to you when you came and playing.  Emma, though, in a house with sometimes as many 6 dogs, didn’t get there until much later.

    Same of my fondest memories of Emma came when she was 5 or 6.  We had a bad storm that toppled a basswood, a giant maybe 60 feet high.  The trunk lay where it fell and it happened to land with a clear path on its side to the sun.  Emma took to running up that trunk and standing, head erect and surveying the property, maybe 10 feet off the ground.  She looked grand.

    The Wolfhound deaths, and I’ve seen 8, are wrenching, difficult because they die between 5 and 8 years old, in what seems like their prime.  Emma’s, and Iris’s too, are different.  These are deaths of old age, a life run its course.  I’m sad, of course, but not heart broken.

    Em was a regal and quiet dog, who kept her own counsel and lived life as she wanted.  Would most of us could say the same.


    📂This entry was posted in Dogs 📎and tagged

  • One last hug, Granpop!

    Posted on by Charles Comment

    Winter                               Waxing Cold Moon

    Ruthie ran down the drive and said, “One last hug, Granpop!”  We had come back from an evening at the childhood sensation, Chuck E. Cheese.  I hugged Jon and Jen, kissed Gabe, under a crescent moon and took for the Marriot for one last night in Colorado.

    Chuck E. Cheese, for those uninitiated, is a bunch of booths spread out among many games of chance and skill.  All the games take one token, available with purchase of the meal.  The food is unremarkable, but the music is loud, the place safe–it has rules against gang colors, signs, weapons (which made me wonder)–and there’s a video camera where your kid can go and perform, broadcast on in-house closed circuit TV’s.  Ruth performed.

    It’s been a good six days here.  Family requires time and this is probably minimal but it was important, for me and for them.


    📂This entry was posted in Family 📎and tagged

  • Young Family

    Posted on by Charles Comment

    Winter                       Waxing Cold Moon

    Next to last day in Denver.  Last night Jon and Jen and I went to Fogo de Chao, a Brazilian steakhouse.

    They have two young kids, Gabe and Ruth.  Gabe got his hemophilia diagnosis not long after his birth a year and 8 months ago, so they have had to cope with it; never more so than in the middle of this year when he began experiencing spontaneous bleeds.  This meant a port and every other day infusions of clotting factor, given by Jon and Jen at home.  In addition, Jon’s shoulder, crushed in a skiing injury a few years ago, got worse and required shoulder replacement surgery.

    This is a pretty high stress level for a young family and they have handled it with real grace.  Tensions, of course.  But they have remained positive and forward looking, not giving in to despair or hopelessness.

    They have also raised Ruth into an exceptional three-year old, bright and funny and wise.  Gabe’s a happy boy and really beginning to move around now after a slow start.

    They needed some adult time and we got it.  I told them how much I respected the way they had handled all they’ve had in their lives this past year.  Worth every penny.


    📂This entry was posted in Family 📎and tagged

  • A Day at the Stock Show

    Posted on by Charles Comment

    Winter                     New Moon (Cold Moon)

    One day at the stock show under my belt.  Jon and Jen, Ruth and Gabe and I boarded a shuttle at the Doubletree Hotel.  The first guy I talked to was from Detroit Lakes.  He used to bring cattle down here, but stopped in 2004.

    At the stock show we went into a building filled with all manner of farm and ranch implements, metal implements to hold cattle and harrows.  There were also the usual beer halls and Cattlemen’s Grill.  There were, too, rope makers, Colorado Rice Inc., a place that crafted brands, a man who blocked and reshaped cowboy hats while you waited.

    It was like Minnesota’s State Fair in some respects though the number of cowboy hats, boots and large belt buckles per square inch greatly exceed the Great Minnesota Get Together.  I’d like to know where this big belt buckle thing got started.  It requires a lot of room right around the stomach area.  This leads to displays of prize bellies in both men and women.

    We went to a junior showmanship event for young lamb handlers.  While we were there watching, Ruth said, “Granpop, I like coming to the stock show.”

    At the pony ride, Ruth, who told me she was too shy to ride them last year, let Luis put her up on a Shetland pony and proceeded to ride with her hand on the pommel, beaming and waving at Jen and Jon while I walked beside her, as she asked me to do.  She was no longer too shy.

    Tomorrow night all of us go again. This time to the rodeo.  The next day Ruth and I go by ourselves to see the  Super Dogs.

    I’d forgotten how many BTU’s little bodies put out.  Ruth wanted me to carry her.  A lot.  I like it, but she’s no longer small and the stock show buildings were hot.  The combination made me hot.

    The Vikes and Cowboys tomorrow. New Orleans beat the Cardinals so if we win, we have to go the SuperDome.  Nobody said it would be easy.


    📂This entry was posted in Family 📎and tagged

  • The Horse

    Posted on by Charles Comment

    Winter                   New Moon (cold M00n)

    At breakfast this morning I sat two tables away from Miss Rodeo Wisconsin.  I know this because she had a big sash on that said so.  She looked like a wholesome gal and a good choice.

    I’m not at the Doubletree.  Instead, I learned my reservation was for the Courtyard Marriot.  I did this back in August of aught 9 so the details had become fuzzy.  Oh, well.  I gotta get on the road more.

    The love of small children is a gift freely given, honoring this gift may be the prime directive of adulthood.  Ruthie, after an initial hesitance, was glad Granpop had come.  She spent a good bit of time running, then jumping on me, sometimes asking me to close my eyes.  Then she jumped as a surprise.

    She also showed a me a move she learned at dance class.  This consists of a left hand on hip, the right raised in the air and loping around the house like that.  When asked what it was called, she said, “Horse.”

    It’s always fun to catch up on grandkids and their parents.

    Gabe has a few words now, one of which sounds a lot like granpop.  or, maybe, blastoff.  or, maybe bad dog.  something like that.

    The stone porch Jon and Jen created looks spiffy, too.  I hadn’t seen it.

    Stock show later today.


    📂This entry was posted in Family 📎and tagged

  • With the Grandkids

    Posted on by Charles Comment

    Winter                  New Moon (cold moon)

    Ruth hid under a blanket when I came in the door.  Gabe smiled.  Jon and Jen were busy making empanadas.

    While they cooked, Ruth and I played picnic.  Picnic involves Ruth bringing increasingly larger numbers of blankets, toys, books to a central area, then throwing a pillow or two in the pile.

    Ruth loved the purse her Minnesota Grandma made for her and Gabe seemed excited by his wall hanging of the planets.

    Jon and Jen got some good news about Gabe’s health.  A potential problem, an inhibitor to the clotting factor he takes by injection every other day, proved a lab error.

    Two young kids.  Lots of energy. Lots.  We’ve made plans for the stock show tomorrow, Sunday and Monday.  Chuck-e-Cheese on Wednesday.

    Lots of together time.  Good.


    📂This entry was posted in Family 📎and tagged

  • Let There Be (which) Light?

    Posted on by Charles Comment

    Samhain                         Waning Wolf Moon

    The snow continues and the wind now gusts around 12 mph.  Accumulation so far is minimal, but NOAA says the storm will pick up energy tonight and continue on through tomorrow afternoon.  Afterward, the temperature will drop below zero at night and remain in the single digits for highs through Tuesday.  This means winter has come on apace.  Average over these same dates is 27-28 with lows in the teens.  Since October our months have been on a sine curve, wonder if that means January will be balmy?  Unlikely, since it’s typically our coldest month, but with the new weather regimen, who knows?

    We began a while ago to swap out incandescents for CFLs, though there are still places like stairwells and coat closets where the instant on power of the Edison heritage bulbs still make sense.  We’ll switch to LEDSs when they become affordable and equivalent.  It’s still difficult to find CFLs that really match the brightness of incandescents though halogens work well.  These transition periods are difficult, finding the new tech that performs as well as the old one takes time, sometimes several generations of the new one.  We’re not there yet with efficient lighting.  The LED light shown here retails for $129.00.  Yikes!

    Oddly, the post on which I’ve received the most comments was one on the Sunday throat.  Apparently other folks in the US have friends who find the term odd.  Several folks wrote in to say that their family used it.

    Thursday is Jon’s 41st birthday.  Wow.  I met when he was 21.  His life has changed a lot since then.  Most notably sobriety, marriage, two kids, home ownership and a good job.  It’s been fun to see him grow.


    📂This entry was posted in Family Great Work Weather +Climate Writing 📎and tagged

  • Kate the Earth Mother

    Posted on by Charles Comment

    Fall                                         Waxing Blood Moon

    Kate made pasta sauce(s) from our tomatoes.  She also made an eggplant (ours) parmesan that we had with one of her sauces along with a toss salad of our tomatoes, basil and mozzarella.  Pretty tasty.  Kate has preserved, conserved, cooked and sewed on her two days off.  In this environment where her movement does not have to (literally) bend to her work her back and neck don’t flare as much.

    After the 40 mph wind gusts I went out and walked the perimeter again, checking for downed limbs.  Just a few stray branches, none big.  I did find an insulator where the rope had pulled away.   I used the insulator itself and plastic case to nudge the  hot wire back into place.  The fence does its job, but it requires constant surveillance.  Fortunately, the energizer has an led that flashes while the fence is hot.  That makes checking on the juice much easier.

    Friend and Woolly Bill Schmidt said he enjoyed the fence saga from his apartment.  He said he spent many nights, often at 2 am, shooing cows back in the field.  Electric fences are part of farming and he had many helpful hints.  He didn’t seem nostalgic for installing or maintaining a fence.

    Both grandkids are sick.  Jon and Jen face the dilemma of all working parents, how to handle sick kids and work.  This is never easy and can create unpleasant situations.

    I’m grateful for the rain and the cool down.  Cooler weather means plants ratchet down their metabolism so they need less water and food.  It’s time for that.  The rain helps our new shrubs and trees.   They’ve got the rest of the fall to settle in and get their roots spread out in their new homes.


    📂This entry was posted in Cooking Family Garden Great Wheel 📎and tagged

  • Eureka!

    Posted on by Charles Comment

    Lughnasa                                 Waning Green Corn Moon

    Got some sleep.  Feel better this morning.  A busy day ahead.  Groceries, recycling, straw, more weeding.

    Kate comes back from Denver today.  I  had a bit of a snit yesterday when she wanted to stay an extra day.  My Woolly meeting is on Monday and she’s a big part of the get ready for it plan.  Also, her birthday is Tuesday–65!–and I have an evening ready for us.  I wanted her back her with me, but felt conflicted because she wanted to stay with Jon.  He had a bad ride home from the hospital.  A moot point as it turns out, since it would have cost around $500 to change the ticket with $150 airline fee, $30 Orbitz and $320 in additional ticket costs.  Not proud of myself over this, but I’m glad she’ll be home today.

    Vega or Rigel, remember them?, ate my pocket moleskine diary and a current novel I’m reading, Consider Philebas.  By eat I mean shred and coat with drool.  The diary’s pages are recoverable and Consider Philebas, though badly mauled and wet, contains the pages I’ve not yet read, which is good enough for me.  Just one more of the V&R stories.

    Over the last few days I have dutifully filled the large rubber water container we have outside.  And refilled it.  Those big dogs, I thought, drink a lot of water.  Then, shortly after I filled it yesterday morning, I put the hose away, turned around to see Vega curled up in the water container.  She was happy.  Archimedes could have had his eureka moment watching her.  90 pounds of puppy displaces a lot of water.

    The Denver Olsons have had a rough summer.  Hirschel their 6 year old German Shorthair developed cancer and died.  hirschJon’s surgery has created the kind of upset recovery from any surgery always does.  Next up is Gabe’s surgery to install a port for his prophylactic factor.  That comes on the 27th.  Not to mention that they started back teaching two weeks ago.   A lot for a young family to absorb.  Why I was conflicted.  (pic:  Hirschel)


    📂This entry was posted in Aging Dogs Family Health 📎and tagged