Dewy Bamboo-ee

Fireflies!

What is THIS!?

Just a reminder that Jim has an awesome blog too. Check out his post from last night and see more about this photo!

The Garden

Summer Toad

For over four years we have loved having this toad visit our back porch/ She eats the insects that our porch light brings at night and snoozes on or near the porch in the day. She is huge!

Grandmother Toad

June Beauty

The hydrangea in our yard!

Ducksez!

Jess Chillen'.

Backyard Bunny

Things are Growing!

New Hatch!

Blogger has been down for a few days but I took this photo of the robin chicks today!

Bird Visitors

While waiting to get photos of some White Crowned Sparrows this Catbird landed near me. I shot this "blind" from my chest because I could barely move.

It went down to the seeds for a while and chased any smaller birds away while it ate.

Upon the Catbird's depature the smaller birds filtered back in.

At one point there were 3 White Crowneds but I only got a photo of 2 at once.

These lovely birds never stay very long so I love the few weeks they are around. I notice the White Throated Sparrows seem to have moved on already and these won't be far behind.

A Chickadee joined in and a Titmouse was nearby too.

One to Grow On

This year is coming across as a year to build on. I think I have finally accepted my rejection from the ING NYC Marathon and look at it as a stepping stone to eventual guaranteed acceptance. If I am rejected for the next two years of lottery applications, I will have automatic acceptance into the 2014 NYC Marathon.

Maypole is up, Beltain celebrated and we decided to add in a row of asparagus to the garden this year. To plant the dozen crowns required Jim to dig a trench about 6 - 8" deep and about 12' long. I got some Triple Super Phosphate to sprinkle in the bottom of the trench and added in the lightly soaked crowns about a foot apart from each other. I covered them with an inch of soil and now I wait.

I wait for them to sprout up a bit and cover them withe the rest of the 6" of soil. I wait for them to fully grow and when they are withered and brown this Autumn I will cut them back. I wait for next year and harvest next to none of them, only the largest and cut them back again in the fall.

I am thinking that the asparagus of 2014 will end up bearing a good crop so it will fuel me up for the ING NYC Marathon later that year. Thank goodness not everything takes 3 years to come to fruition. I look forward to watching these over the next few weeks!

What to Say When the Ducks Show Up

"Do you know what you'll say when the ducks show up? I, for one, am going to know what to say when the ducks show up. I've made a list of phrases, and although I don't know which one to use yet, they are all good enough in case they showed up tomorrow. Many people won't know what to say when the ducks show up, but I will. Maybe I'll say, 'Oh wonderful ducks!' Or maybe I'll just say, 'Ducks, ducks, ducks!' I practice these sayings every day, and even though the ducks haven't come yet, when they do, I'll know what to say." ~ Steve Martin

Penn State Delayed 2 Hours

Yesterday it rained and the fellows chilled out on the bed.

The snow came overnight.

We had no snow the day before.

The prediction was 2 - 4 ".

For Mom to show her how the squirrels eat the suet.

Nom nom nom.

Goofy Neighbors

I know parts of this post will sound like I need to get a life and stop worrying about my neighbors and what they do. At the risk of sounding like a paranoid whacko, let me preface by noting that if we, as makeshift property managers, did not really keep our one tenant in line the yard would look like Sanford & Son's (note these 2008 photos as examples) and the police would still be making regular visits.

Albert is a 50-something year old fellow that has been on disability for probably his whole life. He had polio as a child and says he has a "bad back." I can understand how his back can keep him from getting a job but I don't understand how it impairs his brain. He is one of those people who constantly needs to be reminded to clean up, where to park, and to use a "1" to dial a long distance phone number.

One of the bigger challenges with him is how he lets family and friends walk all over him. They come by and mooch off of him by borrowing his truck, having him repair their vehicles and living with him for months on end. We have had to put an end to the never ending line of of seedy house guests with the landlord's help. He is allowed one guest for a maximum of 14 days during a calendar year.



This is my diary of dealing with those 14 days:

Day 1

Jim had Albert sign the agreement that his brother, Jesse, would be staying for the next 2 weeks. The agreement included needing to know the exact dates, who the guest would be and the vehicle that would be parked on the property. It also said the dates weren't transferable, the guest could not be changed, no guests could be added, the apartment was not to be sublet and the vehicle had to be in the designated guest parking. No guest pets were allowed. Jim also gave Albert an old garden spade of ours so that he would stop using the community snow shovel to clean up his dog's poop.

I looked over the paper he had filled out and was so happy that it locked him into the 2 weeks. Knowing that, after 2 weeks, no sketchy overnight guests would appear for the rest of the year almost made me giddy with happiness. The fact that the dates he put down added up to 15 days were just a tiny hiccup in my bliss. Albert can't do math and what's one extra day for the peace of the rest of the year.

Jesse's vehicle pulled in behind Albert's and they spent most of the day gabbing and smoking, like always. They had the added entertainment of Joe the Contractor coming by to measure the showers in the building. They were probably beside themselves with another good ol' boy in their midst.

Day 2

The day started out pretty mellow. The brothers were smoking, sucking down coffee, gabbing, and giggling their way until sometime I was out running my miles. They must have left together for a while and upon return decided that Jesse's vehicle looked better in the vacant spot for apartment #1 rather than the designated guest parking. That was breaking Albert's signed agreement but why should I care, apartment #1 was vacant.

September 2009, Albert takes a smoke break from working on his truck.

Then comes a lady friend of Jesse's to park in the guest parking. Great, 2 weeks of Jesse's friends will be stopping in to add to the smoke level that drifts into my living room. More gabbing, more laughter, more smoke come up through the floor for the rest of the day.

Joe the Contractor came in the afternoon. He wanted the key to apartment #1 to start work there. "I know I am in your parking space but I'll only be about 1/2 hour," he says. An hour and a half later Jim came home and has to park near the Mitchell's since Albert, Jesse, Jesse's friend and Joe have taken all the parking for the building.

Jim touched base with Joe upon his departure. He made sure he had what he needed and let him know that he would be welcome to park in space for apartemnt #1 while he worked, and pointed out Jesse's vehicle was wrongly there. Joe left and Jim reminded Albert that the space for apartment #1 needs to be left vacant. Jesse would need to, at his leisure, move his vehicle. Oh, and to clean up the dog poop in the yard.

Jesse actually left that night to (we assume) spend the night with his lady friend. Poor Albert was giving up his 2 weeks to such a fair weather friend.

Day 3

Another bitterly cold day and Jesse returned bright and early with a quart of 1/2 & 1/2 cream for their coffee. Maybe he was making it up to his brother that he is such a user. The giggling and gabbing started in full swing. That was the morning I bummed a ride for running at the indoor track.

Days 4 - 7

I was happily distracted with visiting family over this period. Jesse was in residence sometimes and other times seemingly not. Because Albert had agreed to specific and limiting dates, I didn't have to keep close tabs or worry about him needing to make up the days at another time.

I had a plan for the remaining days to count them down since it was a total of more than 2 weeks and I didn't want to get to "Day 15."

7 Days to Go

We slept in because Jim had taken the morning off to recover from our trip to NYC and back the day before. It was nice to wake up and have a sunny sky to go with the warm breeze. All was quiet in the apartments below.

Just as we headed out for a run, we noticed Albert's truck was gone and Jesse's vehicle was in it's place. With the quiet in the building, we assumed they both must have departed.

The quiet bliss extended well into the afternoon when they returned together. Albert chose not to park in the guest parking but in front of the vacant spot for apartment #1. He wasn't in the spot but had it blocked. Soon, Albert came knocking upon my door.

Conversation below, me, Albert.

"Hey Al, what's up?"

"Do you have that paper that Jim had that says how long Jesse can stay?"

"No, he sent it to the landlord to sign. Why do you need it?"

"I was wondering when Jesse is allowed to stay until. It had it on that paper."

"Oh! That was until the 20th or 21st. He can stay another week."

"Wow, you have a good memory."

All I could think was, "Dude, I'm counting the fricken days until Jesse has to leave."

When Joe the Contractor came he was forced to park somewhere else. Joe chose to take the parking space of Rick, the guy across the street. Unbelievable.

6 Days to Go

Albert's truck remained blocking the spot for apartment #1 as he and his brother used Jesse's vehicle to do any running around for the night prior or that morning.

At lunch, it got the better of Jim and he told Albert that he would have to move his truck because it was blocking the spot for apartment #1. Joe needed to park there if he came by later. Albert and Jesse had fun driving back and forth over a huge pile of snow in the guest parking area to make Albert's truck fit int he space.

I was out of laundry to do (the dryer drowns out their giggling) so I made plans to get out of the house later in the afternoon. When I met up with Jim, he asked what I wanted for supper. I said, "A gun." He ran to the grocery to get a frozen pizza and came back with a foam disk gun that I had fun with. Funny thing though, I never pointed it at the objects of my frustration. It's ready if I need it.



5 Days to Go

The day started out mellow with the brothers scooting out and back in Albert's truck to get early morning provisions (smokes/coffee/ice cream). His return parking did not block the other space but took up pretty much all the guest parking. If you park carefully and thoughtfully, 2 cars can fit into the guest parking.


Lunchtime rolls around and Joe the Contractor shows up about that time. He takes the remaining off-street spot and all is good. Just as Jim was heading back to work after lunch we noticed the Jesse's lady friend's car is wedged between Albert & Jesse's. If Albert had just pulled up 5' more, there would have been room for her. These guys really are not the sharpest crayons in the box. You would think that would be it, but no. A half hour later Albert's ex-girlfriend shows up to join the party by taking our guest parking space for a while. The photo of a full lot of parking is one reason why I hate when Albert has guests over - they come in droves.

4 Days to Go

I warned you that you are going to start thinking I am crazy for noticing all that goes on with these guys but, just like the out of control garbage in the yard, they have a history of causing late night chaos in this building. Just after 9 PM the night before this, the brothers packed into Jesse's vehicle and left. That could mean they return loudly at 2-3 AM after bars close or were running to Giant for more provisions. I assumed Giant and I told Jim to watch how we could see the whole way across to the grocery store and watch them circle the lot to find parking. Maybe I should have gotten my foam disk gun.

We guessed I was wrong because we never saw them pull in. Just as we tired of waiting (2 minutes), they came walking from the dead end side of the street lighting their way with the glowing ends of their cigarettes!

For reasons we will never know, they must have parked Jesse's vehicle over in the parking lot near Celebration Hall for the night. It was the only place they could have returned from that direction, on foot, so quickly. The vehicle was back before 7 AM and they chose to block, not use, their own off street parking. So strange.

Happily, they both left before 8AM and I went into town for most of the day.

3 Days to Go

The neighbors were quiet and subdued all night and gratefully left soon after I got back from my 9 miler.  It was another beautiful day so I spent it reading outside and working on a failed spray paint project. Joe the Contractor came to bang pipes just before lunch so I bummed another ride into town.

I'm not sure when the brothers got back that day but Jesse left around 8PM and did not return for over 12 hours. Maybe his brother ran out of stuff he could freeload off of him. They haven't giggled in days.

2 Days to Go

I know I can make it through with Jim home for the weekend. Joe the Contractor is making a lot of headway on the vacant apartment and it gives me hope that our shower will turn out just as nicely.



I caught a bad cold but it didn't stop us from getting out of the house since the giggling was back on full volume.

When we came back Albert asked if he could talk to Jim for a bit. He took down the copy of the agreement because we were like 110% sure he was going to ask if Jesse could stay longer. We were surprised that he said he might be moving even as early as the end of the month and wanted to know if we had received any calls regarding him (reference?/landlord?). We won't hold our breath but it seems like the scheme of the year for Jesse & Albert to move in together. Whatever it was, it had started the giggling back up.

They left about 10PM not to reappear until, silently, sometime in the middle of the night.


1 Day to Go

I still had my cold and the giggling continued. Jim was hoping beyond hope that Albert will move out. That prospect got me excited.

The brothers hung out all day gabbing and giggling so I kept the tv on even when I was reading.

0 Days to Go

In the morning, I still had my cold and it snowed overnight. I was happy knowing it was the last day. I still thought Jesse would probably stay another night and could even return for day visits but it was a relief to have made it through the 2 weeks.

The day started with the building's smoke alarms going off just after 6:00 AM. Jim went down to check the vacant apartment but more that likely it was something got burnt (coffee?) in Apartment 2. I had the chance to reinforce my training with the cats that the smoke alarm noise means they get treats. They didn't all run like they were going to be killed and came out pretty straight away. I would say the training is working.

The brothers hung out most of the morning, smoking out front, chatting away - thick as thieves. Before 10 AM a phone message was left on our answering machine asking Jim to return the call of a woman named Jessica, regarding "a past tenant." Jim gave her a call and she seemed to be a landlady asking about Albert. Jim related that although Albert is a pleasant enough fellow he will sometimes forget and get confused if things aren't in writing.

With all of that, it sure seems like the brothers are scheming to move into a new place together. Their tone sounded so pleased with themselves all morning and afternoon.

About 3:30 PM Jesse left with some clothes on hangers (typically a sign of his moving in/out). I was not 100% in belief that he is moving out though. Albert can't count and is easily manipulated into breaking little rules. I could just imagine Jesse saying to him, "What do we have to lose? We are moving out anyway." Well, the fellas could lose their security deposit especially if they aren't giving a month's notice. Jesse isn't a very bright guy either.

Although it wasn't just some wishful made up scheme on Albert's part, I'll still believe it when I see it. That goes for Jesse's leaving after this day as well as Albert's deciding to move to a new residence.

One final thought at the end of what turned out to be a non-eventful 2 weeks, without Albert in residence there are good and bad points. Good is that we will do our best never to have a smoker in either apartment again. Bad is that it's hard to do that without discriminating. Good is that we will never hear that damn truck revving in any of the parking spaces (or in the YARD). Bad is new folks could make a lot more noise all night. Good is that most people know how to behave. Bad is that with Albert we knew what to expect and pretty much had it down to a science or art on how to keep him on the straight and narrow. Unknowns can be just as stressful as having to deal with a known tenant that has been a handful over the past 6 years. Life goes on, either way.

A Warm Spot in Winter

Ice be Gone!

EyeStorm

So destructive yet so beautiful, the Groundhog Day ice storm decorated our yard.

Morning Deer!!

Mountain View

One calm day last week.