270: Fording the stream

It’s nice when the subject of a photo comes with its own title.  I have a dreadful time with titles, and naming things.  That’s especially true when it comes to my photographs.  I know people who are incredibly talented in that regard.  They come up with clever, witty, often succinct titles whereas I frequently want to number mine.  It is doubtful (as the Magic 8 Ball would predict) I’ll ever win any “Caption This” contests.

I have a few photos from the last time I was out on my bike.  That was Friday, I think.  I should hop on my bicycle again soon, before my legs forget what they’ve learned.

At the back of the reservoir . Processed in Picnik.

One of the things my legs have learned is how to go uphill.  My muscles are strengthening.  In addition, my brain is strengthening.  I finally figured out how to use the gears properly.   We have plenty of hills around here for me to practice on, and to help me keep strengthening my legs and brain.

I can't remember which road this is (I guess my brain hasn't been strengthened THAT much), but it's lined with Birdsfoot Trefoil, the little yellow flowers growing along the side of the road.

A few more photos from the bike ride, and then it’s on to today’s outdoor adventures.

A teenager with an adult.

Moth Mullein (Verbascum blattaria)

A creek and a pond

This morning I woke up to clouds and fog, making it warm and dewy outside.  Walking through the grass, my shoes and feet were wet within seconds.  I thought the fogginess would burn off by afternoon, but it has remained kind of hazy, cloudy, and foggy.  From the looks of things, we may get some thunderstorms.

Dew dampening the burning bush

In the sweetness of friendship, let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures.  For in the dew of little things the heart finds it morning and is refreshed.

~ Kahlil Gibran

Dewy lily

My walk was not particular exciting, adventurous, or inspiring today.  That’s okay.  It was still a good walk.  The humidity makes me feel rather wilted, on all levels, so it was slow going.  I did go out to the garden for a little while.  I picked some Swiss chard which I used in Sauteed Spinach with Potatoes  (Alu Palak).  I had some locally grown spinach in the fridge.  I added the chard to that, and it was yummy.

Holly & dewdrops

In the unusually good news department, our air conditioning is fixed.  A Very Nice Man (from the heating & cooling company who installed our air conditioning when we bought the house) stopped by this morning to have a look.  He found a nest of mice living in the compressor unit.  One was dead, apparently by electrocution.  They had been gnawing at the wires.  The Very Nice Man had it fixed in a matter of minutes, and advised me to sack (fire) my current cats and get a couple of new ones.  lol!  Izzy and Bella are indoor cats so they are safe for now.  I do wonder about the barn and feral cats.  I’ve seen them around.  I guess they missed the mice in the air conditioning unit.  (Doesn’t that sound as if it should be a story or a children’s book?  The Mice in the Air Conditioning Unit.  Hmmm… maybe not.)

What made this unusually good news is that the compressor is eight years old so we thought it would be something more serious and costly.  The fee was nominal, and all is working well now.  Good job, Very Nice Man!  I did forget to ask about keeping mice out of the air conditioning unit.  I’m sure I can find plenty about it on the internet.

The other factor that made it unusually good news is the swift timing.  We discovered it wasn’t working on Saturday.  M called the company this morning and the Very Nice Man was on his way over by the end of the phone call, here within a few minutes of that, and gone before the entire process (from phone call to diagnosing the problem to fixing to handing over the check to the Very Nice Man leaving) passed through an entire hour.  Given the rising temperatures lately and the likelihood that others are discovering their air conditioning doesn’t work (this is the time of year for it, after all), I thought we might have to wait a week or two for someone to come by and look into the situation.  It’s wonderful when things work out so quickly and well, especially when it involves customer service of some kind.

That’s about it from the Bogs for today.  I hope your Monday was a good one.  Thanks for dropping by.  🙂

---