Mass Die Off!

      The windshield wipers were on the whole trip from the OFH to The Little House. Sinai has recorded 4.5" in two days not counting today's rain. Tomorrow I'll check my gauge to see what's accumulated in 10 days. Minnesota corn harvest is almost complete. Locally it's about half done. Yields are very good, in the 200+ bushel per acre range with moisture at 14%. That means no artificial drying is necessary saving time and money. It's been too wet to harvest since Friday. For the first time this year getting stuck is a hazard.

    In the 10 days of my absence boxelder bugs did a mass 'die off'' in the house. They don't bother me; I just gently move them out of the way. Joanne didn't like them. Kaia ate any she caught. Odie hasn't revealed himself.

Takk for alt,

Al

Look familiar?

Run away to join the circus!

      Boys running away to join the circus is a thing of the past. Perhaps some boys actually did join a circus. At least it was familiar trope in the past. It was a way get out of town and not be easy to trace.

    Across the street from the Disc Golf Course, in which Odie runs, is a permanent big top. It's for Circus Juventas, which is non-profit that teaches youth circus entertainment skills. Evy and I attended once. The performance was professional level. It even included high wire.

   This morning at 6:00 am as Odie and I approached the car to return to the OFH, he ran over the hill in pursuit of a rabbit(?). He didn't return. When a bit of time had passed, I made the necessary calls; St. Paul Animal Control and Pawsboost, an online lost pet site. Then I drove the area crisscrossing the neighborhood in hopes of spotting him. I left a towel where the car had been parked in case he returned there. That worked years ago when I was separated from a dog in a huge hunting area. Nothing...imagine my devastation. He is chipped and my phone number is on his collar.

  At 9:00 a woman called and said she had Odie at Circus Juventas. He was sitting at the door when she came to work. He'd run away to join the circus.  You can imagine my relief. 

Takk for alt,

Al

   

Rain...

     The morning routine is to take Odie out about 6am. Last night the forecast was for rain beginning at 6. That's a dilemma easily solved. I, being a rain wimp, Odie was happy to go outside at 5:00. Then, too, there weren't any other riff raff in the park at that time. There were a few deer, which seeing Odie, made a hasty retreat. It's rained most of the day.

   With WNBA season concluded, college basketball is picking up the slack. Several of the better teams (women's) are playing in Paris. A Big Ten Team, Maryland (#20), took on South Carolina (#1) this afternoon. S.C. won 101-93, but at one point had a 31-point lead. S.C didn't handle Maryland's full court pressure well. Addi Mack, a Maryland player from Minneapolis who played high school ball at Minnehaha Academy, had 35 points but a S.C. player with only 20 points was designated "player of the game."

   Life returns!

Takk for alt,

Al

A good Sunday School experience could have avoided this!

 

"Well, then?

     Shortly after I moved into the OFH, I met Pattrick. Sitting in my recliner one afternoon, the door opened and in walked Patrick. We were both surprised. He thought he was entering his dad, Tom's, apartment, but that was two doors down. I didn't know who he was. 

   Kaia greeted him as he entered and Patrick turned out to be a 'dog person.' We chatted awhile before he left. After that he'd frequently knock on my door with treats for Kaia. Conversations ensued with some regularity. Tom also entered the category of 'friendly acquaintance' and occasionally we shared meals. He had taught philosophy at St. Thomas University for 35 years. His health was frail and for years was in and out of the hospital. 

  Tom died last week and his wake was this afternoon. Four of us inmates of the OFH attended. Much of my motivation was to express my condolences to Patrick. However, Tom's family, which is large, wasn't at the wake, with the exception of one son whom I did not know. 

   Rest in peace, Tom, good and faithful servant.

Takk for alt,

Al

WNBA Final

      For the first time ever the WNBA final went the full seven games. The Golden State Valkyries beat the Atlanta Dream 68-63, in the 7th game tonight. Golden State has only been in existence for two years.

   My Lynx got eliminated in two games early in the playoffs.

   Rain predicted Monday and Tuesday so will delay my departure until Wednesday.

Takk for alt,

Al

Nothing Dramatic!

       On November 12, Lexington Landing, aka. the OFH, is offering a Veterans Day Luncheon for veterans and their spouses. Likely in South Dakota that day I will miss it. Frankly I'm relieved that I have an excused absence. Yes, this proves that I am incorrigibly anti-social. Why could I possibly want to be absent?

   At the luncheon vets are expected to talk about their military experience. While there was a significant amount of boredom overall it was a fascinating experience for me. Why? because it was so different from my civilian life. That doesn't make it scintillating for anyone else. There was nothing in my enlistment that would be of much interest to anyone else. I was neither shot at, nor did I shoot at anyone.

    That doesn't mean others, handed a mic, wouldn't drone on about their experiences. It isn't a risk I'd gladly take. Best to just be away and not risk showing oneself as a curmudgeon.

Takk for alt,

Al

The boys, eager to act guides, took us to this Inca stone, demonstrating their ability to hew stone.