Great Sunday

First some campaigning for Local 29 president.



Then -




Sarah and I doorbelled for our candidates in a very cold rain. Sarah, Kirk and Jack-o-Saurus joined us for dinner.








Life is good!

Signs

So I am running on the bluff and I see a bunch of these signs:




After about the 20th one, I see a man with a hammer pounding one in.
"This is a park area. You can't put your signs here."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean it's a place where you can't put up political signs."
"What do you mean?"
"You see that thing that you pounded into the ground? That's called a 'sign.' The ground you pounded it into, well, that's a 'park.' Your sign placement might be seen as an ironic indictment against charter schools."
"I thought this was a public thoroughfare."
"Look. You can do what you want. It's not like I am going to call the cops. It's just that your actions may be counterproductive for the effect you're trying to achieve." Then I shook his hand and wished him well.
The Friends of the Bluff were doing a big clean up, so I stopped and talked to an organizer who reaffirmed that this is a park, and as such, no political signs are allowed.

Pumpkin harvest 2012

Nice pumpkin harvest yesterday. These are supposed to be really sweet pumpkins. I will curry one up here in the next few days. I am guessing the biggest one is about 30 pounds.

Electronic Yodeling Pickle

This may be what you've been missing. Exclusively at Boo Radley's.

Running for Prez

I usually don't have much to say about my job on this blog, but wanted you to know that I am running for president of my local - Local 29, the Spokane firefighters union. Won't be a mudslinging affair because the guy I am running against is a really good guy, and he is my friend. Currently, he's the VP and will remain so if Local 29 voters choose me. I am looking forward to the chance of working with him. If you want to check out my facebook site, here it is. If you like it, you can like it.

Spider enjoying a snack in the garden

Epistar halogen-type LED lights.

Every once in a while, I get a great idea for an invention. Then I research it and find out that it already exists. Having gone down the invention road before, I am usually happy when this happens. Discovering that you can buy something is much better than spending the thousands and never seeing your dream product exist. So it was when, yet another, halogen lamp burned out in my office. Finding these LED lights on line made me really happy.

We have a couple of halogen track light setups at our house. The bulbs use a lot of electricity, put out  heat and fizzle a lot. They aren't cheap to replace, usually just under $10. This particular LED model is 3 watts instead of a halogen's 35 watts. They burn at a cooler temperature. $8 - free shipping. I like to buy anything hardware-related at our local Ace by Huckleberry's. But there isn't anything like this in my local hardware store.  So I bought three of them on Amazon.   There are cheaper deals there too, but I wanted them shipped fast.

The light they shine takes a little bit of getting used to. It's fairly white compared to the warm tones of the halogen. But, at a tenth of the energy use, I am sold.

RIP Neil Armstrong

First man on the moon. Ukulele player:

Pumpkin take over continues

The pumpkins continue their occupation. My response? Next year... more pumpkins.

Don't Move Jefferson?

I think they are going to move it. Which made me think. I am still seeing some "Don't Move Jefferson" signs. When the new school is finally built, effectively moved, will those signs still up in people's yards now signify that they like the new location?

Pumpkin pollen airmet issued

The bees in the garden are making emergency landings on the raspberry bush to depollen. Wonder if they race through trace and climb through rime. That is all.

Dumpster diving

That's right. Now that supermarkets are carrying liquor, they are having to throw outdated or wilted liquor into dumpsters. This Romulan Ice Ale is still pretty good.

Idaho Fishing License

You can't have blue hair apparently. Same kind of selection for eye color with the addition of "multi."

Barrier to World Peace!

You've heard about it. And it's on Hatch Road.

Garden going strong!

Raspberries have been on for a while.



I think the pumpkins are going to take over.


Basil for pesto!


Every spring, I pull up all the poppies that sprout. Those that sneak through to summer make the garden beautiful..


Hidden mini patio behind the pumpkins.



The bees bury themselves in the poppies. Poppy honey would make a very fine mead.


Bees in action.


While the garden grows in the heat, we watch Le Tour in the basement.

Fishing yesterday

Adding to the list of biking, running, swimming, ukuleling, I've really gotten back into fishing. For years, I've been fishing out of a canoe. This year, I started reading up on kayak fishing. I got a really good deal on a kayak that was pretty much all set up for fishing. Wow, so much better than the canoe!

A very relaxing ways to spend some time. You sit right on top of the water. For some reason the sky looks extremely big. And the logistics of landing a fish become a little more interesting in a kayak.

Been doing pretty well as far as catching fish from the kayak, and yesterday was no exception.

A month or so ago, I spent a day practicing falling off and getting back on the kayak. Up until yesterday, I've been wearing a wetsuit on my forays. Eventually, I would like to get comfortable enough to go on the ocean and fish. 



On second thought...

I am a grandpa!

OK, I guess more importantly, this kid was born! He tried crawling off the scale when they weighed him. I like his style. Mom and dad are great!

Great Fathers Day So Far!

Sarah's perfect poppies!

Some fishing last week.

Guesthouse in Bellingham

Was a great cheap place to stay. Plus, I really like the housekeeper's name:

Wha Happened?!?!

By Cannon Hill Park today. I think the last picture might be a clue.