Flush Again

Winter Is Coming

Barbara Smith and her granddaughter came by to winterize the swamp cooler today.

The duct was so rusted, we had a tough time finding the slot for the damper. Then it took some WD-40, a screwdriver, and a hammer for Barbara to get the sheet of metal in place. Next, a panel had to be removed to reach the drain plug. Finally, Barbara had to get on the roof to throw the canvas cooler cover in place.

All in all, quite the ordeal.

First Freeze First Snow

Fortunately, I got most of my container garden in last night.

Shortcut Joe changes the swamp cooler pads

Joe took out the old swamp cooler pads, spray painted the rusted grills, and then immediately replaced the pads with new aspen excelsior.
See also video: http://vivavideo.tv/user/zX69r4g7

Valentine's Day Stinks

Dead Kitty

The thumbnail sketches and source material.

The trigger: On returning from a walk, I found the door handle on backwards... ?!

Hot Enough

Josh starts up the swamp cooler.

Black Widow

...in the window.

The Annual Flush

Rotting Timber Abatement, Phase II

The arbor is trading in its picturesque telephone poles for a hard shell. I'm happy the after-rain debris on the patio will be mitigated. It's been a wet summer.

Sink Hole

This actually looks rather cavernous.

Rotting Timber Abatement, Phase I

Scary timber in the process of being removed by Javier Bonillo.

More Arbor Drama

It's rained heavily for a few days. The arbor timbers are soaked. The one directly over the back door is quite threatening.




[See also entry for 30.September.2016, tImBeR!

Organic Bug Zapper

A toad in my Thai peppers.

Two Cats In The Yard

Chica's cat Kes has a boyFriend -- we're calling him orangeBoy.

The title of this post is a reference to the song Our House by Graham Nash.

I'll light the fire, you place the flowers in the vase that you bought today.
Staring at the fire for hours and hours while I listen to you
Play your love songs all night long for me, only for me.

Come to me now and rest your head for just five minutes, everything is good.
Such a cozy room,
The windows are illuminated by the evening sunshine through them,
Fiery gems for you, only for you.

Our house is a very, very, very fine house with two cats in the yard,
Life used to be so hard,
Now everything is easy 'cause of you and our—

La, la, la

Our house is a very, very, very fine house with two cats in the yard,
Life used to be so hard,
Now everything is easy 'cause of you and our—

I'll light the fire, while you place the flowers in the vase that you bought today.

Improvised Table

Cantilevered glass tabletop for an impromptu breakfast nook.

• 24" round glass tabletop
• 29" wood saddle-back barstool
• 2 8" C-clamps (I've since replaced the C-clamps with these bar clamps.)
• black rubber shelf liner
• 2 furniture slides as clamp pads

This improvisation is working so well as a desk-height table next to a platform bed, that I'm thinking of it as a "sketch of a prototype".


Image from laptop camera on improvised BreakfastNook table.

(A still from upcoming vlog series Topper, episode "madamePiranha's Bruschetta", we hope. ;>) [See Vimeo-to-HBO TV series High Maintenance, S1.] )


Set of TheBreakfastNook.


Please share a bowl with us.... let'sSesh!

tImBeR!

It rained a lot last night and this morning. Early this morning I was jolted by a crash on the patio; I thought a truck had run into the house. Instead, a soaked and rotted log had broken where it was supported on a large beam of the arbor over the patio. The most surprising thing was no other damage and no one hurt.

SlackerOh's

b0y.aRe.dEEs sLaCkErOhS!
{sueMe ;>) }

Makes 2 servings.

• 1 Tablespoon Grapeseed Oil
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 3 Small-Medium Yellow Squashes
• 1 Teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper
• 2 Teaspoons Coriander
• 2 Teaspoons Black Pepper
• 0.5 Can Muir Glen Pizza Sauce*
• 0.25 Cup Sweet Basil
• 2 Tablespoons Redwood Hill Farm Plain Goat Yogurt**

1. Spiralize squash, one at a time onto cutting board or plate.
2. Chop spiralized squash into 1"-2" segments.†
3. Dump segments onto oil in a 5-quart cooking pot.
4. Sprinkle on salt, crushed red pepper, freshly ground coriander and black pepper to each layer.
5. Heat covered pot on high 5-10 minutes, or until squash is tender and soupy.
6. Add pizza sauce.
7. Simmer for ~10 minutes.
8. Remove from heat, and stir in fresh chopped sweet basil.
9. Serve hot or cold, with a dollop of plain yogurt.

* Muir Glen Pizza Sauce

** Redwood Hill Farm Plain Goat Yogurt

† One small-medium yellow squash, spiralized and chopped:

Below: The squash in my raised-bed garden, looking toward The Hobbit House. (Squash recipes are much appreciated, btw!)

A Cat In The Garden

The short story.

3 Tomato Varieties

Gardening in Las Cruces is a challenge, compared to gardening in Champaign. This is a day's tomato harvest from my container garden.