The Garden 07-17-10

Lake view. The trees down on the shoreline are Green Ash and are succumbing to Emerald Ash Bore, which will open up the vista even more. I should have an unobstructed view of the mortuary across the lake! When you live in the woods the weather can sneak up and hammer you. Now that I'm living more in the open I'll be able to see it coming and run for cover. The side walls are tall Arborvitae hedges with framed bamboo lattice on the end wall covered by William Baffin climbing roses and Etoile Violette Clematis - which are resting in the summer heat right now. The sudden increase in sunlight is giving some of the shade lovers whiplash. I'll either have to move some of them or they'll turn into compost.

Bench view (the sofa). My vision is to keep the center area relatively two-dimensional, a textured carpet surrounded by higher, lush plantings. I'm not doing real well with that - we'll have to call it a work in progress. The problem with all this stuff is that it grows and keeps growing. It gets to the perfect size and proportions, but it keeps on growing. Or it is delicate and dies and leaves a hole. It's a continual battle to keep the more aggressive plants from overwhelming everything else. Just like with nations.

The ceiling. Even with the loss of the large trees we still have overhanging oak branches. Green stained glass  joined by lead caming against the blue sky. Light blue and dark green, the perfect color combination. 

Part of the overhead sound system. Look close, a Western Kingbird, or possibly a Crested Flycatcher on the branch. Or a Peewee. I was going to have the dead branches trimmed when the treemen were here with the cherrypicker, but the birds, particularly the Wrens and Robins who use them for singing perches, vetoed it. Wrens are surprisingly demanding for their size. 

I also have a more mundane sound system, a cheap CD player in the tool shed and a couple of pretty good outdoor speakers tucked in the Hostas, for a little background music with my cigars and beer. 

Daylilies. We're getting to the end of the season. There's a couple of dozen variates, from 12 inches tall to 5 feet. Most are are light yellow or deep mahogany red. I don't care much for the muddy orange tones or golds. I prefer small flowers, but I have been known to fall in love with a few big gross golden or melon colored ones. More pics some other day. 

Making Sense of Elvis

The Ghost of Elvis will shortly be wearing more flashy jewelry. The auction described it as "70's, 80's era", but it was actually introduced in 1984. If it were 6 months older I wouldn't have bought it, as it would be too modern for my refined tastes. This Galli dérailleur now belongs to me, at a price that Tony Tambini assures me is cheap. Of course he collects oddball dérailleurs, he's crazy about all of them and he thinks they're all cheap.

A Sad Day In the Grove

A note from cousin Jack Jensen:

"Yesterday, after 107 years in Clarks Grove, I was the last customer in the door at the Clarks Grove branch of the State Bank of Clarks Grove. The doors closed forever at 3:00 p.m. Banker Sue cracked open a bottle of Champagne and the 8 of in attendance had a toast to the memory of the Bank.

Joe was not there."


When we got married we bought a little house.  It was locally referred to as "The Doll house".  It cost us $4,500. We went up to the bank and talked to the banker, Ruben Johnson. He asked if we had a down payment and how much we wanted our payments to be. We had $500 and we agreed to $100 a month payments. I don't recall what the interest rate was. Later my father advised me to borrow some money with an unsecured note and pay it back early to establish our credit. It was no problem getting the money. Ruben said if your parents honor their obligations, you'll probably pay yours too. That was small town banking the old way. Times change. I'm sorry to see the old ways pass.

It just dawned on me; the bill for tree removal from the last storm was more than the cost of our first house. Of course they were vastly different dollars.

Summit Belgian

Unchained Series 04: Belgian Style Golden Ale

Brewer Eric Harper is releasing his Unchained beer the week of July 19!  In his own  words:

Light golden in color, pours effervescent with a thick, rocky head.  The aromas of fruity esters produced by our Belgian yeast strain dominate, while a subtle spiciness from the Czech Saaz and Styrian Golding hops linger in the background.  Brewed with 100% Belgian Malt and tons (literally) of Belgian Candi Sugar, the body was lightened, and the alcohol increased.  The end result is a sublime drinking experience!



Specs:
Malts:  100 % Belgian Pilsen Malt
Kettle Additions:  Czech Saaz and Styrian Golding Hops, Belgian Candi Sugar
OG:  18.5° Plato
IBU:  30
ABV:  8.6%
Color:  Golden
Yeast:  Belgian Ale Yeast

Bobby Bare

More old guys singing old country music. I learned the songs when they were very new. Toward the end of every night at the NCO Club in Hanau, Germany somebody would put a nickel in the Seeburg. Bobby Bare's mournful voice would drift through the smoke of the club and all the drunk G.I.s in the room would stop talking and sing along with the chorus. Sometimes it took a quarter's worth of miles to get us home. This is a shortened version of a long song, but the voice is still there. It's not the suck version that Peter, Paul and Mary did, it's the songs writer doing it the the way he wanted it done.

And a little gospel music. The definitive Drop Kick Me Jesus. For Jim and Dex and any other broken down old linemen out there in Tubeland.



Another singalong from the NCO Club.

Pumps and Dogs

Picture of a bike stand/pump/dog from J.G.  The Dutch do it right. Shouldn't tip over.

Toy Yorkie. My folks had a couple. Cassie had been bred down to an embarrassment of a lapdog, but she was still a terrier with the heart of a hunter. They lived on the shore of a wild lake. To my mother's chagrin the dog hung out with the Old Man, who let her run in the mud and the slime of the slough and chase all the wild critters who offended her. She kept them damned Canada Geese off HER grass and the squirrels up in the trees where they belonged. She spent her days in the cocklebur and brambles, the evenings having them cut out of her silky fur. Most of the summer she had a chopped up version of a buzz cut, what was locally know as a heinie. Cass lived her life with a doggie heinie, not the silky hair of a proper lapdog. But I think she had a more fulfilling life. 

Billy Joe Shaver Suffering From a Broken Heart

"I‘m listening to Billy Joe Shaver / And I’m reading James Joyce / Some people tell me I got the blood of the land in my voice." -  Bob Dylan, “I Feel a Change Coming On”.

Following forwarded by my nephew and fellow music aficionado, Chris "Beerboy" Anderson:

"After canceling his three scheduled July shows due to chest pain — including an appearance at Willie Nelson’s Fourth of July Picnic last week and an upcoming appearance in Luckenbach — Billy Joe Shaver is recovering from minor heart surgery, including a stent procedure yesterday.

Shaver, 71, famously suffered a heart attack on stage in 2001 at the Gruene Hall while playing a New Year’s Eve show. He is expected to make a full recovery and will resume performing in August, said manager Greg Henry.

“He’s scheduled for a bunch of shows in August, and we’ll take stock but we don’t intend to cancel anything at this point,” said Henry. “He even thought he could do his show in Luckenbach on the 17, but we decided it was better to have him rest for a while."

Hang in there Billy Joe, the world needs your kind of man.

Hank Cochran

Hank Cochran died yesterday. He wrote a lot of songs about good relationships gone wrong. A note of local interest, Hank Cochran and our hometown rocker, Eddy Cochran toured for a time as the Cochran Brothers. Here's three of his songs.

And Now For Something Completely Different

I'm a fan of magic, not the gee-whiz cutting women in two, or the disappearing tiger cages. That's smoke-and -mirrors. I like "little magic", for instance the slight-of-hand manipulation of coins and cards - things thought out and practiced.



Teller, former Latin teacher:
“Doing beautiful things is its own reward,” he says, when I ask what enjoyment he can still derive from a trick he has pulled off many thousands of times before. “If you do something that you’re proud of, that someone else understands, that is a thing of beauty that wasn’t there before – you can’t beat that.” He gulps suddenly, like a snake trying to swallow an egg, and when he speaks again his voice has a wobble to it.
“There is that great line in Sunday in the Park with George,” he says, referring to Stephen Sondheim’s 1984 musical about Georges Seurat, “ 'Look, I made a hat where there never was a hat’.” He falls silent again and, as unexpectedly as those coins turn to fish, big fat tears start rolling down his cheeks. “I can’t say that line without choking up, because it states, in profoundly poetic terms, what I have always wanted to do with my life. It’s so simple and so funny, but boy it hits me deep.”

Penn, one time juggler:

He couldn’t care less what they think. “I have always hated magic,” he says. “I have always hated the basic undercurrent of magic which Jerry Seinfeld put best when he said: 'All magic is “Here’s a quarter, now it’s gone. You’re a jerk. Now it’s back. You’re an idiot. Show’s over”.’ I never wanted to grow up to be a magician. It was never my goal.” He would rather have been a rock star, he says, but the business seemed already saturated with extraordinarily talented people. “So my thinking was, and I will say this outright, music is full of people I absolutely love. I don’t have a chance. They are all better than me. Magic has, ooh, nobody in it that I like.” He rocks back in his chair, cackling. “This is the field for me!”

More

From Richard Jenkins.

Celeste Bianchi With Blue Shiny Bits

For all of you who have been snickering behind my back at the Ghost of Elvis, here a picture of a Bianchi with the blue anodized Galli gruppo. Thanks to Tony T.          
Depending on the vagaries of Ebay, this may all make sense on or about Jul 18, 201012:51:08 PDT.

Another Upbeat song

A reality check for all you damned chronically happy people.