Everyone is in Trouble/The Wild Fires

Several rules of Old Wire Road have been broken. Buckley, Lula and the chickens are all in trouble and are being sentenced accordingly. Puppy culture dictates that any free time needs to be filled with entertainment or boredom will deoxygenate the dog brain and mischief will ensue. In Buckley's pursuit of constant stimulation he has eaten the covers off books, carried away and hid various priceless items, pulled the compost bin off the counter at 3AM and while attempting to nest in a blanket, but finding it did not suit his needs he just peed on it. Lovely. Lula is guilty of failing to provide proper canine guidance and at times contributing to his behavior. Oh, and as I write this Buckley has thrown up a massive pile of food and in it lies the corncob that he had stolen. The corncob is in trouble too. Everyone has now been put to bed.


The pullets have been enjoying the great outdoors while the cockerels are awaiting their mobile shelter to be built. I have not built the mobile shelter and because of this I am also in trouble. The chickens are misbehaving by piling in the corner of the coop at night. Manual positioning on a roost seems to remedy the problem. Newest bits of chicken knowledge: (1) when you place a chicken on a roost, it just stays there. it doesn't even seem to wonder how it got there. (2) it's much easier to catch a chicken in the dark. they can't see you coming. You may wonder how we can see them in the dark (and no, it's not our night vision monocle). This shall remain one of the secrets of Old Wire Road...



This past couple of weeks southern Georgia has been on fire and we have been subject to significantly smoky skies. Today was the worst.



These photos were taken during the day, not at sunset. The sun is completely blocked out.
Ash and soot are falling from the sky like a light snow.
We are not in danger, but it is kind of worrisome and makes us think about what would happen to plant life in this region if the sun were blocked out like this for more than a couple of days. We are hoping that the wind shifts, and of course for rain.



We've heard "armageddon" whispered by more than one person, and we can't help but wonder about prehistoric natural disasters (astroids, volcanos, george bush) and various potential fates of our planet (astroids, volcanos, humans).

The Amazing Cucumber Story

i've been meaning to tell this story for a while. it may or may not actually be amazing, but it's quirky, and i like it, and it's true.
a while back, i was preparing for our friend jenn to visit, so i went grocery shopping. that particular day, i had to take the BIG BLUE VAN instead of the mini for some reason or another. If you're not yet familiar with the BIG BLUE VAN, here it is behind cute, mean Gregg


as you can see, the BIG BLUE VAN is BIG and BLUE. anyway, on my way home, i had to stop short and all of the groceries went sliding and i lost my cucumber. i searched the van for a while, but i could not find the cucumber. gregg searched the van, but he could not find the cucumber. i was bummed. "my kingdom for a cucumber!", i cried.



jenn, wonderful jenn, arrived the next day from Boston.
she stepped off of the plane, reached into her carry on and handed me a cucumber. it was almost as if she had cukes in her carry on all the time. really though, it was from her brother's garden in vermont and she picked and brought it especially for us. it was the most beautiful, most wanted cucumber ever. she had not known that i had been pining for a lost cucumber.

coincidence? i think not! i think the universe knew just what we needed...

so, anyway, now we grow our own cucumbers! here are this year's cukes. how cuke!



oh yeah...we did find an old shriveled up piece of vegetable matter in an apparent vegetable fugitive hideout in the van a few weeks later. it didn't even really rot. it just dehydrated.

Jenny B, Buckley and Pete the Bunny

Recently, our friend Jenn came to visit us. She has been here for visits in Summer, Winter and now, Spring. We visited Poe Springs and swam briefly. Our picnic table was a micro-ecosystem where insects clashed and cheese was sliced with the sharp edge of a cracker. We spent most of our time on Old Wire Road with 27 of our newest (and youngest) friends. The 26 chicks are doing great and appear to have doubled their size in two weeks. Number 27 is our new dog who shall be known henceforth as Buckley. Buckley appeared in our carport at 3AM after an Of Montreal show in Gainesville. We initially called him Pete the Bunny, but after his hillbilly brother showed up two days later we decided that his brethren should bear the name. We dropped Pete at the shelter and kept Buckley. Unfortunately the locals seems to think we are an animal dump. Fortunately, there is a great shelter in town. Spring in Florida is a wonder!

Peeps!

The Cuckoo Marans have arrived with one exotic breed that we think is a White Crested Black Polish. The backyard has been transformed into a red light district and we have become 24-hour temperature monitors. The peeps love chasing bugs and scratching around the brooder. They come fully equiped to eat and drink.



At 1 week of age they are already discovering their wings and are experimenting with running attempts at flight. They do not fly. Soon they will be liberated from the brooder to explore a slightly larger corner of the coop. For now they seem to enjoy a nice nap under the heat lamp, followed by a drink and some organic chick starter.

passing

good bye mom...

Home Restoration

Construction and restoration continue on Old Wire Road. The latest challenge was the removal of 1960's aluminum siding and the replacement of our rotten porch.



Hibernating wasps stumbled around for a few hours.


The porch construction was a semi-frightening experience as we removed all the load-bearing columns and replaced them, but now it stands proudly.


Next, we installed a layer of insulation and hardiplank. This allowed us some quality time in the dry windy Florida air desperately attaching house wrap which turned our house into a Lowe's billboard. This wind also whipped-up a nearby trailer and forest fire which inspired amateur fire chasing.


Next a layer of concrete boards which we positioned with tools that Charlie referred to as "angels." His came complete with a grotesquely scrawled religious figure.


Charlie primed and painted the entire house almost entirely by himself while I screamed encouraging words at him...that went well. Coming up next: the garden and chickens are soon to arrive...

San Francisco: January/February

Cymande and I visited San Fran to attend her sister's wedding. We had a week to visit our old favorites (Kubuki, Zazie, Moma, Arizmendi) and create new favorites (the observatory at the DeYoung, Chantal and Noah's apartment, Bette's, the Tape festival, Frog's Leap Winery, Ace).

All of this was made extra-super because of the hospitality and generosity of our friends Chantal, Noah and Katie. We stayed at C+N's studio in North Berkley which was also being shared by several speeding trains; all the conductors compulsively fondling the whistle's trigger.

Kira amazed and delighted us all with her camp counsellor affectations and divaesque performances.

My dear old friend Gio lives 5 minutes away and we all went for a intoxicating and loquacious drive though Napa valley, starting with Amber at Frog's Leap and fading out with a friendly Czech pourer at a winery I have since forgotten the name of.







Shannon and Tobias were married at Stern Grove (a small green gem in the Sunset) and I had the enjoyable task of entertaining Lucas for the day. I taught him about Redwoods and women and free concerts. He seemed interested, but he did nap for about three hours while his parents celebrated their marriage. Cymande's mother was able to attend the wedding and reception and everyone celebrated her attendance.




We spent the last nights on Cole Street with our friend Katie. Her futon is underrated.