Birthdays are inevitable

I'll post about this day, but not tonight.  More soon

Fog

It was a foggy start to the day today, so much so that traffic even slowed down on some roads!  These probably would have been better if I had started a bit earlier but you know how that goes.  Some days you just can't move quickly enough in the morning.

The last photo of the leaf is a harbinger of things I don't want to see.  One of the down sides to living in a woods and living across from a 1,000+ acre woods is that there probably are a few leaves.  A few leaves to rake once they fall, too.  I'm betting that that they all will blow onto my lawn.  But I bet it will be pretty. The sunset was from a few days ago and was taken on Higgins Lake

Irony on paper

So I have mentioned my latest, well, obsession, with printing presses, and I mentioned buying an English press.  It needed a few parts, especially a chase and rollers and I was having a hard time finding them at the usual printing supply places where I offer my custom.

I speak like that because the internet, as we know, is a wonderful thing in that it has made the world a much smaller place.  When I Googled Adana, the name of the press, I found Caslon Limited, the successor to the original Adana press supply company.  When I asked if they had parts for this 80+ year old press, they simply asked if I wished for new parts or refurbished, as they had both.  They sent me a PDF of their "offer sheet" and in their words, I offered my custom.  New and used parts are on their way whilst I wait, sipping tea and eating crumpets.

I had to laugh, though, at their e-mail of the receipt.  They sent it as a PDF, which is fine.  But this printing supply company cautioned against printing out the receipt because of the environment!  Seems an odd notice for a company that just sold me printing supplies so I can print reams of paper.  Not odd, but really and truly ironic.

I wonder if my press can print PDFs...

Dear Customer

Thank you for your recent order.   Attached you will find a copy of the invoice relating to this order attached as a PDF file.  If you have any queries relating to the invoice feel free to contact the Sales Office.

Please note that if you require us to send you a hard copy of the invoice, please let us know.

Best Regards
Sales Office

Caslon Limited, Caslon House, Lyon Way, St. Albans, Herts AL4 0LB / UK
Telephone: +44 (0)1727-852211 Facsimile: +44 (0)1727-855772
Website: www.caslon.co.uk Email: sales@caslon.co.uk

Consider the environment. Please don't print this e-mail unless you really need to!

Animals

Living in the wilderness has allowed me to commune with nature a bit more than I have been used to doing.  I have told you about the mouses and turkeys and the wasps, but I haven't mentioned seeing countless deer or the occasional bear.  In fact, I see the bear (a bear?  It is hard to tell them apart) every few days on my way to or from work.  I wish he/she was on the far side of my commute but I see "it" within a mile or two of my castle.  Hmm…

I have done pretty well so far.  The mice seem to have been conquered for now as they regroup for future attacks and the winter.  A bit of shock and awe wasp spray seems to have done the trick with those guests.  The dear deer have avoided my grill and the rest of the car, and if I can only stop them from crapping on my driveway, I will be fine.  Nothing starts your day off right besides getting in the car and realizing that your loafers smell like deer poop.  Right now, it is Jason one and turkeys zero, though there are so many of them around that I am not sure that total will stay so low.

It is kind of fun.  Last night, I saw something that I haven't seen before.  I went out about 11PM to try my luck at taking photos of the night sky.  While I was setting up, I heard a slight scuffle, and I turned my Maglite towards the noise.  What did I see but a beautiful black and white cat!  It had a big fluffy tail, and had unusual markings of a white stripe or two down its back.  I like cats.  This one was so cute. It sat almost next to me, within 5 feet for about 15 minutes just watching me.  Who would let such a pretty cat be outside?  Poor kitty.  Then I saw several other kitties with it.  Strange, but they all had that same marking and they had really pretty tails.  I bet I could get one as a pet if I am patient.  That would take care of the mice!

I love the wilderness.

Sunset, sunrise

Though it is a Sunday and I could have slept til when ever, I was up at 6AM, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.  Not sure why but I think it stemmed from my very restless night.  It was one of those nights where you destroy your bed by tossing and turning.  Maybe it was the scallops that I ate last night for dinner.

One benefit of being an early riser is that you do see a lot more sunrises.  This was at the same lake I was at a few days ago, but Mother Nature or whichever higher deity was a bit more subtle today.  The sunrise today looked more like a Turner painting of the Thames, though I am not sure if that simile could be possible.  The photos look soft and out of focus but it was the mist/fog rising off the lake on this cool late summer morning.  These were taken with a point and shoot--this photography thing isn't that hard.  Again, click to make larger.

The clouds above the tree were last night's sunset.

Fall

I am sorry, but it is fall no matter what we wish it to be.  School is back in session, nights are getting longer and days are getting shorter, and gasp, the trees are changing color already.  We may have fought the good fight, and we may not be ready, but yes, fall is here.

I was in Wisconsin this past weekend for lots of reasons. I earned a job, and will be spending some serious time on Ebay selling fountain pens. I then wanted to head north to see my land.  People have asked if the flowers that were planted have grown and the answer is sadly, no.  Not a one.  I suppose there are lots of reasons--too cold, too wet, too too, and too much of that, too.  I will be more intentional next spring.  There were some flowers around so I did get to take some photos.

The sunset is on the way back home, Lake Superior in all its glory, and a moon shot of sorts.  I was also happy to find a small grove of real live aspens, not these boring birch trees.

The wasp nest is new.  I have been plagued with pests in my little piece of Nirvana--I think I have battled the mice to a standstill, though I still hear Marious's small mousy voice singing "Empty chairs and empty tables" and the same voice exhorting others to "man the barricades."  My gazebo is stalked by spiders the size of juvenile wolves, and now this.  I noticed this basketball-size wasp nest on one my garage doors this afternoon.  Now I was in and out of this very same garage door last week and never noticed this and I think I would have--the nest is bigger than my head.  my new neighbors aren't exactly subtle and there is a ton of waspish traffic in and out of their new condo.  Geez.  What next, locusts?  I am not sure how to tackle this one.    I guess wait for a cold morning and use chemicals and then more chemicals.  This is really hard--I really am a live and let live kind of guy, but wasps, spiders, and mice don't get a lot of sympathy.

It is OK that fall is here.  Change is good, right?