Weekly Ephemera #137

A slow week here in the Homer's Travels household:

• I walked three times this week.  They were relatively short but I am working my way back up to longer distances after the long break I had.  I managed to walk 20.75 miles (33.4 km).
• On Friday we turned on the air conditioner for the day because we hit a high of 81℉ (27℃).  On Friday night the heat was switched back on as the week ahead will be a more chilly seasonal temperature.  Saturday it rained and was gloomy all day but, with the warmer temperatures and the wet weather, things are starting to green up, another sign of Spring.
• I started watching "Daredevil: Born Again" this week.  It has the same cast as the Netflix Daredevil series which makes me happy.  I liked the original series and this one, so far, is just as good.

2025 Spring Solstice

Today is the Spring equinox in the northern hemisphere.  While I have lamented the lack of a decent winter this season, I do welcome the arrival of astronomical Spring.

I hope everyone has a great first day of Spring!

P.S. For those expecting a Guatemala Post, I am taking a brief break and will post the next one on Monday (probably).

Weekly Ephemera #135

• I got back the prostate biopsy that was taken during my kidney stone removal.  Unlike my first biopsy, performed in 2022, which found no evidence of prostate cancer, this biopsy showed Gleason score 6 prostate cancer in two of the twelve samples.  The Gleason score goes from 6 to 10 with 6 meaning low/very low risk of growth/spreading of the cancer.  The suggested treatment for this is watchful waiting.  I will likely get biopsies annually from now on and my PSA will be monitored.  If the Gleason score goes up, further treatment will likely be necessary.  That said, it could take years for the cancer to progress, so I consider this just another sign of aging.
• Spring is quickly approaching and some of the first signs are making an appearance.  This week several Robins, Redwing Blackbirds, and Mourning Doves made their first appearance in our backyard.
• Pre March madness madness has arrived at the Homer's Travel's household and the Wife will be spending some quality time in the She-Shed until all this basketball craziness is over.
• I went for a walk this week.  I kept it short since only a week had passed since my kidney stone procedure.  Due to some very mild discomfort (probably because of the temporary stent inserted during the kidney stone removal) I decided to hold off on walking until I get the stent removed later this week.  I still managed to walk 5.6 miles (9.0 km).
• I hope everyone has a happy and safe Saint Patrick's Day tomorrow.

Ornamental!

 

The big balls are in the oak tree once again.

We were supposed to get our first substantial snow overnight but we got nothing.  The sidewalks were lightly dusted with snow yesterday morning but that was it.  Where is the snow?

It's come a long way since the first time in 2008.

Weekly Ephemera #119

• I power washed the deck and spread winterizer on the lawn this week finishing the winter prep.  It was cold and windy when I washed the deck and I did a half-ass job on it, especially on the underside of the deck.
• An insurance field adjuster came this week and did a second inspection of the hail damage we got back in July.  He caught everything the first adjuster had missed and what we had asked for from the insurance company.  This is the same damage the desk adjuster, after looking at pictures, said she didn't see.  Not sure what was going on with the desk adjuster.  There was a heated discussion between the adjuster and my roofer.  Fortunately they smoothed it all out and shook hands at the end of the inspection.  The second field adjuster handed us a check covering the missed damage which made the Wife and I very happy.  The actual repairs will probably be done next spring once it starts warming up again.
• I deleted my Xitter account this week.  Since it seems I have to have at least three social network accounts at any one time I also opened a Bluesky account (@homerstravels.bsky.social).  I now have accounts on Discord, Mastodon, and Bluesky.  Most of the people I have been following on Mastodon also have Bluesky accounts.  While I don't really need Mastodon I'm probably going to keep it since I like to have a non-corporate run, multi server social network as a backup.
  
  I also switched from the free service IFTTT.com to the paid service dlvr.it to distribute my posts.  It is a little expensive ($99 per year) but it will post my blog posts to all three of my social media platforms and it does it in a nicer format than IFTTT could provide.
• I hiked two times this week.  We are in that rainy, windy, and cold period before the snow has arrived when walking is hard to do.  I was going to walk three times but an all day cold and windy rain kept me indoors for part of the week.  I walked a total of 25.3 miles (40.8 km) this week.  The second walk was over 15 miles (24 km) and was my longest walk since November 2022.  It nearly killed my legs.
  
  On that long walk my phone died.  The phone got stuck in some sort of loop.  By a strange coincidence I was only a couple blocks from my cell phone store and they were able to revive it. Phew!
• I spent some of the rainy days watching more episodes of "One Piece".  The Paul-Tyson fight resulted in us subscribing to Netflix a couple weeks earlier than I'd planned.  I will now start binging a few shows there this week.

Happy Autumn!!!

Today is the autumnal equinox ... the first day of fall.  Fall is my favorite season.  Daylight and nighttime are roughly equal.  A very balanced day.

I hope you all have a balanced day and a pumpkin spiced fall season!

Weekly Ephemera #52

• The MoH and BM visited this week.  We really didn't have anything planned to do with them but we filled the time with conversation that touched on family, AI, politics, religion, movies, TV, books, history, and, of course, travel.   We don't always see eye to eye on things but that just makes our talks more interesting.  We always have a good time when we visit.

• 

  That hole should not be there.

  The roofers came on Thursday to finish the work started a month or so ago.  Parts of the roof were torn off, baffles were installed, insulation was added in places it was missing, and attic ventilation was improved to prevent the condensation issues we have been fighting.
  
  Unfortunately, it was a windy day and a piece of plywood got away from the workers and it punched a hole in our living room ceiling. *sigh* A drywall/painting company came on Friday to see the damage and they should be here this coming week to do the repairs and paint the ceilings.
• Last week gave us a taste of summer with temperatures in the 80s (above 26℃).  I switched on the AC for a few days before rain and colder temperatures returned and the Heat was turned back on.   A typical midwest spring.
  
  The rain we got (around 2 inches  or 5 cm) was enough to get all the green things to pop.  The wife mowed the lawn for the first time this year.  I spread 'weed n feed' today.  Later this week I will turn on the sprinkler system though I may wait until the next week since we have more rain in the forecast. 
• The Wife and I watched "Everything, Everywhere, All At Once"  This was my second viewing (the first was the less than ideal viewing on an airplane) and it was much better the second time.  Mind bending and uplifting.
  
  I finished watching "Twin Peaks: The Return" often described as season three of Twin Peaks.  I think some of my brain cells melted. 
• Due to our guests and the work that was done I didn't go walking last week.  I hope to resume this week depending on when the painters plan to come in and do their stuff.

Happy Spring Equinox

                              

    Spring Has Sprung!   

                          

Go out there, weather permitting, and welcome the arrival of Spring.  I pre-celebrated by going for a walk.

Weekly Ephemera #45

• On Monday the roofers came in and swapped out our box/turtle vents with turbine vents.  This was done to increase the ventilation in our attic (to reduce condensation) and to prevent the sucking of snow into the attic.  The snow and condensation was staining our ceiling in several rooms.  The roofers also vented the bathroom fans to the outside as they should have been from the beginning.  The builder had just vented the bathrooms into the attic.
  
  While doing the work the roofers pointed out that the baffles that ensure proper airflow from the soffit vents into the attic were not installed correctly.  They will be back in April (when workers return after taking off the winter season) to evaluate/fix these air flow issues.  This will result in a bill between $2K and $4K depending on what they find when they tear off part of the roof.  *sigh*
• Geek Talk Warning:  For years I've been using GoDaddy as my domain registrar for Homers Travels.  This week I learned that GoDaddy had discovered a multi-year hack of their system.  While this only seems to affect websites hosted by GoDaddy and I only use their Domain Name registration, I decided to play it safe and moved my registration over to Google Domains instead.  I suspect you, the consumer of Homer's Travels, will not notice anything.  Carry on.
• Walking was a bit chaotic this week.  Due to several factors beyond my control I only managed two hikes this week - one short and one long.  I ended up walking 15 miles (24 km).  The longer hike, over 10 miles (16 km) felt very good so I think I can push longer miles.  I don't expect any interruptions to my walking schedule this coming week so it will be interesting how my body handles longer miles.
  
  

  

  A pair of signs that made me smile.

• Saw my first Robin last week.  This, and the more spring-like temperatures in the forecast, seem to be hinting at an early Spring.  Our snow is almost all gone (we didn't get anything more than a trace from the storm that came through Wednesday night).  We only have rain coming this week.  Yay.

Weekly Ephemera #9

"Looking Up"
by Tom Friedman
Hanafin Park (2015)

• This week gave us a taste of spring like temperatures and the return of seasonal visitors.
  
  I saw my first Robin this week, a sure sign of the approaching season.  It was followed by the vanguard of the blackbird hoard that storms through our backyard every Spring gluttonously emptying out the bird feeders.  I guess it's fair since they are birds and those are bird feeders.
• I managed to walk three times this week.  Two were around Omaha and Council Bluffs, the other was at Hitchcock Nature Center.  I met my weekly goal and hiked 24.3 miles (39.1 km).
  
  When I go to Hitchcock I carry a 25 pound (11.3 kg) pack.  To get that weight, and to insure the weight is distributed properly (high and close to the back), I use taped together concrete pavers resting on an empty bear canister and cushioned with old towels.  It rides in my car between hikes and I always wonder what people would think if they ever tried to steal the pack.  They would definitely be disappointed.
  
• We had a contractor come by to give us an estimate for painting the exterior of our house.  More information to come later I expect.
• Worked on our taxes.  Uploaded the numbers.  All I have to do is verify everything and file.  We appear to owe $75 (state and federal tax combined).  I prefer owing the government money than giving them an interest free loan, especially when it's such a small amount.
• At the end of the week I went to see the Oscar Nominated Animated Shorts.  I was originally going to see the Live Action Shorts as well but a morning hike and one movie kind of wore me out.  I may go see the Live Action Shorts next week.
  
  The Animated Shorts were an odd mix of G-rated kid oriented shows and R-rated stuff aimed at adults.  A warning was put up on the screen before the adult oriented shorts warning of violence, disturbing scenes, and sexual activity and paused to let people leave the theater (the first time I've seen this).  I think the theater has received complaints in the past from irate parents thinking they were taking their kids to see 'cartoons'.
  
  One of my favorites, "Boxballet", was a Russian submission.  I had mixed feelings about that but we need to separate the Russian artists and their corrupt government.  The strangest was the Chilean submission, "Bestia".

My Favorite Season Arrives Once Again

The fall equinox has arrived and Autumn has arrived once again.  Cool air.  Colorful leaves. Shortening days.  The Harvest moon (a few days early).  What's not to love.

A few days ago the sun gave us a preview of some of the colors coming soon.

The reds, oranges, and yellows of the approaching fall.

Happy Autumnal Equinox Everybody!!!

Autumn Equinox

We reach this autumnal equinox shrouded by the passing of the Notorious RBG and an election struggling under the weight of a manufactured crisis.

If only …

May we all survive the changing of the seasons during this unending, and exceedingly cruel, year.

Happy First Day Of Spring?

As I sit in the basement watching movies during the Covid-19 social distancing, I would like to wish everyone a happy first day of spring.

I have to say that I was a bit disappointed in winter.  We had very little snow and unusually warm temperatures - not the type of winter I like.  I like the crisp air and the purity of a freshly fallen snow.  This winter was just drab and dreary.

Now winter is ending with a pandemic that is trying its best to mess up our lives.  The social distancing isn't really changing my life.  Since I returned from the Appalachian Trail I have been a hard core homebody social distancing before it was cool ... or necessary.  The Wife, though, is having a tougher time as all this staying at home is not normal for her.  For her sanity I hope this subsides sooner than later.

I can't wait for this already unending year to be over.  Maybe spring will bring an improvement.

Swish - Crunch

I returned to Indian Cave SP yesterday and saw that the colors had faded to shades of brown.  This is the time of year when the visual delight of fall colors gives way to the auditory one of the swish - crunch, the sound made as my feet move through the carpet of fallen leaves covering the hiking trail.

A ladybug on my hairy arm.

I exited the trail on the way back to my car when I was surprised to see a thin cloud of swarming insect.  I sat on a bench to rest and was immediately joined by four or five ladybugs landing on me and my cell phone screen as I was taking pictures.  I don't think I have ever seen so many ladybugs at once - the closest was in 1996 on the ladybug trail in Sequoia NP though those were huddled on the ground warming themselves in the sun.  These were buzzing around me as I sat on the bench and as I walked the miles or so back to my car.  A few even joined me on the drive back to Omaha.

A ladybug on my pants leg.

The ladybugs were a nice ending to a rather tough 8+ mile (12.8+ km) hike.

First Snow !?!

The weather this fall has been weird.  Record high temperatures followed by record low temperatures.  I always look forward to the crisp fall days but this year we haven't had them yet.

A late fall flower wondering what this white stuff is falling from the sky.

Today we had our first snow of the season.  It was supposed to be a light dusting but it turned out to be a bit more substantial triggering a Winter Weather Advisory.

Our oak tree's leaves haven't changed color yet but they are covered in heavy snow.

It's a bit early for snow here.  I do remember a snowfall this early sometime in the last ten years but I don't remember which year.  Usually the first snow is in November or December.  Like the last time it snowed this early, it won't last long.  This week - a month late in my opinion - the crisp fall air will finally arrive bringing the temperatures back to normal and melting all the snow.

Visibility is a bit limited by the falling snow.

I wonder if this is a preview of the winter to come.

Happy First Day Of Autumn!!!

It is the fall equinox today and I went out to celebrate with a hike at Hitchcock Nature Center.  I've been going to Hitchcock once or twice a week for a while now to train myself for hill climbing.  I've been training with a 35 lb (15.8 kg) backpack to give myself a good workout.

We've had a hot August and the past few weeks have been tough hikes.  Between the heat, humidity, and clouds of starving mosquitoes, it's been a struggle to meet my distance goals.  Fortunately fall has arrived and with the changing of the seasons the temperatures have dropped nearly thirty degrees.  The lower temperatures and the blue skies made today's 6 mile (9.6 km) hike much more enjoyable.

Over the past few weeks I've seen the Monarch Butterfly migration come through.  Soon birds will start migrating through the area and the leaves will start changing.  I think I seen something different every time I visit Hitchcock.  I even saw some Iowan Hemp this hike - might explain why Iowans are so happy.

A little Iowan Hemp along the side of the trail.

I think Autumn may just be my favorite season.  I hope you all have a great first day of Autumn!!!

Sproing!

A sun lit Hyacinth.

I would like to wish everyone a

Happy

Spring

Equinox!

If you can, go out and enjoy the first day of spring.

First Sign Of The Coming Spring

Today was a beautiful day.  I would say it was a preview of the coming Spring.  Temperatures peaked at 68℉ (20℃) and it was nice to walk outside in my t-shirt and bare feet and not feel cold.

Another sure sign that spring is in the air: the first Robin in our backyard.

First Robin of 2018 in our backyard.

Winter isn't over yet and we have a few more weeks of mixed weather on the way but this little preview was a welcome change.

A Reversal

In the past rainy days have often given me the blues.  It's less the rain than the gloomy, cloudy lack of sunshine.  The past few days have been drizzly and rainy and I have found myself feeling comforted.  Hunkering down under a blanket, listening to the falling rain, has calmed my mind.  A total reversal of what normally happens.

"Hibiscus with raindrops"
by Bruce H.

I hope this reversal continues on into the winter when I often suffer the winter blues.

Hello Summer

Another season gone.  Another summer has arrived.  Fugit inreparabile tempus*.

Iago's favorite snack.

* It escapes, irretrievable time