A final post 2330L but Pacific time (see the bottom)

Happy New year!

Moving beyond 2017 to 2018. Day to day, week to week, and month to month.

Three hundred sixty five to fifty two to twelve.

365
52
12

Transition - private lot to near by neighbors.

We now share a wall with one neighbor and an association road with a dozen others. Before, for the first fifteen years two neighbors were over one football field away. Then for the next ten years four houses were intruding visually but still out of listening range.

Now we also are two miles closer to two busy thoroughfares into the city.  Mail is still a one quarter mile round-trip walk (or bicycle ride). Setting out the trash is now a two car length lug on a flat surface. Before was a 377 foot uphill trudge on a gravel or snow packed drive.

And best of all a monthly fee results in a plowed and shoveled entry walk and garage pad.

Life is good.

One half way across the country.

In thirteen months we flew to either Nebraska or Minnesota three times and drove once.  From the East coast to middle America about every one hundred days on average.  Why?  To see Rose and her parents.  THE  END.

Walking in a quiet neighborhood!

Summer and fall walking is on sidewalks. Now after snow and then freezing rain the sidewalk is gone. Two brief warm spells may melt and clear most of my paths.

Heavy lifting

Church work often involves set up and take down. Today concludes four weeks of work!

Pick up and stack 80 chairs then unstack and set up two hundred others!

Public space clean up!

Typical careless trash is mixed with natural vegetation.

Specifically, leaves and cigarettes.

Lazy, lazy, lazy.   Makes one curious if they trash the floor at home. We know lungs are trashed.

I mailed a newsletter - sibling prayer

Seven envelopes are in the mail! Walking and suppression of voices in my head are the topics. As I bring up seven names in prayer, I am able to get my thoughts straight.

Prayer for any small group would also quiet the mind. I must know and use the name of each in my prayers.

R/A/J/C/J/P/K

dlj 11/25/17

Breakfast weekly on Sunday

Breakfast also about monthly with friends.   Today was one of the monthly meals out.  Coughing fit by me was not needed and avoidable.

Either eat or talk, pick one. dlj  11/17/2017

Dormant house flies!

The storage shed at camp was full. Now five years later two kayaks fit with room to spare. Yesterday we removed an oversized file cabinet. The issue was fifty visible dormant flies. With the cabinet in the warm van the flies were no longer dormant.  Driver side passenger side we would swat or open a window to rid the interior of unwelcome pests.

Vote. We did today.

A shady guy and his sister (from away) bought a bunch of petition solicitors to get an item on the ballot.

With the election ethics committee he also was assessed a $400,000 fine. Tonight we see a measurement of the Maine voters intelligence.

NOW NOVEMBER

Cold air invades and retreats time after time.  A chill over the land reaches further and further south. Winter starts in December and continues into early April.  We accept the rotation of the earth around the sun.  As the North Pole points away from the sun heat flies from the land into space.

An October (prepare for winter) storm

Cold air gushing in from Michigan to Kentucky. A typical winter pattern is late but here now and strong!

I predict five to seven similar storms before middle March 2018.

Other winter snow makers include middle level trofs from the NNE, surface low pressure from Mississippi or Georgia, and secondary surface storms that develop ahead of broad Ohio Kentucky energy fields.

Basement construction.

By code new construction requires ceiling insulation. We now have suspended ceiling concealing the exposed insulation.  Also I now have a small heated and insulated office.  Last winter I saw the basement temperature fall to a steady 53F.  A more finished look and warmth. Sounds good to me.

After the construction professionals completed their portion, I applied three coats of primer and put down a subfloor.  Now I have a layer of dead air as insulation underfoot.

The Results

Five years ago something was found and removed. Yesterday nothing was found. Gatorade in quantity has diminished appeal after this five year diagnostic.

Scenarios play out in my head often. I should set up a number of positive scenarios and using ACTS rest in prayer. A for adoration. T for thanksgiving.

Finished! I have a heated office.

The lights and circuits are in. 

Last winter temperature fell to 53F down stairs. This year the heat and insulated walls in a small room should keep me warm.

October summer.

September in the Western mountains of Maine was warmer than July and August.  An additional perk was typical insect minimum. A rare occurrence but welcome!

My wife and recent hot weather.

She has been at camp for nearly four weeks.

This late September calendar week has been better weather wise than any summer week for the last five summers.

Here in the mountains west winds give cloud or showers constantly.  Any summer humidity results in showers or storms with lightning or worse.  Then the clouds hang around too often as overcast dreariness.  Not so this last seven days. A storm off the coast continued to bring in that dreaded cooler CANADIAN air.

Except in this case the upper air (thus also the surface) was mild.

 AMEN AND AMEN   (brought to you by Psalms 41 and 89)

Rare but welcome mild air!

One of the mandatory upper level maps is the 850 mb.

Approximately 5000 feet above sea level the temperature seldom is 15C. We have had an exception for the last few days.  Here at camp mild air through a deep layer means pleasent afternoon temperature.

A string of days with clear sky.

When weather systems go stationary the sky may stay clear for days.

Open and close ( the camp)

Connect the water system, uncover a window, put in the dock. Then quickly do all of the above in reverse.

The task I am proud of is lifting the back of the woodshed six inches. A knowledgeable neighbor predicted collapse if nothing was done. Something was done over many days. In addition I reset large concrete pads.

The dock is now in two sections. Remaining is the effort to secure the grounded sections to the shore. Fall and winter water level is lowered.  We must balance winter low water with high spring water. Otherwise the river may carry the dock away!

Oldest granddaughter away from home.

Her first year she was at home. Tonight is her first day (night) on her own.  Exciting in the long run. Grand parents smile at this growing event.

After totality

Omaha gate for return to the East coast. Two days ago the light switch clicked off in Alliance, Nebraska. AWESOME.

At Gate A21 Boston Logan

Off to Nebraska and later Rapid City.

Summer travel eliminates ice and snow considerations. Today this leg appears free of thunderstorms.

Edited and added on 8/19/2017, in Alliance, Nebraska. In the shadow preparation.

Drive to camp; drive back to #20

Today I drove back to Westbrook. Cool and moist at camp, dry and warmer here near the coast. All this changes beyond middle September when cool quickly becomes cold at 1500 feet elevation.

Arrive and depart.

Last night I arrived in a torrent of rain. Kathy's drive an hour earlier also featured rain in the middle portions. Today we worship at the Oquossoc Log church.

Blunt force or slice through the water.

Two granddaughters used determination to paddle an unstable mini dock. The distance they traveled was impressive!

Science lesson learned. Paddling a blunt object is fun and slow.

Walk home

After the boat ride I walked four of the six miles home

Before and after! Now (after) we are on a city bus line.

I now walk  1/8 of a mile, prove that I am old and have an entertaining ride into the city.

All I need is to get a cigarette and have it ready after the eight minutes. My eight minute nicotine fit will entertain other riders.

Back to the bus ride. With no traffic concerns and no parking issue I can be sitting in Marcy's Diner in twenty minutes. Today I also got onto my boat and was further treated to an enjoyable and polite human circus. An early summer mass journey to a city island was a joint destination for a few hundred humans.

Full disclosure, it was only an out and back destination for me and for a German lady and her son.  On the return ride we had the pick of four viewing perches!

Write and reflect (edit)

Too often (meaning almost always) I write on the fly.

That means what you read should have been could have been clearer.

Today I will tell of the baby moose and Kathy. We saw the moose on the other shore. Kathy went out with her phone (camera). Soon the baby had come to the shore near her, did a small circle and walked towards her. Her photos tell the complete story.

Air conditioning?

Middle of July and the wood stove is feeling good! Temperature at camp is most often cooler than near the coast of Maine. Why?

Camp is at 1500 feet elevation (ASL)  above sea level. The temperature falls a few degrees for each one thousand feet gain in elevation.

Very quiet also with loon and herron beating swish swish. The beating wings the only sound.  We do need to go a mile up the river for that solitude.

Plan - the state, road and time.

August 21, 2017. I found my spreadsheet dated in 2011. I was computing the number of days to the total eclipse. Right now about forty days.

I looked forward to the year 1984 (book by that title) and 2017.

We have plans.

Paperwork

Paperwork? Where is it? It is in the folder. We always put it in the folder.  We each recall holding this document or that document, but now it's gone.  Spend the money or the time and get it replaced! This time we say we will squirrel it away in only one spot.

Back at camp

I put out the trash, checked mail, and got a haircut. Now we hope for warm and dry conditions to allow outside work. Also mosquitos will slowly decrease. My two night travel to Unit 20 was Wednesday and Thursday.

A Price to Pay

Just now I returned from a walk four minutes up the access road. An ash tree had tipped over obstructing the road. While sawing mosquitos ate. On the walk back dragging the newly cut branches, mosquitos swarmed. Once five were on the top of my left hand. My other hand was not available to swat.

The blow down is cut and removed, mosquitos are fed and I am hiding inside.

A thunderstorm tonight.

The first line of thunderstorms missed us. The second line did not.

Landscape workers seeded grass in our back common area. I will have a small crop to watch!

Bible translations

In 1611 the King James Bible gave English speaking people a standard text.

This with an 1881 to 1888 revision continued for many years.

Later The New International Version gave a fresh look using current documents.

This time when hot we are here!

The Portland area temperature has been above 90F. We were not in the area.
Today we are here! Amen and Amen!

A sister has a birthday

She often sings Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you.

She does this on the phone. I say the same where the world can see.

Home at 1AM on Saturday

Our route from a NW suburb of Washington to Maine as follows.

A Memorial Day Friday meant massive traffic into New Hampshire and Maine. Therefore we knew we would use the typical west to east Route 9 across the bottom of Vermont and NH. We did that quiet route on a damp late Friday evening.

Rain, rain!

Days in Nebraska with only rain. As we arrived in the Midwest rain moved in and in Maine extreme May heat arrived!

How to get warm in Maine?

There is only one way. Leave!

Cold continues forever so go to the Midwest to get warm.

May 6, 2017

Last May we were away most of the month while two contracts were active.  This tour we have none of that.  Goal is to collect additional states under the new rules.  If we eat one meal and stay one night we are allowed to collect the state.  Since August 2015 we have collected 16 of 50 states.

MAY - May warmer?

We all know as follows: do not plant tomatoes until late May. In Maine all who plant in mid May either have been burned or the cold soil resulted in stunted growth. So do as follows, just wait!

A Friday drive.

Camp. Opening camp before summer.

Yesterday we took items to and returned items from camp.

Each winter camp is empty and alone. My non standard task yesterday was to lower the grade where the pump and expansion tank sits. As I connect the water I must crawl under a porch. With passing years the ground level moved up so the expansion tank needs more head room.  I hit frost at three inches so  I still need warmer temperatures to get the frost out of the ground.  Further digging must wait for another three to four weeks.
Check back then.

We walked; I walked!

On a clear day we circled Back Cove for a four mile stroll Sunday. Today I took the bus part way into town and walked four miles home.

Always just one

What is your list of just one?

We get one first day to take our first steps, for our first bicycle ride, and for other one only events.

Sunday middle 80s

After a very warm spring Sunday we have had mostly fifties.

Tuesday mild

A day in the seventies!

Brief but soothing mild air.

Tuesday temperatures were in the middle seventies here.  My three mile walk was a balm from winter brisk conditions.

Snow, rain and rain!

A week ago we received three quarters inch of liquid as eleven inches of snow. Following on Tuesday and Thursday was an additional two and one half inches of rain.

Snowbanks are smaller but still obstruct some of my walking paths. Will we actually see higher sixties on Tuesday?

Eight miles south 14 inch April snow

We had over ten inches of snow on April first.

Minneapolis 66F  while Maine had snow from 8PM Friday to 4PM Saturday.   An all day wet snow with substantial amounts in banks and car tops.

The good news I no longer need to move this heavy snow.
AMEN and AMEN

Snow now

Plowable snow since last night! Two more snow or rain events forecast in the next week.

April is near!

The March 14 storm gave us 16.4 inches of snow!

April snow is common. With that, I will pause. We will see the outcome.

An open mind?

Do scientists​ allow others to present their evidence?

Climate is the summation of a period of record divided by days in the record. Ten to eighteen thousand years ago Maine was very cold.

Arizona and Iraq do just fine in the winter. Not too many summer in Barrow, Alaska.

Will your great grand children summer in Barrow, Alaska?

City right of way - snow covered.

My route to a back door neighborhood is on the wide paved right of way.  However, after sixteen inches of snow this portion was near knee deep in snow.  Yesterday mild air had allowed settling, however the snow still was not open down to black top allowing rapid melting.  I therefore took shovel in hand and shoveled for an hour.  This morning I was again able to walk the length of the paved surface.  Today's task is to widen my shovel width attempt to move water off the pavement.

Down size activity

Here is a bit of before and after information.  Before with a long driveway and a large dooryard snow removal was time consuming.  I claimed one hour work for each inch of snow.  Now each snow means fifteen minutes of minor sweeping.  Ice melt is spread on the apron in front of the garage.  This apron is black top.  The garage is concrete so ice melt can pit the concrete.  Now with plenty of time I sweep often moving ice melt off and out of the garage.

As a public service I have selected fire hydrants to clear after large snows.  Likely, I will monitor four hydrants and keep up with two of the four.  Bring on spring.

We had a harsh wind!

Last weekend the cold and wind were extreme.

The forecast is the same for this weekend.
Rain, light rain is falling now. 

Back to winter.

Looking warm to cold
May 62
April 51
March 43.

Warmth is slow to arrive in Maine.

A higher and higher sun gives warmth

The Earth's north pole tilt away from the sun happens near December 20.

By March 20 the tilt favors neither pole. Warming continues and we all enjoy!

A movie on Tuesday and theatre last evening

On the spur of the moment we went to a well done play.

Less than fifty people in the building including crew and cast.

In the round we were never further than twenty five feet and often about eight feet from an actor!

Plus it was funny and just right silly funny!

Mild in Maine; all time warmth in Minnesota

Our temperature was in the 50s yesterday.

Nebraska and MN were much warmer a day or two earlier.

Shovel, ski , shovel!

Thursday I shoveled out three fire hydrants. Friday we resumed skiing after missing last year. No falls.  Today we shoveled the camp roof after wading through knee deep powder. We are tired.

SNOW SNOW (X 4)

Snow on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, right now and tomorrow.

Total in six days may be three feet!

Snow and I assume rapid warming!

Todays weather has been snow.  The forecast had been for mixed snow with rain this evening.  The temperature remains 18F deep into the afternoon.  I will follow the temperature change over the next six hours.

Everyone has a day. Groundhogs, yes even groundhogs.

So in Bible study the question for the day was why this shadow day?

Everyone was near or over 70 so no one reached for their smart phone to Google the answer.  In morning TV I had heard it was a long standing day,  long before TV and a bit before radio ( my words).

So what say you?

We have a warmer winter!

So easy to forget.  What is cold and what is warm.  This winter is clearly gentle recently.  We have had snow and sleet but the bother is (seems to be) small.

The two flat porch roofs did have more than eighteen inches.  Layers of ice, crust and snow.

Tire pressure monitor is lite.

Two low tire pressure warnings and the mechanic will find a nail.

Walking fast three

and thirteen.  Thirty six hours thirty six days!

About three fasts per month.

One success and one puzzle.

Our walk in closet has a ceiling light switch in the expected location immediately inside the door. However the constant turn on and turn off the light reach was awkward.

Because our son has a ceiling light in the kitchen  controlled by a motion sensor switch I started thinking.  (Always a bad sign).  I installed the same in the closet. So pleased my bride suggested the same for the laundry room.  However yesterday I installed one it failed and a second with the same result. 

Still winter

Below zero yesterday near 50F today!

It is January (it is cold)

Typical cold because winter is here!

The Great American eclipse

August 21, 2017.

A specific event not controlled by global warming.

dlj,  1/2/17.