Windy and Warm-ish.

Still feeling Festively Lucky& Green!

  Terrible wind!  These last few days.   But the Temps have warmed up ( until today... back down in the mid-40's)  You would think that a little wind should be easy to deal with when it comes to chalking.   Think again! 

Can you tell the bear is wearing a raincoat?

Well,   honestly,  I did manage to go out there and doodle a bit.   I guess that would qualify as "success" to some people.  ( Better than rain!)  But wind brings other challenges!   The wind blows you chalk away!   The wind blows your STUFF away.   The wind blows YOU away!  Yes.. all of those things. 

This makes most of the decision making based on how quickly and simply I can put something down before totally losing my mind.  No "16th Chapel" Mural... on days like this.  Nope!  Keep is simple,  get it done,  call it quits and hope for better conditions tomorrow. 

Koi on the Front steps.

It could happen.    Cheryl says it is supposed to get better later in the week. ( as usual... but rarely does it come true.) The cold of today made me stick closer to home.  After the rainy week last week, my previous doodle on the front step of our apartment had mostly washed off.  Time for a replacement.  

Do they look like they are in water?

I also wanted to test out my new chalk, my new charcoal, and some home-made charcoal I have been working on.  The neighbor kid was having a fire yesterday and I asked if I could toss in a pain bucket filled with small sticks.   With the lid firmly sealed, it is supposed to bake the wood until it turns into charcoal!  Who would have ever guessed?   Save money doing something so simple and make as much as you want.  

The problem was I did not cook/bake it long enough.   I told him an hour.   I go some promising results, but it obviously was not long enough.  I suppose you could quicken the process if you turned and rotated the bucket while in the fire.  But that is a lot to ask a stranger who is already being gracious enough to not ask me why I'm doing something so odd.  (It's not a Bomb!) 

So, when he has another fire, I'll ask for a second go round.    The charcoal that DID turn out was pretty useful. If I could get an entire bucket like that,  I could actually DO the 16th Chapel!  ( Just kidding.... I'm not that ambitious. )  

IN the mean time.   The dynamic Duo continue to harass me as I type this post. Hiro gives me Evil Glares while Rocket has to sleep on my keyboard.  Oh!  The Joy of having cats.  

Hope everyone is having a great week so far and Thanks for stopping in.

A Drizzly Week In Review.

 It has rained everyday this week.   Sometimes just a little, but just enough o keep me from doing chalky things in the park. Sometimes there was wind and cold to accompany the rain, but mostly, it was just overcast and threatening.  

Luckily, we were able to run in the morning before any downpour occurred.   We ran in Muscatine twice..  including today.   Both days it was windy and overcast.   But today,  it looked like the sun was attempting to shine through. 

It was short lived.  Currently,  the clouds are gray and heavy.   Even now, a ray of sunlight taunts me into thinking I could go to the park and quickly outline a small character.   But I will not be fooled!  I know the moment I get out there, I will feel the drizzle on my head...  Mostly from the clouds!

Cheryl capped off the week with a 10 mile run.   She feels good doing longer runs on the weekend. ( I think... I don't really know.   She rarely "complains.") The temps tipped into the 60's before we finished and I got a little too warm while on the bike.   It might be time to retire the winter gear I have been wearing.  In fact, I possibly could have gotten away with wearing shorts this morning. Possibly...

But we finished it without incident and Cheryl had used her mind powers to help push her through.  Mostly she thinks about eating at Tee's as a reward.  I know that sometimes thinking of food helps me power through tough times.   And if you were to look at me, you would think I have a pretty rough life... ( Because I'm "chubbs".) But isn't that was exercising is all about?

As for me,  I have been playing around with Origami and making more chalk colors.   I have to stop myself on both subjects, as I quickly pile things up beyond reasonable limits.  If I do not use up the chalk soon, it will become dead weight that Cheryl will throw out...  And the same goes for Origami.   

Speaking of Origami!   There is an Event online where I get to fold with the "masters" in a virtual Origami USA "Foldfest".  If you know nothing of Origami, these names will mean little to you.  But for anyone who has ever purchased a book or folded something online,   These people are "gods!"  ( Lower case "g"...  )   Names like Robert Lang, Sipho Mabona, Satoshi Kamiya, Jun Maekawa, and Hoang Tien Quyet are some of my idols.   I have not made up my mind if I will be registering just yet.  (40$) but Hoang has a model I am drooling over and would love to see how he gets those folds and curves to work out so perfectly.

Sipho and Hoang both wet-fold a lot of their models.  We shall see how things go. 

Next week is  more cold and wind, but should be dry.   We shall see if I can get any sidewalk color to happen.   Fingers crossed.  

Two days of Rain.

Well,  the rain has finally come.   I have been anxiously waiting for it to "pass" so I can get out there and begin "chalking" again.  Tomorrow,  the temps are supposed to get back to normal  ( 30-50's) and the rain is taking a break... Hopefully. ( you never know in Iowa.) 

In the mean time,  I sorted my chalk;  made more chalk; and folded a turtle out of old Christmas wrapping paper.  ( I still have to put the "Art" in it....  some shaping and stuff...) The chalk was becoming a problem. 

I could barely carry my tote to the park without the strap cutting into my shoulder.  I know that "Hording" run in my family, but I have been able to avoid the mostly disastrous effects that my parents had put us through as we grew up.  Also, it helps living in a 600 sq. ft. apartment in the middle of Wellman, Iowa.   There simply is not enough room for everything you gather in life.
 So I set out a box and chose my favorite colors.  The Tote is considerably lighter now.   The only problem now is running out of a certain color. ( something I detest!)  But...  Sometimes less is more and you make decisions accordingly. 

The rain continues as I write this and we DID run out in it this morning.  Thankfully, we only go a little wet, and the downpour stared after we had finished.   And the temps were in the 50's, so the rain was not as cold.  Still, no one likes running in the rain for very long.  

Hope everyone is staying dry and warm today.  Tomorrow is Muscatine, and that is always a welcome adventure.   I can't wait for the rain to trigger the mushrooms.   I will have to hunt harder for those dang Morels this year.   I hate admitting it, but they are considerably more tasty than most of the summer mushrooms.   ( Don't tell the other mushrooms I said that... I love them all!  Equally!)   Thanks for stopping in.

A Windy Weekend Update.

It has been very windy this weekend.   But we headed out to Muscatine as is our tradition.    Cheryl ran 10 miles!   With her "Lucky Shoes." It was a beautifully sunny day with lots of people out and about.   We ran down along the Weeds Park... the one with all the geese and fish.   Well, it looks like their pond fared about as well as the ones near Iowa City.   The Winter Kill ice took it's toll on the shallow fishing pond.  There were some VERY large carp that did not make it.   Along with many other species.   Bass, Bluegills, Crappie.   Kind of sad, really. I wonder if they will be forced to restock the pond, as many of the local kids ( ages under 12) like to fish there. 

The BIG news was that Tees has finally opened their lobby for indoor seating.  Cheryl and I celebrated the 10 mile run with some burgers, fries, and Ice Cream!   There are fewer tables inside now... because of the social distancing craze.   But they had added several tables  outside!  With Umbrellas!  No longer do you have to endure a blazing sun if you are forced to eat outside.

There was still time and sunlight outside when we got home, so I went to add some chalk to the park.  The wind was a bit of an annoyance, as it blew all of my chalk dust around and away. Cheryl says it looks "clean" but I think it loses a lot of the detail when the wind blow ALL of the chalk away. 

I also brightened up our own doorstep with a couple of dogs in a basket.   Fun and colorful!    Just the thing that is needed for Springtime.   There is Rain forcasted for the future, so I have been trying to limit the complexity of my drawings. 

I'll keep this one short, as my head has been pounding lately.   I wasn't going to even blog today, but the drive to feed the blog overrides the pain of a head ache... sometimes.  

Hope everyone is having a wonderful sunny weekend so far and thanks for stopping in.

Mother Nature Can Be A Deadly Custodian.

Check out her braids as the wind blow them.

The last couple of days have been miserable outside.   Cold, rain, and wind have all been on the list of hardships that have dampened  (Pun intended) our outside running time.   We barely missed the rain yesterday.   And today, the wind was really gusty and strong.   At one point, it felt like we were biking/running uphill the entire way!   

Whitecaps on the lake.

The good part was on the way back, I had the wind to my back and barely had to pedal.   Riding a bike does have its advantages...    Cheryl had to run the entire way, but did appreciate the lack of wind in her face on the way back .

Winter kill in the ponds.

Speaking of harsh weather conditions:  The harsh winter has taken its toll on more than Cheryl and Ethan's outdoor time...  It has managed to kill all of the fish in the small ponds around the river.  Let it be known, to all those tree huggers and environmentalists that the Mother Earth is always trying to kill you!  https://iowaenvironmentalfocus.org/2011/03/29/dnr-winter-fish-kills-in-iowa-linked-to-mother-nature-not-people/ 

More winter kill!

I know this, after 3 years in the Army AND  3 years studying biology and fish and wildlife.   Nature is trying to kill you!  From parasites to dreaded diseases,  from cold winters to sultry summers,   floods, droughts, tornadoes, forest fires, earth quakes, great white sharks and yes...  even locusts!  Living on his planet is a struggle...  ( So stop killing each other, people!)

fairly large fish.

The number of fish floating in the ponds tipped me off right away.   They look like Gizzard shad, Mooneye, or Sheephead.  I'm sure there are a few carp in there as well.   Now, I'm sure that the water they were living in was not of the highest quality.   It looks like a number of storm sewer drains empty into the ponds.   There is also plenty of "junk" floating around the shore as well.  But even a hearty fish like a carp or shad can not tolerate water that had no oxygen in it.  And these ponds were covered in ice for far longer than the river.   In fact,  the Gravel Pit lake we run around  was covered in Ice right up until last week!   The firemen were still doing "Cold Weather Survival and Recovery Drills" out there.  Meaning:  the Ice was thick enough to support their weight!  

This means that the guys who frequently fish in those ponds are going to have a disappointing summer this year.  Those ponds produce fairly large bass and catfish, from what I have witnessed. Maybe a few of the fish survived.   It is possible that some fish have a lower O2 tolerance. ( Rainbow Trout are WIMPS when the O2 drops below 32 PPM. I think...   It has been a long time since I took O2 readings for the trout ponds...) 

CP for Turtle.

Finished Model.

Back home,  I have been working on some Origami.   I have plenty of Chalk ready and rearing to go once the weather breaks. ( Currently, the sunshine outside is taunting me, but the wind tells me it is all a ruse.)  Origami can be calming, but sometimes it can simply ruin my day!   Especially when I forget a pattern I once had memorized!  ( Lesson to learn here:  Never rely on your memory for an origami Pattern...  Always keep the hard copy available... if it exists.) I have been searching my library and the internet for the "Turtle from a Rectangle" that I made a Stop motion video from last year.   Even after watching the video... OVER AND OVER again, I still have not figured out how to complete the model.  

After two days of frustration, I decided I need a win.  I folded a small "turtle hatching"  from a Crease Pattern.  I hate most of the turtle models out there.  They are "too simple" and leave a lot to your imagination.  Ultimately, I would like to complete one with a pattern of scales grafted onto the shell.  You know...Like a normal turtle has.   Until then,  I finished folding the CP having never seen the finished turtle. Sometimes Crease Patterns can also be frustrating.. and Overly Complicated!  But there is a satisfaction when you are able to get them to turn out.  Now all I need is better paper. 

 

 

Happy Thursday!  The weekend is almost here!  And thanks for stopping in.