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December 1, 2008
River turned
two-years-old on November 13, and we celebrated her birthday
on November 16. Crystal's mom and her brother's family were there,
and Sarah and Steve were there with the kids. River was delighted
with the presents and with her cousins. We got her a bunny
backpack.
On November 15 our quartet
performed in a Celtic show produced by a friend from chorus.
It featured 24 performers from the area—vocalist, instrumentalist, and
dancers. (Actually, one fiddler, Arthur Comegno, came up from the
Boston area.) I was backstage most of the time, so I didn't get to
take many pictures; here's what I got.
This was the first show that Robyn has produced, and she pulled it off
like a pro!
The Rand Brook got a thin
layer of ice on November 20. The next day I got
in the rowboat and put a recording
thermometer at the bottom of the beaver pond. By then the ice
was thicker, and I had to use an oar to break the ice ahead of me to get
through. The thermometer unit is a "HOBO" manufactured
by Onset.
I held the HOBO down with a weight
and kept track of its position with a float tied to the end of a
four-foot string (the depth of the pond where I put it in). A week
later (when the ice was melted) I pulled it up and got its temperature
record. For the first three days the water temperature hung
around 33° (while the air temperature was 20° at night and 32° in the
daytime), and for the last four days the water temperature hung around
35° (while the air temperature was 30° at night and 42° in the
daytime). I was hoping the water temperature would be at least
40°—warm enough to be a good geothermal heat source for a heat pump
to warm the house. The recommended depth of a pond for such a
purpose is at least six
feet, so I guess our beaver pond just isn't deep enough. Well,
back to the drawing board! I'd really like to go to a heat pump
because it gives the most BTUs
per dollar.
On November 22, seven
of us from the chorus met in Tim Hageman's garage to build the set
for our Christmas show. We built and
painted a fireplace, a chimney, and a snow machine. The snow
machine is a rotating drum with small mirrors on it to reflect many
spots of light on a curtain. As the drum turns, the spots
descend. As you can see from the picture, the machine isn't
completed yet, so we're not sure how well it will work. Watch the
next blog for a report.
We got the first
snowfall of the season on November 28—just a dusting that quickly
melted. Yesterday we got about an inch of snow before it
turned to rain.
On November 29 I replaced the last old window
in the house; all of the windows are double-pane now. Here's a series
of pictures showing the removal of the old window and installed new
window. Now it needs framing inside and out and staining.
We joined the Alusic
family for Thanksgiving. Great food, great families!
We're still enjoying the left-overs. Caryn-Amy and Jeff brought
their greyhound—a retired racing dog that they
"rescued." Here's a movie
of her running at a leisurely pace (I missed getting one of her going
flat-out).
I've been caring for the neighbors' farm
animals for the last four days—chickens,
two sheep, and a dog.
When I go into the barn to feed them in the morning, they greet me quite
vocally.
Feature: Handling
emergencies with grace.
Quotes: "Ice cream
is exquisite. What a pity it isn't illegal."
— Voltaire
"There's ice cream, and then there's Turkey Hill Mint Chocolate
Chip"—Dan Wolaver
The Philosopher's Cornered
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