Poltrack Blog

I know that I carried a few folks in high school. I was pretty good at figuring out the English homework.

Even though it is fake photo, this fashion statement won with 13 votes 8 votes for the bucket look, but UV protection too! This was my favorite, but it only received 5 votes Thanks to all for participating and Happy Groundhogs day

                    Unfortunately the damage caused by the ice storm has not abated since December 12th. My neighbor's stately oak was split quite badly by the storm and met it's end today. This tree has been here for as long as I remember and because it was growing by itself instead of competing with other trees, it grew into a spreading form. It is a little difficult to estimate it's age because the outer rings are faint, but we are guessing about 70 years. So many years to grow and so few moments to fall.

We had a moment of false hope on day 9 when the utility truck arrived on our road and started working on our pole. I was certain that this was going to be the day for the restoration. Apparently when the trees came crashing across the lines, the insulators on many of the transformers were torn off. Alas our poor transformer suffered this fate and the crew removed it and drove off. This was a dark day for Ginny and I, knowing that current was running along our street and illuminating our neighbor's Christmas trees. Day 10 brought some unwelcome heavy snow which hampered the work crews progress. The temperature plummeted and we decided to move our sleeping quarters to the first floor. In the coldest days the basement was a comfortable 69 degrees (wood stove), the living room was 57 degrees (the floor was 63 degrees) and the second floor was 52 degrees (acceptable with a down comforter). Day 11 was bright but very cold and when the crew arrived with our new transformer, it was just ge...

All our neighbors had power as of 6:30PM on Wed... but not us.. apparently there are five "issues" on the line and they are working on it. So we are shoveling snow and showering at mom's. Also sweeping water in her basement (underground stream that sump pump didn't get with power off) and doing laundry. Ah.. 6 days into this is getting old. Ice can be hazardous! The welded lawn sculpture that Jesse made "the gardener" was speared from behind by a branch through the shoulder and out the front of his chest! Yikes.

We’re in a serious weather event – ice storm w. major power outages, but we have no idea about what is going on since we don’t have communications access. I took Mom around for my Saturday errands. Fortunately they did have power where I was scheduled for my haircut…nice to get a shampoo. And then I went to the gym for a shower. When we got back to town we went to the elementary school to check out the first run of our “emergency shelter” situation. Since they needed a midnight to 6AM shift “supervisor” we volunteered. [Mom felt she wanted an “adventure” Actually Mom is the one who could stay up all night reading her Jodi Picoult book.. I slept. Weird to sleep in the gym where I taught 22 years ago! ] In town, we do have two couples who have been trained in CERT Community Emergency Response Training – a national program for community members to be prepared in event of emergencies. They have been putting in 12+ hours a day shifts. Picture of Mom w. walkie talkie (is it still called tha...

I saw a greenish-yellow bird feasting on Autumn Olive fruits this weekend. I was unable to identify it using Peterson's bird book. It was quite fearless but I was unable to get a close up shot. The color balance is close but not perfect and the predominant feature was this bird's color. If you have an idea what this could be please leave a comment. The Peterson's guide does not have enough color plates and I am stumped!