Opossum Skeleton

Over the years I have found lots of carcasses of dead animals in my yard. Mostly they have been rats, mice, birds, squirrels, cats, and even some dogs. But last week I discovered this skeleton of an opossum. I have seen opossums running around in the middle of the night, and I've seen dead ones lying in the road, so I knew they were here, but it still surprised me to see this one. It was laying in the middle of the path worn into my lawn by regular patrols of raccoons. I suspect the raccoons dragged it here, and maybe they even ate most of it.

One Knitted Dress for a Demanding Client

I finished knitting this dress and delivered it last night. It took only 29 days. It had to be done quickly because she is growing so fast.

Ice Storm: Jan 19,2012

Here are a couple of sample shots of the ice on our car and in the Maple tree. The freezing rain is sticking to everything out there, including the side of the house.

Raccoon Tracks in Snow

The baby raccoons have grown up and now we have five adult raccoons patrolling our driveway. I think this became their route because we used to leave cat food out on the porch for Pompi. When the cat food disappeared, I always assumed it was Pompi who ate it, so I kept putting it out each night. One night when it snowed and I saw the only tracks around the cat food were raccoon tracks, I quit putting out the cat food. But the raccoons continue to use the route past our porch.

Christmas Tree Ornaments

Here are some of the Christmas ornaments I made last December using yarn left over from previous projects. The first photo shows four hats that fit perfectly on my fingers.

The next photo shows the hat and sweater sets I made. Each sweater was a miniature of the original sweater made from that yarn. We put fuzzy pipe cleaners inside the sweaters so they would hang on the tree.

November Glass Bead Class

Last November I took a class to learn how to make functional beads rather than merely decorative jewelry types of beads. First I will show you some that I made. They make nice handles for things like letter openers, canope knives, light switch pull strings, and maybe even pendants. The red one is Monya's favorite but I like the transparent blue beads. The white beads were just markers to identify my beads compared to other student's.

The next three photos show what an expert (not me) can make. There is a hollow teapot, a plain hollow bead, and a snowman. All of these are still on the stainless steel mandrel, with a coating of white release agent. We use a pair of pliers to hold the mandrel while we twist the bead loose. Since these good beads were not mine, I was not at liberty to remove them from the mandrels.

Froe Mallet

My new froe arrived the other day and I was excited to use it right away. Unfortunately, it requires a mallet which I needed to make. So I picked out the smallest log from my stash and began cutting it in half with my crosscut carpenter's saw. In the first photo you can see my new froe in the foreground, and the log being cut into its partner mallet.

In the past I have always had a difficult time cutting a log such as this without the saw kerf meandering. By the time I finish the cut, the kerf being cut does not line up with the kerf at the beginning. But now, thanks to my hero Roy Underhill, I know how to do this: "Rotate the work frequently, and keep one's mind clear of impure thoughts." It worked very well, as can be seen in the second photo.

The next step was to cut a handle out of one end of the stump of log. I followed the same process of keeping "one's mind clear of impure thoughts" and sawed partially through the log, splitting off the excess wood with a chisel.

When it came time to clean up the new handle with a drawknife, I discovered that my shaving horse was woefully inadequate. The jaws of the shaving horse were not large enough to accomodate a full sized log. So I tied the log to the shaving horse and braced it against my knees with a piece of scrap wood.

Here's what the handle looked like when I quit working on it. I could clean it up a little with a spokeshave, but it's just a froe mallet.

I'd like to show the froe and mallet in action, but that takes two hands, leaving nothing for holding a camera. I used it to split the other half of the log I used for the mallet. It will be a nice piece for making a hammer handle, and I have enough left over for making several more handles, or spinning tops. Now I have lots of indoor projects that will keep me through the rainy winter.

Launch of The Merry Yarn

Today we launched our new row boat, The Merry Yarn.

The whole crew (except for the photographer) posed for a photo opportunity.

Monya tried it out first.

Then Bopop took the mermaids for a ride.

We even have a video of the ceremony. Notice how much at ease the two girls are. When I told them to "hold on" because I was about to hop into the boat, they tucked down low to the bottom of the boat, making it much more stable.

Launch of The Merry Yarn from Jim Zimmerman on Vimeo.

Clean Garage

Once every fifteen years or so I clean out my garage. Somewhere I have a photo of our 1981 Toyota Starlet inside the garage but I was unable to locate it. It's probably a printed photo, not digital, so I wouldn't be able to post it anyway, and within one week the garage was so full of junk that the car didn't fit any more.

When I started, there was only enough room for two bicycles to roll in and out. This occasion for cleaning the garage is to make space for Monya's new 14' rowboat on a trailer. I still have five boats hanging from the ceiling, so maybe I should call this a boat house rather than a garage. It's certainly not a woodworking shop.

October Flowers

Monya planted these flowers at the same time as the tomato seeds. The summer was unusually cool, so the tomatoes didn't ripen before the cold Fall weather returned, so she pulled out all the tomato plants and left these flowers to finish maturing. Now it is mid October and the poor things are just getting going.

The Fireplace Channel

The other day I noticed we had the television tuned to "the fireplace channel" and decided it was worth a photo.

Bicycle Repaired

Yesterday the guys at GHY Bikes called to tell me that my bike was ready to pick up. Those guys are really good! I'm just barely able to ride a bike again while those rarely replaced parts have been ordered, shipped and installed.

Broken Parts
front fender
hydraulic brake line
hydraulic brake fluid
rear view mirror mount
right shift housing

Worn Parts
brake pads (front and rear)
chain
cassette
Schwalbe Marathon Plus tire

So in order to save a little walking time, I decided to ride the XtraCycle over to the shop, then walk both bikes back. But Jesse pointed out that I could put the front wheel of the Norco into the carrier of the XtraCycle and it will pull like a trailer. It worked so well that I could have gone much farther and faster without any problems.

Grape Harvest 2011

The weather this summer was very cool. In fact, the summer weather didn't even start until nearly July, and during the month of August the high temperatures never reached the average. So our grape crop was very late in ripening.

Last year the crop wasn't ripe so I left it on the vine until the Fall rain started. Three days later all of the grapes had fallen off the vine and we lost all of them.

Two years ago we had a great harvest (Grape Harvest 2009). So when the rain started this weekend (Oct 1) I immediately checked on the grapes. They were not ripe but they were swelling, getting soft, and falling off the vine.

In desperation I gathered up what was left: about six gallons of grapes. Some of them were the ripe purple color, but most of them still had that reddish glow. A few were still green but full sized. I picked all of them.

I picked the grapes off the clusters and put them into a crusher sieve. Since there were so many reddish grapes I wondered whether the juice would be too bitter to drink, so I tasted the first batch. It was wonderful! A bit on the sour side, but very nice.

I finished off by including even the green grapes and finished with about 4 quarts of juice. Next year I'd like to try using a centrifugal juice separator since the sieve I'm using doesn't get all the juice out. Maybe an apple cider masher would work more effectively too.

Tree Climbing

We had two visitors spend the weekend of Sept 24-25 with us. I put up a rope swing in time for a wind storm to blow through. I captured a few seconds of the wind gust blowing through the oak tree while two girls screamed in mock fright. A few drops of rain fell and when the girls were touched by rain they immediately fell to the ground, growing mermaid tails. Unfortunately I was not prepared to take a movie of that action. Later, I put up a real climbing rope and LaGrande showed her strength and courage by climbing higher into the tree than she's ever been (except for the movie where she "jumped" out of the top of the tree). By the way, these photos have not been altered except for rotating and sizing for web viewing.

Swollen Hand

Two days later and the swelling in my hand has gone down quite a bit. I've been keeping an Ace bandage on it, and that helps around my wrist, but it isn't very effective around my fingers or knuckles. I don't know why the swelling would go way up into my fingers since it was only my wrist that took the impact.

Another Bicycle Wreck

This morning I wrecked my bike again. It happened as I rounded a corner on the entrance to one of those jogging/biking trails. You've seen them; with concrete posts to prevent motorists from entering the trail. Anyway, I was zooming as usual and I didn't see the stump of wood laying at the apex of the corner. It took my front wheel sideways, changing my trajectory such that I ran directly into one of the posts.

The front brake hydraulic line is severed, the front fender is broken in two pieces, and the air horn mount is broken. I think that custom front wheel is OK but I'll take it to the shop and have them check it out.

My right wrist is probably sprained, my right knee has a nasty abrasion, and my right quadracep feels like one big charlie horse. The quad took a direct hit on the post.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

In the future, I may take the corner out in the street and go between the posts in a straight line. It will be slower that way, but probably safer.

Update: adding a photo of the "stump of wood" that caused all this grief. I put it next to the OEM tire that came off my bike since the bike is currently in the shop being repaired.

You may ask, as I have, "how could I not see this in the road?"

I can only claim the Moon Walking Bear defense.

Glass Bead Class

Last weekend I took a class to learn how to make glass beads. We were only taught the basics of how to work with the tools, and they showed us a couple of techniques like how to make a heart.

I took this photo of the beads I made. Notice that Monya has already turned a pair of them into earrings. Those two beads are the only ones I considered a success, while all the rest are technically failures, but even the failures look pretty interesting.

The tiny white beads were just my markers, to identify my beads from the rest of the students. I liked them too, so I kept them. Next time I'll try to make them a bit more uniform. I'm planning to take another class and learn some more techniques.

Another Capsize Recovery

Another Capsize Recovery from Jim Zimmerman on Vimeo.

This video, taken on September 4, shows how a roll recovery, when done properly, can be so easy that it's possible to pull yourself up so hard that you throw yourself over the other side.

Bopop Capsizing

My new camera came with a suction-cup mount that holds on to the deck of the kayak like SuperGlue. Check out this video of a failed attempt at an Eskimo Roll recovery.

One More Capsize from Jim Zimmerman on Vimeo.

Two Mermaids Capsizing

Capsize LaGrande from Jim Zimmerman on Vimeo.

Here is LaGrande taking her second plunge from the kayak.

Mermaid Capsize from Jim Zimmerman on Vimeo.

And here's the Wee One doing her best to tip over the boat. In the end, I helped her with a tiny push.

Last Lake Crossing

Last year I swam across the lake to celebrate my 40th anniversary of that crossing. This year I wanted to make it a "60 year old's" crossing, only this time I would have witnesses. The two mermaids helped paddle the canoe while I swam, towing my kayak. In this photo, taken by LaGrande Mermaid, you can see me swimming with my kayak behind. The captain of the canoe is checking our heading with a GPS to make certain we don't get lost on the lake.

The second photo shows the uncanny talent of LaGrande as photographer. She has captured an undewater image of me swimming just above the yellow guide line. The yellow line helps me go straight without having to raise my head out of the water to see where I'm going.

The third frame shows LaGrande herself, an accidental close-up. I gave her the camera without any operating instructions, and I know if that had been done to me I would not have been able to take any photos at all.

In this last frame, the happy group is paddling homeward, enjoying calm weather and none of the rain that had been predicted for this afternoon.

By the way, I didn't make it all the way across the lake. I was about 1/3 to 1/2 mile short of the finish when the cramping in my legs became too much to bear. We had so much fun with the outing that I don't really care about not crossing the whole way.

Bicycle Accessory: Blackberry Vine Trimmer

With our economy in the doldrums, there has been minimal maintenance on the local bicycle trails. The blackberry vines have been growing halfway across the path, and many of them are at eye level. It got so bad that I made up my mind to do something about it on my own.

So last Wednesday night I devised a means for carrying a machete on my bike. Then beginning on Thursday, when I saw a blackberry vine ahead, I pulled out the machete and whacked the vine on my way past. In some places I had to choose which of the multiple vines to cut, since there was only time for one swing before the vines were behind me. It took two days, with two passes in each direction, to clean up all the prickled usurpers.

This photo shows the cardboard scabbard I made, fastened to the bike with copper wire. The machete handle is located such that I could pull it out, and put it back, without dismounting from the bike. I only needed to stop pedaling while doing this. It's the same level of difficulty as fetching a water bottle.

It occurred to me that flailing at blackberry vines whilst riding a bike is similar to running with scissors, so this accessory will not be here for long.

Abby Jumps Out of the Oak Tree

Since Abby learned how to climb trees, she tries something new each time she comes to visit. Last time there was a raccoon in the tree. This time she decided to jump from all the way at the top of the tree. (No little girls were harmed during the filming of this video.)

Sorry about the resolution problems with my camera, it kept jumping back and forth between low resolution and high resolution, but the audio helps glue it all together.

Faster Than I-90 Freeway Traffic

Faster Than I-90 Freeway Traffic from Jim Zimmerman on Vimeo.

Yes it's true, a bike can go faster than freeway traffic, and here's proof! OK, I was only going 27 mph but you can see the freeway traffic is clearly going slower.

40 MPH down Cemetery Road

This video segment begins after I had been riding at 23-24 mph for almost a mile. The road was slightly downhill, or I couldn't have done that. I was pretty tired by the time the slope turned seriously downhill, so it was a relief to stop pedaling and coast up to 40 MPH. Notice the grinding of the road dirt on my brake rotors when I jammed on them to stop at the red light at the bottom of the hill.

40 MPH down Cemetery Road from Jim Zimmerman on Vimeo.

Kentucky Derby 2011

Here's a short video of our family watching the Kentucky Derby. Arthur won our trophy this year with his horse Nehru.

Kentucky Derby 2011 from Jim Zimmerman on Vimeo.

Bear Mittens

Several weeks ago the Wee One asked me to knit her a pair of mittens for her stuffed bear. She also wanted a pair of booties and a dress, ankle-length. I suppose fur doesn't keep a little girl bear warm enough these days, so I started by knitting this pair of mittens.

Mermaid Grows Up

Ever wonder what a cute little mermaid will look like when she grows up?

Mermaid Grows Up from Jim Zimmerman on Vimeo.

Climbing with Ray

This is a climbing sequence including my friend Ray who is also a runner. Our conversation is easily picked up by the camera. Notice how the camera's perspective changes with the transitions between sitting and standing.

The "eagle" we spotted turned out to be a very large hawk of some kind. It was barely visible in the original video, so I didn't bother to keep it in the uploaded copy. It was a spectacular sight in person, and not very far away from us.

Chasing John

This section of trail is much more interesting than the roads, with curves and a rock wall on one side. Then there are the blind "S" curves going under the railroad trestle. You never know when somebody will be coming in the opposite direction. I think I hit 29-30 MPH trying to keep up with John on this stretch. I normally keep it under 20 MPH going through here, so I guess this time it was a Category 6 race.

Speed Run with John

My friend John is like me. We both like to go as fast as possible down hills. This sequence gets rough since I'm tucked down low in the wind, so my knees are hitting my chest where the camera is mounted. My top speed is 35 MPH on this short but steep hill. Note the 25 MPH speed limit painted on the pavement.

GoPro Chest Mount

Here's a similar sequence taken from a chest-mounted camera. I like this position better because there is less wind noise, and you can easily tell that it's a view from a bicycle.

The camera needs to be adjusted when I tuck down out of the wind, then readjusted when I slow down and sit up again. You don't have to endure the constant rear-view mirror checking, and I can still turn it to the side to film pretty girls on the sidewalk.

GoPro Video - Helmet Mounted

Here is one of the first videos I recorded, using my GoPro camera mounted on my helmet. There is an interesting maneuver in traffic at the beginning that should only be done by a bike, and maybe not even then, but probably is better than what the other cyclist did. He stopped in the "through" lane to wait for the "left only" light.

In the original audio, you can hear me breathing, and you can hear the clicking of my shifter.

The video features a 30 mph run down a short path and onto the road, then a short stretch of the most dangerous part of my route; the underpass at Main Street. Motorists approach from my right side, on the far side of a concrete barrier. The only way they can see me coming is if I'm on the left side of my lane. The City of Bellevue painted "sharrows" onto the pavement, but every other cyclist I've seen stays on the right shoulder.

Don Quixote and Dulcinea

This morning my five year old granddaughter asked me to "play Barbies" with her. Then she confessed that she didn't have any "boy" Barbies (I think she meant Ken). I happened to spot my model of Don Quixote at that moment, and seeing as how he was about the same size as her Barbie dolls, I suggested that I could dust him off and play with him.

She picked out the smallest of her Barbies, and we decided to call her Dulcinea. She decided they needed to be married, and that we should take a picture of them at their wedding.

I gave her my camera and asked her to take the picture while I held up the tablecloth for a background. The photo she took is very good considering she is one day short of her fifth birthday.

Later, after a slightly embarrassing attempt to remove his clothing, she pointed out that Don Quixote is actually made from a block of wood. "So he's not really a doll."

Dave

For several years now I have been commuting by bike, and regularly see the same guy going in the opposite direction. One day last week I happened to have my camera going when I met him, so finally I have a picture of him to show my family and friends.

Meet Dave.

Building domino structures with a four-year-old

One of the most challenging things I have ever done is attempt to build something with dominos, while a four-year-old is present. Last night I managed to capture this sequence showing successful completion. The first frame shows the final piece being placed on top, with instructions being signed anxiously. Next we see the happy conclusion, followed by some jumping and the entrance of a big sister. In the final frame, the tower is leaning precariously. It toppled before a subsequent frame could be captured.

Puppet Show

We have been re-arranging our entertainment center and discovered a new use for an old piece of furniture. It makes a nice stage for a puppet show. Here are the first two performers.

Portrait 111100

Here is portrait #111100 taken by a talented 8 year old photographer.

Shelter for Dulcinea

Last weekend we converged on Fort Bale to construct a shelter for Dulcinea, the new velomobile that is scheduled to arrive soon. We had lots of help, including young and old. The first photo (featuring the youngest and the oldest) was accidentally taken with a blue filter, so ignore the blue tint. We had nearly finished leveling the concrete blocks, and the wee one is adding the final touch.

The next photo shows the frame with the roof in place. It was taken Sunday morning, after a light rain shower, and after we had finished installing concrete bolts and fastened down the feet of the frame. We didn't anticipate the rain since the sky was blue, but that's typical weather for Amboy. Aargh! My good Bosch drill got wet!

The final photo shows the finished structure, with the door unzipped on both sides, and the door has been rolled up and tied into place. The plan is to add more weight, tied to the frame, to keep the frame in place during a wind storm. The pallets will hold a pile of firewood. The door will usually be kept zipped closed.

Hard Shell Tactics

BeeBoo suggested we make another movie. This time we decided to make a sophisticated movie, and we succeeded, as you can see. There are 125 individual frames. Some ideas for content came from Uncle Lief, so don't put the whole blame on me.

Raccoon Tracks

Last winter I took a photo of some raccoon tracks that appeared sometime during the night. The other day I spotted this set of tracks in the afternoon, so the little nocturnal visitor must have walked through here in the afternoon twilight. The lighting looks orange because the only light available for the photo was from a sodium vapor street lamp.

My Comice Pear

We have had a Comice pear tree for several years now. It was highly recommended by our friend Charles Custer, who had one in his back yard. The Comice is a gourmet pear, much nicer tasting than a Bartlett.

So this year our little tree finally produced three pears. I watched them grow all through the summer, and when they looked full-sized, I began testing them as Charles had instructed me: You gently lift and tilt the pear to see if the stem will easily break. If it resists breaking, then leave it on the tree.

One pear came off easily in August. It was a half-sized pear, and it was hard and green. I brought it into the kitchen where it got mixed up with some store-purchased pears, so it was eaten without knowing it was special.

The next two pears stayed on the tree through the month of September, then through October. I began to worry that they would fall off and be eaten by slugs or potato bugs. Then, in late October I remembered to check them. I went outside in my house slippers, through the wet grass, and discovered that the little pear came off easily, but the big pear hung on.

Monya and I sliced up the little pear and shared it, even though it still felt a little hard to the touch. It was quite tasty.

The other pear refused to let go of the tree. I tested it several days in a row, then forgot about it.

This morning I looked out the window to see the worst case scenario. The pear had fallen off the tree and was laying in the lawn. I immediately put on my shoes and went outside to retrieve it.

Sure enough, the pear had been eaten 1/3 of the way through by a slug. Since I was the bigger and the stronger, I took that pear away from the slug and ate the rest of it myself. I reminded myself that (as my son once told me) [a slug's] mouth is cleaner than a human's mouth.

That was the best tasting pear I have ever eaten! Yum! I can't wait for next year's crop to grow.

Oh, for you squeamish readers...I did wash off the pear before I ate it. Sorry, but no pictures. It wasn't a pretty sight.

Little Bug

I just had to post this comparison. The first photo shows our little bug on October 31, 2003. Since then she has grown up into the beautiful tooth fairy in the second photo.

Tasty Mushroom

My cousin Carl is a mushroom expert, and last week he described a mushroom called "chicken feathers" that grows in a symbiotic relationship at the base of an Oak tree. He said it is an excellent source of protein and very tasty.

The very next day, after hearing his description, I was on a nature walk with some other people when we came across the mushroom pictured here. It looked so much like Carl's description, even at the base of an Oak tree, that we decided to pick it and bring it home for Carl to identify positively.

The mushroom was as big around as a basketball, and shaped more like a football, except with the feathery surface texture. It weighed about five pounds. Carl sliced off about one fourth of it, brushed off the forest debris, and sliced it into a hot sautee pan with a little oil and garlic. It was one of the most delightful feasts I've ever had, and that quarter was enough for about six people. It would make a nice topping for spaghetti noodles too.