First Weekend of 2022

SATURDAY, JANUARY 1

Started snowing early and continued all day so just stayed home.  Watched Bowl Games, Yellowstone and the movie "The Magnificent Seven."

SUNDAY, JANUARY 2

"Binge watched" TV for the first time.  We don't have any of those streaming services, but Paramount Channel was running the "Yellowstone" series, so caught up on background. Great show but way too much cussin'.

Listened to Da Bears win on the radio and went over to the McHenry American Legion.

The new neighbor and his young son came over and cleared the snow off our driveway and sidewalk.  Mighty neighborly of them.

--RoadDog

THINGS YOU'D LIKE TO SAY:  I like you.  You remind me of when I was young and stupid.

My Idea of a Great Morning

This morning was what I consider to be a perfect morning.  After getting up, I went outside and sat on my front porch.  I first sat in the rocking chair and then moved over to the wicker chair.

I had a McDonald's sausage McMuffin (I bought it yesterday) in the rocking chair and then coffee and read the Chicago Tribune in the wicker chair.

But, that's not all.

When I'm sitting out there, I enjoy looking at the clouds (and this morning we had a magnificent sunrise) and, surprisingly I don't even bring music out with me.  Why bring music when you have all those birds a'chirping away.  And we have plenty of birdies in the neighborhood.

I get to watch them and yell at the robins for eating my worms.  Birds can be quite funny when an argument begins and chasing starts.  But, perhaps that is a mating ritual.  Who knows?

Then, I have the wascally wabbit, several chippers and several squirrels to bother.  I watch folks walking their dogs and the neighbors.  I guess for awhile many morning I am the neighborhood watch or perhaps just some old snoopy codger.

Then, coffee and a newspaper.  Man, I am going to miss holding a newspaper in my hands.  Digital just doesn't do it for me.

And, I sure enjoy looking at the yard.  I put a lot of work into it and it's right pretty even if I do say so.  Flowers every where you look.

Oh, yes.  This morning I had the added enjoyment of hearing thunder off to the west and then we had a steady falling rain.  Love the sound of the raindrops and especially that smell that a rainfall brings.  That and new-mown grass are two of my favorite summer smells.

Today was a mighty fine FP as I call it.  That means Front Porch.

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By the way, all you sixties music fans, WXRT's Saturday Morning Flashback is going back to 1968 for three hours tomorrow morning, Saturday, from 9 am to noon.  It streams at www.wxrt.com.

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A Good Morning.  A Mighty Good Morning.  --RoadDog

THOSE CRA-ZEE COUNTRY SONGS:  Get Your Tongue Out of My Mouth, I'm Kissing You Goodbye.

Every Blooming THing-- Early April

No work outside today, April 4, because of rain and cool temps, but I have been working outside a lot.  I've been raking pine straw (makes great mulch in the pine islands on the east and west sides).  Also, gathering lots and lots of branches taken down by winter storms and especially that February storm that had the branches of the pine trees touching ground.  I lost a lot of large branches that way.

My neighbor Joe had a guy come over cutting a tree down and he was nice enough to come over and finish cutting up the part of the Bradford pear tree by the deck that had been blown down a couple years back.  I had that guy come over and cut down a lot of the same tree that had continued standing as it was overgrown and also cut down the volunteer apple tree(s) by the southwest corner of the house that also had overgrown.

He then cut down a lot of the lower branches of the pine trees in both pine islands.

Since then, I have been busy at Frances' Back 40 in the southeast corner of the yard cutting various bushes back which had overgrown.

I've also been working in the flower beds and am happy to report lots of bulbs coming up and the daffodills by the heat exchange ARE BLOOMING!!!

Maybe Spring Is Finally Here.  --RoadDog

JSS: Halloween Deals-- Halloween-- Boating Season Officially Over

JSS-- Just Some Stuff.

1. HALLOWEEN DEALS-- In just a little bit, I am going out to look for those 50% off Halloween decoration deals. I shouldn't as we have enough stuff, but you never know what you'll find.

2. HALLOWEEN-- We had between 40 and 45 kids come by last night despite the pouring rain. Definitely not a good night for them. Our house was fully decked out in Halloween decor with orange and purple lights across the front, the pumpkin men, wreath of death and lighted pumpkins in every window.

The neatest thing was when the now-grown daughters of our neighbors across the street came by with their two little ones in tow. Shows that we have now lived here 20 years.

3. BOATING SEASON OFFICIALLY OVER-- Took the boat over to the barn in Hebron, Illinois, and it is now up for the year. How long before spring?

Just Some Stuff --RoadDog

Mighty Unneighborly of Me

I good neighbor does not cause problems with the people living around him. I try to be a good neighbor.

But, this past Saturday, I found out that I wasn't all that neighborly. While cutting the grass, I saw a couple survey marker flags by the front and back of my lot.

The one in the front showed my ditch flower garden well on my side of it. However, the one in the back, by my burn pile, showed that I was about nine feet onto my neighbor Keith's yard.

My burn pile used to be more in the middle of my back yard, but seven years ago, when new neighbors built a house on that vacant lot behind us, I moved the pile because it is not very pretty and gets quite big before burning season in October and November (we can also burn in April and May).

I put it on the west end of the arboretum and over the years, its size has grown considerably as my growing things have gotten bigger.

Right now, Keith has a six foot fence around his swimming pool which blocks off the view of the pile for him. Now, he wants to move the fence out to his property lines, although he will need another one at the pool because of the drop off in the back.

I'm not crazy about a big fence right by my yard, but its his property. He says it is ok for the burn pile to be where it is, but I am going to move it to a spot by the northwest corner of the arboretum.

Neighbors Shouldn't Appropriate Other Neighbor's Yards. --RoadDog


YOU MIGHT BE FROM CHICAGO...If you know what Riverview was. (I wrote about it on today's history blog as there was an article in the Tribune about it.)

Bah Humbug Here on Pine Street

I don't know exactly what happened to the Christmas spirit here on my street, or at least what happened to the outside decorations. At one time, just about every house was ablaze from one end to another as well as all over the yards.

This especially applied to my neighbor Juan who moved in the year after us. That first year, I held my own with him decorating. It got to be sort of like Home Improvement's Tim Taylor and his competition. But, by the second Christmas season, he buried me. I surrendered and let him have the decorating crown for the block and was content to be second best.

However, the last three years he has put less and less up. And this year I see nothing.

My neighbor Dan across the street also had lights all over as well as reindeer and a sled on his roof. But, Not No More. He has a Christmas tree in the window, but that's it.

Perhaps, it is advancing age. I notice that ladder climbing isn't as easy anymore. Maybe, it's the increased electric rates? Maybe the spirit just isn't there anymore?

Anyway, old Pine just isn't as colorful anymore. However, the next street over to the south, Elm, is a Christmas wonderland.

My Stocking Hat is Off to Elm, No Longer a Nightmare. --RoadDog

The Fed-Ex Guy Thinks I'm Crazy

Our cold wave continues and is forecast calls for it to stay sub-freezing until next week.

Anyway, when we were iced in this past Tuesday, I decided to replace a timer out on the front porch that wasn't turning the Christmas lights on and off in a timely manner.

I was in my athletic shorts and tee-shirt and too lazy to put on a pair of pants so went out to change the timer. There was ice, but the temperature was 30 degrees and no wind so wasn't too bad. Plus, it would only take about a minute.

Wouldn't you know it, the Fed-Ex guy picked that very moment to pull up. The first words out of his mouth were, "Are you crazy."

The sad thing was that I had just given my neighbor Dan across the street the same treatment this past weekend when he did a similar outdoor trip. Payback, I reckon.

Perhaps I Was and Still Am. --RoadDog