Random thoughts from the moose cave.

just not a lot of thoughts to spare right now.

dealing with largish setbacks in the heat.

nothing new...

but thanks for asking.

Just so's you know.
The boy smashed his car... less than a fortnight after he bought it. two 15 year old girls in the car.

I'm tired of trying to help him grow up.

He's out. no more chances.

be glad none of the others got hurt.

you got too much money invested in the slug to give up now.

he'll get better.

i'm glad the cats don't wanna drive...

Money aint the problem. emotion is. I will not make any further emotional investment.

funny dumb teenager story for to make DP know he's not the only head scratcher out there...

the kid that helps me was with today. I needed another pair of eyes. we were un cluster f*cking a dune buggy. big wiring mess, done all in red. (musta had a sale on red wire...)

I had him watching while I flipped and labeled switches and wires.

anyways, I hadda drill a big fat rivet outta the frame that was holding on a junky old tachometer, and I had him hold a hubcap under it so that all the shavings and trash dint fall down on me where I was working.

as I got done, the slug fell off my bit and into the pan. before I could say no, you don't wanna do that, he did it...



reached right in and picked it up with his thumb and forefinger...



and the look on his face was priceless.

so I busted out laughing.... (my bad)

he went and soaked it in the pond for a while, and I apologized.

but he won't do that again for a while...

busy day today here at the ranch.

making my shop over into a body shop, and making room for the ragtop.

hadd move a bunch of engines to a more compact storage area. (stacked 'em...)

only about 3 days behind now.

gonna shower and make some raviolis.

tried one of my grapes today. some of them are turning red.

they aren't seedless, but they have an ungodly amount more flavor than store grapes.

they taste a lot like grape juice does. (not grape drink...)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UayQTu2kH-U

we hit 107 today.

it felt hotter than that.

got stuff done just the same.

gonna let the sun go down and see if I feel like working some more...

Tuesday
Sunny. Highs 105 to 110. South winds 10 to 15 mph. Gusts up to 25 mph in the afternoon.

hotter 'n hell has a new meaning.

I got Chicago weather up on my computer, so when I'm inside it feels nicer...

It's been gorgeous here. We're supposed to get hot again tomorrow but nowhere near 107 degree hot.

I been afraid to look at the current temps...

it's better now that it's dark, but for the bugs wanting to share my lights.

got the vert inside, and the motor swap lined up on the Nissan. gonna quit soon, tomorrow is looming...

hasta.

we hit 109 today. it was 106 in the shop while we were working.

s'posed to cool down to 101 tomorrow. Ima wear a coat...

just after 11 am, and its 94 with a heat index of 104...

and the next 5 look just like this, but with no clouds.

gonna go water stuff, i think.

then pull a motor if I don't melt...

question...

what's brown and yellow, about 2 foot tall, drinks from my pond, and makes the girls go eek when he slithers up to them?

answer...

my newly discovered garden snake.

hafta name it we will...

Put a saucer of milk and bread out. Snakes cant resist. Fang?

Here's a site with photos and descriptions of common garden snakes in Kansas, if you wish to identify which type it is:

http://www.gpnc.org/cogsnake.htm

This is their page for other types of snakes in the Kansas area:

http://www.gpnc.org/snakes.htm#List

till further notice, it is a garter snake, but...

# Description: Harmless. Keeled scales. Three yellow body stripes, those on each side of body situated on second and third scale rows (counting from belly up); pattern of black spots on a red background between the stripes on the back. Belly is white, greenish or gray, with a row of small dark spots along edges. Young look like miniature adults. Note: Snakes of this species from extreme southwestern Kansas (Comanche to Seward counties) may lack red color on the back between the dorsal and lateral stripes.
# Habits: Found in a wide variety of habitats, including marshes and wet meadows, margins of ponds, woodland and woodland edge...


I'm not near Seward or Commanche county, but my snake has no red.

brown and yellow stripes...

mebbe I can get him to pose for a picture. (and I won't bother looking for my frogs any more...)

and my favorite foreign garden consultant has come up with a name...

Sid.

if I get a pair, she can be Nancy...

If she won't pose for you, click on the links in the yellow box about midway down the page for photos of other types of garter snakes in KS. You might find she's already posted a self-portrait you can match to her.

Here's one of them, for example:

You must not live far from me, had 109 on my porch therm. last tues. Looks like a bit of relief coming saturday. We had a 1/2 inch of rain today, woohoo!!!!