Ear is Slightly Better

But I'm still erring on the side of caution. Went to the doctor yesterday, and she says there's a bunch of fluid sloshing around in my ear. Not good. Gave me some drugs to deal with it.

It was insanely hot yesterday -- around 90 -- until we had a late-afternoon thunder boomer get rid of the heat. Alas, it also took down the power. Until about 630a. We lit the oil lamps, and boiled shower water on the gas stove. I drove around a couple of towns for some crackers, but all the stores were closed. A bit odd, driving around a totally dark place. Sat out on the front porch until about 930p, when it got dark, and worked on a hiking plan for the upcoming Long Trail.

Current events: I'll let the NYTimes editorial speak for a lot of folks. But I'm guessing another guy will come out with a Jonathan Edwards-type, "Sinners in the Hands of An Angry God" screed against the Supremes' segregation ruling. I had the good fortune of chatting with Jonathan Kozol for much of an afternoon last year. Whether you agree with him or not, you've got to respect the passion he brings to the subject. And his books are just magnificent reading.

On a much more trivial note, I did a bunch of day job-type work today. And fed and watered the peeps. They're getting big:



Went wild in the kitchen tonight. Kind of. Made the boys ham and fries. Made Lisa stir-fried garlic snow peas, broccoli and shrimp. Made myself some crawfish, shrimp and chicken jambalaya.

I Am Disgruntled And Pissed

I should've known.

I should've known.

I should've known.

What can happen when I swim in a pool that apparently has just been vacated by a pack of ill-kempt little rug rats who don't put their kick boards back where they belong?

Swimmer's ear. And two weeks before a triathlon. Sigh. The left side of my head feels like it's about to explode. Biking would hurt, running would be excruciating, and I don't even want to think about getting in the water. Got a doctor's appointment in the morning, so I'm hoping he'll offer more than the isopropyl-and-vinegar cure.

I suppose I should be happy I didn't get lice from the filthy little vermin.

Took the 20-year-old down to the bus stop this morning. She's going ... well, she's going somewhere. At some point, I expect she'll check in with her dad in New Orleans and grandparents in Alabama.

Then I went into New Hampshire for the day job. Stopped by the CSA and picked up the week's haul:

Romaine
Broccoli
Garlic scapes
Swiss chard
Cilantro
Summer squash
Cucumbers
Mesclun
Snow peas

En route home, I stopped and got a water filter for the Long Trail hike with John, as well as some dehydrated dinners he might eat. I've tried explaining that Honey-Nut Cheerios can only take you so far in the wilderness. Not sure he's listening to me.

Made it home and felt like I was sliding downhill fast. It was hotter than hell today -- about 90 -- so I put the hammock up. Turns out the field mice had eaten through the strings. So now I need a new hammock. Grrrrrr. Sat out on the front porch and did some day job work, made a few phone calls. Watered the garden, although I now believe that my potatoes thrive upon the worst kind of neglect. Fed and watered chickens.

Also futzed around with my knitting. I am told I'm picking it up quickly, but (a) I don't believe it and (b) any and all credit is due to my wife, who's being fairly patient about my flailings with sharp, pointed sticks.

Which feel like they're currently impaled in my left ear.

Tight Hamstring

Not too much going on today. Went outside and did a little knitting, then went to the gym and swam for a half-hour. Didn't cover any great distance; mostly worked on my roll-over and freestyle. I swim about three times faster doing freestyle than my normal side-crawl, but I haven't practiced enough. Two weeks before the sprint tri, so the swimming practices are gonna have to change.

For some reason, I'm re-reading two really depressing books: Random Family, by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, and The Looming Tower, by Lawrence Wright. Both just piss me off royally.

I think John and I are going to hike the Long Trail in mid-July. We need to go over the menu and figure out what we're going to eat for a couple of weeks. I'm not too picky -- granola and PowerBars, plus a few dehydrated meals ought to work fine for me. So far, John is pretty set on cereal. Sigh.

And still feeling the glow (and the tight hamstring) from yesterday. And I swear, I'm not as fat as this photo makes me look:

I'm No. 3!

So I got up early this morning, around 630-ish, and we drove to Arlington for the Covered Bridges 12-K, sponsored by the Batten Kill Valley Runners. It's a pretty little town; Norman Rockwell used to live there, and even when we lived in New York, we'd drive the boys down to a little store on the Batten Kill for our ceramic Christmas villages.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day - cool, with a clear blue sky and a few high white clouds. The race started a little after 9a. I didn't think I ran the first couple of miles quickly but I got lulled by the Batten Kill. Felt like I was being pulled along by the river. Looked at my Garmin and saw I was running a 7:30 pace.

Rolled along for another couple of miles and hit a pretty tough hill, but kept going and passed a few people. Saw big brown trout in the river and enjoyed the wind at my back. Didn't get passed again until mile 6. Checked the Garmin again and saw I was doing nearly 7:20.

Finished the race in 54:35. Not bad for a Wheezing Geezer, third in the 40-49 age group, and 13th overall. So I was pretty pleased. It wasn't exactly a world-class, crowded field, but there appeared to be some pretty respectable runners there.

Stopped by the post office on the way back and dropped a letter off to Dad. We went into Manchester and stopped by a wood store to look at various and sundry pieces of wood. Went by Northshire Books, which is one of the best independents in the state. Got a Steven King book (Tommyknockers) for John, and a couple of cards for Dad. Headed back through Jamaica and stopped to chat with the owner of Margie's Muse, one of Lisa's friends. She and Lisa both agree: I'm going to need better yarn to learn to knit without losing my mind. So much for my Wal-Mart acrylic camo yarn, I suppose.

Not done yet. We drove into Brattleboro and looked a ridiculously overpriced canoes, went by the farmer's market (closed) and picked up staples at the grocery store before heading home for good. Dug one potato bed -- they're going great guns in the other beds -- and called it good.

I'll do some knitting tonight and hope for more of this weather tomorrow.

Race Schedule

Races, we got races.

June 24: Covered Bridges 12-K, Manchester, Vermont
July 7: Give Peace a Tri (Sprint), Surry, New Hampshire
August 12: Lake Dunmore Triathlon (Olympic), Brandon, Vermont
October 14: Mount Desert Island Marathon, Bar Harbor, Maine

... and potentially:

June 30: Black Fly in My Eye 15-K, Gorham, New Hampshire
August 25: Mad River Valley Century Ride, Waitsfield, Vermont
September 29: Nation's Triathlon (Olympic), Washington, DC

I'm really looking forward to Mount Desert.

Why?



Got my Total Immersion DVD, watched most of it while doing programming for the day job. We'll see if it helps tomorrow. Along with baking bread. Which I'm going to do. Before it gets cold. Forecast is calling for a low in the low 40s Friday night. Yikes.

A Day at the Farm

Lisa had a doctor's appointment this morning, so I got up reasonably early. I need to get back on Taking Boys To Bus Standard Time, but I've enjoyed the sleeping-in just a wee bit over the past few days. After her appointment, we went to the CSA for the weekly pickup after that. A good food week:

1 bunch chard
2 pounds broccoli
2 pounds sugar snap peas
1/2 pound snow peas
1 big bunch cilantro
1 bunch scallions
1 bag mesclun
1 bag romaine

Bruce had mentioned that he'd be interested in some duck eggs last week, so I brought 18 to the farm. Of course, that was before I found out that there are people on the 'net who'll sell a dozen for $18.

I am so in the wrong business.

Picked up some tomato cages, chick feed and oyster shell en route home. Got to work a little late, but got a fair amount done, enough to take a break and run down to the market for semi-local chard pie ingredients. Here's how it works:

1 bunch chard, chopped (CSA)
1 bunch chopped scallions (CSA)
2 tbsp minced garlic (local)
8 oz Swiss cheese (Cabot)
8 oz Canadian bacon (local)
8 oz mushrooms (local)
6 duck eggs (home)
2 cups goat's milk (local)
2 9-inch pie crusts (King Arthur)

Heat up a skillet, toss in a little olive oil, and sautee the garlic. Throw in the scallions and chard, and cook until wilted. While greens are cooking, grate the cheese and whisk the eggs and milk. Toss in the cheese, sliced mushrooms and bacon and stir. Scoop the greens into the bottom of the crusts, then pour the mixture into the crust. Bake at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Eat. Enjoy.

Cool blog du jour: Grocery Guy.

On a less-fun note: War has broken out.

One of the ducks is sitting atop a half-dozen eggs, brooding. The problem is, one of the eggs is a turkey egg. The turkey hen is not pleased, and has been going into the coop to chase the hen off her egg. She doesn't seem inclined to brood on the turkey egg, so I'm letting the duck do the brooding. We'll see what happens.

On the triathlon front, I registered for the Batten Kill Valley Runners "Covered Bridges" 12-K on Saturday. I may do some fly-fishing after, if I'm not too beat. Am thinking hard about the Mad River Valley Century Ride later this summer. And, of course, I really, really want to do the Mount Desert Island Marathon.

My Total Immersion DVD hasn't arrived from Amazon yet. Must ... swim ... faster.

Hot and muggy here, but it's supposed to rain like hell tonight. Already lots of lightning. The garden is going well - perhaps a little too well. I'm thinking I'll have a bounty crop of tomato, corn, beans, cucumber and potato, followed by a bounty infestation of deer and/or potato beetle.

Plan for the worst, hope for the best.

Sitting Duck

No chicken eggs yet. One of the ducks, however, has decided to get all broody on me. She's sitting on three duck eggs, as well as a turkey egg. We'll see what happens; it usually takes about 30 days for fertilized eggs to hatch. I'm fairly sure the duck eggs are fertile, not so sure about the turkey.

One of Lisa's Angora bunnies may be in a family way, as well. Good news is, she went to a local business that would buy Angora, at a pretty decent price.

And speaking of animals, I tested out a Canon PowerShot A630 today:



A lot of knives to juggle tomorrow. Must pick up CSA box for the week. Mail some letters and bills. Do a little cooking. Hose off the chicken brooder. But the main existential dilemma continues:

Run, bike? Bike, swim? Run, swim?

Happy Father's Day

Ran a lot of errands today.

Went to New Hampshire for the closest Wal Mart and picked up a storage box for miscellaneous car crap -- jumper cables, anti-freeze, etc. -- to keep in the back of the Outback. Got to a Home Depot to pick up new wire for the invisible fence (of course, it's the transmitter that's the problem). Made a quick grocery run.

Came home and put a couple of battery-powered lights in the chicken coop and bunny hut. Planted my tomato and strawberry plants. Surprisingly enough, the potatoes and beans are coming up really well. Played with the dog fence, but couldn't fix it. Hooked up my garden hose. Hung a couple of bird feeders and broke down the chicken brooder. I'll have to wash it later this week. Mucked out the kitchen and baked a couple of decent kale pies (quiche Lorraine with kale instead of spinach, and using duck eggs).

I'll bike and run tomorrow.

I Don't Get It

So ... I fail to understand. Why would you move to a really pretty part of the world and build a monster house -- right next to a couple of others, and right on top of a busy road?

I don't get it.

Woke up early this morning and took Lisa to her dye class. Ran back by the gym and swam a half mile, then went by the post office and mailed a letter to Dad. Stopped to chat with the local mechanic about the Outback (the "Check Engine" light isn't anything to worry about, he agreed). Scooted home just in time to feed and water the chickens and move Lisa's fleece out of the rain. Did a quick 5K, then scouted around for a decent trout stream. If my fly fishing doesn't work so well, I expect I can blame it on a bad stream.

Stopped by a local smokehouse and picked up a pound of Canadian bacon and a pound of peppered bacon. I suspect I'll have to run 10 before I even think about eating it.

Picked Lisa up from her class, then went by the Vermont Country Store. I'd ordered things online, but hadn't ever been to the actual store. It was a bit touristy, but had some fun stuff. Tinker Toys? Check. Seven Seas Green Goddess dressing? Check. Clark Bars? Check. All kinds of fun stuff.

Stopped for Mexican food on the way home and took it easy the rest of the night.

A Nice Day

So I got up around 6a and puttered for an hour before going out for a run. It was foggy, but not too bad. Did 4.25 in 35:15, pretty decent little tempo run. Came home, got a shower, and took the car to the mechanic's place.

When you hear a mechanic greet one of his regular customers with, "Well, you're well and truly fucked," it's not comforting. I figured the "Check Engine" light would be a several hundred-dollar hickey. The mechanic hooked up the diagnostic computer to the Outback and came up with code P0440. Muttered something about a malfunctioning emissions control vacuum, which sounded ominous. Turned out I hadn't clicked the gas cap for the last quarter-turn. I laughed.

"The car gods will hear you," he warned.

Scooted by the post office and bank, then worked most of the morning in the Internet cafe. Got a fair amount of work done before having to take a break and run home with the car -- Stink, the border collie, had figured out there was a break in the invisible fence, and took off. By the time I got home, Lisa had found him. So I went back to the Internet cafe. Wrapped up another chunk of work, then went for a 0.75 mile swim.

Came back and did some more work. Finally wrapped things up around 530p. Went out for some cheap Chinese food and ran by Home Depot for some miscellaneous crap, including a garden hose, batteries for the dog collars and a couple of strawberry plants.

First time in a long while that it hasn't rained. We'll see how long that lasts.

Catching Up

So, not a bad day or two, all in all.

I got on the bike for about 15 miles yesterday, which helped. Then I took the kids to school this morning and ran four miles. Worked hard all day and took off a bit early, swam a mile and biked about 10 miles on a new route -- very nice.

Like the new Outback, although the "Check Engine" light has already come on once, which is ominous. Think I probably need to have that checked out quickly. And as much as I like the Geico cavemen, I don't like them to the tune of an extra $200 per month. Let's just say the final quote was a little different from the first quote.

Will went to Six Flags for his last day of school; John's last day is tomorrow. They're both pretty excited. Probably about as much as I am about my garden, which is finally starting to sprout a bit. And upon close examination, it looks as though I've got at least four and maybe five little roosters. For 35 hens. I may have some fried chicken later this summer. Too many roosters for too few hens, I suspect.

Speaking of eating: I'm making good progress on my CSA greens this week. Been having a monster salad every night. Put some dried tortilla strips, a little bit of salad seed, and sour cream/Picante dressing. Had mesclun last night and butter lettuce tonight. Hoping to make some chard pie tomorrow.

Assuming the "Check Engine" light lets me.

I'm Back. Sort Of.

Whew. Busy weekend.

Have a new car. Well, a not-so-new car. A 2000 Subaru Outback. I think you have to have one to live here.

Been doing a lot of biking. I mean, a lot. Like 15-20 miles per day. Swam half a mile on Sunday. Haven't been doing enough running. Went to the farm today to pick up my share, so I'll be snacking on major amounts of lettuce (arugala, spinach, kale and green lettuce) through the week.

About 10 of my chicks got out today. They escaped through a poorly patched part of the coop. I think we got 'em all.

Also went to Manchester en route to Bennington to get my car registered and driver's license renewed. Ugh. But I made a quick swing by Orvis and got some waders, tippets and about a dozen fairly nifty flies. Hope I can get out this weekend.

Been raining lately. A lot. But not all day. Just enough to keep me from having to water the garden. Which is good.

School ends this week. Boys are very happy.

Must deal with car insurance now. Going with Geico. Anyone who can come up with the caveman commercials deserves a little bit of my money.

I'll run tomorrow. Might swim, too.

More Hills

Took a couple of days off. Been feeling really run-down and bickering with Lisa over amount of training. Anyway, eh. Thought for a while I was coming down with the crud that's been going around at Lackland AFB (where the stepdaughter did basic training), but I think some pretty massive doses of Emergen-C seem to have staved it off for the time being.

Had to return a rent car to Brattleboro yesterday. No problem! Until, that is, I got on the bike and headed home. It's about 20 miles, all uphill. I was a hurtin' unit by the time I made it home. But I made an appointment while in town to finally have the woodstove connected. We'll see if they get it done today.

Will and I also did our own version of Extreme Cleaning. He's very pleased with his room now. I finished up around 11p and just poured myself into bed.

Got up this morning, walked the boys to the bus stop and then ran back home (again, uphill all the way). Got on the bike, rode into town and took care of banking/mailing needs. I think I'm going to park at the local internet cafe since my connection is running uber-slow. Something about a "fair use policy," I believe. For what we're paying for home satellite internet, we ought to have our own Sputnik. Or something.

It's getting hot here, and the blackflies are swarming. That's the bad news. The good news is, I've got 40 chickens, eight ducks and two turkeys. And all of them loooove eating blackflies.

More later.

God Says 'Hah!'

Usually what happens when I make plans. God says, 'Hah!'

Had every intention of doing a four-mile hill run, followed by a 10-mile hill bike today. Woke up this morning ... and it was pouring rain. So I ditched the outdoor plan, went to the gym, rode the bike 13.3 miles and swam a half-mile.

Ran to the post office and bank -- mailed a John McPhee book to Dad, who's rehabbing in the Hill Country -- scooted by the grocery store to get dog food, and stopped by the hardware store on the way home to get a hinge for the chicken coop. It's got a small hole for the chicks and ducks to use, and I built a little gangplank to cover the hole at night. Problem is, when I put the gangplank down, the ducks knock it over, and it's a bit of a hassle for the chicks to get back into the coop. So the hinge will keep them from knocking it over. I hope.

Busy work day. More later.

***

OK. It's later.

Been thinking a lot about baselines lately. What's my baseline for doing a full-bore triathlon? I think it goes something like this:

*** Can swim 2.5 miles in 1:30. Right now, it's more like 1:45.
*** Can bike 112 miles in 6:30. Right now, it's more like 7:30.
*** Can run 26.2 miles in 3:45. Right now, I'm about there.

So that'd be a finish time of 10:45.

Of course, I'm looking at baselines for individual sports. Eventually, I'd like to get my training going where I can do this:

*** Can swim 2.5 miles in 1:45
*** Can bike 100 miles in 5:45
*** Can run 20 miles in 3:00

Goals, gotta have goals.

I'm beat. Worked like a dog at the day job today. But was rewarded with four duck eggs and one turkey egg. I've got some more coop work to do to make the ducks and turkeys comfortable. They can't be too happy today. We're still getting the leftovers of a tropical storm, all the way up in New England. Maybe this means I've finally kicked my Weather Channel addictioin; I didn't even know one had made landfall.

The stepdaughter is talking to an Army recruiter. It's a Good Thing.

Hills

More hills this weekend.

I was hoping the car rental place would pick me up Saturday morning. No such luck. They called around 10a and said they couldn't do it. Since they were closing at noon, I could either call for a $70 cab ride ... or ride my bike.

Guess which one I took?

I made it 20 miles in about an hour and a half -- there were hills, but nothing too bad. The poor car rental people felt so badly that they gave me a free upgrade. So I picked up groceries, corn for the chickens, ducks and turkeys. Finally got the stepdaughter from the bus stop. She looked thinner and is already starting to talk about enlisting in the Army or Marines.

Didn't do so much Saturday night. Slept late this morning, puttered around most of the day. Finally got off my butt in the middle of the afternoon and swam a mile, which made me feel a little better.

I'm thinking I'll run and bike tomorrow. And I think I'll do more hills. I tend to get pretty complacent after a while -- I'll work up to the distances I need, but I don't push enough once I get there

Pain in the Ass -- or, Why My Butt Hurts

I didn't mean for it to work out this way.

But my last car is kaput, and I can't find one to rent until tomorrow, so after doing the run/walk thing with the boys to the bus stop (3.2 miles), I got on the bike and -- encourage by a no-doubt malfunctioning scale that showed a body fat percentage of only 15.5 percent -- rode into the nearest town to get mail, Diet Coke and do some banking.

It wasn't too bad. I get just a little bit further up the Hill O' Shame every time, and I feel like I'm getting a much better handle on the bike's gears. Plus, I've figured out the purpose of the handlebar mirror is -- lets me know the color of the vehicle that's going to kill me.

I did everything and was back home a little after 10a. Then I realized I had to go to a town south of here for a few things. Aaargh. So I got back on the bike around 1130 and rode through some wonderfully smelling hemlock-and-fir forests, down a back road at 35 mph, past a really pretty lake, and rolled into town to do my business.

Came back at 225p, just in the nick of time for a 230p conference call with John's teachers (they apparently adore him) and settled down to do some work. I'll be plugging away late tonight. With a sore butt. All told, I'd guesstimate I biked 30 miles today, much of it up some wicked steep hills. Thank God for Aeron chairs. I need to get the bumper sticker: They'll get my Aeron when they pry it from my cold, dead ass.

The stepdaughter is coming home tomorrow after being discharged from the Air Force. I'll have to drive into New York to pick her up. Sigh. She wanted to stay enlisted, but they weren't too happy with her. So now she's thinking about the Army or Marines. She can reenlist with them (a) if she gets a waiver, which seems quite possible given the need for people there and (b) within 93 days.

We've had two afternoon downpours -- thunder, lightning and pretty heavy rains for about 30 minutes -- in the last two days. There may be hope yet for the gardens. I covered the seedlings and seeds with hay, so I don't think they'll wash away.

And I'll have a car tomorrow, so I can pick up corn for the ducks and turkeys. They pretty much hoover all the feed I put out for the baby chicks. I'd kill them for it, but they made a peace offering of three eggs today. So that's a half-dozen eggs in three days from five female ducks, one of which is too old to lay.

Another bonus: Got my name mentioned in a big book. Page 103. It doesn't come out until June 17, but is already ranked 5,644 on Amazon. Hooray for me.

Now if I can just get all the way up the Hill O' Shame ...