Catching Up

The heel is getting better, but too slowly. Can't bike, run or swim. Can walk, not hobble. That's about it.

So I've been working 12-14 hours every day on the day job. Not designed to make me a happy or sane camper.

All manner of other shit flying around.

Wah. Poor me.

Plus, Marvin Zindler died. Rest in peace, Marvin:

Healing Up

So we made about 40 miles of the Long Trail in one fell swoop.

Actually, we made about 40 miles of the Long Trail in a bunch of very small, hobbling steps.

I cracked a toenail on Thursday. Hurt like hell, but we kept going. We'd started late -- had to run into Brattleboro and get some last-minute supplies -- and didn't get on the connecting Pine Cobble trail around 3:30p. It was pouring rain. We hiked about 7.1 miles to the Seth Warner shelter. It was full, so we rolled out the tent.

Woke up around 530a and were out of the shelter area before anyone else. The toenail was making me walk funny. Around noon, I felt a nice-sized blister on my heel. Not so bad until about 4p, when we stopped just above Route 9 and broke out the first-aid kit. I cut a chunk of toenail off, which helped, and wrapped the blister in gauze, which didn't help so much. We made 13.1 miles to the Melville Nauheim shelter.

Slept like a dead thing -- didn't even hear someone else put my pack up on a rack. Mouse had been trying to get into the gorp. Woke up around 6a Saturday and checked the heel -- nasty, dime-sized, infected hole in the heel with red and purple streaks running up my calf. We took it a bit easier and went 8.6 miles to the Goddard shelter and the Glastenbury Mountain fire tower. The view almost made the heel better. Did another 3.5 miles to the Kid Gore shelter, which had the best view (so far) of any of them. A little meadow looking out over hemlocks and spruces, with a bright blue lake about 15 miles away in the background.

Spent a good chunk of Saturday evening trying to decide what to do about the heel. Had a discussion with some Appalachian Trail through-hikers about the risks of cellulitis. The purple and red streaks weren't going away, despite half a tube of Neosporin. One of the hikers said it looked like a friend's foot, shortly before he went into seizures somewhere on the AT in North Carolina. John said it looked like gangrene. A helpful child. I checked his feet, and they were OK, but his boots were starting to shred in a couple of places. So we woke up Sunday morning, walked about 6.2 miles to Kelley Stand Road and caught a ride (good old Trail Magic!) into town.

John was a little disappointed, but we'll be back on the trail as soon as the heel is better. Another reason why he's great: I was limping along with a stick/crutch for a dozen miles on Saturday, and he offered to take everything out of my pack and put it into his pack. Sigh. His pack weighs about 30 pounds, which is just right for a 15-year-old. My pack weighed about 45 pounds.

And -- all modesty aside -- I think the hiking is good for him. We had lots and lots of long-ish talks, mostly about stuff you can talk about with a teen-age boy. His hair is over his eyes, but when we chatted with other people on the trail, he'd pull it back so he could see them, and so they could see him. I told him a few times that if he wanted to pull off any time, just let me know. He said no, he's really enjoying being out on the trail; can't wait to get back to his small school and tell the other kids about it. Which, for John, is enormous.

So we're back until the heel is better. It helps that the last Harry Potter book came while we were gone. He's getting a bit long in the tooth for it, but he blew through it in two days. His dog, Cleo, the not-so-Great-Pyr, was just delighted to see him. Little Brother Will appeared to be (secretly) impressed by the weight of his pack. And he told me a couple of times that he was worried about my foot getting worse on the trail, so it was OK that we're home. For a while, anyway.

I'm still hobbling, so I'm not going to be swimming, biking or running for the next week or so -- about all I can do (aside from an occasional foray to the bathroom to feed the baby chickens) is sit at the desk and get caught up on the day job. Worked from 8a until nearly midnight last night, from 9a until around 9p tonight.

Which isn't all bad. But it does make me think: If I'm this insecure about getting back to banging away on the day job after taking two vacation days -- plus the weekend -- what in the world is going to be my frame of mind after wrapping up the trail in 10 days or so?

Scary, scary thought.

Here's what we'll be going back to doing, hopefully sooner rather than later:



I do believe I'm looking forward to it.

I'm Off For A While

We'll be hiking the Long Trail, or at least as much of a 273-mile path as a 15-year-old boy and his inept 44-year-old father can do.

Logistically, it's a bit of a bear. I'm going to stop by the post office tomorrow morning and mail some boxes of food -- one to Killington (103.9), and another to Jonesville (184.9). Beats carrying all the food, though.

John is stoked. I think. He wants to walk all day long. We'll see how he feels after hauling a pack for 10 hours or so.

Forecast ain't great. It's going to rain through Sunday. We're gonna have to get wet at some point, I suppose.

In other news:

*** Another duck hatched today. For those keeping score, that's Ducks, 2, and Turkeys, 2. I think another turkey is about to hatch in the next few days.

*** It's still apparently illegal to be naked in most of Greater Brattleboro. We made a very quick run to the Agway for poultry feed and were not overrun by nekkid protesters. They might be waiting for better weather, though.

*** A good story in the NYTimes about fat bicyclists. Gives me hope.

Law and Order in the Nekkid City

So the Big City has passed an emergency anti-nudity ordinance. I'm guessing it'll last ... one month? Probably only until the Aug. 7 meeting.

Glad I don't bike nekkid. Or run nekkid. Not in Brattleboro, anyway.

Here's the scoop from ibrattleboro and the Brattleboro Reformer:

Wednesday, July 18 2007 @ 12:25 AM EDT
After a spirited debate in which Brattleboro Selectboard Members and an evenly-divided audience of close to 50 people expressed their opinions, the Board passed an emergency anti-nudity ordinance by a vote of 3 - 2. Selectboard Chairwoman, Audrey Garfield, voted with the majority.

The ordinance is for 30 days, at which time a permanent ordinance, if passed by the Board, will kick in. Selectboard member Rich Garant unsuccessfully attempted to amend the ordinance to include genitals but not breasts or buttocks. In rebuttal to Garant's contention that the ordinance should only address the actual cause of offense, genitalia, a woman from the audience said that she had only seen the naked man at Gallery walk from the back, and had been deeply offended.

The fine for first offense will be $100, with fines for subsequent exposures progressing by $100, with a maximum of $500 and a lower schedule for those electing to pay a waiver fee (which means they do not contest the charge). The ordinance will only prohibit nudity in geographical locations named in the ordinance. These include the Brattleboro Downtown District, The Brattleboro Common, Living Memorial Park, any area within 200 feet of the center line of Route 9 from downtown to Sunset Lake Road and of Route 5 from the Dummerston line to Guilford, and up to 250 feet from any school, church, or place of worship. Exempt from the ordinance are doctor's offices, hospitals, enclosed single sex public restrooms or functional showers, lockers and/or dressing room facilities, and it does not include, "those places in which nudity or exposure is necessarily and customarily expected outside of the home and the sphere of privacy constitutionally protected therein." Breastfeeding mothers are exempt, but if other women want to take off their shirts, they are going to have to borrow a baby.

The issue brought out people who ordinarily do not attend selectboard meetings, including a number of people who said they are from Vernon. The arguments centered on conflicting rights: "Why should children have to see that?" asked local resident and former Selectboard candidate Bob Sisler.

A girl of about 10 tried to speak about her reaction to seeing the naked man at Gallery Walk, but broke down into tears and buried herself in her mother's arms. Her mother said that this was the same reaction when she saw the naked man and asked why she should not be able to feel safe allowing her children to walk by themselves, because they might run into a naked person?

A man from West Brattleboro told the Selectboard that he would be disgusted to even think of sitting on a bench on a hot day after a naked person had stained it with sweat and body fluids, and a woman said that she has a right to walk down the street feeling secure that she will not run into a naked person. She said that as a woman, she feels that being confronted by a naked man is intrinsically threating. "The police are not always around," she said. "Am I supposed to just wait for somebody to do something? We need guidelines about what is OK and what is not OK."

Dora said "I walk around a lot and I worry about dangers. Personally I am not worried about the naked person because they are right in front of me and I know what they are doing. I am more worried about the fully clothed person who is lurking." She said that she understands people are upset by this, but that their reaction to nudity comes from their religious and moral upbringing, and we should be very careful about using legislation to impose our religious and moral beliefs on others. Lise LePage said that there are lot of things which people feel upset about, but just because people feel upset about something is not a sufficient reason to outlaw it.

Donna K-Brooks challenged to Selectboard to explain: "Why do the supposed interests of business override everything else?" She charged that the ordinance was written "to appease business." That put into play a debate about nudity and business. Steve Steidle replied: "I will vote for the ordinance, not because of business but because I think people have a right to come downtown with their children and not be subjected to something they find unpleasant." Rich Garant read language from the ordinance specifying that it is needed to protect business. Earlier, in response to Dora's challenging the need for an emergency ordinance for something which is not on par with an earthquake or flood, the Town Attorney explained that it is an emergency because of the danger of nudity to business.

There were also a few minor items at the meeting, such as the town borrowing in excess of $7 million dollars for a sewer project at Tripark, A debate over who is responsible for a $26,000 overrun on the original $8,000 estimate for asbestos removal for the Honeywell project (which is efficiency upgrading in the town's heating systems designed to save more money in the long run than the upfront costs) the Finance Director's budget report, and the appointment of
Justin Bates, our new Zoning Administrator.
By BOB AUDETTE, Reformer Staff
Wednesday, July 18
BRATTLEBORO -- Walking down Main Street naked will no longer be tolerated after the Selectboard passed a temporary anti-nudity ordinance by a vote of 3-2.

In fact, it will get you a $100 ticket.

Brattleboro has become known around the world for the handful of nudists who have strummed guitars in the Harmony Parking Lot and on Main Street, for a naked bicyclist and for a senior citizen from Arizona, who visited Vermont just to walk naked during Gallery Walk.

And just last week, a 50-year-old man from Whately, Mass., was threatened with a ticket for riding nude on his skateboard on a public sidewalk. Wearing no clothes was not illegal, it was riding his skateboard downtown that got him in trouble.

The emergency ordinance -- and its proposed permanent version -- wouldn't ban public nudity completely from Brattleboro, only along the Route 5 and Route 9 corridors. Outside of the boundaries defined in the ordinance, walking on a public street naked would still be legal as long as it's not within 250 feet of any school, church or place of worship. Living Memorial Park and the village of West Brattleboro were also mentioned as no-nudity zones.

On Tuesday night, the board passed an emergency ordinance and agreed to hold a public hearing on Aug. 7 on whether the ordinance should be made permanent.

"People have a reasonable expectation that when they are going out, they're not going to run into any nude people," said Selectboard member Dick DeGray, who crafted the ordinance with acting Town Manager Barbara Sondag and Bob Fisher, attorney for the town.

DeGray said all of the media attention was making Brattleboro a laughingstock, which would all go away once the ordinance was passed.

One member of the audience was concerned that business owners' concerns were taking precedent over someone's right to express themselves by taking their clothes off.

"This is not a business issue," said Selectboard member Stephen Steidle. "It's an issue of principle and expectations."

"I have not had one person tell me if we enact this ordinance, they're not going to come to our town," added DeGray.

"It's absolutely about business," said Selectboard member Rich Garant, who referred to the clause in the ordinance which calls nudity "a nuisance to commerce."

The Selectboard should respect the rights of people before business, said Nancy Crompton, whose son was arrested for lewd and lascivious behavior for what she called dancing naked in a puddle. He was given a one-year deferred sentence.

"He is a kind-hearted young man," she said. "He just wanted to express himself as a human being."

Crompton added she was opposed to the ordinance.

Of the half-dozen business owners he talked to, said Garant, none of them were in favor of the anti-nudity ordinance. But Garant was challenged by Peter Johnson, who said of the 49 business owners he talked to, "every single one was in favor" of the ordinance.

"This is not about the guy who owns the business," insisted Bob Woodworth, the owner of Burrows Specialized Sports. "It's about the customer. In this case, the rights of the individual are subservient to the rights of the group."

"I understand a lot of people find it uncomfortable to be faced with someone nude," said Selectboard member Dora Bouboulis, but that's based on their cultural and religious values.

One of the best things about living in the United States, she said, is "we're careful not to legislate morality." Bouboulis and Garant voted against the emergency ordinance.

Steidle, DeGray and Selectboard Chairwoman Audrey Garfield voted to approve it.

"The people not in support of this are really in the minority," said DeGray, who said he was willing to pay the political price "right here, right now" for voting for the ordinance.

In the proposed ordinance, nudity is defined as the showing of genitalia, buttocks or female breasts. A provision to allow breast-feeding in public is the exception to the ordinance. Nudity is prohibited in "any location likely to be observed by members of the public and where the public is present or likely to be present, including streets, sidewalks, parks, parking lots and business and commercial establishments."


"I'm not looking for a townwide ban in every nook and cranny," said DeGray. "We though we would start in a smaller region. This is the primary area of concern."


If the ordinance makes it into permanent status, he said, the area of coverage could be expanded if residents ask for it.

"I have no problem covering the whole town," said DeGray.

Another audience member asked if people had "a Constitutional right not to be offended?"

"There are a lot of potentially offensive things out there," said Lise LePage.

"Public nudity is not a Constitutional right," said Fisher. "Let's be clear on that."

Another Turkey Heard From. And More On The Way.

It's been a busy, busy few days. Not much in the way of workouts, but a big one coming up. John and I start the Long Trail on Thursday. We were going to start earlier, but (a) it's supposed to rain -- a lot -- tomorrow, and (b) I've been getting trying to get my act together, with mixed success.

Like Monday. I drove to Costco to get some PowerBars that were on sale, and eight pounds of trail mix. Worked fine. Stopped at a gas station. Put wallet on car. Drove away from gas station. Realized when I got to Eastern Mountain Sports that wallet had not been removed from car.

Oooops.

Drove home, pissed. Cussed myself for an hour and a half. Checked messages on the answering machine. Turns out Massachusetts State Police Trooper Jeremy Cotton had risked life and limb to fish it out of the middle of I-91.

This isn't the sort of thing that happens to you?

Me, neither.

Went back to Northampton this morning to pick it up (and leave a couple of nice letters for the trooper with his commanding officer). Nothing missing, as far as I can tell.

Whew.

Stopped and picked up some hiking pants for John, ran by the CSA to get the week's goodies. Went to Wal Mart to get a few odds and ends like saline solution, toothpaste, etc. Came home and worked late.

In other news:

*** We have another turkey. That's two turkeys and one duck that have hatched. And lived. So far. We also have a turkey that's pecking on its shell, and a duck that's absolutely vibrating its shell. Possibly there's a little duck jackhammer inside. Possibly not. Anyway, hatching is imminent. We're keeping them incubated under a poultry heat lamp, in a straw-lined cardboard box.

*** The six baby Angora rabbits are doing OK. Four are huge -- they look like little pigs. One is a normal baby rabbit, and one is a runt. But even the runt appears to be doing fine.

*** If you are a border collie, and you spend too much time with your head in a chicken brooder, this will happen to you, sooner or later. I'm just sayin'.

More Babies

And the fun never ends.

Woke up this morning to Lisa, brandishing a baby turkey. It had hatched, and been tossed from the coop. The ducks were picking at it; she got it just in time. We didn't expect it to live too long. Baby turkeys spend much of their early lives trying to figure out ways to die, and this one was well on its way.

I stepped outside to look for the shell. Whoops. There was a baby duck wandering around outside the coop. I scooped it up. Seemed healthy, so we put it in the brooder. A few hours later, it looked just fine, although it'll probably require pretty extensive psychotherapy after being raised with 30 chickens.

Lisa put the turkey in a plastic bag and put the bag in a cup of warm water. It seemed to be doing better, so after an hour, we put it in the chicken box underneath a heat lamp. Problem was, we didn't have a good thermometer, and baby turkeys have to be kept around 95 degrees. So we ran into town and grabbed a thermometer and another watering stand.

Got home, and the turkey was still alive. Took a half-dozen eggs out of the coop and put those under the heat lamp, since the turkey hen had demonstrated it wasn't terribly interested in doing the motherhood thing. We'll see if they hatch.

Lisa went to check on her four baby Angoras and found, um, that there were six baby Angoras. The original four are big as little pigs. The two newer ones are much smaller, and one might not make it. We'll see.

As of 11 pm, the baby turkey was doing OK, and the duck seemed to be doing fine. We'll put the turkey in the brooder Sunday if it's still up and peeping.

All the animal husbandry kept me from doing any swimming, running or biking. It's supposed to rain tomorrow, but I'm hoping it'll wait until later afternoon so I can get a decent workout done.

Babes In The Woods. And The Shed. The Bathroom, Too.

Because it was my birthday -- and possibly more to the point, because it was an extraordinarily nice, sunny day -- we loaded up the kayak rack yesterday afternoon and went to the lake after I'd worked a few hours. I swam about three-quarters of a mile and kayaked (is that actually a verb?) about a half-mile. Scooted into town and had a birthday dinner of Cheap Chinese at the all-you-can-eat. Came home, did some more work.

Went out to check on the Angora rabbits in the shed. The pregnant doe was alone.

Or maybe not.

She'd been pulling hair out and stuffing it, along with hay, in a little nesting box. The hay was rustling. Lisa and I got a couple of long wooden spoons -- do not get between a mom rabbit and her babies if you value your fingers and poked through it. There were four little hairless bunnies curled up deep in the box.

Which reminded me. I had to reassemble the chicken brooder, just on the off-chance that the Aruacanas chicks would show up as promised. Finished work and put it together late, finishing up around midnight. Phone range this morning. This is why I really like the post office in My Town: They opened up a few minutes early for me. When I got there, the box o' peeps was on a table, next to a radio.

"We've been trying a little bit of everything," they said.

"Huh?"

"They don't like NPR."

"That could be a problem."

"They were pretty indifferent to Smokey Robinson."

"Hmmmmm."

"But they really seem to like the Four Tops."

It's a small town, and a small post office, so maybe we don't get that much mail. But I was still pretty charmed by the idea of a group of federal employees helping me to narrow down entertainment choices for chickens. Took them home and put them in the brooder, where they went right to town on some scratch. Amazing how they learn so quickly.

My own personal blonde moment: I was trying to figure out how best to describe the size of a day-old chicken when it came to me:

They're the size of an egg.

You think?

They're in the brooder, peeping happily now. I'm still a little concerned that they don't have vaccinations for coccidiosis or Marek's, but I guess that's what sulfa (and cage cleaning) is for.

A screaming boatload of work to do today. More later.

No. 44

So I'm a year older today.

Sigh.

Went out Tuesday afternoon and biked down to the lake. Played absolute merry hell getting used to the new Mercier. It's got a Shimano twist-and-shift on it -- bit confusing after the very simple mountain bike gear shift. So I didn't make great time to the lake.

Swam about 0.75 miles, until it started raining, then headed back. It's going to take me a while to get used to the new gear shift, I think.

Took Wednesday off and just worked, worked, worked. Got a lot done, for what that's worth. Eh.

Nice birthday presents today -- a kayak rack for the top of the car, a bike rack for the back. Also a very snazzy Rice Krispies jersey. I come from the school that says if you're going to wear Spandex, it should be as loud and obnoxious as possible.

I wonder if they make a "Ricky Bobby" jersey from "Talladega Nights?"

I wonder if Wonder Bread sponsors slow triathletes ...

Outrages, we got outrages. This nuclear sting is scary. Another superb journalist, Doug Marlette, dies in a car crash. And anyone who's ever seen a field of bluebonnets had to feel badly that Lady Bird Johnson died yesterday. And, of course, the whole Iraq fiasco:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Iraqi government has not yet fully met any of 18 goals for political, military and economic reform, the Bush administration said Thursday in an interim report certain to inflame debate in Congress over growing calls for a U.S. troop withdrawal.

In an assessment required by Congress, the administration accused Syria of fostering a network that supplies as many as 50 to 80 suicide bombers per month for al-Qaida in Iraq. It also said Iran continues to fund extremist groups.

The report said that despite progress on some fronts by the government of Nouri al-Maliki, "the security situation in Iraq remains complex and extremely challenging," the "economic picture is uneven" and political reconciliation is lagging.

But if Google Trends is to be trusted, we care much more about someone named Liz Hernandez, a Los Angeles hip-hop personality who is someone named Kevin Federline's girlfriend.

Damn. I just turned 44, but I think my brain odometer rolled over to 94.

A Little More Information

So I can see this. You're tense, you maybe don't have that much open-water experience, you hit some cold water and waves ... yeah, I can see this happening. Still wish I knew a little more about the guy's condition -- was he a first-timer, history of heart problems, or just a random horrible thing? It looks like the Cohasset race sponsors had all their ducks in a row. I'm guessing it's just one of those horrible, awful things that can happen to anyone, anywhere, in any sport.

Triathlete died of a heart attack

He collapsed at Cohasset event

By Mac Daniel, Globe Staff | July 10, 2007

A 38-year-old triathlete who died during the inaugural Cohasset Triathlon on Sunday suffered a fatal heart attack while swimming, race organizers said yesterday.

Although race organizers and police declined to identify the victim at the request of his family, records from the race identified him as Joseph J. Lyons Jr., 38, of Newton Highlands.

"We're not interested in speaking to the press at all; we have no comment," said a woman who answered the phone yesterday at Lyons's address. Cars were parked in front of the family home for much of yesterday, and neighbors contacted by phone also declined to comment.

Lyons was listed as a certified public accountant who previously lived in San Francisco.

Organizers said they were well prepared for the event and that conditions on the water were good. They said three people, including Lyons, were plucked from the water after experiencing distress during the triathlon, including a 40-year-old woman who remained hospitalized yesterday after suffering cardiac distress and a 29-year-old man who was treated and released at South Shore Hospital.

More than 700 athletes participated in the event, known as a sprint triathlon because its three events cover shorter race distances than some other triathlons, including a quarter-mile swim, 12.5-mile bike race, and 3.2-mile road race. The event drew first-time triathletes as well as more experienced participants, organizers said.

The race began at 8 a.m. Sunday with clear skies, a light wind, the temperatures in the 70s, and a water temperature of 64 degrees. It raised more than $45,000 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

The event was sanctioned by USA Triathlon, the sport's governing body based in Colorado. Bill Burnett, the race director, said in a statement yesterday that an emergency room physician, five paramedics, and two advanced life support ambulances were on hand at Sandy Beach for the swimming leg. Three Cohasset harbormaster boats, one volunteer personal boat, and eight kayakers were also on hand, Burnett said.

Lyons was taken ashore during the first of six heats in the swim leg of the competition. After being alerted by several racers that Lyons was in distress, a harbormaster boat picked him up and took him to the beach, where he was met by emergency medical personal.

"Upon arrival at the beach the victim went into cardiac arrest," Burnett said. CPR was performed, and the victim was taken to South Shore Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The fatality in Cohasset has cast a spotlight on the grueling sport, which has been growing in popularity.

Lyons's death was the third in the nation this year at a sanctioned triathlon event, according to officials from USA Triathlon. The other deaths occurred at triathlons in Tampa in April and in Missouri three weeks ago, said Kathy Matejka, the group's events services director. As with Sunday's fatality, the other two occurred on the swim course. Two deaths occurred in 2006, also on the swim course. Matejka said.

Many newcomers are joining USA Triathlon's ranks, where the annual membership is expected to pass 100,000 this summer. In 2004, the group had 1,500 sanctioned events and last year surpassed 2,000 events for the first time.

Tragedies like the one in Cohasset are "something that's always on our mind," Matejka said.

Race organizers had to submit a safety plan to USA Triathlon for an event to be sanctioned. "We're extremely confident that all the preparations were done properly," she said.

With the growing popularity of triathlons , Matejka said USA Triathlon's officials have informally discussed creating a system that would require participants to have completed a number of smaller triathlons before being allowed to register for others.

Race officials said that they did not know Lyons's experience, but that the problem of novice triathletes joining the sport is a concern.

"You do need to do the right work, or you're going to put yourself at risk," said T.J. Murphy, editor in chief of Triathlete magazine. He said summer triathlons are more taxing, especially with extreme sodium loss.

© Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company

... and kudos to the Boston Globe for staying on top of this. Their news operation has been going through some rough times lately, but it's not keeping them from putting out good information.

Postscript: Of course, I just gave kudos to the Globe without realizing that the person who wrote the story is en route to a job as spokesman for the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority. From one disaster to the next, I suppose ...

Odds and Ends. But Mostly Odds.

Truly, the world is going to hell. First, this:

Canada Tightens Grip on Disputed Arctic

By ROB GILLIES
Associated Press Writer

Posted: Today at 3:27 p.m.
Updated: 5 minutes ago

TORONTO — Canada announced plans Monday to increase its Arctic military presence in an effort to assert sovereignty over the Northwest Passage - a potentially oil-rich region the United States claims is international territory.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said six to eight patrol ships will guard what he says are Canadian waters. A deep water port will also be built in a region the U.S. Geological Survey estimates has as much as 25 percent of the world's undiscovered oil and gas.

"Canada has a choice when it comes to defending our sovereignty over the Arctic. We either use it or lose it. And make no mistake, this government intends to use it," Harper said. "It is no exaggeration to say that the need to assert our sovereignty and protect our territorial integrity in the North on our terms have never been more urgent."

U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins has criticized Harper's promise to defend the Arctic, claiming the Northwest Passage as "neutral waters." But Wilkins declined to comment on Monday, said U.S. Embassy spokesman James Foster.

"It's an international channel for passage," Foster said of the disputed waterway.

As global warming melts the passage - which now is only navigable during a slim window in the summer - the waters are exposing unexplored resources such as oil, fishing stocks and minerals, and becoming an attractive shipping route. Commercial ships can shave off some 2,480 miles from Europe to Asia compared with current routes through the Panama Canal.

The disputed route runs from the Atlantic to the Pacific through the Arctic archipelago. It gained historical fame among European explorers who longed to find the shorter route to Asia, but found it rendered inhospitable by ice and weather.

The search for the passage frustrated explorers for centuries, beginning with John Cabot's voyage in 1497. Eventually it became clear that a passage did exist, but was too far north for practical use. Cabot died in 1498 while trying to find it and the shortcut eluded other famous explorers including Henry Hudson and Francis Drake.

British Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin and 128 hand-picked officers and men perished mysteriously in 1845 on their expedition. Franklin's disappearance prompted one of history's largest rescue searches from 1848 to 1859, which resulted in the discovery of a passage.

No sea crossing was successful until Roald Amundsen of Norway, who took three seasons to complete his trip from 1903-1906.

Canadians have long claimed the waters. But their government has generally turned a blind eye to the United States, which has sent naval vessels and submarines through what it considers an international strait.

The U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says the ice cap is warming faster than the rest of the planet and ice is receding, partly due to greenhouse gases.

"The ongoing discovery of the north's resource riches coupled with the potential impact of climate change has made the region a growing area of interest and concern," Harper said.

Professor Anthony D'Amato, who teaches international law at Northwestern University, said Canada's attempt to secure future economic gains as the area thaws and becomes more navigable was unlikely to change the international community's view of sovereignty in the area.

"For Canada to now come in and take advantage of the ice break-up is just unacceptable," said D'Amato. "Just because there's a change in the weather doesn't mean there's a change in the law."

Canada also wants to assert its claim over Hans Island, which is at the eastern entrance to the Northwest Passage.

The half-square-mile rock, just one-seventh the size of New York's Central Park, is wedged between Canada's Ellesmere Island and Danish-ruled Greenland, and for more than 20 years has been a subject of unusually bitter exchanges between the two NATO allies.

In 1984, Denmark's minister for Greenland affairs, Tom Hoeyem, caused a stir when he flew in on a chartered helicopter, raised a Danish flag on the island, buried a bottle of brandy at the base of the flagpole and left a note saying: "Welcome to the Danish island."

The dispute flared again two years ago when former Canadian Defense Minister Bill Graham set foot on the rock while Canadian troops hoisted the Maple Leaf flag.

Denmark sent a letter of protest to Ottawa, while Canadians and Danes took out competing Google ads, each proclaiming sovereignty over the rock 680 miles south of the North Pole.

Some Canadians even called for a boycott of Danish pastries.

Harper did not name the location of the new port but said it will serve as a naval operating base and for commercial purposes.

Patrol ships with steel-reinforced hulls will be able to go through ice a foot thick and will be armed and equipped with helicopter landing pads to accommodate new helicopters being purchased by the Canadian military.

Harper said the government opted for a more versatile fleet than heavy icebreakers because there is little need to patrol the area during the winter when ice prohibits shipping through the route.

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

And on a sad note (especially if you've ever heard "Sliiiiiiiiiiime in the Ice Machine!"), here's hoping for a miracle for Marvin Zindler:

uly 6, 2007, 3:32PM
Channel 13's Marvin Zindler on the air despite cancer

By MIKE McDANIEL
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

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A LOOK AT HIS STORIED CAREER:

Marvin Zindler's changes

Profile: The loudest man on TV (archive)

Legendary Houston newsman Marvin Zindler is suffering from pancreatic cancer.

Zindler, who turns 86 on Aug. 10, said in a report filed for Thursday's 6 p.m. newscast on KTRK (Channel 13) that the cancer has spread to his liver, calling it "a serious, serious problem."

But with 50 years in the news business, 35 at KTRK, Zindler vowed to continue his on-air reports, honoring a lifetime contract he's had with Channel 13 since 1988. He told viewers Thursday to look for his weekly "rat and roach" restaurant report on tonight's newscasts.

Zindler, wearing his signature white wig and blue sunglasses, spoke about being honest with his viewers, something he has done, he said, whenever he has had a health problem.

He said he was feeling bad over the weekend, enough so to prompt a visit to his regular hospital, Methodist, and his regular physician, Dr. John McKechnie.

"I thought it was my heart," said Zindler, who has endured heart bypass and prostate cancer operations, not to mention countless plastic surgeries.

Instead, McKechnie discovered the tumor. Zindler has already started chemotherapy.

"I don't want anybody to feel sorry for me, because I'm almost 86 years old," Zindler said, and he noted that many people don't live that long.

As for why he chose not to go the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, one of the world's best cancer hospitals, he admitted to some "superstition."

"All my health problems have been solved here at Methodist Hospital," said Zindler, who was surrounded by Methodist support staff. "I'm a little superstitious and afraid if I leave here, something serious might happen."

But he allowed that he would accept any help that he can get, a statement repeated by Channel 13. "We will support Marvin in his battle any way we can," the station said.

Zindler's career may be marked by odd appearances and "slime in the ice machine" slogans, but he's the reason the La Grange "chicken ranch" closed in 1974, and he's the inspiration behind the play and film The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.

That gave him fame and a bully pulpit, and he has used both to the advantage of thousands of everyday people with everyday problems. He isn't a white-wigged dandy, either; no one has come out of a one-on-one with Zindler without realizing he is made of stern stuff.

"Marvin understands this current battle will be a tough one," said KTRK anchor Dave Ward.

It is the fourth most common cancer in men in the United States, and it has a habit of being aggressive. The five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer is only 4 percent, according to the American Cancer Society.

Another beloved Houston newsman, Sylvan Rodriguez, died of pancreatic cancer in April 2000, after announcing on the air in December 1999 that he had the disease.

mike.mcdaniel@chron.com

For those of you who aren't familiar with Marvin's oeuvre (as we used to say all the damn time in East Texas), here's a clip. I have yet to introduce someone to Marvin's restaurant reviews who didn't just stand there gaping, jaw open, for a good half-hour after viewing it. The video won't embed, so you'll just have to click here.

Satellite Frustration

I'll cop to missing a very, very few things about a large metro area. Starbucks. Daily newspapers you can hold. Occasionally decent Tex-Mex. But No. 1 on my list is reliable broadband.

We use satellite -- not to name any names, but this provider put me on hold for 35 minutes today when my connection went down. Talk about frustration. All told, I spent four hours diagnosing, troubleshooting and re-connecting.

Got up and took the bike to the shop to check the shifting problem. For some mysterious reason, it decided to shift for the shop owner. It's not a bike repair person I need -- it's an exorcist. Anyway, the Very Good Bike people didn't charge me anything other than a few funny looks, and a recommendation that I maybe think about a bike rack.

Scooted over the border to the CSA and picked up the week's haul:

Broccoli
Carrots
Spinach
Scallions
Swiss chard
Basil (more pesto!)
Parsley
Cilantro
Flowers

We got some spoilage; carrots, mostly, for one of the Angora rabbits, which is going to have a litter any day. Lisa is going to take some organic bread to the CSA next week and see how many shareholders might be interested in signing up for a loaf or two. That's a Good Thing.

Stopped by the farm supply store en route home and picked up grain for the chickens, ducks and turkeys; another water bucket so I can make one trip to and from the hose; and some thistle for the songbirds.

Also drove my running route yesterday. The Outback odometer was cooperative; it reported that I ran 13.1 miles. Seems like I was lot more tired than I usually am after running a half-marathon, but it was uphill. And raining. Wah. Poor me.

More from the Cohasset triathlon, which apparently involved a lot of EMS folks. The Boston Globe reported that it's the third death this year in a triathlon (story follows below), and the Cohasset Mariner reports at least three people wound up in the hospital.

Here's the Cohasset story:

Woman treated for cardiac event, man dies in triathlon
Triathlon CPR
Photo by Chris Shores
EMT's jump on board a Cohasset Harbormaster boat Sunday morning during the Cohasset Triathlon to help a participant in distress. Four participants were pulled from the water, three of whom were transported to the hospital.
By By Mary Ford and Nancy White
GateHouse News Service
Mon Jul 09, 2007, 11:26 AM EDT
Story Tools: Email This Email This | Print This Print This
Cohasset -

In a joint press release this afternoon, Cohasset officials stated a 40-year-old woman who experienced a “cardiac event” during the swimming leg of Sunday’s triathlon was transported to South Shore Hospital by ALS ambulance where she was admitted and treated in the Intensive Care Unit. She is now awake and alert, officials said. Reports that she was transferred last night to a Boston Hospital have not been confirmed.

The woman was swimming during the fourth of six heats in the swim leg. Safety personnel responded to her immediately and transferred her to the beach where she was met by emergency medical personnel including an emergency room physician.

A 38-year-old man died at South Shore Hospital yesterday after being pulled from the water in the first-ever Cohasset Tri, that includes swimming, bicycling and running. He was in the first group of triathletes to begin the swim leg. Several fellow racers signaled to a nearby Harbormaster boat about the 38-year-old’s distress. Upon arrival on the beach, the victim went into cardiac arrest and CPR was immediately initiated. The man was transferred to the Advanced Life Support ambulance then driven to South Shore Hospital where resuscitation efforts continued.

“Unfortunately, the male was not resuscitated and was pronounced dead,” the press release states. Officials have not released the cause of death.

Four participants in all were pulled from the water, three of whom were transported by Advanced Life Support ambulance to South Shore Hospital. A 29-year-old male in the fifth group of racers was treated for exhaustion during the swim. He was transferred to the beach by one of the triathlon safety boats. He was awake and alert when met by emergency medical personnel including the emergency physician on the beach. He was transferred to South Shore Hospital in an ALS ambulance, was treated and released.

Another woman, who was plucked from the water, was fine, needed no medical care, and continued with the race. The names of the affected participants are being withheld at the request of the families, the press release states.

The water leg, which was conducted in six “waves” spaced five minutes apart, meaning not all the participants were in the water at the same time, was the first part of the event.

According to Fire Chief Robert Silvia a total of six people were treated during the event including two minor injuries – a blister and abrasions – that occurred in different legs of the race.

Silvia met with Police Chief James Hussey, race director Bill Burnett, and South Shore Hospital ER doctor Michael Hughes this morning (Monday) to go over yesterday’s events. They issued a formal press release Monday afternoon.

Hughes was at the race Sunday working in conjunction with the Cohasset Fire Department and paramedics from South Shore Hospital. As part of the safety plans in place, two ambulances were at the event, one from South Shore Hospital and Cohasset’s backup ambulance, which is shared with three towns. Five paramedics, one ER doctor and the fire chief were on duty.

Cohasset’s ALS ambulance, which was away on an unrelated call at the start of the event, went to the scene and transported the first victim. Hull and Hingham ambulances transported the other two.

Cohasset Harbormaster Lorrie Gibbons and three assistant harbormasters were all working the swimming part of the event, Silvia said. There were also eight kayaks and paddleboats that were organized by race officials.

The harbormaster boats responded to three of the four participants needing medical help; a private vessel working the event responded to the fourth; all were brought to the beach.

Upwards of 700 athletes participated in this first-ever Cohasset event. The water off the beach was relatively calm making for good triathlon swimming conditions. The swimming course was designed to be in water not more than nine feet, according to the Cohasset Triathlon website. The temperature of the water was around 60 degrees and many of the participants were wearing wetsuits.

Over $45,000 was raised for the Cohasset Triathlon charity, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

And here's the Globe story:

Monday, July 9, 2007
Cohasset death 3d this year in a triathlon

By Mac Daniel, Globe Staff

The death of a 38-year-old man at the inaugural Cohasset Triathlon on Sunday was the third death in the nation this year at a sanctioned event, said officials from USA Triathlon, the sport's governing body.

One participant died in Tampa in April, and another person died three weeks ago in Missouri, said Kathy Matejka, USAT events services director. Both occurred on the swim course, as did Sunday's fatality in Cohasset. Matejka said two deaths occurred in 2006, also on the swim course.

Cohasset officials said the death appears to have been an accident. Bill Burnett, director of the Cohasset Triathlon, said event officials planned to respect the wishes of the family and were not going to identify the man who died.

Two other swimmers also had problems on the course Sunday and had to be rescued.

Triathlon is a growing sport, with many newcomers joining the ranks of the USAT, where the annual membership is expected to climb to 100,000 this summer. In 2004, USAT had 1,500 sanctioned events and surpassed 2,000 events for the first time last year.

Tragedies like the one in Cohasset are "something that's always on our mind," Matejka said.
Posted by the Boston Globe City & Region Desk at 02:21 PM

I don't know what to think about this. It's easy enough (and self-righteous as all hell) to think, well, a lot of people enter triathlons without respecting the sport, without training enough, without really thinking about the consequences. But a lot of people get kicked in the head during the swim, have seizures for no good reason, have heart attacks at totally random moments, etc.

And having struggled in the water myself, I can see where these things can happen.

My last rant: Listened to David Broder on Bob Edwards' XM show this afternoon. Edwards asked him about Gore. Broder said "there's no enthusiasm" for another Gore campaign.

WTF?

Is my confusion a function of living in The People's Republic?

I suspect if Gore came to Our Town and called for electoral jihad, he'd have it.

But my hunch is that Gore's just smart enough to know that if he runs today, he gets torn down tomorrow. And the same people who bitched and moaned and whined for him to run today would be pissed off about a dull campaign tomorrow.

Again, though, maybe that's just me.

No workout today; between the chores and the satellite issue, I'll be up late getting my eight hours of work done.

Not To Get Overly Dramatic, But ...

... could've just as easily been me.

Man dies while swimming in Cohasset's first triathlon

By Lisa Wangsness and David Abel , Globe Staff | July 8, 2007

COHASSET – A man in his 30s died Sunday while swimming in the first leg of this South Shore town’s first triathlon.

Neither local officials nor the race’s organizers would identify the victim or explain how he died.

“We’re not able to discuss any details at this time in consideration of the family,” said Bill Burnett, director of the Cohasset Triathlon at Sandy Beach, in a statement. “Our prayers are with the athlete’s family on this tragic day.”

Officials from the Cohasset Fire Department said paramedics treated six people for unspecified injuries from the race. They took three people in advanced life support ambulances to South Shore Hospital in South Weymouth but would not identify any of those transported.

Edwin Carr, vice chairman of the town’s board of selectman, said the board plans to review whether another race should be held next year.

“From the town’s perspective, we share in the grief that the family must be going through and, of course, send our condolences,” he said.

More than 700 people registered for the triathlon, which consisted of a .25-mile swim in a cove off Sandy Beach in water no deeper than 9 feet; a 12.5-mile bike course through the winding roads and along the rocky cliffs of Cohasset and North Scituate; and a 3.2-mile run that looped around Little Harbor.

The event drew first-time triathlon participants and more experienced athletes, event organizers said. They said they did not know the experience level of the man who died.

The race began at about 8 a.m. Sunday and raised about $60,000 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

“I had so many people come up and say what a great race it was,” he said, but could not provide any more information about the tragedy.

Katie Bolaher, the beach manager of Sandy Beach, said the association that oversees the beach declined to provide lifeguards for the event, in part because of liability issues. “Seven hundred people on a quarter-mile long beach—that’s a lot,” Bolaher said. “They’re overexerting their bodies all at once in the water; that’s a huge liability, huge.”
© Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company

I Am Not Terribly Clever

We got up not-too-late this morning and headed to the lake. There were some pretty dark storm clouds over the mountains, but no rain. So I practiced some open-water swimming for an hour or so while Lisa showed off her Bohus sweater to passers-by. The swim wasn't too bad -- I probably did about a quarter-mile, just back and forth about 50 feet from the shore. Stuck to a sidestroke, which probably helped me from inhaling half the lake.

After a while, the clouds were moving across the lake, so Lisa took the car and I changed into my running clothes. Thought it would be a good thing to break in the new shoes (Brooks Adrenaline GTS 6).

Of course, it started raining just as I started running for home. I'd measured it on the way to the lake, and it looked like about 10 miles, but when I tried to start the Garmin, it said the battery was low. Damn.

At least the Nano didn't cave. I ran about two, two-and-a-half hours, and every last foot was uphill. I'm guessing the total distance was between 14 and 18 miles. I'll have to measure it when the Outback speedometer decides to cooperate, or when the Garmin begins functioning again.

Anyway, I got home around 5p, dehydrated and shivering. Laid down for about 30 minutes, but it didn't seem to help much. Went to the grocery and grabbed some Gatorade, bananas, ice cream and oranges. Fed the chickens and made hamburgers for the kids.

Legs are pretty damn sore tonight, but I popped a couple of Tylenol and swilled Gatorade to knock off the dehydration. Will get up in the morning and drag the Mercier to the shop to see what's up with the gears. Lot of work to do tomorrow, too.

Open Water

It's one small step, anyway.

I made it Surry, N.H., early for the Give Peace a Tri race -- about an hour and change before the race started. Turned out to be a good thing, since I was running back and forth between the car and the transition area like a chicken with its head cut off.

Race started around 930a, and I got into trouble. Quickly. Swallowed about two gallons of water, which I rapidly regurgitated, then started cramping. Ugh. Yuck. Somehow managed to finish the quarter-mile swim in about 20 minutes and change.

As I said, not a good start.

Got on the Mercier and, um, kind of forgot I was in a race. Extremely glad to be out of the water. Not so happy that I couldn't shift gears because of some weird hitch in the desraillers. Ugh. Yuck. So I stayed in low gear for eight miles, which probably turned out to be a good thing. Made me work for it, and probably made me faster. Did the eight miles (a few hills, nothing dramatic) in about 24 minutes, stopping once to see if I could fix the desraillers with something other than bad language.

Dumped the bike at the transition area, tossed my helmet, and took off on the 5K. Now, we're cooking. My stomach was still considerably rumbly, and the cramping was threatening during the entire run, but I passed about two dozen people easily. I was a bit sorry it wasn't a 10-K or more.

Final time? 1:09 and change.

Things I'll do differently before the next triathlon:

1. Open-water practice. The difference between open water and pool swimming is like the difference between shooting at a paper target and a grizzly that wants to eat your ass. Both involve water and less-than-completely-buoyant organisms, but that's where the similarities seem to end.

2. I'll take a closer look at the bike. I had it tuned before the race, but my practice time was just about nil. And while I didn't disgrace myself (unlike the swim), I could've shaved a few minutes off the bike.

3. Run faster. I did 8:00 minute miles, but still had some gas left in the tank at the end. I'm used to feeling warmed up at three miles. Again, I think I could've shaved about three minutes off the run.

4. Set the bar higher. I figured there was a good chance I'd finish (although I had some doubts in the lake), but I thought I'd be happy with 1:30. I'm not really too happy with 1:09, because I think with some real effort -- and open-water practice -- I could do something in the 50-minute range.

5. Thank the volunteers more. They had really good support, from the woman in the wheelchair who inked me (no doubt so it'd be less trouble to identify my remains after I washed ashore from the lake) and the kayak guy who let me throw up while hanging on to his boat to the people who cheered the runners.

Anyway, I finished. I haven't sworn off the sport. And I feel better, 12 hours later. So those are Good Things.

On to the Long Trail, Lake Dunmore Tri, Children's Hospital Half-Marathon and Mount Desert Island Marathon. At least only one of those will involve open water, and I'll be one hell of a lot readier next time.

Nada Much

Lazy days.

I'm sleeping late. Not doing a huge amount of training. Which I feel OK about. I'll do the triathlon this weekend on rested legs (and everything else). Took the bike in to get tuned today, picked up a few small things for Lisa's birthday. Got some wood to fix the chicken coop door. Grabbed a few groceries. Pecked away at day job stuff.

Likely, I'll take next week slow, too. Then off for The Hike. My hunch is that a 273-mile hike will be a pretty decent workout.

Then back in time for another triathlon, either a half-marathon or century ride (still can't decide), some serious swim/bike/run time in late August and September before the Mount Desert Marathon.

A bit on the muggy side here today, but not too bad. Rained like hell last night. It's supposed to be nice and sunny (highs in the low 80s!) on Sunday, so I may just find a flat rock by a lake and lie out like a lizard.

No. 100

It's my 100th blog post.

Whoop-de-doo.

But in really good news, I got it today -- my Mercier. It's not exactly a Red Ryder BB gun (I'd shoot my eye out!) but it looks pretty sweet. The picture below doesn't exactly do it justice; it's currently sitting on my porch, awaiting some air in the tires.



I'll fill the tires tomorrow and give it a spin.

Woke up this morning and headed east for the weekly CSA pickup:

Scallions
Snow peas
Basil (pesto, change-o!)
Parsley
Carrots
Cucumbers
Mesclun
Broccoli

Stopped by the co-op in Brattleboro for pine nuts, olive oil and miscellany. Got home and worked like a fiend until 7p or so. Stopped to make another grocery run for some kid stuff.

Interesting story today in Slate on the shrinking American newspaper. Jack Shafer says that papers today aren't all that much worse off than papers in the early 1970s. I think he might be omitting a few major issues:

(a) There were more family-owned papers in the 1970s. True, many of them sucked. But there was less external pressure on most papers to hit quarterly profit targets.

(b) Newspapers were a lot blander in the early 1970s. No color, few graphics and no multimedia. Meant there were a lot more jobs devoted to pure newsgathering, but a lot fewer jobs devoted to reader-friendly news. There were some fantastic reporters and some great storytellers, but they didn't have tools like journalists have today.

(c) Shafer's benchmark year, 1972, was at the start of Watergate, which is generally romanticized to a fare-thee-well. It was great journalism. But people forget that a ton of newspapers, including some of the best in the country, either ignored Watergate or jumped on it late.

(d) The real golden days of newspapers occurred (in my humble estimation, as a mere consumer of news) from the late 1970s through the mid-1990s. Bartlett and Steele, anyone? Computer geeks churning up fantastic databases? Yes, news organizations missed some huge stories (Iran-Contra, HUD, the savings and loan debacle) but got a lot right, and not just at the national level. I think a comparison of staffing between now and, say, 1995, would be much more fair.

(e) Finally, a very high percentage of newspapers just sucked in the 1970s. Sorry. They did. And their editors and/or publishers would tell you that. Reluctantly. But they would.

Will knit and cook tonight, hit the road tomorrow.

This is Summer?

Maybe not so much.

After getting down into the 30s last night, it got up to the 60s this afternoon. But not by much. Everyone was bitching at the internet cafe because of the lack of tourists. My guess is they'll start to swarm around Wednesday.

Went to the gym after working on some frustrating day job stuff most of the day and swam a half-mile. That's it. Sigh. Trying to redeem my frustrating crappiness with a few ideas, but not having great luck.

It'll be a better day tomorrow. Hopefully, one without frustration.

And bears.

Upon Further Review ...

So much for the coon theory. I believe we had a juvenile bear visit us last night.

I went out to look at the chickens and saw that the 33-gallon trash can where I keep their grain had been dumped over. Also saw that there were very large paw swipes on the grain bag. I mean, very large.

This would have been after I saw the sunflower seed feeder had been looted, and two of the side-boards that contain the feed had been not-so-gently removed. That could've been a coon. But unless there are coons out there with human-sized paws (and really, really sharp claws), I think we had a bear visitation last night.

The thing that makes me wonder is that the bear bypassed the coop and a bag of trash that included bacon and ham wrappers on the front porch in favor of sunflower seeds. Vegetarian Vermont bear?

I'm thinking I probably won't wait more than a few minutes to investigate if the dogs bark tonight.

Dogs Redeem Themselves. Or Not.

Dogs bark. It's what they do. Generally not a high-pitched baying, and seldom at 330a. But it was what they were doing this morning. I dragged my tired butt downstairs to see what was wrong. Pepper, the girl border collie, looked sorry to have woken me up, but was almost snarling at the glass front door. Stink, the boy border collie, had his hackles raised. I could hear Cleo, the Great Pyr, woofing and banging on the door downstairs.

Walked outside. It was cold (about 40 for a low last night; how's that for July?), and heard something trampling off into the woods. Too loud for a chipmunk, not quite loud enough for a moose. Let the collies out, and they proceeded straight for the chicken coop, which they circled, then came up and sniffed the two bottom steps of the front porch. Let the collies in. Let the Great Pyr out, and she went straight to the chicken coop, circled it, and sniffed the two bottom steps of the front porch.

Hmmmm.

Checked the chicken coop; the peeps appeared to be fine. Went back to sleep.

Woke up this morning (surprisingly enough, overslept) and walked outside. Tried to figure out what had happened. Figured it out pretty quickly. Whatever it was -- and I'm guessing a big mama coon -- had circled the chicken coop and decided there weren't any easy pickings. So it came up the bottom two steps of the porch, jumped on a railing, walked up to a sunflower seed bird feeder and deconstructed it to get at the seeds. I mean, that thing must've just about had thumbs.

Anyway, the dogs look pleased with themselves this morning. I just look tired.

Neurotic Dogs, Farmer's Market Economics and More Chickens

I feel pretty hammered, but it's a good hammered.

Finally decided my ear isn't going to get much better by sitting around, so I biked 5.5 miles down to the general store and ran 5.25. Lisa came along and biked while I ran; I picked up the bike about a mile away from the general store and rode in. Went swimming, but some tourist folks who clearly didn't give any thought to birth control had their passel with them, so I only swam a quarter-mile. Probably a good thing -- I used ear plugs instead of a nose clip, which seemed to help. We'll see.

Spent the last couple of days puttering around farmer's markets in the lower Valley. The first one, in Bellows Falls, was pretty good for atmosphere, but on the small side -- maybe 15 vendors, tops. The second one, in Brattleboro, looks more like a food court for locals. There are about 50 vendors, and they sell everything.

Except eggs and bread.

Can you say "market niche?"

Got online this afternoon and ordered 30 more aruacanas. They lay green, pink and blue eggs, so they're pretty easy to sell. Also am mulling a wholesale deal with a local pork producer. And, of course, some gluten-free bread recipes.

If my math is correct, and there's not some sort of mass chicken die-off by spring, we could probably push out 20 dozen eggs per week. Plus a couple of dozen loaves of bread. Plus some of Lisa's yarn. Plus some pork product to go with the eggs. Plus some ... oh, hell, I don't know. Whatever tourists buy that isn't maple syrup.

Anyway, we'd have about 50 arucanas and 25 New Hampshire reds, plus the eight ducks and two turkeys (assuming the ones that the old hen and turkey are sitting on don't hatch). A pretty average week would probably yield about $300 in sales. Which I could use.

I'm also thinking about collie tamales. Pepper is driving me nuts. She's a border collie, so she's obsessive-compulsive to begin with, but it seems to be getting worse. I can't sit out on the front porch without her making a nuisance of herself, trying to get me to throw her anything ranging from a rock to an old sock. Sigh. At least Stink just sits out in front of the chicken pen and tries to figure out how many peeps he could fit in his mouth at once.

Yikes. I seem to be attracting baby cardinals to the porch. Two of them are munching on sunflower seeds.

Been spending some time kicking around the Long Trail itinerary. It's probably best not to have an itinerary, but I'm going to need to ship two and maybe three boxes ahead with food for pickup. The post offices along the trail are supposed to be very good at holding things "general delivery" for through-hikers. I'm estimating the whole hike will take 10-12 days, with a drop box spaced every three days. So far, John shows no signs of backing down from a 273-mile hike.

A commercial break for my child: Can you imagine being 15 years old and wanting to hike 273 miles? With your father?

The garden is coming along, although the corn is still kind of stunted. The cucumbers and potatoes are going great guns, though. The beans aren't doing so badly, but the tomatoes, eh.

The New Hampshire triathlon is next week, so I'm trying to psych myself up for that. If my ear doesn't feel any better, I'll have it amputated. Or something. Hoping it'll warm up a bit. It's been in the low 60s all day; a bit chilly to be splashing about in a lake.

Last note: We're bracing for the Attack of the Mutant Obnoxious Tourists this week. Be afraid. Be very, very afraid.