found a nut grove

Well, I did not really find it. It has been there for some time and is well known. It is at Baxter Conservation Area. I have finally seen it as I have never been able to get to it over my various visits there. It is not hard to get to by any means, but something ridiculous always seems to happen when I am there. Even today, but not enough to prevent me from getting to it.

Several other Scouters and myself went to check out the area for a camp we are planning at the end of November there. There has been some flooding from more massive rainfalls like as happened in the summer. Fortunately, we did not flood this time, but more rain is on the way. So, who knows. My galoshes are standing by.

There is a great variety of nut trees though to admire. I collected two small deadfall branches from a Honey Locust. They have quite large thorns on them. I am going to attempt to make needles or small awls out of them, maybe even fishhooks. Some research is required, but one of the parents of a Scout is quite knowledgeable in these types of non-standard matters. Hopefully, he can point me in the right direction.

Sadly, there are no nuts to be found this time of year, the various critters about have stripped everything. However, now knowing how easy it is to get to, I will note it as a place to visit and hike in more often. I will need to find out if any kind of harvesting is allowed. Probably not, but there should be someone who works there that can possibly point me in the right direction to plant a couple of nut trees in my back forty.

It blows that there is a fee to park there though. I am not so much against it as the fees apparently go to maintaining the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority's (RVCA) properties and programs, but I am a cheapskate. Anyway, I know how to hike through without having to use their parking lot. Something I will investigate further on my own.

The area has a great rustic charm to it. Yet, the trails, when not flooded, are hardpack gravel or boardwalks over various permanent water obstacles. If you have a chance to check it out, parking is only $6.00 or $45.00 for the year. You can even pay through your phone! The beauty of the annual pass is that it covers five Conservation Areas the RVCA manages that have paid parking, six do not.

The other CAs I have been to are all quite nice in, again, a rustic way. Who knows, maybe I will pony up the forty-five bones. It can make things easier on me. At least I will not have a guy berating our party for over forty-five minutes as once happened when we took the Beaver Scouts from my old Group there for a hike. It was the main reason I never got to the nut grove on that visit. A reliable source told me that that goon is no longer at Baxter. Thank goodness, he drove me nuts! blbbl

raiders of the found candy

For the last three days I have been largely living off of halloween candy. Yup, empty sugary calories. No, it is not from the boy's haul or what is leftover from our giving pile. Incidentally, six kids came to our door. That is correct, a measly six kids. So, a lot is left over. But, other than some Pringles, I have not touched any of it.

However, my source is other people's stashes. No, not kids. What other adults (am I an adult?, some think not) have put away post-pumpkin. I have a nose for finding the forbidden stash.

Honestly, do you think putting it in a cupboard or pantry is going to keep anyone from finding it? No, the hall closet does not work either; it is often the most obvious choice. (Depending on the type of house of course.)

I started the week quite tired, not exhausted, but no more than two or three rungs down. Then, Wednesday, All Saints' Day, it happened. Easy refuelling. 

Fortunately, it is high octane. Sadly, it is fast burning. Multiple pit-stops are required. At one point today, I must have been in the sack of goodies for five minutes when I realised I was not making enough noise to be assumed (presumed?) to be busy. I set something to run automatically for my cover and went on for a couple of more visits to sugar mountain.

I got so good at acquiring sweets that I had my pockets full when I got home today. I got a bunch of Haribo Gummy Bears, Swedish Fish, Caramilk, and the best (at least for me) Wunderbar. (I always loved the viking commercials for this chocolate. Is that Lee Van Cleef with the moustache?) Oh, and a Jersey Milk, still good, but no Bar Six!

Anyway, so many sweets. I thought I would eventually crash like on the Mod Squad. Good news though. The wife brought sushi home for dinner. It was fantastic. She got it from a place called Hockey Sushi. A while back, we thought they went out of business. They actually had a fire which shut the joint down, but to their credit, they rebuilt in the same spot. We called them for months as the number was still working; we liked it that much. Tonight, she actually got them to make something off an old menu, which is no longer offered, for the boy. That item was superb. The wasabi was super potent too. My sinuses are clear and free like nobody's business.

Maybe the candy spell is broken? I doubt I will find any bits next week. These other adults have a whole weekend to dispose of the booster packs. I guess it is back to dried apricots and figs. Better for my svelte figure anyway! blbbl

three-hundred posts, egads! - or - i am more eccentric than ever, egads!!

Three-hundred blooming posts. Wow! I have veered away a bit of how I wanted the rooster to evolve, but not so much that the train is on another track completely. Maybe sitting on a siding at the station or just taking an alternate route with the same destination.

In the meantime, I am becoming more eccentric. Starting with my appearance. Somewhat ahead of schedule, but I am happy with my mild lunacy. So, maybe the destination is the asylum?

I have just very recently taken to wearing scarves with colour. I am still wearing my western hats. However, I am looking for a new type of headdress. Something closer to a skullcap, but with style. I have always like the taqiyah, but I do not want to be accused of cultural appropriation.

two of the scarves entwined over my trucker's jacket

i have a third scarf that is mainly brown and sand

I have been tooling around looking at Polish historical and folk clothing. The area where my mother was from, the men wore/wear straw hats. Not interested. Where my father was from, is an entirely different issue. I can find nothing. Probably partly due to the fact that where he was born in Poland in 1932, became part of the Soviet Union in 1945. More specifically, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. It still remains in modern Ukraine. That, and the fact that virtually every Pole in that region was sent to Siberia by Comrade Stalin during the Second World War and many died as a result. Of those that did not, most, possibly all, never returned. The Soviets being what they were, I am sure very few historical records remain, particularly of the local Polish culture. Anyway, I have yet to find any information along those lines.

So, knowing a bit about my genetic makeup, at least speculatively after having had several indepth conversations and superficial "examinations" with a anthropologist (with a dash of ethnic/genetic studies), I have some Tatar in my bloodline (well at least Mongol, but he was more certain it was Tatar). Something I suspected independently for quite some time. Which to me is cool. So, I am going with that.

To that end, I think I want to get a tubetei (aka tubeteika, qalpoq, doppa). I like the look and there is obviously some room for variation. I just need to find where I can get one.

a crimean tatar tubetei (courtesy Petar Milošević)

That all being said, I am veering to wearing browns and tans and khakis and the like. One day the family was going out somewhere and the wife looked at me and asked if I had fallen out of the tan denim tree? I was wearing faded brown denim pants, my sand coloured Levi's trucker's jacket, a mostly brown/tan plaid shirt, my brown felt western hat, and my brown Doc Martens shoe-boots. So, when I finally do find a source for my doppa, it will be in the brown range of colours, like the one above maybe.

So, my Texas Sesquicentennial belt buckle (I love that thing) has been part of my daily dress for a long time. Obviously, it will just add to the eccentricity anyway, so it stays.

the belt buckle on a pair of wrangler rigger pants in an olive/khaki colour

As you can see, I am well on my way to being one of the guys no one wants to be stuck with on a "let's get to know each other team building exercise" that they always do at training sessions. That works for me. The qalpoq is what is really going to tie it in though. That and some kind of satchel or old-timey pack. I have a leather Swiss medic bag (fully stocked) from the 1960's, but not sure if that works.

the swiss medic bag

whatcha think?

You are probably thinking: This guy is not eccentric, these are just affectations. You have read other posts here on the rooster, right?  The ensemble is just the physical manifestation of the mania. I cannot always talk to myself as a form of warning to passing strangers, now can I?

Still do not believe me do you? Well, one of my retirement plans is to keep a bucket of walnuts (in their husks), and perhaps old vegetables and fruits, sit on my porch and chuck them at all the assclowns who keep driving through the stop sign on my street without even trying to pretend they are stopping. You know those knobs. Maybe you are one of them, if so, stay off my street when I am retired. I also plan to chuck them at kids who wear pants that are far too large and show off their underwear. Really? You look soooo stupid. At least if they are still around by then. If not, then I will just chuck stuff at the smartasses. blbbl

the bucket

i may need a bigger one?

on the bus - off the bus

On the bus - off the bus is a term I learnt in the Canadian Army.

When I came across it, it basically meant no matter what you have been told, ultimately expect to be told something else completely.

A more extreme version is when no one knows what is going on, no one is going to find out what is going on, no one is going to admit they do not know what is going on, they are just going to make you do ridiculous stuff until someone tells them what to do with you.

Once, while in the Army, my platoon was actually ordered on to a bus, only to be ordered off the bus a few minutes later. I laughed my ass off. No one else did, but we were all pretty exhausted and I was going through severe insomnia at the time. So, maybe not so very funny. No. It was really so very funny.

I bring this up, because many pursuits in my life over the the past year, nearly to the date, have been an on the bus - off the bus affair. Today was yet another culmination in the exercise. One of many.

I am very tired, like my bus mates - oh, those many years ago. Personally, I have no time for getting on and off buses any more. In fact, I do not like buses very much.

So, as of today, this is the last time I am getting on a bus, just to be told to get off. No thanks, I will just wait for the next one. Everybody else can futz around and pull their hats. Once I know where the bus is going and that is where I intend to go, then I will get on. If the driver tells me to get off.? Well, it is kind of hard to drive with a size eleven boot up your arse. blbbl

happy halloween

Have a good one everybody!!

he reminds me of my grandpa, he had hair like stalin (courtesy theguardian.com)

blbbl

not happy with my dentist

So, today I went to the dentist for some impressions of my teeth for a new night guard as the other one is getting chewed up, literally. They also took impressions for my partial denture, or prosthetic, or "cast partial free end". Whatever, fake teeth to replace the ones I have ground out.

That gets all done. Then! The dentist starts to tell me about my new "partial". It will put stress on the remaining teeth, especially the ones at the ends. 

What?! You told me way back that it would help anchor those, and all my, teeth. 

Oh, I never said that. (He did.) 

Well, it would have been nice to know that back then.

Well, that's why we're having this conversation now.

(Now?!) He was getting pretty snotty with me at this point too. I actually considered walking out. I was pretty pissed about this being sprung on me after all the crap and pain I went through. Not to mention the run-a-round the wife's new insurance plan is giving us. I kept my cool as best as possible and decided to carry on for now and stayed in the chair.

I am thinking that if the conversation was had properly all those months ago, I would either have pressed to pull all my upper teeth for a full denture, which he did refuse to do at the time. Or I would have just had the one seriously messed up tooth pulled and the other one left in and moved on. 

Regardless, I would have done further research back then. He tells me to check out the Ontario Dental Association website for more information and the American Dental Association as well. You see, he had no information pamphlets for partials, just for a full denture plate. Well, I could find no information on either site. They are pretty crappy actually. I even checked the Canadian Dental Association site. That one is even worse! For as cutting edge as I tend to find dentists now-a-days, their umbrella organisations appear to be bogged by bureaucracy and putting on a smiley face.

There is a ton of info here on how to make them. Try finding information on the stresses it may cause to existing teeth. It is like pulling teeth. (Ha, ha. Get it?) This guy is not too bad, but still? I need the information! (Hey! I figured out how to link to a specific timeframe in a Youtube video. Yay!!)

Well, here was some information about stresses. Blah, blah, blah?? Then I found this:

“Many people are not aware of the effect that partial dentures can have on existing teeth.....Partial denture wearers are almost twice as likely to lose the teeth next to their partial denture, compared to the rest of their remaining teeth. It’s important to be educated about how to properly care for your partial denture to help protect your remaining teeth.”

Okay, something concrete mentioned. I have combed through a bunch of sites and most just talk about different options for replacement and how to keep dentures clean. I know all that already and apparently, according to more than one dental type guy I have already consulted, a partial would currently be the only successful way to go. 

It just rankles me that I am told that I will continue to stress the teeth I am trying to save and may actually hasten their failure with a partial. Some interesting gobbledygook here. Again, it does not help me decide what I should do though!?! For frick's sake!!!

I am going to try to get an opinion from the wife's dentist. The wife considers her capable and smart. Good enough for me for another view. However, it is looking like I am going to take my chances without the dentures now. Hey, I have adapted to living without those teeth. (My teeth are my own private Marine Corps: improvise, adapt, overcome.) I can save the $1700 for when more teeth turn on me or when some day I need a full upper.

I just remembered. My mother lost all her teeth by the time she was twenty-five. So, I am not doing so bad. I still have about two thirds of my teeth and almost double her age. Maybe I will spin the wheel of life here and let it happen all organically. I will know in a day or two what I am going to do. With that, and the status of my relationship with my dentist. (He really pissed me off today and as I have mentioned before: I am a bridge burner, I have no problem with cutting off and walking away.) Now, I have to kick in some figurative teeth in for some other matter. blbbl

of mice and pumpkins

Well, the last few days do not really rival John Steinbeck, but there were travails.

Early in the week, we learnt our oven is not working any longer. Not a good year at Hacienda Rooster this year for enamelled metal. Many appliances and and mechanical devices have been replaced this year. It looks like the stove is the latest to jump in line. Last week the electric kettle died. They last no more than a year usually. One lasted about two years. Woo-hoo!

The dead oven does not bode well, but I will get to that yet. The boy was telling the wife that he can hear the mice in the walls again. When the weather turns in the fall, the mice come in to the attic and get in to the walls. As far as we know, they have never gotten in to the house proper though.

A few years back, one mouse got in to the cold room and took a bite out of every soft packaged food item, even the Kool-Aid Jammers. Then, poof, it was gone. No sign of it it ever again. We figured it came in to the house from the garage when we were moving stuff back and forth. Recently, another mouse must have done the same. One day when I was refilling the sunflower feeder for the birds, I noticed a ton of hulls in the bag. Odd? Then we were moving some stuff around and found more hulls piled up, then a cache of seeds. I have since dispensed with this mouse, but we keep finding caches throughout the basement.

As far was we know, there are no other mice in the basement, but I still have some boobytraps set up for any that may still be lurking about. Now, these jokers in the walls. They most likely come in from the garage and then in to the attic from around the chimney. We bought some "snacks" for them yesterday and the boy and I threw them up in to the attic today. However, the ladder is a bit short. My taller one is in the shed with the wasps. So I tried whipping them across the attic. Success was variable. Then I set one last one up in the basement as added security.

The last step was a tin cat with peanut butter in it on the garage floor. If any of these wiseguys lands in there, they will find themselves in the Marlborough Forest jiffy quick. So, that is the mice so far, but I know I need to get more snacks. I will need to keep this up for at least a couple of weeks.

With all the mouse hullabaloo done for now, I set to work to get some stuff together for the boy's costume. He is going as Indiana Jones He was not so very helpful at all. So, we have everything now: boots, pants, multiple belts, holster, revolver, whip, shirt, jacket, hat, and satchel. The only thing that may bite us, is if it rains on Tuesday. The jacket is actually suede, so not good in water.

Since he was so grumpy with the costume, he was not consulted at all over the pumpkins, four of them. One was easy, the wife got a BB8 "pumpkin push-in" kit. Done. Number two, did it all freehand. It had a scar on the flesh, so it became a scar of a missing eye. Easy-peasy, nice-and-easy, lemon-squeezy. Three, was a tall one, used the stalk for a nose. Bam. Number four, the wife drew what she wanted, pretty good. Finished jiffy quick. The fasted I have ever emptied and carved pumpkins.

Now, what to do with these seeds? No oven, remember? I looked online on how to do it another way. I figured it would be in a skillet. Found this on the interweb. It was the best of the instructions found. I have done two batches. They are okay. The seeds do not really pop. They are moister than in the oven too. Again, not bad, but I think they need to be eaten right quick so they do not go off. Not a problem for me, I love pumpkin seeds. Especially when I do them myself. At least one or two more batches to do though.

The great thing about the pumpkins when halloween is done, we can take them to Ray's Reptiles. They will use them to feed various critters, like the tortoises.

Well, I need to call a couple of appliance guys tomorrow to see if it may be worth fixing this junky oven. I will ask if they have any refurbs too. The wife will try to find a new stove cheap as well; a little more difficult now that Sears Canada is down the drain. I still need to get a wasp exterminator too! Oh, and I need to go to the dentist for my first prosthetic dental fitting. And a new night-guard for sleeping; I am apparently eating it in my sleep. There are several pieces now missing from it.

Almost forgot, the iron removing doohickey on the water softener appears to not be working. I need to call about that too!

Anyway, I need to finish the pumpkin seeds and get organised for tomorrow, send out some Scout emails, blah, blah, blah. Then I am going to have a nightcap and turn in. Shotgun start tomorrow. blbbl