I’ve got a fever, and the only thing that can cure it is…live bait?

    Admittedly, I know next to nothing about fishing. But when Phil and I pulled up to the Conoco (a gas station), even some guys in a diesel pick-up were as surprised as me to see the live bait vending machine just chillin’ outside the convenience store. Alright, alright, I’ll give you night crawlers, but Balls o’ Fire? Hmm. (Dad, does it have anything to do with that song?)

And think about the logistics of a live bait vending machine: what is it in there that keeps the bait alive? How often to they restock? What happens if the refrigeration mechanism breaks? How would you clean that out? How often do they restock – once a week whether the machine is empty or not? And really, how much live bait does the Conoco station (not next to a lake or river) sell?

These are the tough questions we wrestle with here in Loveland.

Rocky Raccoon???

The night in July 16th, Phil and I were hanging out, having just finished watching Capote. All of a sudden from our dark front yard, we heard the most awful, grunting, death-howl sounding noises. Apparently we were not the only ones who heard this. Pretty soon there were Phil and I, and four neighbors standing in our front yard. It was determined that the horrible growling/screeching was coming from the huge ash tree about 6 feet into the yard adjacent to ours. 

After some rustling around, Phil dug up a flashlight from in the house and we were finally able to get a look at what was making the death noises. Now we did not take this photo, but I am pretty sure this is part of what was happening that night: 

 That’s right folks, not just one raccoon sporting this attitude, but there were three, all similarly malcontent. 

Once we figured out that the murderous screams coming from our neighbor’s tree were only three disgruntled raccoons, we could have just let it go at that. However, little Meatball knew there was trouble stirring outside before the screams even began. He was running around wanting to go in and out the back door, running all around the backyard. He even started quivering and whining, which might be normal behavior for other chihuahuas, but not for ours! 

So with every scratch and grunt from the ash tree, Meatball was ready to defend the house, Phil and me. Something had to be done to chill those raccoons out. So, Phil grabbed the hose. We hooked it up, dragged it over to the tree, and let free a giant stream into to tree. Pretty soon, all three raccoons were scurrying around the tree and it was time for us to finally go to bed. The moral of this story: raccoons are loud and they really suck.

The Little Things

 

I love finding weird things and people when we travel. Today, mission accomplished in both regards. As we were walking to the water taxi this afternoon, I found a fantastic danger of electrocution sign. It truly is the little things in life.

Later, we were eating lunch at the incredibly busy Public Market. While I was waiting for my fried oysters (mmm, mushy, slimy, crispy loveliness) Sarah went to find a table. She found a table in a small seating section upstairs. In our small section there was a man who did not work there but had taken it upon himself to clean up after each table and seat people as they came up the stairs. I ask you, how can you not start up a conversation with a man like this? We ended up talking with him for about thirty minutes. We got a great Canadian history lesson, a few political rants and a great memory.

-Phil

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You Are a Dash

Your life is fast paced and varied. You are realistic, down to earth, and very honest. You’re often busy doing something interesting, and what you do changes quickly.   You have many facets to your personality, and you connect them together well. You have a ton of interests. While some of them are a bit offbeat, they all tie together well. You friends rely on you to bring novelty and excitement to their lives. (And while you’re the most interesting person they know, they can’t help feeling like they don’t know you well.)

I always thought that I might be a dash,   Phil

 

?????

You Are a Question Mark

You seek knowledge and insight in every form possible. You love learning. And while you know a lot, you don’t act like a know it all. You’re open to learning you’re wrong.  You ask a lot of questions, collect a lot of data, and always dig deep to find out more. You’re naturally curious and inquisitive. You jump to ask a question when the opportunity arises. Your friends see you as interesting, insightful, and thought provoking. (But they’re not always up for the intense inquisitions that you love!) You excel in: Higher education You get along best with: The Comma   What to find out what punctuation mark you are? Click here.   Sarah

Tornados?!?!!

So we have had tornados here in Northern Colorado today. Thankfully things here in Loveland are pretty calm and safe. One tornado touched down just south of the highway I commute on east to Greeley. It twisted one of those farm irrigation systems on wheels like a pipe cleaner. It moved north from there toward a town called Windsor.

Here is a link to a story in the Denver Post

Sarah

The Wall Street Journal is freaking me out

So for the past two weeks I’ve been receiving The Wall Street Journal. Nothing too weird about that, after all I am an almost thirty middle class white guy (isn’t that the stereotype of a Wall Street Journal reader). It’s not even that weird that I didn’t sign up to receive it, accidents happen. The weird thing is that I’ve been receiving it at the back door of my classroom. My classroom’s back door is nowhere near a road, and it’s on the opposite side of the building from the front. It is just one door of many on the back of a building. Why do I warrant The Wall Street Journal? Is someone trying to tell me something? Is some right wing group trying to sway any crazy left over California ideals I may have? Is there a FOX News watching, Rush Limbaugh listing, Ron Paul loving, conspiracy to gentrify educators new to Colorado? Or is some poor confused newspaper delivery driver using my door for target practice? I don’t know, but I think I’ll report it to the Colorado Democratic Party just incase.

Phil