Sounds In Space

Signs of Spring # 5 - The Birds!

2009-03-09T21:12:00.004-04:00

It's a small thing, but it means so much, when I notice one day in late February that I hear a bird singing outside in the snow. It occurs to me that I haven't heard a bird singing since some time around Thanksgiving. The small singing bird, hidden high up in a nearby tree, gives me hope and really lifts my spirits. The birds themselves seem to be glad to have made it through another winter, and so am I. Welcome spring!

Signs of Spring # 4 - The Poo Harvest

2009-03-07T14:48:00.006-05:00

As the weather warms, the snow in the back yard begins to melt, revealing The Pooping Fields. Yes, there's poop all over the yard, and poop all over the poop. It's been impossible to clean up after the dogs since early January, so the crop is ripe.

The best time to harvest the poop is after the snow has melted but the temperature is still below freezing, such as early on a clear morning. The ground is frozen, and so is the poops. Covering your hand with a Baggie (TM) you can pick up the poop and drop it into your 'leven foot sack. If you have foolishly waited until the the poop softened, you may want to cover your shoes with bread bags before you begin, and fasten them there with rubber bands, (Pat. Pending). It's all in a day's work, but once you're finished, your back yard is ready for April showers and the eventual greening of the lawn. Happy spring!

Signs of Spring # 3 - Skunk Cabbage

2009-03-05T20:40:00.000-05:00

OK, you're wondering what the hell that's supposed to be. It's skunk cabbage, the first spring wildflower in this part of the country. You have to look around the edges of creeks, ditches, rivers and ponds, but skunk cabbage starts coming through the snow in February and sometimes earlier. What you're seeing in the photo is just the flower. But here's what's interesting: skunk cabbage generates its own heat. It chemically produces enough heat to melt the snow all around it, allowing the small flies and bugs that pollinate it to reach it.

By the time traditional spring wildflowers start blooming, skunk cabbage has become a clump of giant green leaves. But the flower is a welcome sight when snow covers everything else.

Signs of Spring # 2 - Maple Syrup Buckets

2009-03-03T19:45:00.000-05:00

Here's another sign of spring from northeast Ohio - buckets hanging on maple trees to collect syrup. Well, actually sap at this point, since it hasn't been cooked down yet. As we inch closer to spring, the sap begins to rise in local maple trees. The sap helps build the flower buds that will later produce "whirlybirds" on the maples, as well as maple leaves. And don't worry, draining off a little sap doesn't hurt the trees at all.

As I travel Route 43 going to and from work every day, I'm now seeing many trees with these buckets attached. In fact there's one area I pass through that's called Sugar Bush Knolls, named after a large stand of maples used for "sugaring". Up in Geauga County, just north of us, maple syrup production is a big deal. Burton, Ohio has a "sugar shack" right on the town square where raw maple sap gets boiled down to syrup and maple sugar candies.

So when we start seeing these buckets around, even if there's still snow on the ground, we know spring is on the way.

Signs of Spring # 1 - Skunk

2009-03-01T20:10:00.007-05:00

Here in the north we're pretty familiar with traditional signs of spring: seeing robins again, crocus starting to poke up about an inch, etc. This year I thought I'd log some signs of spring that actually precede those listed. Maybe more accurately, "harbingers of spring".

You may not think of skunks when you think spring, but skunks are among the first mammals to come out of hibernation. You don't usually see them, you smell them. It will be a week or so after Valentine's Day, around bed time, when that distinctive skunk smell starts creeping into your house. Some local skunk will be out there trying to wake up, looking for food or a mate, but meeting a neighbor's cat instead. Sometimes you'll smell a skunk on your way to work or school in the morning - most often this is skunk road kill.

So hold your nose and groan if you must, but when you smell a skunk in February, it's a sure sign that winter is winding down.

Roll on, Big-O

2009-01-23T09:48:00.006-05:00

Lawson's was a convenience store before that term was invented. Going there was a routine part of growing up in NE Ohio. We'd mostly get milk and bread, but sometimes candy, ice cream, pretzels, chip dip, or orange juice too. Here is their famous - not to say beloved - ad campaign for Lawson's Florida orange juice. "Get that juice up to Lawson's in forty hours!"

In the early 1970's Lawson's suddenly disappeared from the local landscape. They were bought out by Dairy Mart, but happened to open a franchise in Japan before the deal closed. So oddly enough, Lawson's today is still thriving in Japan, while here in Ohio we only see the occasional vintage Lawson's milk bottle at flea markets.

O, Thou Too-Bright Lamp!

2009-01-02T16:14:00.003-05:00

This formal portrait was spotted at the Cleveland Museum of Art a couple days ago by Anne and Julie. It is entitled, "Portrait of Nathaniel Olds", and it's by Cleveland capitalist/philanthropist Jeptha Homer Wade. I think they were as excited about this painting as they were about the Fabergé eggs and jewelry they went to see.

Beyond the goofy collar thing, they were mostly struck by the bizarre sunglasses. It seemed like a modern addition to an old portrait - like the Mona Lisa with a moustache.

It turns out that Nathaniel was wearing special glasses to protect his eyes from the glare of a whale-oil lamp. But why wear them for your portrait? Was Jeptha using the lamp to illuminate his subject? Was his subject some kind of Martian nut case? Or did doctors of the day attribute blindness to the use (or abuse!) of whale oil lamps? I shall ask the Internets! The Internets will explain it!

March 22, 1967

2008-12-28T16:11:00.008-05:00

...size. Promise you'll pay no attention.

 I understand.

Well now I must go.

You must be tired after your trip.

Yes. It was a long and difficult journey.

You must be exhausted.

Like,

Time capsule

2008-12-20T10:12:00.003-05:00

Here's a short clip of our neighbors on Longford Ave, the Chappos. Good times, good times.

Illinois

2008-12-09T20:03:00.002-05:00

"An my nephew he say, 'Gramma come quick, the political bosses done blew up.' An I say, "No, not again."

A short film

2008-11-11T18:21:00.013-05:00

This is a "slice of life" look at the camaraderie between two old friends as they enjoy a night of clubbing. The minimalist set serves to focus attention on their complex relationship. After a discussion of issues relating to hygiene, the two split up - one to "eat the apple", the other to enjoy a bottle of Febreze. The surging music reunites the pair in dance, until a strange secret is revealed in a thrilling climax. Student film making at its best!

Dark Pumpkin

2008-11-06T19:39:00.005-05:00

Yeah, yeah, new president. Whatever. Here's something interesting: lighting a candle inside our 2008 jack-o-lantern no longer lights it up. It's true! So much mold has grown inside it that the walls are completely black. Mr. O'Lantern barely shows up at all. So now we'll stop lighting it every night and just enjoy it day by day as it slowly molds up, dries up, deforms, and finally collapses.

Christmas 1986

2008-10-13T20:13:00.005-04:00

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

Since there are no sounds in space, I thought a silent home movie might suit this blog. It's from our first year on Denison Ave, and Grandma and Grandpa Fischer and Uncle Bill and Charlie all make appearances.

Water Tanks Of Chicago

2008-09-06T20:45:00.003-04:00

Here's a book I just got from Anne. She picked it up for me during her recent trip to Chicago. When we were there together in April of 2007, this book was advertised but hadn't been released. I am so happy to finally have a copy. If the cover art doesn't grab you, then read no further.

I feel a strong nostalgic affinity for old wooden water tanks. I guess it's because I grew up seeing them in my first neighborhood, in Cleveland around East 154 St. I remember factory shift whistles and train whistles, so water tanks were probably a part of the first few years of my life.

Anyway, Chicago has more of these old beauties than most industrial cities. This is a direct result of the famous Great Chicago Fire. When we were in Chicago for Tom & Kristy's wedding, I enjoyed spotting water tanks out the windows of the various trains we took to get around. In fact, I took a picture of one out the window of our hotel.

So go out and get this book - it contains both photographs and wonderful paintings. If you're still not sure about water tanks, stroll through the amazing collection of photos at the Chicago Water Tower Project. Then look for the book, and look for water tanks in your own travels. Do it while you can, because they are surely on an Endangered Species List.

Flying Ant Day

2008-08-27T20:46:00.003-04:00

It catches you by surprise, but there's no mistaking it. One warm, humid evening late in August, for some reason, all the ants in all the yards in all the universe come up out of the ground. Some walk around, some fly around. It's a bad night for walking the dog - ants in your hair, ants in his fur. In fact, looking toward the colorful sunset, you see the air is filled with flying ants. It's the weirdest thing.

As a bonus this year, I happened to notice there was a toad in the back yard absolutely gorging himself on ants. I got my camera and captured the above short video. Pretty soon I noticed another toad, and then another, and then still another. Four toads in the space of about 10 square feet, just snackin' down on ants. I bet they look forward to Flying Ant Day every year.

Learn more about Flying Ant Day at this Wikipedia entry, but remember - you saw it first on Sounds In Space.

Patio Camp

2008-07-27T20:54:00.000-04:00

Last weekend I went patio camping. I'd been thinking about "sleeping out", as we used to call it, for several days, because the nights had been warm, dry, and still. Last summer I had slept outside on a mattress in a homemade tent, but this year I had a nice modern air mattress that I picked up when my sister and her family visited a couple weekends before. So after dinner one night, and after a bit of Internet research, I bought a $70 tent at a local department store. The sleep out was on!

As the sun set I began assembling the tent. Because I was actually setting it up under the covered patio in our backyard, I didn't have to fuss with the rain guard, or whatever it's called. I had the thing up and ready to go in about 15 minutes. I inflated my mattress, threw it in the tent, tossed in some sheets, a blanket, and a pillow, and voila! I was ready for my camp out! Anne and the doggies came out to see the finished product. Anne allowed that it really was a pretty nice tent, though she still preferred her bed. The dogs were cautious and had to be lifted in. After exploring the insides and the familiar bedding, they left to spend the night with Mommy.

So I passed a very pleasant night in my tent. I couldn't see outside my tent, but I could hear. I heard a pool party somewhere, motorcycles, airplanes, distant dogs, train whistles... and then, birds singing as dawn arrived. Around 6 a.m. I heard Anne let the dogs out. They were soon poking their snouts into the sides of the tent, all around, and snorting, trying to find a way in. I unzipped a small ground-level vent, which Rufus and Lucie took to be a doggie door. They rushed in all excited with wet feet from the dewy grass, and proceeded to jump all over me and each other. What a fun wake-up call!

So friends, I recommend sleeping out now and then. Sure it's a lot of work, and you're sleepy the next day, but it is somehow therapeutic. It gives you perspective or something. And anyway it's a lot of fun, even in your own backyard.

The Good Old Summer Time

2008-07-25T21:29:00.036-04:00

It's late July in northern Ohio, and summer is in full bloom. Almost everything is going on now: lightning bugs, flies, blooming flowers, mosquitoes, cicadas, ripening apples, butterflies. Not too many yellow-jackets, and no crickets yet, but these will come along in the next few weeks. There is a sense of fullness, of accomplishment, a sense of peace that I perceive in this time of year, a sense that keeps getting stronger right into August.

As I drive to work each morning I notice how the summer flowers have changed over time, in a slow, almost imperceptible way. A couple weeks ago I noticed all the orange daylilies growing along the road. They reminded me of childhood vacations with my family, driving to cabins at Pymatuning State Park.

Then, a little later, I started seeing chickory along the road. This is a beautiful blue flower that is only open in the morning, unless protected by heavy shade. It's about the only blue flower in the area, so it really stands out.

DAYLILY

CHICKORY

Now I'm seeing Queen Anne's Lace added to the mix, another flower from my childhood. I used to find it growing in the fields where I would wander.

I know from summers past that as July gives way to August, I will start to see some deep purple ironweed start to mix in with the white Queen Anne's Lace.

QUEEN ANNE'S LACE

IRONWEED

Then goldenrod will start blooming in late summer. It makes a beautiful color combination - the yellow goldenrod, purple ironweed, and green leaves. Although it is still summer, this combination means summer is getting old and will soon be drawing to a close.

Then, when you can sense autumn in the air on certain mornings, you notice that the tall purple ironweed has been replaced by bushy purple asters, maintaining the yellow, purple, green color combo. Finally, the first poison ivy leaves begin turning a bright red. This signals the arrival of early autumn, and my favorite time of year.

GOLDENROD

PURPLE ASTER

But now it is nothing but summer. Corn is growing, bees are in the clover, even birds and squirrels seem to be resting. This is a really nice time of year.

Got Snow Event?

2008-03-09T11:19:00.005-04:00

Sometimes up North we say to ourselves, "Gee, we never have those deep drifting blizzard snows anymore like back when I was a kid." Well this weekend we got our wish. After seeing it snow all day Friday and barely making it home, I awoke Saturday morning to find it still snowing - hard. Anne and I shoveled the driveway and backyard paths for the dogs in overlapping shifts. During our rest periods we couldn't help going from window to window, just watching and marveling. Yes, we have all seen snow before, but this was really something. It was a Significant Snow Event.

All My Squirrels

2008-01-13T17:52:00.001-05:00

You think squirrels are cute? Think again. Oh sure they might be fun to watch or photograph, but only if there aren't too many of them. Not everything with fur is cute you know.

I live in a house in a wooded neighborhood. There are about eight squirrels per lot. There are sometimes this many in one tree, and we have five pretty big trees. Although Kent is known for its black squirrels, we see about half black and the other half grey or gold. To a homeowner, squirrels are the enemy.

Squirrels like to get all up in your attic. Especially for winter. They chew through siding and wood and insulation to get in. They bring leaves and make nests. They bring their friends and their dates with them, maybe their wife and kids too. The attic squirrels make odd skritchy noises when you are in your bed trying to sleep. Now and then you have to pay some old guy a crapload of money to set traps in your attic. He charges you for the job, and then charges extra for "humane disposal" of every squirrel he catches. After you get the squirrels out, you have to spend a weekend afternoon getting all the leaves out. Oh, and more squirrels will keep coming in unless you repair the damage and nail up lots of heavy gauge wire mesh to keep them out. You can pay somebody to do this or, if you are Handyman Negri, you can burn another day buying heavy screen and wire cutters, lumber, saw, nails, screws, etc. to try and squirrel-proof your house.

Then, even though they can't get in, they still love to bring piles of leaves and weave them skillfully into your vent along the vent ledge to create a soft squirrel bed. All these leaves totally clog up your vent until your attic and eventually your house get really hot in the summer. How to discourage them? I put mothballs around where they like to hang out. It stinks them out. But it also stinks out my hands, but not as much.

When I'm not busy setting mothballs around the attic vents, I'm still battling squirrels. They want to steal the suet and bird seed I put out for the birds - so I put up squirrel baffles. They run along the fence - I put mean-looking fake birds on the fence to scare them. They dig up the dirt in my potted plants - I put wire screen over the soil. They chew off young tree branches for their nests and drop them all over the front lawn - I throw tennis balls at them. They sit in the tree and make the dogs bark - I throw Frisbees at them. They dig up all my crocus bulbs for a snack - I get really mad and throw Lucie's rubber jingle ball at them.

I wish I had a BB-gun like Anne's Grandpa Bullat: BINGO! One of them would at least have a hole in his ear. But squirrel management is all part of home ownership here in northeast Ohio. Stupid squirrels.

Looks at Books

2008-01-12T16:30:00.000-05:00

In my tribe, books are very big. They like to read them, talk about them, look for them, recommend them, blog about them, browse them, buy them, give them, get them as gifts, and then talk about them some more. Maybe read them again. Buy another copy. Even write them.

I don't understand all this about books, books, books. It's not like I don't try. I have some books. I like books. I read them whenever I don't have a single other thing in the whole wide world to do. One thing - I am bad at finishing books. I have many books "going" at once. Wait, I will list them for you:

Foucault's Pendulum
The Portable Sixties Reader
Talking Zen
The Disappearing Islands of the Chesapeake Bay
Living Without A Goal
A Christmas Carol
Walden

I could also list Ulysses. I have started that book many times. I enjoy it thoroughly. I think it is one of the best books ever, except I can't seem to finish it. Here are the last couple books I actually finished:

The Waterman and Wild Ponies
A Short History Of Almost Everything

And I am often the target of book suggestions. You should really read this. You would like it. Seriously.

That's OK. I'm glad to get suggestions. Really. But I feel bad because, you know, probably it will be a while before I can get to it. I like to read, but I can almost always think of something I'd like to do more.

So keep those suggestions coming. Keep encouraging me to read. I really hope I can get to all these books some time. Just not right now.

Geauga Lake Park Is Closed

2007-10-16T20:53:00.001-04:00

We all saw it coming I guess, but it's still crappy because it didn't have to be this way. After years spent in an ill-advised (and failed) head-to-head competition with Cedar Point, Geauga Lake Park recently announced that 2007 was its last year as an amusement park. Locals reacted with anger, hurt, and sadness. There's a petition. But none of that will change what has already happened. I work about 10 minutes from the park, and a quick drive-by reveals ride cars in the parking lot and cranes removing sections of roller coasters.

The loss of Geauga Lake is about losing a part of our childhood. We grew up visiting the park faithfully every year. It was there for us back when Cedar Point was all run down (early 1960's). It was there for us as Euclid Beach wound down and closed (late 1960's). It was there for us when Cedar Point outgrew us and became a big-ticket attraction. In those days Geauga Lake knew it was a family park, it was modest, fun, reasonable. It was like an old friend. We would beg our parents to stay later so we could run around to the gate to ride the Dodge 'Em or whatever one more time. Later we would watch with satisfaction as our own kids did the same thing on the same rides.

During the late 1990's nearly all the nostalgic rides were removed, including some purchased from Euclid Beach. Rides, benches and trees were cleared to make way for new roller coasters. The park forgot about families in its bid for stardom. And the gamble failed. The money was gone. It's faithful ridership was gone. The park was sold to Six Flags, which continued to strive for star status rather than family park. They bought and merged with Sea World of Ohio. Suddenly people who used to take a day to see each park, staying in Streetsboro hotels overnight, could see most everything in one day. Attendance dropped (mathematically!) by half a year after the merger. After this blunder, the park was sold again, and it never regained its health.

So goodbye to the Flying Scooters, the Rocket ride, the Calypso, the Big Dipper (Clipper), the Giant Slide, the Whip, the Bug, the Wild Mouse. We have our photos, and our memories.

You can search the Web for more info, but if you want text and old pictures, I recommend GeaugaLakeToday.com.

Recommended sci-fi

2007-09-29T23:23:00.000-04:00

Ran into this spiffy collection of classic science fiction at the University of Delaware. Although my first reaction was, "Where's the Vonnegut?", I was familiar with most of these and have to say it is a pretty good list. I've read enough of them to admit I like the genre, and this list gives me some ideas for a few I've missed. If you haven't read "The Sparrow", you should try it. Thank you, U.D.!

Necco Wafers. Yum.

2007-08-21T19:47:00.000-04:00

I'm usually pretty good about impulse purchases, but the guy in front of me was taking so long I started scanning the candy racks. Chicklets. Dentyne. Interesting what olde tyme confections still abide. When I spotted the Neccos I actually smiled, picked a pack and paid. I started unwrapping them as I walked to the car and was enjoying, what? lime? as I pulled into traffic. What flavor would I get next? I carefully extricated the next wafer without looking. It was - I couldn't tell what flavor it was. But it was yummy. Later I Googled Necco and found they still come in the original 8 flavors: orange, lemon, lime, clove, chocolate, cinnamon, licorice, and wintergreen. As kids my neighborhood gang and I used to ride our bikes out to a Gray Drugs store (later Rexall?) and buy Neccos and bags of red licorice, jaw breakers, candy bars, and, when in season, wax lips, etc. It was nice to be able to touch those memories again.

Movin' On Up

2007-08-11T21:17:00.000-04:00

I moved out of my cube Friday and into my new office. My office has a door - that's gonna rock. It also has a window. Excellent. Oh sure, it's a little rough around the edges - half the desk is missing, one file cabinet instead of three, no shelves, coffee-stained carpet. But no one likes a whiner. I'll just keep my work in neat little piles on the floor till they find the rest of my desk or get me a filing cabinet.

I've had my own office since 1988, so it was hard for me to get used to cubicle life. I lived near a "God bless you" lady. If she heard anyone sneeze in any of the 40 cubicles within earshot, she would say, "God bless you." To which the sneezer of course replied, "Thank you." no matter how annoyed. And you guessed it - three sneezes, three God bless yous, three thank yous. In the 38 other cubicles we waited, breathless, till this saga played itself out and we could resume our work. Part of my job is to review Safety Risk Analyses, and this was the environment they provided for me. My cube was surrounded by hallways on three sides, had one immediate neighbor, was across from a meeting room with no door, and sat under a paging speaker. I could concentrate for moments at a time without having to start the sentence over. Protecting public health and safety - from a cubicle.

So wish me luck. I will keep you posted (ha! nice pun) as more office furniture arrives and I begin decorating. Perhaps an arrangement of summer flowers there in the unused fireplace...

(Owww!!) Papa's got a brand new blog!

2007-08-07T20:43:00.001-04:00

No, no, don't worry - not another brand new blog. I just felt I had to use this line once I'd thought of it.

I recently passed my one-year anniversary at my sucking-soul job ("soul-sucking" TM amancine, pat. pending.) I failed to actually wear a black arm band as I'd planned, but I took the occasion to switch my screen saver to show my record cover collection instead of my photos. This has resulted in my returning from lunch to find a gaggle of engineers at my cubicle, pointing and commenting on the LP covers. We are all so starved for grins at that place, all grim and earnest and such. It's refreshing to hear laughter. What next - will somebody bring in donuts or something?!

Time Enough

2007-08-05T20:46:00.000-04:00

I have wasted most of my weekend noodling around with this blog or that. Fortunately it's been a dark and stormy weekend. Also, I've enjoyed messing with them, like playing with new toys. For a couple hours this afternoon I even had an animated My Little Pony on this blog. You had to use your mouse to brush her hair when it got tangled. Bet you're sorry you missed that one.

So yeah, two blogs for now. We'll see, right? But now I think I'll switch to reading for a while. I have this nice new chair here, with a little brown dog on it. I have a couple gift books I'm working on, plus I won $100-worth of books from Alibris last month. Plenty to read, and, for now at least, time enough.

Hello and welcome

2007-08-04T23:14:00.001-04:00

The other day I asked myself, "If all the other kids started blogs, does that mean you couldn't?" Then Anne gave me some encouragement, so look out blogosphere here I come. May this blog entertain both reader and writer, at least for a little while.

Why "Sounds In Space"? This title seemed especially apt for thoughts sent from inside my head out to the Internets and on through the silent Ether. There are many things in space, but none of them are sound. So, although it's an odd name for an album of piano music, the cover art works well for this blog.

Today I am thinking about the Truth. Like how much to put into this blog. (Don't worry, not too much). Like how two seemingly opposite things can be true at the same time: half full / half empty. How things merely are until we decide what is true about them.

It's your game, the rules are your own, win or lose. - Steely Dan