Author: turndoozie

We’ve been in Delaware since we skedaddled out of Okemos. We just beat an ice storm, and the weather there doesn’t seemed to have gotten any better. Had we waited a few hours we would have been there another week.

Our life here has centered around trying to bring a trailer back from the dead. OK, maybe near dead. There’s dead, and there’s sort of dead. This was sort of dead. At least there weren’t any animals living it in when we came. Not that they couldn’t come in through the now repaired hole in the floor.

Making the place livable has become something of an all-consuming mission. It’s seen a couple decades of neglect and abuse. There was a distinct air of depression when we showed up. Despite being an inanimate object, I think the trailer itself was depressed. It didn’t have a whole lot to be happy about. So, we’ve been plugging away, at tasks both big and little. Each task we complete the trailer seems to say. “thank you.” I’m not much into the spirit thing but you really get the feeling the place is happier. By the time I leave for the Appalachian Trail there will still be some rough spots, but the place will be livable enough for company.

We’ve had some play time too. It would be just wrong to be near the ocean and not walk the beach a few times. We’ve gotten to gloat about the weather back in Michigan, did some birding and I got to do a little photography. Very little, but I can’t complain. Molly and Mitchell visited for a couple days, and we did an overnight run p to Lynn’s in Pennsylvania. So, it hasn’t been all work.

Thousands of snow geese on the beach at Cape Henlopen.

Sanderling chowing down on the beach.

Sanderling with an attitude.

Henlopen sunset in color.

Henlopen sunset in monochrome.

The gang at Crooked Hammock brewery. Our new favorite hangout.

After over 18 years in Okemos, Michigan, Lise and I are now officially moving on. Molly is at Temple working on her PhD, I retired from MSU, and Lise has shut down her business. As Bob Seeger said, “Turn the page.”

Heading out.

Yesterday afternoon, after weeks of frantic packing and readying our house for selling, we packed out of Okemos, Michigan, racing east to beat an ice storm. Two vehicles a ten-foot trailer, and Rover the bearded dragon. Looked a little like the Beverly Hillbillies. The rest of our lives we put in storage. The shack goes on the market in a couple days and we are sort of homeless. We’re now at the trailer in Lewes, Delaware. Sometime in March Lise will go to Indiana and live with her mother. I will start walking north on the Appalachian Trail. After that, we shall see.

Lise at the Crooked Hammock, Lewes, Delaware. After a long grueling drive.

Happy Grundsau Tag. Better known as Groundhog’s Day to the uninformed.

Today was a big day in our lives. For the first time in many years Lise did not host the gala event of the year, her annual Groundhog’s Day party. Instead, a moving company showed up and packed our lives into a 28’ X 9’ truck. In about four hours of backbreaking work. For the next six – eight months most of what we own will be in storage.

Our lives in boxes.

Going…..,

Going…..,

Gone.

The crew from Kinsley Moving. These guys were great.

This has been a long grueling month doing nothing but packing and getting the house ready to sell. Except for some sanity saving evenings doing DJ Trivia at local bars with Lindsay, we’ve been full tilt boogie working to get ready for today. And now the deed is done. I don’t think I want to go through the nonsense of selling a house again. I’d rather just burn it for the insurance money.

We still have a couple days of painting and cleaning to finish things, then it’s off to the next big adventure. And a well-deserved break for both of us.

January is half over, and I don’t have too much to show for it except a pile of boxes. Our lives have become an endless blur of home repairs, painting, and packing. With a few runs to the dump and the recycling center to break the monotony. We’re both givers and receivers at the recycling center. We give various recyclables and we get all the cardboard boxes we can. Dumpster diving at its finest.

Our life in boxes.

My beautiful Olhausen pool table, in pieces on the living room floor.

We worked in a one-night run to West Lafayette to relocate Lise’s piano to there. We were going to stay another night but there was a nasty snowstorm heading in. So, we hightailed it back here a day early to beat the storm. And get some more packing done.

Birding or photography have pretty much fallen by the wayside since leaving Delaware. Before leaving Delaware, we got great views and some photos of a common eider. These are usually seen far away, bobbing in and out of the waves across some large body of open water. So, this was kind of a treat.

Common eider at the Indian River Inlet, Delaware.

Our only birding here has been chasing a snowy owl that was reported close by. We saw it sitting by the fence behind the Alaiedon Township hall. Not a very classy sighting, but it did get us our snowy owl for the year. A very classy bird, even in a less than classy setting. Then we went home and did more packing.

Snowy owl, Alaiedon Township Hall, Michigan. It looked a lot better through binoculars.

Greetings on this the first day of 2019. 218 is behind us. Upward, tallyho, all that stuff.

We’ve spent the past couple days at the trailer in Delaware, trying to right of a couple decades of abuse and neglect. When you’re talking trailers, a little abuse goes a long way. It’s not like these things are built to withstand the test of time. One good tornado and away they go. Along with the 40 year old collection of Jim Beam commemorative bottles. Forty years ago, some misguided subset of the population thought it was a good idea to own a bottle of low shelf whiskey in the shape of a rainbow trout or a totem pole. Try to find a good home for those bottles now. I’m betting the damn things are cursed and if I throw them away a plague of locusts will descend on my house.

Celebrating the new year, today was a play day doing nothing substantive. Just getting outside and birding. We started the year with over 50 species, without trying too hard and fighting some right powerful winds. Air temperatures in the low 60s made things quite pleasurable. I could really get to like this place.

Looking forward, 2019 promises to be an interesting year. In a few weeks we will be putting our house on the market and essentially becoming homeless. I’ll be spending more time here in Delaware trying to rehab the trailer. Somewhere between the middle of March and early April I’ll be starting the Appalachian Trail. Lise will be in West Lafayette with her mother. When I come off the trail, which could be six months, we’ll figure out where we’re going to spend our last few decades. Or at least our base camp for the last few decades. Just so where ever we end up doesn’t involve a collection of Jim Beam commemorative bottles.

Some cell phone pictures from Cape Henlopen, the point where the Atlantic Ocean and the Delaware Bay meet. I was carrying the scope for birding so I couldn’t carry my camera on a tripod.

At the water’s edge, looking back west at the Cape.

At the point where the Delaware bay and Atlantic Ocean come together. To the left is the Delaware Bay. to the right is the Atlantic Ocean.  I personally think this is a pretty cool place.

Looking south along the Atlantic Ocean.

With due deference to Clement Moore….

Twas the night before Christmas, we’re in West Lafayette.
My mind is all stirring, I can’t sleep just yet.
At home the stockings have been hung with care.
In hope the recipients soon would be there.
The others are nestled, snug in their beds.
While visions of impeachments dance in their heads.

Now Lise was dozing, while I with a nightcap,
could not settle down, my brain would not nap.
My mind was unsettled, a din and a clatter.
I wasn’t sure why. Oh, what was the matter.

My thoughts were all jumbled, a nightmare mishmash.
When suddenly I saw it, the year in a flash.
A year unlike others, of travel and transition.
Things kept going on, like a long nonstop mission.

First to my wondering mind should appear,
our trip to Ireland, a highlight this year.
Because of Lindsay, her required internship.
The opportunity came, we had to go quick.

More rapid than eagles the places all came
We found ourselves driving, completely insane,
Now Dublin, now Dingle, Newgarnge and Lounghcrew.
To Galway, to Limerick, Skellig Michael and Kerry.
A damn traffic circle, watch out for the wall!
Now dash away, dash away, we must see it all!

In this year of transition two nieces were wed.
To Milwaukee and Oregon quickly we sped.
Katie to Cody and Teresa to Chris.
Are now settled down, in marital bliss

Now Molly and Lindsay did both graduate.
With honors and kudos from Michigan State.
Molly’s moved on, to Temple she went.
Studying herps, her lifelong intent.
Lindsay was later, so now she’s just chilling.
Looking for something intellectually fulfilling.
Into parenthood Stefan and Kasey were hurled.
When they brought baby Ava into this world.
She’s a joy and so merry, our only god-daughter.
Now Lise must see her, come hell or high water.
So to West Lafayette and St. Louis we went.
To make Lise happy, time and money well spent.
Ontario Canada, with Joanna our friend.
Paddling and birding, much time we did spend.
Transition means changes and changes we made.
Into a new world, we both have sashayed.
Interpretive Ideas, Lise’s business for years,
she’s now shutting down, without any tears.

Although retired, I still did some teaching.
It’s kept me engaged, my brain still reaching.
After eighteen years I taught my last class.
Unlike certain students, all things must pass.

After a year, of movement and transition.
We find ourselves in an interesting position.
To take on next year and do what is right.
So happy Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Yesterday was the winter solstice. Shortest day of the year. I was hoping that explained why I didn’t have enough time to get anything done. But then the physics degree kicked in and I remembered it is just the shortest number of daylight hours. The length of the day stays the same, we’re just in the dark longer. One good excuse gone the way of the flat earth and cold fusion.

Right now, it seems that every day is the shortest day of the year. We’re up to our ears trying to get the house ready to sell and tying up lose ends before moving. With so many things going on at once it’s hard to stay organized or see much progress on any one front. Not that we don’t have some time for fun. Last night we did a solstice party and singalong. With enough really good singers present that I could safely hide acoustically.

Last weekend I did a trip back east. Took a load of stuff to the trailer in Lewes, did some work around the trailer, and spent some quality time with Molly. Both in Philly and in Lewes. Big time fun.

Molly and Mitchell at a pub in Philly.

Me standing on top of the giant heart in the Franklin Institute in Philly. Something I also did in about 6th grade.

Molly kissing up to a Viking hologram in the Franklin Institute.

Molly and me at the Crooked Hammock brewpub in Lewes.

Where oh where has the time gone. Familiar lament, I know. I just haven’t found the time to sit down and write.

The highlight of my writing hiatus was a trip back east for Thanksgiving. The highlight of which was getting to play around Philadelphia with Molly and Mitchell. I mean, where else can you go to a bar on the coldest Thanksgiving in Philadelphia’s history, and see a drag show. Ya gotta love the cradle of Independence.

Mitchell and Molly at Independence Hall.

Philly at night.

Christmas Village, the day after the coldest Thanksgiving on record.

Mitchell. Molly, and the ever cooperative, “I’ll see you in Hell for this”, Sgt. Pepper.

But just visiting Molly would be too easy a trip. In fact, the whole trip is kind of a blur. We started by dodging snowstorms and driving from Michigan to Lynn’s house in PA with a load of stuff for the trailer in Delaware. Spent the night at Lynn’s, then we headed down to Delaware. Did a couple days there, unloading the stuff we brought and cleaning up the place. Molly and Mitchell came for a visit, so we got to play with them a bit. From Delaware we took a load of Anita’s stuff back up to Lynn’s house. We did Thanksgiving Day at Lynn’s, then went down to Philly to spend more time with Molly and Mitchell. Two days in Philly, then back to Lynn’s for the night and the drive back to Michigan. Arriving back in Okemos just few hours before the next snowfall.

The gang at Cape Henlopen, Delaware.

Cape Henlopen, where the Atlantic Ocean and Delaware Bay come together.

Hanging at Dogfish Head brewpub.

Since then it has been pretty much the humdrum of teaching my classes, getting the house ready to sell, and packing boxes. Not very exciting but really time consuming. You move stuff downstairs to work upstairs, then you move stuff back upstairs to work downstairs.

What our dining room looks like at the moment.

I taught my last class at Lansing Community College tonight. And probably my last class ever. I’ve done some teaching gigs at Northern Michigan University and Michigan State University, but I’ve been doing LCC as an adjunct instructor since 2002. I really think I’m going to miss it. There were times the teaching was a real hassle, but overall, I enjoyed it. I generally got good reviews from the students. I’ve had enough students say that I taught the best classes they took that there may be some truth to it. I see enough of my students working in GIS around the state, so I know I had some positive impact. That feels good. Real good.

Today is Veteran’s Day, formerly known as Armistice Day. One hundred years ago, at the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month, the carnage and stupidity of WWI ceased. In the hours right before the ceasefire, American and French troops were ordered to continue attacking the Germans, an army retreating and fighting rear guard actions. Our troops were ordered over the top to cross no man’s land under fire, when they could have peacefully walked the same land a few hours later. The sin is that the American high command knew there was a ceasefire happening and ordered attacks anyway. That my friend is murder for glory, not leadership. Not one of those casualties was a general or other senior officer. For no reasonable reason, America suffered more casualties the last morning of WWI than during the Normandy invasion. Normandy was a necessary battle, a precursor to ending a war. On November 11, 1918, the Germans were already beaten and surrendering.

Unfortunately, the war to end all wars was only the opening act for even more stupidity and carnage. So today everyone, except our draft dodging president that didn’t want to go out in the rain today, honors those that served in any war. I raise my glass of whiskey to you. Thanks, and never forget.

On the lighter side, Molly came rolling in Friday for a weekend visit. Naturally it snowed too. So, we did what every real Michigander does when it snows. We grilled outside. The snow had mostly melted by grilling time, but it was still kind of nasty. We did what we call a meat marathon. Charcoal grilled eight bratwurst, eight spicy Italian sausages, eight sweet Italian sausages, ten hamburgers, and three chicken breasts. Molly had a couple  friends over for libations and feasting, then froze the leftovers to go back to Philly. Good time had by all.

Anyone can grill in the summer.

 

I did my part to take down the tyrant.