Saturday I spent some time disassembling a very old TV so my in-laws could use the cabinet for general purpose storage.
Of course, I had to get some pictures first
It was soon followed by much disassembly, resulting in TV guts in a box
and an empty cabinet.
Click on any of the images for more.
or "Look what I found in Dad's garage!"
If you live long enough, especially in recent decades, the world moves out from under your feet and a new one slips into place. My grandmother knew how to make fried chicken, starting by catching a hen in the back yard and wringing its neck. Mother played with little droplets of mercury brought home by Grandaddy the chemist. Did you know you can turn a gold ring silver by putting mercury on it? Cool! The color lasts until the mercury rubs off, on your skin of course. I remember adding freon to a '74 Mustang by hooking up hoses and setting the can in a pan of hot water out in the driveway where the gas could fly away to widen the nearest hole in the ozone layer. What? It was fun to feel how cold the can got.
Nowadays folks buy boxes of ladybugs to eat aphids in their gardens, rather than seasoning the leaves with Sevin Dust. Maybe you, dear reader, wouldn't dream of using chemicals in your yard, but recent generations were happy to use the little gem below -- the best thing ever for killing termites. Take a gander at this bottle of sure-fire pest control.
Chlordane by Green Light
Directions for Use [excerpts]
Regular Mixture: 8 ounces per 25 gallons of water or 1 tablespoon per 1½ gallons of water.
LAWN PESTS: For ants, sod webworms, fall armyworms, crickets, mole crickets, tarantulas, scorpions, fleas, chiggers, wood ticks, sow bugs, spray regular mixture at the rate of 1 gallon per 100 square feet. Do not water lawn for several days afterwards.
SARCOPTIC MANGE MITES and LICE ON DOGS: Wet animal thoroughly with regular mixture. Do not spray dog if suckling young, nor on cats.
WARNING: Do not use on humans or cats. Contact with skin can cause toxic symptoms. Avoid breathing spray mist and skin contact. In case of spillage on skin, wash immediately with soap and water. Avoid contamination of feed and foodstuffs. Harmful if swallowed. Keep out of reach of children. [etc, etc..]
Here's the good bit...
This product will kill fish and wildlife. Birds feeding on treated areas may be harmed. Keep out of lakes, ponds, and streams. This product is toxic to bees and should not be applied when bees are actively visiting the area.
So it kills bugs but - oopsie - it also kills wildlife? It's OK to apply it all over the dog, but don't get it on the cat? Is the warning not to water the lawn for several days supposed to "keep out of lakes, ponds, and streams"?
As startling as these statements printed on the label are, the effects we now know about are downright chilling. "Documented health problems can include child cancers, neuroblastoma, leukemia, chronic infections, bronchitis, asthma, sinusitis, infertility, neurological disorders, aggression and depression." Holy crap!
Uh, now I have a nearly full bottle of this on my desk. Which I'm afraid to touch. At least it's no longer in the hands of someone who might see it as "just the thing" for that recurring termite problem.
I took my scope out into the front yard to look at the Moon, Venus, Saturn and Mars as well as wait for an ISS passover.
Soon after dark I was able to get a good shot of the Moon and Venus together. Click through for larger versions.
A through the eyepiece shot of the Moon.
And finally, a shot of the ISS passing beyond the house. I got several shots but they all show a bit of movement at the beginning even though I thought I'd set a shutter delay.
Fun, fun, fun.
Another morning, another chance to get interesting pictures.
First up was a critter seen swimming toward the shore of the pond. After waiting next to the water I was rewarded by a sighting of him swimming back out to sea.
And then of course a beautiful sunrise.
Now that's a happy dog. Off-leash in a big open field.
What's really great about him is that he's constantly looking back to see where I am, if I say his name he stops and if I tell him to come to me, he does.
Went for another evening walk with the boy and was rewarded by a pretty sunset.
Yet another ralk with Chip, early in the morning.
I didn't have my camera with me which guaranteed I'd see something interesting.
A cloud that looked like a duck. By the time we got back home and I grabbed the camera it wasn't as strongly duck shaped but here it is anyway.
That evening we took just a walk - too bloody hot for anything else.
After completing a circuit around the pond we headed off across the field where I stopped and attempted to take a picture of my favorite puppy.
Little did I know he'd pick that moment do do his business.
"Really? You're going to take a picture of me now?"
It was time to dance again!
Susan and I went out to Sherman to teach a set dance workshop where we taught the Antrim Square to an enthusiastic bunch of fun dancers.
It was a nice large group and they all did well and had fun.
We're definitely looking forward to the next workshop.
Now, THATS a Redbull!
