What do April Showers Bring?

In school I was taught that April showers bring May flowers. But, in Amboy, WA things are a little different. Yes we've had some flowers, but they have been overshadowed this month, by the great overshadowers: clouds. And rain.
So, I've arrived at the new mnemonic, for use in Amboy: April showers bring May showers!

In any case, things are green around here. I need to sharpen my scythe blade and make some hay.

200 Miles Per Gallon!!!

This could be just the ticket for me, a bicycle assisting motor that runs on regular gasoline and gets a whopping 200 miles per gallon:
http://www.bikeengines.com/robin35info.htm
These engines got rave reviews on Kevin Kelly's Cool Tools site.
By my calculations, this would save me roughly $1200 per year, assuming I used it exclusively for my commuting. And I could get in shape at the same time.

Current Events

Nothing earth-shattering here, but I wanted to log some of the facts of my life right now:
Gourmet cooking has tapered off a bit, though it is still among the top hobbies I'm actively pursuing. That is related to my present obsession with knives, quality metal and sharpening, which lead to the purchase of some Shun knives a while back, and a subsequent obsession with finding "the best" way to sharpen kitchen cutlery.
That has lead me to Japanese water stones, which I was able to procure at a very nice woodworking store in Portland last weekend. I bought a 1000 and a 6000 grit stone of rather large dimensions (3.5 x 8 inches or so) and have succeeded in getting my old knives to the point that I can shave hairs of the back of my hand. So, I'm considering that a success. Oh, yeah, I also bought a synthetic strop and a small cannister of aluminum oxide powder, which I think is responsible for that last little boost that allows the shaving of hair.
Having good, sharp knives in the house leads to just one thing: the desire to cut stuff. So, we've planted a vegetable garden. Unlike years past, however, we've protected it from all manner of pests this year. The deer, as you may know, are ravenous and can smell cabbage from two miles upwind, five miles down. So, we've build a fence, with rabbit-proofing on the bottom, and deer-proofing up to about seven feet, with more height possible, if it's deemed necessary.
During the construction of the fence, I smashed my thumb only once. (What sicko puts a round top on a fencing staple?) This provided me the chance to prove that I could endure considerable pain without cursing. I failed that test. However, later, I was provided the opportunity to practice a technique, learned from Vern L. Callero, of piercing the fingernail, to relieve the blood-pressure buildup in the traumatized tissue. Good thing I had a nice, sharp Shun paring knife handy. :)
That about sums it up for now. I'll let you know how the garden grows.

Milestones

I failed to mention, I reached 400 posts 4 posts ago. Amazing how they add up, a little here, a little there.

But the real point of this post is to highlight Arthur's milestone:
First lost tooth!!!! He was quite excited, and insisted that everyone wiggle it.

Crying, From Laughing

In my family we always pick a Kentucky Derby horse for the fun of it. Sometimes we'll even bet 10 cents.
Back in 1981, I was still a child, the first time we did it (spurred on, I think, by my brother's enthusiasm for the Black Stallion book series.)
That was the only time I've picked a winner. It has been 27 years since then. Despite my early success, time has shown that you can't pick a horse by its name alone.

Back to the present time.

I don't think dead horses are funny. I don't think broken legs are funny. Two broken legs on one dead horse, is, in fact, a miserable thing to contemplate.

I literally feel ill when I hear of a horse euthanized before its time due to two broken forelegs. Generally, I try not to think about it for long, because it makes me queasy. I have empathy and sympathy for the animal, as well as the people that owned and cared for the animal.

What is mildly funny is when a family-member "bets" on that horse in the Kentucky Derby.

And what strikes me as hugely funny, is when one issues a polite request to that same family member to never "bet" on onesself, should one happen to ever be in a race of any sort.

To make such a request suggests a deep-rooted sense of superstition. Those who know me, know I have no such sense in actuality. But I do believe, (perhaps erroneously) that it makes for an hysterical joke.

That is why, in the picture above, you will notice a gleam on my lower eyelids. By myself, in my office at 7 on a Sunday morning, I laughed until I cried after sending just such a request to my sister-in-law, who has never been anything but gracious to me.