This tree observed that winter had returned, after a strange month-and-half long hiatus (we had average daily temps in the 50’s F for most of the past 40 days).
[daily log: walking, 4km; retailing, 8hr]
Category: A Daily Tree
Caveat: Tree #1857 “Frosted rocks”
This tree witnessed ice on the beach. This happens when we have below-freezing, windy nights, with a high-tide in the middle of the night. The fresh river water freezes on top of the sea water, then the sea retreats leaving the ice on the beach.
[daily log: walking, 4.5km; retailing, 9hr]
Caveat: Tree #1856 “A la gringa”
This tree experienced some rain turning to snow this morning.
Arthur has told me he no longer likes making chicken chile verde (a sort of family traditional dish that he always did really well). I think the last few times it hasn’t gone well – forgetting ingredients, lose track of where he is in the process… somehow these difficulties actually gained traction in his memories. And so… I made an effort at making the stuff. I’m not sure I follow the exact same recipe – I lived in Mexico too long and my take is maybe a little less ‘a la gringa.’ But I think it came out alright.
[daily log: walking, 2.5km;]
Caveat: Tree #1855 “The old logging road”
This tree was alongside the old logging road that goes up over the back of Sunnahae mountain.
[daily log: walking, 1.5km; retailing, 4hr]
Caveat: Tree #1854 “The expressway at dawn”
This tree has no doubt appeared before. This is perhaps a very common view on this here daily tree feature – because it’s what I see when I step out of the house and walk up the driveway to the expressway. This is the Port Saint Nicholas Expressway, as I like to call it.
I had a somewhat disconcerting experience with Arthur when we stopped at the bank yesterday, while running our Thursday “shopping day” errands.
I pulled into the parking lot at the Wells Fargo bank in town, and said “Both you and I need to go to the bank.” Arthur asked what he needed to do at the bank, and I said we’d discussed that he needed to withdraw some cash – his cash reserve in his wallet was running low. Then Arthur said, as confident as could be, “Why are were here. This isn’t my bank.”
Bear in mind, this Wells Fargo branch is the same as it ever was. I have a vivid memory of walking into this bank, in 1998, with Arthur, when he opened this account. So his bald assertion that this wasn’t his bank struck me as quite… disturbing. So far most of his memory failures and lapses are related to things that just aren’t salient (new or old), and I can’t quite figure how the local bank he’s been using for 25+ years isn’t salient. So this was a new type of problem.
The fact that he didn’t think it was his bank threw him off, and when we went inside, he couldn’t for his life figure out how to ask for what he wanted – and the teller was one of the frequently replaced sorts the bank in town struggles with – barely competent and probably only employed because no one more qualified can be found.
Once he was on the spot and couldn’t put together what he needed, and I had to step in, Arthur became embarrassed. His standard reaction to that is to get angry. When we got to the car he was combative and incoherent. He asked what we had to do next and I said grocery shopping and he said “whatever” in his exasperated way when he feels I’m being overly controlling.
[daily log: walking, 2.5km; retailing, 1hr]
Caveat: Tree #1853 “The top”
This tree noticed the beginnings of a roof.
[daily log: walking, 5km; retailing, 2hr]
Caveat: Tree #1852 “The north wall”
This tree stood aside as the north wall was added.
[daily log: walking, 5.5km; retailing, 9hr]
Caveat: Tree #1851 “The south wall”
This tree bore silent testimony to the completion of framing for the south wall of the little house thingy on Lot 73.
[daily log: walking, 5km; retailing, 9hr]
Caveat: Tree #1850 “Korean tree with Korean snow”
This tree is a guest tree from my past. I took this picture near my home in Goyang City, South Korea, in February, 2016. I was walking along the edge of Jeongbalsan park to go to an appointment at the beloved cancer hospital.
[daily log: walking, 4km; retailing, 9hr]
Caveat: Tree #1849 “Deception”
This tree experienced springlike weather in February. It is a deception.
[daily log: walking, 1km;]
Caveat: Tree #1848 “The east wall”
This tree bore witness to the raising of the eastern wall to the shed project. This was all Brandt’s work.
I was pretty lazy today. There was some work on the map servers that I tried to do, but even that didn’t really progress as hoped.
[daily log: walking, 1.5km;]
Caveat: Tree #1847 “The west wall”
This tree got to watch as neighbor Brandt and I (mostly Brandt) installed the framing for west wall of my shed project over on Lot 73.
After working in the morning, Brandt needed some help lifting that assembled frame of 2 x 6’s – it was quite heavy. We ended up using a come-along.
[daily log: walking, 5km; retailing, 4hr]
Caveat: Tree #1846 “Out of the shadow”
This tree is the tallest tree on lot 73. This time, each year, if the sky isn’t overcast, it meets the sun again after our 3 months exile in the mountain’s shadow.
[daily log: walking, 4km; retailing, 1hr]
Caveat: Tree #1845 “The morning rush hour”
This tree observed passing traffic during the morning rush hour.
[daily log: walking, 5km; retailing, 9hr]
Caveat: Tree #1844 “Sympathy”
This tree was frosty, just like all the others.
A woman came into the gift store this morning, looking for a Valantine’s Day card. Unfortunately, we had some issues with our card supplier, and we don’t have any Valentine’s Day cards this year. She was disappointed, of course. She moped about the store looking at some of the other stuff we have. But then she brightened. “I suppose I could use a sympathy card, instead,” she announced.
She did not, in fact, buy a sympathy card for her Valentine. I think it was a joke. But it was well executed and I was laughing about it all day.
[daily log: walking, 4km; retailing, 9hr]
Caveat: Tree #1843 “Outside the window”
This tree was outside a window where I often sit and look out.
[daily log: walking, 5km; retailing, 9hr]
Caveat: Tree #1842 “Mild”
This tree experienced unusually mild temperatures and cloudiness.
[daily log: walking, 1km;]
Caveat: Tree #1841 “설날나무”
이 나무는 우리 집 앞에 있어요.
오늘은 설날이에요.
새해 복 많이 받으세요.
[daily log: walking, 2.5km;]
Caveat: Tree #1840 “Raven with sky”
This tree had a raven enjoying a blueish sky.
[daily log: walking, 1km;]
Caveat: Tree #1839 “A dusting of snow”
This tree saw a light dusting of snow in the far western suburbs of Rockpit.
Art and I went to town for Thursday shopping. I had a lot of gift-store-related extra errands (banks, etc.). Arthur just dozes in the car while I do these.
In fact I felt pretty under-the-weather, today. I’m not sleeping well these days. Worrying about store tax preparation and stuff like that.
[daily log: walking, 4km; retailing, 2.5hr]
Caveat: Tree #1838 “The frame on the scene”
This tree helped frame a scene of calm water.
[daily log: walking, 5km; retailing, 9hr]
Caveat: Tree #1837 “Power”
This tree oversaw the delivery of electricity.
[daily log: walking, 5km; retailing, 9hr]
Caveat: Tree #1836 “A blueish sky”
This tree saw a blueish sky as the car thawed its windshield for the commute to town.
[daily log: walking, 4km; retailing, 9hr]
Caveat: Tree #1835 “Along a misty road”
This tree was along a misty road.
[daily log: walking, 2.5km;]
Caveat: Tree #1834 “Snow on the driveway”
This tree made note of some snow on the driveway.
[daily log: walking, 1.5km;]
Caveat: Tree #1833 “As winter finally arrived”
This tree was by the sea as a proper winter finally arrived.
[daily log: walking, 2km; retailing 1hr]
Caveat: Tree #1832 “Speculations as to the inner life of a small greenhouse”
This tree saw rain shifting to snow, out by the little greenhouse with a moldy heart.
Arthur forgot how to pay at the store yesterday. Just stood there, while the cashier got frustrated. It was a bit stressful, but I stepped in and pulled the levers – helped him dig out his credit card, sort of gave directions.
It’s always doubly frustrating because half the time he’ll deny there was a problem minutes later. It’s just like this temporary glitch in the operating system.
[daily log: walking, 4km;]
Caveat: Tree #1831 “In gloomy gloaming”
This tree was off feeling gloomy.
[daily log: walking, 5km; retailing, 9hr]
Caveat: Tree #1830 “A view across the water”
This tree was adjacent to a nice view toward downtown Rockpit, out there across the water.
[daily log: walking, 3.5km; retailing, 9hr]
Caveat: Tree #1829 “On helium”
This tree is a guest tree from my past. I like this tree. I took this picture in April, 2014, walking near my place of work in Goyang City, South Korea. I was only 6 months out from the end of my radiation treatment after my previous cancer surgery. I remember feeling quite terrible, but slogging along with job and life.
Today was a long, unprofitable day at the gift store. I had to go buy a new tank of helium at Tyler, for our balloon operation. As a side note, a tank of helium is a very heavy thing – not what you’d expect from helium, to be frank.
I learned that our local competitor in helium retailing, the monopoly grocery store, sells their helium at less than half what we do. If they pay the same for a tank of helium that we do (and I’m confident they do – they’re an obvious customer at Tyler, the only place that sells helium on the island), they’re selling at a steep loss. I pondered the economics of being a monopoly grocery store in a small, remote Alaskan town. Maybe there’s some weird philanthropic helium subsidy from some “Keep Rural Alaska Balloony” foundation. Or maybe they’re just incompetent and forgot to raise their prices over the last decade.
[daily log: walking, 5km; retailing, 9hr; helium-tank-loading-unloading, 10min]
Caveat: Tree #1828 “More wind, more rain”
This tree experienced wind and rain.
I ran across an interesting one-line take-down of Pascal’s Wager: “I don’t believe in gambling, either.”
[daily log: walking, 1km;]
Caveat: Tree #1827 “Precipitation”
This tree saw substantial precipitation.
I finally had 2 days off from work in a row. And tomorrow too. I was feeling burnt out.
[daily log: walking, 2km;]
Caveat: Tree #1826 “A gift for the Christmas tree”
This tree was our Christmas tree. I put it outside again a few weeks ago and gifted it with a pink flamingo to keep it entertained.
[daily log: walking, 1.5km;]