Wednesday, February 21, 2024

Before February Ends...

The plan is, is to get at least a post a month here for 2024...so here we are in later February so let's do it...


It has been, for the most part, a snow free and mild winter..."Man Made Global Warming"?  Bullshit...just nature doing what it does, going through a cycle of change...and turning 75 next month, I'm damn glad to see the warmer winter weather...and hopefully Spring, as they predict, is warmer than normal as well...

Millie, the new Airedale pup, is growing way fast...on her 3rd and last for now, visit to the Vets, for here final set of pup shots, she weighed in at just over 40 pounds...and she is just turning 4 months old this week...even for the Oorang/Ohio Strain, that is a big girl...100 pounds?  I hope not, but if it happens, we will adapt.

Only a few solid plans for the spring...watching the middle grandson during his 9u travel baseball season from March thru early July down in Dayton, another Vietnam Security Police get together in April at WPAFB and the Air Farce Museum in Dayton...and {maybe} some fishing in... 




I will, God willing, turn 75 on March 16th...does that bother me?  Not really, given the track record of the surname men in my family, I will be only the 2nd one that has reached 75 years old...my Uncle John made it to 75 and a couple months, but he had 3 heart attacks and some other later year health issues before he passed.  As for me, despite the Agent Orange related Diabetes 2 and related Neuropathy, I am pretty healthy.  On a few drugs from the Columbus VA, but all in all, I still ride the Dual Sport Motorcycle on occasion and get out and about ... we will see how that works out as time moves on...

OK there is my short February post...back in March, if not sooner>>>>

Monday, January 29, 2024

Welcome to 2024...

 2024 off and running...


Almost a month in to the new year...first few days/weeks were cold and windy, last 10 have been miserable, wet, above average temps, but now closer to normal temps but still damn, not seen the sun since at least a week, and not even before that...

The new Airedale Pup, Millie, is growing like a weed...turned 14 weeks on Sunday 28th} and is right at 30 pounds...mostly house broken, still a few mistakes on occasion, but doing as well as expected.  Training is moving along, wife is better and more patient than me...Millie is still over aggressive with Old Cam Dog, the Schnauzer Mix who is at 16 years and mostly blind...it all is a work in progress.

Not much else going on...I do need, approaching 75 years on this planet, to get back to working out more...I can feel the winter moving along slow...but spring can happen IMO at any time...the sooner the better.

Well that's about it...getting the year moving, and I will be back later, God willing...

When we had a bit of Snow Millie did enjoy playing out and about in it...






Tuesday, December 26, 2023

Looking Back at 2023...


No long look back
 at the year 2023 as it comes to a close...the few posts I have made thus far this year pretty much tells it ...


No major vacation for me and the wife this year, she spent about 2 weeks with her remaining family in SE Wisconsin this Summer, I took the oldest Grandson down to Space Camp in Alabama in July, then headed to Cedar Key, Florida, before the September Hurricane hit...got a bit of fishing in, some beer drinking, cigar smoking, and a larger part spent doing some Florida outdoor photography. I just couldn't see putting the old Schnauzer Mix Rescue Dog, Cam, in the kennel...he is now 16 and I won't mess with his life end times by sticking him in a kennel, while he can no longer see and is getting old...he eats fine and is aware so he is good to go for the duration.

No major Dual Sport Motorcycle adventure rides again this year, and my riding buddy Nick and I decided to sell the Yamaha TW200s, but after nobody seemed to want to travel to our area to look them over, we are likely to pull them off the market...Hell old or not, we can still ride, and probably will in 2024...



As I posted last week, I did make a somewhat crazy decision to buy another Airedale Terrier Pup...as of today "Millie" is 9 weeks and 2 days old and already 18 pounds and headed towards 70 plus likely...she is about 95% house trained, but still does chew with those puppy choppers...the entire family was here for Christmas Eve and the 2 older grandsons, 12 and 9 got some quality time with Millie...

Top Photo: Millie this morning, taking a nap and back in 2015 Me, Old Blue, Fred and Nick at Canyonlands outside of Moab, Utah...


What will 2024 bring?  

No Idea...as fucked up as that Demented Son of a Bitch is, who knows?  World War III, Martial Law, Civil War against the Leftist Bastards, I have little clue...hopefully the Bastards and his Marxist Administration will be the Hell out of office by January 2025, and the gawd damn borders will be closed. Perhaps we will get lucky and Jesus will return soon...but I think more pain and blood letting will happen before that comes about.

I plan on enjoying what time I have left on this Earth {turn 75 in March}...and sure the Hell don't worry about what may come personally...I worry for the younger family members and friend's kids and grandkids, but as for myself...?  F' It...I have lived on Hell of a life and if it ends tomorrow I'm good.






Top 9 year old Kam and Millie, and his older brother 12 year old Kasyn with the pup...

Back Later, probably 2024, if all goes well>>>




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Wednesday, December 20, 2023

Airedales {Again}

 


When our last Airedale, Reagan, passed away in 2012 just a couple months shy of 14, we decided no more dogs...  Well!

Along came 2 Schnauzer mixed, rescue pups, courtesy of youngest son and his wife, when the grandsons started coming...they stayed off and on with us for a few years, then after Avery died, we got Cam Dog back a few years ago...he is still with us at about 16 years old.  A kitten came calling about 12 years ago on Christmas Night, she has now been a house cat for those dozen or so years..5 more outdoor kittens were rescued and became Garage/Outdoor cats...2 of them still hang around.

About a month or so ago I got a burr and even though I will be 75 in March, and wife just turned 70, we are in good shape, mostly, despite my {?} Agent Orange related Diabetes II...so I started looking for Farm Bred, non show quality Airedales...yep, crazy I know, what was I thinking?

After looking awhile, and the prices sure have changed since we sold our last litter, back on the farm for around $200 per pup {we started out at $50 per dog up in Northern Wisconsin back in the late 1970s}.  Today's Airedales are fetching anywhere from $900 to $2750 or so, that I could find on the Internet.  I found a farm that raised Large Oorang Airedale pups for $1200 each....and they had a litter born on October 22nd, they would be ready around December 16th...located about 140 miles away near Ashland, Ohio.

I conversed with the couple, the husband's parents and brother had raised Airedales as well...and they were well versed in the non show Airedales.  I ended up putting down the $200 deposit on one of the 7 females in the litter of 10 and was told I had pick #5....that was OK, I know Airedales, wife knows Airedales, and I know most people, unless they have had multiple Airedales, really don't know how to select one, so I was fine with #5...

Last Saturday I headed to just outside the tiny berg of Mifflin in Ashland County...the day was


mostly sunny and nice for mid December and I arrived about a half hour ahead of my scheduled selection time of 11:30am...giving me a chance to check out the parents of my pup as well as the other stud dogs and bitches...including one huge Airedale that was in the 130 pound range.  My original stud dog, Max, was about 100 pounds but this one, name of Boone, makes Max look "average"...Big Dog.  Boone is not our pup's {who wife named "Millie"} dad, Beau is about 90 pounds while momma Jasmine is around 70-75...big Airedales, but reasonable, so Millie won't be to big for the house...unless I miss my guess...at 8 1/2 weeks she is about 14 pounds and growing daily.

Anyway Millie got home Saturday, here it is Wednesday, she is about 80% trained, still pees in the Mud Room, on occasion, by the door instead of letting me know she has to get out that back door...but for the most part she does here business outside and only chewing on things other than her "stuff" is the only other concern, but with less than 100 hours at our place, she is learning quick.

Hopefully she will survive and we will survive over the coming Christmas weekend, with the kids, and grandkids here...after that we should be able to concentrate on getting her trained properly...but after all these years of being sans Airedales, it will still be a challenge.



One other thing, old Cam Dog wants no part of her, he is about totally blind and just wants to eat, sleep, and for her to leave him alone...the indoor cat avoids her, and the outdoor cats despise her and her rambunctious ways of puppyhood...they warn her off, which they need to, because by spring she will be way to large for them to handle.

Thursday, October 5, 2023

Turning 100 years old...

 


No not me...the old home aka:  Parsonage 

Built by the First Church of God, the basement was poured in November 1923 as the living quarters for whoever would be the Pastor at that time...among those living here was Pastor and then Congressman, Tennyson Guyer.  The church {Old Church still standing} built a new structure in the late 1980s about a mile north and west, so the church sold the parsonage to Jeff Larmore and his wife at the time, in late 1989 ... When Jeff and ex got a divorce he sold it to me, and we took possession in early June 1995.

The nearly 2000 sq foot structure, including the 2 car garage and kennel, was smaller upon completion in 1924...the kitchen, second small bathroom, and storage "Mud Room" was added in 1945 and the Garage was built in 1990.  In the early and mid 1970s wife and I lived just 2 houses and a block away from the Parsonage, and Patricia loved the way the place looked...so when the chance came, I put some money down, and purchased it, paid it off early and is now ours, with the exception of the damn property taxes which will be going up again soon.  Now we are getting older, and the neighborhood is not what it once was, I could probably get 3 maybe 4 times what I spent to buy it...but, not gonna happen.  I refuse to move at my age, and when I pass on, Patricia, if she feels the need, can do with it what she wants.  If by small chance she should go first...this will be my final spot to live...



The youngest son was 11 when we moved in and now it is just us, with occasional overnights from the grandsons, and Sam when he visits from Chicago...but I'm happy with the way we have kept it up, although the old wood is a pain in the ass to paint every 5 years or so...I've done it 4 times thus far, it will likely need it again within the next two or three years, but I will finally give up the ghost and have that done by somebody younger and with more skills on that roof and ladder.  

For now however it remains the longest, by far {the farmhouse on Coldwater Creek is 2nd at 10 years} of anyplace I have ever remained in...and hopefully it will remain that, after more than 28 years, I have no interest in moving again, if I don't have to...did that way to many times in my first 46 plus years..
Back Later>>>maybe before 2024 

Friday, September 22, 2023

A Day in Cincinnati with the Boys



Youngest son Hal, and the two older grandsons, K~Man and Kam, headed to the Business Day Special on Wednesday to watch the Reds take on the Twins...big game for the Reds, but they blew it late and fell 5-3, wasting a great performance by young Hunter Greene, 14 strikeouts in 7 innings, just one run and 3 hits...but the bullpen blew it in the 8th and 9th...Reds are still in the hunt but cannot afford to lose more than one or two games out of the last 8...starting tonight at home vs Pittsburgh.

The boys, who are home schooled part time and go to a quality Christian School the rest of the week had competed their lessons so we were off...with less school age kids in attendance because of the time of the game, they had access to grab some quality autographs from some of the Reds young Stars...namely Matt McLain and Andrew Abbott ...the also got tossed game balls from T J Friedl the Reds young Centerfielder.  As so happens, T J is the nephew of my post Vietnam Air Force buddy and roommate, the late Jack Friedl...proving once again it's a small world indeed...

Me on the left, with Jack Friedl in the middle and our buddy Bruce Dei...at a November 1971 Wedding in Rome, New York:




 The Reds game will be one of two contests in Cincinnati I will take in, in a 5 day period...Monday night I will take in the Bengals vs Rams on MNF...that won is looking "iffy" for Bengals star QB, Joe Burrow, and the once promising season, which is now 0 wins and 2 loses is on the brink of disaster...Burrow's leg injury could indeed undo the season.


But Hal has season tickets and this is the game I picked out...so off we go.

The {mostly} retired life, as I near 75 years on this planet, is going quite well thank you...

Back with more sometime later...{gotta get those 10 posts in this year} >>>

Wednesday, September 6, 2023

Jimmy Buffett RIP

 


Just a bit of catching up to kick off September...maybe I'll reach 10 posts for the year of 2023?  Maybe?

RIP Jimmy Buffett...

Let me start off first by saying I enjoyed about 80% of his music, especially in the early years, later years, not so much, but still there were some gems...his political BS?  Not so much, Buffett was a dyed in the wool lefty, albeit, some of those that worked for and with him called him a "Cheapskate" when it came to the all mighty buck.  I will give him credit, despite his left leanings, only a few songs and not much of his concerts were directed at political BS...which kept me listening to his Sirus/XM Radio Station and his music...

I first got turned on to Buffett music early in 1977 perhaps, shortly after "Margaritaville" was released...that became his lone chart hit, and frankly it grew old after awhile, an anthem for his fans, aka: Parrotheads, but hardly one of his better works, IMO...the album however "Changes in Latitude" was filled with some great stuff, including the title song which I always thought was much  superior to  Margaritaville...

Anyway, Patricia and I were married in December 1976, but didn't get out on a Honeymoon until the fall of the year 1977...I had the "Changes" album on the old 8 track player in my new 1976 Jeep Cherokee and played that thing from Celina, Ohio, to the east coast then all the way down I-95 to Daytona Beach...loved that music, I was pretty well hooked...fast forward to the late summer of 1978 and we were living in Wausau, Wisconsin...I was going to Broadcasting School and working weekends at WRIG and WRIG FM...one Friday night I noticed we had received the newest Buffett live LP, "You had to be There"... The station got the vinyl for the AM spinners and the tape for the Automated FM side...I was working the night shift on the Rock and Roll AM, and feeding music to the FM side.  I decided to put the entire tape on the FM Reel to Reel and it was going smooth until I heard "Why don't we get Drunk and Screw".  I almost shit myself, but the deed had been done and I let the entire song and album play...never heard a word from management or the PD, but I never played the entire album again...well not on air.  I grabbed a station copy of the vinyl took it home and still have it in my collection today.

Over the years my Special Needs daughter became a fan of Buffett and his more country and conservative buddy, Alan Jackson, so I have continued to collect Buffett and Jackson LPs and stuff over the years...

Sad to see him go, being just a couple years older than me {December 1946 as opposed to my March 1949}...his politics can die with him, however his music will live on..

My personal favorite single is Havana Daydreaming while Changes in Latitude, License to Chill, and the 1978 Live LP, You had to be There, are my favorite Albums...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30esGx2WHvs  

Here is my Salute to Jimmy "Cigar Smoked a Swirl" from Havana Daydreaming, PRH Smoking one in honor of Jimmy Buffett and Havana Daydreaming...


  



Wednesday, August 9, 2023

The Eagles of Grand Lake Ohio, Sunrise at Cedar Key, Florida, and catching up...

 


Needless to say I've been a bit lacking this calendar year in posting...I've now passed the 16 year mark since I began this blog back in July of 2007.  Blogging has change since those days and most of the folks I blogged and shared blogs have either passed away or quit all together, and of course my postings, once over 250 per year have dribbled to a scant few posts now and then.

Meanwhile the Summer is flying by, the time always does once you hit a certain age, and that is a proven fact that I can't explain but there are studies...

Time Flies

Anyway the grandson's sports, baseball, swimming, and soccer,  have finished for the summer and I took the oldest one, Kasyn, down to Huntsville, Alabama, for Aviation Camp {he had done the Space Camp portion 2 summers ago} 2 weeks ago.  After dropping him off I drove down to Cedar Key, one of the few "Old Florida" places left on either coast...meaning the developers have not destroyed it quite yet, but of course they are trying.  I grabbed a little $90 a night motel a block from the Gulf for 3 days and nights and did a bit of fishing {too hot to do much of that} and some photography work...drank some beers, smoked a couple of good cigars and had breakfast at a small little place right next door.  I relaxed, but was glad to get back home after picking up the K~man and returning with him to Ohio.


This Fall I have a couple of Football weekends to take in...first off the end of September I will head to Cincinnati with youngest son and use his season tickets to view the Bengals hosting the LA Rams in a repeat of the Super Bowl, this one a Monday Night game, won by the Los Angeles team a couple seasons ago...then in mid October, Montezuma Nick, and I will join oldest son, Sam, at Purdue, as the Buckeyes take on the home standing Boilermakers...then things will start to cool down for the Holidays, and perhaps I will hopefully continue to move about and not sit on my ass so much.

Cedar Key Sunrise over the Gulf>>>>>

Grand Lake Photography...

I finally have adjusted my sleep habits and have been getting up well before sunrise 2 or 3 times a week, getting out to Windy Point on the southside of Grand Lake and taking some Sunrise and Eagle photos...even though my beer consumption has not decreased, my carb and sugar eating habits have and dropping down to 188 {heading for 175} has helped my getting up and out more often.

Below and above you will find some Eagle and Sunrise photos...location is described by numbers...

(1) The Top Photo I took this week, Silent Sam I call this Eagle he can usually be found on the same branch each morning, waiting to fish for his breakfast...(2) This is a Sunrise at Cedar Key, taken a football field from my motel ..Cedar Key on the Big Bend portion of the Gulf is one of the few places outside of the Florida Keys where you can see both the Sunrise and Sunset over the Gulf of Mexico...The Rest?  Eagles ... the top is a Juvenile Eagle chasing off a Mature Female from her per at the Windy Point Bay...the another Juvenile joins to battle with it's fellow youngster. Another Mature Eagle perching in a tree looking for breakfast or just watching the rest of the action and finally a Summer Sunrise at Windy Point...the sunrises have been pretty good most mornings, I gonna have to get out later and see if I can get a great Sunset...

That's it for now, got a board of directors meeting to go to...


Back Later, hopefully sooner rather than much later.

I should mention the photos are taken with the new Canon 100-400 EF 1:4 5-5.6 ll Lens that I purchased in June...never have spent nearly $2000 on a lens or camera, but I figured "What the Hell"?  and did it, and happy I did, I also purchased a lighter Canon 250D camers, not so expensive, but the lite weight combined with the heavier lens makes things easier without a Tri or Monopod...{the lens is pictured at the bottom}







Tuesday, June 20, 2023

Catching Up

 


Damn, it's been over 2 months...guess the old guy has been to busy chasing around after the Grandson's {Kasyn soccer} Kamdyn baseball}  games...summer swimming matches are started too...putting a lot of miles and gas use on the Jeep Wrangler, but all in all, it's worth the effort, time, and costs...What the Hell, you can't take it with you? 

Kamdyn, the Shortstop on his travel/select 8 year old team is batting around .700, which leads his team and this week is attending his 3rd year of Cincinnati Reds camp...last year he won his age group and earned a trip to Great American Ballpark and a chance to compete vs other Regional winners and other top competitors, after a Reds vs Brewers game...this year it won't be easy since he is among the youngest in his 3rd/4th grade group...but I have no doubt he will give it his all, he is a baseballer...


Kasyn aka:  The K~Man age 11, the oldest of the 3 grandsons, is a taller more lean type and a better athlete, all said, but not quite as gung ho...he scored about 35% of this soccer team's goals and with the spring season, he is now back at swimming, where he excels...


Kruz, the youngest, at just over 2, is waiting in the wings...

Other than that, my Sunflower crop is growing and I expect some blooms soon, a smaller area this year because of the new Generac Generator installed late last Summer...but still should have a good crop, topped off by the Hummingbird favorites, the Mexican Sunflowers...

Went fishing last week at Pearson's Pond, my buddy Rick has his large family on vacation at the Outer Banks, and our old Celina and College Buddy, Clint is watching the spread...so we took a couple of days and went after the Pan Fish and Large Mouth Bass, catching over 100, we released them all...the Bass were not as big as the past years in the pond, but still in the 8 to 14 inch range...the Blue Gill's ranged in all sizes, the Crappie were small..


.

That my spring so far, well except for laying out a small fortune for a new Canon Lens, a ef 100-400 MM, it worked well, so well I figured it was to good for the Canonn Rebel T7 and I upgraded that, although the new Rebel SL3 won't arrive for a couple of days...I have way to many cameras, and likely will see a couple off, at my age, two or 3 is more than enough...I will probably keep one Canon, the Nikon, and a point and shoot for easy carry, along with the pretty good Iphone Camera, that should be more than enough...

So tomorrow, June 21st is the longest day {daylight wise} of the year, it doesn't get dark until after 10pm, which is the way I like it...it's also the first day of Summer, let the season of heat begin...

Back Later>>>

Top and Bottom photos are with the new lens...the swim shot of Kasyn, blue skull cap, winning the 100 meter freestyle last summer is with the older lens, same camera, and the Beer and Bass photo is with the Samsung Phone Camera.


Sunday, April 16, 2023

Spring 2024, Baseball, Soccer, and the Grandsons...


A week long spate of almost summer like weather has hit the Heartland since Easter last Sunday...

This has given PRH a chance to see plenty of baseball with middle grandson Kam, then yesterday while their mom and dad {youngest son} were in a wedding in Northern Kentucky, I took oldest grandson K~Man to his teams first soccer game of the season...while wife watched the youngest grandson...

Anyway to update {brag a bit} Kam is doing well on his select team...the team is young and middle of the road, but Kam is a standout Shortstop and doing well in field and at the plate, .714 batting average, 10 runs scored and more than a handful of RBIs, 6 I think as of Friday Night...his team did take a beating from the top team in league play Friday, which is humbling, but also not a altogether bad thing...

Meanwhile K~Man, the 11 year old oldest, has moved on to Soccer season, while waiting for the swiming season to begin...electing to play Rec Soccer, he will be fine, as he proved yesterday...scoring his Springboro teams' first goal, adding another and making 2 passes for assists in the teams 9-0


whitewashing of their Y team opponent...

Kruz the 2 year old got his attention from Grandma, and I got to get some quality time with him post soccer, as we waited for the summer like Sunset to dip in the skies in the Miami Valley...

Tomorrow?  Look for wind, some snow mixed with rain, and a high just a bit north of 40 degrees, thus is April and most of Spring in the Heartland...



back later>>>> 



Sunday, March 26, 2023

Turning 74...

 


PRH turned 74 last week on March 16th...I have to admit I never thought I would last this long...the male family genes have never been in it for the long run.  As far as I know I'm the second longest living male in the H family...one uncle lasted 75 years but he had several heart attacks from his 40s and 50s before holding on until 75.

As for me?  I've held on despite having Agent Orange related {so the VA says} Diabetes 2 with related Neuropathy...my visit to the VA in Columbus last month, my BP was off the charts while my Blood Sugar was down to 8.0 from 8.7 last year...the BP?  White Coat Issues, it has been pretty stable in the 115-122 over 65-70 range most mornings, so with meds I am not concerned about it...in fact at 74 years, what the Hell do I have to be concerned about, health wise..I'm on the last days on this planet, whether I make it 1 week or 15 more years...

So I will continue to drink some beers, smoke a few good hand rolled cigars, no cheap shit for PRH, ride the Dual Sport TW200 motorcycle, and anything else that fits my fancy.  Sure I do plan on eating more healthy when I can, drinking a bit less, and drop the 8 pounds I have gained over the last year, and hopefully a few more down to the 180 mark, aside from that?  I plan on enjoying best I can, what time I have left on this earth, until God decides what to do me with...

back later, with a new series, if I can concentrate, looking back on a "Life Lived"...


later

Before February Ends...

The plan is, is to get at least a post a month here for 2024...so here we are in later February so let's do it... It has been, for the m...