My first task this morning is to go out and finish cleaning the grill grate for this weekend’s feast. So, I stepped outside and it’s already steaming from last night’s rains. Occasionally Maryland feels like Florida with the humidity.
Grill by Chevy. Photo by Mike Hartley
Hopefully some sunshine this afternoon to put some pep back in my step. Well maybe some time in the tractor seat cutting the yard and behind the push mower cutting the back mountain. And while that doesn’t sound like the best option for a sunny day it beats this office seat I had years ago.
The far seat by the red/white cooler was mine for the last decade of my career. Like working in a fishbowl.Photo by Mike Hartley
Cleaning that grill grate actually isn’t my first chore. I’ve been picking up from the storm damage and got the leaf blower out and cleaned the decks and stick are picked up so I can mow without dulling blades.
The older I get the larger this yard seems. Back outside I go. Just wanted to say hello and share a few photos.
It’s a good thing I was never unemployed for more than a few days once or twice in my life. Because this retirement gig is something I’m relishing so far. A friend asked me recently if I would ever want to go back to work. The answer was an emphatic No, not for anyone else.
There are several opportunities for what I used to do, but that is no longer my interest. I’m starting a career I thought about doing as a youth. And to get that chance has been one I can’t pass up.
In truth it’s not a career like a traditional one. I’m having fun being an artist. I photograph, write, paint, carve, draw, illustrate and pontificate through the blog. I love this work. It is work; it takes time and some days lots of it. And that journey is the fun of it all.
It’s HUMP DAY – Hold on Workers of the World – The weekend is ahead.
Everyone stay in their lane now please. Photo by Mike Hartley
Today I touched base with an electrician. One of my weakest handyman skills. And like Clint Eastwood used to say in the Dirty Harry movies “a man has got to know his limitations” and I can admit to this one.
Looking to make lighting improvements and fix some suspect stuff that was originally here. It’s always good to be able to see what you’re working on.
Random Thoughts of the Morning
Summer mornings are the best.
I really like Stephen Stills guitar work. Great harmonies with CSN and CSNY also.
Even in retirement it’s nice to have an off day where nothing is planned. You’d be surprised how few of them actually come around.
Water is a commodity that is becoming increasingly valuable. Yet we keep poisoning more of it. Or managing it poorly.
It’s hump day for those working away. That midpoint that inspires hope. Maybe thoughts of making it an early weekend after Thursday have come to mind. Those meetings today don’t seem as important as the weekend weather forecast.
I guess I shouldn’t have noted that it’s Hump Day because I went out to mow my yard and the mowing deck belt broke as soon as I engaged the blades. So, I push cut for hours today. And when I say push, I mean push. I don’t have one of those self-propelled jobs.
And there are now a few more things on the to-do list. That tractor is so old I haven’t been able to find any YouTube videos on how to replace the belt. It’s at least 27 years old and as one of my best friends reminded me, I usually keep things like that till I kill it. And a belt isn’t a killer but getting someone else to do it because this almost 70-year-old body isn’t good on the ground under tractors anymore. Yes, I can do it. Yes, I could pay for it to be done. Yes, it isn’t dead. But is it smart money spent or the time and effort?
I’m beginning to think it might be time to replace it. Plus, that will give me time to fix the old one when I can get my sons help and give it to him when he gets a home with a bigger yard. Push cutting the whole lawn this size in the coming heat won’t be smart and I won’t do it.
Onto more pleasant things. Like nature which I’ve been enjoying being outside today. Let’s see, some baby snakes, many varieties of birds. Oh, and my favorite hawk buzzed the backyard. This morning was a mother deer with her fawn again. Another newborn couldn’t have been more than a day or two old. And now just after some dinner I see our woodchuck grazing in the backyard.
I couldn’t tell you all the different smaller winged objects I saw buzzing around me today. It was nice to be out, even though it was working.
In looking this guy up, I learned there are 25 types of blue dragonflies. I’m no expert so when it wasn’t a choice of two or three, I folded. Photo by Mike Hartley
Random Thoughts of the Day
Making prints for my grandchildren is a labor of love, I do have to finish it up before they get here tomorrow.
These are the beautiful mid-Atlantic days of summer. Low to mid-80s, mild humidity a breeze and sun with just the occasional cloud.
I hear my car saying let’s go for a ride tonight. And I might just listen to it and put the top down.
You will have to excuse me for a bit. I have to go wash off a day’s worth of work. More madness to come later.
Some days I have trouble focusing. That isn’t entirely bad, sometimes I’ve made some great strides by stepping away from the computer to the easel to the workroom, then picking up the cameras and heading out. Like this post, which I started yesterday.
It’s good when I hit a sticking point or that I complete a step in the painting and want to look more closely or think about modifying my idea. After photo editing for a few hours, sometimes I must get up and away from the screen.
Scattered impulses. Photo by Mike Hartley
I thought I would lose that feeling of being lazy if I relaxed or slept. I haven’t. And when I do those things the flashback to beat myself up over it seems to be returning.
My mind feels like it’s in a million fragments. Split between decades of warring factions for my time and efforts.
When I started to schedule my time, it worked for a bit but then it became uncomfortable. Most of my life I’ve had to be very flexible. Able to respond to emergencies at all hours. At the same time having several projects and regular duties. So, my normal comfort zone is moving from task to task, task to project, project to project, project to meeting, meeting to meeting and emergencies thrown in between each often. And the fun days of going from emergency to emergency or the best one, multiple system or network failures at the same time.
Doing the job of two people is nice job security when they are only paying you for one. Makes it hard to replace you. It also helped me at times with my outspoken personality at times. That and some good people around me, that stood up for me.
Now I’m my own boss. It might look like I don’t work as hard as I used to. But in creative ways I do and much more. I like learning, observing, thinking and practicing. While a picture or carving might be good in time when I acquire some more skills, that work before it will be significant and maybe the most enjoyable part.
As I think back to my professional career, the journey was the fun part. There were several moves in positions that challenged me in ways I didn’t know I could accomplish. Some technical, some managerial, some personal.
People made it fun along the way and I’m grateful for that. I don’t have that so far in my retirement pursuits. Not that I don’t have people around me, just not working together on my arts. That was why I was kind of excited when my granddaughter seemed to like drawing with me.
Part of the dynamic that made me better was working with others. I’m feeling the need to return to that in the future in some way.
