A Hat At Last!

In life, what compares to the quest for Just The Right Hat?

Medical science had decreed a hat to shield against the sun and its skin-damaging rays, for I am pale as bleached cotton and wary of obituaries. But how can dermatological wisdom overcome my outsized head and small sense of fashion?

• Bucket hats make me look like lost tourist.
• Baseball caps seem ineffective at protecting the back of my neck.
• The cowboy hat would suit me fine if I had ridden a horse since the 1980s. Even then, Red The Horse knew what was on his back and took his time not so much walking as sauntering casually.
• The flat conical hat chiefly known to me from Asia looked very practical and protective, but on me just didn't look right.

But Saturday, after the exhausting BodyPump class (aerobic weightlifting), I took a different route home from the YMCA. I walked by Mountain to Sound Outfitters and there it was: my hat!

I approached with longing and skepticism, for I had been disappointed before. The Kavu store on Delridge had a fine hat but "Large" was their maximum size; "Strangely Huge" was on the menu nowhere.

But holy cow! this hat fit like a well-worn glove [if a glove fit on my head and protected against the sun.] Hooray for me! And ha-ha on you, solar skin damage!

I must mention that the staff was delightful. Our conversation ranged from Minnie Pearl (whose hat also had a price tag dangling from it) to Minnie Driver ("Good Will Hunting" is such a fine movie) and it was almost a disappointment that my quest had ended so quickly.

It's a life lesson, I suppose, in the value of taking a different route home every now and then.

Trolling West Seattle

 

Seattle Parks & Recreation baits trolls with picnic tables, as shown here at Lincoln Park. The #troll hides nearby to catch picnickers, and is humanely trapped for relocation. No trolls were harmed in this process.

More information: ArtSEA: Seattle gets trolled by a Danish environmental artist | Crosscut

Cute As A Bug

 

My attention was drawn to this cutie on the fence post of a neighbor.

It's "Chinavia hilaris" Green Stink Bug, but it is much cuter than its name.

Apparently if you crush it, it gets revenge by stinking which I feel is the least it can do. Just don't crush it!

Friend Chips!

 

Today Julie and I drove to Burien Bark to get a load of mulch for her place, which we unloaded, and then back for a half a yard of chips for my yard.The photo shops my prep work, including using the big branches from Scot The Pine to define paths and areas and laying down the chips from Scot's smaller branches. The "After" picture will be much nicer.

In the evening, I went for a walk to pick up some cukes from Buy Nothing, and passed by Sheila Lengle doing yard work. We chatted, and she noticed this cute bug. It really is noteworthy!

When I picked up the cukes, I saw this and thought, "Needs more cowbell!"

Ducks Got Themselves In A Row

Walking with Hannah and Julie, we saw ducks in a row along the shore of the High Point retention pond (by Viewpoint Park).

 

At the High Point Juneau Pea Patch, some practical corn protectors!

My little elf on her shelf

 

I think it was my brother Steve, who has been taking photos seriously since the 1970s, that told me the secret to getting good photos was to take a lot of them.

This is especially true with cats. You can't pose them. If you try to draw their attention with a sound or a toy, they're likely just to twitch and ear or look off to the side.

You just have to wait until they're close to what you want and then shoot, shoot, shoot.

This is the first time I've seen her on this shelf, which years ago was frequented by Ginny, but lately has been unuse. I hope she decides she likes it!

Jack Skellingmail

 

Seen today on my walk: a largish mailbox with a formerly blank backside, perfect for someone's art. You never can tell what you'll see!

---

I was getting my 10k steps in despite the bad air from distant fires, picking up stuff with the grabber (recycling in the grey bag, trash in the brown bag.) I crossed a side street on a hill to get something and a pickup truck stopped. "Hey buddy" the driver said. "Hi!" I replied, not recognizing him, but at my age, having met so many thousands of people, everyone looks vaguely familiar. I liked the friendly "buddy".
"Why don't you look up?"
"Eh?"
"Next time I'll just fcking run you over" and off he drove.
I thought that I should have an emotional reaction - rage or something. Shout at him, flip him off, something to burn off the feelings. But I felt nothing except mild puzzlement. Why is this?
At that point, I was not threatened and I cared nothing for his opinion. There was literally nothing to hang the emotions on. I doubted that I had actually been careless, but if I had, how would I know? I had not heard him slam on brakes or anything. Maybe he had been going faster over the crest of the hill, saw me, and felt alarm that he might hit me or inconvenienced that he had to slow down. I just don't know, because he was gone.

I don't know the objective situation and never will. Regardless of whether he was going too fast or I had darted out in front of him, if I had been hit, that would have been bad. Physics doesn't care about laws or righteousness.

Perhaps he just had to burn off a lot of feelings from what he saw and experienced, and swearing helped. No harm done, and I made a note to be even more careful

---

Crossing the field to the dog park, I saw Scruffi moving quickly - for him - and Inge walking with. I called to Scruffi and we had a nice chat. She reminded me she was wearing her birthday dress and had been invited to Salty's. I told her the dress looked more lovely than ever and wished her a good time.

It was only after I got home at checked Facebook that I was reminded this was most likely her birthday. It is my habit, when I have time and the memory, to customize birthday greetings to family and friends by sending a photo (usually a flower) with greetings written on it, using MSpaint. People seem to like it.