Author: admin

My hair has been looking like Bernie Sanders so I made an appointment and got a haircut on Tuesday. My “stylist” is a nice young lady named Bailey. Apparently, this became popular following the naming of a female TV character in 1978 in the show WKRP in Cincinnati. Jan Smithers played Bailey Quarters. The show played for 90 episodes and ended in April of 1982. Having lived in Cincy, this was one of our favorite TV shows and we did watch television back then.

Now to the other “cuts”.
I got a bill for a doctor’ office visit – my share = $139.22 of $226
The bill for the tooth crown came – my share = $690 of $1,439
The items for the crown do not add to that amount so either the billing is wrong or there is something I don’t understand.

We continued to prune this week with one of the crew missing two of the 3 days – one to watch a basketball game. Another missed Friday to visit the central WA Sand Hill Crane festival.

Saturday Noon, Garret came and picked out some lumber to make a bench. His place is where we go to play Pétanque.

Last week I bought a chunk of “corned beef” but didn’t get it cooked. That happened today, Saturday. I put it, cabbage and carrots in a slow-cooker. Sunday will be the first serving. Why?
Because in late afternoon I had “something”: First a short episode of sweating and as that subsided and ache in my stomach developed. As the evening passed, the ache continues dully.
I’ll try to sleep but, now at midnight, that is still questionable. My plan is to add wood to the stove and watch the flames and nod off.

Keeping Track
on the Naneum Fan
John

Below are images that summarize the week + Monday.
Snow in the Cascades brought traffic on Snoqualmie Pass to a halt. Several cars and trucks went off the road. The big trucks need big tow trucks to clean things up, so it takes a while.
Friday was the 14th of the 3rd month so we have 3.14, known as Pi Day.
Pi (symbol π) is an irrational number that goes on and on (3.14592653589…). Earth got between the Sun and the Moon causing optical phenomena that made the Moon look orange. Many of the colors in sunlight do not make it through Earth’s atmosphere {scattering is the culprit}, so the orange/red rays make it to the Moon and are reflected back at Earth.
On Pi Day one should have a pie. With St. Patrick’ Day in sight, a Key Lime pie seems appropriate.
Safeway Grocery has Corned Beef on sale, so that’s on the menu too. The term “corned” comes from the treatment of the meat with large-grained rock salt, also called “corns” of salt. I’ll have potatoes and onions and pass on the traditional cabbage.

On the home front all the new double-pane windows are in and trimmed on the inside. When weather improves, the outside trim will be painted. This makes the house more-or-less modern.

The weather remains cool and damp with occasional light snow here (2,240 ft). North of me the snow level is 1,000 feet higher. Next Sunday the temperature should be high enough and the Sun strong enough to clear the snow from the hills that I can see from home.
I went to lunch with Phyllis and Cameron of Friday. This coming week we will prune vines only on W/Th/F. Cameron will be in Seattle through Tuesday.

Keeping Track
on the Naneum Fan
John

Kittitas County ought to be boring. This week was an exception.
A man was arrested for barricading** himself and “girlfriend” in her house and proceeded to spray a fluid around, shouting he was going to set the place on fire, and they would die. He neglected to take her phone, so she called the cops. Essential pieces of the story were not in the paper.
**(I’ve never understood how a large couch against the front door is going to prevent police from entering. I’ve never seen a house with just one door and no windows.)
Item #2 involves a woman flying a plane into a mountain just 13 miles southeast of home. There are missing pieces to this story, too. The paper didn’t say she hit the mountain, but showed a picture of the site (near wind towers) just a half-mile past the top – in the direction she was headed. There was a rain/snow squall there at the time. If she was trying to fly around it, one hundred yards farther to the right would have been enough to miss the mountain.
As she approached Ellensburg – with an airport – she turned to the NE directly toward Whiskey Dick Mountain. It is 2,500 feet lower than the mountains she was headed over on her flight plan to the north. Likely, we will never know what was going on.
I was with four others pruning grapes, northeast of those ridges. One of the crew mentioned the storm that appeared to be snow. It was mostly sunny at the vineyard.

On a lighter note, Thursday morning my new “crown” was placed on a back tooth on my lower jaw, left side. It is not visible. A prior filling had been there for 27 years. A dentist 100 miles south of me is advertising a “single visit” crown replacement. My dentist isn’t as advanced. I had a 2-week wait between a temporary and the permanent crown. Years ago, I had a temporary one come off in a day. This time all went as intended.

Weather-wise the Cascades will be getting snow. Here there is a possibility for Thursday morning snow or rain. I don’t think I will get enough to notice. This afternoon, wind has ramped up to 30mph gusts.

I heard that someone complained about an electric bill. He claimed he was charged for the sunlight, the moonlight, the street light, the light of his life, the speed of light, and the light at the end of the tunnel.
Keeping Track
on the Naneum Fan
John

Free admission to the CWU basketball game on the 22nd (apparently) also got me exposed to a ‘cold’ virus. I went to the grocery store following the game, so an alternative source is possible. It doesn’t matter. I’ll call the County Health folks on Monday and see if they know what is going around.
Sunday evening my throat was getting sore. Usual cold symptoms followed. I didn’t feel seriously sick at any time. However, because I didn’t want to cook meals, I reverted to a large can of sliced peaches. The lack of food and liquids seemed to produce low blood pressure. Having realized that and countering it, the week went by without problems.
I did skip the CWU scholarship luncheon on Friday.
Earlier in Feb we measured for and ordered modern windows for those not previously replaced. They were delivered Friday morning. I had a 10-minute notice – just enough to get shoes on and move the pickup out of the way.

First snow at the house was on Nov 16 but it didn’t last. Mid-December it snowed 3 inches and then more in the following week. This week should be the end of all the snow except the pile on the north side of the shed. It is 5 feet deep and very solid after sliding off the roof. Totally shaded, it will last until April. 13 miles north of me there are 40 inches of packed snow with about 16 inches of water-equivalent, about average.
February has been colder than average here, and up at 5,000 feet that snow hasn’t begun to melt. The local cattle ranches should have lots of pasture and water this spring.
The wine grapes are due to be pruned. A couple of folks worked on Friday. I’ll likely go over Tuesday. We average 4 days a week for six or seven weeks, at 3 hours each day. The number of pruners is 4 to 6 and, rarely, another visitor.

Keeping Track
on the Naneum Fan

John

Plane fuselages on the way west to become Boeing airplanes. Cameron took the photo from the house in the middle of the vineyard.

I read that the holiday that started as Washington’s Birthday has never officially been changed to President’s Day. George was born on February 22nd and Abe Lincoln on Feb. 12th. What the calendar says is President’s Day and that’s how the week started. Not exactly exciting. It got better.

I’ve had a dental appointment scheduled for late March but someone dropped out and I got a call. That is the 2nd time. First one I couldn’t do. So, Wednesday morning I had a tooth ground down and a temporary cap put on. In a town 100 miles south a dentist is advertising a one-visit crown. Here I have to go back in 10 days. So far the temporary cap has stayed on and my jaw is almost back to feeling well.

Thursday evening the local Audubon group had two folks from CWU Biology present on animals in the forests of western Mexico. I know both of the folks and also know some of what they do. Many Audubon meetings use Zoom presentation and after sitting through several failures, I no longer go to those. So Dan is an expert on lizards and snakes and Kris specializes in other critters. She has been the biologist leading the studies of the animals that the I-90 critter crossings are meant to serve. Mostly they used color slides and a few video clips and Dan brought a large Boa Constrictor and a large lizard.

Saturday afternoon I went to a CWU basketball game. The Lady Wildcats’ game started at 4:00. They won. I left at the end, just as the men’s team can out. The Geography Department had tickets. They can get a bunch of tickets just for asking. Less than half the seats were occupied, so I guess it helps to build a crowd with free admission.
Back about 1990 one of my students was on the team and invited us to come watch. They lost that night to a much bigger and better team, Simon Fraser University of British Columbia. At the end of the game we went down to say hello and all the ladies were taller than my then 6 feet. Two athletic events since 1989 isn’t a record.
When I started in towards town there was a mist. As I parked it was sprinkling and it has been doing so since then. I went to the grocery store afterwards, and drove home in the rain.

This was the beginning of a so-called atmospheric river that will likely peak on Monday. There will be some flooding in the Puget Sound region but not here. Overnight Tuesday the atmosphere will clear and Wednesday will be partly sunny. Then our daytime temperatures will go into the low 50s.

Keeping Track
on the Naneum Fan
John

Last week I mentioned the yellow line on the computer monitor. It pops up now and then but goes away. Yesterday the small screen on the telephone answering machine went blank. The image on the upper right should be on the blank rectangle of the machine. The system still appears to work. I’ve called with my iPhone and it answered.
A couple of years ago I dropped and broke one of the cordless receivers. I ordered one but it failed to work. I sent it back. Then wondered if it’s base and charger went bad. I sent it back but didn’t bother to ask for a replacement and threw the base away. It could have been the base. The point is, I’m short one of the remote handsets.
I’ve ordered a new system with 5 handsets.
I’ll have to go through the existing stored numbers and key them into the new. This isn’t the tragedy that it sounds. A couple of years ago the telephone folks started requiring a ‘1’ in front of the numbers. That meant keying in all the numbers. I no longer had a manual to know if there might be a simple one-step process. 90% of the people stored there were ones I never would call, places I never called, or dead people. You have likely guessed that Nancy keyed this stuff in over several years. So in a couple of days I will start with a new machine that will have a much more limited and useful caller list.
Interestingly, the new system doesn’t have a screen like the blank one. It really didn’t serve much of a purpose.

Also, mentioned last week was that I carried all the 2024 tax forms into town. They are now done and I just need to go in and pick up all the papers – what I took in and what has been produced.
The office has started doing things electronically and I have created a digital signature. Before, I would have had to make a trip in just to sign my name. This year I don’t. It looks like a Segoe Script font. A refund will go to my bank in an electronic transfer, maybe by March 10th.

I got a Valentine card! It came from Jocelyn (Jos) Akins of the Cascades Carnivore Project. Other than student scholarships at CWU, this is one of my other minor donation destinations. Part of the text is in the blue box. By 6 weeks they have begun turning brown. By half grown, they are dark brown with some white remaining that varies from one individual to the next.

Baby Wolverines Start Out Cute

Weatherwise, western Washington has transitioned from winter to wet. Here we still have a week of winter. Our transition will begin next Friday with a week from Monday (thus, the 24th) feeling like a new season is beginning. In parts of the world March 1st is considered the beginning of Spring. Forecasts are about to start for the DC Cherry Blossoms. Stay tuned.

Keeping Track
on the Naneum Fan
John H.

The main accomplishment this week was to carry my 2024 tax papers to Jessica at the CPA office. Nancy had always done “the taxes”, but her illness caused a major delay. Left with a mess I did not understand, I got help. I continue because now I don’t have to do anything but put a dozen pieces of paper in a folder and take them into EBRG. In a few days, I’ll sign off and they get filed electronically. Then in three weeks a refund appears in the bank account.

Under the heading “There is always something”:
I turned on the computer this morning and have a yellow vertical line on one of the 2 identical monitors. These were introduced by ACER in 2012 but I think I got them about 2016/18.
The screen is about 17 inches wide and the line is 2.75 inches in on the left side. While this is a distraction, I don’t have to worry about it. Even if I “snag” part of an image with the yellow line on it, the line doesn’t appear in the copy. The copy is coming from the internal file, not the surface of the screen. So – I will wait and see if something else happens. Update: As I finish writing, the yellow line is gone. Go Figure.

Contractor Walter came by with the main topic being replacing 8 windows from the original 1980s build. The estimate for this is about $5,000.

The R-value of 1980s double pane windows is about 2+. New ones with Argon gas between panes and a Low-Emissivity {Low-E} coating might be three times better at stopping heat and cold transfer through the window. I’ll have to research this a bit more. New windows have to be made to fit the dimensions of the original construction, so they have to be ordered, with a delivery time of about 3-weeks. Maybe in 3 weeks the temperature will be better for the installation.

Here is the coming week’s forecast:

Beginning Thursday a weather change is supposed to happen so that we go from no clouds Tuesday to 90% clouds on Friday. The clouds stop heat radiation and cooling at the surface.
There is a major cold air mass in Canada but it appears to be heading into the USA’s mid-to-east regions. Washington State should start to warm in late February. Yea!

My area has gotten only light snow in the past 6 weeks but what we got in December is still here. It has gone through several softenings and re-freezing. So it has slumped to about 6 inches thick and has become hard enough to walk on.
Seeds for the birds and wood for the stove are stored in quantity, so all is good.

Keeping Track
on the Naneum Fan
John H.

February is commonly pronounced as “FEB-yoo-air-ee,” while the traditional pronunciation is “FEB-roo-air-ee.” Both pronunciations are considered correct – so says my helpful DudkDuckGo Assist. The Cambridge dictionary sticks with the “roo”.

My National Weather Service office claims the high today will be 34; it is now 42°F. We did get the high wind during the night. Now gone. Western Washington and the mountains were to get snow. Reports are less than anticipated.
During the coming week they say we will have three mornings of ~10 degrees. I’m tired of the cold. Since the 17th (large red arrow) until Friday morning, my temperature has been below the average – in the blue rather than the green. January temperature at the EBRG airport, 2025. The thin read line on the right side points to Friday morning.

If I look at the record lows – bottom line of blue squares – I should not be complaining.

Goings on for the week didn’t amount to much.
On Thursday I talked with my doctor (Chelsea is a Physicians Assistant) about an odd feeling/sensation on the right side of my head. This is a very nebulous feeling, hard to describe, and may just be tight muscles along my neck – or it may be something more serous.
I have a”Wellness” visit scheduled for March 28th. If the feeling is still there at that time, or changes between now and then, there might be a magnetic resonance image (MRI brain scan) in my future.

Friday a scholarship luncheon that was postponed from last week was poorly attended. Expecting 10 or 12, we had four. One of those was the lady that prepared the meal, and another was the mother of the geography secretary. She does come regularly. Friday was the last day for Monica (geog. Sec). She officially retired at the end of December, but with the Winter Quarter starting, she stayed an extra month.
Many retirees are not being replaced; staff and faculty. Anyone trying to contact a department will, we think, find a sign directing them down the hall until they find someone in an office. If there is something else in the works, Monica hasn’t been told. [She and I are to host the scholarship luncheon in March.] I intend to call the office number Monday and see what happens.
The retrenchment at the State’s schools is because of a drop in enrollment that followed the Covid related closures. Some enrollment is expected to increase over the next couple of years, but 10 years out there is a broad decline in college-entry age folks. This is beginning to show up in the small classes in elementary schools, and possible closures of some of those. Idaho is seeing a similar situation at the elementary level. I think the new vice president has acknowledged this nationally with the statement that the US needs more kids. Watch for news.

I need to put seeds out for the quail and the small song birds.

Keeping Track
on the Naneum Fan
John H.

This was a rather boring week. The one activity that was scheduled for Friday Noon got canceled – – moved to next Friday.

The weather has been the same every day – lows in the small double digits and highs in the mid-30s. By mid-afternoon the snow – since early December – gets soft and a tiny bit of melting happens. Each day is a repeat. The mountains remain snow covered even though not much new has fallen. This isn’t expected to change for the next week. It is supposed to get wet in the California region where the fires have been. Look for news of mud.
A nephew and family lives in the Lake Erie snow belt. They have had about 5 feet of snow this season. Lake Erie is the shallowest of the Great Lakes and the first to freeze. After a slow start, the surface is now a little over 80% iced over. This decreases the water supply to the air moving over the lake and thus the snow. Another few days and the 2024/2025 Lake Erie snow belt will be history. Lake Ontario has a deep spot in the eastern section and rarely gets completely frozen on the surface. Ontario is only 12% ice covered. The area south of Watertown, called the Tug Hill Plateau, is notable for its heavy winter snowfall, with more expected Sunday.
Use “Tug Hill Plateau” in a Google Earth search to view the area. An images search will bring up many interesting photos.

My night sky: Several planets are visible, but without going outside I see only one. It is in the southwest sky, about to disappear behind trees and the Cascade Mountains in the direction of Mt. Rainier.

The news is full of the things the Trump administration is doing. There are no immediate effects here in rural central Washington. The stock market has been generally up for the beginning of January. Better than the weather.
I found one image on the internet that was amusing:

Keeping Track
on the Naneum Fan
John

Weather related;
Naneum Fan: Tonight** Mostly clear, with a low around 8. Wind chill values as low as zero. North wind around 7 mph.
** Meaning 8 AM Monday
Washington D.C. will be 23° with 30 mph winds at Noonish when the inauguration takes place.
A small piece of tooth on an old filling broke off. I hope my dentist hasn’t gone to Arizona for January.
Thursday Phyllis and Cameron picked me up in Kittitas and we went to Toppenish, 50 miles south of me. The purpose was to visit the Yakama Nation Cultural Center. The tall building is a large reconstruction of a winter lodge. It is used for many functions, but nothing was happening, so we skipped it. We went to the museum.

There are many displays explaining the natural surroundings and how the ancestors used and interpreted their environment. The right side image below has Mt. Adams in the background. It is on the western edge of the Nation, 55 miles from the Cultural Center. Mt. Adams has a prominent role in their history and cultural.
Any travelers through Washington State should consider a visit. There is a small fee.

I brought enough firewood into the house to last for two days. There is only one period of single digit temperature. Of course, the National Weather isn’t always accurate.

Keeping Track
on the Naneum Fan

John H