I capture a bat, seven years after the first one July 28 2022

Bat that I captured 7 years ago on August 16, 2015. He is in a plastic container taped to piece of cardboard.

 Thursday morning at 4:00am we awoke to a bat flying around in our bedroom, seven years after the first time. Yes, seven years ago we had a bat in our bedroom. It's disconcerting to say the least. Just like the first time we were able to shut him up in the upstairs bathroom. It's an ld house and the bathroom door doesn't shut right, so I put a couple of screws in it to be sure it couldn't open. I then taped over the edges where the door meets the frame and floor. About 4:00 in afternoon son in law D came over and we entered the bathroom searching for the creature. Didn't take long. Just like last time this bat had settled upside down clinging to a clothes hamper. On the backside of it, between it and the wall.  We placed the bat in a container and took it to a veterinarian. They are supposed to send into NY State lab for testing. 

I snapped a couple of pix with my iPhone which didn't come out very good. The phone focused on the container and not the bat. I could have used my Sony camera but I was stressed out, tired, and lazy. The photo here is from 7 years ago. 

Half hearted attempt at snapping photos bat that I captured after waking at 4:00 in morning to it flying in our bedroom.

Half hearted attempt at snapping photos bat that I captured after waking at 4:00 in morning to it flying in our bedroom.

It's a Beautiful Summer Here In Northern NY 2022

A classic Summer sky at the home I grew up in,  in Calcium, NY Now owned by my Celebrity Brother.

The Summer of 2022 here in Northern NY so far has been absolutely beautiful. There has been little rain, (in fact we could use more) the days have been mostly sunny with blue skies displaying classic cloud formations. Humidity has been low, only 3 or 4 days I can recall where the humidity has been uncomfortable. Most daytime temperatures below 80 accompanied by gentle breezes. Some days stronger winds that I enjoy a lot. Evenings in the yard of our Chaumont, NY home have seen great displays of fireflys (or some call them lightning bugs). I'm reminded of the lyrics to the song Camelot: "In short there's simply not, a more congenial spot, for happy ever aftering than here in Camelot". 

 Richard Burton sings Camelot in 1978

I Play at Cape Vincent NY Concert on the Green July 2, 2022

 

Me (Gary Walts) playing at Cape Vincent Concerts On The Green July 2, 2022.  Photo by RD White

Yesterday (July2, 2022) I had the pleasure of bring the opening performer for the Cape Vincent Concerts On The Green series. It is sponsored by the Cape Vincent Arts Council. It was a beautiful day with a nice breeze coming in off the St. Lawrence River. Overall I was pleased with how I handled it. Stage fright was minimal. It looked to me like a good turnout. From what I heard afterwards my sound system projected across the green well. I had the volume jacked up high enough it was almost hurting my ears. I am assuming it sounded good to the audience based on comments I heard. I used my 1984 Guild Classical guitar fitted with a Kremona bridge mounted pickup, a Fishman Solo Amp 220. I did quite a bit of chit chat between tunes, offering some  bits of info regarding he composers and arrangers of the various pieces I played. 

Promo piece for my July 2, 2022 concert in Cape Vincent, NY.

    I played pieces by Fernando Sor, Matteo Carcassi, Mauro Giuliani. Some Beatles tunes arranged by Joe Washington, John Knowles, Larry Beekman. The pop tunes included Light My Fire arranged by Jorge Nolla, Classical Gas, Mr. Bojangles arranged by Chet Atkins.  I got lost while playing Sweet Caroline and eventually just threw my hands up in the air and ended it. The audience didn't mind. I returned with Willie Nelson's song Crazy ( made popular by Patsy Cline) arranged for guitar by Dave Seck. I was surprised to see a number of friends and fellow musicians came out. Among them were Ron Sacci, Ed Horeth, RD White, Sarah Jane White, Mark Pierce and others I can't think of at the moment. The Watertown Daily Times ran a storyabout the series with a photo of me a few days earlier . I missed stand am looking to find a copy. 

Gary Walts, Concert On The Green, July 2, 2022. Watertown Daily Times photo.

The event took place from 4:00 to 5:30

Earlier in the day I mowed the lawn at our Chaumont house.

When I got home the Better Half & I sat out on the front porch to well after dark.

Over all it was a great day.

I Drive Over Some Beer Bottles June 7, 2022

I drive over some beer bottles. Yikes. 

 I was moving a chair with 2011 Kia Sedona van. I had to take these beer bottles out before the chair. By the time I finished with the chair I had forgotten about the bottles. I back up and hear a wild cunching sound. . The Bottles!  Oh you dumb ass I say to myself.

Beer bottles crushed by my 2011 Kia Sedona van. What a dumb ass I say to myself.

Other than that it rained quite a bit for most of the day here in Chaumont, NY. This morning I mowed the lawn at our rental house on Clay St., Watertown. 

Tree Shadow on Snow Selfie January 22, 2022

I was with the Better Half in the Kohls plaza in Watertown, NY on January 22, 2022 and my eye caught the shadow of a tree on the snow. I snapped a few shots undecided I liked the one with my shadow the best. I was looking at it just now and decided to post it here. 

Shadow selfie on snow, Watertown, NY.  photo copyright Gary Walts  2022

I Play a Fingerstyle / Classical Guitar Style Version of Eleanor Rigby

This past week I video taped myself playing the Beatles song Eleanor Rigby. This wqs the first Beatles song I learned to play many years ago. This arrangement is by Nashville guitarist John Knowles. It was published in his book Sittin' Back Pickin'. It is also available from John Knowles in issue #38 of his Fingerstyle Quarterly news letter. The guitar is a Signature Series made by Alejandro Cervantes. Sound was recorded with a Zoom H2N handy recorder. Video shot with a Nikon D5000 camera.

Memorial Day 2022

 

It is an absolutely beautiful day here in Chaumont, NY. There is a cemetery across the street from our house and this morning the Cape Vincent American Legion saluted the veterans interred there. This is something the legion has done for many years. At the request of The Better Half I used her iPhone 12 to catch a video of it. The bugler  playing taps did great job. 

Here is a link to it on my Facebook page 

Garden Plants, Oil Change, Covid Test, Birthday Sunday May 22, 2022

Some of our flower pots ready to put to use. I bought flowers a week ago, hopefully have them potted tomorrow. 

Weather today: High was 71 in the morning. Cooled to 60 by late afternoon. Cloudy and overcast ll day with some light rain at times.  

It was a full day for us here in Chaumont, NY.  I finally got our tomato and cucumber plants in the garden . Still have flower pots and containers to do.  I took a break around noon and had a delicious Sierra Nevada Torpedo IPA. I set the bottle down on the bench amid some flowers and was moved to snap a picture of it. Totally unplanned, a serendipitous visual moment. 

Sierra Nevada Torpedo extra IPA. One of my favorite beers. Gardening never tasted better.

After that I changed the oil in my 2011 Kia Sedona mini van. That chore was overdue and went off  without a hitch.  

For a couple of days the Better Half has been feeling tired and run down. Enough so that we decided to give her an over the counter Covid 19 test. It was a brand called iHealth. Very simple to do. Results show up in 15 minutes. Her result was negative. No Covid 19 present. An oximeter reading showed she has normal oxygen levels. 

At 5:30 we visited the Better Half's daughter B in Rutland to celebrate her daughter's 11th birthday. We had pizza, salad, and an ice cream cake from Carvel.

Tomato plants in our garden, Chaumont, NY. Planted today, Sunday May 22, 2022

Rain, Sump Pump, & Meek's Cutoff May 19, 2022

Flooded basement of our home in Chaumont, NY. House is at least 120 years old with a less than ideal limestone foundation. 

 

Yesterday and today we had plenty of heavy rain. This evening, around 6:00 discovered the basement was flooding with about a foot of water and more flowing in. The sump pump is quite old, at least 10 years, maybe as many as 15 years of service. Recently the switch was sticking. I bought  new pump a few weeks ago. I figured it failed. I quickly replaced the old with the new, plugged it in and it wouldn't go. I fiddled around and it started up. 18 minutes later it quit. The electric outlet had no power. Maybe a breaker tripped. I got and extension cord and plugged it into different outlet. It ran for 10 minutes and stopped. I checked the cords, connections, gave something a wiggle and it started up. Worked fine and pumped all the water out in less than an hour. I'll troubleshoot the electric problem tomorrow.

Earlier today I put some blinds on windows in one of our clay street apartments that I just leased to a young yesterday. She is a 27 year old Certified Nurse Assistant and seems to be very nice. The blinds are cordless, cost $18 and change at Home Depot.

I then went to bank and also bought some flower and cucumber plants at Seaway Gardens Watertown. 

Dropped in on my Celebrity Brother for a quick 20 minute visit.

Finished the evening off watch a 2010 western movie titled Meek"s Crossing. About some settlers getting lost crossing a desert in Oregon in 1845. 

One of the new blinds I installed today on apartment No.3, Clay St., Watertown, NY. 

Botched Blood Donation

   

My blood donation failed when technician evidently missed my vein. Yet the insertion point seemed to bleed more than normal and I was wrapped up with a tourniquet bandage, instructed to leave it on for 1 hour.

Friday the 13th 2022.

I went to Red Cross in Watertown, NY this morning to make a blood donation at 11:00. It went normally until the needle was inserted into my arm. My blood did not flow properly. The attendant tried to adjust it somehow, became frustrated and called a supervisor to assist. They could not get the blood to flow as it should. Re-adjusting the needle caused me some pain. They put a blood pressure cuff on my arm and pumped it up, I assume to create extra pressure that might assist the blood flow. I'm speculating and didn't ask them for an explanation. I got the impression that they missed the vein. The super told the subordinate that she should have used a different, adjacent vein. They decided to unhook me and abandon the donation. The insertion point seemed to bleed more than normal and I was wrapped up with a tourniquet bandage, instructed to leave it on for 1 hour. That was a first. Over all I was uncomfortable about how it all went. I left concerned. 

I then went to the Sportsman's Barber Shop and got a haircut. $14.00 for the cut, I gave her $20.00 (4^.00 tip). 

Went home from there and helped the Better Half carry in some groceries. About 3:00 I went back to town to do some painting on our Franklin St property. At 5:30 I showed a Clay St apartment to a young woman. She wants to lease it. She seems like a good person. Will probably rent to her.

Got home about 6:30 and mowed our lawn. It was quite warm today, hitting a high of 80 degrees.

Daughter's 48th Birthday April 29, 2022

Birthday card for daughter S. I love it

Today was daughter S's 48th birthday. Where has the time gone? I picked up a birthday card, potted plant and a cake for the birthday girl. She works overnight on the grave yard shift so was sleeping when I let myself into her home and dropped off the goods.

Spent rest of the day scraping paint on our Franklin St house while brother R worked in the stairway, putting up new siding. Got home to Chaumont at 6:30 and mowed the front and side yards. 

The inside of my daughter's 48th birthday card

Burger at Jeb's Restaurant, Lowville, NY

Thursday, April 28, 2022 

The Adirondack Burger at Jeb's Restaurant, Lowville, NY. Best burger I've ever had.

Today, on a fluke, the Better Half & I had burgers for lunch at Jeb's Restaurant, 5403 Shady Ave, Lowville, NY 13367. They were hands down the best burgers we ever had. The Adirondack Burger has 1/2 pound beef, cheddar and jack cheese, ham, and bacon. Lettuce, onion & tomato too. Served with the burger on one half the bun, the onion, tomato and lettuce on the other half. The two halves are put together by the customer. 

The Better Half had a physical therapy appointment for 1:00 today.  I tagged along with the idea we would have lunch at the Church Street Diner in Carthage afterwards. However, we arrived at the eatery at 2:30 not knowing they closed at 2:00. So, on an impulse we decided to go to Lowville and found ourselves at Jeb's.