It’s summer snow time! Not freak storms where six-sided frozen ice crystals fall on the ground as if it were December. I mean the fluffy seed pods that look like cotton floating in the air. Watching the aerobatics of these fuzzy flyers always brings a smile to my face. Even now as a storm brews outside, the summer snow adds lightness to the weather’s ugly background.
I’ve always wondered what creates this seasonal display and decided to do some investigation. At first I thought it to be milkweed. However, it turns out milkweed seeds let loose in the fall. After a little more digging, I found the most likely source is cottonwood (poplar) trees.
Where do they grow? Although I see their seeds flying, I can’t say I’ve ever seen a tree with pods like in the pictures I looked at. That may be because these are some of the tallest (67 – 130 ft.) growing trees around with branches too high to see the pods. Even if the pods are largely out of sight, the seeds do a great job of making the presence of the trees known.
There’s a danger to doing research into things you look at in wonder and enjoyment. It’s finding out realities that make you lose your engagement with what seems transcendent or even divine. In this case, I found my pleasure under attack from stories about how the loss of milkweed in the environment is one factor in the decline of monarch butterfly populations. Another assault came from reports that people cut down cottonwoods in a mistaken belief that it will reduce pollens that cause allergies.
My defense is to remember how much fun it is to drive through seed squalls without fear of losing visibility or traction. Another is thinking about making angels in patches of cotton on the lawn.
I’m getting ready to do some major remodeling and redecorating of a couple of rooms in my house. In order to prepare a staging area I’m working on cleaning out my ‘leave it’ room as in “I’ll leave it in there and do something with it later.” Some of those items have been sitting in the same spot from when I moved in ten and a half years ago. That includes my vinyl record album collection.
It’s not a huge collection. Everything would fit into a milk crate which is where I think I stored it till I switched to a more fashionable silver mesh container. There are 74 albums altogether with 23 actually belonging to my sister Kathy and another five that belong to my parents. Yes, I said my parents. That leaves 46 I purchased for myself.
Going through them has been a walk down memory lane. Some of the albums still have stickers from where they were purchased. I have albums with labels from Harmony House, Music Village, and Musicland – record stores that no longer exist. I even have one labeled from ‘Hudson’s Record Dept.’ My fond memories for these vanished places are wrapped up with being a teenager at the time and getting excited about having enough cash to make a purchase.
With limited funds, I had a method for how I bought my albums. It would have to contain at least three songs that had been played on the radio. That made the value of purchasing an album better than buying each song as singles. Rare was the artist that I liked so much that I would buy their albums with only one known hit song. John Mellencamp made that list. So did the Eurythmics and Styx. Often I would wait for an artist or group to produce a greatest hits album. That way I’d get the best songs and not have to deal with a bunch of substandard ‘B sides’.
Almost all of the ones from Kathy are movie and Broadway show soundtracks. She has a penchant for show tunes and I enjoyed the songs and music as well. With her being twelve years older than me, she had significantly more funds to purchase albums and I could browse and listen to her collection at will. When I moved out, some of her albums came with me – probably with plans to record and then return them to her later. That didn’t happen because around that time, CD technology arrived and started to take off. Even an album proudly boasting ‘This record can be played on a stereo phonograph’ could not win against those glittering silver discs that reflected colors like bubbles.
Virtually indestructible, CD’s soon overtook the market from the more temperamental vinyl even though most aficionados thought the sound quality to be inferior. For an opinion close to home, I asked my audiophile sister Camille what she thought. She liked the CD’s but noticed that the same song on CD dropped the sound of delicate bells she could hear on the vinyl version. My ears are not that attuned to such nuances, so I started buying CD’s and even bought CD copies of albums I already owned.
What to do with the vinyl albums now?
Certainly the ones that belong to Kathy or my parents will go back to them. I don’t think I want to get rid of all of the ones I bought for myself. Even if I purchased a CD copy, I think there are reasons to keep a vinyl version. So I went through the list and picked ten that I think are most worthy of saving. The first six were easy to pick. The last four took some thought and consideration. Which did I choose? Here they are:
Great Western Themes (United Artists Records): Whoever picked the songs for this two record collection really nailed it. From Elmer Bernstein’s “The Magnificent Seven” to Ennio Morricone’s “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” these themes celebrate the spirit of the movie and TV western golden age. I like this album so much that I went on Ebay to buy it when the family copy went missing. I’ve never been able to find an equivalent on CD so it’s an absolute essential to keep.
The Beatles/1962-1966 (Capitol): If you’re going to have a vinyl album collection, it might be the law that it contains at least one from the Beatles.
Rumours by Fleetwood Mac (Warner Bros. Records): This was the bestselling record of my teenage time. A local radio station had a contest where if you were the ‘nth caller’ you could pick any album as your prize. I started to hear the boredom in the voices of the DJ’s as winner after winner picked this album. If I had ever made it through, I would have picked this album.
Live Bullet by Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band (Capitol): You couldn’t live in or near Detroit as a teenager without having this album. It is a classic rock double album and still one of my all-time favorites.
Pieces of Eight by Styx (A&M Records): If everyone left me alone in the house, I cranked up the volume on the song “Renegade” and repeated it over and over again till they were due home.
Charade the Original Movie Soundtrack (RCA Victor): This one belongs to Kathy, but I might have to accidentally not return it to her. The movie is one of my favorite romantic films and the score by Henry Mancini is one of his best.
The Best of Glenn Miller (RCA): I bought this when I stayed in Poughkeepsie, NY, for a college internship at IBM and actually had some spare cash to spend. If you like swing/big band music, I think you should have some on vinyl in deference to the historic 78 rpm record era.
Queen Greatest Hits (Elektra/Asylum/Nonesuch Records): Like the Beatles, Queen is one of those quintessential vinyl bands that everyone should own. This album doesn’t have the classic cover art like their News of the World album, but you can’t go wrong with a greatest hits collection.
Moonlight Feels Right by Starbuck (Private Stock Records): I scratch my head over why I bought this one. All I can say is smooth pop is nice every once in a while. I remember listening often to the whole album, though now the only song I know is the album’s namesake and Starbuck’s one hit. Who can get rid of an album where the xylophone is used for a rock solo, or where the band members are dressed in platform shoes and bell-bottom pants?
Songs from the Big Chair by Tears for Fears (Mercury): This is the last vinyl album I purchased and I include it simply for that fact. Keeping it is bittersweet, but isn’t that what makes a vintage record collection worth having?
I think my snow blower is dead. Back in November, I changed the paddles and scraper then started it up to make sure it worked. The engine turned over nicely and chugged right along. If it hadn’t, I’d have a new one sitting in my garage today. Instead, I didn’t know that would be its last breath. It failed me the first time I went to use it, two months later in January, with the first significant snowfall of the season. What a pain!
I haven’t taken it in for service, but I’ve tried everything else within my power to revive it. I siphoned out the old gas and put in new fuel. I changed the spark plug. I’ve tried using starting fluid. All efforts have been to no avail.
It’s not as if I should be surprised. The machine is ten years old, and I’ve been a neglectful owner. I let old gas sit in it, over the summer and fall, year after year. And then there’s the day in 2012 when my neighbor, Don, came over to find out if I could use some parts from his old machine since he bought a new one. “Have you changed the paddles and scraper yet this season?” he asked.
“No,” I responded. “I haven’t changed them since I bought the machine. I didn’t know they would ever wear out.”
To his dear credit, Don didn’t roll his eyes. He just asked if he could look and then showed me the shreds of what remained of the scraper. He pointed out how the holes in the paddle that warned you they needed replacing were long gone; that the edges of the snow blower were starting to be eaten away from dragging on the rough pavement.
Don took my snow blower with him that day and brought me back a hybrid between his old machine and mine, having to put my engine into the case of his old snow blower. Don warned me that the scraper and paddles would need replacing soon and told me where I could get the parts. He offered to help me if I needed it.
I am somewhat mechanically inclined, but not particularly motivated to work on equipment. It’s just not something that I enjoy. So with the 2012/2013 snow season being unusually light, I didn’t get around to changing the scraper and paddle until the start of the 2013/2014 season. It was a good thing I did because Detroit had a record snowfall of 94.9 inches – more than double our usual average.
The fact that my little 16” Toro Powerlite handled all that snow is remarkable to me now. Considering its age and history of neglect, it truly is on a par with the ‘little engine that could.’ It never failed me during that time and went the extra mile as I helped neighbors clear their sidewalks.
Now it sits in my garage awaiting its fate. I thought I could make it through this season the old-fashioned way using a shovel and buy a new snow blower at the start of the next season. The sixteen inches of snow we got on February 1st and 2nd has me rethinking that strategy. Unfortunately, the pickings are slim in the stores right now and even online. I have considered taking it in for service, however, I’ve heard that can cost as much as half of what a new machine will cost.
So I sit trying to make up my mind on what to do. Crossing my fingers and hoping we don’t get another sixteen inch snowfall seems foolhardy. Neighbors have been helping me out with the snow, but I don’t want to take advantage of their good nature. Calder, my cat, shows no signs of wanting to get outside to help me. My call for minions in last month’s post has gone unanswered. Neither have I found a good reference for someone I can pay to come and take care of the snow for me.
I’m happy to hear your suggestions to help me decide on a solution. For now, I’m watching the weather reports closely, stocking up on Epsom salts, and rooting for an early spring!
I have a lot of stuff to do. First on my list are the things I have to do to maintain my life. Obtaining food/water, shelter, and clothing make up the basics. It’s what people have been doing from the dawn of humankind. If I don’t do the modern equivalents – work my job, buy groceries and clothes, maintain my house – I may very well become extinct.
Second on the list are the things I should do. Guilt often goes hand in hand with the ‘shoulds.’ Losing weight, exercising, volunteering – all are well and good, but not easy to fit into a busy schedule. That creates major stressors. Cavemen had their stressors, too. However, I think that once you managed to outrun the saber-toothed cat of the day, you could pretty much let it go and enjoy your mammoth meat without ruminating over whether or not it would make your thighs bigger.
Last on the list are the things I want to do. You know, travel, hobbies, writing, entertainment, socializing, etc.; all the stuff that gets put on the backburner in favor of the ‘must dos’ and the ‘should dos.’ How ironic is it that modern life imposes so much overhead to the basics of obtaining food/water, shelter, and clothing that we don’t have more time for leisurely pursuits? We have to obtain and maintain cars. We deal with endless paperwork that must be read, filed, filled out, paid, and tossed or shredded. Electronics are meant to be fun except when they aren’t because they’ve gone on the fritz and you have to deal with the problems. The list of upkeep duties is long and large.
What’s a person to do? I’m thinking having minions is the answer. I admit to being somewhat inspired to this thought from seeing the trailer for the cartoon movie “Minions.” Having a bunch of these lovable goofs doing my bidding sounds kind of fun. However, the “Despicable Me” movies notwithstanding, minions have a bad reputation given they are usually depicted serving the needs of evil masters set upon ruling the world. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines a minion as “someone who is not powerful or important and who obeys the orders of a powerful leader or boss.” See that? It says “powerful leader or boss” not megalomaniacal madman out to become overlord of the human race. A secondary definition is “one highly favored.” I know I would certainly appreciate someone who does all the stuff I don’t want to do.
So, I’m putting out the help wanted sign to bring in some minions. The salary: zero. I mean, a minion will do the job just for the satisfaction of serving the leader – right? I won’t require any evil deeds to be done, but if it makes a minion happy I can produce an evil laugh when assigning him or her to shred my finance statements. I can wear grey suits while my cat, Calder, sits in my lap being stroked as I give orders. See? This can work!
Care to apply? No experience required. Leave comments for more details.
What I like most about this time of year is the unique, collective opportunity it offers for spending time on people and things that we might not do otherwise: gift giving, sharing meals, travel, being with friends and family. Sure there may be irritations along the way, but in the end the goodwill intended ought to bring some light into our lives. No matter how things go, it’s a rich breeding ground for great story ideas.
However you plan to spend this time, my wish is that it nurtures your spirit and health, and brings you closer to the people you love and the things you like to do.
Take care and may you receive all the best the New Year has to offer!
It’s summer snow time! Not freak storms where six-sided frozen ice crystals fall on the ground as if it were December. I mean the fluffy seed pods that look like cotton floating in the air. Watching the aerobatics of these fuzzy flyers always brings a smile to my face. Even now as a storm brews outside, the summer snow adds lightness to the weather’s ugly background.
