Woodpecker Damage

      My April 13, 2012 blog entry was about how the woodpeckers were rat-a-tatting on the shingles.  Here's a link if you would like to check out that article:

  http://happyinhainesport.blogspot.com/2012/04/woodpecker-reveille.html

     Those redheaded nuisances show up every spring.  Each time I cleaned the rain gutters, I inspected the roof.  The damage seemed minimal - a small pea sized hole on the edge of one shingle, a couple of places where the sandy grains were pecked thin.  Okay, that's not the end of the world.
     I decided to clean out the gutters and inspect the roof this week.  Those damned birds had a field day on the garage roof.  I suppose I never heard the racket because all that pecking was not over a living space.
     Here's how I repaired the damage:

The edges of several shingles were pecked clean down to the fiberglass fibers.

I applied a layer of Black Jack All Weather Roof Cement. The product comes in a big bucket or a 10 oz. tube.  I bought the tube and dispensed it with a caulking gun.  The product is appropriate for use on tab shingles.  After squirting a glob on the shingle, I smoothed it out with a putty knife.  Since the garage roof does not face the street, I called repairs on the garage done at this point. 

The one pea sized hole (that I have ignored since 2012) was on the front roof, over the front door area.  I doubt anyone would notice a shiny, black patch, but I decided to do a more cosmetically pleasing repair here.  I used some 100% fiberglass adhesive wall repair tape.  I applied a layer of tape over and under the hole.  Then I smeared the Black Jack Cement on the mesh tape, on the top and bottom of the shingle. 

I got a brainstorm to gather the pebbles that wash off the shingles.

The gutters always have a supply of pebbles.

After sprinkling pebbles on the gooey, black patch, I pressed them in and blew away the loose grains.  It's good enough for me.

Wasp Nest in the Attic

     There was a wasp nest in the attic last summer.  It was tiny, and it didn't bother me, so live and let live.  This summer that nest went from one inch in diameter to four inches in diameter.  It was crawling with wasps, and the critters swarmed in and out leaving their dirt all over the siding.

The nest was over the front porch, attached to the very edge of the roof.  The wasps went in and out through the siding.   

     I couldn't get at the nest from inside the attic.  Others might have soaked the nest with wasp and hornet killer and left it hanging, but I wanted to remove all traces of wasp habitation.  The only way to do that was to remove the porch ceiling.  My success at replacing some of the vinyl siding (September 17, 2015 blog entry) emboldened me.  This job was even easier than replacing siding.

The roof of the porch consists of interlocking vinyl panels.  I located a seam and tried unzipping it by using the tool for unzipping siding.  I didn't have much luck.  I was afraid of cracking the vinyl, so I took a different approach.  I went to the last panel and yanked one end out.     

Dang.  I hadn't seen the nail in the middle of the panel that connected the panel to a 1"x 3" board.

Here's that small, white nail.  I slipped a flat head screw driver behind the panel and tapped toward the nail's shaft.  Once the tip of the screw driver was under the nail head, between the panel and the 1"x 3", I twisted to pry the nail out as much as I dared.  I was concerned I might tear the panel. 

I pried the nail out about 1/8".  Then I used needle nose pliers to pull the nail straight down.  I got the nail out without bending it.  A little push to the left and the Panel # 1 was out.

The panels interlocked on these gray strips.  Each strip was screwed to a 1"x 3" in the middle and on each end.  I removed the three screws, pushed left, and popped out Panel # 2.

I repeated the process and removed Panel # 3.  Now I had enough room to get into the roof space and remove the nest.  I cleared the porch and set up my ladder so that I had an escape route in case of wasp attack.  I should mention that wasp attack is unlikely at this time of year.  The worker wasps or drones died around a month ago, and their bodies littered the attic floor until recently when I swept them up.  Queenie might have been hibernating in the nest, and I did see something fall as I sprayed.  I decided not to go feeling around for whatever fell.

This is a wasp nest remover's best friend.

Everything is soaked with wasp killer.

I put a paper bag under the nest.  Then I used a wide putty knife to scrape the nest off the roof.  Bag and nest went into the trash can.

Going in reverse, I replaced Panel # 3, slid it to the right until it clicked into place on a gray strip, and replaced the three screws.  Then # 2 and # 1.  I used a nail set to replace the nail that holds Panel # 1 in place.  After all that tapping, the white finish on the nail head was worn off.  A dab of white paint made the nail head almost invisible.  Job done.  Cleaning the siding and sealing the bees' access point can wait for another day.

2016 Presidential Election - When You Are Faced With No Good Choices

      The usual advice when you can't decide which candidate will get your vote is to chose the lesser of two evils - vote for the candidate that you dislike the least.  Some people will vote for a third party candidate.  I even read an article advising people to vote for Trump so Clinton will not win by the huge margin that is expected.  Supposedly, a narrow victory instead of a landslide will let Mrs. Clinton know she doesn't have the support she thought she had.  That last tactic seems pretty impossible to pull off, and I think it could be the suggestion of a Trump-ist attempting to grab some of Hillary's votes.
     I think that the "lesser of two evils" approach is wrong for the 2016 presidential election.  I refuse to choose between a nut and a prevaricator.  Casting a third party vote is something I considered, but decided against.  My solution will be to skip casting a vote for president.  My hope is that every undecided voter, every constituent who plans to go with a third party, every member of the electorate who deplores this impossible choice we've been handed will simply refuse to play along.  If enough people abstain, the election statistics will deliver the message.
     There is a ballot option known as "None of the Above" or NOTA.  It allows voters to indicate disapproval of all candidates.  NOTA is standard voting procedure in India, Greece, Ukraine, Spain, Colombia, Bangladesh, and the U. S. state of Nevada.  If the NOTA option receives the highest number of votes, there are a number of solutions - leaving the office vacant, filling the post by appointment, reopening nominations, or holding another election.  In Nevada, if the highest number of votes cast are for "None of the Above," the second runner up wins the election. In this case, a NOTA vote doesn't have a bearing on an election's results, but official numbers send a message.
     If you think a "None of the Above" vote is an option you would like to have, contact your state and federal representatives.  

UPDATE:  On December 14, 2016, the Washington Post reported  that 1.7 million people in 33 states skipped voting for a presidential candidate in the 2016 election.  That's 2% of all voters.  It's also twice as many as in 2012.    
   

                 
   

Everhart Museum, Scranton, Pennsylvania

     The Everhart Museum was established in 1908 by Dr. Isaiah Everhart.  At that time there were only eight other public museums in Pennsylvania, and Dr. Everhart's museum was the only one located in northeastern Pennsylvania.  Dr. Everhart wanted to bring the world to Scranton and to present it to his community.  I suppose he accomplished his goal in 1908.  In 2016, the museum doesn't seem to work.
     Part of the problem is that the institution is both a natural history museum and an art museum.  With the exception of the Bird Gallery, the collections are small and not very impressive.  The current traveling exhibit, Fairy Tale Art, is a combination of pieces on loan from Smith Kramer Fine Art Services and assorted stuff pulled from the museum's collections - taxidermied big, bad wolves, a red cape, fairy figurines, a fun house mirror, hair sculpture, and other items.  Making the connection between the things pulled from storage and the fairy tale theme was a stretch at times.
     I think this museum is best for young children.  I doubt most adults would find it engaging.  Hours vary, so visitors should check the schedule.  http://everhart-museum.org/
     Admission fees are $7.00 for adults, $5.00 for students over age 12 and seniors age 60 and over, $3.00 for children ages 6-12, and free for members of the military and children age 5 and under.
     Photos are permitted only on the first floor.

Dr. Isaiah Everhart used $40,000 of his own money to construct the building.

The statue of Dr. Everhart was dedicated on May 20, 1911.  Dr. Everhart died five days later.

Every natural history museum needs a dinosaur. 

The bird collection was quite nice.  Dr. Everhart was a skilled taxidermist.

They call this "Visible Storage."  They are letting visitors know that the museum has lots of items besides  the permanent displays.  And, I suppose, they had to do something with this room so it wouldn't be empty - just pile in a bunch of unrelated items!

 
     Since no pictures are allowed in the fine art gallery, here are links to some of the artists and their work.

     Jodi Harvey makes sculpture out of old books.  Her mermaid was part of the fairy tale exhibit.
http://www.boredpanda.com/paper-book-sculpture-art-jodi-harvey-brown/

     Kelly Jelinek does faux taxidermy.  That means she covers taxidermied animals with upholstery fabric, making them different creatures entirely.  Her work was also part of the fairy tale exhibit.
http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2016/02/upholstered-faux-taxidermy-kelly-rene-jelinek/

     John Willard Raught was born in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, a small community bordering Scranton.  His many paintings of collieries are gray and depressing.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Willard_Raught

     If you think you might have an interest in hair sculpture, skip the Everhart.  Instead, go to Leila's Hair Museum in Independence, Missouri.  This museum was featured on CNN's "Somebody's Gotta Do It" with Mike Rowe.
http://www.leilashairmuseum.net/




   
     

The Rockwell Museum, Corning, New York

     When Mike said, "Let's visit the Rockwell Museum," I agreed enthusiastically.  I thought I was going to see Norman Rockwell's art.  Never assume.
     The Norman Rockwell Museum is located in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.  The Rockwell Museum we visited is located in Corning, New York.  It is named after Bob and Hertha Rockwell, an art loving local couple, whose collection of American masterpieces makes up the core of the museum's holdings.  This museum is a gem.  Frommer's describes the Rockwell Museum as, "one of the best-designed small museums in the Northeast."  The museum is a Smithsonian affiliate.  Their partnership with the Smithsonian Institution allows them to share collections and conduct joint research.  Museum hours are 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.  Admission price is $10.00 for adults up to age 54, $9.00 for adults age 55+, and $5.00 for local residents.  Children ages 17 and under get in free.
     I took some pictures of my favorite pieces.  Photography is okay as long as you don't use a flash.

Montana Winter Scene
1914
Harvey Thomas Dunn

Yosemite
circa 1908
Thomas Hill
This is a very big painting.  If you look at the bottom, center, you'll see a man on horseback and another person.  They are dwarfed by the landscape.  I think Thomas Hill got that point across extremely well.

Here's a close up of the people in "Yosemite."

The Bronco Buster
1895
Frederic Remington
This is one of two on display.

The End of the Trail
1894
James Earle Fraser
I liked this sculpture even more than the Remingtons.

This painting stands alone as a work of art, but it was actually a cover illustration for Outdoor Recreation Magazine in November 1925.  The artist is Phillip Goodwin.  Goodwin was a member of the Brandywine School, an artist's colony for illustrators founded by Harold Pyle.  Pyle taught his students outdoor easel painting and Impressionistic color theory.  He emphasized that they should paint with historical accuracy.      

Here is the magazine cover.  Doesn't the cover picture make you want to read about moose hunting?

Navigating by Our Grandmothers
2000
Rosalie Favell
Native American Artist
Check out the reflection of me (taking the picture) and Mike!  We like being in the scene with the grandmothers.  This work had a dreamy quality.  I felt the connection through time to grandparents and beyond.  

Here's another in the collection of Native American art.  I got a kick out of this piece by David Bradley - a little Indian twist on classic art works.   

Corning, New York

     Mike and I visited the Corning Museum of Glass in April 2016.  We recently returned to Corning to check out its beautiful downtown.

This is Little Joe Tower.  It's 196 feet tall.  Corning used to make glass tubing for thermometers in this tower.  Hot, molten glass tubes were stretched to the top of the tower using a cable system.  When the tubes cooled, they were cut to the desired length for thermometers. 

This is Centerway Square in the downtown area known as the Gaffer District.  

There are lots of nice shops on Market Street, the main street.  I loved the rose sculpture at Connors Mercantile.  There were more restaurants representing more different types of cuisine than I could count.

Who could argue with this sentiment?

Kinzua Bridge State Park, Hamlin and Keating Townships, Pennsylvania

     The original Kinzua railway bridge or Kinzua Viaduct was built in 1882.  The viaduct spanned the Kinzua Gorge.  At the time it was built, this viaduct was the highest and longest railway bridge in the world.  Loads became larger, and trains became heavier; so the bridge was rebuilt in 1900. Commercial rail traffic stopped on the bridge in the 1960's, and the State of Pennsylvania turned the viaduct and the surrounding area into a state park which opened in 1970.  The Knox and Kane Railroad operated sight seeing trips on the bridge beginning in 1987 and ending in 2002, when the span was closed for another restoration.  A tornado tore through the park on July 21, 2003, and it toppled 11 of the 20 towers holding up the bridge.  In 2011, the bridge was reinvented as a sky walk.  Kinzua Bridge State Park is open everyday from sunrise until sunset.   Admission is free.

The lobby of the visitor center features copies of the bridge towers.  This fellow is hard at work near the ceiling.

This is a picture of some of the men who worked on the original 1882 bridge.  Check out the guy with the lunch pail. 

Doesn't he look a little bit like Clark Gable?

The sky walk is 600 feet long and 301 feet high.

Nine towers remain standing.

One area of the observation platform has a glass floor.

The flattened towers are exactly as they were after the 2003 tornado.  The tornado was an F-1 on the Fujita Tornado Damage Scale.  That means winds were 73-112 miles per hour.  Damage was moderate (roofs peel off, mobile homes can blow off foundations, and cars can blow off roads).  Follow the link to learn more about the Fujita Scale:
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/f-scale.html

I had to hang on to my hat.  The winds whip through the Kinzua Gorge.  When trains crossed the bridge, they had to slow to five miles per hour.  Look at the rails.  There are four rails, not two.  The train started out on the two inner rails.  If the train blew off the rails, the second outer set of rails caught it, and it kept rolling.

The towers fell during the tornado because the bolts holding the metal to the concrete bases had rusted.   It was estimated that the towers swayed 4-5 times before the bolts snapped.

The Kinzua Creek runs at the bottom of the gorge.

The hike around the bottom of the gorge was nice.  We needed a few breaks to catch our breath on the way back to the top.

You have to respect the forces of nature,

    

Tomato Sandwiches

     I had a tomato sandwich for breakfast this morning.  The tomato was probably the last locally grown one that I'll get my hands on this year.  I like my damater sandwiches on toasted white bread with mayonnaise and a sprinkling of salt and pepper.  So, how do other people prepare their tomato sandwiches?  There must be all sorts of twists on the basic recipe.  I wondered just how complicated some culinary artist might make this simple fare.
     First of all, let me say that any sort of meat is forbidden in a tomato sandwich.  The introduction of meat makes the sandwich a meat sandwich that has been garnished with tomato, not the other way around.  A bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich is a BLT, not a tomato sandwich.  The same goes for cheese.  If you slip in a layer of mozzarella, it becomes a caprese sandwich.  Finally,  tomato sandwiches are made with raw tomatoes.  Broiled tomatoes should not be served on bread.
     One variation on the mater sammich would be to switch out the mayonnaise for Miracle Whip.  Mircle Whippers seem to like their bread untoasted.
     Another recipe calls for rubbing crushed garlic on toasted bread before adding the mayo and tomato.  Finish it off with some raw onion slivers.
     Yet another version adds basil leaves and balsamic vinegar to the basic recipe.  I think this one might be further enhanced by a sprinkle of Italian seasoning.
     Perhaps the most appetizing rendition of the to-mah-to sandwich is to add some avocado slices.  Avocado improves everything.
     No matter what you call them, whether simple or all gussied up,  the sandwiches of summer are off the menu until next year, and I can hardy wait for tomato season to begin again.
       

Bucket Lists

     A 102-year-old St. Louis woman named Edie Simms can remove riding in the back of a police car from her bucket list.  When local police found out that getting the cuffs slapped on was an experience Edie  always wanted to have, they were happy to oblige.  They put her in the back of their cruiser and drove her to the senior center that she routinely visits.

     Enjoy the video:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/woman-gets-bucket-list-wish-fulfilled_us_57f26b2ee4b082aad9bc1b12

     I sat in the back of a police car once.  I had a car accident, and the officer stashed me in the back of his car while he interviewed the other driver.  I didn't like it back there because the windows didn't roll down and I couldn't unlock the doors.  I'm not interested in skydiving at age 90 like former president George H. W. Bush.  I don't want to run a marathon or drive a race car.  I would probably enjoy a few walks on the wild side though before I die, so here's my list.

     1. Be guest madam for a night at a Nevada whorehouse.  You'll notice I said "guest madam,"
         not "guest sex worker."
     2. Shred the money that doesn't pass inspection at the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing.
     3. Be a dead body on any of the C.S.I. shows.
     4. Learn how to hot wire a car or pick a lock.  Either one will do.
     5. Shoot a machine gun.