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something so ugly to a non-hooptie Tuesday, June 27 2023
At the end of the workday, I headed out to run a few errands. The first was to PetSmart near the Walmart on 9W, where all I needed was some extremely bitter spritz to spray on the hotspot on Lester's left wrist, which had healed up nicely but which he is licking (and inflaming) again. Next I went to Lowes, mostly to get electrical supplies for the cabin's basement. I just needed a little more 12-2 romex cable, which has become very expensive and is now kept on locked shelves in big box stores. When I asked the Lowes guy for 100 feet of it (for about $100), he pointed out that I could get 250 feet for only $20 more. So I went with that, since (as someone responsible for the physical systems of now five separate houses) I'm always needing romex. In addition to various electrical boxes, I also bought two LED bulbs, each with the brightness equivalent of 150 watt incandescent bulbs, which will further improve digging conditions under the east decks at the cabin.
Then I returned to the brick mansion on Downs Street to carry away yet more woody debris. This time I'd brought my small battery-powered chainsaw (which is more reliable for pruning tasks) and a handtruck to help me move big pieces of tree-of-heaven trunk. Today I focused on removing the last of the brushy/twiggy/branchy material, which was a rather nasty job since it was wet and had been against the damp ground for weeks. This included semi-composted leafy branches that had become rather slimy, and stuffing this material loose into the back of my poor Forester made me sad. A young woman walked by as I was stuffing some of the last I could fit into my car, and she did a double take to see someone doing something so ugly to a vehicle that was not exactly a hooptie. I managed to also take two big chunks of trunk (one of which I placed in the passenger seat). Since I'd used up all the Forester's interior payload, I was forced to strap the handtruck to the roof rack.
Back home, Gretchen was making some sort of Thai-adjacent noodle dish with mushrooms, tofu, and spinach. She was disappointed in the results, but I thought it was pretty good.
After dinner, I unloaded the Forester and then took another bath in an effort to wash away all the grime. While I was getting out of the bathtub, a thunderstorm was raging outside and a stroke of lightning hit just west of the house. It must've hit something very close because the lightning and thunder arrived at just about the same instant.
![](ran/2306/je27_hmr_600.jpg)
Driving out to run errands today, a mile and a half from home heading north on Hurley Mountain Road. Click to enlarge.
![](ran/2306/je27_209_600.jpg)
Heading north on US 209 between Route 28 and Sawkill Road. Click to enlarge.
![](ran/2306/je27_catskills_600.jpg)
Catskills and clouds west of the old Gander Mountain in the Lowes parking lot near 9W North.
Click to enlarge.
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