Chazd's (Charles Dowdell's) News Burps

We went for a walk down along the Chattahoochee (the hooch) river today. Although the Joro spiders are not as infested as they were last year. They are still here. You can see me with a "Joro Stick". The Joros love to build their webs across trail expanses at face level. Not dangerous, but unpleasant when you walk into them. The stick keeps them out of your face, but still on your hands sometimes.

There has been a "belly" in the porch roof ridge line for as long as I have owned this house (10 years). I am finally doing something about it as I prepare for a new roof, soffits, facia and gutters. I took more than half of the sag out today. I still have more jacking and bracing, but I feel good about the progress. Certainly I have lots of experience straigtening structures like this. I remember my Uncle and my Father straigtening the collaped roof on the laundry shed near Bridgton, Maine in the 60s. The first one I did was a garage in the late 80s. I am using the 20 ton hydraulic jack I purchased in the mid 90s to jack and straighten the house I restored in Victor NY. I can't say I like working in attics and crawl spaces. I like the value it adds when complete, since it is easy, but scary and complicated for most. It is "pure" work.

A bit of poetry has been ringing in my head. It is from an old song. Sometimes these things can be hard to shake. And sail away on ships of wonder But life's not a wheel With chains made of steel So bless me, oh, bless me, bless me It has the same theme as in a post from 2016. March 29th 2016

There is always something going on at my airport in (KLZU) Lawrenceville GA. This weekend I got a deep brief regarding balloon piloting. I haven't been up yet. I took some pics of my zoom room to show folks what I see when I am in meetings. My zoom background is consistently a brick wall. My view could be considered the opposite. You can't quite see the lake from where I sit because of the large bush just outside the window. It's a beautiful bush. I would hate to take it out, but maybe.