Spring is near...

Well, spring is close.  The porch is a mess.  We've pulled plants out to give them some sunshine, but they are in no particular order.  The big palm is about to die.  I managed to keep it alive until about a month ago, and now just looks pathetic.  Most of the plants are looking pretty bad.  I just can't bring myself to take pictures of them.

Hopefully soon, though, they'll be refreshed, and energized and ready to grow.  We've bought some petunias to get some color going before too long, and soon we'll get a storage container to get all the pots and dirt and tools out of sight.

The rain barrel needs a little TLC as well, as the weight of it when it's full has caused the front of it to sink down into the ground.  We'll need to empty it, and put a stabilizing block underneath the front of it.  But then it should be good to go.  

We got a couple of really cool decorative hanging containers that I can't wait to get plants in and see how they look.  I'll make sure and highlight them here for you when they're done.

Until a little warmer weather (it's almost here!),

AMW

Snow Day Video

I didn't get a chance to find a song to compliment the video, but had fun editing it down for the blog.  Enjoy...

AMW

Snow Day!

Well, we finally had a real snow.  Here is a picture from the porch looking out at about 7:30 am.  Before we went sliding down the hill...  It was actually still snowing, and the sun was trying real hard to peek through the clouds and trees.

It was blustery enough that even the adirondack chairs on the porch got a light dusting!

A close up view of the house from the street.

And here is the far away view of the house from the street.

We did take some video of the first slides down the hill, and as soon as I can edit them into a coherent video, I'll post it here.

Of course, now that we are two days past snow, it has all melted away, and in just a couple more days, it will be 70 degrees.  

Yep, that's the way it goes around here...

AMW

Protector Man

I've been putting this post off for a while, hoping that I'd get some good pictures.  Nope.  But I did manage to get some pictures.  Cell phone pics, which we all know aren't the greatest, but it will work....

If you followed this porch blog at all, you know that we live a couple houses away from an intersection.  A 7-11 on one corner provides some interesting viewing.  A Rite-Aid is on another corner, and the other two corners are empty lots.

For some months now, there has been a man that stands on the corner diagonal from the 7-11.  He is there most days, and into the evening.  Good weather.  Bad weather.  Cold weather.  Doesn't matter.  He isn't yelling.  He isn't talking.  He is standing there.  Sometimes with earphones, but even then, he isn't dancing.  At most, he kind of paces, but it really isn't pacing.  More like shifting his weight between his legs.  

Most of the time, he's dressed in a suit.  I've seen him in a white suit with a red shirt, and a red suit from head to toe.  On cold days, he has a long overcoat.  But almost always in a suit.  Oh, some have seen him in a red jogging suit, which I finally saw last night.  

D asked at 7-11 if they knew what was up with him, and was told that he claims to be "watching for the next attack" and is there to "protect us".  Does he know something we don't???  There are also rumors that some of the neighborhood kids waiting for the school bus have complained that he has flashed them.  The police have talked to him on several occasions, but really, he isn't doing anything.  That's kinda the creepy part.  He's not doing anything.  But waiting for our next attack????  7-11 has banned him, and doesn't allow him in the store.

It's all kind of odd.  Nobody I've talked to has seen him come and go, he's either there or not.  We don't know what direction he goes.  He can't park a car nearby, so we assume he walks.  But we don't to/from where.  

Yesterday, our friend K said she saw him in the morning in his red sweatsuit.  When I came home, he was in a burgandy dress suit.  On the way to bowling, he was still there in a burgandy suit, and another police officer was talking to him.  After bowling, he was STILL there, and back in the red sweatsuit.  

Since we only live a couple of houses from the corner, I didn't want him to see me taking pictures of him.  He can see us turning into the driveway.  But managed to get a couple of shots with the phone.  

Didn't know what else to call him, so we dubbed him "Protector Man"...

AMW

Snow

Well, twice now we've had snow in the forecast, and we've been anxiously waiting so we could get some great snow pictures of the porch.    And twice, we haven't gotten more than a flake at best.  So now snow pics.

Hopefully, we can get one good snow.  For pics, and for a ride down the hill......

AMW

Late, Late, Late Update

Well, since it's winter, there isn't much activity on the porch.  I tried to snap a few pics of the porch decorated for Christmas, but they didn't turn out as well as I hoped.  But I'll share them anyways...

I'm soooooo ready for warm weather, and I know the plants are so ready to be back outside in the sunshine.  

AMW

Sights and Sounds

So, the sights and sounds of the porch this weekend were quite busy.  Sometime during the day on Saturday, we saw a fire truck go racing by.  Not terribly unusual, since they are normally first responders in our area...  But when the second, and third, and fourth ones went by, we knew something was up.  D walked out on the porch, and looked down the street and saw big black bellowing smoke pouring into the air.  We threw on  coats, and walked down to see what was up...

What we found when we got there, though, was not a house on fire, but an RV.  A good size driving kind.  

It had been fully engulfed, and there was still a lot of smoke when we made our way there.  The firefighters were doing their best to keep the damage away from the house that the RV was parked in the driveway of.  From what we could see, it appeared that a shutter had melted, the corner of the roof was a little discolored (charred maybe?) and their city trash can was melted.  

The family appeared to be home, and were outside.  The firefighters went into the house a couple of times, and looked like they brought out two cats.  But all in all, it did not appear that the house sustained much damage.  
The street was blocked off for quite a while, and even when you though it was all out, there was still smoke coming from the RV.  I imagine there are a lot of things that could burn in there.  We don't recall ever seeing it parked there before, so it's possible someone was in town for the holiday.  I think a total of 5 engines, 2 rescue, and tons of support vehicles showed up.

As if that wasn't excitement enough, on Sunday night, we heard sirens again.  We looked out, and there was Rescue parked in front of our next door neighbor's house.  We ran out again, to find thick smoke blowing our way.  It was hard to tell if it was from our neighbor's house, or the one next to it.

Multiple fire vehicles again show up, and it was determined that an outside trash can had been on fire, and was extinguished without spreading any further.

Our neighbor asked the firefighters how many fires they were going to put out on LaSalle, and he answered, "Hopefully all of them!".  

Hopefully!

Sorry about the picture quality.  They are from the phone.  In all the excitement, we forgot to grab the regular camera.  I think enlarging the pics helps see the detail...

AMW