Beaverlicious

Beaverlicious
No, I haven't eaten the beavers (though my neighbor tells me that they are delicious, and I have no desire to corroborate his statement).  But those rascals are busier than ever in the bottom.  This poor tree is one of many recipients of this ardent, rodent behavior.  We have plenty of woods, and there are plenty of trees in the bottom.  However, if they come up the banks much further there are a few beech trees that are far from plenty, and if damaged we would have some heart break.

These beavers have been pushed from other neighbors' potential places.  Our bottom is a great place for them to work unmolested.  However, our hope is that they will not see that the bark is browner, grayer or tastier on the other side of the path.  The path, long trodden over these many years that we've lived here is now going to serve as a demilitarized zone.  I'm hoping they contain their enthusiasm.  However, every day marks another tree with beaver wounds.

The view to the right is upstream.  No beaver activity here.  The water is running strongly through here with all of the ran.  There are 2 ponds upstream.  When the dams broke in the hurricane of ??, a 4 wall of water came down through this bottom as evidenced from the mud that coated the trees.  It was frightening enough to see the dam break--all the more frightening to be in this bottom.

We've been setting deer food out.  But there are surely all manner of animals eating it.  I at least know that the deer have been there through their tracks.  Without the acorns to tied the animals over, all are ravenous.  I am too, and our pizza delivery person should be here soon.

P. S.  I did NOT sit at a desk at all today, so NO POMODOROS.






Notes from the Field on Clockwork Tomato

Earlier this morning, I wrote about my using Clockwork Tomato, the Pomodoro app for my HTC One.  There is a Pomodoro Cheat Sheet that you can find at this link.  My goal today was to use the planning techniques of the Pomo in getting through my to do list.

My first item on the list was Clean Desk. It was a mess from the deep immersion that I wrote about in my first post.  I assigned 2 Pomo's, or 50 minutes to accomplish this task.  Sadly, not only did it take me 2-Pomo's, I added another Pomo (that's 75 minutes) and I still didn't finish.  I still have 1.5" of papers to go through.  I stacked them up for a look at tomorrow. Honestly, I think that there is 2-Pomo's left to do. It's like losing weight -- whatever you gain over a period of time cannot melt away.  Such are the physics of the 'stuff' that accumulates on your desk (and other places in your house).  As a veteran of these types of accumulations, I say with authority, pick a well-defined space (even if it is just a corner of your desk), and work through your 'piles' systematically.

My second item on the list was Organize To-Do list.  My to-do list was getting a bit far flung, and it was needing some consolidation.  I had 1 Pomo for that.  It took me two. Sniff.

My third item was a  budget-actual job hours report for a client that analyzes all of the performance of jobs against estimates to include hours and estimated man day rates.  I estimated 1 Pomo.  It took me 1 Pomo.  I hit the send button just as the session was ending.  That felt like a winner.

I will not bore you with the rest.  Point being...that tick, tick, ticking in the background is a powerful reminder that "time's a-running" whether you are accomplishing anything or not.   It is a motivator not only to complete the task, but better, to PLAN the task, and ensure that everything needed is lined up so you can get through the session. And finally, it really focuses you to KNOW how long a particularly task takes. This method makes you time conscious.

Because I used this method all day--which meant that each session ran into the other seamlessly--I felt both hurried and a stressed. I say this to be honest, not to disabuse you of the notion of integrating a method such as this into your life.  Rather, this discomfort (which we all try to avoid), will be lessened by refining the day's plan better.

My previous utilization of timing methods was to use discrete packages of time without any integration into an entire work day. 

But gosh, I had a productive day!

My Paradoxical Brain | Clockwork Tomato

Over the course of the last few months, I've been working integrating time management techniques into my daily life.  I have a paradoxical brain suffer equally from possessing an easily distractible (I had to add this word to my  Blogger dictionary-- go figure!) brain as well as a brain capable of long periods of intense work and concentration.

With such gray matter goofiness, the only way to train my brain better to both not get distracted AND to not get immersed in a deep dive is to set some time structure that makes sense.  I have found some wonderful timer apps both for my computer and my phone, and I have been using them in a way that I would describe as haphazardly disciplined.  With several months under my belt in using these timers to force myself to do what I consider unpleasant tasks, I have noticed that I'm able to undertake tasks more easily as the timer creates a finite period for fulfilling the task.

A couple of days ago, I stumbled upon the Pomodoro Technique (Pomodoro means tomato in Italian) when looking for some productivity apps for my HTC One.  (How I love that phone).  I don't plan to write about the technique here, but you can read about it here.  The technique involves using a 25 min/5 min work/break ratio. There are apps that you can get for your pc (http://www.focusboosterapp.com/) or your smartphone.  I am using the Clockwork tomato app. (You gotta love that name!)

This method is suited to those such as myself who are stationary workers.  Because I'm desk-bound in my job and have many tasks that have to be done, this application is well-suited for my work.  With my paradoxical brain that is capable of many distractions as well as getting lost in work forgetting to give my poor body (or it) a rest, this technique is perfect for those who need a structured time environment, and some help easing into a  task as well as easing out of one.

I've been using this method for three days (over my other timer methods deployed), and it is a perfect fit for me. First, the app is integrated with the day.  I'm not stringing together unrelated timers and the like.  Because the Clockwork tomato app is highly customizable (let's say that you want a 50 minute work session and a 10 minute break), you can deploy a version of the method that works for your type of work.  Admittedly, the 25 minutes is not ideal for some of the things that I have to sit down and do.  Nevertheless, it is a perfect amount of time to start something to make some headway.

Because the app is ticking in the background (which one can mute, but I would suggest not doing so--it is a great reminder that time is passing), and one can visually see how much time is left, then it is a great way to direct focus and effort.  Truthfully, it is your own "beat the clock" game that you are playing with each start of a pomodoro session.

A small digression:  Many years ago, I was serving on a VSCPA committee and one of my colleagues, who I only saw a couple of times a year, showed up looking remarkably thinner.  His secret?  Each hour on the hour, he got up for 10 minutes and walked around and drank 8 oz of water.  Now the small things do add up.  So taking 5 minutes away from your task at a 25 minute interval, or 10 minutes at a 50 minute interval, gives your brain space, and gives your body time to move.  I've never forgotten my colleague's result (even though his name long-escapes me). 

For someone like myself that gets lost in my work to the detriment of my poor body (and brain) deploying this technique over the last few days has had noticeable results.  In my 'rest' periods, I've done the following:

  • brief exercises with a body bar
  • yoga breathing
  • yoga stretches
  • drank 5 oz of water at each break
  • walked through the house (when working at my home office) and picked up items, or started laundry etc. 
Over the course of the day, those breaks add up, and you have a refreshed body, a tidied space, and some blood and oxygen coursing through your body.  More importantly, one gains a time structure that onec an synchronize one's mind/body to so that one can effortlessly (okay, better) accomplish the daily tasks at hand with forethought on how much time something will take and efficiency, as the clock is ticking in the background!

For my past bad habits when I would enter many successive days (having done so in the last 6 months) strung together of 12-15 hours of work with inadequate movement and hydration, I always emerged from those clusters of work feeling drained and ill.  So much so, that I would sometimes have to go to the doctor to get my body unstuck.  And it was all work, not any of my other necessary things that needed to get done.

For those of you with these struggles of needing an assist to start a task as well as some fall protection so that you don't fall into your work without being able to get out of it for the sake of your mind and body, I highly recommend this technique and this wonderful app.

I'll continue to work with this technique and integrate it with my deployment of  Getting Things Done - The Art of Stress Free Productivity by  David Allen.  On that front, I introduced one of my clients to this marvelous, flexible system of David Allen's.  It's a small company, and all of the staff is deploying it. The president, who is very organized, is finding it provides him a greater finesse to his current system, and feels the benefits immediately.   In just a few short weeks, all are feeling less stress, more organized and more productive.  For my own part, I'm refreshing my utilization of these techniques, because it does work.

Beaver Pond

Bever dam - with 1 x 6 in the middle
Behind our home there is a bottom.  It's the suck-your-shoes-off-your -feet type of bottom.  My kids have lost a few pairs of shoes.  Fortunately, I've not lost in kids back there. Mark and I traveled back there today to check on the beavers' progress.  It was a vigorous walk (sramble at times).  Our beaver friends have made much progress since our last venture back.

These beavers likely colonized from a beaver pond about 1/4 mile west.  That beaver dam has been there for at least the 30 years I've lived in my home.  It is a pond that flows under a trestle (the tracks are to the right and UP from this picture on he left.  The beavers have tried from time to time to dam that egress; but the railroad has thwarted their plans. If you look carefully, among the sticks, there is a 1x6 board.  Who knows where that came from!  Lots of gnawing activity, as you can see from the two trees in the background.

Demands for a new frontier for offspring of that well-established colony.  I'm unclear why it took so long for them to come this way.  We welcome their activity.  The bottom in unusable, and by their creating more wetland, they will encourage greater use.   Beyond the bottom is the railroad.  Only about two trains a day come through. At various places the trestle is steeply embanked.  And looking down, there is truly a bottom, which seems far away.  The fire break on either side makes for a good walk way, but the last two hurricanes have made it almost impassable in places. So many off-path hikes were needed.  Scrambling is good exercise.
An Unfortunate Possum

Beaver activity --rising waters
The bottom (sounds like a Stephen King movie) is a formidable place in the summer time.  The skunk cabbage and ferns are dense. I spent two terrifying times back there looking for Heidi, who was but 10 weeks old and thought that venturing back there was a good thing.  (She followed Lucy and her father, Dieter, back there).  I surmise she got tired, took a nap and then was "Where is everyone?".  She didn't bark or anything.  So I traveled back there braving the fern-covered ground, thrusting thoughts of serpentine critters out of my mind.  Truthfully, I was just short of being paralyzed by fear of stepping on a snake.  Thankfully, Tim, my neighbor showed up with her in his arms just before dark.  I'm amazed that she never barked.  Maybe she was never scared. 

The brown water snakes back there will take your breath away if you see them.  Also, there are copperheads and black snakes.  I've only seen 2 black snakes, and that was while I was running.  One I nearly stepped on.  Another 1/2 inch and I would have nicked him, and he likely would have nicked me in the ankle with a quick bite.  The other black snake was traveling along the rail trestle bank, and neither of us was bothered by the other. 

Gnawed Trees
Once I was sitting back there and Dieter was walking about and found himself over top a large brown water snake sunning itself.  He was startled and let out a big "Woof"! I happened to be sitting down on top of a cut off log, and looked down to see a lovely, shiny black widow.  Time to go with those two nature encounters.  It was a long time ago, but I still remember it.

Old beaver work near old dam
The industry of the beavers is nothing short of amazing.  I saw some poison ivy vines clipped in a 3 foot section.  When Hurricane Floyd came through, we had torrential rains.  In addition to taking out a 100 year old dam, it took my neighbor's dam out and down stream, took out two other dams.  The ponds that existed were gone, and their gnarled bottoms exposed.  Still to this day, the water has not been refilled into those basins.   The picture to the left shows some of the older beaver work down by those original basins.  If we have a hurricane, that backs up water, our beaver's efforts will be overwhelmed.  But they are tenacious builders.


It was a vigorous walk back to check on the beaver pond activity.  While it is right behind our house, there is no safe passage across the bottom unless one does not value their shoes.  The terrain is rough, and shoes are a necessity.  The exercise was good.  I wish the day were less overcast, though.


Ground Hog Day |Time Space Intersects

I'm feeling a bit like Punxsutawney Phil, peeking out on the blog after a long time away.

Warning, carnage ahead....

We have been counting our blessings and reflecting on the the sheer, dumb luck that we experience in our day-to-day lives.  This unfortunate doe t-boned my husband as he was riding his Ducati ST3.  

 It was 2 p.m. in the afternoon -- supposedly a 'safe' time.  When on a motorcycle, there really is no 'safe' time.  Nevertheless, he was heading toward home, not more than 4 miles away, when this doe was charging out of a thicket of trees at full bore.  My husband never saw her coming, and certainly vice versa.

 She took him down, knocking the bike from underneath him, causing him to skid all the way across the road.  A car came from the opposite direction (thankfully no sooner as he would have hit my husband who was launched into the other lane).  The driver stopped and assisted Mark in getting the bike out of the road.  This is a county back road, so road hazards around blind turns are no uncommon.  Don't be a road hazard. Another friend was coming behind a distance away.  Upon coming to the scene (which he had witnessed from behind), he lent a hand.  The deer, after the collision, managed to get up only to collapse.  I believe she died quickly.

 I was at home at the time with my daughter.  She dropped by for a brief visit, and I was glad for the break having worked since about 6 a.m. nonstop.  The home phone rang.  I said, "Let me check and see if that is your father."  When I saw his number, I knew that it was not good news. No reason to call home unless your bike has broken down or there is another problem.  We are long past the "I-was-riding-and-thinking-of-you-and-thought-I-would-call-you stage.

"Are you alright?"  I asked worriedly as I answered the phone.  

He hesitated and launched into a ramble clearly distressted:  I hit a deer or a deer hit me I don't know, Tim is here, and he is going to ride the bike home; I think that I'm alright, but my hand is bleeding and my pants are torn, a deer hit me, I never saw it, I think that I'm alright, Tim is going to ride the bike home, I'm going to drive his truck home.

At this point, I have some concerns about his driving.  "Do you want me to come get you?" I ask cutting off the loop. 

The loop replays:  "Tim is going to ride the bike home, I can drive.  Someone stopped to help me and get my bike out of the road.  The deer is dead, and Tim loaded it up in the back of the truck because he wanted the deer meat. I think that I'm alright and Tim says that he can ride the bike home.

After about the third, 'I think that I'm alright' and 'Tim can ride the bike home,'  I began to have my reservations.  "Let me speak to Tim," I asked.  Tim confirms that Mark is okay to drive and the bike is ridable without further carnage.

Mark gets home, and I inspect him carefully.  His hand has a bad gash that needs stitches.  His pants were torn, and there was a deep road abrasion.  His ribs are sore.  I ask to see his helmet.  On the right hand side there is an impact impression where the helmet hit the road. (Why there are states with no helmet laws is beyond me.  If someone wants the freedom of riding without a helmet, let them have the freedom to pay for his/her almost certain head injury in the instance of a wreck.)

 I call my primary care physician to ensure that they can stitch him up, or if I should go to the hospital.  They said bring him in.  The appropriate care setting is an important part of keeping healthcare costs down. 

 We drive to the doctor, both of us recounting how lucky we are that this is what we are engaged in rather than something more dire.  At the doctor, he's cleaned, xrayed, stitched, prescribed and exited out the door in less than an hour.  He needed stitches on his knuckles, he has one broken rib, and his right arm is bruised.  Bike is totaled, helmet and jacket replaced.  He has a helluva story to tell; and we are grateful that he can tell it.  The day after the accident, I say to him, "I'm sure glad that I'm not having to plan your funeral today."  That intersection of time and space for Mark and the deer was a moment for pause and reflection.  Others are not so lucky.



Meat(loaf)

Going meatless was not in any of our resolutions, but I do strive to have some meatless days during the week interspersed with my exerciseless days.  (May the latter be more and the former be still even fewer).

The deer have been plentiful here, and we have have been given the bounty of the hunts from three of our hunter friends/family. My SIL brought us some ground up deer.  My husband went on a hunt of his own, down to Nahunta Pork Center in Pikesville.  It is a pork-only retail center, and it has been some years since we made a pork-run.  It is about 170 miles from our house, but we love their sausage.

Last evening, our dinner fare was a melding of the deer and pork bounty.   I made a meatloaf using the ground deer, which is very lean, and the hot pork sausage.  If you, too, are faced with more deer meat than you can manage, I would recommend a meatloaf.

There are many meatloaf recipes around.  Here's a clip from CBS that you can watch with Chris Kimball from America's Test Kitchen on CBS.  At the grocery store, you can find meatloaf mix which is beef, veal and pork. It is a tasty base for chili as well.  If you have not tried it, it can be a culinary adventure for you.  If you watch the clip, you will note the bread soaked in cream or milk as an ingredient.  This combination is a good one for hamburgers as well.  The point is to (1) add texture and (2) add juiciness.  Using deer meat elevates the need for both.  While the clip shows bacon barded over the meatloaf, I think that the bacon overpowers the meatloaf.  Rather I go for the zesty sauce applied toward the end of cooking.(1)  If you are unfamiliar with zesty sauces that you can easily make at home, master this simple art.  You can turn chicken and pork leftovers into an easy and tasty weekday meal by simply chopping up chicken or pork roast coating with your delectable sauce.

But a cook has to improvise with what is on hand--and be confident in embracing the flavors that cook and cook's family enjoy.  The main event here is ensuring that texture and taste are maximized.  More bread and cream will make up for a singular meat type, so don't despair in that regard.  Many years ago I had a recipe for meatloaf that had sausage as a component.  Sausage adds fat and flavor.  Ergo, Nahunta + deer = meatloaf made with sausage and ground deer.  I also like to soften onions and include them. I threw in some ground flax seed and quinoa--all with excellent result.

The meatloaf was divine:  excellent flavor and texture--and great leftovers. The only thing better than meatloaf is a meatloaf sandwich.


(1) Zesty Sauces:  If you have never made your own barbecue sauce it is quite simple, and it is a palette from which you can paint your sauce masterpiece. A barbecue sauce is simply a chili sauce.  The base of  a chili sauce is chili powder, ketchup, some acid, some sweetness and a mustard foil.  Here's where you can really be adventurous.  A large container of chili powder is indispensable in the kitchen.  The Bitten Word has three sauces.  Seeing the three of these together will give you an overview of the latitude that you can take.

Here are some considerations for you to experiment with to suit you and your family's tastes:

Tomato base:  ketchup, perhaps combined with tomato paste
Chili powder: Mix it up!   Dark chili powder, light chili powder, Ancho chile powder, cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper.  The Asian markets are great for chili garlic sauce which is a great flavor enhancement.
Sweeteners:  Molasses, Yoshida's gourmet sauce, maple syrup, corn syrup, brown sugar
Acid:  lemon, vinegar
Mustard:  Dijon, brown, yellow prepared, powdered
Onions and garlic, vegetables or powdered also make a great addition.

Once you make your own with staple ingredients in your kitchen you will never be satisfied with bottled again.

A New Day | A New Year

Though I've ushered in many a New Year's Eve by preparing a lovely dinner for treasured friends, not last evening.  The New Year was heralded in by my snoozing through East of Eden.  We had a simple supper of some deer tenderloin and mashed potatoes. 

Today I have a traditional Southern dinner.  The centerpiece is county ham which soaked in a hot water bath last evening. Click here to find a foolproof, purrrfect way to prepare a country ham.  Country ham requires hydration and desalination.  This method does both perfectly.  Rather than wrap the ham pot in chair cushions as I've done in the past, I merely put the pot on my woodstove.  The stove has an airspace in it, so it is never but so hot.  The indirect heat was perfect for keeping the water hot, but not too hot.  I have collards and black eyed peas.  I'll make some spoonbread. Perhaps a lemon pound cake. Dessert is a chocolate cream pie.  Maybe no dessert at all.  (Does any of us need any?)  A complete Southern welcoming in of the New Year.

I was talking to my sister earlier today.   I said that I didn't make any resolutions.  I have more than enough retreads within easy grasp.  We reeled a few off (exercise, diet...all of the things that I routinely acknowledge as important but make half-hearted efforts to adhere to).  She also mentioned, "and be a better person."  (I'm assuming that was a general comment and not specifically aimed at me.)

I've pretty much accepted that I'm not going to be any better person than I am now.  And I don't say that for any self defeatest, or worse, hubristic, reasons other than I AM ALREADY a good person.  For any of the real or imagined failings that I can conjure up for myself, not being a good person is not one of them.  Surely, I can aspire to be more patient, more organized, more work/life balanced, and all of those other things, but those don't have anything to do with being a good person.  (And yes, I will try to do all of those).

With the import of New Year's on beginning anew, we forget that each moment subsequent to this one is a time to feel renewed.  Jose Ortega y Gasset tells (in Some Lessons in Metaphysics) us that our life is what we are doing now.  It is not what we did yesterday.  It is what we are doing now, and our life in the next moment will be based on decisions that we make now about our future.  He describes life as perplexing as there is an array of decisions that we make this moment that govern our next moments. 

This simple philosophy, when embraced, is one that each of us can use as a way to free ourselves from whatever past failings that we have had AND to remind us that past successes are no less fleeting. Cleansing ourselves from our past successes may be just as important as cleansing ourselves of our past failures.  Resting our laurels ought to be as uncomfortable for us as having our feet caught in the solidification of past trauma.

The present moment, then, offers the bounty of transitioning from the old into the new.  The present moment is much like the top and bottom suspension between inhaling and exhaling.  It is a sacred space in our lives where what we chose to do next really matters.  It creates a sense of both the urgency and weight of the next consequence of our doing (inhaling/exhaling). 

At least for breathing, what we do next is generally governed by our autonomic nervous system. In our emotional life, our past patterns of behavior or reactions to certain emotional stimulation may have created a toxic autonomy that might be worth giving some attention to for evaluation and modification of our typical responses to the stimuli that makes our viscera seize up.  At least that is MY contemplative notion about things.

As I think about these things for myself on this contemplative day, I go to my standby wisdom that provides a useful framework from which to operate.  I'd like to share these with you.


Yagyu Menenori wrote the following in his The Book of Family Traditions on the Art of War (translated by Thomas Cleary):

When fighting with enemies, if you get to feeling snarled up and are making no progress, you toss your mood away and think in your heart that you are starting everything anew. As you get the rhythm, you discern how to win. This is "becoming new." (p.46)
And Miyamoto Musashi, in his The Book of Five Rings (translated by Thomas Cleary) also provides some straightforward guidance that serve any well in any circumstance:

  1. Think of what is right and true.
  2. Practice and cultivate the science.
  3. Become acquainted with the arts.
  4. Know the principles of the crafts.
  5. Understand the harm and benefit in everything.
  6. Learn to see everything accurately.
  7. Become aware of what is not obvious.
  8. Be careful even in small matters.
  9. Do not do anything useless.
I rather like this list which I've had on my "Wisdom" tab for many years.  It is always inspirational to me.  Treating each moment, not just a new day and not just the new day of the new year, as a time to begin anew is a worthwhile habit to employ.

 I will close this post with another favorite. In this time of unrest (which is all times in all histories among all peoples), I offer this gem, which I also find uplifting:


In the time of war
Raise in yourself the Mind of Compassion
Help living beings
Abandon the will to fight
Wherever there is a furious battle
Use all you might
To keep both sides' strength equal
And then step into the conflict to reconcile.

Vimalakirti Nirdesa



My best to you in the New Year. 

To practice what I preach, I'll not rest on my laurels of being a good person in my past deeds, but find contemporary deeds to reflect my intent of continuing to explore my goodness and find new ways to share it.  In the intervening time, I'll eat better, swear less, exercise more, and not do anything useless.