Why I Oughta...

On one of my trips to Tokyo, I brought back a couple of sets of Nanoblocks for the kids including this one that is an "Optical Fiber LED+ Kaminarimon" that features 420 pieces.  Nanoblocks are like Legos, but much smaller.  Like...really tiny.  That tiny-ness is a key product attribute making the sets - when fully built - taking a much smaller footprint than a Lego set.  But, that tiny-ness also makes these decidedly NOT FOR KIDS.  Or at least...not for my kids. This thing lingered on my desk for a couple of months because the kids couldn't make it work - their hands couldn't make the tiny parts work for them.  So, I decided to take over the project and get it started. This set is Kaminarimon - which Wikipedia tells us - is a very special site in Tokyo . On the scale of difficulty, this one measures 3 out of 5. It has an LED base that is powered by a pair of AA batteries or by plugging in a USB cable and that lights up the base panel that you see below.

This Mountain High Adventure Tours building from the Lemax Vail Village caught my eye at Menards.  It is one of the few Vail Village buildings that Menards is carrying and it is - according to Lemax's site - new for 2019 .  Back in the hayday of Mantleburg, the Village had a few Vail Village buildings and I think that I'm drawn to them in some way.  I also like the seaside nature of Plymouth Corners .  But, besides having a SUPER TIGHT sign ordinance, the Village of Mantleburg forefathers weren't too terribly picky on the architecture style of structures in town. This is the fifth Lemax Christmas building that I've posted about here this year. First was  the North Pole Tower  - part of Santa's Wonderland. Over the weekend was The Hop Stop craft brew building  - part of Harvest Crossing. The third one that  I posted included photos of the Sugar Plum Bakery . The fourth one was the fly-thru Reindeer wash building . And now this one with the Hot Air Balloon.

No...not that kind of weed tree .  I'm talking about a weed tree that has grown up and isn't really much of a desirable tree.  Or, is it a Walnut tree?  You can see the trunk being very tall and thin.  The tree is twelve or so feet tall and has a set of leaves that look just like Walnut tree leaves.  We have quite a few large Walnut trees around the yard, so it isn't beyond reason that a Walnut would have rooted and grown into a tree, I would think? The leaves of Walnut trees are "alternate compound" or "pinnate leaves" and so, too. are the leaves of this tree. I know a little bit of the Black Locust tree - which is (I think) a "weed tree".  It has similar shaped leaves, but the tips are rounded where these are pointy.  It is "not recommended" by the Morton Arboretum .   I'm pretty confident that the tree in question - in the red circle - is NOT a black locust.   But, is it a Black Walnut tree?   Here's a clo

A few nights ago, Wilco played on Late Night with Seth Meyers.   Their new single (is that still what you call it?) is pretty good.  Dad rock and all. The archives are full of Wilco-related posts all the way back to 2004.  Go ahead and nose around in there if you'd like. 

I took this photo above a week or so ago - with the Greenspire Lindens being entirely green and not having lost a leaf yet this year.  Putting this here in the [garden diary] to note how much the trees hve grown and to document the progress of the Candelabra that I've made this year. I'll take another photo once the leaves fall off to get a sense for the structure, but below you can see the candelabra that is taking shape.  The red indicates the branch structure that exists so far and the yellow show the bamboo supports that are in place. Winter gives me a chance to look at this double candelabra espalier and decide if it is going to be five cordons or six cordons or limbs in the candelabra.  Here - below - in teal - is the six limb version.  It looks tight to me. On the left, this means that I need: a new 2nd from the bottom left limb. a longer bottom limb on the right.  a decision between three and four on both sides. a new fifth left limb cutting the top

I bought this small Weeping White Spruce in the end of May this year and planted it on the southside of our property close to the fenceline here (it is a columnar, very narrow tree !) at the beginning of June .  I seem to have failed to measure it and include it in my annual yard tree inventory post this year , so I thought it would be worth sharing this thing as it goes into Winter. I don't have the best luck with Winter conifers.  This past season, I lost my other weeping tree - the Alaskan Weeping Cedar - even though I tried to protect it with Wilt-Pruf.  Welp, actually, I don't have much luck with conifers anytime as I also lost my first Fraser Fir last season . I'm torn as to if I should apply the Wilt-Pruf to this Weeping White Spruce, but I'm thinking that it can't hurt.  Last Winter was brutal and the Cedar Tree was just a casualty of it - like the buds on all of my flowering trees and the Wilt-Pruf didn't seem to help on the Cedar.  If I mix up

A few weeks ago, we packed up the Minivan and went down to Champaign for Illinois Homecoming.  That started with a visit to Memorial Stadium where the Illini were taking on the Wisconsin Badgers and I was able to participate in the annual Varsity I weekend where they welcome back past athletes (see my Football Alumni badge at the top) and all the festivities that includes like a tailgate party, some free tickets and going on the field before the game.   We watched the game (at least most of it) and also had a nice time with my sisters at their tailgate in Grange Grove. As part of the Varsity I celebration, the Athletic Department hosts what they call the "Legacy Tunnel" - where former players line up and the team charges out in front of when they leave the locker room.  I had a good spot - facing West - and snapped a few photos of the Fighting Illini Football Team wearing their "Grey Ghost" uniforms.  Check out this post that shows the 1998 team photo and