Why I Oughta...

I came across this photo of Valley View Pool - later named the Frankfort Township Pool through a friend who found it Via Frankfort Deleted on Facebook here .  That photo above is NOT mine, it came from Frankfort Deleted  - which is run, I think by Pam Biesen, a mother of one of my grammar school classmates(!!) - who I presume got it from somewhere else. Based on some of the cars, this photo was taken in the Summer of 1959. Or maybe the Summer of 1960.  The reason that I'm saying that is that I showed the image to my Dad and he was able to identify *some* of the cars.  He spied: a 1957 Ford Fairlane 500 Sunliner (the yellow one on the far right), a 1959 Ford Galaxie 500 (the red one second from the right), a 1958 Chrysler , a 1955 Buick and a 1950 Plymouth (this one is easy because there's one car - the grey one - that doesn't look like the rest of the cars, right?). I'm saying Summer of 1959 or 1960.  Why?  Because the *newest* car shown in the photo is the 1

Right at the end of August, I posted a few photos showing some tree damage that occurred up in Twin Lakes Wisconsin including a felled giant, massive, hundreds of years old Oak tree.  In poking around trying to find information about Oaks in Wisconsin, I found this DNR publication called "Every Root An Anchor: Wisconsin's Famous and Historic Trees" .  I haven't gotten through much of the book just yet, but I was struck by a few quotes that they included in the preamble.  The first of which is this quote from Washington Irving in Forest Trees .  The idea of someone planting oak trees as a person who is looking out into the future - not for themselves - but for others.  Their children.  Future generations.  That's kinda interesting. I've planted plenty of trees on our property in Downers Grove these past few years, but NONE of them have been Oak trees. But you know what?  We're the benefactors of someone who lived into this Washington Irving quote.

I've posted a few times about Japanese bathrooms here on the blog.  Actually, I've posted about toilets in general a few times - which, I suppose is weird.  But, not that weird? The oldest toilet-related post was when I was first exposed to Japanese-style toilets at Google in 2011 .  That same year, I marveled at a toilet that Menards was selling that claimed it could flush a full bucket of golf balls .  Yeah...full bucket! Then just this year, I shared the functionality of the toilet I came across in Tokyo that played bird chirping noises to sort-of, umm, muffle or suppress or combat whatever noises are being made.  And most recently, I posted a photo of a child-restraint made by Toto that is in the corner of a public restroom that you can strap your child in while you go about doing your own business.  I've been so moved by my experiences with Totos that I had one installed in our house in Downers Grove. Today, I'm continuing the celebration of toilets and J

Starting this Spring and continuing this Summer, I've chronicled my experiences with our lawn and the process, materials and thinking that have gone into it.  This is the first time that I've spent anything more than a passing thought about the turf, the soil and how to best tend to it as the seasons change. Started in Spring with a Wild Onion removal - digging them out. Used a calculator to time my application of pre-emergent Crabgrass preventer (without food!) Started to use an organic fertilizer - Milorganite on the yard - instead of synthetics.  Got serious about my weed spraying with a blue pattern indicator . Then I tested my soil and got a baseline on the front and back .   I added some Ironite (2x) this Summer to keep the lawn green . Cut the front yard higher than I've ever cut in the past.   Earlier this Summer, I bought and spread a big bag of granular Humic Acid . And most recently, I put down a second application of pelletized lime to make the

I have been keeping the grass in front longer than I normally have in the past.  I should say...the *I* and *normally*  here aren't quite fair, as this is the first year that I've been cutting my own front yard after having a service do it the past few seasons.  I wasn't that satisfied with how they were cutting it and after doing a bit of research into the whole turf-building process, I've learned quite a bit and have changed some things. This post is about the length.  You can see that it is somewhere between 3.5" and 4" tall with some blades reaching even higher than that.  But, those blades aren't the normal - and haven't been cut.  Between the low suction on the Ego Self-Propelled mower and having the wheels 'bend' the blades in some cases, there are - on occasion - some blades that are higher than others.   This is Kentucky Bluegrass and I've been mowing it on the second highest setting on the mower.  A month ago, I posted

Menards has seemingly gone BIG on Tim Burton's Nightmare before Christmas movie with Jack Skellington, Sally, Oogie Boogie and even Zero items across their line.  From inflatables to stuffed plush, the licensing deal that they've struck with Disney appears to be their signature character line this Fall.  In the photo above, you see three lighted pumpkins:  Sally, Jack Skellington and Oogie Boogie all have a built-in LED light that lights up their interiors.  They're cute and I could see the Jack or Oogie Boogie one on the porch.  The Sally one is teal colored and I wonder if it might become part of the trend/used as an identifier of an allergy-free house that the whole movement that the 'Teal Pumpkin Project' has delivered in most neighborhoods.  Could be a nice shortcut for some folks? Below is another look at a different set of these same Nightmare Before Christmas characters, but instead of 12" to 16" versions, these are tiny ones - like the size

Day three of the run of SpookyTown buildings from Menards this season is here.  First there was the Symphony of Screams bandshell .  Then the tabletop Halloween Gateway Countdown yesterday.  Today, is this Wasteland Pub building.  Just like those two, t he Wasteland Pub is new for 2019 and part of the Menards Spookytown setup. As I mentioned the past few days, Mantleburg isn't in a position to want or need any new annexations this season, so the Wasteland Pub is destined for other municipalities.  I posted back in 2016 about another Lemax Pub - the Big Ben Pub from Caddington Village .  A village like Mantleburg that is in distress can probably use a pub to have the community gather.  Alas, the Mayor hasn't been seen in months and there's nobody around to make those decisions.  Too bad, right?