Greg Steve joined Shea and me and five dogs.
All posts by jah
Blue Jay Visit
20260222 Rowing with Sophia the Seal
Sophia the Seal on the rocks of Glen Cove Waterfront Park from SRC whaleboat.
2026 Cultivate Food Co-op Annual Meeting
November 2025 Dogs
Last morning with foster Lana before her transfer to Muttville.
Barbrabilia Trove Arrives in Mail
So when I was visiting good friends of mine who moved to Chicago in August, when I was there for the Tobacco End Game Summit, I met a new friend through them named Jonathan. Upon meeting me, he heard about my house fire and the loss of my animals and 99% of my physical belongings, including my well-known Barbrabilia, which included some incredible one-of-a-kind pieces like a six-foot Barbra Streisand face that used to be on display in Times Square at the Virgin Record Store that my friend brought home to me when I was living in Brooklyn. I honestly did not think I would replenish much of the collection, so I just mourned my dogs and appreciated that for a large part of my life, I had quite a collection of Barbrabilia. Well, Jonathan has been keeping an eye out for me at the thrift store he works at in Chicago and just sent me a TROVE of things all Barbra. There are things in here that I have never seen, even as a Barbra fiend, that I so appreciate. I’ve been very depressed knowing that the holidays are upon us, and I am not going to decorate my rental again this year. It’s partly on principle, because this is not my true home, but also because all my holiday shit (to the extent it survived, more than most of my belongings, since it was in the garage during the fire, which was largely unscathed) is packed up. I was fully expecting to be back by March, then April, and finally August, and here we are at the end of November with no move-in date yet. It would be way more of a headache and emotionally taxing to even try to set up decorations and a tree here, although I intend to be THAT queen who goes all out next year, when I will for sure be home. Anyway, even if I do not get a single other present this year, I’m happy to get such a nice surprise package as this delivered. I’m not really a guy who NEEDS anything that I don’t provide myself materially, but this collection has warmed my heart tremendously!
Jackson’s Paw
Today I noticed that I needed to help my foster Jackson. I tried to dig between his toes to see why he was not using one of his front legs as much. I thought maybe he slept on it wrong or had been rough-housing with one of the other dogs, but it persisted throughout the day. I picked out some extra hair and some old burs from under his foot, but I could not find anything new that should have been causing him pain. I saw what looked like a little red spot or scar on the top of one of his toes, but I thought to myself that surely he would not limp because of something on top. Well, after looking at it carefully, I saw a tiny beige splinter sticking straight up out of the top of the toe. I gently brushed over it with my finger. He squirmed, so it was obviously the source of pain. Without moving him, I asked Shea to bring me tweezers. I quickly and forcibly pulled it out. It was a foxtail of some kind and much deeper and longer than I imagined. He let out a loud but short yelp. Blood and pus emanated as it had become infected and swollen, but he almost immediately licked it and lay down to sleep on my lap because he was so relieved. The poor sweetheart hid the pain so well. I’m so glad I was able to feel and see what was causing it, because I would have taken him to the vet if it didn’t get better, of course, but I’m so glad to be able to treat him myself. I’ll also apply some antibiotic cream so it heals faster.
November Wellfleet Updates
Almost all of my plants are flourishing in my backyard of the house under renovation after the recent rains.
It warms my heart with a bit of nostalgia to see the dogs on the mostly complete back deck while I look at them from inside the slider, but it still feels like there is so much still to be done.
This is probably the most extensive internal tour I’ve filmed in months. I’m still shocked at there being no new flooring, no doors, no bathroom construction, or even the beginning of the kitchen build. On the bright side, almost all of the light switches and electrical plugs appear to be wired, including the laundry hookup and bathroom vents. I don’t think I’ll be living there even at the two-year mark in January, which makes me sick to my stomach. I feel like I’ve been played like a pawn, forced to live in a rental for so many more months than necessary. Houses were built from scratch much faster, but when you’re constantly waiting for red tape from the insurance company that slow-walks the paper checks, it’s no wonder everything takes longer than necessary while I suffer.
My Koi Pond Green house is coming along. The external base coat is done, and the back deck is mostly done. The tan trim is yet to be done, but they even painted the siding that survived the fire, which is encouraging. I do love the brown color of the deck, and it’s composite, so much more waterproof than the wood deck I previously had, which was always deteriorating. Under the composite, Shea said there is copper-treated wood which will also last a lot longer.
Rowing Cancelled
Even though we row all year round, sometimes the conditions are too dangerous due to high winds or dense fog. That’s the marina down the hill, so you can see the visibility was nil this morning, but as usual it eventually burns off by late morning.
