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Harvested all I could this afternoon before the severe storms roared through Livingston county today.

Livingston county taxes are pretty reasonable but lumber prices have jumped pretty high. I built my own log home 23 years ago and the biggest lesson learned is to make sure that you take your best estimate and add 15-20% for unanticipated expenses or cost overruns. There is no better feeling than building your own home. I also had good friends that had the skills I needed. Electrical engineer, HVAC and concrete professionals all made important contributions to the build. Good luck.

The original topic about Biden-Harris coming for our guns.... I worry more about Cuomo than the federal govt. An ideal scenario for me is whatever party wins the presidency has the opposite party control the Senate while the president’s party controls the House. That makes everything government wants to do difficult to implement. Just the way I like it. All federal appointees would have to pass muster with the opposing party and new laws would be less likely to pass. The less government does, the better I like it.

Riding out the severe storms here with an Industrial Arts Wrench NEIPA. My weather station recorded a wind speed of 76 mph. Penny size hail and over five inches of rain so far. Only thing to do is enjoy a beer.

Just finished a round of golf with my wife. Damn, she’s really improved! Had to win the last hole to salvage a tie. Ah well, beer on the deck is a great way to roll into the weekend. Four Mile Brewing from Olean. Man on the Moon IPA.

A busy day getting ready to clean and stain the house. Kicking back with a Clown Shoes Zen Garden NEIPA. New beer for me and really tasty. Going up on the 30’ ladder tomorrow.

A five mile hike along Canadice Lake with my wife in the morning, calling hours for a friend’s mom in the afternoon and nine holes of golf between rain storms. Quite a day. I think I deserve this. Three Floyd’s Alpha King out of Indiana, brought in yesterday by a friend straight from the brewery. Excellent!

Today’s harvest. The tomatoes are overwhelming us. I don’t eat but a single slice on a sandwich.

I opted for a cruising kayak that I occasionally fish from. Fourteen foot sit-in from Wilderness. The nice fishing outfits are really nice but you will hate it if you try using it for recreational paddling. Search for used ones or check the stores for a year-end sale. Even if you get a used one, go to a dealer and get a quality paddle that fits. Go online for all of the other accessories. There’s a LOT of them, go slowly. PFD, fishing rod holders, paddle straps, skirt for keeping dry, anchor, sponges or pump. The list goes on and on. PFD and paddle are the two essential items but there’s a lot you can add. Also racks for the vehicle to transport them. Again, start simple and then look for ones that fit your needs best. Have fun and enjoy all the exploring that can be done.

Just harvested this batch. The three Cayenne Peppers got put into dinner before I took the pic. The gardens are growing well and soaking up water like crazy.

Enjoying a Mango sour from Rising Storm while listening to some live music. Local band with a couple of my friends in it. Great evening on Conesus Lake.

That’s it! The national beer of CR. Awful stuff...

What was the name of that beer in the pic? I remember drinking that one as it was the only thing available and then going w/o beer the rest of the trip. I have a geocache hidden in Manuel Antonio NP up near the beautiful ocean overlook. I led four student trips to Costa Rica whine I was teaching. Great trips in a beautiful and friendly country. Pura Vida!

This crowded little garden next to the house produces more than the big garden out back. All the animal invaders target the back garden while I get lettuce, spinach, peas, beans, zucchini, squash (3kinds), 3 varieties of hot peppers, cherry tomatoes and heirloom tomatoes along with the sunflowers. It’s crowded but with automatic watering and plenty of fertilizer, it produces very well.

What part of this actually makes sense?

A day of golf and now an Ommegang Pale Sour on the deck. Another epic summer day.

Home from the Oregon trip and enjoying an Industrial Arts Power Tools IPA. A really good beer and not too different from many of the west coast beers I’ve had recently.

Nothing worse. I had hip replacement and developed gout two days later. The pain from the surgery was mild in comparison to the gout pain. Colchicine worked well for me. A key thing is to stay hydrated. I’ve had a few mild relapses but nothing close to that first bout.

Enjoying some farmhouse ales at a small brewery in Newberg, Oregon. After a round of golf at a local course in 102 degree heat. I melted on 15/16 and put five into various ponds. Ah well, the Saison I’m having is good.

Minus 500000 internet points for foo-foo glasses....

Hope this one gets me back into good graces. Hazy Trail IPA out of Bend.

Here’s a lake for you. Crater Lake. Awesome place and a great local IPA on tap at the bar. Great day. The comet is right in your face up here at 7000 feet and very dark sky.

Played golf on a Jack Nicholas designed course at the place we are staying for the week. In one word, brutal. Fun but brutally hard. After all that, the beers out of Bend breweries are exceptionally good. We are near Bend, Oregon and the high desert is very hot and very dry.

A day of hiking up Mt Hood just about as far as possible without mountaineering equipment followed by a couple of great IPAs in a very small town nearby. Great view.

Enjoying the first beer of vacation. Landed in Portland and got right away from that s* it show. Now at an undisclosed location that may or may not be on King Cuomo’s quarantine list. Great beer and first found it six years ago while passing thru town.