Friday, June 24, 2011

A Note About The Previous Entry

I've received a couple of emails asking if that is my shop / out building in the photo of the previous entry.

No. It belongs to my neighbor Ken and Karen J.

K&K are great neighbors. Some of the nicest people you'll ever meet.

When they built their shop, they sort of ignored some basics - like - getting a building permit and adhering to local regulations regarding building set backs from property lines.

They were of the opinion they didn't need a building permit since they built the shop themselves (not true). And, since they assumed they didn't have to get a building permit - they also assumed that development / building regulations didn't apply as well. In this case - the requirement that buildings / structures need to be a minimum of 10 feet back from a property line.

K&K are really sweet people. But to be honest, they're not the sharpest tacks in the box.

Their shop is about 18 inches from the property line. They sort of 'eye balled' where the lot line was and lucked out in that they didn't actually build it on my lot.

LOL

If you look at the photo - the tree is on my lot - and the lot line is between the tree and their shop.

They also built a pole barn / open shed to park their RV under in their front yard. Most definitely against sub-division regulations and county ordinances.

When K&K built the RV shed - other neighbors asked me to "speak" to K&K about it. Which I declined to do.

I don't care what K&K do. Even if they break the rules, it doesn't materially affect me.

Yes - the RV Shed does look out of place. Actually - kind of trailer park looking.

But - what the hell. I have more important things in my life to worry about other than if my next door neighbor builds a shed in their front yard or a shop too close to my lot line.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Haze and Deer +Addendum

There is a large forest fire that's been burning in Dare and Hyde Counties since May 5th - about a month now. News reports have been describing the hazy conditions near the coast. Since the prevailing winds typically go from west to east, we haven't been affected here. Until today.

The winds have shifted and here's what it looks like in Raleigh today:


Keep in mind - Hyde / Dare Counties are about a 3+ hour drive east from Raleigh.

Deer

Yesterday I took this photo of the upper field to the side of my house:

 

Why?

Here's the cropped closeup:


There's a fifth deer you can't see because of the bushes / trees - but she's there.

I've mixed in a lot of clover with the fescue up there. Clover is a natural fertilizer which returns nitrogen back to the soil. And clover is the preferred salad of deer and rabbits.

Bambi and Thumper dine here all the time.

Critter Addendum

I also saw a Wild Turkey last Monday as I was pulling out of the driveway on the way to work. There's plenty of turkey around. But this was the first time I've seen one in the neighborhood itself.

Still have two raccoons and two possum that come up nightly for the dried cat food (and table leftovers) that I put out.

To keep the food from getting rained on and mushy, I put the bowl in the porch and leave the porch screen door propped open.

Every once in a while, when I pop out to the porch for a cancer stick, the possum will be there. She gets frightened and runs to the porch corner and hides under the outdoor fireplace (the one Charlsanne gave me for Christmas a while back).

This happened again last night. Poor thing - you can see her shivering when it happens. I always leave the porch and go stand on the deck so as to not scare her half to death.

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Weekend Update 6/11/2011

Not a thing worth posting lately.

Work is very busy. Long hours and a lot of travel. I have two buildings under construction (about $30M) and some additional minor projects / buildings (about $5M more). My projects are located in Kinston, Fayetteville, Raleigh and Asheville. I'm spread pretty thin right now.

Just finished watching True Grit. Excellent movie.



Might head out to see Super 8 at the theater this afternoon. Don't know if I'll go to the local theater in Sanford or drive all the way into Raleigh to see it at the IMAX.

Super 8 Addendum

Made the drive into Raleigh to see Super 8 at the IMAX.

Definitely a Spielberg film. While it won't become a classic like Close Encounters of the Third Kind - it is a roller coaster rip roaring fun time.

Think ET meets Cloverfield. In fact, it's the movie Cloverfield would have been if Spielberg had made it.

ET wants to go home. ET does not want to make friends. Do not get in ET's way. He is not, I repeat - NOT - warm and cuddly.

Plot and dialogue driven. So, don't spend the extra for the IMAX. Regular theater should be just fine.

And a head's up. Pay attention to the 'scenes' the kid's shoot. Their movie is played during the credits. Nice little 'film within a film' payoff at the end.

Oh, and a great late '70's pop soundtrack.