If he happens to get any new photos, and if he has the time, he will post them.
12/5/08
11/2/08
10/11/08
Saturday, December 6, 2008
TCC for 12/6/08
Due to unforeseen circumstances the Caretaker will continue to be on hiatus until Friday the 19th.
If he happens to get any new photos, and if he has the time, he will post them.
12/5/08
11/2/08
10/11/08
If he happens to get any new photos, and if he has the time, he will post them.
12/5/08
11/2/08
10/11/08
Thursday, December 4, 2008
TCC for 12/4/08
The Caretaker's Concern 12/4/08
Lake Temp. 43 F.
Ghetto temp. 42 F.
Island tmp. 63 F. Yesterday's L/H: 36/38 F.
Current conditions: Cloud covered night sky, no stars, light South wind, 5 mph with mild gusts
12/4/08
10/6/08
10/13/08
The morning began with rain, hail, and snow with a strong wind from the South. It wasn't looking so hot for the Caretaker's dump run but in the end he was able to make it there. Up on the mountain it was all snow, maybe about an inch accumulation at most. The wind continued on throughout much of the day finally settling down at sunset. At around sunset the Caretaker was in the kitchen doing some work when he left to get a shovel from outside, looking up towards the Narrows he noticed some color upon the East shore so he grabbed his camera and took a few shots, they weren't worth keeping, but when he turned back towards the Ghetto he noticed the color upon the West sky so dashed around to the South dock and took a number of photos. Funny how just yesterday the Caretaker was commenting on how the weather conditions had not been cooperating of late for photography. Granted the photo for today is just another sunset shot, just another lousy day in paradise.
Back to the dump run, so the Caretaker loaded up the boat, in the blowing rain/snow/hail, with a bunch of trash bags and a number of bags of recyclables, motored on over to the mainland and began to load the pick-up truck. The Caretaker then waited for the person who was accompanying him to the dump to gather up his various contributions to the dump. Upon arriving at the dump the Caretaker was hoping to first get rid of the trash and recyclables, but sure enough that didn't happen, the person accompanying the Caretaker drove them over to the metal pile to go scavenging for "finds" to take home. Often times, the person who accompanied the Caretaker to the dump, brings home more than he leaves. The Caretaker was well aware of this person's habits so instead of waiting in the truck he decided to accompany him on his scouring expedition through the metal pile--when in Rome. The Caretaker took great pleasure in pointing out all sorts of things this person could take home and use if he repaired here or there. Oddly enough, the Caretaker ended up finding something he could use, so he took it. What great treasure was it? A plastic fuel spout from a metal fuel can, the can was rusted on the inside so was of no use for fuel but the fuel spout, oh ho, that was a gem--the ridged plastic kind with attached cap and fuel screen. Ever since the state mandated that only ventless fuel cans may be sold these fuel spouts are nearly impossible to come by here in New York. The Caretaker has a lengthy diatribe against the ventless fuel can and how utterly useless they are, but the Caretaker has already shared this in the past so he won't bore his readers again with that nonsense.
So after collecting the found "treasures" the Caretaker and Guest proceeded to unload the garbage and recyclables. At this point the Caretaker figured they'd be on their way, but oh ho, there was still one more place to go--the construction waste dumpsters. So they get out of the truck and have a look around, the Guest doesn't see much of interest but the Caretaker decided he needed some prodding:
"Look at all those 6 by 6 blocks of pine Guest, I bet you could find a use for those, why you could jack up your house with those."
"Nah, they're pine, besides, they're at the bottom, it's hard to get out of there."
"Poo-shaw, you could climb out on that crappy looking box spring."
Guest wasn't interested, so they went over to the third dumpster.
"Not much here," said Guest.
"Look at all those soggy sheets of cardboard, I bet there's something of great value underneath them, why don't you hop down in there an root around, I bet you'll get a real find."
"Nah, not worth it, with the snow and all."
"Guest, you'll never know unless you look."
"I must say, with all your ideas from the metal pile to here, you're certainly getting me a bit excited, but I think I've got enough."
And with that they got in the truck. Both the Caretaker and Guest know that his proclivity to scavenge is perhaps a bit much at times and so the Caretaker doesn't feel bad about revving him on it. Now, to be honest, the Caretaker is a bit of a scavenger himself, not so much in his adult life, but when he was a kid, "junk day" was always a high time. Once a month the collection service allowed people to put out whatever they wanted. Probably the Caretaker's greatest finds have been bicycles, most of which needed but some minor effort to get up and pedalling again. So yes the Caretaker used to scavenge himself, but he would always follow one important rule, if there isn't an immediate need, don't take it. As opposed to Guest who found himself a bucket over in the metal pile:
"Ah-ha, look at this, a perfectly good bucket, all it needs is a new handle."
"Don't you already have enough buckets?"
"You can never have enough buckets."
"Yes. You can have enough buckets."
"I disagree."
"Well, I suppose if you were planning on starting a bucket brigade you'd be right, but I think the modern fire engine has certainly done a great job of wiping out the need for bucket brigades."
"You'll see."
"I know. I can't wait."
Anyway, so the two of them finally start driving out of the dump, as they're heading towards the gates Guest mentions going to the Post Office, which the Caretaker was more than happy to go along with because he needed to check his mail too. They pass through the gates and begin to turn towards town, when Guest then turns the truck the other way and says he needs to check something.
"Oh yes, what's the other way?" Asks the Caretaker while thinking to himself, now what?
"Sand without salt from the road department."
The Caretaker felt this was a worthwhile thing to look into because sand in the Winter is always handy on the drive. Guest stops the truck, turns it off and goes inside. The Caretaker felt no need to go in so he waited in the truck. While waiting he looked over the municipal fuel pumps, he wasn't quite sure but it looked to him like it pumped fuel from the top of the above ground tank. The Caretaker felt this was a foolish way to do it, he was of the opinion that it should draw from a bit above the bottom just in case there was a power failure. In an emergency fuel could still be drawn via gravity. The Caretaker is certainly no expert in these things so he let his mind drop the topic and pondered other things. Eventually Guest returned to the truck,
"No sand."
"They've got fine gravel."
"Nah, sand."
He then went to start the truck. It made a struggling noise but didn't start. Guest tried it again, no luck. Then a third time, still wouldn't start. The Caretaker then suggested turning the ignition completely off and then trying it. The truck started, and down the road to town they went.
"Well, if we're going to the Post Office I would suggest that you do not turn off the truck while were there."
"Nah, it started, I'm going to assumer every thing's okay."
The Caretaker wasn't so sure, especially since he knew how it is that Guest maintained his vehicles. Not being his truck he didn't want to tell another man how to operate it so he quickly began to think of a way to convince Guest that there was real value in not shutting off the truck until they returned to his house, besides, the Caretaker didn't really want to have to walk back from the Post Office.
Then Guest said, "I'm sure it's fine, besides, I've got more pressing things to deal with, the truck is going to have to wait."
BINGO!!!
"Well, if you shut off the truck at the Post Office and it doesn't start, the truck will top your list of priorities."
"Hm. Maybe you're right."
The Caretaker left it at that, but was thinking to himself, "yes I'm right, what is up with you?"
Now, to be fair, the Caretaker knew what was up, Guest was thinking about the fuel wasted while idling. Which is certainly laudable, however, the truck not starting again was a real possibility which would then require a tow, which would consume more fuel than what would be used up while idling at the Post Office. Thankfully Guest did not shut off the truck and they made it home.
Thus concludes the tale of the dump run.
After word: Some of the above dialogue was embellished (but not by much) for illustrative purposes.
--The Caretaker
Lake Temp. 43 F.
Ghetto temp. 42 F.
Island tmp. 63 F. Yesterday's L/H: 36/38 F.
Current conditions: Cloud covered night sky, no stars, light South wind, 5 mph with mild gusts
12/4/08
10/6/08
10/13/08
The morning began with rain, hail, and snow with a strong wind from the South. It wasn't looking so hot for the Caretaker's dump run but in the end he was able to make it there. Up on the mountain it was all snow, maybe about an inch accumulation at most. The wind continued on throughout much of the day finally settling down at sunset. At around sunset the Caretaker was in the kitchen doing some work when he left to get a shovel from outside, looking up towards the Narrows he noticed some color upon the East shore so he grabbed his camera and took a few shots, they weren't worth keeping, but when he turned back towards the Ghetto he noticed the color upon the West sky so dashed around to the South dock and took a number of photos. Funny how just yesterday the Caretaker was commenting on how the weather conditions had not been cooperating of late for photography. Granted the photo for today is just another sunset shot, just another lousy day in paradise.
Back to the dump run, so the Caretaker loaded up the boat, in the blowing rain/snow/hail, with a bunch of trash bags and a number of bags of recyclables, motored on over to the mainland and began to load the pick-up truck. The Caretaker then waited for the person who was accompanying him to the dump to gather up his various contributions to the dump. Upon arriving at the dump the Caretaker was hoping to first get rid of the trash and recyclables, but sure enough that didn't happen, the person accompanying the Caretaker drove them over to the metal pile to go scavenging for "finds" to take home. Often times, the person who accompanied the Caretaker to the dump, brings home more than he leaves. The Caretaker was well aware of this person's habits so instead of waiting in the truck he decided to accompany him on his scouring expedition through the metal pile--when in Rome. The Caretaker took great pleasure in pointing out all sorts of things this person could take home and use if he repaired here or there. Oddly enough, the Caretaker ended up finding something he could use, so he took it. What great treasure was it? A plastic fuel spout from a metal fuel can, the can was rusted on the inside so was of no use for fuel but the fuel spout, oh ho, that was a gem--the ridged plastic kind with attached cap and fuel screen. Ever since the state mandated that only ventless fuel cans may be sold these fuel spouts are nearly impossible to come by here in New York. The Caretaker has a lengthy diatribe against the ventless fuel can and how utterly useless they are, but the Caretaker has already shared this in the past so he won't bore his readers again with that nonsense.
So after collecting the found "treasures" the Caretaker and Guest proceeded to unload the garbage and recyclables. At this point the Caretaker figured they'd be on their way, but oh ho, there was still one more place to go--the construction waste dumpsters. So they get out of the truck and have a look around, the Guest doesn't see much of interest but the Caretaker decided he needed some prodding:
"Look at all those 6 by 6 blocks of pine Guest, I bet you could find a use for those, why you could jack up your house with those."
"Nah, they're pine, besides, they're at the bottom, it's hard to get out of there."
"Poo-shaw, you could climb out on that crappy looking box spring."
Guest wasn't interested, so they went over to the third dumpster.
"Not much here," said Guest.
"Look at all those soggy sheets of cardboard, I bet there's something of great value underneath them, why don't you hop down in there an root around, I bet you'll get a real find."
"Nah, not worth it, with the snow and all."
"Guest, you'll never know unless you look."
"I must say, with all your ideas from the metal pile to here, you're certainly getting me a bit excited, but I think I've got enough."
And with that they got in the truck. Both the Caretaker and Guest know that his proclivity to scavenge is perhaps a bit much at times and so the Caretaker doesn't feel bad about revving him on it. Now, to be honest, the Caretaker is a bit of a scavenger himself, not so much in his adult life, but when he was a kid, "junk day" was always a high time. Once a month the collection service allowed people to put out whatever they wanted. Probably the Caretaker's greatest finds have been bicycles, most of which needed but some minor effort to get up and pedalling again. So yes the Caretaker used to scavenge himself, but he would always follow one important rule, if there isn't an immediate need, don't take it. As opposed to Guest who found himself a bucket over in the metal pile:
"Ah-ha, look at this, a perfectly good bucket, all it needs is a new handle."
"Don't you already have enough buckets?"
"You can never have enough buckets."
"Yes. You can have enough buckets."
"I disagree."
"Well, I suppose if you were planning on starting a bucket brigade you'd be right, but I think the modern fire engine has certainly done a great job of wiping out the need for bucket brigades."
"You'll see."
"I know. I can't wait."
Anyway, so the two of them finally start driving out of the dump, as they're heading towards the gates Guest mentions going to the Post Office, which the Caretaker was more than happy to go along with because he needed to check his mail too. They pass through the gates and begin to turn towards town, when Guest then turns the truck the other way and says he needs to check something.
"Oh yes, what's the other way?" Asks the Caretaker while thinking to himself, now what?
"Sand without salt from the road department."
The Caretaker felt this was a worthwhile thing to look into because sand in the Winter is always handy on the drive. Guest stops the truck, turns it off and goes inside. The Caretaker felt no need to go in so he waited in the truck. While waiting he looked over the municipal fuel pumps, he wasn't quite sure but it looked to him like it pumped fuel from the top of the above ground tank. The Caretaker felt this was a foolish way to do it, he was of the opinion that it should draw from a bit above the bottom just in case there was a power failure. In an emergency fuel could still be drawn via gravity. The Caretaker is certainly no expert in these things so he let his mind drop the topic and pondered other things. Eventually Guest returned to the truck,
"No sand."
"They've got fine gravel."
"Nah, sand."
He then went to start the truck. It made a struggling noise but didn't start. Guest tried it again, no luck. Then a third time, still wouldn't start. The Caretaker then suggested turning the ignition completely off and then trying it. The truck started, and down the road to town they went.
"Well, if we're going to the Post Office I would suggest that you do not turn off the truck while were there."
"Nah, it started, I'm going to assumer every thing's okay."
The Caretaker wasn't so sure, especially since he knew how it is that Guest maintained his vehicles. Not being his truck he didn't want to tell another man how to operate it so he quickly began to think of a way to convince Guest that there was real value in not shutting off the truck until they returned to his house, besides, the Caretaker didn't really want to have to walk back from the Post Office.
Then Guest said, "I'm sure it's fine, besides, I've got more pressing things to deal with, the truck is going to have to wait."
BINGO!!!
"Well, if you shut off the truck at the Post Office and it doesn't start, the truck will top your list of priorities."
"Hm. Maybe you're right."
The Caretaker left it at that, but was thinking to himself, "yes I'm right, what is up with you?"
Now, to be fair, the Caretaker knew what was up, Guest was thinking about the fuel wasted while idling. Which is certainly laudable, however, the truck not starting again was a real possibility which would then require a tow, which would consume more fuel than what would be used up while idling at the Post Office. Thankfully Guest did not shut off the truck and they made it home.
Thus concludes the tale of the dump run.
After word: Some of the above dialogue was embellished (but not by much) for illustrative purposes.
--The Caretaker
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
TCC for 12/3/08
The Caretaker's Concern 12/3/08
Lake Temp. 43 F.
Ghetto temp. 46 F.
Island tmp. 38 F. Monday's L/H: 36/48 F. (Yesterday's temp.s not observed)
Current conditions: Wind from the South, 10 to 15 mph with higher gusts. mostly cloud covered night sky, a few stars visible but dimly.
12/2/08
10/10/08
8/28/08
The day began with a bit of wind from the South, as the day wore on it settled a bit but has now picked up again. Weather report calls for snow and rain tomorrow, probably not a great day for a trip to the mainland but the Caretaker is hoping to make a dump run. Usually a dump run is rather mundane, but tomorrow the Caretaker will be accompanied by someone else, this person will probably make the trip to the dump a touch more interesting. Hopefully the precipitation will hold off in the morning, the Island is long overdue for a dump run.
The weather has not exactly been cooperating for quite some time now as far as photography goes, hopefully these weather patterns will shift in the near future. Thankfully the Caretaker has quite a bit of a back log from the Summer on to October, but it is getting a little bit tiresome all this more of the same. The good news is that the Lake is just 11 degrees above freezing, if all goes well the trend will continue and by the end of the month there will be some opportunities for reflection shots on the Lake. Based on past experience the Winter so far seems to be shaping up to be a good one for snow and ice, that is if the current trends continue. If it turns out to be like last Winter the Caretaker may just have to quite the Island for a while. Sloshing around in 3 inches of water on top of the ice is way less than fun, nor does it make much for photography. The Caretaker is not complaining, he's chosen his path, he must keep walking, if he wanted it otherwise he could set up a studio and start photographing nothing but staged shots.
The Caretaker was off Island for most all of yesterday, he took a road trip to North Jersey, down to the town he grew up in to see his dentist, this time around he had a few moments to go for a walk about the town center. It was somewhat surprising to see how much the town had changed, but also stayed the same. The one thing that stuck out in his mind was the number of shuttered retail spaces, in conversation he learned that most of the closings were rather recent but either way, he was a bit surprised. In fact, it was mildly depressing. Historically the town was one that the moment a business closed up shop a new one was waiting to get in. A long time ago there use to be four gas stations in town, a while back two stopped selling gas and focused on just auto repair, now, there are no gas stations in town. The Caretaker isn't sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing, it is not likely it will cause people to buy less gas thus contribute less CO2 and other pollutants to the atmosphere, for gas is quite easy to come by in the area, but as a gauge of the local economy it is probably not such a good sign. Then again, the Caretaker hasn't spent any foot time in his home town in probably over two years so he really hasn't any idea what he is talking about. The one thing he knows is that he still can't figure out what the following sign means:
"You like our air, we like your gas, let's get together."
It was a sign at the outside air pump for customers to use at one of the gas stations in town that stopped selling gas and focused on just auto repair, when walking by this repair shop the Caretaker noticed it seemed to be thriving quite well, but the sign at the air pump was replaced with:
"Air pump shut off when shop is closed"
The Caretaker thought about stopping in to ask about the old sign, but needing to make his appointment with the dentist on time with he decided not to tarry. Another shuttered business was the old Steve's Sweet Shop, looking through the window the Caretaker noticed the back wall was gutted down to the studs. The establishment had long since ceased being Steve's Sweet Shop, but had gone through a number of incarnations throughout the years but always selling candy among many other things. When Steve owned it there was a soda fountain and bar to sit at for milk shakes etc. after he sold it the soda fountain was the first thing to go. From there on in it was more a place for cards and stationary but still always candy and bottled soda, etc. The one town steady that is still in business is Krauser's which is a convenience store. Prior to being Krauser's it was called Garden State Farms which as the Caretaker remembers it they had the coolest brown paper bags, well, the bags were pretty mundane but the print over the entire bag was a great example of Americana folk art--of sorts. The one thing that always amused the Caretaker was the sign for the store, in addition to stating the name of the shop it also listed a few items that it carried, one of which was Cottage Cheese, this always struck the Caretaker as funny, he was glad to see that the signage advertising Cottage Cheese was still up. The Caretaker is no real fan of cottage cheese (nor is he an enemy of cottage cheese either) but he really doesn't see what is all that appetizing about it, more over, he can't imagine someone passing through town and then upon noticing the sign deciding that they must stop in. It's not like the cottage cheese is homemade or even locally made, it's the same slop sold all across the country. Now back when the store was owned (or franchised) by Garden State Farms it could very well have been locally made cottage cheese. Is there such a thing as good versus bad cottage cheese? Isn't it the simplest of cheese to make? Now the Caretaker is probably wrong in this but his thinking is that cottage cheese is nothing more than old milk allowed to go sour. Many a person has made cottage cheese in their own refrigerator by leaving a carton of milk far in the back of the fridge far beyond its expiration date. Now perhaps the Caretaker's palate is nowhere near sophisticated enough to appreciate the nuances of this delicacy called cottage cheese and perhaps never will, but it does leave him to wonder why so many people like it. Now the Caretaker is thinking that the next time he is on the mainland he will have to buy some cottage cheese, however, he has a strong feeling that upon exiting the store he should taste it right there and then because his response will probably be the same as it was the last time he had cottage cheese (which was probably decades ago), after one spoonful:
"Yep, still sucks."
So instead of bringing it back to the Island only to have to bring it back to the mainland for disposal, or worst he ends up storing it in the back of the refrigerator for the rest of the Winter, where it will most likely go on to become Blue cheese, he'll be sure to try it out before bringing it back to the Island, then again, why bother wasting the money in the first place? It's cottage cheese, do they even advertise for it any more? I think the marketing firms have long since figured out that the cottage cheese market is pretty well saturated, if you don't like it you won't buy it no matter how flashy the spokespeople or the packaging. Is there such a thing as an "Artisan Cottage Cheese maker"? The following conversation has probably never happened on the face of the Earth:
"Hey, have you had the Hampton family's cottage cheese?"
"No, should I?"
"Oh most definitely."
"Really? Where do they sell it?"
"Just up the road, they sell it out of their cottage cheese cottage, it's outstanding, they make it in small batches, you really should try some."
"Small batches you say? Sounds delicious, I haven't had small batch cottage cheese since we went away on vacation for a month and forgot to throw out the milk before leaving."
"Oh I know what you mean, but they are artisans and the regular homemade stuff doesn't even remotely compare to the Hampton's small batch cottage cheese. It's so cottage-ee and cheese-ee."
"Mmm, my mouth is watering for some Hampton's cottage cheese right now. Do you think they're open? Do you think I can get some small batch cottage cheese right now?"
"No, they only sell it on the third Tuesday of the third week of the third month of the season."
"So only four times a year?"
"Yep."
"Well that's stupid, how do they expect to make a living?"
"They aren't interested in making a living from their cottage cheese, they're ARTISTS!!!"
"It's just cottage cheese, relax."
"Fie on you, FIE! FIE! FIE! I should have never told you about the Hampton's small batch cottage cheese. You simpleton, why would I have ever thought that you could ever truly appreciate the grandeur of flavor to be found in the Hampton's cottage cheese? WHY???"
"Rrrright, what were you thinking? Well, I think I'll be off now, ta ta."
Walking away, under breath: "what a cottage cheese freak-show."
If cottage cheese has ever elicited such a response (or anything remotely close to it) from anyone, the Caretaker would like to know about it. Thank you.
--The Caretaker
Lake Temp. 43 F.
Ghetto temp. 46 F.
Island tmp. 38 F. Monday's L/H: 36/48 F. (Yesterday's temp.s not observed)
Current conditions: Wind from the South, 10 to 15 mph with higher gusts. mostly cloud covered night sky, a few stars visible but dimly.
12/2/08
10/10/08
8/28/08
The day began with a bit of wind from the South, as the day wore on it settled a bit but has now picked up again. Weather report calls for snow and rain tomorrow, probably not a great day for a trip to the mainland but the Caretaker is hoping to make a dump run. Usually a dump run is rather mundane, but tomorrow the Caretaker will be accompanied by someone else, this person will probably make the trip to the dump a touch more interesting. Hopefully the precipitation will hold off in the morning, the Island is long overdue for a dump run.
The weather has not exactly been cooperating for quite some time now as far as photography goes, hopefully these weather patterns will shift in the near future. Thankfully the Caretaker has quite a bit of a back log from the Summer on to October, but it is getting a little bit tiresome all this more of the same. The good news is that the Lake is just 11 degrees above freezing, if all goes well the trend will continue and by the end of the month there will be some opportunities for reflection shots on the Lake. Based on past experience the Winter so far seems to be shaping up to be a good one for snow and ice, that is if the current trends continue. If it turns out to be like last Winter the Caretaker may just have to quite the Island for a while. Sloshing around in 3 inches of water on top of the ice is way less than fun, nor does it make much for photography. The Caretaker is not complaining, he's chosen his path, he must keep walking, if he wanted it otherwise he could set up a studio and start photographing nothing but staged shots.
The Caretaker was off Island for most all of yesterday, he took a road trip to North Jersey, down to the town he grew up in to see his dentist, this time around he had a few moments to go for a walk about the town center. It was somewhat surprising to see how much the town had changed, but also stayed the same. The one thing that stuck out in his mind was the number of shuttered retail spaces, in conversation he learned that most of the closings were rather recent but either way, he was a bit surprised. In fact, it was mildly depressing. Historically the town was one that the moment a business closed up shop a new one was waiting to get in. A long time ago there use to be four gas stations in town, a while back two stopped selling gas and focused on just auto repair, now, there are no gas stations in town. The Caretaker isn't sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing, it is not likely it will cause people to buy less gas thus contribute less CO2 and other pollutants to the atmosphere, for gas is quite easy to come by in the area, but as a gauge of the local economy it is probably not such a good sign. Then again, the Caretaker hasn't spent any foot time in his home town in probably over two years so he really hasn't any idea what he is talking about. The one thing he knows is that he still can't figure out what the following sign means:
"You like our air, we like your gas, let's get together."
It was a sign at the outside air pump for customers to use at one of the gas stations in town that stopped selling gas and focused on just auto repair, when walking by this repair shop the Caretaker noticed it seemed to be thriving quite well, but the sign at the air pump was replaced with:
"Air pump shut off when shop is closed"
The Caretaker thought about stopping in to ask about the old sign, but needing to make his appointment with the dentist on time with he decided not to tarry. Another shuttered business was the old Steve's Sweet Shop, looking through the window the Caretaker noticed the back wall was gutted down to the studs. The establishment had long since ceased being Steve's Sweet Shop, but had gone through a number of incarnations throughout the years but always selling candy among many other things. When Steve owned it there was a soda fountain and bar to sit at for milk shakes etc. after he sold it the soda fountain was the first thing to go. From there on in it was more a place for cards and stationary but still always candy and bottled soda, etc. The one town steady that is still in business is Krauser's which is a convenience store. Prior to being Krauser's it was called Garden State Farms which as the Caretaker remembers it they had the coolest brown paper bags, well, the bags were pretty mundane but the print over the entire bag was a great example of Americana folk art--of sorts. The one thing that always amused the Caretaker was the sign for the store, in addition to stating the name of the shop it also listed a few items that it carried, one of which was Cottage Cheese, this always struck the Caretaker as funny, he was glad to see that the signage advertising Cottage Cheese was still up. The Caretaker is no real fan of cottage cheese (nor is he an enemy of cottage cheese either) but he really doesn't see what is all that appetizing about it, more over, he can't imagine someone passing through town and then upon noticing the sign deciding that they must stop in. It's not like the cottage cheese is homemade or even locally made, it's the same slop sold all across the country. Now back when the store was owned (or franchised) by Garden State Farms it could very well have been locally made cottage cheese. Is there such a thing as good versus bad cottage cheese? Isn't it the simplest of cheese to make? Now the Caretaker is probably wrong in this but his thinking is that cottage cheese is nothing more than old milk allowed to go sour. Many a person has made cottage cheese in their own refrigerator by leaving a carton of milk far in the back of the fridge far beyond its expiration date. Now perhaps the Caretaker's palate is nowhere near sophisticated enough to appreciate the nuances of this delicacy called cottage cheese and perhaps never will, but it does leave him to wonder why so many people like it. Now the Caretaker is thinking that the next time he is on the mainland he will have to buy some cottage cheese, however, he has a strong feeling that upon exiting the store he should taste it right there and then because his response will probably be the same as it was the last time he had cottage cheese (which was probably decades ago), after one spoonful:
"Yep, still sucks."
So instead of bringing it back to the Island only to have to bring it back to the mainland for disposal, or worst he ends up storing it in the back of the refrigerator for the rest of the Winter, where it will most likely go on to become Blue cheese, he'll be sure to try it out before bringing it back to the Island, then again, why bother wasting the money in the first place? It's cottage cheese, do they even advertise for it any more? I think the marketing firms have long since figured out that the cottage cheese market is pretty well saturated, if you don't like it you won't buy it no matter how flashy the spokespeople or the packaging. Is there such a thing as an "Artisan Cottage Cheese maker"? The following conversation has probably never happened on the face of the Earth:
"Hey, have you had the Hampton family's cottage cheese?"
"No, should I?"
"Oh most definitely."
"Really? Where do they sell it?"
"Just up the road, they sell it out of their cottage cheese cottage, it's outstanding, they make it in small batches, you really should try some."
"Small batches you say? Sounds delicious, I haven't had small batch cottage cheese since we went away on vacation for a month and forgot to throw out the milk before leaving."
"Oh I know what you mean, but they are artisans and the regular homemade stuff doesn't even remotely compare to the Hampton's small batch cottage cheese. It's so cottage-ee and cheese-ee."
"Mmm, my mouth is watering for some Hampton's cottage cheese right now. Do you think they're open? Do you think I can get some small batch cottage cheese right now?"
"No, they only sell it on the third Tuesday of the third week of the third month of the season."
"So only four times a year?"
"Yep."
"Well that's stupid, how do they expect to make a living?"
"They aren't interested in making a living from their cottage cheese, they're ARTISTS!!!"
"It's just cottage cheese, relax."
"Fie on you, FIE! FIE! FIE! I should have never told you about the Hampton's small batch cottage cheese. You simpleton, why would I have ever thought that you could ever truly appreciate the grandeur of flavor to be found in the Hampton's cottage cheese? WHY???"
"Rrrright, what were you thinking? Well, I think I'll be off now, ta ta."
Walking away, under breath: "what a cottage cheese freak-show."
If cottage cheese has ever elicited such a response (or anything remotely close to it) from anyone, the Caretaker would like to know about it. Thank you.
--The Caretaker
Sunday, November 30, 2008
TCC for 11/30/08
The Caretaker's Concern 11/30/08
Lake Temp. 44 F.
Ghetto temp. 41 F.
Island tmp. 34 F. Yesterday's L/H: ?/? F. Temperatures not noted.
Current conditions: Rain, mild wind from the East shore, rare direction for the wind on this part of the lake.
11/30/08
11/29/08
11/27/08
The precipitation rolled in not too long before sundown, it started as snow, eventually turning to a mix of hail and rain. It was a mostly windless day, the Lake was mostly flat, unfortunately the cloud coverage was so thick that the Sun wasn't visible for most of the day. If the sky was open and the sunlight could have shined down on a day like today with no wind it would have been a rather glorious day on the Lake, but it wasn't.
--The Caretaker
Lake Temp. 44 F.
Ghetto temp. 41 F.
Island tmp. 34 F. Yesterday's L/H: ?/? F. Temperatures not noted.
Current conditions: Rain, mild wind from the East shore, rare direction for the wind on this part of the lake.
11/30/08
11/29/08
11/27/08
The precipitation rolled in not too long before sundown, it started as snow, eventually turning to a mix of hail and rain. It was a mostly windless day, the Lake was mostly flat, unfortunately the cloud coverage was so thick that the Sun wasn't visible for most of the day. If the sky was open and the sunlight could have shined down on a day like today with no wind it would have been a rather glorious day on the Lake, but it wasn't.
--The Caretaker
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