Dan Antion

I Got Machines – SoCS

Happy Saturday and welcome to the bar. David and I weathered the remnants of hurricane Nicole, and now are safely inside avoiding “scattered showers” as I think the weatherfolk call them. Cheryl has our favorite adult beverages ready to pour as we relax and catch-up after another interesting week. While at it, we’ll see if we can’t meet the challenge laid down by our Stream of Consciousness Saturday taskmaster, Linda G. Hill. This week’s prompt,

“Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is ‘starts with or contains ‘cel.’ Find a word that begins with or contains ‘cel’ and use it in your post any way you’d like. Have fun!”

If we were having a beer, you’d be impressed, but mistaken.

“Good afternoon, Dan. I took the liberty of ordering. Cheryl had to go to the cellar to change the Modelo keg, but she assured me it would only be a few minutes.”

“Thanks David. I assume she has an open bottle of John Howell’s Bourbon.”

“I hope so.”

“Dan, this first draft is going to be a little sloppy, so it’s on the house. Of course, once the head fades, it will only be two-thirds full.”

“First draft? A little sloppy? Are you describing his beer, or his novel, Cheryl?”

“Ouch, David. Here I am with your glass of bourbon, your snifter of seltzer and your ice. I might take the cherries back.”

“Just kidding, Cheryl. In fact, I was just about to compliment Dan on the excellent work by his landscaper.”

“Landscaper? I don’t have a landscaper.”

“I could have told you that, David. You’re the only person around here who has people.”

“I don’t have people, Cheryl. I hire some companies to take care of things instead of doing them myself.”

“Well, to those of us doing our own stuff, it looks like you’re living the celebrity life.”

“Trust me, I’m not. Besides, I still don’t believe Dan was able to rake all those leaves.”

“I didn’t say I raked them.”

“Then how did your yard get so clean?”

“I don’t have people, David but I have a machine.”

“You mean a leaf blower?”

“It’s not a leaf blower, although I do have one, it’s a leaf vacuum and shredder.”

“Well then, I don’t know whether to cancel my congratulations or strengthen them.”

“I don’t normally use it until later, after all the leaves have fallen, but with the rain coming, I wanted to get everything I could off the ground.”

“Dan, are you done with that half-a-beer?”

“Scarcely any left, Cheryl. I think I’m ready for a full one.”

“You boys having any food today?”

“I think an order of wings would go nicely with this beer. Is that OK with you, David?”

“Works for me. But I’ll need another glass of bourbon.”

“Ten or twenty wings?”

“Twenty, Cheryl. And…”

“…blue cheese for David and parmesan peppercorn for you. It’s not my first day, Dan.”

“Sorry. Could we have a few extra celery sticks?”

“Sure. David, here’s your bourbon.”

“Thanks Cheryl. It’s like that old commercial says. The bourbon is smooth, the wings will be wonderful, but the company is priceless.”

“Awww, you’re sweet, David. But you know there will be a price for all of this.”

Ready to roll again
Full belly
The bag is emptied. This pile will fill a 30-gal leaf bag (with a little compression applied).
Before and after
The burning bush is not giving up its leaves.
Ready for the rain
I know :-(
After I put everything away, I noticed this guy. The machine missed him.
This leaf is hanging onto our trash can
A few last leaves are hanging on
He looks ready for anything
New bunny photo!
Smokey and Rustina
Not many leaves left. I’m not sure if this shadow looks like anything.
We were socked in during the eclipse, but a day later…
The sun is having no trouble shining through the trees now


If you like magical realism with suspense, action and a bit of family sarcasm, you will enjoy these books:

Knuckleheads
The Evil You Choose
When Evil Chooses You

Series page on Amazon

My profile page (and books) on Lulu

All available on Kindle Unlimited!

52 comments

  1. You neatly covered the prompt Dan …you wove cel in several times.
    The garden looks tidy after you got the leaf vacuum out…great job!
    Tell me do Smokey and Rustina get on ? I think the leaf shadow looks like a swan with raised wings. Lovely photos as always but no flag? Have a great weekend.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • I used my flag photos yesterday for Veterans Day, Willow and it is raining. I could have put an old one in, but I liked the shape of the gallery. Smokey and Rustina get along well. We often see them approaching together. In fact, all the squirrels get along. As far as we know, they are all Easter Gray (sorry, Grey) Squirrels just with different pigmentation. Maybe they know something we don’t. A swan with raised wings? That could be.

      Like

      Reply

  2. The eternal leaves! Yes, there will always be some that linger, and they are a “nyaah-nyaah-nyaah” to the homeowner. Taken singly, though, each has its own beauty, and I like the way you capture one at a time. It’s a good way to see the world. And thanks for the morning snark — it gives me strength for the day!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Anything to help us along. I think that last leaf was making that sound when I found it. It knew the bags were already on the porch and I wouldn’t have the heart to carry it over. They are few and far between on my walks, but their beauty stands out. I hope you have a great weekend.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    • Thanks Judy. Normally, I would have waited another week to bring it out, but I was worried about finding a hard matted mess of leaves. There aren’t that many more to fall, although there are still some in the gutters. Enjoy your indoor hobbies.

      Like

      Reply

  4. I just read an article that said we should leave a mound of fallen leaves around our trees to feed the roots. Thankfully we rarely have to rake. Being in such an open area, the wind takes care of that.
    Nice to see my bunny back…. but that upright squirrel duo takes the prize today.
    👍

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  5. You certainly got in more than your share of “cels” in your post. Good job!

    The moon capture is great! I wonder if Smokey and Rustina are dating?

    The leaf shadow looks like a bird in flight.

    Those bags of leaves on Maddie’s deck just breaks my heart. You have to find some place else for them!

    Enjoy last of warm temperatures. Tomorrow tells a different story plus wind.
    Ginger

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Smokey and Rustina do show up together often. But they still fight over the first peanut that lands. They’re just too darn cute.

      With all the rain that was in the forecast, I had to use the porch. I felt her glare of unapproved, Ginger, especially when I encroached on the place where her cot should be.

      It does look like we’re about to say goodbye to the 50s and 60s. Oh well, it is mid-November, however that happened.

      Like

      Reply

    • It works well, John, but that bag gets heavy. I suppose I could empty it more often, but… I empty it in the driveway and then use a large dustpan to fill the bags. I used to empty it into my trailer and drive to the dump, but my shoulders no longer appreciate that.

      It’s not self-propelled, but our yard is flat. We bought it almost 30 years ago, primarily to suck up the Maple spinners in the yard that had three maple trees. The suction hose does a great job of getting in tight places.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  8. It is such a sense of accomplishment having all those leaves bagged, isn’t it? Our yard guy came yesterday to mow, edge, and trim up the yard for the year. I won’t see him again until 2023, but at least the yard looks good.
    Smokey and Rustina is such a cute photo!! Look at her standing behind her man saying, ‘who’s prettier?!’ 😆 What a great photo! Have a wonderful weekend, Dan.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • She’s prettier, Lois (and she knows it). As long as I can do this job myself, I’ll keep at it. I like being outside and, even though it’s a machine, it’s still a lot of exercise. Have a great weekend.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  11. Oh, I laughed out loud then said out loud, ” Ouch!” then said, “Touché” after reading this exchange, “First draft? A little sloppy? Are you describing his beer, or his novel, Cheryl?”

    “Ouch, David. Here I am with your glass of bourbon, your snifter of seltzer and your ice. I might take the cherries back.”
    Fun and great dialogue, Dan.

    You had 8 GIANT bags of leaves even after mulching them!! Wowza! The lawn looks great afterwards though.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  19. Nicely done, Dan, you win extra points for making it looks so easy to incorporate cel into the post! That’s a cool machine, we don’t have one of those and we don’t have a company that cleans up the leaves either. We do have Mother Nature’s wind-blowing machine though. I’m glad to read you survived the hurricane. In a way, I’m sure Maddie was smiling knowing you got the leaves bagged up and stored safely before the rains hit. Still tugs at the heartstrings knowing she would’ve been laying there supervising your work. 😥
    PS – Where’s the flag photo? I love that photo with the two squirrels standing in the same position. I think that leaf shadow looks like an amoeba.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  20. I don’t rake often, but when I do, I rake them onto my dirt driveway where they break down pretty quickly. That’s a great photo of Smokey and Rustina… and of course the light through the leaves.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Add your thoughts or join the discussion. One relevant link is OK, more require moderation. Markdown is supported.

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.