Odds and ends, May 26, 2016

Last week we had spring and this week we have summer. The switch was very quick and just in time for the start of the opening of the swimming pool (or the Splash Pad if you live in Remington). Softball games have begun at Brookside Park. I have noticed that corn is sprouting in the fields. People with connections to agriculture say we could use some rain.

I mentioned construction at Mount Hood Pizza and Grill in a recent post. They are building a patio in the front of the building.

Across the street in the retention pond of the water treatment plant, blue flag is blooming and also some butterweed. I doubt if the butterweed was part of the original planting. It is growing everywhere.

 The wall of Embers will be getting a mural in June as part of a grant that was given the Tippecanoe Arts Federation. The person doing the mural will be Cameron Moberg who won The Street Art Throwdown on the Oxygen network. He works very quickly with spray paint and whatever he will put on the wall is still not decided. What do you think the should be in the mural?

Looking at the wall, I noticed that two words were still visible from the past: "Paints" and "Gifts." Would they be remnants of the old hardware store that was the original use of the building?

 In the old gas station next to Embers, peeling paint on the ceiling gives the interior a cave-like feel. The interior was not heated during the winter and the peeling paint is the result. It may be gone now; the owner was busy scrapping it when I stopped by.

 Lots of dirt is being moved along Lincoln as work on the high water treatment plant continues. Near the cemetery entrance there is now a small hill.

 The dirt has come from two pits that have been dug. I am pretty sure that the white pipes that go into the steel tubes are part of the dewatering process. If you get close to one, you can hear water gurgling. The bottoms of the pits are well below the water table.

 Forms are being erected on the structure being built at the east end of the project so the next concrete pour can be made.

The cemetery is getting ready for Memorial Day. Lots of flags have been set out.

Family Dollar has a going-out-of-business sale and currently everything in the store is 25% off. The sale will last until late June and then the store will be closed for about two weeks as it is remodeled and converted into a Dollar Tree store. I have not been in a Dollar Tree lately, but there are no prices listed because virtually everything is priced at one dollar. I asked why the change and was told that the company, which owns both the Family Dollar and Dollar Tree brands, felt that the store would do better with the Dollar Tree merchandise than it has done with the Family Dollar merchandise. There are still at least three Family Dollar stores in the area.

Nearby the going-out-of-business sale at Blockbusters is in its final two weeks.

The other day while at Strack and Van Till I saw some bikes heavily laden with baggage. I asked the two people if they were riding coast to coast, and they said that they were, going west to east. They had a large dog with them, which is not something I have seen with previous long-distance bikers. I envy the experience of the trip but never had the courage to try anything like it.

CDC Resources has begun a quarterly publication, The Chronicle. Included is a little piece on a dream of one of their consumers, to go to a WWE wrestling event. The supervisor reached out to the WWE to ask if discounted tickets might be available, and the WWE, after checking the CDC Resources website and seeing the services it provided, sent ten free tickets. The consumers and staff that went had a great time in Rosemont, Illinois.