Some advice: Do your shotting early

I stopped by the Health Department a week ago and noticed that the waiting area was empty, which was good for me. It will probably not be that way in August because then people start lining up to get the shots for their kids that the schools require.

The Health Department provides free shots only to those who do not have private insurance covering vaccinations. Right now Friday is shot day, but beginning on July 23, Tuesdays are added. The Tuesday addition stops after August. Avoid the lines--get the shots early. (Of course no one will take this advice--the human proclivity to procrastinate is too strong.)

I noticed a dumpster in front of the County Annex building and wondered if the space vacated by the Extension office was finally being reallocated. I found out that it was not being redone; the construction was for making the bathrooms ADA compliant.

Addendum: Did you enjoy Rensselaer's fireworks display last night? The city sounded like a battleground from dusk to about 10:30. I could only see a few of the fireworks, but it was worth the price of admission. I wonder how many thousands of dollars were spent making pretty explosions.

Have a nice 4th

I found this Fourth-of-July decoration in the north part of town.

Angry birds

A pair of barn swallows nested again this year in my garage. When the young were ready to leave the nest, the parents became quite aggressive, swooping down to within a foot or two of anyone near the garage. It was rather amusing because they posed no real threat.

I think they had four young. Three of them are shown below, sitting on a wire. Unlike their parents, they do not seem to be bothered by humans being around. They can fly, but probably are not able to feed themselves without a bit of help from mom and dad.

 Barn swallows nest almost exclusively on human-made structures, so they have not suffered as people have colonized the world. They eat bugs, so they provide some benefit. However, they are very messy guests. The picture below shows my garage floor. You can see a trail of bird droppings under the wire that they use for roosting, and the big patch in the middle is under the nest. (Sorry if this grosses you out.)

 Here is a close-up of the area under the nest. There is no point in cleaning it up until they leave. At least this year I got them to nest in a place that is not above the car.

A lot of birds may nest near your house and you may be completely unaware of them. But if you have barn swallows, you will almost certainly notice them.

Every generation? (Updated)

Does every little kid who spends a a bit of time at the pool discover the joys of pouring water?

Update: Did anyone expect that it would be so cool at the beginning of July that the pool would be closing early because no one was in the pool?

A new building at the Fair Grounds (updated)

I have not been able to get out to see it, but I found some pictures with explanation here, here, and here.

And while I am doing lazy blogging, here is an update from Steinke's Funeral Home.

Update, Tuesday:
Here is a picture of the Steinke construction from this morning. The old entrance is being taken out.

 And the rapid progress on the Farm Credit building continues. Since the last time I looked (last Thursday), the trusses have been installed and covered.