30 Years ----- Who'd A Thunk It............

In roughly two hours and 15 minutes I will complete 30 years on the job.
Now I will be free to retire when I choose or keep working as long as I desire.
At the moment I have no plans to retire as there is much stuff to complete.

Besides, Mosaic Mom is in agreement about me not retiring, especially since I was home all last week and......(you get the drift).

But damn - that went fast. Probably won't make another 30 -- but not a bad goal though. Hmmmmm..............

Needless to say this is the daddy cloud. A real big daddy cloud. 

If yesterday's cloud was the baby cloud, this is the mommy cloud. They both have the bright outer edges. It must be a hereditary thing. Didn't know clouds had that capability. Fascinating isn't it. 

My mind is cloudy.....

We are actually getting clouds and rain again.
WOW.
It is nice to have clouds somewhere besides in my head.
So the rest of this week will be cloud photos.
Try to contain yourselves.

Here is an interesting little cloud I saw at home the other day. 

Back to the Grind..............

Back at work as of yesterday. Started off with a visit from the Dean's office. Not a bad thing but you always wonder what they are looking for. At least we got a free lunch - not a good lunch but a free one. I gave a dean 3 nice Aglaonemas and that made him very happy. I hope he stays that way when ever he thinks of me.

Oregon trip went well although the days are long. At least it was cool. Now it is 100+ out there so we were lucky.

Oregon State Univ. won the college baseball world series yesterday - that was fun. I have been playing their fight song at work today and most people seem to run away. No one likes a winner I guess.

Spent last week planting trees, shrubs and bushes. Now we had 2 days of rain so I was really lucky there. The evenings have been much cooler and it is like getting a free day off from the heat. It will return soon I am sure.

It was nice to drive the greenbean after 2 weeks. Fishing is on my mind again. The plants at work are growing nicely. Who knows what the future will bring. All things good I hope.

Yes this is the future 3 colored autocross special. No name yet. The brown rear fender was the first body work I ever did back in 1997. 

The boys and I are starting a new project -- a halfway restored 240z to be used as an autocross race car. Hmmmm - this could be a long project. 

Gone until June 26..................

Vacation time...........

This has been an interesting week............

It has been a good week -- a varied week.
Got the cytometer at work.
Have cleaned the research house a work.
Have cleaned the research house at home.
Fixed 3 faucets at home.
Planted a bunch of seed at work.
Planted a bunch of seed at home.
Took out the amazing broccoli plants at home (what a run of broccoli).
Watched the Z shop get cleaned at home.
Watched the new greenhouse at work get covered (3 months late of course).
Got to see the sand hill cranes and their babies at home in the yard (see mosaic mom blog).
Got to rescue Mindescape last night (took the spare car keys when others were lost).
Received a nice supply of free cantelopes and watermelons at work.
Got a free chicken sandwich at work.
I am going to stop as blogger keeps acting up.
But this was a good week.

Here is one of my more favorite Adenium (i.e. desert rose) hybrids. I may name it cherry blossom. 

The boys have been cleaning in the Z shop the past couple of weeks. I didn't now we had so much concrete. Nice job men. On to the next project. 

We are getting a flow cytometer...........

Below (last paragraph) is part of the justification read for our flow cytometer. It is a nice gift from the research center and did not cost my program any cash (so far as I have been told). Anyway it is a pretty good deal since I was going to buy it anyway. It cost more than all the other equipment I bought over that last 20 years. Going out with a bang I guess.

The PA-1 Flow Cytometer precisely quantifies DNA in plant cells. This knowledge is essential in ornamental plant breeding when we try to alter plant DNA levels to restore fertility in sterile hybrids or eliminate fertility in plants with invasive potential. Altering DNA levels can also generate valuable new ornamental traits.

The paperwork is in and we ordered the flow cytometer today. Yeah. 

The crape myrtles at work are starting to flower. Not these actually since they were removed last year. Fond memories though. 

Friday.............

Not much is happening. It is summer for sure now. Hot, hot hot..... More time to blog (not that I have been) as you sure do not want to venture outside. At least we got some clouds and rain yesterday.

The repaired trigger finger still seems to be swollen inside and bends about 80-90% of normal..... Other than that is is fine. No pain. I guess in another 3-4 weeks it should fine.

We are still trying to put the yard back together. It is like restoring a car. Just do a little piece at a time and eventually you will notice the improvement. At least the rain helps in reducing the daily watering ritual.

Surf fishing -- is only a memory. Maybe I will give it a try in July. Got to harvest some fresh blackeye peas at work and look forward to enjoying them soon.

Broccoli -- our crazy broccoli is still produding delicious side shoots. It has gone through 95 degree weather and is still going -- and to think we were going to dig it out 6 weeks ago. Plenty of water and fertilizer seem to be the key. Of course we are still overrun with tomatoes and peppers.