Happy Thursday Blog Day everyone, except this one is actually being written on Wednesday Blog Day. We have a 9:00 am flight to Orlando on the docket tomorrow, so I’m writing this brief installment a day early (to get the worm?) We’ll be heading down to spend the weekend with Barbara’s sister Kitty, who you may remember from her starring role in “Bob And Kitty Go To Scotland” last fall. We’ll be hanging out with her, her son Todd, his wife Angie, and their adorable incredible totally scrunchable twin daughters, Bella and Stassi (or Stassy, or Stassie, or however you spell the shorted version of Anastasia, but not Stazzie because that would just be wrong.) Those two are growing so fast it wouldn’t surprise me if they picked us up at the airport, in their own car. It might be a little battery operated Barbie Corvette, but still…

Here in the Woodbury bubble, meanwhile, we went from winter to spring so fast there was almost no way we weren’t going to jump right to summer, and that’s what it feels like. It’s 80 degrees with a clear blue sky today, as it was yesterday, and I’ve gone on 3-mile walks on our fabulous system of paved trails both days. Our trails are nearly endless, our lakes and ponds are voluminous, and life is good.

I’ve been trying to post a few random photos along the side here, just to give you a feel for how fast everything is blooming and how fortunate we are to live in a place like this. Yeah, that was typed by the guy who was thinking and saying “You’ve got to be kidding me” just a few weeks ago when we had our late April blizzard.  Anyway, I’ve been trying to post pics but our WordPress admin system is not letting me upload photos right now. Hopefully we can get that sorted out before it’s time to post this, but if not I apologize in advance. It’s not like they’re Pulitzer Prize winning photos, but they definitely add a little charm and a nice visual to the writing. (UPDATE: At 4:30 pm my expert Laura sent me instructions on how to update my laptop to some new website software, and the problem is fixed!)

Here’s a thing I’ve learned about birds. Robins seem to be the dumbest of the dumb, and I’m sorry if I’m casting aspersions on anyone who is named Robin or who raises robins, or who just likes robins. Here’s the truth: They hang out on the ground a lot, because the worms don’t climb trees. When you’re out on a walk and you approach a robin, they get scared a bit and flee. But they run when they flee. They can fly, and sometimes they do, but running away from a human seems like their worst option and a very poor use of their natural talents. And, it gets worse. When they run, they tend to run straight ahead, right along the same path upon which you are walking. After 10 feet, they stop and turn around and realize you’re still there, and still walking toward them. So they run another 10 feet. This can go on for a good 40 or 50 feet until said robin finally realizes that the use of their wings might be the only satisfactory way to end this standoff. They’re not very bright.

As for the bigger birds, the Canada geese are about as unafraid of humans as they are of cars. Basically, they just don’t care. They’re here to make little goslings with their mate for life and to poop every minute they’re awake. The ducks run the gamut. Mallards come up on land to mate, so if you approach a mallard on land they’re probably going to be pretty protective, but mostly they’re out on the ponds and lakes swimming around. If they’re two feet from the shore and you’re walking by, they’re smart enough to realize the stupid human probably isn’t going to dive into the water to grab them. Buffleheads (my second favorite ducks after wood ducks) stay out in the middle of the water and even out there they’re very skittish in terms of people. You can be 50-feet away from the pond and they can be 50 feet out in the water, and as you approach they’ll all start calmly swimming away from you. They don’t panic, but it’s more like “Everyone swim this way. Don’t look at the human. It will all be all right. Move along…”

So that’s my bird assessment. Maybe next week we’ll get into the herons. They’ve mostly all arrived for the summer.

And hey, Rob Flynn, Nelson Jones, and Jeff Arend can feel free to come get their geese. We really don’t need them.

And here’s more fun at the Wilber-Doyle Ranch. Yesterday, at a bit before 8:00 in the morning, the doorbell rang. I was just getting out of bed but in no real hurry to do so, and Buster was snuggling so well it was a tough decision on many counts. I figured it might just be the UPS guy letting me know he’d left a package on the porch, so I didn’t rush. Then the doorbell rang again, so I figured I ought to give it a shot and go answer it, despite the fact I hadn’t yet brushed my teeth or put on socks or shoes. As I approached the door I saw two guys from the landscape company our HOA contracts with, and my fuzzy brain processed enough information for me to remember that they were due to fire up and check out our irrigation sprinkler systems that day. I saw them walking away through the window, so grabbed the door knob to open the door and as I pulled it open the interior knob came off in my hand and flew down the hall.

Point No. 1: I was able to stop the guys from leaving and the system is now up and working.

Point No. 2: The two screws that hold the entire exterior handle, interior knob, and the mechanical stuff inside didn’t break, but the receptacles they were screwed into did. I now have a nonfunctioning front door, for the most part. You can put the interior knob back in its place, and it will work when you turn it, but you can’t pull on it because it’s not attached to anything. The whole interior and exterior assembly has to be replaced. I thought that would be easy.

I went to Home Depot and was surprised by how few options they had. In addition, I figured there must be some standardized sizing for these things, so I picked out one that was about the same size and look. As soon as I put it next to the exterior handle, I could see they were different and about an inch off. At that point, I was officially lost as to what to do. Fortunately, our deadbolt is separate from the knobs, so the door is secure but it’s just really hard to use.

I sent an email to the head of construction for the company that built our house and explained it to him. I was happily surprised to see that he had a great interest in figuring out what we need and getting me one. Those guys have access to way more stuff than we retail buyers do. After sharing photos and measurements, over the course of a few hours, we zeroed in on what we need. He ordered it yesterday. I call that some fine customer service from a company that built this house in 2012.

Well, son of a gun, the photo upload system is fine and now I’m out of time. I need to make my usual run to MSP to pick up one Barbara Doyle after her short week out in Spokane. See you tomorrow!

THURSDAY

Greetings from 37,000 feet (11,277 meters) as we pass directly over Louisville. That’s “Lou-a-vull” to a native or “Louie-ville” to just about everyone else. I just waved at the Hillerich & Bradley Louisville Slugger museum and bat plant.

What a travel escapade for my wife. She’s spent each of the last few weeks in Liberty Lake, and this trip had her flying out on Sunday night and back on Wednesday night. After I picked her up (I always park and go in to wait for her, because it’s no fun getting picked up on the curb surrounded by a hundred other cars and screaming police officers) we went straight to dinner and then home so she could unpack before the two of us packed for Orlando. We went to bed at 11:00 and set our alarms for 5:45 this morning. Out of the house at 7:00 to head back to MSP (my car knows the route all by itself) for the 9:00 flight. We’ll be in Orlando until Sunday evening when we fly back to MSP and guess what Barbara does early Monday morning… Yep, she’s flies right back out. To San Jose this time, I think. It’s hard to keep track.

Two weeks from today I’ll be getting on a big bird myself, but my flight will be a little longer than this one. Barbara has to be in London early in the week, so on Thursday the 31st I’ll fly nonstop from MSP to AMS to meet her there. AMS, you ask? Yep, we’re meeting in Amsterdam! I’ve been to the Netherlands before, but oddly enough I was only in Rotterdam and Leiden, so I’ve never been to Amsterdam. When Barb learned of her London business trip she asked me “Do you want to come over for a few days?” I said I sure would, so she let me pick where I wanted to go. The finalists were Stockholm, Zurich, Vienna, and Amsterdam. I thought about it for a day and selected Amsterdam. We’re only going to be there three short days, but there’s so much to see and do there I figured it was finally time to get there. But first, I still have to go spend three days in Orlando, and that’s going to be great.

We’re over Nashville now, and I need to wrap this up so that I can do something ultra-important. I need to take a nap. 5:45 came really fast this morning.

I’ll be following along like many of you, when it comes to this weekend’s race in Topeka. It would’ve been great to get back to the town where my drag racing career surprisingly started, but Del’s not racing and this trip beckoned. Sounds like they might be dodging some raindrops this weekend but it would hardly be Kansas without some thrilling weather. Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my!

I’ll see you next week, and as always if you liked this little blog installment please click on the “Like” button at the top.

Bob Wilber, at your service and heading south.