Wine Weekend

Blue Valley Vineyards
Deleplane, VA
August 25, 2019

Chris and I along with friends spent the weekend visiting wineries in Virginia, mostly in the Charlottesville area. It was a weekend that had been rescheduled twice, but it wound up being totally worth the effort to get together. 

Valley Road Vineyards
Afton, VA
August 24, 2019

Wine tasting is hard work! Truly. Sipping, tasting, and evaluating wines takes concentration and a clean palate. It is easy to get the wines confused and by the end of the day, all of the wines begin to taste the same if I am not careful to limit the amount of wine that I actually consume. 

We had the opportunity to talk to the owners of two of the wineries we visited. Owners have a passion for grapes and wine. They are the moving force behind their wines and one of the owners was also the winemaker and was engaging and provided some valuable insights on winemaking. I laughed at one piece of advice he offered. He said he often has retired people ask him about starting a winery and he tells them not too. It is a lot of work.

I remember that a wise man once told me that opening a winery is a good way to change a large fortune into a small one.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Sunset after the Rain

Sunset over the Mountains
Earlysville, VA
August 23, 2019

It rained most of yesterday as Chris and I traveled to Charlottesville with friends. The rain significantly slowed the travel from our home. Despite the rain, however, we had a great time together and visited two new wineries.

As the day came to a close, we were treated to a beautiful sunset over the mountains. It was a great way to end the day. With friends and some very nice wines.

Today promises to be another good day. The weather will be better and there are new wineries to visit.

— Bob Doan, writing from Earlysville, Virginia

Rains again

The Pool before the Storm
Elkridge, MD
August 22, 2019 

The storms arrived again last evening just as we were concluding dinner outside around the pool. 

It seems as if the storms are arriving more regularly during the evenings now. The pool is maintaining itself very well, although I am worried about the weekend. 

We hosted Patrick, Tina, Cory, and Julianne for dinner to discuss the upcoming rehearsal dinner which is planned for the first week of September. It was good to get everyone together.

It was a great evening, even during the storm.  We sat inside with the lights off and just enjoyed the light show outside. And I was happy that the rain replenished the water in the pool which has been evaporating at a great rate this summer.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Sunset through the Screen

Sunset
Elkridge, MD
August 21, 2019

It was another baseball practice evening for the GORC team, but the practice was cut short after an hour by the onset of a ferocious storm. 

With the end of practice I drove 15 miles arriving at home where the rain and storm had not arrived. Due to the relative calm, Chris and I were able to sit outside on the porch and enjoy dinner as the sunset arrived. Sitting on the porch, looking out across the yard at the colors of the sunset reflecting on the clouds created a beautiful scene to end the day. From a torrential downpour complete with lightening and thunder to a beautiful sunset in less than an hour. It is amazing how the weather can be so different within a short drive. 

The evening at home was quiet and beautiful. Chris and I sat on the porch until after dark making plans and dreaming of things yet to come. 

And the storm never arrived.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Storm Damage

Tree Limb on Pool House
Elkridge, MD
August 18, 2019

I wrote briefly about Sunday's storm with the microburst right over the house in Monday Musings. I wanted to do a follow-up. 

The storm was brutal in the neighborhood. A large tree went down crashing through a neighbor's fence on Duckett's Lane. That was the biggest damage, but we are still evaluating the mess associated with our pool house roof and trying to decide how to get rid of the huge limb caught in the trees. 

After the Storm in the Pool
August 18, 2019

The storm gave me the opportunity to get Radio Flyer up in the air to survey the damage. The mess really looked different form the air, but the limb in the trees with branches extending onto the pool house was definitely visible. The mess that the storm left in the pool was likewise obvious. 

Chris and I are still collecting branches and sticks from the yard. They are hard to see in the picture of the limb on the pool house--but they are everywhere. The dead ash trees were dropping limbs everywhere. Jeremy and Lucas were here during the storm and they were a great help restoring the pool to swimmable condition and doing some of the work collecting sticks and broken branches from everywhere. 

The storm was one of the worst that has blown through here. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Baseball is Back!

GORC U12 Cooperstown Team
GORC Field 8
August 19, 2019

Despite the obvious fact that football season is upon us and that the Orioles have tanked after showing signs of life during 
July, baseball has returned!

Last evening was the first practice for the GORC 12U Cooperstown Wildcats! The coaching staff was there, most of the boys were ready to play and the 95 degree temperatures on the field reminded us that this is not Spring baseball--it is Fall Ball! The field was in great shape, especially considering the torrential downpour that happened on Sunday afternoon. It was good to be back out in the dust of the diamond!

The road ahead of the team is long--it does not end until July when the team heads off to the mecca of baseball, Cooperstown, NY,  to play a week long tournament. 

As they say, one practice or game at a time, but off we go.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - August 19, 2019

1. August is in its last half ad Labor Day is almost here. I am thinking of closing the pool.

Tree Limb Against Pool house
Elkridge, MD
August 18, 2019

2. We had a ferocious storm yesterday afternoon. There are lots of trees down in the neighborhood and a big brach fell onto my pool house. You can see the fallen branch on my pool house. I am going to have a quite a mess cleaning that up. The branch is tangled in another tree. Ugh. Sounds like more chainsaw work! The storm was ferocious--it was a microburst.

T-104 Timer
Before Replacement
August 17, 2019

3. I realized why Maryland drivers do not use turn signals--they know where they are going.

4. The timer for my pool broke last week--I had just installed it at the beginning of the season. Thankfully, Amazon had a new one in my hands ready for installation yesterday, just before the storm descended.

5. I can feel the end of the pool season coming, sadly. Later this week we are supposed to get some nights in the 60's--which really takes the heat out of the pool. Pool closing day is scheduled for September 8th. I am closing it early this year because we have not been swimming much during September and I have just been adding chemicals to keep it swim ready for the copious quantities of leaves that fall from the nearby trees.

6. I keep mowing my lawn, and it keeps growing. It seems like a vicious circle. 

7. Today in History. On August 19, 1909, the first race is held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, now the home of the world’s most famous motor racing competition, the Indianapolis 500. Built on 328 acres of farmland five miles northwest of Indianapolis, Indiana, the speedway was started by local businessmen as a testing facility for Indiana’s growing automobile industry. The idea was that occasional races at the track would pit cars from different manufacturers against each other. After seeing what these cars could do, spectators would presumably head down to the showroom of their choice to get a closer look.


Headlines


One Minute It Was an Afghan Wedding. The Next, a Funeral for 63. - The New York Times

When Cities Try to Limit Guns, State Laws Bar the Way - The New York Times

U.S. President Trump does not want to do business with China's Huawei - Reuters

Asia stocks rise as stimulus, policy hopes calm nervous investors - Reuters

Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week

Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Lunch on the River

Sailboat on the Magothy
August 17, 2019

Despite the temperature being 90 degrees yesterday, Chris and I joined with friends for a lunch meant at a restaurant on the Magothy River. 

The scene was beautiful, as it always is. Eating while looking out at the river and the boats docked. 

There is always something pleasant about being near the water to enjoy a drink or have a meal. Being there with friends makes the time even better. Although the day was hot, it was bearable under the fans--we were not inside in air conditioning, but were under cover with fans enjoying the late-August heat as the seasons begin the transition into autumn, which is approaching all too quickly. 

A great meal, good conversation, and fun times with friends. How better to spend a hot August afternoon?

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Finn vs Dolphin

Small dogs can be very territorial. The other evening as Chris and I were sitting around the pool enjoying Happy Hour and chatting about the happenings of the day, Finnegan began barking incessantly at the automated pool cleaner as it started cleaning the stairs. 

Our pool cleaner is a Dolphin pool cleaner, hence we call it the dolphin. So it was funny to watch Finnegan bark at the pool cleaner which, undeterred, went about its business. 

This, however, went on for far too long!

So in the cage match between Finn and the Dolphin, the Dolphin was the victor. We had to put Finn inside.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Sixteen in a Row - and Counting

Thankfully, the Orioles do not face the Yankees again during this season. The Yankees are probably unhappy about that since they have owned the Orioles since the first series of the season that the Orioles won 2-1. 

Since then it has been all Yankees--sixteen straight wins. The season series between the teams ended 17-2. The Orioles only wins being during the first series of the season. 

The Yankees set a new all-time season record for homers against one team. The old record was 48 held by the 1956 Yankees against the Kansas City Royals. The new record is 61 held by the 2019 New York Yankees against the Baltimore Orioles. Ugh.

But at least the Orioles have no more games against the Yankees during 2019. Unfortunately, the 2020 Orioles season opener is against Yankees on March 26th in Baltimore! Hopefully they will not make it 17 in a row.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD