Stump Today, Gone Tomorrow

Invariably, it seems, we lose trees in the yard due to storms or disease. Last year we lost my plum trees due to disease. I was very sad about the loss--but dutifully removed the trees from the yard--except for the stumps.

The stumps were significant. Not something easily removed with hand tools.

We had tried the epsom salt idea by drilling holes and hopefully speeding the natural decay of the stump--but it wasn't fast enough.

Enter, the stump grinder.

An awesome 25hp machine designed to do one thing--replace the stun with a hole.

I have used the grinder before. I love using "heavy" equipment in my yard to make difficult projects disappear.

This experience was no different. In a very short time two significant stumps were removed and in their places were holes to be filled in with the wood and dirt removed. 








And what nice holes they are!

No more stumps!

Refill and plant grass for a nice obstruction free yard. I won't have to worry about the boys tripping over the stumps are they race through the yard anymore.

On to the next project. I think a chipper may be involved!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Here Come the Hostas

My hosta garden is up and growing.

I have to check every morning to determine if the deer have discovered my small garden of paradise. 

My hostas are growing and thriving in a shadowed part of the yard. Unfortunately, the deer also know of their existence. It is only a matter of time until my hosta garden becomes a dinner plate for the small herd of deer that occupy the wild area next to my house. 

Many other plants and flowers adorning my gardens will soon also, likely, become food for the wild animals. Last year spied a woodchuck which took a liking to my gardens and that is in addition to the rabbits which also feast upon my plants.

I spent a lot of money on plants that will become wild animal fodder.

But they look good for now.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Hockey--Baseball? A seasonal contradiction?

The hockey playoffs are in full swing and I am cheering widely for the Pittsburgh Penguins who are currently battling the New York Rangers on the road to the Stanley Cup. The games are close and every goal could be the winning one.

The baseball season is in full swing and the Baltimore Orioles are currently in Florida playing the Tampa Bay Rays. Yes in Florida. It is early in the season with just 31 games played of a 162 games season and so far the optimism I had in the team has seemed justified. They are in first place in the division and scrapping for every win.

I am watching sports of opposite seasons. The boys of winter (hockey) and the boys of summer (baseball) are playing strong. One season, hockey, is nearing its end and trying to crown the season's champion; while baseball is just getting into full swing in anticipation of the hot, sweaty days of summer. 

I was switching the channels back and forth last evening--from ice rink to grassy field and it dawned upon me how full of contradictions I am. I waited all winter for spring to come, yet now, when I should be relishing the warmer weather, which I am, I am still fascinated by a game played upon a cold and frozen surface.

Sports. It brings out the best of all seasons.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Dogs, Everywhere are Dogs

Sometimes it seems that animals just appear from nowhere. That is happening with my family lately.

Mike with Anna--formerly MJR Angie

Over the weekend, Nicole, my daughter, and her family adopted a rescue greyhound. Wow. What a shocker. What a great dog. I was able to watch her racing history--five short races, and from knowing her I understand why she was not a good racing greyhound. She raced as MJR Angie. She was just happy to be on the track running. I had to laugh as she raced--she is such a gentle spirit and it comes through in her racing. The story of how she adopted, yup I wrote she adopted, my daughter's family is great. I guess people were watching the dog with Nicole and the boys.

Last evening, I met another potential addition to the extended family--a three month old great dane puppy! What a cutie--they are test driving the pup--which could top out near 200 pounds! At only three months old, he already made a loud thud on the floor when he walled. I didn't get a picture of him--but he was a beautiful dog--not yet as large as the pony he will soon become.

I'm sure we will find out how the test drive went. He is a puppy!

More to follow, I am sure. And maybe even some pictures.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Cinco de Mayo 2014

The two of the biggest party days of May have passed. I survived!

Cinco de Mayo Celebration on the Counter

The first was Sunday--May 4th. The classic Star Wars holiday of May the 4th be with you!

The second, and more famous, holiday was Cinco de Mayo--which as everyone knows is my favorite foreign holiday. A good reason for a party and to celebrate the victory of the Mexicans over the French during 1861.

It is a good time to gather friends and enjoy Mexican food and drink. 

OK, maybe the drink. Where did I leave my margarita? Nowhere, I drank it!

It was great fun.  There are other celebrations during May. May 1st is an international holiday, May Day. Then there is Memorial Day coming near the end of the month. There are a two holidays associated with the end of WW2 in Europe: V-E Day on May 8th and Victory Day on May 9th.

Cinco de Mayo is over for another year--now it is on to Bastille Day!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - May 5, 2014

1. Happy Cinco de Mayo, my favorite foreign holiday.

2. You realize that it is too late to rescue your glasses, which fell off, when you hear the tires of the car crunch something.

3. The best part about being a boy is pushing the limits--and the consequences are that you usually get hurt.

4. Sunny days are nice.

Flowers waiting to be planted for the season ahead

5. Green leaves are the best.

6. The pool is still not open. It has been too cold anyway.

7. Maybe the weather is getting warmer. We planted a lot of flowers this weekend.

8. I enjoyed mowing the lawn again this weekend. I must be crazy.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Sunday, Sunday, Sun

And in an incredible turn of events--the sun is shining. It is the weekend, and even better, it is Sunday!

The color of the day is? Green!

After a fantastic Saturday, punctuated by a passing shower but mostly sun and temperatures which exceeded the expected high by four degrees and cresting at 72 degrees, today is expected to be even better! Yay.

Yesterday we moved a cubic yard of mulch into one of the gardens, aided by Jeremy, and cleaned debris out the other gardens while also getting the lawn mowed.

And the leaves are almost fully on the trees restoring the privacy to my yard that I love and enjoy.

The pool is still closed--but I believe that I will begin the opening process during the week. That involves reconnecting the plumbing and the motor for the pump. 

I can feel summer at the doorstep.

On tap for today? More of the same and maybe a passing sunburn!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Sun-day is Anyday

The phone rang on my desk at work yesterday, I knew who it was because my wife's cell number was prominently displayed above the keypad. 

She, I knew, was on her way to work and I wondered of there was a problem.

I would soon find out that there was, in fact, a crisis. A big crisis--a sun crisis.

She declared over the phone--"I have decided it is Sunday!" 

I replied, "great, but it is only Friday."

"No," she came back, "it's sun-day and I don't want to go to work. Do you want to play hooky?"

From the Square Grouper, Jupiter, Florida

I realized at this point, she meant that after a week of rain and gloom, the sun was shining and we needed to celebrate its return. Sadly, I was already at my appointed place of employment and while the idea of celebrating the sun and the blue skies sounded enticing, I probably could not get away from my closet-like office to celebrate the return of the sun and mild temperatures.

As I look out the window this morning, the gray, overcast skies have returned complete with scattered showers. I wish that I had declared a sun-day and taken yesterday off. I remember sitting along the banks of the river in Jupiter, Florida, last July enjoying the sun and warmth looking out towards the ocean. It was such a great time and a great scene.

I need a sun-day even if it isn't Sunday!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

The Doan Gang and the Death Penalty

The news from Oklahoma highlights some valid concerns about the execution policy of the United States. A botched execution and the difficulty in procuring the correct drugs to kill a person while inflicting no pain should cause us to revaluate the necessity for executions in the U.S.

But, as I was reading the comprehensive history of executions in the U.S. since 1608, I looked for, and found, the names of two of my relatives executed for guerrilla warfare in Pennsylvania. Hanged during 1788 in Pennsylvania; family history records that Benjamin Franklin himself signed the order for the execution of Levi and Abraham Doan. The document I found did not specifically state that Franklin signed the order, but suggested that he was the President of the court during the period. He had pardoned another of my relatives during 1787 after his 1784 conviction. Legend also has it that an order was signed in Bucks County, PA to shoot any Doan on sight as they were a gang of outlaws.

Interestingly, Levi and Abraham were the only two men to be executed during the Revolutionary period without a trial as reported in Embattled Bench. That, of course, raises a whole new set of questions about due process but as the Constitution did not go into effect until 1789, the protections that it and the Bill of Rights provide were not yet fully implemented.

As reported by the Death Penalty Information Center, since 1608, 15,732 men and women have been executed in the United States.  That seems like a lot of people to me. The state with the least number of executions in Wisconsin with 1 and the state with the most is surprisingly Virginia with 1,277.

Considering that the US and its predecessor states have been executing people since 1608, one would think that as a society we would have the process down and not be subject to the kind of failures reported in the lead story about the Oklahoma botched execution. 


Maybe we should reevaluate the need to execute people, especially if we can't get it right. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

And the Rains Came Down

Lonely Tulip in my Garden

It rained yesterday. All day. I know the old saying about April showers bringing May flowers, but yesterday's rain was excessive.

The streams turned into rivers. My yard became waterlogged. 

Someone said that trillions of gallons of water was falling from the sky across the eastern part of the country. I guess we won't have a water shortage this summer.

The Orioles game was rained out for the second night in a row and there will be a doubleheader today. But it is supposed to rain again this evening! Ugh!

I had a dental cleaning yesterday and I could hear the rain hitting the building and the windows over the sounds of the dental equipment being used to polish my teeth.

The roads were covered with water and to make matters worse, a road collapsed in a Baltimore neighborhood that swallowed up  a few cars. 

And still the rains came down.

At one point I asked someone where I had left my ark, and they responded did I mean parked my ark? I said, no, berthed or tied up my ark. 

By the way, what's a cubit? It is equivalent to the length of the forearm from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. 

I have no idea what I am going to face on my morning commute--there are certainly roads and bridges washed out or unsafe. I probable should watch the news for a recap.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD