Tridges

The latest thing to grab my fancy is three-way bridges. In a lot of places, these are called a tridge. I don’t know how I learned about them, but now I want to visit as many as I can.
There are a couple of pedestrian tridges very near to me. The first one is in Depot Town, the old city center of Ypsilanti, MI. Depot Town is a trendy, historical district. I once took an architectural tour of this area for an arts class; it was amazing. This bridge leads from both banks of the Huron River to Frog Island, where lots events are held during Depot Town festivals. The bird’s-eye view is thanks to the driving bridge that crosses the river just overhead.

The second picture is in Brighton, MI, which has experienced a tremendous population explosion over the last decade. It’s an upscale destination town, so there are lots of pedestrian areas. This tridge crosses a pond, right in the center of downtown, so it sees a lot of traffic.
I have another tridge to visist soon, in Midland, MI. The one I’m really looking forward to, though, is in Zanesville, OH. It’s a driving tridge!

Cincinnati

I’ve been a terrible slacker with updates, I know. I don’t know what I do with my time, but it sure disappears quickly!
Last weekend, I taught my landlord class in Cincinnati again. Since I’ve tried to slow down on the number of schools where it’s offered, UC is the only non-local one that’s still a regular, every semester. It’s also the only 4-year institution where it’s offered, so the school is kind of special to me.
I really love Cinci! Since my hometown had a population of about a thousand, a city the size of Cinci seems so electric! Besides that, the city’s German roots are still evident, it’s very hilly so the city seems on display for you, and the Ohio River running through the center is intriguing. Here's a shot of one of the many river crossings, the Roebling Bridge; it was designed by the same man who designed the Brooklyn Bridge.
The people are really friendly here, too. After class, one of the attendees took me to a food truck festival. That's my idea of heaven!
I admit, though, I don’t care for Cincinnati-style chili . . . How about you?

Weekend Ride

I like to ride around. Seriously, this is almost a hobby for me and I've been doing it since my sister (who turned 50 this year) first got her drivers license. I just get a kick out of heading out to see whatever is in my path.
Here are a few pics of what I found over the weekend.

Frolicking In The River

Sometimes, the experience is worth sitting in the pouring rain . . .

Excavation

I've had some major work taking place at the house. The other day, I came home from work to find this monster in my yard. I'm having the broken drainage pipe that runs from the house to the ditch (did you know that was legal??) replaced.
For the last few years, the crawl space has been flooding. It has been a total pain to pump it out, particularly when the power goes out.
Hopefully, though, that is behind me. It sure was a big job, just for one little pipe . . .

Yogurt

I have a new project. I'm working my way through a 7-step Beginners' Cheesemaking Class. This is an actual course with a syllabus. It was created by a chemistry professor from the University of Cincinnati (where I teach my landlord class!). After designing the course, Dr. Frankhauser posted it online! (Don't ya just love the internet?)
I'm taking advantage of his generosity and beginning the course this weekend. Each step is designed to teach you the skills you'll need for the next step and it starts with yogurt.
If I make a mess, I'll post the pictures. If you'd like to try this yourself, you can find Dr. Frankhauser's course at: http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/cheese/cheese_course/cheese_course.htm.

More Cats?

Early this summer, a kitten showed up at my house, with no mother to be seen. She was about 6 – 7 weeks old, too young to take care of herself. So, my housemate and I started scrambling an egg for her every morning; there’s no telling what else my roommate was giving her, but the cat really trusts her now.
If you’ve followed this blog for any length of time, you know that I’ve already done the feral/stray cat thing in my yard. I’ve spent lots of time and money feeding and fixing animals, taming and finding homes for any litters and agonizing over their illnesses and disappearances. The reason I have 6 cats in the house is because I don’t want to deal with a herd of them outside anymore. But, what can you do when a little one shows up?
So, my housemate named the kitty Frisky and she’s nearly an adult, now. She’s really only tame to one person, though, and I haven’t decided what to do with her when winter comes. I have an elderly cat inside that’s dying right now, and it seems unfair to make her adjust to a newcomer at this point in her life. Sigh . . .
But, wait – there’s more! Look what showed up two weeks ago. And just for good measure, fate made sure that I was unable to turn a blind eye by having them wander in at an even younger age than Frisky; they were about a month old. Now, at near 6 weeks, I can tell that there’s one male and one female. On top of that, the neighbor just spotted another coyote in the woods behind our houses, so I can't leave them outside.

Guess who's getting scrambled eggs now? Yep, they’re living on my porch and will probably become inside cats . . . As much as I don't want more cats and hate to see more strays born, it's such a joy to be around them at this age.
Got any suggestions for names for pure black cats of either gender?