homepage Forums Air Combat & Civil Aviation Battle of Britain + Battle of Britain II Here's what happened (Continued)

Folks,

Despite the threats from the two hurricanes, the weather here is nearly perfect. Last night, the low temps and humidity made for a good night's sleep. Even with the window open again. This morning the sun has warmed our part of the Earth to a pleasant 69°F.with 67% humidity. A quick glance at our weather map indicates another gorgeous day tomorrow. With Irma approaching, clouds will blot the sun beginning on Monday. Tuesday shows stormy weather but on Wednesday there is a lovely sun icon. I hope there will be plenty of sunshine for those in the wake of Irma and Jose. And that there will be a speedy return to normal for all people who were threatened by them.

I said I slept well last night. That was partly due to the fine weather and because there was not a single growl, howl, woof or bark heard from outside that I heard. If someone shot that noisy dog or whatever caused his agitated late night response Thursday night, I never heard the gun go off. No, I wouldn't shoot a defenseless dog no matter how obnoxious he or she might be.Certainly not. There are however a few two-legged and very obnoxious creatures that I...... Well, you know.

My grandson returned from the beaver pond with an old milk bottle yesterday. He knows I like old things, you see. He cleaned that bottle so well I believe it could be drunk out of. No, he did not catch the bottle. Bottles I've noticed tend to ignore both live and artificial lures. The water is quite low right now and he dug it out at risk of the loss of a good boot in the victorious mud. The bottle was presented to me with some ceremony by the grandkids this morning. I showed my great pleasure for being so remembered by giving them each a mint. No, not a place where they make money, LeRoy, a little piece of candy that cleanses the palette, cools the mouth and tantalizes the tongue. My favorite brand is Altoids. They claim to be "curiously strong mints". The kids love them too.

It has been a long time since I saw a glass milk bottle. Some will remember when fresh, creamy milk arrived at your door every morning courtesy of the milkman. Most may not. Most have never seen milk in a steaming bucket straight from the contented cow or not from a dairy case in a waxed paper carton. I think the former tasted better. There was more cream in it for one thing. At least you could see the cream because it had not been homogenized it floated at the top of the bottle. Milk is homogenized by pumping it through a restricted orifice at high pressure, which fragments the fat globules and reduces the fat globule size to avoid separation or forming a cream layer at the top of the bottle or carton of fluid milk. Milk today is safer because of Pasteurization of course but that too seems to change the taste. We have gained and lost due to scientific progress. Milk from the dangly bits of the cow may not be as safe but it 'do' and I 'does' mean it 'do' taste fantastic.

You may be asking yourself "What good is an old glass milk bottle?". What good is a picture of your dead Uncle? For me at least, it brings back the memory of a time long past and that is pleasing to me. I'm thinking we might well put a sailing ship in it. A ship in a bottle. A bottle not made of plastic and without seams in it where it was put together like you find in souvenir shops at the beach. I know how, so why not?