Ed Nisley's Blog: Shop notes, electronics, firmware, machinery, 3D printing, laser cuttery, and curiosities. Contents: 100% human thinking, 0% AI slop.
This is just after noon, when deer should be snoozing, north of Paula’s Public House, with the deer on the creek side of the road. I’m towing the trailer with an empty propane tank, coasting down from 18 mph, and expecting the deer to jump in front of me, because that’s what deer do. It waited patiently until I passed, hopped the guide rail, trotted across the road, then clambered up the steep hillside away from the Mighty Wappinger Creek.
Searching for deer will reveal many more encounters.
A pair of Barred Owls set up housekeeping nearby and we’ve watched them swoop down on rodents in the yard. We hope they succeed in raising their owlets!
The dark spot in the grass, barely visible over on the left, is a dinner-plate-size snapping turtle recently teleported from the middle of Rt 376 just north of Robinson Lane:
The driver of the white van managed to stop both lanes during the rescue and, judging from the lack of gore, handled the snapper without incurring organic damage.
This little critter was chugging across the Dutchess Rail Trail near the ponds north of Page Industrial Park, so I stopped to lend a hand:
Tiny Turtle Dorsal – Rail Trail – 2018-05-23
The plastron looked like a brightly colored jewel:
Tiny Turtle Ventral – Rail Trail – 2018-05-23
Perhaps plastrons start out with all the pigment they’ll ever have, then fade from bright orange to yellow-brown as they spread out.
If you’re not paying attention, you’d think “pebble” or “dog turd”. Neither of which you should ride over, of course, but … teleporting a tiny turtle to the drainage ditch on the far side seemed to increase the world’s net happiness.
The pix are tight crops from the AS30V’s 170° FOV images, which means they’re way grittier than you’d expect from a “full HD” image.
As always, we knew this wouldn’t end well for the small lump just in front of the car’s rear wheel (clicky for more, albeit fuzzy, dots):
Turtle 0134 – Vassar Rd – 2018-05-20
So I stopped to lend a hand:
Turtle 1280 – Vassar Rd – 2018-05-20
A fumbling hand, as it turned out, on the turtle’s slippery shell:
Turtle 1364 – Vassar Rd – 2018-05-20
A belly-up turtle in the middle of the road knows the solution to the Halting Problem.
I hoped a secluded spot under a pine tree was closer to its destination:
Turtle 1724 – Vassar Rd – 2018-05-20
However, if the turtle is a female in search of an egg-laying site, then she and all her progeny must cross Vassar Road in the other direction to reach the Mighty Wappinger Creek.
This cheerful assortment came from a friend with an assortment of happy chickens:
Multicolored chicken eggs
The lonely Medium white egg, obviously strictly from commercial, serves as a size and color reference. Most of the others weighed in the Large to Extra-Large range.
Even though none of the chickens had the digital upgrade, the morning omelet tasted just fine!
That’s what all dog owners say when their dog lunges at you:
Dog Lunge – DCRT 2017-05-13
We sounded our usual bike bell dings while approaching and moved as far to the left as we could. The group compressed to the right, which was unusually courteous, we said nothing, and they said nothing while their dog barked and lunged at both of us.
Perhaps we are easily startled, but we do not regard lunging and barking as friendly or sociable gestures. Even as pedestrians, we do not want our crotches explored, our hands licked, or our chests pawed.
AFAICT the only reason Mary didn’t get knocked over and gnawed was a good grip on a thin leash. Maybe the dog would just lick her to death, but it’s still unwanted aggression.
From what I’ve read, dog shoulders operate as front-to-back rotating pivots, rather than all-direction ball joints. Disabling an attacking dog thus requires grabbing its front legs and spreading them as far apart as possible, which is feasible because human arms are much stronger laterally than dog legs. While the process brings one’s head entirely too close to the dog’s jaws, it apparently breaks most of the dog’s ribs, collapses its lungs, and instantly puts it out of action.
I devoutly hope I need never test that maneuver under field conditions, as I can see serious repercussions. If it’s in Mary’s face, however, I will not err on the side of generosity.
Protip: if your dog isn’t well-trained enough to completely ignore strangers, don’t bring it near strangers who may not be dog people.
