first batch!

When celiac disease wrecked my ale-brewing hobby in early 2005, I wasn't sure what to drink, much less what drink to invent. I actually went from the doctor visit that confirmed my diagnosis directly to the brew-shop, where I bottled an ale I wouldn't get to drink. That sucked!

I figured I'd become a wine snob. I liked a few German whites like Müller-Thurgau and Gewürztraminer - but pretending to swish and sniff didn't create a nasal impression that I could casually toss to a crowd. Also, I got wine headaches pretty readily, and don't ask how my wine-tasting night ended in 2008. So wine never took.

Recently I discovered cider. Yummy and versatile, generally with an apple base and lots of room for other fruity improv in the mix. My limit seems to be around 1½ glasses so I'm just an alcohol wimp (well 1½ whiskeys I might manage.. no skip that). In general the process is similar to beer making: get a 5 gallon container, make a large mess around it, then walk away for a week or two before siphoning, then come back later for bottling. Hey I can do this!

Nearly every sibling had a stash of beer gear that they weren't putting to full use, so my brother Larry gifted me a couple of carboys and other items as an early birthday event. His son had created a fine pear-apple mashup (literally!) from the back yard, and the fruit waits for no man - of any gender. So today it was time!

Larry rented us a fine cider-maker, with a power shredder to pulverise the fruit and a screw-down tamper to squeeze the remnants and release the juicy goodness. An hour or more of that, plus a similar time gathering the ingredients, and we had two 5g buckets of must! "Must" in that sentence being a technical term, and "5g" in my case being about three gallons - my wife wouldn't be aiding in the consumption, so I needed to exercise restraint. Yay, I exercised today!

So on to the next steps. I dropped in some sulfites this evening to purge any mutant yeasts hiding in Larry's back yard, and in a few days it's yeast-awakening time. Then after a couple of weeks watching it burp through the air-lock we'll see about bottles. Gosh I used to have so many fifteen years ago; where does the time go? And escpecially, the bottles?

This being the first batch of cider, I had no feel for the process and accepted that pear and apple would be the two fruits in play. Once we see how this develops perhaps more improvisation will come to mind.

And speaking of improv: it needs a name (Mu'ad-dib? nah)! I was really good at that in the past with my ales (e.g. 'Limping' Bitter in 2000 when my L5|S1 disc ruptured), but when dating an elf and Second Foundationer most of my names became of Middle Earth. So whither then? I cannot say.

Praps mirúvor? Hm that's more likely mead than cider, so that should be saved for another adventure. 

Hm, hom. More contemplation needed. Thank goodness this stuff takes its time becoming itself!

kit Twists & Turns

 Stop me if you've heard this one before.. No wait: this is a new one! I'm certain of that!

I've gone rogue and purchased a Fujifilm X camera. Not entirely rogue, (that would be too big an ask) but an A-series body with Bayer color array not x-trans - and not with a "retro" pile of dials on the top plate. I do get the film simulations, but just one of the three Fuji marketing plays still resulted in putting a Fuji in my bag.

Update (what already?!?) I found another deal on an xT100 and swapped for that. Adjusted raves follow..

So what brought this about? A few things.

• Cost: an x-T100 for about $280 is a nice deal, and the curious new 15-45mm kit lens (that's 22-68mm/e) was available for $120 more. The Lumix S5 with its 20-60mm lens just lost its death grip on my imagination and its $2k hold on my mythical wallet!
• Features: a small body holding an aps.C 24Mpx sensor with 4k focus-stacking and image-extraction? 430-shot battery life and in-cam charging? Tip-not-flip touchscreen? One-touch square format? My kind of stuff, I confess.. and it reduces the incentive to add a 4k Lumix 𝛍43 or S-type body (hey I like Lumix stuff! A lot! But ..see the preceding point: $400 will not get me a 4k Lumix plus a lens like the 15-45mm).
• Perceived health: unlike 𝛍43 and Pentax, the X system is young and energetic, and owners don't live in fear of its imminent demise. Such fears do not haunt me, but lens developers pay attention to such trends! Being mirrorless and popular means small lens makers like TTArtisan are making X mount lenses - plus adapters for PK lenses like my 70-150mm f/4 Rikenon are available. 

So I'll be trying something truly new to me. We'll see how that goes.

I read about the x-/A5/T100 downsides in several places: a bit sluggish, no VF nor ibIS nor wx seals. Just excellent images in a package made with many features I truly use and don't merely covet. And a chance to learn how useful 4k still images might be!

Sounds about right.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

First xA5 tests went decently well. AF speed is similar to my other cameras so no big deal,Just one little problem: the viewfinder. Or lack thereof.

It was a bright and storm-free day The camera and 15-45mm zoom seemed to be taking decent photos - BUT pictures were nearly impossible to frame or review. The reflection of my dark-grey patterned shirt was overpowering the screen, and brightness adjustments weren't the answer. 

Guess I need to.. er, what exactly? 
Get an xT100 (x∙TC in Roman), apparently. The same camera with a viewfinder - not quite true, but most reviewers figured that generalization was close enough.

The next issue was entirely Fuji-induced: I ordered a grip for the x-T100, which they confirmed in my order. They then sent me the shipping announcement for my grip - for the X100F camera. Note the missing 'T' and the bonus "F". Yes they made X100 X100S X100T X100F X100V and XT100 models. I'm going rogue/Roman and it shall be called an x-TC. And I might be getting a grip soon.. or praps not.

storm number one

 The first storm of the new season arrives in two days, and it will impress.

The latest numbers are lower than previous forecasts, yet still massive in many places. The weekend total was closer to three inches at Kelso, now 1.24" is shown. Friday night's official forecast is for 1-2 inches on the hill-top, so this evening was spent scraping off the rooftop moss from last year's fine crop. I'll blow out the gutters tomorrow since they captured most of it.

I also swept the woodstove chimney. It shouldn't be needed as this moist storm will keep temperatures in the mid-fifties Friday night when the greatest moisture dumps upon us. Thunderstorms are reasonable on Saturday.

This deep moisture means it's time to get the grass seed in place soon. No time to get it in place before the storm, and one this powerful would just was the seed into puddles - so gentler storms or strategic sprinklering is planned for next week. 

update/reality: at 10pm Friday we had 0.02" of light rain. An hour later we had 1/3", and nine hours later we had 1¼". Now for the thunder and random heavy showers, which are expected through Sunday.