Ryan and I made it over the mountain this afternoon to the Huntington to see what we could see, and what we saw was still lots of snow.

These two shots were right around the summit, and there is a good amount of glace up there. As we passed, the temperature was right around 29 degrees f at 4:30 pm. Spring has not sprung up on the mountain, folks.











I'm afraid there's not much melting going on around Endowment Run either, a favorite little stream of ours not much more than six hundred feet below the Skyline, on the east face.

We got some good casting in down toward the end of Huntington Canyon, near the Co-op Mine. Alas, we had nary a bite. It was a fun trip and good to feel the current again.

By the time this shot was taken,







it was getting dark, the air temp was around 24 degrees, and the rod guides were icing up so as to prevent casting much past a foot in front of the tip.

It will be nice to have spring.

My first class went short today because of dentist appointments and an extracurricular activity, so I dashed up to Snow College to get some videos for my classes and a smackerel to eat. It's really odd how much I enjoy sitting next to a window, enjoying the morning sun as much or more than the french toast I'm eating.

Sometimes I wonder why we have chosen to live in the country, with some lack of culture and in many ways a general lack of interest in that which has brought humanity to where we are now. I enjoy architecture, I love music and performance, and I enjoy discussion of philosophy and the ideal.

On the other hand, I love open space and the smell of hay or wheat fields in the spring. I love the smell of a field as it is plowed, and the sight of a flock of geese coming in to light on an irrigation pond.

I enjoy being able to get to the hills in five minutes and seeing no one at all while there.

I am not cut out for the competition of the city, or the almost omnipresent rat race in some aspects of city-life.

Contrasts mean a lot. They provide texture and counterpoint to my life, and though it is difficult at times to keep looking for the beauty that's everywhere, especially when pressured by the mundane to stick to the nosey grindstone, it is worth it to stay.

And when I get the chance to sit in the sun and eat breakfast while listening to some music, it makes up for a few of the annoyances of not really belonging in either place.

Whewhoo! The watermongers have numerical backup for what the oldtimers have been saying for a month or so, we are having as good a snowpack in the mountains around the state as we've had for at least six years.

Of course it will take a few years of normal to more than normal snowpack to raise the groundwater and the like, but it should be easier to keep this year's darned garden from rattling prematurely in the dry desert wind.

A farmer in the still less-than-normal-snowpacked north of the state, Charles Holmgren, had an interesting perspective on all of the charts, data and analysis available on the web, "I think I'm better off living in ignorance than having all this technology available to me." While it's nice to know exactly what's going on sometimes, too much grist for the worry-mill can drive one batty. All this electronic numerology still can't coax water from the sky for an anxious farmer.

Dedicated to Vietnam Veterans: Wintersoldier.com. Check it out, begin your own investigation.

Ryan David pointed out a surprise referral from a good person over at Slings and Arrows. They seem to be working hard on some political goals in California.

It's nice to be noticed.

Tuesday. I am looking into the maw of my Longest Day; Girl's Home, regular school, after-school day reporting program, Adult Education and then back home at around 8:30 pm. For an introspective type like myself, my Tuesday schedule can send one into spastic fits in a dark corner. Luckily, the people I work with are a fine bunch, and the students are, as a general rule, good human beings. I make it through each Tuesday, and each new week brings another to stare down. Grrr.

My poor ThinkPad is still enjoying the spring weather in Memphis. The IBM people called me late last week to inform me that the repair wasn't under warranty and would cost $925. Yeah, that’s pert close to a grand. My first reaction was somewhat dramatic, to the tune of "um, well, uh, THAT"S NOT ACCEPTABLE." and I trailed off into some fumble ramble about being an educator and a charity case and it really shouldn't have broken fer crying out loud, blah and blah. I have been working my way around the customer service infrastructure trying to get satisfaction (or at least an understanding bloke who will cut me some slack) so I can get back to my mobile ways and back into sync between work and home. I do get used to my technology terribly fast, I'm afraid. Wahmbulance? Yeah.

Besides, I'd like to see if the return package smells like dogwood blossoms.

Jet exhaust would be ok if I could just get it back, though!

My wintered-over gypsy heart is withering under a load of freeze-thawed mud. I have been perusing the MLS sites for a few places, fantasizing over houses that would fit our family a bit better. What will come of it? Probably nothing at this point, we've not much money for home improvements to make our dear little house better for our situation.

Fer crying out loud, I really should get my Master's over with, besides. That would preclude getting anything better around here, right now.

Real estate here is at best, stagnant and at the worst, stagnant. Nothing is selling, 'cept for cute little restored weekend homes and dilapidtated bargains that are 'just so neat.' So what shall I do? Investigate and do something, anything, for grief's sake.



Woot! This one's only $785,000 and located in Park City. Hmmmm.... Yeah. I have a reality problem.