Apopheniac

The Rain is Mainly on the Plains

Much needed soaking rain in Lubbock today.

First new tree

While we were picking up peat moss for the rose bed we are digging, we came across the kwanzan cherry tree Jean has been looking for and voila, a couple of hours later it is part of the yard.

Sweet

It wouldn't be fitting to let the day set aside for the proclamation of love to go by without using this space to proclaim mine

Cold Feet

Awoke this morning to a beautiful layer of pristine white stuff covering the drought-parched soil. After appreciating the beauty I was faced with a dilemma. I had to go put the netflix dvds I was returning in the mailbox so they would be picked up on the "through rain and snow and dark of night" appointed rounds. The mailbox is clear across a wide street covered with pristine white stuff and I am wearing fluffy shoes (see below). Do I a). just walk out and ruin my fluffy shoes . . . b). spend time and effort to locate shoes designed for snow, lace them on and venture out only to take them off moments later . . . or c). do I gut it up, take off my fluffy shoes and walk barefoot to the mailbox only to moments later dry my feet and slip them back into warm fluffiness. The answer seemed clear.

A little later Matt came over to share a cup of coffee and the first thing he said on arriving was, "There are bare footprints in your snow!"

Brrrrrr!

The temperature has been hovering around 20 since about 6 am yesterday morning. This recently transplanted Californian and returned Texan has got on his micro-fleece and fuzzy shoes.

We had a great movie night at Matt and Carol's last night watching "Holes".

Snow on the plains

Dawn revealed a dusting of snow on the llano estacado this morning and a wind chill of six degrees . . . even the tumbleweeds are trying to stay out of the wind.

Tumbleweeds in the Alley

I had forgotten about west Texas and tumbleweeds. The wind is virtually constant and the plants are everywhere so when you aren't seeing one lumbering by like some dried out, organic jogger, then they are seen like these, biding their time waiting for the next gust.

Matt brought his tractor over yesterday and plowed the back yard. It had been in pretty sad shape but now it is freshly dug and ready for the flowerbeds and grass seed.

Winston Churchill

I have been listening to the audio-book of William Manchester's biography of Winston Churchill. I read of the time during the thirties when Winston was out of the seat of power, just a back bench member of Parliament who even so was one of the few people who saw Hitler for what he was and saw what would be necessary to stop him. Winston faced ridicule and derision and fought those in power in the British government for 10 years to keep England and Europe prepared for the coming Nazi onslaught. I strongly recommend this excellent telling of the story of the greatest Englishman of the twentieth century. It is a fascinating history and casts a telling light on todays world.

Fog lashes Lubbock

Well indeed it was a foggy day here on the llano estacado. I awoke this morning to fog thick enough that I couldn't see over a block. It threatened to thicken to a mist but never fully congealed.

Once it cleared to just a gray afternoon, Jean and I did our daily exploration. We found a nice metaphysical bookstore called The Odyssey. Then we made our first Lubbock coffee bean purchase at Day Break Coffee Roasters. We tried a half-pound of Guatamala Antigua.

I have been displeased to note in the past few days some spammer is using my email address as the return address on their effluvia. I have been getting the telltale collection of bounced messages. If Dante had foreseen spammers he would have added another ring to hell.

Happy Birthday Carol and Pam

Sister-in-law Carol and friend Pam celebrated birthdays today at a party that also just happened to have the Superbowl playing in the background. The food and comraderie were plentiful and top drawer.

Kirk and Matt have been working on Matt's website and they spent much of today and the last 3 days buried in productive coding.