Beautiful Tuesday Morning

It's a beautiful spring morning in South Dakota, but over our heads hangs the threat of a winter storm that could dump more than a foot of snow on our area in the next couple of days.  Meanwhile, the water table beneath our house has risen so high that it's no longer fully beneath our house, but leaking in. 
While the sump pump purges much of the water, there's a lingering pool that needs its own special attention. 
And there's the pile of wood that still needs to be split and stacked.  And someone needs to fire up the lawn mowers to make sure that once the expected snow or rain arrives, we've got a way to mow the grass. 
At the same time, our new travel van, our little RV, what they call a class B, is waiting in the driveway for us to escape.  We need less water, less work, and less bad news.  I'm ready to hit the road.

Our new travel van awaits us.  

Meanwhile, every day there comes a new sign that the head of our government is an addled, angry head whose strategy is to do more than enough to keep his name at the top of the news feed, sometimes by figuratively lopping off the heads of the people around him. 

The End of March

Yesterday was a spring day--sunny, warm, slightly breezy, and beautiful.  It's funny how the weather makes a person feel different, feel like doing other things, changing.  Just like the lilacs bursting their buds, or the rhubarb pushing its way up through the thawing soil, so do we change and begin to grow different ideas and moves.  "Something there is that doesn't love a wall," Frost says.  "Spring is the mischief in me," he says, and likewise in me.  It's time to clean the porch, clear away the leaves, prepare the soil, plan the garden.

Yesterday we took a drive out to the park, ran and walked a few miles, and enjoyed the sunlight.  I think I sunburned my poor unprotected scalp!  We cleared the porch out, getting it ready for company, thinking what a great day it would have been to have people there.  Instead, we fired up the grill and enjoyed some good burgers.

Then we watched over some friends' baby, just a month old, and, with a little schoolwork in preparation for the week, we called it a good day.

The only thing is, now we're looking at a few more inches of snow tonight.  Blah.

The World is a Little Colder Today

Each of us works on our own schedule, but we hope to create something that remains when we're gone.  On this cold January day, we note the loss of Pete Seeger, the great folk singer and author of great songs including "We Shall Overcome," "Turn! Turn! Turn!," and "Where Have All the Flowers Gone," songs that we think of as America's songs, our songs. It's good to stop and note with gratitude the gift that artists like this give to us.  Thank you, Pete Seeger, and rest in peace.

Another Blower

Today's another blowing day, another day with the trees waving in a gale, snow flying, students emailing me that the weather will keep them out of class.  Another day in Madison.
I spent part of the day outside examining my wood pile. Let's call it that, as I took the wheelbarrow to the back yard and filled it from my ever-diminishing pile of firewood, which I thought would last us all winter.  I'm not one skilled in estimating wood usage, but I'm spending more time in the house this winter, and it's been a cold one, so we keep stoking that stove, watching the wood flame up and out of the chimney.  We've always got one damned warm place in the house.  Some cool places too.

At My Door the Leaves are Falling

This morning the song in my head is one by Johnny Cash, "I Still Miss Someone," as it describes the mournful loss of a loved one, set against the the falling leaves and the wild winds, both of which are going on outside my windows.  The wind is whipping out of the south, leaves tearing off the trees and covering the yard once again.
The welcome rain comes as a marking of the end of our summer days, a blast of what is to come as we move into the fall season.  It's been a long haul with little or no rain to speak of, and the grass and trees have shown their stress, turning brown and sere as the long dry spell went on.
It has now rained steadily all morning, and with some luck it will continue.  Certainly the farmers don't have the same perspective, since many of their crops are still in the field.  But we'll take it, we lawn farmers.

Standing There with the Fridge Open

Freezing rain and snow this morning has closed places all over the state, and as I sit comfortably in our "Red Room" on our comfy couch with a considerable amount of coffee in a cup, I'm hoping my students are not slipping and sliding all over the road trying to get to my 9:30 class.
The grass was just beginning to turn green.  Lilac buds were heavy.  Frost, like our spirits, was rising and disappearing from the ground.  My heavy coat was getting its first few days of dust.
Forecast today?  Freezing rain and sleet.  Tonight?  Snow and sleet.  Tomorrow?  Snow.  Tomorrow night?  Occasional snow.  Thursday?  Snow likely.  Thursday night?  A slight chance of snow.
In all, it might be as much as four inches of snow.  Highs in the 20's.
There's always something to be said about the weather.  We'll get to that point in the year when it's good words, but for now, we can only say we're tired of this winter and wish it was leave us a little more spring.  We haven't had much yet.

A Cold Slap in the Back Yard

We've been enjoying beautiful fall weather here in Madison, South Dakota, but today took a change for the colder, bringing wind and a temperature that will stay in the 40's or 50's today, thirty or more degrees below the highs over the past few days.

The wind has convinced many of the leaves that have been decorating our aerial views to now move on to more earthy things.

Our Rain Gauge Runneth Over

Cherry-sized hail

 Waves of rain-clouds traveling above Madison yesterday dropped a whopping FIVE inches of rain, with some hail mixed in.  Thunder, lightning, wind, rain, hail, darkness.  Reports indicate that the little docile creek that runs through town overflowed its banks and caused trouble for residents nearby.  Collapsed or flooded basements? We're going to cruise through town to see what we can see.

Let It Snow Snow

Madison has not seen a lot of snowy days this winter, but February shall not pass without one.  Here we're getting a good dose, light and fluffy, with no wind (yet).

Cosmic Reminder: You're Double-Lucky

January 11, 2012

Check the name of the blog:  it's a Horseshoe Seven, my grandfather's brand.  It's a symbol that calls upon two kinds of luck--the lucky horseshoe, the lucky seven.  So today, as we relish our first snow fall of the year, and the first snow fall of the winter, and a little of that good old South Dakota wind and cold, it's fitting that the day also bring something more.

And here it is, the seed catalog that says spring is not that far out, friends, and even as you're thinking that a spring break trip might be just the ticket, you'd better also be thinking about which tomato plants you're going to go with this summer.

Looking Forward to a Darn Tough Winter

Winter has come.  Snow has fallen, wind driven and cold, covering most of the leaves that never got raked, the wood that didn't get moved yet, the snowmobiles that have rested since spring came, the porch floor that didn't get painted.  So now some of those are hidden, temporarily, until spring comes round again.  Meanwhile, the wife and I are happily facing a short week, just one long day and one short one, then a Wednesday free from duties, then a Thursday for giving thanks.

One item on my thankful list is this dandy pair of Darn Tough socks, a gift from my daughter and her beau.  They're guaranteed to last as long as I hope their relationship does--meaning, for a lifetime.

I've been dogging on the blogging, but we have been busy, gone to Sioux Falls for a weekend getaway on Veterans Day, where we enjoyed a stay at the Holiday Inn, dinners at Parker's Bistro, Phillips Avenue Diner, and Bros Brasserie Americano.  All great places to eat.

In addition, we enjoyed an evening with the Carpe Diem String Quartet and picked up a copy of their Montana CD, which extends the enjoyment of the weekend.  It's awesome, tough and beautiful, like Montana itself and this fine Vermont pair of socks.

Sunrise, Sunset

Saturday morning I cruised up to Browns Valley, MN, where I used to live, sort of, and where some of the former in-laws live, for a funeral.  It was a beautiful daybreak and sunset, as you see here in the pictures, and it was a good visit with two of my kids, Mr. CO, and lots of people I hadn't seen in a long time.  It was time to say goodbye to Aloma, who had made herself comfortable with the folks at Sisseton Wahpeton College as their archivist.  She will be missed, but like the beautiful sunrise and sunset, we've all got a limited time before our light fades.

Better Day--It Only FEELS Like 21 Below

The sun comes up after our snowstorm

Northwest wind at 16, temp at zero.  That's better than yesterday, when things were much worse.  The wife and I did get out and about just a little--some grocery shopping, some lunch at El Vaquero, and mailing a package.  I went out again myself for another shopping spree (groceries only), and a stop at my mom's, but that was plenty for a very wintery day, and  I was glad to come home, stoke the fire, and settle back in for work on some Christmas gifts and school.

Blown into Winter?

First snow arrives in Madison.

We've got to thank our weather gods for holding off for so long, but the past few days have been a reminder that winter is at our doorstep, what with the wind howling non-stop for several days, bringing the temps down dramatically.  This morning, crappy as both the wife and I are both feeling, we have to face the prospect of going out into the wind AND a bit of snow.  Crud.