New Year - Old Back

Well, it is not yet the new year, but the old back has made it's presence known. Yesterday, my neurosurgeon called me at work to state that I had a ruptured disk (again). Ah, the joys of a lost L5/S1 . Well, "back" to the drawing board! Once again, patience and zenlike movements will be called for to assist in the recovery.


that is all from "back here", what is going on where you live???

A Tail of Two Weathers

Well, the official map from last week tells in part, a dreary tale, a tail of two weathers.

One tail, is the tail we normally grab in October, a tail of a kite. October is the driest month of the year and sometimes a windy month. It makes for great fun outdoors. In October the cool breezes of fall commence and summer is a distant memory. Except now.

The second tail, is the tail of the drought. We've grabbed it by the tail and it is slinging us against a brick wall. We are 18 inches shy of the average rain fall for this year. We've only received 23 inches. Weeds are dying, trees are dying, birds are dying, the grass is, in many places, long since dead. What a year! You know it has been a year of crazy weather when August posts the largest monthly rainfall in the previous 12 months.

This drought has weighed heavily upon the psyche. People are experiencing mental abberations that have their genesis in the lack of rain. The sight of a dark cloud has been known to send thousands to the windows of homes, apartments, office towers, glass pressed with faces all hoping for a sight of falling rain.

On top of the drought has been temperatures hotter than hell. August, the hottest month in my life, continued though September and October unabated. The forecast high for Tuesday October 9th, is the same temperature you'd expect for July 9th, 92 degrees. Is it Global Warming? Who knows? But it certainly is LOCAL WARMING! Local warming all over the place.

Stay cool, do a rain dance, keep praying.

Railroad Earth In Concert in Birmingham

Mark Twain Says it Again - Almost 100 years ago

"And now the whole nation--pulpit and all--will take up the war-cry, and shout itself hoarse, and mob any honest man who ventures to open his mouth; and presently such mouths will cease to open. Next the statesmen will invent cheap lies, putting the blame upon the nation that is attacked, and every man will be glad of those conscience-soothing falsities, and will diligently study them, and refuse to examine any refutations of them; and thus he will by and by convince himself that the war is just, and will thank God for the better sleep he enjoys after this process of grotesque self-deception."

- Mark Twain "The Mysterious Stranger" (1910)

Thanks to Tim Carbone, of Railroad Earth & Kings in Disguise for publishing part of this quote

Railroad Earth: Birmingham

Birmingham Railroad through the center of town, between Powell and Morris avenues. Daylight shot, indigo shot, and white out shot.

Celebrating the arrival of RAILROAD EARTH this coming week in Birmingham Alabama: http://www.railroadearth.com/high_band/home/

On the way to Charlie's Bunion: 30 years of time travel

It was a chilly day for sure, the picture of my better half hiking companion, Debbie, reveals how cold she was. We had hiked over from Newfound Gap and were enjoying the day when we stopped to take photos of each other. I appear asleep here....who knows maybe sleep walking :) There are few photos that show the Baxter State parka, made by LL Bean, that was purchased in Freeport, ME, during the summer trips of 1976. It was the first of several parkas worn (out) over the last 32 years. The boots were Vasque, and they did not last too many years longer. But man, they saw some trails and peaks !

Debbie showed the love of fibers that continues to this day by her preference for a beautiful multi colored yarn sweater.

Our gear was rather basic....but the hiking sticks were superb! Hand carved from fallen trees, or perhaps, I fell the trees and then carved them. Ah, it is so hard to get those kind of facts straight these days.

And the view, the trail, the rocks, the moss, the shafts of sunlight penetrating the leaves and needles and stirring fantastic shapes on the trail. It was a GREAT Day to be together and be Alive !

Arwen Congratulates Debbie On Her Passing The Jury

Debbie passed the jury to be come a juried member of the ADC. Arwen shows her approval by becoming closely attached to a piece of felting that Debbie had done earlier :)

See The Sea anemone

Tonight Debbie became a juried member of the Alabama Designer Craftsman (ADC)! This is a great accomplishment and reflects a huge commitment to her art. Her art that was used for the judging was "felting". The creation and artistic work in taking wool and turning it into felt. The piece photographed here, "Sea Anemone" will be used in the special preview show leading up to the annual show held at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens.

Congratulations Debbie !!

With old friends you just pick up where you left off

David and his daugher Tess were at a meeting in Alabama back in March of this year. We connected at the Cracker Barrel in Gardendale while they were on their way back to Ledbetter, KY. It was great to see them again!

It is rather amazing, but proven many times in my experience: with old friends you just pick up the conversation you left off with the last time you met. This we were able to do without any effort.

Love and Peace,

Rod

This picture is worth a thousand words. It is a chart showing the high and low temperatures at my weather station for the past month. Without expanding the picture one story is obvious, it is getting warmer as you move from left to right. What is personally interesting is what you see in the last six day's data: the high is over 100 degrees for six days in a row. In 35+ years of being an amateur meteorologist, I've never experienced six days in a row where the high temperature exceeded 100 degrees.

Wow, that is HOT !

Photographic Proof of What Happened

During June 1974 I flew down to Miami, FL to visit my girlfriend, Debbie, who was to later become my wife. This photo was taken the day we visited Vizcaya http://www.vizcayamuseum.com/ . Well, standing on the stone dock I lost my balance and here you see the photographic evidence of what happened.

A Red, Red Rose

A Red, Red Rose
by Robert Burns


O my luve's like a red, red rose.
That's newly sprung in June;
O my luve's like a melodie
That's sweetly play'd in tune.

As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,
So deep in luve am I;
And I will love thee still, my Dear,
Till a'the seas gang dry.

Till a' the seas gang dry, my Dear,
And the rocks melt wi' the sun:
I will luve thee still, my Dear,
While the sands o'life shall run.

And fare thee weel my only Luve!
And fare thee weel a while!
And I will come again, my Luve,
Tho' it were ten thousand mile!

Recumbent At Last

Well, it took about 5 years to get here, but now I'm riding in comfort. 12-13 years of back issues prevented me from getting upon an upright bike, but my physical therapist said that a recumbent bike would work.

I've only ridden about 25 miles in the last 3 weeks but they have been a lot of fun.

Perhaps I'll see you on the road. Be sure and wave!