Tired of Shoveling Snow

For those of you that aren't in NH, we are about 10 inches away from setting an all time record for the most inches of snow to fall in a winter. That means a lot of shoveling. I shoveled and used a snow blower for 7 hours yesterday. The banking beside the driveway is so high now that I had to knock it down a bit so the snow blower could get the snow over it. It's the first time this year I've resorted to using the snow blower. I don't want to pollute for what can be done by hand. But after pulling the snow off 2 roofs I had a 4-foot deep cone of snow in the driveway of packed snow.
Today I shoveled the roof of a large home with many dormers, valleys and a wraparound porch. It took me 6 solid hours of shoveling to remove the snow. I'm exhausted. I'd be OK if I don't have to do this again this winter.

The Date's Been Set

I now know what day I'll begin hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. The annual kick off gathering will be held on April 25th thru 27th at Lake Morena County Park. The gathering is held 20 miles north of the starting point on the Mexican border, so I'll be starting on the 24th.

I plan on driving west and visiting people along the way so I'll be leaving at the end of March. I don't have a date set in stone for that yet.

I have most my equipment and only a few more things to get.

Went Skiing Today

My sister, Beth, and I went skiing at Attitash today. It was on the cold side, but the conditions were great. The mountain was practically deserted, so the snow didn't get skied off and there was never a wait at the lift.

Fun With Flickr

I've been spending more time uploading my photos to my flickr account lately: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7663945@N05/ . I've been having a good time getting the photos on-line but it's harder than I thought to get them viewed. Hopefully things will change and more people will find them of interest.

Snow Snow Everywhere Is Snow

I don't recall the last time I saw it snow this often or this much. It reminds me of when I was a kid. I've got to go out and shovel it some more. I think I'll be shoveling all day tomorrow at work.

I took the opportunity to wander around a bit with my camera two days ago. I'm hoping that this new snow will provide even more photo ops.

This was frost on the inside of my bedroom window up until a few weeks ago. It seems that the storm windows aren't up to the task of blocking cold. I had to put a plastic barrier inside as well. It's better, but still plenty cold. At least there's not ice on the plastic.

Flickr Account

More and more the website Tribe has been out of service. As a business it's on hard times and that's effecting the performance. I've been using Tribe as the primary place to display and share my photos. Yesterday I did what I've been meaning to do for a long time and posted my photos on my flickr account. The link is in the right hand column------>

Many of the photos are ones I've posted in Tribe but there are already some new ones as well. Flickr is where I'll also be posting most of my new stuff.

Conservation Over Comfort

I've got the heat set on 50-55F. However, as of today I shut off half the house from the heat. The only part being heated is the part with the thermostat and the water pipes. Can't let the pipes freeze. I spend most my time in the part of the house that isn't heated. So if the "warm" part is 55F, I'm not sure how cold it is in my room. Right now I can see my breath a little.

I'm not doing this to prove a point or be macho. There's no sense in heating such a large space in this house. I'd rather pile on extra layers than burn fossil fuel when not necessary.

How It Seems To Me

Voice of Reason: The world is heating up.
Republicans: No it's not!!! You can't prove it.
Voice of Reason: Yes, it is. Here's the proof.
Republicans: (reluctantly) OK, so it's heating up. But it's NOT our fault.
Voice of Reason: I'm not assigning blame, I'm only saying that we all collectively have to change our practices because bad things are happening right now and they are going to get far far worse if we don't act IMMEDIATELY.
Republicans: Well, it's really just the natural cycle of the planet. It warms and cools all the time.

Voice of Reason: It's true that the planet has natural cycles. This is NOT one of them. The warming is happening faster than ever before and corresponds directly to the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere.
Republicans: No. It's sunspots. I'm not changing a damned thing I'm doing. I will drive my SUV. I can afford the gas. I will consume rapaciously and not value the things I own.
Voice of Reason: You personally can afford the gas, but as a global community we can't afford your waste. It's hurting everyone.
Republicans: Well you are just a bunch of unwashed, tree-hugging, hippie liberals. (fingers in ears) lalalalalalalala.....

The Hazards Of Carpooling

For the last few weeks I have been riding an hour to the job site with a coworker. He listens to country music. It would be hard to overstate my abhorrence of country music, but etiquette keeps me from asking him to change the station. It's his truck, his radio, his time. He can listen to what he likes and I know he prefers country above all else.

However, listening to one hour of country is like listening to 4 straight hours of a 3 yr old whining. I would rather listen to a dental drill all the while. It comes close to physically nauseating me. Once to the job site or home I rush to a radio to wash the bad flavor out of my mind with another kind of music. Worse, is the fact that through the repetition of hearing the same songs day after day I'm learning some of them enough to get the chorus stuck in my head. Oh, it hurts.

For the record, I'm a referring to only new country pop. I love Johnny Cash, Waylon, Willie, and others who are seldom ever heard these days.