I think we can all agree that it's been one heck of a winter [and for those Down Under, one heck of a summer].

We heat with a wood pellet stove.  It's a great gadget. Pour in forty lbs. of pellets and fire it up. It is our primary source of heat. This year we bought our usual 3 tons of pellets late last summer to keep us nice and toasty thru the Winter. Occasionally we end up buying a couple of extra bags in Spring. This year we needed a lot more than that.  And there weren't any __ anywhere.  Well, there might have been some in Pennsylvania but that's a few states north of here.  What I think I'm trying to say is that it was a cold
winter.  [I needed to tell you that, right?].

Today I went into town to take care of some errands and I noticed the daffodils are up and budding. Yay!!!  Oh, not up here but down in town everything is starting to get Springy and plump. How wonderful.

I just thought you'd like to know that Spring really is coming__even though it's supposed to snow in a few days...again.

The snowy owl. A beautiful creature. They've been in the news often lately. It seems they're moving south. At first it was the northern U.S. Now they've spotted them in Pennsylvania, Virginia and this last week they had one make headlines in Washington D.C. It had been hit by a metro bus. It [she] managed to survive.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/snowy-owl-doing-well-at-rehab-facility-was-apparently-hit-by-a-bus-thursday-morning/2014/01/31/1568f60e-8a81-11e3-833c-33098f9e5267_story.html

There are varying theories about why the owls are traveling south. Food, water [unlikely but who knows] and then there's my theory. Magnetic change. Yep. I think the magnetic pole wobble and predicted change has thrown them off. Maybe it's also one of the reasons for the beaching of so many marine mammals? Maybe.

Many years ago, when I was but a child [yes, hard to imagine] things within communities were different. The old saying about it takes a village to raise a child was in full force. In those days when you committed a transgression and it was seen by any member of the area you got called for it by said person whether or not they were in any way related to you. You might have never seen this individual before and invariably somewhere in the dressing down you got was the phrase 'Just wait until your mother hears about this!'  And hear she would  * sigh * My mother heard not a small number.

These days this isn't in any force at all and I think, maybe, we suffer for it. At least that's the premise I refer to when I find myself being the vocal party addressing some errant child. Yes, I do that. I am the meddling old woman who has something to say and I say it. Not all the time but often enough that a few kids in town and surrounds stop whatever they are doing when they see me coming. They don't usually run away but they get the all suffering look and wait for what is inevitable. Sometimes, just to mix things up, I compliment them. The humor this provokes [mostly mine] is a nice break. 

Today I got tired of being ignored by a six year old girl who happens to be Matt's girlfriend's daughter. I pointed out to her that she was being rude. Then I mentioned that responding when she was spoken to was the respectful and polite thing to do. Her mother was standing there so I didn't have to throw in 'the threat'. Mom heard it from the horse's mouth...and didn't immediately interfere. Finally the child looked at me and spoke. Wow! Anyway that got dealt with and I don't think any major feelings were injured in the process.

But the reason I even relate this incident is to ask whether or not you think we, as a society should say anything to children to help straighten their paths or if you feel that should only be the realm visited by the parents.

Things around here yesterday were boisterous. No, I mean chaotically, overpoweringly cacophonic.

Matt's father was here from up north. Matt's girlfriend, her two kids and two dogs were here, too. Now this may sound strange to those of you who are used to having a house full of folk but I'm not and it was staggering.  The dogs [including the beagle princess] were galloping through the house like it was Fall round-up. The kids were variously whining for attention or ignoring the attention they were getting. Video games were on and in full volume.

I adjourned to my room and put in some foam earplugs.

Today it is quiet. Ahhh.

I have become that crotchety old lady that snarls at the least disturbance.  * sigh *  The only thing I can say in my defense is that I do it well.

Greetings and salutations from the second floor of our local healing institution. I am lying around being lazy and indolent and dining on the remarkable conglomeration of food stuffs from downstairs. Actually the food isn't too bad so that's not really a complaint. Why am I here? I woke up on Tues. morning and my heart was hammering so hard I thought for sure I was having a heart attack.  As it turned out it was afib and diabetes. They managed to get my heartrate down from close to 200 beats a minute to the low 100's ...not great but much better. I am lucky. Very lucky.  It could have been much worse.

So, hi.   :)

Just a little reminder ___enjoy all you can while you can.

This will be a bit of a slog so if you're looking for short and sweet this isn't the blog for you.

The US is on the verge of instituting legislation to legalize pot. It has been a long time coming for a botanical that should never have been illegal in the first place. But that's an old and tired argument so I'll leave it for now.

What is pertinent to the coming legislation and eventual farming and marketing of this plant and it's relative, hemp, is that regulations be put in place Before the process begins on a huge scale. Because you know it will be done on a huge scale. Why the regs before? Because otherwise we are going to find ourselves in an even bigger environmental disaster than we find ourselves with the corn/ethanol 'solution' to petroleum enhancement.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-57611891/making-corn-based-ethanol-badly-hurting-environment-ap/

It is absolutely necessary to vet this process before it gets going because cleaning up after rarely works well if at all. It may have to be done state by state rather than on a federal level, but it has to be done.

So when you are advocating for legalization [ as I will be] please also advocate for the regulations to keep the land safe and the product safe also. We are losing so much environmentally that could be safeguarded and utilized in much more responsible ways if we'd simply take the time and effort to let those we have put in charge know that it matters.

I'm sitting in the living room and contemplating making baskets out of boxes [which are at a premium around here]. Why am I doing this? Because taking all the cardboard to the recycler , especially on Sat., is becoming tiresome.  So here I am thinking of designs and whether or not I can actually do this and I hear what sounds like Mahalia Jackson singing very, very softly in the background. Huh?

Then I realize it's the cat. She isn't happy with just the crunchy food for dinner and is complaining about it in a low register. Why? Because she got a bath a couple of days ago and hasn't quite gotten over it yet so the complaining is low key as opposed to strident.

But it took me some minutes to realize it was the cat and in those minutes I thought about all the things it could be.  Mahalia Jackson...ardent gospel singer. I knew it wasn't my neighbor listening to her.  He primarily listens to Jazz and African folk music. How do I know this? Because he plays it loud enough for the neighbors. I like jazz and I like the African music so it's not that big a deal for me but I do wonder on occasion about the country music lovers around and about. * grin *

Then I considered that maybe MJ was singing from up above. You know, the music of well, wherever it is you go when you leave here. The choir of one at St. Peter's gate. I decided that was unlikely.

It also occurred to me that the pellet stove might be getting musical. That also seemed unlikely but an interesting thought.

So that's what's occupying my evening so far. Hope yours is going well.

http://youtu.be/YGQWPq8Mrog