Today in History

The list is short, and the Month is short. In the West, 1173 the Pope canonized Thomas Becket as Archbishop of Canterbury, and in 1916 the terrible Battle of Verdun began. Also in 1848 the pampered idiots Karl Marx (no relation to Groucho) and dumbass Friedrich Engels, sadly publish the tragic, hideous, and ruinous “The Communist Manifesto” in London.
Here on the Western Slope, the sun rose over my neighbor’s house, marking the passage of time as it makes its celestial march to the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice.

The mostly unremarkable event-thing is, today being clear and not overcast, the procession and distance from the large oak tree at the Winter Solstice has become noticeable – that is all.

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Once More, Into the Breach!

Started about quarter-to-Seven O’clock this morning with small kernels, and as the temperature dropped the flakes got bigger. UPDATE: Snug like a blanket, and quiet.

But life is ephemeral, and by the afternoon it was gone. And bittersweet, today is one Nephew’s birthday, and today two years ago we lost Mom.Everybody be good.

Must have been some party.

Kids these days!

Still there…

35-Degrees Fahrenheit

We got a break in the weather, enough for the snow to melt away as the sun came out – however no real warming.

Chilly outside, and so I spent an hour yesterday putting a “wrap” on the lever of the Winchester ’73 to ease manipulation and protect the digits. It came out nicely, I suppose.That is about it as far as “improvements” to that rifle.

More rain forecast for this afternoon and through the weekend, turning to snow above 2,000 feet and up in the High Country. The ski resorts have gotten a bounty, so much so that a couple had to close lift operations and figure out how to get skiers to the top of the runs… We are well past “normal” for the snowpack and closing in on the rainfall figures – so no drought, I think.

Schnee!

It got cold enough. Unlike the rain, you can’t hear it coming. About 3″ worth.Then it brightened-up when the sun came out…for an hour.

Now it’s back to snowing. Gotta dig-out my knock-off Sorel boots, buried in the closet.

View from the other side:

Another dry-ish spell last afternoon, and again with the muck-boots rake in hand We ventured forth. What was roughly an acre of pasture seems transformed into an acre of water: run-off.

So stepping on the metal rake, then flipping it around and stepping again, results in a chunk of removable turf-stuff that can be redeployed in squishy wet areas, and create a little channel to assist drainage – it’s the standing water We want to avoid. “Keep it moving, fellas! Nothing to see here move along!”It’s fun playing in the mud. The consistency and vegetation varies, with dense but shallow roots and hard-pack underneath explaining why the water sits on top and doesn’t soak-in – the result of years as a cow pasture, hammered-in.

Snow tonight and tomorrow! Get ‘er done!

And…winter is back

For various values of “winter” at any rate. Looking at four days of rain, lightening up next Wednesday-Thursday, then returning – already an inch since last night.

More water running down the left side of the field, so more fun channelizing that! Meanwhile the 20Kw Generac fires up and test-runs at 9:00AM on Saturdays…for whenever PG&E decides to shut-off the grid to us deplorables and irredeemables up here in Flyover.

UPDATE : The rain eased off around four PM and since it was still light I hauled on my rubber boots and went out there with a rake to assist the drainage. Worked until it got dark and managed to get my 10k steps.

62-Degrees

Off a high of 64°. About 10:00AM we walked a couple miles (3) of the El Dorado Trail, from Mosquito Road up past Schnell School Road, to a point where we could look down on homes along Smith-Flat Road. The warm weather belies the incoming storm and anticipation of several days constant rain beginning tomorrow afternoon…

Meanwhile my RSO certification with the club is basically complete and yesterday morning I ran the pistol range. I had brought the M&P Shield9 with the laser, and the tiny Allen-head wrench to adjust it, since the laser-dot was a good four inches off at 7-yards – but as I raised it onto the black bullseye the light dimmed and faded away. Damn batteries! Or maybe it was the cold… So yesterday afternoon the G26 got an Apex trigger and bar installed. Talon grip-tape is coming for each.

Stay warm all my East and Mid-west friends!

Bacon Loaf

This week’s storm is blowing through and over the Sierras to enhance our Eastern neighbor’s lifestyles, but still showering here on the Western Slope. So while showers persist and the drainage drains, we make bacon wrapped meatloaf. I bought chuck, rib-eye, and some beef shank and ran it through the Cabela’s meat grinder, so it’s fresh.Next up the “after” picture. Baked at 375 then 425 after an hour timed out and the internal temp wasn’t quite there (150).

Yummy!

The Ditch is Running

We got a break in the weather this morning, and short an inch yesterday – with less than half an inch so far today before noon, but the Sierras are gettin the brunt. And the aforementioned drainage is doing it’s thing.

UPDATE: 2.35 inches of rain yesterday and the whole place is a soupy mess! But the digging actions that were taken are working.