Sidetracked Charley

We are off the rails A neighbor piled tons of snow in my yard without asking. He even blocked my driveway. I thought he was a nice neighbor. We were not friends in the context beyond neighbors but he was what we call a good Christian man. He had all this snow from another property he had to get rid of and he thought he could put it there on my property above my well head where it would just melt. He didn't consider where it would melt. That the water would flood my aquifer and dig a channel across my driveway and under my house. He just wanted to get rid of the snow he was moving off of a driveway which wasn't mine. He never even considered if it was legal or if he should ask me first. He was the man with the tractor. He had often plowed my driveway for me. He thought he had the right. He was wrong. But if I called the sheriff he would maybe get a ticket. Never presented with this problem before he would ask me what I wanted done. The neighbor wouldn't do it. He ...

 Easy with cats and flowers around. Not so easy when watching the news or dealing with car salesmen or anyone selling a vehicle or diets. I had a friend once who decided to give up smoking, drinking and eating all at once. I sort of feel like she must have felt. I am trying to follow the trial of Trump, shop for a new vehicle, and lose weight. I believe she took a medical leave. I am writing a blog. I was worrying about the last on line car deal and whether the car was stolen when my sister suggested I never go to view a car alone. Well, living where I do that definitely complicates matters. Ergo this list of rules on at least car shopping. 1) Do your research up front and know what you are looking for. 2) Ask for information from the owners of cars you are interested in. You have the right to know mileage, major repairs, and vin #. 3) Do your due diligence. Visit vin# sites (usually a fee), Kelley Blue Book (free if you say it is your car and you want to arrive at a ...

Let me say right up front this is not a political blog. It is not about our position in the world or the roll back of environmental protections. Or even the destruction of our democracy. This blog is how he has ruined us as humans. 1) It is now totally acceptable to be rude and racist and sexist. I fought for year to not be called sweetie or dear or honey or have my butt patted. All that effort was for naught as I discovered in a 30 minute conversation with someone trying to sell me a car. 2) People no longer accept our right to our own opinions. I have been told I have the wrong friends, that I am stupid, that we don't need respect for others or have the right to expect respect for ourselves. 3) Lying is acceptable and you have to only say it verbatim three times to have it be the truth. I am walking away or hanging up at the middle of the second repetition. 4) When caught in a bald face lie you only have to lie about the lie. "It was a perfect transcript."...

The first thing to consider about your January electric bill is that it is in fact for December. December when winter in the high country hits with a vengeance. Typically we have about a dozen days with no sun (nix passive solar) and below zero nights and gale force winds blowing snow. I have never understood how the winter solstice can be the beginning of winter. It seems more like the middle. It is definitely the darkest. And we are totally unprepared for it. Oh sure you have stocked up on firewood but you are out of practice bringing it in before the snow storm. And after days when you went barefoot in your house and sat on the deck to bask out of the wind in the sun during the mid day nothing in your body is prepared for the cold. I am definitely in denial. During the first week or so of cold I turn the heat higher than usual, switch on all the lights to minimize the dark, and cook too much warm comforting meals. The second thing to consider about your January electric bill...

I live about two miles from this road. It is one of the places I routinely go to. Only about a half mile of that trip is on paved road. Paved, not necessarily plowed. It is one of my easier commutes. Three times a day up Spyglass road in the resort is worse if only due to the huge chuckholes. And once again unplowed road. When there are pets to be fed and/or walked you don't have the luxury of waiting until the village management decides to free the plows. Big Blue has been my magic chariot for five years. It has gotten me where I wanted to go and back again. Sometimes the most difficult part of that is my driveway. It has a failing transmission. I have debated for a month fixing it. Economically a new to me vehicle made more sense until I started dealing with car salesmen. Typical for me I did all my research first on what I wanted and what I didn't want. I am a good communicator so I told the men what I wanted. And then they told me what they thought I wanted. And I...

On the brink of climate change migration? Should where you want to move to have the right to say no? Trump would say HE has the right to say no to any people fleeing where they live because it is no longer livable. Taking international borders out of the equation does one state get to say no to people from a drowning coastal area? Or a northern state with cool summers say no to those from Phoenix. Moving requires a commitment to where you are moving. But currently there is a seasonal migration going on. They love Phoenix in the winter but Colorado in the summer. But that means double the houses and double the infrastructure for only one climate migrant. And it reduces the support for the infrastructure in the area vacated by the "Snowbirds" flying south and north. We talk about a housing crisis but some people require twice the housing. Should communities be able to modify zoning laws to say you cannot leave your house empty for 6 months less 1 day? Rates a...

I love old cars and trucks. And not just to photograph. I love them to drive too. I hate all that computer crap new cars have. I like to make my own determination of whether I need to put more air in a tire. And if you live in a rural area as I do the new modern cars require going to the big city dealership to get even a simple oil change. I currently have an old pickup and its backup and even older Corolla. Two vehicles is good with no public transportation around. Sadly the pickup now has a serious transmission issue and I once again face the repair or replace question. There are defenders for both sides. And Google has tons of information. One of the most worrying was the normal mileage for replacement of a transmission. Big Blue is right in the not so sweet spot. Pickups get rode hard and put away wet in my part of the country so it has done better than expected but not as good as I would have wished. I never stop at one Google search so I looked up the expected mileage on ...