Sidetracked Charley

Yes, I live at 8725 feet above sea level, a hardiness zone of 3.5 to 4. And a statistic quoted on a ski resort site says we get 210 inches of snow a year. Note: it is wise to remember never at one time and oddly not accumulative. It snows and it melts and then it snows again and that melts. The most I can remember at any one time was 72 inches over three days beginning the year 2006 with a whimper. And that snow hung around for a long time. I perusal of blogs of that winter reveals a lot of references to the Alaska TV series Northern Exposure, the Little House on the Prairie books, and blizzards in general. But that was a very usual year. Old timers said the worst in 70 years. Mainly what I dread about the approach of winter, thankfully late this year, is the approaching dark. I would not have to look at the calendar to know winter is coming. Like birds, who know when to migrate, locals instinctively know when to build up stocks of firewood, etc. With me there is also a nee...

It is 4:09 a.m and I have been up for two hours. For the record I do not do the fall back part of daylight savings (is there a daylight bank were it is stored?) at all well. In fact I am not sure if we are just entering daylight savings or exiting it. But I digress. This blog is supposedly about thinking out of the box when I should be sleeping. At least the clock said I should be sleeping. But I am not sure I believe any of the clocks. Friends of mine on the ethernet know I am much upset about the current tenant, who thankfully is moving out not a day too soon. I have, rather automatically, put a for rent notice on Craig's List. But in my gut and soul I really do not want another tenant. The last three have been from hell. And the last two have cost me money. With the current soon-to-be-gone tenant I have not been able to have my studio open. There has been no place to park with his sometimes six (yes, 6 large) vehicles and three trailers. People have not been able to see my...