Joined
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1,121 Posts
[Slightly OT: mostly road, but hey.}
Remember the Far Side cartoon where there's this lizard under a rock
with the sun beating down all around, him. The next panel has him out
in the sun on top of the rock, and the third panel is he's hunkered
down back in the shade, thinking to himself, "now that was smart."
That's how I felt today. Got a few hours free this afternoon, sunny,
clear, and not too cold, about 25degf, so off I went.
Rode from my house to the World Center for Birds of Prey, about 7 miles
south toward the Snake River, wide open, gentle to slightly steep climb
more or less the whole way, but nice and doable.
So as I come to rest up at the facility, on this huge mesa above the
south side of our valley, looking down on Boise, meridian, and 2
mountain ranges, I sit to eat an orange and watch the sunset. I'ts
getting cold, but I wasn't thinking about that. I listened to several
hundred awesome birds chatting it up, wondering what it would be like
to be captured myself and put on display for tourists. No thanks...
So I saddle back up and realize it's *really getting cold* now that
it's past sundown. My left fingertips are freezing up, my toes are
feeling it through my shoes *and* my insulated booties. (now that's a
first) Not only that, but Jr. Paladin is freezing up and that's not a
feeling I'd wish on anybody! Beings I wasn't ready to give up my
lifelong friendship with the little guy, I had to do something fast!
So I book it fast back to civilization, stumble into a gas-station
store looking like an alien, bang my mitts together, walking funny,
ya-know, and get a cup of hot chocolate, and a grocery bag. Grocery
bag, you may ask? Why of course, to stuff down my spandex pants to
keep the windchill off the little guy and the nuts who live downstairs.
Hated to leave that store as it's 0'dark 30, and I've about 4 miles
left to go. But hey, we finish what we start, right??
So the ride home from the Mart was a whole lot better than the first
half down the hill, and eventually stumble into the hacienda with the
woodstove cranked to about 80deg, our 14 foot stove pipe in the living
room heating the run-down trailer-house all nice and toasty-like. Made a pitcher of
hot chocolate, (where's the hooch?) turned up the Christmas tunes, and
laid down in front of the fire to help my daughter with her math,
singing to myself, "it's beginning to look (and feel) a lot like
Christmas..."
CDB
and Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.
Remember the Far Side cartoon where there's this lizard under a rock
with the sun beating down all around, him. The next panel has him out
in the sun on top of the rock, and the third panel is he's hunkered
down back in the shade, thinking to himself, "now that was smart."
That's how I felt today. Got a few hours free this afternoon, sunny,
clear, and not too cold, about 25degf, so off I went.
Rode from my house to the World Center for Birds of Prey, about 7 miles
south toward the Snake River, wide open, gentle to slightly steep climb
more or less the whole way, but nice and doable.
So as I come to rest up at the facility, on this huge mesa above the
south side of our valley, looking down on Boise, meridian, and 2
mountain ranges, I sit to eat an orange and watch the sunset. I'ts
getting cold, but I wasn't thinking about that. I listened to several
hundred awesome birds chatting it up, wondering what it would be like
to be captured myself and put on display for tourists. No thanks...
So I saddle back up and realize it's *really getting cold* now that
it's past sundown. My left fingertips are freezing up, my toes are
feeling it through my shoes *and* my insulated booties. (now that's a
first) Not only that, but Jr. Paladin is freezing up and that's not a
feeling I'd wish on anybody! Beings I wasn't ready to give up my
lifelong friendship with the little guy, I had to do something fast!
So I book it fast back to civilization, stumble into a gas-station
store looking like an alien, bang my mitts together, walking funny,
ya-know, and get a cup of hot chocolate, and a grocery bag. Grocery
bag, you may ask? Why of course, to stuff down my spandex pants to
keep the windchill off the little guy and the nuts who live downstairs.
Hated to leave that store as it's 0'dark 30, and I've about 4 miles
left to go. But hey, we finish what we start, right??
So the ride home from the Mart was a whole lot better than the first
half down the hill, and eventually stumble into the hacienda with the
woodstove cranked to about 80deg, our 14 foot stove pipe in the living
room heating the run-down trailer-house all nice and toasty-like. Made a pitcher of
hot chocolate, (where's the hooch?) turned up the Christmas tunes, and
laid down in front of the fire to help my daughter with her math,
singing to myself, "it's beginning to look (and feel) a lot like
Christmas..."
CDB
and Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.
