January 1, 2010

Happy New Year to all. Like the throngs of other well intentioned folks, we took a little time today to hit the fitness club for a workout. It feels good. Now, I hope I can keep the momentum going. Also, this is the fourth consecutive dry January, so the "save-the-liver" campaign has begun anew.

Hiking at Van Damme State Park

Our Colombian friends came for a quick visit to California in early January. One of the highlights was a few days along the Mendocino Coast and some time in San Francisco.

The Heirs of General Practice

John McPhee's book, "The Heirs of General Practice" is out of print. Each year, I have always been able to find a used copy at Powell's Bookstore in Portland, Oregon. This book of essays is my gift to the medical student who is the annual recipient of the scholarship in Janet's honor.

Global Warming Valentine

Climate change is in the air
but actually it may not be fair
to blame it all on more CO2
when there's lots of heat in my love for you.

Upper Dry Creek Basin News, March 18, 2006

Birdsong.

After many weeks of rain and cold and snow and cold, there are signs that spring is truly approaching. We have birdsong in Paradise. Sunshine is gracing the forest, today. The first leaves are beginning to unfold on a few alder trees. The pear trees have broken bud. Blue crocus are blooming. A welcome warmth has returned to the day.

I saw more smiles, today… from the bank teller, the grocery clerk, folks visiting the post office. We may insulate ourselves in our comfortable houses, our cloistered cars, our offices, our stores, but we have an innate connection with the natural world and the seasonal cycles. We respond, even if unconsciously, to nature’s changes in our own moods and disposition.

Praise the coming spring!

Upper Dry Creek Basin News, March 11, 2006

Thundersnow.

Friday evening snow squall. I sipped a glass of Pinot Noir and watched the snowflakes fall gazing out the big windows. I was up early this morning and slipped into the delightfully hot spa before 7 a.m. My coffee cup melted a neat disk through the snow on the tabletop next to the spa. After fifteen or twenty minutes, I took the dog for a walk on the property, crunching the thin crust of snow with each step. I was in shorts and slippers with a sweatshirt, but my skin was still radiating the hundred degree heat and I was confortable for a very long time.

Sunshine this morning has melted most everything before one in the afternoon.

Change is fast.

January has been a wet month in Paradise

December 2005 brought over 30 inches of rain to Paradise. January 2006 is an open question.