March 25, 2015 The White Lion of March & Merchants of Doubt

Dinga helping JB.

Monday 3/23. After lunch we worked on the downed trees for a couple hours.  JB cut four rounds from the big end of the largest tree.  I stripped branches.  JB was going to start cutting from the smaller end of the tree, but after those four big cuts, the chains saw pleaded, "No more!"

The wind picked up a little before 3:00 pm and ushered in a short snow flurry.  Then the sun popped out and the rest of the storm was blown to the north of us.  Our high for the day was 45, but with quite a wind chill.

Larry and Elsie now have three bears roaming the hillsides near their place.

Sandy sent a very interesting article to me about "spin doctors" and a new documentary on them, Merchants of Doubt.  It is quite worrisome, actually, and is about "the spin doctors and lobbyists who drive so much of our public debate about everything from cigarettes to flame retardants to climate changes."  One of the men interviewed for it was very frank and open about what he does, and obviously has no moral issues about it.  He says, "You can take James Hansen, the climate scientist, and I can take a garbage man, and I could get America to believe that the garbage man knows more about science."  Scary. . .

We started watching the first season of The Following this evening.  Very dark, but very good.

Tuesday 3/24. We awoke to 4" of snow this morning!  It was 32 with a partly cloudy sky and a breeze blowing snow bombs off the trees.  Snow soon began sliding off the roof, and by noon it began to melt in many places.

JB saw a bald eagle soaring above the canyon on the morning walk.

We have finished all but three rows of wood in the shed, so I will start taking wood off the porch from now on.  We have used 3-12 rows so far.

Our water problems seemed to have trickled down to Larry and Elsie.  They had pipe problems at their well.  Larry had to make three trips into town yesterday for parts.  He got it fixed and then the pressure blew out the seal on the pitless adapter.  If he has to go into town even once on a day off, he's not a happy camper.  So BJ went down this evening to help him replace the seal, and fill our water containers.  He also got to see one of their bears.

Wednesday 3/25. This morning is 35 with a very low overcast.  The mountains have disappeared, as has more than half of our snow.

Thought for the day: Passion is a young man's game.  Young people can be passionate.  Older people gotta be more wise. Bob Dylan (from an interview in the current AARP magazine)