Base/Cross "Training??"

Christmas Gifts

Got Jack one of these for Christmas. I thought it might make a nice heating mass for on top of the stove. I'm waitin' for that fitty percent off sale!

Snow Days on Oak

I tracked 1/2 of the first half of Oak Trail today,....... that's 1/4 of it for all you carpenters out there working your multiples of 4. About a mile of new trail just waiting to be skied again,.... corner of High Rock and Rattlesnake,....the second pullout on High Rock,...look for some tracks shooting down to the left.
It would make for a nice little out and back and you could finish by tracking the second half of Sucker Punch back down to the water treatment plant. I ran out of time and energy and daylight,... and water,....and food. Did anyone else track something in Southy? Sure would be nice to get some MTBer's on there and check the grade and set up a loop.

Okay,....Maybe this isn't really appropriate,...but...

And there it is, the textbook Nor'easter.

That map tells a lot. The lightness of h20 saturated air compared to N2 and O2, the ability of air to absorb the moisture off the water, the temperature differences between the ocean and land that help drive the pressure systems, and the classic structure of a Nor'easter, pulling the water vapor right off the ocean from a north easterly direction. Its a nice little sequence that might go down in the record books. What month was the blizzard of '96?

Yes,..it's coming.

The Classic Nor'easter

This storm was born and bred in the gulf, a bit lower than the normal spot in northern Texas. The westerlies will shove it our direction and right up the coast. The slight counterclockwise rotation of the mid latitude cyclone will be pulling some extra moisture off the Atlantic with some help of the north easterly winds generated by the storm. I got my students this time. Chalk one up for the teacher boy. I called it yesterday morning! Who needs a computer model!
(Editors Note: The score is one to one,....I called a two hour delay when we were supposed to get some freezing rain last week! I was barely wrong.)

A Whole 'Nother Story.

The Holidays

The Coldsmith family would like to wish everyone a very happy and healthy holiday season.

Mommy?????....

"What the hell is this lady doin' to me??#$%&$??"
Meet Myong,...pronounced Mee-yong,.....accent on the Mee,..Stella's first beautician.
She did a good job. Bribery with a lollipop,... a good strategy.

Arctic Blast.

If I may quote Tom Waits; "Its colder than a well digger's ass,....Colder than a well digger's ass."
We have to get acclimated for the ADK's.

Kickin' the Black Keys Habit.

Snow Day Fun

While I was off playing in the woods, Stella was having some snowy day tepee fun.
Followed by some home brewing with her Pap Pap. A nice way to come in out of the cold!

Salve Making Time

The smell of beeswax and herbal oils finally filled our kitchen on this blustery December day. The Calendula, St. John's Wort, and Plantain have been soaking in the olive oil since August, waiting for the day that I would find some time to melt in some beeswax and pour them into little jars. It really is that simple, but among all the gardening, parenting, cooking, etc., it fell by the wayside. Until today! We now have plenty of skin soothing balm to ease our chapped winter skin and to sell to eager customers. I am still loving hankering down at home for the winter!

Lymey.

A little self portrait about the way I have been feeling lately. I would call it "Down but not out."
12 hours of parent/teacher conferences, add a little lyme, hold the bike, and I've got one bad attitude.
Turkey vacation helped to turn that around a bit. Many days hiking a line, cutting firewood and a very brief 1/2 hour ride is helping to snap me back into my former self.
I even managed to commute two days this week,.....thought I was going to fall over dead on a ten mile ride???? Still, blood flow usually causes better recovery for me than any medication.
That tic gave me a beat down!
If you see one, hang em'! And start taking those little blue pills right away. Don't wait for it to come to you!