Playing in the Puddles

Current News

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Yes, I admit that there has been a conspicuous blog absence. The good news is that some semblance of Spring has arrived, or at least a new absence of this strenuous winter. For the last week, temperatures have started rising into the high 50s to low 70s and the sun is finally climbing further northward, beyond its secretive winter arc behind the north face of our mesa.
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The sun's heat upon the north face has meant the much awaited melting of the snow long hidden in its shadows but that also means run-off and rediscovery of all the low-lying areas wont to collect water. Low spots mean MUD! To that end, I have indulged in a very longstanding pastime; playing in the mud and digging run-off trenches everywhere. I find the task every bit as satisfying as I did when I was eight years old and I have probably created and attended daily to a network of channels and trenches a quarter of a mile long for the last week. The process has left me too tired at night to compose an update but it was worth the effort. Like the Nederlands, the bogs and mires have given way to dry land now, allowing us to abandon the rubber boots and work on the rat trailer without the sloppy, boot sucking impedance.
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I have found a definite Zen in this process, an intense but mindless joy in ushering away the last hints of winter's icy bounty. While you are busily removing sediments from the previous day's water run and incising new channels, you may also find a higher brain function to consider matters more theoretical or esoteric in nature - multi-tier programs running simultaneously, if you will. I find the results most rewarding although it leaves the physical body very, very tired at the end of the day. I suspect that children experience these play functions much more fully than adults do and I find that disparity quite saddening. I've noticed that some adults need children and subsequent grandchildren in order to re-experience these simple joys vicariously. Why should we lose the initial joy of wonderment as we age? Why do we choose to jade so easily if left to our own devices?

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