Friday, March 18, 2011

June in March: Free samples of heaven

Today was one of those bonus days for me.  Workload was somewhat light, especially for a Friday, and the weather was absolutely delightful with afternoon temperatures close to 80.  The average high for this date here is 57 so well above normal. My thermostat is set at 67 yet the house is 75.  Remember, it is still technically Winter.  Even my seven year old cat seems more playful than usual.  I love being able to have the windows open. 

This wonderful weather reminds me of something I heard many years ago:  Every once in a while, God will give us "free samples" of heaven.  Today is one of those free sample days. 

Another nice thing to come from this wonderful day:  I thought about several friends in places where this is normal weather.  I hadn't heard from one of them in some time so I texted her and asked about the weather where she was, and we had a nice "text-chat" for a few minutes.  My challenge to others...if you are thinking of someone, go ahead and contact someone you may have lost touch with...call them, send a text, send an e-mail.  You'll be glad you did.  Don't let anything stop you!

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

A small action that unites past, present and future

This may be the earliest I have ever planted.  After checking the weather forecasts and gardening advice, I decided that today, March 15, the ides of March, was the day to plant, at least this, the Spring crop. 

My timing seems almost perfect.  About a half inch of rain is expected overnight, and it started as the last seeds were covered, followed by several days of sunny, warm and frost free weather.  According to the seed packets, I should see tiny green specks emerge in 7 to 10 days and have fresh-picked spinach and lettuce in my salad bowl in 45 to 55 days.  I may supplement nature by watering it if the weather gets too dry but now is the time to trust that the seeds know what to do from here.

What I did was something I have done most years since I was a child, though perhaps not always this early in the season.  Then it was along a driveway in front of two hedges.  Now it is a backyard garden.  Hopefully this year I will add other crops a little later in the season.  Planting vegetables is something that many people did long before me, and will do after I'm gone, perhaps in the same ways and also in different ways and maybe even different places.  Planting also reminds me of being on the Amtrak train last September around sunset rolling through the Salinas Valley of California with lettuce fields as far as I could see in every direction.

More about my garden in future blogs.....

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Times have changed...

This is the day we change from Standard to Daylight Savings Time.  We "lose" an hour of sleep and "gain" an hour of daylight in the evening.  It's all an illusion though the amount of daylight is no more or less than we would get if we just relied on nature and sun-dials. 

Besides the illusion, I have a few other observations. 

Calling the time from November to March...a mere 4 months...Standard time seems strange.  That means for twice as long we are...what?  Non-standard?  Sub-standard? Should we make Daylight Savings Time the standard and come up with another clever name for the shorter segment, like Nightlight Time?

Not all areas change their time at the same time, either.  Some parts of the United States don't change at all. Europe doesn't have to deal with this for a few more weeks.  However, there was a "time" about 11 years ago when Europe changed their clocks before North America.  This worked well for me because I was travelling from North America to Europe.  This meant I arrived in London an hour before I thought I would.  I still had the two and a half hour layover before my flight to Germany, but at least I got the flight part of my trip over with an hour sooner than I thought.

Also, I remember a time not all that long ago when I was in gradeschool, the time changed on the last weekend in APRIL, not the second weekend in MARCH!  Here's an idea...instead of changing the clocks to suit our lifestyle, why don't we re-adjust our bodies to that of our home planet.  When it's dark, go home, sleep.  I think the Amish live that way.  Our ancestors lived that way. 

Posted at 7:22 PM...or is it 8:22PM?  Who knows?  Who cares what you call it?

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Taking off (or learning to fly)

Anyone who knows me well, knows that in my heart, I am a writer.  If you know me a little better, you also know that I like eagles.  That is how I chose the title for my blog.  I wanted to combine two of my interests. 

I kept a private journal starting when I was in my early twenties and like many things, started enthusiastically, but then, over time, I suppose I lost interest and haven't written anything in that for a few years now.  This will be more of a public journal.  The flight of the eagle is my life's journey.  Writing in this format is me learning to fly. 

In addition to sharing a bit about what is going on in my life, I will also use this platform to share many of the articles and reflections I have written (and am still writing.)