Hyper-Miler

When it's Earth Week and it cost $94 to fill up the gas tank in my truck, something snaps inside: frustration with our dependence on foreign oil, concern for our ecology, and concern for my economy (read cheap)! Something has to be done! But short of taking the bus to work, or even riding my bike, what can I do? I decided to try the hyper-miler approach. I have normally averaged between 16-18 mpg. But what if I adopted the techniques of the hyper-milers? You know, the raw egg under the gas pedal approach? Easy starts, easy stops, no more than 55 mph, no idling, etc. I figured if during my commute to work I could save 10% on my gas consumption, it would save me $.78/day, $160 per year! And driving 55 vs. 65 would only extend my commute by three minutes, each way.

So, driving like the old man expectant grandfather that I am, looking like a dork as every vehicle on the interstate passes me, I patiently plodded along in my 4-wheel drive, 8-cylinder pickup truck, as if I were on a quest for the holy grail of fuel consumption.

The result? 20.6 mpg! In the future though, I think I'll pick it up a bit on the interstate. I'm not that cheap!

Jeff's Driving

Someone must have videotaped us Sunday as Jeff drove us home from church.

Oklahoma City

Today was the anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombings. In 2004, Adam and I drove through Oklahoma City and stopped to view the memorial. It was beautiful and moving. We were there moments following the lifting of a tornado warning. The streets were quiet and we were about the only souls that had dared yet to wander out. A reflecting pool where the office building stood is flanked by a gateway arch at each end.

At the east end, the archway is labeled 9:01, the time of the initial blast.

At the westend, it's labeled 9:03, the time the building collapse ended. And on a bank overlooking the reflecting pool, individual monuments shaped like a chair for each of the victims.

And just outside the memorial area, a prepared spot for friends and family to place flowers, notes, pictures.

Spring 2008

Yes, spring has arrived in Biscuit Hollow. Probably the first wildflower of the spring, coltsfoot is in bloom. Judging from the cacophony of bird song early mornings, most of the songbirds are back. The phoebes are back in their nest over the garage light. The slate colored juncos are checking out their nest over the bedroom window. And I even saw a bluebird. The turkeys have returned from their valley wintering sites and I saw several toms strutting their stuff for the hens.

And planting season is under way. Several weeks ago I frost seeded clover in a number of areas. After pulling some invasive autumn olive shrubs, this weekends planting chores included planting 210 trees: Norway spruce, blue spruce, white pine, concolor fir, fraser fir, and balsam fir.

She Said What

I have been home sick for several days. In my fever induced delirium, I solved many of the world’s problems, created new inventions, and otherwise enjoyed some of the most elaborate hallucinations. But did I just hear my wife say what I think she said?!? It may have been a hallucination. You know where you hear your wife say things like, “You were right,” “We’ll do it your way,” “I think you need to buy another tool today.”

But this was straight out of la-la land. The phone rings, it’s Jeff. "Mom, will you please come pick me up at Sean’s." “No Jeff, I can’t. I AM ON MY WAY TO THE POLICE STATION TO BE FINGERPRINTED!”

Seems she needed to be fingerprinted for her teacher’s license. I hope Jeff knew what she was talking about.