We had some seriously, notably calm weather the last days of February. Then, last night, a southerly gale came in at around 40 knots. We’ve seen worse on the first of March, (see March Arrives in Leonine Fashion) but it seems like plenty anyway. March is roaring in like a lion.
We’ve seen worse weather, but we’ve also seen better . . . . (Photo: Mark A. Zeiger).
Oddly, and perhaps inconveniently, considering the weather, I’m suddenly getting active. Yesterday, Michelle and I hiked out to the cars to haul in some laundry and groceries. I think it might have been my first hike out in weeks, and I only went as far as the road. In the coming week, I plan to go to town three times.
Monday, there’s a “tax holiday” in town—some local businesses are participating in a relief from our usual 5.5% sales tax. It’s not much, true, but we have a list of items we want to get, so why not make the effort to get them Monday, and save the extra cost? It beats a kick in the head, as I am so fond of saying . . . . Besides, a couple of places are offering additional savings to go along with the tax holiday. Of course, scheduling this on a Monday has to be a conscious decision; the weekly barge arrives in Haines on Monday, so shelves are notoriously bare until late Tuesday or Wednesday. We won’t break our backs hauling purchases home.
Wednesday, the 4th, someone’s presenting on beekeeping locally at the library. I’ve been interested in beekeeping for a long time; in fact, the main reason we don’t keep bees is that I had to give away the hive boxes I meant to bring up from Juneau when we moved. At the last minute, we simply didn’t have room for them in our moving van!
Friday is First Friday, followed by a play that stars several friends. We mainly wanted to attend First Friday because there’s a petition to recall Governor Dunleavy circulating. Michelle and I met a neighbor on the trail yesterday with a petition, and signed (forget the legal reasons for the recall, his damage to our region’s economy makes me want him gone! see Save Our Ferries!). So, we’ll likely still go, to have a bit of a community celebration before the play.
This is excellent Hunker Down weather (Photo: Mark A. Zeiger).
All of this is tide, weather, and will dependent, of course. I intend to further set this plan by tomorrow, to commit myself to getting out and doing these things in the face of another cold snap coming midweek, with forecast temperatures in the teens. Again, that’s not too severe, but couple it with hiking out and back, partially in the dark, and a warm seat by the fireside seems increasingly attractive.