The Myth & The Majesty

Dear Mother Nature: We need to talk. See, we're all a little worried about you. Are you feeling all right? I know we've been more than a little rough on you the last few years and I understand your anger with us. I also understand that you're bigger and more powerful than us and have been coping just as well as you can. But you seem to be self-destructing over here and that's starting to worry us. It's this rain. I mean, I hate to complain about it, but ... it's getting a little out of hand. First you didn't want us to have any for a few years, and you were exceptionally generous with the sunlight. It was nice at first, but then all of your foliage started to die off and you occasionally burst into flame. Now you seem to have developed a drinking problem and it's destroying all sorts of things. Not just our things, either -- we've got hillsides falling and creekbeds going every which way and plants drowning. I know we haven't always be

Okay. So between Wait But Why and Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance, I'm learning waaaay more about some fascinating technology than I ever intended. It's awesome. Since I can't share the book much (go get one for yourself!), I'll give you a link to the second Musk-related post on Wait But Why ... This was the post where my admiration of the author turned into a full-on crush with one line: "The grandest joule theft in history." Possibly the best nerd pun I've read in quite some time. The piece is quite long but worth the time.

Our first camp of the year has started and as they arrived, I did my best to drink in some of the enthusiasm. You see, there's a strange price to pay for working in paradise. When kids arrive, they get to run around and explore and find all the little nooks and quiet spots and fun spots and the dining room and the magic. They can absorb it and it becomes their escape, their home away from home. I remember being a camper and more importantly, I remember that feeling. As it became part of my daily life, though, that initial spark died out a bit. Now, although my love for the place is pretty well-established and those who take a tour with me might call me "a tad enthusiastic," I see the whole place differently. I see ruts in the road that need fixing, buildings that need to be cleaned, equipment out of place, doors that were left open. I see the minutiae that goes into the day-to-day upkeep and the month-to-month survival. This time of year, I feel it, too. With ever

Well! Summer days are rarely perfectly smooth. Which could explain the way this whole weekend has played out -- it hasn't been bad, but I wouldn't say everything's gone as planned. It's camp. It's all about flexibility. A fact that hits a lot closer when the rest of the full-timers are out of town. Now, after a couple random crises and a couple really long days, I find myself at home, enjoying the solitude. Hoping for a couple days of relatively dry weather. Hoping for a smooth week with our first real camp. Halfway wishing I could have seen Jay wrestle a calf today. ... Maybe more than halfway, knowing that the whole crowd would have been fun. This is my life, and some days it exhausts me.

I'm not feeling particularly chipper today. So I'm just going to send you over to the Tesla post on Wait But Why . It's ... long. And hugely interesting and informative. And long. But if you've got the time, give it a read. Have a good evening.

Besides being the most madcap season we have around here, summer is the season to plan. It's a season for lists. For calendars. For lots and lots of detailed phone messages. (Seriously, the phone barely stopped ringing yesterday.) It's a season to schedule your own laundry just so you're sure your work shirts are clean on the right day. And more than any other time of year, it's a season to plan days off very carefully. Which is why tonight I found myself making as complete a list as I could for my housekeepers for tomorrow, laying out clothes for the morning, and wishing beyond hope that the rain could hold off because dangnabbit I haven't been able to go kayaking yet and I really really really want to but I don't want to be miserable... Okay. That's less planning and more begging, but all the same. This weather is starting to mess with my summer.

Today, a cave. And more rain, but I'm really quite tired of that right now.

 Well, I suppose if it insists on raining it could at least be interesting.   All the same, I'm happy for a garage spot. "Tennis ball sized hail" predicted.   ... Seems excessive.