Last Things First

OK, last things first: The final leg(s) of our Southwest road trip, starting with Tehachapi Pass and ending with home-sweet-Sacramento (civilization at last). Happy Trails, y’all!

 

Last Things First - Tehachapi.
Wind farm on the Tehachapi Pass.
A butte outside Bakersfield, maybe?
Last Things First - Stockton.
Amazing clouds on I-5 near Stockton.
Last Things First - Point Reyes.
First glimpse of the Pacific @PointReyes.
Limintour Beach looking south: Nary a human.
Drake’s Bay looking north: Ditto on humans.

 

More Point Reyes from days of yore is here.

 

Last but not least, home-sweet-Sacramento…

 

R Street in Sac: You know you’ve reached civilization when there’s a yarn store.
Oh, did I mention pastries? Yup, To-die-for. I’m definitely down for “Last Things First!”

 

Coddiwomple

I know, I know. You’re all anxiously awaiting pix from our recent road trip. And believe me when I tell you, it’s coming, it’s coming. Please be patient. In the meantime, here are a few memes including today’s WOTD, coddiwomple. Appropriate for road tripping, as are the literature selections from Kerouac / McCarthy.  Enjoy.

 

CoddiwompleNot coddiwomple, but it is "on the road."

 

And in honor of March Madness bracket busters…

 

Go Eli’s!

 

Last but not least, some old literary favorites…

 

By Gary Larson.
By Shel Silverstein

More Poetry

In keeping with our poetic theme from yesterday, today you get more (cow) poetry, along with a good definition for “rebounds,” as well as a Neanderthal spelling bee. Enjoy.

 

More poetry, more cows.

 

A bonus retirement meme for my golf buddies currently on a Mediterranean pleasure cruise. Hope you are having fun.

 

Poem From My Childhood

A poem from my childhood on this the first day of Spring.

 

Spring is sprung

The grass is rizz

I wonder where the posies is?

 

A poem for spring.

 

Alright, truth to tell:  By this time of year the birds have already eaten all the orange berries from the pyracantha bush outside my window. And the snow has already mostly melted. But on this first day of Spring here at 6200′ above sea level, there are no posies in sight.

And yes this post is for all you coastal elites with your pretty-in-pink cherry blossom photos and Spring-smug demeanor. We should all be so lucky, in spite of any poem from my childhood. And BTW, congrats to me on getting my first post published on “The view from my window” – here.

Happy Spring Equinox, y’all!

Saint Patrick’s

I recently stumbled across a FB group called “The View From My Window.” These were their posts that caught my eye today. Gotta love Saint Patrick’s Day!

 

Saint Patricks Donkey
The view from my window –
Lorraine Gallagher.
Happy St. Patrick’s day from the west of Ireland. My neighbour’s donkey this morning ☘️☘️

 

The view from my window –
Margaret Faulkner.
St Patrick Day greetings from The Emerald Isle ☘️

 

No Saint Patrick’s Day post would be complete without a little razzing.

 

Last but not least…

 

Not exactly Irish, but close enough. And always worth keeping in mind. Thanks, JD.

Star-gazing

Calvin and Hobbes in praise of star-gazing…

Star-gazing.

High praise indeed!

 

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C.S. Lewis on authors…

C.S. Lewis

Those of us who have been true readers all our life seldom fully realize the enormous extension of our being which we owe to authors. We realize it best when we talk with an unliterary friend. He may be full of goodness and good sense but he inhabits a tiny world. In it, we should be suffocated. The man who is contented to be only himself, and therefore less a self, is in prison. My own eyes are not enough for me, I will see through those of others. Reality, even seen through the eyes of many, is not enough. I will see what others have invented. Even the eyes of all humanity are not enough. I regret that the brutes cannot write books. Very gladly would I learn what face things present to a mouse or a bee; more gladly still would I perceive the olfactory world charged with all the information and emotion it carries for a dog.

 

Last but not least…

 

Ah well:  Best to go back to star-gazing.

Like a Mack Truck

With 36″ of snow predicted – half of it already on the ground and the other half expected to fall over the next 12 hours –  today most schools and even some businesses and restaurants are closed.  So when I rolled out of bed this morning it seemed like a good day to stay indoors by the fire and reflect rather than venture out.

Today, same as every day, a This Day in History email appeared in my inbox. But my attention was particularly drawn to a brief blurb about the demise of one of the founders of the Mack Truck company on this date in 1924.

 

John “Jack” Mack, who co-founded Mack Trucks, Inc. — then known as the Mack Brothers Company — is killed when his car collides with a trolley in Pennsylvania on March 14, 1924.

 

After the Mack brothers sold their company to investors in 1911, it continued to flourish. In fact it became one of the world’s largest makers of heavy-duty trucks. During World War I, Mack built thousands of trucks for the American and British governments. The company acquired its trademark bulldog logo when British soldiers said the truck’s blunt-nosed hood and durability reminded them of their country’s mascot, the bulldog.

 

In 1922, the company was renamed Mack Trucks, Inc. And in 2001, Mack was acquired by Volvo of Sweden. Today, the expression “it hit me like a Mack truck” – meaning something that creates a powerful impact – is a standard part of the American lexicon.

 

 

And then it hit me… dare I say it? – like a Mack truck: The founder of Roxborough Park, Henry S. Persse, also died in a pedestrian versus trolley collision in downtown Denver in 1918. What are the odds? The full Persse story is here.  My photo of his iconic stone house from a past hike in Roxborough State Park is below.

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Like a Mack Truck? Henry S. Persse homestead.

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Despite the striking coincidence, I somehow doubt if the phrase “It hit me like a trolley car” is likely to catch on. Y’think? Just not enough trolley cars around these days. But I will say this much: If on the fateful day both Jack Mack and Henry Persse had stayed indoors rather than venturing out into harm’s way, history might have turned out very differently.

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Beware the trolley, y’all!
And, snow or no snow, let’s all be careful out there.

Election Year Twist

Today’s Elk Valley hike comes with an election year twist. From the pictures below, see if you can be the first to guess the particular type of abandoned farm implement and its relation to the 2024 election. Extra credit if you have ever used one yourself. 

 

Election Year Twist - The Melvin Head place.
From the inside looking out of the old Melvin Head homestead in Elk Valley.

 

Election Year Twist - DC-5.

You are here: To get to Elk Valley, follow Douglas County Route 5 heading south until you can’t go any further and the road veers west steeply uphill.

 

Looking north from DC-5 you see the edge of Roxborough. The view south, it’s all horse farms as far as the eye can see.

 

Looking east from DC-5 you see Swallowtail Ridge and the bluest of blue skies. The road west is more than a bit steep, with one small ray of afternoon sunshine.

 

Still snowy; and no, the snow plow never makes it this far.

 

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And now the moment we’ve all been waiting for: What’s this abandoned farm implement? And what does it have to do with the 2024 election?

 

Election Year Twist - horse manure!

A closeup of the tail end may be all the help you need to win valuable prizes:  Good luck!

 

Election year twist: Don’t let flying horse manure hit your head!