Tipping Points

I did some Back Sliding last night. Though I was tired physically, I was way too alert to fall asleep before midnight. The Garden planning, my Niece's visit, following the latest blast of Winter Weather on the Late News and Facebook, and finding a fully stocked Artist Supply Store nearby had my brain on a nice simmer. Sometime after midnight, I went into the garage to get my measuring tape and some painter's masking tape, where I heard the steady thrumming of a good rain on the roof. I realized how comforting the sound was...it made me feel all warm and cozy.

Once I got settled down and my head hit the pillow, I thought about the whole comforting rain feeling, and how different my response would have been at the DaveCave during Ski Season. The sound is very different for starters. Here in the Ancestral Digs' garage, the sound is unfiltered, natural even. There's a whole second story between the DaveCave and the roof, so the sound of rain is just a whisper...unless there's a good wind blowing. The rain beats against the South wall of the DaveCave, and when it's wind-driven rain, it pelts the front door which somehow amplifies the urgency of the rain.

Rain during the season is just awful. When I hear it on a work night, I cringe. My night is going to be crappy even if it's snowing up top. There's nothing worse than rain on the hill...period. When it's rain in Truckee, the snow falling at the base of My Mountain almost splashes when it lands. No Hero Snow, no chance of Grooming Bliss, it's squeegee time.

My alarm went off at 6AM, I snoozed until 6:20 until I stayed awake and tuned in the radio and found the Local News on TV. The Traffic Report featured Interstate 80 closed Eastbound due to a tipped over truck. It turns out the truck was a double fuel rig, and one trailer tipped over east of the Donner Summit Rest Area, and fuel was escaping...2500 gallons of diesel fuel! The CHP estimates the road will reopen around 11AM, about six hours after the accident.

There was another tipped over truck on I-80 the last time I went up the hill...that one spilled a little fuel, and a whole trailer full of beer into the median near Cisco Grove. That one delayed my departure for a couple of hours.

I just took a look at the webcam views, and read Reno's AFD. It's really snowing hard on Donner Summit at 10:20AM. They're not out of the woods just yet. The good news is, it's supposed to be over by the weekend when they've forecast a warm up.

I guess you could say I've reached my Tipping Point. Ski Season is now officially behind me psychically. In a few months, when the quality of the light makes it's Autumnal Change, I'll start looking forward to Next Season...getting in my Winter State of Mind...but for now, I'm all about the Garden and Summertime. Don't get me wrong, I feel for all the guys still on the Hill, hunkering down for yet another week of Lingering Winter. Hang in there Jeweler! Hang in there Guys! We'll have a Summer, honest...look at it this way...Every foot of snow is another week of river rafting and kayaking! Plus, the boat ramps should be in the water until October! Be glad you're not trout!