Dust to Dust

For a blog dedicated to the musings of "Dust in the Wind," the month long weather we've been having in coastal MS epitomizes this description. Once again, another cold front has swung through only to fizzle East of Baton Rouge. My friends in Texas report even more dire drought conditions. The dark and cloudy day teased and tantalized but gave no relief other to usher in a cold May evening. I was down at the volunteer fire station picking up my bunker gear, jump suit, radio, and medical gear when one of the firefighters complained about the chilly wind. I only smirked and said, "this is but a Vermont heat wave." Having endured a long New England winter I wasn't complaining about temperatures in the 40's...ever...again. The next few days here are destined to be delightfully March like with temps in the 60's and lows in the 40's and 50's. No rain unfortunately, so I'll continue working the sprinkler feeding my growing vegetable garden.



This picture is from several weeks ago, but I have tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, cucumbers, peppers, cantaloupe, lettuce, and butter lettuce planted. All of them growing well in a tilled bed of horse manure and dark earth. I'll try and get a more recent photo. While we pray for rain, the dry weather has been perfect for what I needed to do around the house; that is, my friend and I have been steadily clearing the acreage for further use. This would've been impossible if the season was typical of South MS this time of the year.

Working out in the woods, chopping, and chainsawing tree's while chaining up to the felled pines was brutal work, but I could only imagine the vigor of pioneers armed with a mere axe and set of draft horses. Whole days were spent working on ONE stump in the old days. It's days when I'm drenched in sweat, my joints ache, and I'm fussing over horseflies that I pause at imagining life without oil age contraptions. I thought I'd take advantage of my unemployed free time, no waiting at the diesel pumps, and the dry weather to get this done, a long over due project. I still have days of dragging small tree's out of the woods to toss on a 20' high burn pile. I don't know when it will ever get burned with no rain and a persistent burn ban. I've been trying to work out a deal with the fire chief to carry out a practice event using my conflagatory tower of pine tree's.

Tomorrow I'll be volunteering in Slidell, LA at fire district 1's station helping them cover 911 while the regular station crews attend the funeral of David Smith, a firefighter that was helplessly gunned down at his house. http://slidellsentry.com/articles/2011/05/03/news/doc4db73c4fd24a0223411893.txt

May our brother make a happy transcendence.

(This is the oak tree behind the house that I wish to be buried under)

Dust in the Wind