“Written in Early Spring” by William Wordsworth (1770–1850)

  I HEARD a thousand blended notes   While in a grove I sate reclined,  In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts  Bring sad thoughts to the mind.  To her fair works did Nature link  The human soul that through me ran;  And much it grieved my heart to think  What Man has made of Man.  Through primrose tufts, in that sweet bower,  The periwinkle trail’d its wreaths;  And ’tis my faith that every flower  Enjoys the air it breathes.  The birds around me hopp’d and play’d,  Their thoughts I cannot measure,—  But the least motion which they made  It seem’d a thrill of pleasure.  The budding twigs spread out their fan  To catch the breezy air;  And I must think, do all I can,  That there was pleasure there.  If this belief from heaven be sent,  If such be Nature’s holy plan,  Have I not reason to lament  What Man has made of Man?

Hurricane Prep

Hurricane Irma has slammed into Puerto Rico and at this point, the storm could still turn any direction. Regardless, our state has been placed under state of emergency by the governor. So with that in mind, the mix of overcast skies and a little rain made folks go a bit nuts. Already. 

Gas prices have been riding high for a few days now, but the stores are getting hit fairly hard. The store parking lot was full of cars and I witnessed folks sauntering out carrying loaves of bread and jugs of milk like prizes won in a fight. 

Inside the store it was not terribly bad--attitudes were good--but the water was gone. And the bread. Plenty of milk though, and eggs were 59 cents. So we loaded up on bread items that were left--though I can't figure out why all the sliced bread was gone but not the Ciabatta rolls. I'm not ashamed to put a slice of Spam on Ciabatta if I have to. Thanks for leaving the good stuff!

Plenty of water-bearing fresh fruit left. Especially the watermelon. Ok, you can't make coffee with watermelon, but there's lots of vitamins in watermelon and it's tasty. Didn't need to buy any watermelon though--grew my own. It's cut up and in the freezer. 

Got plenty of beans and tortillas. Just in case. New Mexican survival food. 
Every New Mexican needs beans and tortillas to survive. It's a daily thing for us. 
And chips.
And salsa (note to self: "check salsa". A half jar is an empty jar.)

Got other canned goods, meats. 

Bet you're wondering about the water. Well, I have a solution. While folks were getting panicky trying to find cases of bottled water, I remembered what we did during the Great Flood of 2015 (triggered!). Going to fill up all my coolers just before the storm hits (in case it comes up this way) and store them like mini reservoirs. Also, got my CamelBak, collapsing bottles and plenty of Army and Navy water bottles and the like--filling those up and stick 'em in the freezer (not the CamelBak tho). Things like that. I don't believe we'll need to buy water. 

Just need to make certain cell phones and back-up batteries are charged. 
Better find the board games, too. 
Just in case.

My only complaint about shopping: that kid--you know who you are--who snuck that box of Ding Dongs into my basket--you should be ashamed of yourself. 

I had to buy them and take them home. 

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