You know that done-to-death nonsense about ‘May you live in interesting times?’. Well, that’s not the whole thing. It’s cleverly phrased to make it sound like a blessing but is meant as a curse. The whole thing goes like this – May you have everything you want, may you live in interesting times, and may you come to the attention of important people.

This promises to be the interesting year.

Not much you can do on the big scale. You may not be able to repair the hole in the hull of the Titanic, but you can certainly make sure your life jacket is snug as you make your way to the exits. Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.

And while we’re quoting good ‘ol TR, here’s an interesting one I hadn’t heard before: “A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of the user.” (Interestingly, that juxtaposition reminds me of someone else’s thoughts about force and votiong – “To vote is to wield authority; it is the supreme authority from which all other authority derives—such as mine to make your lives miserable once a day. Force if you will!—the franchise is force, naked and raw, the Power of the Rods and the Ax. Whether it is exerted by ten men or by ten billion, political authority is force.” [In the movie it was distilled even further – ““When you vote you are exercising political authority. You are using force, and force, my friends, is violence.”]) More on that as November draws closer.

Spring-like weather is here in Montana. February is usually the coldest month of the year but it’s been absolutely balmy. However, it often does this – Mom Nature gives us a few weeks of truly wonderful weather and then, when we lower our guard, donkey punches us with a week or two of below-zero teabagging. I’ve lived here long enough to be wary about these lulls.

But, springlike weather means its time to start seeds, and restock things used up over the winter. Today’s trip to CostCo wasn/t cheap (nothing is, these days) but I feel better when i go through my spreadsheets and see that there’s food, toiletries, batteries, medical supplies, ammo, fuel, and that sort of thing stacked on the shelves.

Shopping, putting stuff away, and then updating the spreadsheets took most of the morning but it is an absolute necessity. You cannot, no matter how clever you think you are, wisely use your resources if you don’t know what you have and what you need.

Other things to do as spring approaches – generator maintenance, annual bicycle tune up, gas rotation, put away winter gear and clothes, head to the range more, and perhaps, if time permits, get out there and do some fishing. I picked up a tenkara fishing rod I’m looking forward to playing with this summer.