Up in the sky, it’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s...

Our neighbor!  What is that man doing “floating” up there?! Well, here’s how the situation sort of came about.

The neighbor’s son is building a new home in West La Sal. The wide expanse of his roof was covered by a thin sheet of weather barrier.  

Spring winds had precluded the installation of the metal roofing atop this.

A few weeks ago, Ma Nature sent 1930s dust-bowl-like winds. (Which she sent again last weekend. More on that later.) 

Her capriciousness, billowed the plastic roofing like it was a hot air balloon preparing for flight.

Wondering what to do about the situation, our neighbor decided to lie atop the billow to hold it in place.

His neighbor, who has a straight view of the situation, hurried over to lend a hand – or perhaps a body.  

The home builder soon happened upon the scene and dispatched the two senior gentlemen forthwith.

Seems he deemed it easier to replace roofing than a father and neighbor.

Indeed, dawn’s early light revealed that much of the plastic roofing material was gone. So if you happen to be driving in La Sal Creek or Paradox and see a sheet of plastic flying through the air, it’s not a weather balloon come apart and gone awry but just the sheeting from the roof in La Sal.  

(Disclaimer:  the above narrative may have been exaggerated, enhanced, or downright fabricated for entertainment purposes.)

Once again, this weekend Ma Nature sent heavy winds and a dust storm. I can’t really report on the dust storm as I was on The Mountain enjoying the cool, green surroundings. And it did rain up there.  

Down in the valley, she did bless us with an inch of much-needed rain. ’Course, then she sent the wind to suck it dry again. Send more rain.

There are variables and constants in the world. One constant is that in the spring, there will be wind.

Every year I hear someone say that it’s windier this year than I’ve ever seen it.  

When someone said that a while back, I commented that I heard that every year.

The NOAA guy with whom I live (and may or may not be one of the above-mentioned floaters) challenged me and immediately trotted over to his official paper weather record.  

Flipping back a year he showed me the recordings for last May:  windy, very windy, blustery... Now that’s a wind.  

Then he fast-forwarded a year to this year’s record:  very very windy, holy cow, what the heck kinda wind is this, very very very very windy,  gee whiz it’s windy!

Okay, I concede. It does appear that it’s been windier this year. (Again, note previous disclaimer.)

Our little library in a closet will feature a new face as librarian.  Shannon Badger is the new lead lady. 

Folks will sure be glad to get back to the “closet” and its books, DVDs, internet, and other features.  Things are very slowly returning to normal, but very slowly.

The food bank, which is today (or maybe yesterday depending on when you read this), is still drive up and honk.  

Last month there was a long line waiting for the folks inside to be ready. 

Folks came early and had a long wait. But once all was packed ready for handout, things went pretty quickly.  

And as far as I know, the Senior Citizen meals on Wednesday and Friday are still “honky tonkin’.”  Those rascally seniors!

Ma Nature has sent us on a real roller coaster ride this spring.  Some of April and May was unseasonably warm – even hot. Folks were lured into planting gardens early.

She tries this trick every year.  Some “newcomers” lost tomatoes to her capriciousness. 

Longtimers know that no matter how nice the weather, if you plant before Memorial Day, you better have those tomatoes protected under walls of water or some other improvisational protection.

Another sort of constant in the spring is that as soon as you hook up the air conditioning for summer, it will turn cold.  This year is no exception.  

My “floater” hooked up our swamp cooler last week and then this weekend was covering tender plants because we had a freeze warning.  Oh, Mother Nature and her tricks!