By the twitching of my thumb, I think springtime might have come

Well, such a springtime in the Rockies can be spring-like. “When it’s springtime in the Rockies, there’ll be six feet of snow or it’ll be 40 below.” 

We do take spring a day at a time in this part of the world, where Ma Nature gives us a spring day here and there.

We’ve had more than a few nice spring days of late. Folks are getting itchy to be out and about doing outdoor activities. 

These warm days put us in the mood to plant gardens. I think I better make it to Dukes before all the plants are gone. 

Also, folks are getting some bad cases of cabin fever, not only after what seems like a long winter, but because of our imposed quarantining.

Oh, yes, we’ve been out on the four-wheelers a few times already this year. Aren’t we lucky to live in an area where there is so much wide-open space for “social distancing?” The times we’ve gone we’ve seen nary a soul. 

Social distancing is measured in miles not feet here. It’s been a good time to explore some of the great SPEAR trails of which we have more than our share in the Sierra La Sal area. 

Yep, my throttle thumb has been getting a little workout with lots more to come.

The signs of spring:  my favorite is the sound of children’s voices as they play in the outdoors, the smell of newly turned earth, smoke in the air as folks burn yard debris.

This debris includes, in our case, the torching of the Christmas tree which has been curing for several months now.  It’ll go up in a big whoosh as soon as conditions are right to safely burn. 

Another cute sign of spring is the new baby calves dotting the rangelands.  I especially love the little bald-faced calves who look so clean this early in their lives. 

I love the warm feel of sunshine on my shoulders as I spend time outside. The spring flowers are blooming – tulips and lilacs. The apricots will soon follow. 

I wonder what Ma Nature has in store for them and us between now and Memorial Day.  She’ll pull something capricious from her bag of tricks, I’m sure.

I have friends who email book reviews from time to time.  Some pique my interest and some do not.  But, I do spend a lot of time reading (lately out in the sun). 

If you haven’t discovered this yet, I’m going to turn you on to Book Bub. It supplies e-books at minimal cost which can then be read on a Kindle app. 

By the way, I think this app is the greatest invention of the 21st century. No matter where you go, if you have your smart phone or tablet, you’ll always have books to read.

You can sign up for Book Bub, fill out your profile, including the types of books you prefer. Then every day they will email you a list of books that are available to purchase through Amazon (gotta love that “one click” buying button!).

Books range in price from free to $2.99.  Never more than that.  Hint:  the free ones are free for a reason – you probably want to skip downloading those.

I’ve found a lot of new books to read as well as some old favorites, some of which are out of print.  In my old age, I find myself reading a lot of old favorites. 

’Course, it helps that I have an old timer’s brain and usually can’t remember much about the story anyway. I watch a lot of reruns on TV for the same reason. If I don’t remember who done it, I can enjoy watching or reading the same things all over again.

Well, there you have it for now – the no news from Sierra La Sal. One of these days the world will right itself again and activities can resume. Maybe then there will be news to report that has nothing to do with a virus. For now, enjoy springtime in the Rockies one day at a time.

San Juan Record

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