Summer Sunday Night

I had spent some time with my friend Sarah, one of my favorite xGFs. She had a foot problem, couldn't get around very well, so I brought her some dinner and we ate it in her yard as the day and weekend faded away.

I drove off in my Vanagon, and it was just dark enough that we should all use our headlights. Driving in the Vanagon always makes me feel sort of happy and relaxed, like I'm on a trip somewhere, travelling on a whim, without everyday cares. I turned on the radio and of course it was tuned to WPVM since it was Sunday night, and that is the time for River of Sound. River of Sound is my favorite radio program of late. A young woman named Amanda puts together this 2 hour program each week. It combines music, natural sound recordings, old movie soundtracks, and other mysterious content into a surprisingly cohesive experience. Sometimes I like it more than others, but even when it is not so much my style, I enjoy the challenge and stick with it to see where she is going with it.

I decided to take the long way home, and just fell in love with the moment. The temperature, the windows down and soft air blowing through, the music, the Vanagon feeling, the light fading and shifting from warm pink to cool blue. I drove along the river, who's banks were so fecund and lush with plants. Sweet honeysuckle wafted in and brought up all the sense memory that goes with that smell. I just continued along the river, up past the mulch pile with its own tangy decomposition smell. I turned around and headed back the way I just came since it had been so nice. The light was now getting very dim, and Amanda was wrapping up the River of Sound as I crossed the river (here) and turned toward home.

This is my favorite time of year as we aproach the solstice and all the plants have fresh full leaves and are adding growth like crazy. I like it so much that I get anxious in anticipation of its passing.

Big Bush

I like a big bush. This azalea managed to hold it's buds in until the big Easter weekend freeze passed, and now it is being rewarded for its reluctance, with rampant, no-holds-barred fertilization. See, sometimes being cautious, reluctant, tentative and so forth can be a benefit.

If anybody out there has a bigger blooming azalea bush, I want to see it.

Final Project Finally Finished

It's done. To the right is the main map page that I completed. If you click it, you can see it bigger, or if you want to see the whole output of the final project with more charts and data and writing and stuff in PDF format, click Here.

I think it came out pretty well considering the amount of time spent on it. I did burn up some time deciding on what to do for my final project, and then seeking data from outside sources to do a different project. The data never materialized, so I sort of fell back to this project.


The GIS class was quite interesting. Lots of credit goes to Pete Kennedy our instructor who clearly loves the subject and puts a lot of himself into it. He is also very knowledgeable, and if he can't tell you the answer to a tough question right off the top of his head, he'll find it for you. I hope to take additional GIS classes in the future.

The last class came and went, and it was a bittersweet farewell to my friend Mary, who I met in the class. Smart, and a smart-ass, and friendly and funny, she added a some much needed energy to those brain-fried Wednesday nights. Maybe we will have the opportunity to entertain each other in a future GIS class. Or, get together over the summer for some social fun.

GIS class may be over for now, but stay tuned as the blog rolls on to cover new and exciting topics!