Big Wind Big Dust

 Spring is off to a good start here-- we got a small sample of what we will be in for the next few months. High winds and blowing dust, orange sky and reduced visibility. 

But it wasn't snow and ice, and that's a good thing. 

What Do You Know?

 Wind and dust and dust and wind and we are having our first taste of springtime in Lubbock, on the high plains of Texas. Yee Haw! It sucks. It'll be like this off and on for months. The rain we had recently just did not do much good. It's shaping up to be one of our crappier years, weatherwise. Nasty. The wind is supposed to die down later this afternoon but then the dust will fall from the sky and anything and everything outside in the morning will be coated with a reddish film of grime and grit. But I'd rather have this crap than snow and ice. 

Just think, Buddy Holly put up with stuff like this, and in those days it was much, much, worse. 

No More Rain

 It will become quite warm very soon, and rain chances vanish again. We had that one good downpour, at least.

I remember the Berlin Airlift, President Eisenhower, Senator McCarthy, and the Korean War. I remember when things like toothpaste came in lead tubes. I remember milk delivered to one's porch. Yes, I remember when the milkman came. 

Rain At Last!

 We had a spell of heavy rainfall just after dark, and some more during the night. That was terrific. And this morning the sun shines. Ah. I like that. Off to the east there was severe storm potential but none of that for the likes of us. Just a good rain and some thunder and lightening to go with it. Not even damaging winds. I might get out later to check the playa lakes, and they will be a good indicator of how much rain we actually had. I did get a glimpse of a flooded street in front of the house, just before I went to bed. I go to bed early. I get up early. That's a habit I formed in my working life, and I've seen no reason to change, though it has been many years since I've worked. 

I remember watching old TV shows on the networks back in the day. Shows like Sid Caesar, Amateur Hour, Mr. Citizen, I Led Three Lives, Amos and Andy, the Tonight Show with Steve Allen, I Remember Mama, Science Fiction Theater. And so many more. I remember test patterns and the networks going off the air at night. I remember watching cartoons on a TV with a round six inch screen at the house of a friend. I remember when most of my toys were either tin, cast iron, or acetate plastic. 

In fact, I had a number of toys that were wood. Some of those I made myself or my dad made them. 

Our Rain Chances

 They are starting to look swell! Could have some heavy rain late this afternoon and overnight and into tomorrow morning. We sure do need it!

I remember old stuff I used to watch in the early days of PBS, like The Galloping Gourmet, Cooking Cheap, The frugal Gourmet, Laura Weber teaching folk guitar.  I remember watching the very first episodes of This Old House. And then there was The New Yankee Workshop, Crockett's Victory Garden, and of course, Mr. Rogers. I recall Lillias Yoga, as well. I seem to recall that PBS started as Educational TV, and I recall some guy in front of a blackboard teaching Algebra. Production values in the old days were not very good. Oh yeah, how could one forget Julia Child?