I composed a mental list over the weekend of things I could share here since so much has happened in the past year. Unfortunately as soon as I sat down all my ideas evaporated. So I’m just going to write and hope that my thoughts will compose themselves and I will magically remember all the things I wanted to say.

I’m going to start off by boring you with weather, and we’ll see where it goes from there. In the almost seven months I’ve been in Alabama I’ve experienced one of the hottest summers on record, followed by one of the coldest and snowiest winters on record. All summer long and into the fall, the daily weathermen talked about how unusual the temperatures were. It was frequently ten degrees above average. I was hoping this would lead to a mild and pleasant winter. My hopes were quickly dashed right around the end of November. I wish I had paid more attention to how many days the area suffered through the misery of highs only making it into the 20s. I missed the snowfall at Christmas because I had the good sense to escape to a warmer locale and visit family. Then, the region was walloped by that ridiculous snowstorm earlier this month. You can tell I live someplace unequipped to deal with much snowfall. The weathermen here are particularly amusing. I thought the forecasters in the metroplex were bad, but they have nothing on the drama queens around here. Anytime severe weather is even a possibilty they behave as if the apocalypse is upon us. I admit, the 9 inches of snow was very impressive, and absolutely everything shut down for about two days.

This past weekend was a nice change though. We luxuriated in the warmest temperatures we’ve had since Thanksgiving. It was impossible to ignore how beautiful Saturday was, and I spent a few hours sitting by the lake while Paul fished. I’m glad I did too, not just because I was taking advantage of the gorgeous weather, but if I hadn’t I would not have seen the beaver swim casually by. It was a bit shabby looking, and when I first saw it in the water I thought it might be someone’s discarded teddy bear floating past. Then I noticed it was moving purposefully and under its own power so I took closer notice. It ended up sauntering out of the water about thirty feet away to gnaw on some downed limbs in a nearby copse of trees. I took some photos, but I haven’t moved them off the camera yet. I’ll try to get them posted soon.

How about that? This turned out pretty lengthy considering I didn’t really say much. It’s good practice for when (make that if) I actually have something important to share.