Seriously! It's Water People!

So I'm standing in the grocery store last night with my most wonderful wife pondering deep things such as, why can't I have some Little Debbie snacks, when i found myself staring at an enormous wall of bottled water. Water bottles in every shape and size you can imagine, some from as far away as artisan wells in Chile. I didn't know they had artisan wells in Chile. One was even called something like Black Mnt Water, stamped with a seal declaring it drawn from the Asheville municipal water supply. Granted, we have one of the cleanest water supplies in the country, but, for real? Last time I checked, we were still in the grips of a severe drought around here. Water restrictions and the works. How does the city of Asheville sell something that really isn't theirs, that we need, to outside parties? I found the whole thing odd and I'm going to do some more checking on it to see what kind of distribution it has.

All this got me to thinking more, as tends to happens when the sawdust smokes! What kind of idiots are we, as the American public. Over 160ft of aisle space in one grocery store was devoted to bottled water. That doesn't even include endcaps and random displays throughout the store. How much of this water is any better than the average city's tap water? I, for one am generally not guilty of buying bottled water, but will on occasion or use it if it's given to me. That's why God brought along people smart enough to make something like the Nalgene bottle, something that's reusable.

Must be a hell of a margin on bottled water, because the competition is fierce! I counted over 25 different companies and about 15 distributors.... for water.... in a bottle..... I can just imagine some jackass commenting on how they prefer European bottled water over the American aquifers, or some other equally revolting crap! It's water! Not wine or not beer, water! Neither of those flow freely from our faucets, although that makes an interesting mental image. Hmmmm.... maybe all those "lifetime in a landfill" commercials are getting to me. More likely it's all the assholes buying something we already have at home. They're just too damn lazy to put it in a bottle! Just another symptom of a disposable society.

Wow, I almost sound like I should join PETA or something! : )

Happy 311 Day!!!!

Happy 311 Day!!!

This time last year, Cat and I were chillin with some friends in New Orleans rockin out to 5 hours of live 311. Hopefully we'll be down there next year doin the same! I leave you with this... one of my favorite lyrics from Plain:

stress is the enemy
it's not a friend of me
one thing I see is to be easy going
flowing
knowing
life is but a dream

Peace

Whats Happenin Now

It's 74 degrees outside and has been for the past few days, this being the reason that I haven't posted in a few days. The doldrums of winter have seemed to have passed and I'm getting back into some sort of groove. Chores are getting done, projects are getting good sized chunks knocked out of them. Man I love spring! But alas, I fear it has showed up too early.

Early trees are starting to bloom, crocus and daffodils are coming up, but it's getting too warm too quick. This time last week the high was in the 20's and we had 8" of snow on the ground. Hard freezes have a tendency to come here as late as April, even in early May on rare occasion. On very rare occasion, as much as 40" of snow have fallen in late March. Accuweather is showing a couple of pretty cold nights next week, lows into the low 20's. Depending on other factors and how warm it is until then, it has the potential to decimate the wildflowers. Happened two years ago. I hate to be pessimistic, but it's just too warm too soon.

I was able to get out and fish on Friday in the nice weather. I headed above Canton to the DH around Burnette Siding. I fished for a bit, wrestled in maybe a 1/2 dozen fish before I came to a realization. I really don't like fishin delayed harvest waters. I don't fish the same way that I do for wild fish. I tend to fish trash flies and frankly, I don't like sharing water with other people. When I can see someone above me and below me, it's time to go somewhere else. I headed up the road and went for a hike to check out some streams I'm wanting to fish this year. Adicus and I ended up going for about a 6 mile hike and checked out two streams, both with great potential. Being all excited about the spring fishing season, I came home and made a realistic list of streams I want to fish this year. I probably won't be spending a huge amount of time in SMNP this year. Instead I plan on focusing on the Pigeon river watershed almost exclusively this year. It's close to home, has some awesome opportunities, and I can always take Adicus with me.

Needless to say, I'm excited about spring finally rearing it's head around hear. Even if winter still might make another appearance. I still have alot of things to do around the house before I go fishing crazy, so the weather is all good. I'm having to rustle up a tiller to use in the garden this year (the community tiller seized up), so things are progressing very slowly in the garden. If any of you local readers have a tiller, maybe we could make a deal of some sort for a weekends use? Just shoot me an email, if someone is so gracious! Well enough for know, Cat's snoozing on the couch after having her root canal this afternoon. I need to cook dinner and get a few other things done.

Is It Spring Yet?

We still have snow on the ground in the shady spots, but rumor has it that it's supposed to hit the 70's this weekend. The license is up to date, waders will be patched (again), DH gets stocked Thursday, I'm off on Friday..... I think I'll go fishin and enjoy this mild break in the weather.

Dreams of fresh veggies are again dancing in my head. The garden plan has been finalized. (over complicated as is my style!) Cat is working on her seed and transplant list. Now if the ground will just dry out, I can finish turning the garden and get the beds set. As usual, I'm already dreaming of fresh 'maters and corn! A lot was learned last year, with more to come this year. Hopefully we'll get some rain this summer, it will make things easier. Gotta go, supposed to be doing chores as per the chart....

Time Warp

In an effort to stem the chaos know as our lives, Cat and I have agreed to a set routine, or "schedule" if you will. Anyone who knows me, knows I reject almost any and all form of routine. I am a creature of spontaneity, a free spirit of sorts. I do most things as they come to me, stress is not a friend of mine. My most wonderful wife on the other hand, has gone schedule nuts! Last night she handed me my life on an Excel spreadsheet. Needless to say, my enthusiasm waned.....

I get up at or around 4:30 on most mornings, it's on the schedule. I tend to get home around 3 or so and work on projects around the house, this is also now on the schedule. My "play" time is even scheduled. (I've been assured this is the winter schedule and that the spring schedule will reflect the required fishing quota!)I think you get the picture. I must say, I feel some pressure to make sure I'm where I should be on "the schedule". Overall, both of us REALLY need this right now. I just have a tendency to reject structure and what not. I have a 6 week to-do list that is absolutely insane, so the scheduled time to do it is a must! Right now I'm in battle with the basement, updates in the future.

On the topic of time and such, I was watching the Science Channel last night, much to Cat's disgust. I was watching a show on time. Try to describe time. Seems pretty simple, but what is time really? Something that dominates all of our lives, yet is different for each of us. Some days at work fly by, yet other drag on for what seems to be an eternity. Wanna watch 30 minutes fly by, get on a stream unprepared with a hatch peaking. Can be the quickest 30 minutes of your life! Sometime these types of things will occupy my mind for weeks and I can't seem to get this one out of it. Seems proper that while I'm trying to wrap my mind around time as a force, I'm also trying to learn how to manage it in my life.

To Be, Or Not To Be Friends

Friends piss me off. How do you decide when a friendship is worth continuing putting effort into? When does a friend become an acquaintance? How do you deal with an acquaintance that wants to be a friend, maybe even a best friend, but is not really interested in putting the effort into it? Why do I feel like I'm back in high school? I guess that's better than being in HighSchoolMusical!
What do you do when someone you care about, hurts you, and then asks weeks later why you're being a stranger? I sometimes wonder if I'm not better off focusing on my relationship with Cat (my true best friend) and just let whatever happens in my other relationships happen. Unfortunately, Cat also just had a falling out with one of her closest friends, so I guess we're both having to reevaluate the role of friendships in our life. All I know is that I really don't have the patience, time, or resources to deal with it right now. Life is hard enough to deal with right now without the people I care about kicking me in the balls!

I Hate WInter!

It's cold out. Something like 20 degree cold with a 20+ mph wind. BRRRRR!!! Every one's getting cranky, the cat's are driving us crazy, the dog is getting squirley! Snow.... seen it, been in it, done with it! I have a bad tendency to become very lethargic during winter. Mainly, I tie flies, read books, and bitch about when it's going to start warming up.

My hats off to all of you who live farther north. If our winters were any longer or more severe, I think I might shoot myself. My in-laws live in Saginaw, Mi, and sounds like total lunacy! Growing up in the South, I'm used to wearing shorts in March, sometimes in late Feb. Moving up to the mountains was a bit of a shocker, I almost missed spring our first year here because I thought it was still winter.

In the end, things work out better. Fishing doesn't really heat up til April, which allows me to do something with Cat for our Anniversary. Then I'm fishin or workin till sometime around mid June. I just long for the warm, earthy smell of early spring blowing down a mountain stream. To see the first blood root poking thru the undercover. But alas, March will be here before long; with it's early hatches, wildflowers, and ever unpredictable weather. That characteristic neon green color that signals the rebirth of the woods. Red buds blooming, birds chirping, and of coarse, trout taking flies readily. Would Spring be as wonderful without winter, I doubt it.
Rumor has it that it's supposed to hit the 60's this week. Sweet!