Today is Sunday, March 25 and there are only 275 days until Christmas.  I don’t mean to make you panic, but 275 days will go by quickly.  Today we remember the birthdays of Henry II, John Gutzon Borglum and Jeff Healey.  On this day in 0031 it was the first Easter, according to calendar maker Dionysius Exiguus, in 1634 Lord Baltimore founded the Catholic colony of Maryland and in 1966 the US Supreme Court ruled that the “poll tax” was unconstitutional.  In Greece it is Independence Day, in Maryland it is Maryland Day and in the US it is National Lobster Newburg Day and National Tolkien Reading Day.

As you may know, I reside in New Jersey.  These past few weeks have been a real introduction to winter for Barbara, who moved here from South Carolina last year.  Over a period of about three weeks we were hit with four major storms that dumped well over 20 inches (unofficial totals) on our area.  There is some discussion about whether or not winter storms really have names, but they have been gaining popularity in some areas.  The four storms that hit us were Quinn, Riley, Skylar and Toby.  That sounds more like a kindergarten class list … but I digress.

It was nice to sit and look out the window and watch the snow fall.  Nicer knowing that someone else was going to clean it up and I would not have to risk a heart attack doing it myself.  We were fortunate that we only had a minor power outage that lasted just a few minutes.  It wasn’t enough to create any worry about food spoiling, but enough that I had to reset the clocks on appliances.  As I listened to the news reports, I was amazed at the number of people who were without power.

Driving around after the storms, I could see why power was lost.  Many of the power lines have trees growing very close or have branches growing through them.  Even I can figure out that if those branches go down, the power will go out.  Why is it that the people who run the utility companies haven’t worked that out yet?  I would imagine that, after the first storm, someone would have figured out what was causing the problem and gotten it fixed.  Maybe instead of sitting in their offices, shrugging their shoulders, they could have gone out and looked at what was happening and drawn some conclusions.  I also imagine there are any number of landscaping companies that would have been willing to have the job of cutting those branches down.

Another thing that I found amazing was how the rest of the world stopped doing anything so that TV news programs could concentrate on finding 10 different ways to tell us about a storm that we could see with our own eyes.  Besides that, the people who really needed to know what was going on had no power and couldn’t watch the news anyway, but I am digressing again.  As I was saying, I am amazed by the amount of redundancy that goes into reporting this kind of story.  One station that I watch started their news broadcast an hour early with a special report to tell us about the storm that was hitting the area.  At the end of that hour that said, “That concludes our special storm broadcast.  The News at 5 is next.”

The News at 5 began by telling us that we were having a storm and then spent the next hour going over the same things we had just been listening to for an hour.  The only differences were that there was a little more accumulation and it was getting darker where the various live reporters were.  The film clips were all the same, the interviews were the same, etc., etc.  There was nothing new.  My state banned commercial traffic on the four major interstates that run through, but there were still truck accidents.  While one reporter was out showing a truck jackknifed on one of those roads, other trucks were speeding by.  Apparently they didn’t get the word that they weren’t supposed to be there, or the snow was too heavy for them to read the electronic signs.

We were lucky with this last storm.  The previous one was recent enough that people hadn’t used up all the milk, bread and water they bought for that one, so the lines at the store were not as bad.  The cleanup in our complex was started before midnight and by the time I got up the next day, everything was cleared.  We used our solar snow removal system to clear Barbara’s car and help dry up the driveway and sidewalks.

Because of the sun and warmer temperatures, most of what came down the other day is gone, but now the ground is mushy.  I just hope things dry up in time for the Fourth of July, so we can enjoy the fireworks without sinking into the ground.

This week our fact tells us that in Kirkland, Illinois a law forbids bees to fly over the village or though any of its streets.  I am going out on a limb here and guess that enforcement of this law is difficult.  First of all, are they using the term bee as a generic one that includes anything that buzzes and stings or is there a specific bee that they are after?  Is there a special “Bee Squad” that goes around attempting to enforce this law?  

“Hey, Roger, did you get that last one that came by?”

“Yeah, but I had to let it go.  It was a wasp”

“What does religious affiliation have to do with it?”

“Not that kind of wasp.  A flying one that isn’t a bee or yellow jacket.”

“This is all too confusing.  I hope my transfer to reptiles comes through soon.”

Have a good week and don’t forget to move your calendar ahead one month next Saturday night.