I have had lots of opportunity to enjoy the nice spring weather lately. I've climbed several mountains, been swimming, kayaking and sailing on the ocean, sunning on the roof deck, and bike riding. One downside has been the very high pollen counts this spring, causing me some pretty bad allergy experiences. I have to be very careful not to rub my eyes, because once started, it's almost impossible to stop.
I have had good drumming at several get togethers, at Lu & Matt Blais' party on 8 May, and EDC Weekend on 12 June. I am way out of practice, though, and I feel clumsy compared to the skill I used to have. I hope to be able to make it to drum & dance gatherings more often, because it's fun and good connection. I've been too busy to make it for quite a while now, with one thing and another, but my schedule shows little sign of slowing down, and if I want to do it I'll just have to make a point of getting myself out of the house and into the circle.
The semiannual Cardigan mountain climb was 22 May, with a very disappointing turnout -- everyone bailed out except for Fran Taylor, which is very exasperating. So Fran and I went by ourselves, and we had a great time. The weather was absolutely fantastic, just about the most ideal conditions I've ever seen on this mountain. Fran and I hiked all over the range, to Mt Gilman to the south, and watched the sun set from the Cardigan summit, in shorts and shirtless! Next day, we took the Manning trail over Firescrew to return to the car. To everybody who didn't make it this time, YOU MISSED IT!
I also hiked the Baldface Circle Trail in the eastern White Mountains, with Dave Anderson, on 4 June. This is famous as one of the most dramatic views in the area, and rightly so, I recommend it to anyone who hasn't tried it. I wrote a separate journal page (with pictures) about this hike, check it out here.
It came with Windows 98, so I made a second partition on the disk, and Lyman and I installed Linux on it (over the weekend of 15 May). Now I have my thesis code working on it, and the source text of my thesis proposal. The justification for this thing is that I hope to be able to travel a bit more, go visiting friends, camping, etc. without having to totally stop my thesis work. Hopefully this will make the difference between camping and not camping!
My thesis work has not been going very well, though. I did have the committee meeting in mid May, and they gave me a very thorough critique of my thesis proposal (the capsule summary was "good engineering, but needs more science"). Since then I have been thinking about how to improve the proposal, scribbling notes, and talking to members of the research group, trying to get a handle on where to go from here. I have done very little rewriting of the proposal, and almost no research work, so far. I'm starting to feel a little panicked about this, because the time is slipping away, and I have the paper to give in Budapest in just over two months, which is not a lot of time.
A big part of the problem is that I don't really feel refreshed by the break time I've been taking lately. I feel really burned out and tired of this topic, and the burnout doesn't seem to be ending. My ability to focus on work is pretty central to my self-image, and it's very unsettling that I seem to have lost it. Hopefully I will be able to catch my second wind and get back into stride soon.
I got my garden cleared and planted in late May. It looks really nice now, with lots of cedar bark mulch to help me keep the weeds under control. The strawberries have produced an amazing bounty of fruit, which is just about gone now, and the roses are covered with bright flowers. The tomatoes, bell peppers, and basil are well on the way, but broccoli apparently doesn't like the hot weather, and is growing very sparsely instead of making tight florets. The grapes and hops are vigorous, and are starting to produce their fruits. It's glorious to see them. I also have morning glories and moon vines on the roof deck, where they are very happy.
With all the outdoor activities, I haven't been going to any shows or concerts. Chani continues to hunt well, but I'm trying to discourage her from the mockingbirds, which are vulnerable because they like to sit in a prominent place and sing like mad. I took one away from her the other day, and when released it flew away, so it didn't seem to be badly injured.
I hope you are all healthy and happy, and enjoying the summer!
Wil