The Winter of My Discontent

Truth be told, I’m discontent every winter. I don’t like cold or snow or wind. I threaten to move back to Southern Arizona each year. I was recently talking to a friend about how I hated wind and cold. He says, you hate wind and cold, but you live in La Sal?
Our winters really aren’t that severe, they are just so LONG. In fact, you may have seen snow in just the last day or two. We can take comfort in the fact that,
One: it is much needed moisture, Two: that it doesn’t usually last long this time of year, and Three, there is green grass under it right now.
One sign of Spring is the reemergence of our local Country Market. Some of the newer, younger citizens of La Sal are the movers and shakers behind this.
The next market is scheduled for April 23rd. These are held at the Community Center. I believe the time for them all is the same, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Right now there probably won’t be a lot of fresh produce, but they will have seeds and even bedding plants this time of year.
There is also an eclectic assortment of other items like jewelry and art objects of many varieties. There might even be eatable goodies.
If it’s Spring and the wind is blowing in great gusts, it must be time for the Redd Ranches Bull Sale.
That happened last Saturday in Paradox. Fortunately, it was later in the afternoon before Ma Nature sent VERY strong gusts of wind. It’s a great place for old timers to catch up with old friends. Emphasis on the word “old”. Lots of our old friends are just, well, older. Glad that did not happen to me.
There are several other social events planned for this week. Thursday night at 7:00 will be an “All Ladies of La Sal”, get to know get together at the Community Center. There will be a baked potato bar so come out and bring your favorite tater toppings. There are a lot of folks new to our village so this is great opportunity to meet and greet.
Saturday evening, a potluck is being hosted at Brown’s Hole to celebrate the birthday of long time La Salian Darla Martin.
She raised her family in Brown’s Hole and has a great love for the place. This will be an evening potluck as there is no way to estimate how many will attend. Let’s hope Ma Nature treats the evening well.
Sunday next, which is Easter, there will be an interfaith celebration of the day at the Latter-day Saint Church on Markel Road. Following the religious celebration, there will be a “Linger Longer”. That’s really just another name for a potluck meal with friends old and new. Sounds like a fun filled week.
The La Sal Literary Guild is tackling a large tome this month: “Cloud Cuckoo Land”. It’s a very popular book written by Anthony Doerr who wrote “All The Light We Cannot See” for which he won a Pulitzer Prize. Try checking this book out anywhere and you will find a long waiting list.
We were fortunate to be able to receive it as our read for April. It is 620 plus pages but worth the effort to read. It occurs in three time periods. The first was in Constantinople in 1542, a significant, historical date. The second is current era and the third in space in the future after humans have polluted the earth to the point of destruction.
The connection among these three stories is a fable written by a Greek about a humble sheep herder who sees a woman turn herself into a bird by rubbing on a magic oil.
Unfortunately, he tries it using the wrong oil and turns into a donkey, then a fish and finally a crow. He is searching for a utopia, Cloud Cuckoo Land which he does finally reach. It is flowing with the proverbial “milk and honey”, but in the end he must make a choice as to whether to stay in this place for a life of ease or return to his former life as a mutton headed sheep herder.
All the characters in the book are linked by their reading of this fable. And, more or less they are faced with the same decision he had to make.
What we have to do this time of year is enjoy those few “spring” days Ma sends every now and then. For me, I love to bask in the sun with a good book. Try Cloud Cuckoo Land” if you can get your hands on a copy.