Week 31

Day 210: Mar 8, 2015

I saw a bluejay- Another stream of consciousness poem

Today, I saw a bluejay

It flew from behind and landed in a nearby spruce

I would have thought nothing of it but things have been melting

Spring is quickly on its way

The birds are coming back

Rivulets of melted snow are carving their way though the ice

Trails are emerging

Gravel and dirt are appearing around the village and around the local trails

The bluejay was just another sign that winter is ending

the time for frolicking outdoors will soon be upon us.

Day 211: Mar 9, 2015

It was a beautiful day so I decided to head out for a walk this morning. I had garbo this afternoon so I needed to keep the walk fairly short. I ended up going out to Ten Mile Falls. I made it more of a thinking walk rather than an exercise hike. It was really nice. I was able to clear my head at times and I was able to think about life and other things with a clear head. I didn't come to any life changing conclusions but it was a nice walk. Tomorrow is a stop day which means that no one works unless absolutely necessary. So, that means that I get another day off so I am going to go on another hike tomorrow morning. It should be fun.

Day 212: Mar 10, 2015

Today was pretty awesome. In the morning, Hallie and I headed up to Lower Copper Basin. It was really steep and pretty darn icy. Conditions made the assent slow but by the time we got up there my curiosity was stronger than my tiredness. It was beautiful. I knew it was going to be steep and I knew that enough people had done the trail that there would be a path trod down. It was a pre-made luge track. Needless to say, we brought sleds with us. The trip down was probably the best sledding I have experienced. I mean, how many people can say that they sledded down a mountain? We were able to stay in control of our sleds by keeping our feet in front of us and using the steps on the side of the ice to help slow us down. It was so much fun!

Day 213: Mar 11, 2015

Well, we doubled the size of our village today. A bunch of people came in for the naturalization ceremony tomorrow. It was a pretty good day until my back started to hurt. It started to get really bad after dinner. I ended up icing it and heating it for a while which seemed to help. At least, it has helped enough that I think I can sleep at this point. Getting old sucks.

Day 214: Mar 12, 2015

I had the privilege to learn how to make tamales today. Family members of those who got their citizenship today taught and helped us to make over 1000 chicken and pork tamales. It was a busy shift and we took about an hour off to go to the naturalization ceremony. It was a very interesting ceremony. I mean, the people getting their citizenship had to totally denounce their old country (in this case, mostly Mexico) and there were basically propaganda films that were shown, including the music video for the Proud to be an American song. In talking to some staffers, the common feelings were pride (for the new citizens and all that they have accomplished), disgust/shame (the videos were that bad), and some level of confusion (why the videos, why some of the comments in the keynote were made). All in all though, it was a good experience. I, also, really enjoyed making tamales.

Day 215: Mar 13, 2015

Some guests saw Jesus in the snow pattern on the mountain today.. That was about all that happened other than lots of tortillas made.

Day 216: Mar 14, 2015

Happy Pi day! At exactly 9:26 and 56 seconds us kitchen folk ran out of the kitchen and spun in circles in order to enjoy the beauty of the circle. It was pretty darn fun. The day ended with a showing of Guardians of the Galaxy. When it first came out I thought it looked stupid but it turned out to be really pretty good.