"In his domestic administration my father had this system . . . to keep a journal and insert in it all occurrences of any note . . . A record very pleasant to look at when time begins to efface the memory of events, and very well suited to get us out of perplexity: When was such and such a thing begun? When completed? What retinues came? How long did they stay? Our trips, our absences; marriages; deaths; the receipt of happy or unhappy news . . . An ancient custom, which I think it would be good to revive, each man in each man's home. And I think I am a fool to have neglected it." (Montaigne, Book I, Essay 35 (publ. 1580))

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Haboob'd (or something)

Just back from a most pleasant Midwest visit (will post separately on that shortly).  The locals had advised us of a storm moving through Phoenix while we were away.  It had a pretty big (and negative) effect on our back yard - now two of our "new" (circa 2009, as shown here) mesquites are toppled.

OK, it wasn't a surprise - we could see that these things had grown unsupportably top-heavy, and we had actually obtained price quotes on their removal last week.  But still, it's a significant loss.  Will take several years to re-create the shade.  Oh well.

Haboobs seem to be increasingly frequent, for example this excellent stop-action from last year.
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