Free Range Friday begins

It is so hard to imagine what a vast number of people are undergoing in winter...drifts and mounds and piles of snow, weather in the single digits. We get a day of rain and the whole place comes briefly undone. A blog I enjoy, Away to Garden, dedicated her whole comments column to the subject of getting through the winter snow time by anticipating spring and gardening again. I read a number of the comments feeling very odd that I experience none of those feelings - that the most I can relate is..."It is raining for the whole DAY! Where is the sun?? I guess I'll read in bed until it's over." Obviously I can't live in the north, because I'd get bed sores eventually.

Nope, no snow this morning

I was reading an 'entertain me' novel the other day and part of it was set in Panama, concerning the canal. There was quite a bit of description about the building of the canal and the people...and what the author called 'tropical laziness'. It wasn't a slur, as it might sound, it was an observation that in tropical climates, we have no rush to complete much of anything quickly, merely out of our geographical placement. There is not going to be a day of winter onset, a killer freeze, a covering and therefore hibernation of our trees and greenery. We can garden year round if we choose. We can do exactly the same things in February that we do in June (well, some of us won't go swimming, but we could).

As I read I realized I'd never thought of what is called 'island time' or 'manana time' or 'Crucian time' etc. in quite that way before. Even with a hurricane season, there is always, with many, a last minute, "OH NO, I'd better buy some batteries and water and plywood and.." as if this doesn't occur every year. It's weird.

Speaking of weird. I went outside last night and there on my towel, which hangs on the line, were these insects, having sex. The sex part wasn't weird, but I have never seen insects like this before...have you? Ok, namers of things tropical, label this!


As to the food part of Free Range Friday, I have, as yet, no idea of what I'll be doing. It's early yet and food is not figuring in my mind at the moment. But it will, I have no doubt. While you are waiting, here is an op-ed piece brought to my attention that I thought was pretty interesting about the statistically happiest people in the world. And it's not Bhutan either. What a crazy concept...no military, focus on education. Nah...that's silly!

Just got this and can't resist passing it along...sorry there is no way to find out who came up with this, it's on a LOT of different styles of t-shirts with no credits. Why is CWIM hiding?

Now I have to get ready for the cart. It's a chilly 75 degrees, where is my down jacket?

[edited to add: I got an email with a possible identification of the Towel Insex. It certainly looks the same to me! Thanks, Serge]