Got into the forties today. The sun was out a good part of the day. Based on what we learned at the maple syrup making class, this would be a good day to start tapping trees. Freezing over night going into the forties during the day.

Kevin met with the personnel people today, he has to get his supervisory license in the next two years or he will not be renewed. I am sure he will be so smart when he finishes we won’t be able to stand himself.

Punxsutawney Phil’s Groundhog Day 2010 prediction was six more weeks of winter, as he did see his shadow.

But how about Buckeye Chuck, Staten Island Chuck, Jimmy The Groundhog, and General Lee Groundhog?

None of them saw their shadows… Somebody will be right.

Judy just let me know there was a message on the answering machine, Ray died yesterday about 6:15 PM. The world will miss his wisdom, but he is in a better place. There won’t be any service here, he will be cremated and his ashes taken back to Missouri where they will have a service.

Spent a good amount of time working on the dulcimer today. Sometimes the fingers seem to work better, but I am definitely getting better.

It was a great day to have off. THe temperature got into the thirties and the sun came out. Had a nice hike at the Narrows. Ground was still frozen for good footing, but the air temperature was on the rise.

Went over to Mom’s and installed the key safe, so now it wont be necessary to break in if she is having problems.

Worked on the Dulcimer some more. Getting pretty good on a few songs. Wish I had better tempo so i knew if I was playing some of these songs correctly.

Still fighting a bug. If this doesn’t get much better by tomorrow of to Barry’s.

The sun was out from the get go today, a bit cold though. The thermometer showed about 10 when I got up this morning.

Another quick mass at St. Anthony this morning. Definitely less than 30 minutes today. They collected $5,700 for Haiti last week, that’s only a few thousand less than their normal collection, pretty good.

Hiked with Pat, it was a nice morning at the Narrows. Talked about his work on the violin. I did not realize he took lessons for about a year. The lady that was his teacher was not a very good fit. She could not understand why someone his age wanted to learn how to play the violin. She treated him like a child that was going to do recitals and enter competitions. Not exactly Pat’s interest.

Worked on the dulcimer and guitar for a good part of the afternoon. I am almost an expert at Boil Them Cabbage Down. Getting better at figuring out how to play almost any song that I have a dulcimer tab. The guitar on the other hand… it will be slow.

Teeth are still giving me a bunch of trouble with the sinus inflammation. If this doesn’t straiten out by tomorrow I think Barry will get a visit.

Cold and gray when I got up this morning, 16 degrees. Don’t think anyone will confuse Dayton with Daytona, Florida.

Greg and I had a good walk at the Narrows, everything was a little crisp. but the sun came out. Alleluia.

Went to the maple syrup class at Possum Run. Went with Greg, Pat, and Reinhold. It was a practical overview of the the whole process. Jason, the Possum Run farmer showed us how to do everything from making and casting our own spiles to how to build a homemade cooker to boil the syrup. You do a lot of boiling, takes for 40 to 60 gallons of sap to make a gallon of syrup. The rule of thumb is a tree will make a quart of syrup. We didn’t get to tap any trees for real since it was below freezing. You could split a tree if you put a spile in it when its frozen.

My teeth continue to hurt, Greg says its my sinuses. My sinuses are putting pressure on my teeth. Greg says antihistamine like Benadryl, plus Advil for the pain. I will also be sleeping with a heating pad tonight.

Got  a little chance to play the dulcimer. I am getting there.

Saw an item about a StrumStick. Basically it’s a dulcimer in a guitar format. The nice thing is there are no bad notes the frets are places at varying distances so you get a major scale. Pretty cool, might have to invest in one sometime.

Real cold to day. I don’t know if we will get much above 20 degrees. It has been gray all day. THere was supposed to be a special moon tonight. The moon will be as close to the earth as it is all year it should look real big. Unfortunately, the cloud cover will keep us from seeing it. The clouds are really bright.

Not much going on at work today. I am getting some pressure to be more apart of the union, negotiations are coming up. Just don’t think I can. I was told if I don’t help then don’t complain. Don’t see that as a problem. The two times I did, they did nothing.

Worked on the dulcimer some more. Have reasonable handle on a couple of songs. This is defiantly the easiest instrument I have tried to play. It might have to do with the work I have been doing with the guitar. The thing that probably makes this easier is everything is in front of you.

I was looking for dulcimer stuff on the internet and found a new kind of dulcimer, a dulcimer banjo. Looks mostly like a dulcimer except, the round skinned strumming area, like a banjo. Sounds really like a banjo. Might have to look into one in the future.

Greg and I are going walking in the morning. It will be a little cool. In the afternoon off to the maple syrup making class.