The Curmudgeonly Professor

Brilliant White Saguaro Cactus Blossom

A Red, Red Poppie

Yellow Iris: One of the Queens of Spring Flowers

Yellow Columbine

The many-tailed columbine is a perennially fascinating and nostalgic bloom.

Just Try to Take a Bad Photo of a Red Poppy!

The Snowbird's Chronicles and Laments, Continued

Earlier I wrote about how we made all the prepararations, phone calls, arrangements, etc., that we needed to make before we migrated north.  Lest you may think that everything went smoothly, here is an update:

• The first bad news was when the furnace repairman came back upstairs after checking the furnace and air conditioner before turning the AC on to tell us the good news that the freon had all vanished.  Either it was stolen, or the air conditioner was defunct.  It would have cost $1000 to find out if the air conditioner was defunct and fill it again with freon, so we opted for a new air conditioner.  Of course, then the furnace itself was marginal.  So, to greet us upon our arrival on the Wasatch Front, we had to install a new air conditioner plus a new furnace.  Oh happy day.
• Television:  The TV hookup went smoothly enough, we thought, when we turned the main TV on.  Then we realized we had to call the TV co. to get the other 3 (mostly ancient) TVs running.
• Plus I discovered last night that we had two premium channels that I did not order, and specifically told them I did not want, one in particular which shows a disproportionate number of truly nasty late night films.  So I spent a half hour this morning, going through three separate automated robot callers while continuously punching "O" for a live person.  Finally I got the unordered channels removed, which were never ordered in the first place.  And we wonder why we are admonished to "make a list and check it twice" so we didn't mess everything up continuously.
• Phone:  We thought surely the phone would be up and running, but discovered that the phone told callers when we weren't home that "the mailbox has not yet been set up."  Of course, the answering machine was supposed to be set up and functioning when we got here.  It took another 24 hours before the phone co. could get inspired and fix this.
• Internet:  Internet on the north end was running, but we ran into major troubles trying to put the internet in the south on seasonal suspend.  We were first told we could suspend it, then a different "manager" told us we would have to pay for three extra months before we could suspend it.
• Now I am disputing my wonderful mail-order pharmacy dispenser which delights in sending out a confusing prescription list full of duplications and errors and steadfastly refusing to correct it.
• The Shark steam cleaner was missing from our garage when we got here.  Who? How? When? What?
• On the sunny side, my wonderful neighbor had already planted four tomato plants by my back door, we married off our grandson Aaron to a beautiful bride in a classy military wedding at Hill AFB, we celebrated my wife's birthday with a multitude of gifts and dinners, our two sons graciously moved us back to SL from St. G., and we had a nice indoor Memorial Day picnic at one son's place yesterday. One son came from San Francisco for the wedding and we had a wonderful and inspiring trip to Costco, spending a month's social security on TP and Kleenex. Our only regret is that we couldn't go to the cemetery in Orem to pay respects to my wife's parents.  Since my parents are in the Penrose WY cemetery in NW WY, the best I could do was a tribute on Penrose Mornings blog, linked to the right.  Check it out.  May your life be free from glitches and from people who never get around to double checking anything and making sure that things are done correctly as promised.  Have a nice day.

Cloudy Sky on the South End of the Salt Lake Valley April 27 2012

The Principal Peak of Mt. Timpanogos, Which Stretches Seven Miles from the South Salt Lake Valley, Dressed in Snowy White April 27 2012

On Memorial Day 2012, We Are Viewing the Mountains of the Wasatch Range in the South Salt Lake Valley

The Snowy and Rocky Mountain Tops on the Wasatch Mountains in the South Salt Lake Valley April 27 2012

Snow on Mt. Timpanogos in the South Salt Lake Valley May 27 2012

Double click!  The Draper LDS Temple is the white edifice on the left.

The Danger in School Spending Cuts - NYTimes.com

IN most states, top-ranked high school seniors are shoo-ins to attend their local state universities. But that’s not how it goes in New York these days. In one recent, glaring case, the valedictorian of a rural school district outside Rochester was rejected by a nearby State University of New York campus — not because her grades were too low, but because her high school didn’t offer the courses needed to compete for college admission.

via www.nytimes.com

Just one example of the high price we pay for spending cuts for schools and education.

Red Poppies: Queen for the Day

Center of White Saguaro Cactus Blossom

Tall Spiky Cactus Red Blossoms, Name, Someone?