Vibrant Colors

While the aspen trees weren’t as spectacular as in previous years (especially in the highest elevations), this fall is not without it’s colors.  I took these photos on a misty morning in Forsythe Canyon.

I have a number of miscellaneous things to update, but first another photo.

I didn’t place this leaf on the fern; the leaf just happened to land on it.

 

I have no regrets leaving Facebook after the 2016 election, during which my Facebook experience was pretty horrible.  In the intervening time, it’s come to light all the unsavory things that Facebook did during that time. Social media has become a pox on our culture with too many people yelling into echo chambers.  It seems that partisan internet debate culture has moved on to the roads, where the guy blocking your path is just another person from the opposite political party. In other words, I seem to be encountering more bullies on the road.

On the medical front, some recent imaging determined that I have permanent damage in my heart muscle.  I’m feeling ok, and have been getting out hiking and biking as much as possible. I haven’t made it to a top of a mountain yet, but I’ve come close.

Likely pollution floating on the aptly named Gross Reservoir.

I’ve been creating some songs in the studio with my friend Kevin.  I am more of a producer than a musician (not that they are mutually exclusive).  I’ll come up with a drum track and he will invent a bass line to go with it. Then we’ll go back and record some guitar tracks on top of that.  After that session, I will usually spend some with the tracks editing (sometimes pretty heavily, even to the point of changing some notes), adding keyboards, and mixing.  The result so far is we have about 10 songs in various stages of completion. But I consider these to be just demos.  The structure is there and they are ready for addition instruments and/or vocals if desired.  Then if we like the end product, we will probably re-record the song to make it really tight.  Kevin is a good musician and I’ve been pretty surprised with what we’ve done so far and how quickly he can come up with riffs.  He can do it in an instant while it takes me days.

So many different colors, from the blue spruce, to the moss, orange lichen on the cliff and the leaves.

Is it just me, or is the signal to noise ratio on my phone getting worse.  It seems like for every real phone call I receive, I will get 50 calls from spammers, robo scammers, and from some lady who can’t seem to get her headset adjusted.  At least I haven’t heard from the “IRS” in a while.

 

Alive

I’ve made it back to the land of Shooting Stars and Elephant Trunks.  If I hadn’t, I would have died trying.  It’s been a challenge because progress has been slow.   But I’m ecstatic because there has been progress!

 

Elephant Trunks

 

Shooting Stars

 

Hole in the log

 

Claw

 

It starts with soup and ends with tooth extraction

I am recovering this weekend from some dental work that occurred on Thursday.  In a nutshell, it started a couple of months ago with gently biting down on something hard in some soup I was eating.  Then…

  • A week or two later, the molar is sensitive to pressure and cold.
  • Saw dentist “A” who couldn’t find anything specific wrong, but concluded it must be a crack.
  • Dentist “A” puts in a filling to help stabilize the tooth if it is a crack.
  • Over the next few weeks, pain gets better then worse.
  • Saw dentist “B” for a second opinion.  She came to the same conclusion and sent me to a specialist.
  • Saw specialist dentist “C” who said I needed a root canal, regardless of whether it is cracked.  All x-rays look normal.
  • I declined root canal since nobody could specifically say what was causing the pain.
  • At 2:00 am on Thursday, I begged for a root canal.  I had to endure until working hours.
  • After many phone calls, found dentist “D” who had an opening in the schedule for a root canal.
  • It was “take your kid to work day” at dentist “D”.  So I had an audience of kids watching my root canal.
  • Dentist “D” stops half way through and says that it’s not worth continuing.  The tooth is cracked down the back root, below the gum-line.  Recommends seeing dentist “E” immediately, who is an oral surgeon.
  • Dentist “E” pulls out tooth.

.

.

.

I just want the pain to stop.