TCC for 2/12/08

The Caretaker's Concern 2/12/08
Ghetto temp. 54 F. and steady-ish.
Island tmp. 24 F. Yesterday's L/H: 7/20 F.
Current conditions: Snowing, little to no wind.

Last night might have been the coldest night on the Island this Winter, finally. As far as the Caretaker's eye can see (which isn't very far) the Lake has iced over, finally. How long will it last? Who knows. In honor of the Lake fully freezing over (at least freezing over local to the Island, there are probably parts North on the Lake that have still not iced over, anyway), the Caretaker has attached a few extra photos to this update. When the Caretaker first got out of bed this morning he took a peek out the door of the Ghetto and saw a lot of steam rising from the Lake. Steam means that the air is colder than the water, which meant that there was still open water. This did not please the Caretaker. So, instead of immediately getting dressed and going out and about on the Island the Caretaker went back to bed for a short while. Eventually the Caretaker got out of bed, did his 20 minute regiment of Free-form T'ai-Chi in the Ghetto, then got dressed to go for breakfast. He stepped outside of the Ghetto, glanced at the Lake then turned to go into the main house to gather his breakfast. Before he did so the message from his eyes got through to his brain, he took another look at the Lake--little to no steam. AH-HA! No steam means no open water. So instead of going for breakfast the Caretaker went back into the Ghetto for his camera, and thus the attached photos. The light wasn't so hot for photography but at least you can finally see the Lake iced over. When the photos were taken this morning there was still a little bit of steaming rising off the Lake, this was fresh ice.

This last part to freeze over probably won't be safe to travel on for at least another day so the Caretaker will not be heading over to the East shore just yet. Also, the weather report for Wednesday calls for snow, then sleet, possibly freezing rain, then snow again. Friday doesn't look so good for the ice either. Either way, hopefully the Caretaker will be able to ski over to the East shore by the end of this weekend or early next week.

Originally the Caretaker was thinking of going over to the mainland today, but decided to put it off until Thursday which is supposed to be a clear sunny day. So instead of going to the mainland today the Caretaker stayed in the Ghetto working on his photography portfolio of photo-cards, hopefully he will make some sales this Thursday.

In other news, for those of you who are into both The Grateful Dead and Jazz music, you might want to check out this week's broadcast of the radio program "The Grateful Dead Hour" they will be broadcasting Sabertooth's version of a Grateful Dead song. What that song is the Caretaker can't remember and he doesn't have handy the album of the Sabertooth album the song is listed on. For those who don't know, Sabertooth is a jazz band thus the song is a jazz version of a Grateful Dead song. To see if the Grateful Dead hour is broadcast in your area use the following link:

http://www.gdhour.com/stations.html

If the show is not broadcast in your area it can probably be heard via the internet from the above website or something. For those of you who are not familiar with Sabertooth, you can learn a bit about the band by clicking on their link on the left side of this blog, it's listed under "Favorite Links". For those not interested in clicking on the link, the following is an excerpt from a review of Sabertooth's latest CD "Dr. Midnight..."

"I don't think I've ever experienced a live recording where I've become as directly involved in the music as I did on this disc. When it comes right down to it Sabertooth's Dr. Midnight Live At The Green Mill is an exhilarating jazz party. Everybody, including the band, are having such a good time that it's impossible not to get caught up in the excitement of the moment. There's nothing quite like listening to live jazz until the sun comes up, and if you can't be there in person, this disc is the next best thing."

To read the full review:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/chi-ovn_1130gemsnov30,0,4586712.story

At least this is where the Caretaker thinks the full review is, if you haven't noticed by now, the Caretaker's filing system is lacking, to say the least. Why is the Caretaker offering up this information about Sabertooth? First and foremost they're a dang good Jazz band, secondly the Caretaker's cousin plays sax in Sabertooth, info on the Caretaker's cousin can be found under Favorite Links, he's the "Jazz Sax Master", which, for the record, is a moniker that the Caretaker gave him, his cousin is way too modest to run around calling himself that. The Caretaker thinks it's funny, but it is also true, don't believe it? Go to The Green Mill in Chicago any Saturday night and you can find out for yourself.

Lastly, today's poem in honor of Valentine's Day is actually an excerpt from a song that the Caretaker came up with sometime last summer, someday he'll get around to recording it and posting it on his myspace page.

"Growing Growing"

Know that the weather is only getting better
As the rain pours down.
We're still together and that's all that matters
While we wait it out.

Stormy hearts, can blow it all away.
Feel the calm, sure to make us safe.

Know that it's better when we are together
As life carries on.
We're still together and that's all that matters
And growing strong.

Hard at times, nothing we can't take.
Made in love, a bond we should not break.

Hold me now,
Say that I should,
Lay me down,
Show how Love
Is growing now
And always, all ways growing
Growing strong.

--The Caretaker