Sunshine, Blue Skies...

April...wow, I can't believe we are in April. Looking back at my first posts of the year, I was so ambitious. Blogging every day..right. Clearly, I was on some kind of euphoric high with the new year. You see how long I lasted. Now...I'm lucky if I manage to write one blog per week. So...here we go, first rambling for the month of April.

I'll start by going back to January 4th. Remember, this is what Willow Creek Park looked like that day.

The first week of February, we couldn't even get in the park. The neighborhood looked more like this:

March started to look a little better. It's still kind of dreary, but looked something like this:

And today, you could really sense spring. It was a warm 60 degrees at 4:00. Best part...Dane's Dairy opens this weekend. A sure sign that spring has arrived. We love that place. Free doggie cups!



There you go....river days can't be far away.

But, what is really on my mind tonight is our #@!%$! government. Obviously, I've been aware of the threat of a government shutdown for a time. And, because I work for a government contractor, I've even been through this before. But, it does not stop me from being infuriated at the President and every member of Congress. If there is a government shutdown, there is a possibility that I will personally be affected if our company is advised to stop work. We've been told we will either have to use up our vacation time or go without pay. Neither of these options make me very happy. But, what really pisses me off is that paychecks to our dedicated troops--serving our country in wars that seem like they will never end--will likely be disrupted while the President AND Congress will continue to receive their checks. Wow! I mean, that really takes some balls. They sit on their asses in Washington playing their bullshit political games, and because they can't come to any reasonable agreement, the individuals responsible for protecting our freedom get the short end of the stick. Unconscionable! Why should Congress continue to receive their checks? They aren't performing their jobs. 

See, now I've got myself all riled up to the point that I'm going to send Harkin, Grassley, and Loebsack a message. I know it won't do any good. But, perhaps I will feel better.