Seasons

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Early Spring Means Shoulder Season

Itโ€™s shoulder season out there. Spring as we know, doesnโ€™t come to the mountains until mid-May, when things finally green up.

But by now, one can pretty much take it for granted that a lot of energy of winter is diminished as each day becomes harder for it to be cold with the sunโ€™s angle growing stronger.

Lots of mud and “surprise” snow in the mountains will be left for some time, but eventually it will dry up and green up too. Figure May 10th to be safe.

Diversity

Cultural diversity is increasing across the world. Migration is bringing new people together, changing the face of cities and countryside.๐Ÿ‘ฅ But new people and new ideas doesn’t mean traditional values are on the way out — it just means they are changing.

Respect for hard work, dignity, or that land that sustains us is not going away just because demographics are changing.

Many liberals want to believe that there will be a surge in demand for liberal policies with the new immigrants. ๐ŸŒ‹Many conservatives bite into that ideology — ignoring the diversity of immigrants or that a sizable number of them are quite conservative.๐Ÿฐ People who tend to immigrant are of a higher social class, seeking a better life, more dedicated then average person towards free enterprise and economic growth.

Are really migrants that come to America to milk cows๐Ÿฎ, work on farms, live in rural communities — all that liberal? Rural life or even hard blue collar life in the city does not promote liberal ideology for sure.๐Ÿšœ And the many immigrants who own small businesses, are not clamoring for more regulation or taxes on small businesses.๐Ÿข Catholics, which many hispanics are, have no love for new abortion facilities popping up in their neighborhoods. ๐Ÿ’’

New people entering into a community can lead to change, for sure. Not all change is bad, more diversity leads to more innovation and growth. Part of embracing diversity is accepting not just new but also existing cultures. ๐Ÿ‘ชChange is tough but with mutual respect between the new and old people of an area, we can have a more diverse stronger ๐Ÿ’ช society.

Capitol Construction

Where to hike during mud season …

Frosty Morning

Many hikers do not look forward to hiking in mud season, especially when your up to your ankles in mud and your chewing up the trails and making mud wallows worse by pounding your feet through them. Some trails are well drained or are hard rock, but many turn to slop this time of year. Barn boots can keep your feet dry, but it’s still tough on the trails, and mud ain’t fun to walk any distance in.

Yet, there is a good but often overlooked alternative. Road hikes!

Many state forests and WMA have good roads that are drier and stable compared to the trails. Just because they are gated and or impassable by motor vehicles, doesn’t mean the won’t be a bad hike. Seasonally gated roads can be particularly delightful once the snow is gone, you’ll very rarely see anyone in mud season once you walk past the gate.

Also any country road can be a very pleasant walk with good views but watch for dogs off leash passing homesteads, especially on roads that don’t see a lot of pedestrians in this area. Don’t think your necessarily limited just to strolls in state forest roads during the mud season, sometimes the country lane just beyond the state land can offer stunning views, especially across open farm fields and homesteads.

Meteorological winter comes to an end today.

Meteorological winter comes to an end today. This has been a colder winter then recent ones — we only had one 60 degree day, hitting 62 degrees on December 21st. Previous winters in recent memory had some 70 degrees days.

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