We managed to get out to downhill ski once and cross-country twice in early March, and then golfed the following week. At the end of March there is lots of snow in the mountains but none in the valley and the crocuses are blooming.

On a a very sad note, our neighbor and my good friend, Al Little, died in his sleep on the Ides of March. He was younger than me, in good health and spent most of his days working outside. Always cheerful and the first to offer a hand, he was a man with great stories and a huge heart. He will be greatly missed by Taisho, Mizuho and I and by all who knew him.

Al and I had planned to dig some post holes together with an auger I was going to rent. Some neighbors (and a friend) helped finish his fence and helped me dig some holes for our driveway gate (the foam I used for the gate posts last year did not work so I replaced them with 4×6 timbers and concrete). Auger worked like a charm – way easier than the one/two man units I have used in the past.

Next on the list is to finish the gate, finish a Japanese visual fence, finish two lamp poles on the driveway (drill, paint, install, wire), finish the garden expansion, complete the drawers in the closet and finish the shoe shelf (a test case for the dining room table). A tall order to complete before biking, golfing, kayaking and lazing about kick into high gear.