I practically had the Elena Gallegos Open Space to myself.
“February is an awful fucking month just about everywhere.” — Kevin Barry, “Extremadura (Until Night Falls)”
Truer words, etc. I have spent many awful fucking Februaries in many awful fucking places, among them my own head.
But Feb. 1 in The Duck! City was not too fucking awful.
I logged 90 minutes of trail time on the Voodoo Nakisi; didn’t fall over or nothin’. Bought some groceries, baked a loaf of bread, picked up a paperback copy of “Station Eleven.” Anybody watched the HBO miniseries? I’m looking forward to seeing whether Emily St. John Mandel’s vision suffered in translation from print to video. She told The New York Times that the show “deepened the story in a lot of really interesting ways.”
But then she’s Canadian, and you know how nice they are.
Meanwhile, the next few days of February here may meet Kevin Barry’s standard, which is frightening, because he haunts the west of Ireland, where they know from awful fucking Februaries. Herself, who has visited County Sligo, where Barry hangs his hat, recalls many a fine soft day so.
Maybe it’ll make a novelist of me. Nah. Canada didn’t get it done, and Albuquerque’s coming off the bench awfully fucking late in the game.
Tags: Emily St. John Mandel, Kevin Barry, Station Eleven, The Duck! City
Mad Blog Media 
February 1, 2022 at 6:26 pm |
Geesh, PO’G: You’ve set an O’Grady February standard that will be hard to surpass! Good on ya!
I’ll anxiously await the repercussions/sore muscles/intellectual burnout Mad Dog Media blog in about 4-6 days!!
Just kiddin! Good on ya! 🙂
February 1, 2022 at 7:08 pm |
If you find yourself with some weather-related downtime you could do worse than read a little Kevin Barry. I’ve been marching through his collected works, starting with “Night Boat to Tangier.” His short stories are top notch. It’s hard to beat the Micks at the short story.
February 1, 2022 at 6:33 pm |
February in Ireland is so bad, I heard it can make an otherwise ordinary fisherman take up arms with the entire Russian navy.
February 1, 2022 at 7:09 pm |
Whiskey vs. vodka. Talk about your Clash of the Titans.
February 1, 2022 at 6:35 pm |
Looks like I’ll be shoveling 11” of partly cloudy in the morning. They’ve already called off school tomorrow, so those screams y’all will hear are coming from inside the house!
February 1, 2022 at 7:19 pm |
If we get that east wind blasting down the canyon our snow will wind up in Flagstaff. Which would be a pity, because we could really use some. The trails are powdery and the junipers and elms are already pollinating.
February 1, 2022 at 6:40 pm |
A smile to the face with your wise words. We’re about to get shit on in Vermont. All the weather’s at once. Keeps the mind off other things.
February 1, 2022 at 7:36 pm |
Winter does not play up in your neck of the woods. I beat feet out of Winooski just before the winter of 1977 got busy. If I hadn’t left I’d probably still be delivering pizzas to the Burlington college kids.
February 1, 2022 at 7:12 pm |
That picture reminds me of the things I miss about riding. Not enough to start again, but what magic is to be found on the trail. Good on ya! Ain’t retirement grand? Weather down here will be chilly for a few days, but no worries. I traded a Godin 5th Avenue in at the shop last year. They still have it. I play better than a year ago, so I might need to go buy it back. Ever sell a bike you wish you had kept?
https://godinguitars.com/product/5th-avenue-kingpin-p90-cognac-burst
February 1, 2022 at 7:24 pm |
Funny you should mention it. Today I was kicking myself for selling the Voodoo Loa, a titanium cyclocross bike with a one-off Marzocchi suspension fork, V-brakes, and a mountain-bikey sort of drivetrain. 40mm Ritchey tires. That beast would be just the ticket for the local trails.
February 1, 2022 at 7:48 pm |
After thinking about it, the Godin doesn’t fit the kind of music in my song book. So, I will give up on it. I have more than what I need except playing time. I can solve that. That Loa does sound real interesting. Never did figure out why Paris Robaix bikes didn’t all have front suspension forks. UCI probably would have banned them. Not traditional.
February 1, 2022 at 7:59 pm |
I thought about riding today but in the process of crawling around under the house while working on a water leak in the shower, found a massive leak in the heating ducts. So off to Ace Hardware for wood and stuff to do some damage control before the temps drop into single digits.
Ah, the life of a homeowner.
February 2, 2022 at 1:15 pm |
Well there be no cycling here for a bit unless you are one of those crazy fat tire types. 8 inches of fresh wet snow with more coming down. The snowblower isn’t agreeable about slinging the wet snow and I’m not at all happy about getting shovels into the equation. Maybe I’ll just sit in here with Radio Paradise and 2018 Oz Zinfandel until it all melts. I like me some real winter but those trail pix POG’s been posting are starting to work me over. Let’s see, how long a drive is it?