I was at the Boulder County Clerk and Recorder office yesterday and decided to be an election judge, not really on a whim but somewhat on a whim.   I asked about the duties, mumbling something about doing the job with integrity, wondering if that was the sort of thing they were looking for.  The woman said, "We don't have integrity anymore."

Huh?

I laughed and asked (in disbelief), "You don't have integrity?"

No, she insisted.  We used to have integrity but we don't now.  Then she burst out laughing when she realized what I was asking.  They don't use a program called "Integrity" in the office.  Who knows what the name of the new program is:  Dishonor?  Dishonesty?  No, I doubt it but it was a good laugh.

I think this is the election of a lifetime and a good one to launch the civic duty phase of my life.

If you're looking for a reason to drive to Boulder, this is the time to come to Long's Garden.  When I first moved to Boulder, it was Wintertime, all brown and dry so when Spring came along I was delighted to see this colorful expanse up the street on Broadway.   There are so many yards and gardens with irises in the area and this is the reason why.  I have a couple of dozen and I'm not sure where I got them, except they were all thinnings from other people.

While you're here, go a little further north to Harlequin's Gardens if you're interested in native plants.   This business seemed to start off as a labor of love in the 90's and and developed from a scruffy little operation open on the weekends to a well thought-of establishment open most of the week.  If you go, drive to the end of the dirt road for some great views of the Front Range north of Boulder.

image from http://longsgardens.com

I love the south-facing passive solar aspect of our house. It's kept winter heating bills very low for all these year but we do suffer a few weeks of 90-100º heat every summer. The solution has been to keep the window shades down but it makes for a darkened cave-like atmosphere inside.

This year we've had an unusual number of birds flying into the windows so we were spurred to action to find some solution to both problems. The Plow and Hearth catalog introduced us to Coolaroo shades - problem solved! Luckily, we found them cheaper at McGuckin Hardware (sorry P & H) and installed them in a couple of hours or less. I love the product.

Sweetie had an unfortunate encounter with an elk late one night in Southern Colorado recently and our Subaru is now suffering. It's been at Abra in Boulder for almost a week and after they dismantled it, we heard it would take about 6K to repair it. State Farm now decides if it's worth the money.

I liked the Outback well enough, but it was the most expensive car I've ever had. We got a good price through AAA but the upkeep was ridiculous. I'm considering returning to my Honda roots when we get another one.

Luckily, Enterprise on Valmont in Boulder is giving us a great deal on a rental. We discovered the 'body shop discount' after calling Hertz - long story short, we just decided to keep the Enterprise compact.

Summer is arriving this week with temps in the high 80's. The Boulder Creek Festival is this weekend starting with a concert at Twenty-Ninth Street (Nina Storey) and they'll have Saturday concerts all summer. 29th Street events have a different feel than Pearl Street Mall events but the parking seems to be a LOT better.

Another reason I love going to Costco is the ride. If you get off the highway and take the back roads, you see this countryside. Beautiful, especially if you're a cow person.
Going through Marshall, I saw a women unloading her llama from the back of her mini-van. Only in Boulder? Maybe not but pretty cool.

Sweetie is officially a learned scholar and finished with school.

Ok, the trip was fine, the beach was great but I'm glad to be home. The free (via Amtrak rewards) ride to Chicago was easy and a little boring, but we did go over the Mississippi River as it was cresting at historic levels. Looking down I could see the distance from the train wheels to the water was a little close for comfort. One benefit of traveling in a sleeper is the "1st Class" waiting area at the Chicago station. Wi-Fi, Snacks, Movies and (the best thing) Clean Bathrooms. The rest of the trip South was nighttime rain and wooded acreage.

I had a great conversation with the treasurer of the National Association of Railroad Passengers on the way up from Jackson. I told him I was a member but not that I had let the membership lapse. Then I pumped him all I could for news about the future of train travel. One good thing that came out of that conversation: when I got home, I read the latest newsletter and found that the bus service portion of the Amtrak trip to LA was restored to Raton. Hopefully, my letters of complaint encouraged the reversion. 4 hours on the bus to Raton, a ratty abandoned depot, is much more attractive than 8 hours on the bus to Albuquerque with their new Greyhound/Amtrak station.