The amount of energy I've had to devote to blog posts this month is... low.

And there were good reasons for it, like having 16 unexpected visitors (❤) or spending a weekend walking up and down some hills.

So let's get into it!

Alright, we're back with the fourth annual Eurovision First Impressions post, taking a look at each entry into the Eurovision Song Competition for this year.

This year we have entrants from 37 countries, fewer than recent years. Bulgaria, Montenegro, and North Macedonia all withdrew citing financial constraints, which is a pity because they are all countries I am enthusiastic about seeing in the competition. (And yes, they are countries that have delivered some top tier bangers.)

My expectations are somewhat diminished, as I have foreknowledge that many of the entrants are singing primarily in English (possibly in a greater proportion than previous years), and because I have on good authority that there are a lot of rock songs in here.

Do I want Eurovision to rock?

Most certainly not.

Joining me for this endeavor is Chelsea, who you may recall from last year's post, or from being mentioned all the time on this site.

Chelsea's pal Brit, who has never watched any Eurovision anything ever, is also in town and her commentary enriches this post.

Together, we listened to all 37 songs for the first time, and I did my best to jot down the comments and conversation. And so, dear reader, we hope that you'll enjoy our takes.

By the barometer of "I think I have seasonal affective disorder, and I deeply, deeply, deeply long for the sun to come out", February has been a shockingly lovely month. There have simply been more sunny days than I would have imagined, even if its end has been marked with frigid temperatures and dustings of snow.

Fortunately, I've had other reasons to be loving this month, though it has not been without its frustrations.

Read on to hear about how quickly this short month has gone by!

For whatever reason (probably my long dormant desire to be an academic), I've decided to write lil reviews of stuff I've read and stick them on my blog.

And so now, as promised, I give you, dear reader, my impressions of a diverse set of books I read later 2022. Yippee!

The five books under discussion cover geographies from Sweden, to Alberta, to Harlem, and topics from street portrait photography, to international geopolitics, to insanity. Perhaps one of them will pique your interest.

Sometimes timing is everything.

Wintertime visitors to Franklin Falls need to be aware of a few things when they plan their visit. In particular it would be ideal to time a visit around three things: avalanche risk (undesirable and potentially fatal), freezing temperatures (desirable), and crowds (probably undesirable but not fatal).

Provided you time it right, and you are equipped with microspikes or similar, the hike to Franklin Falls is easy, fun, and rewarding.

Another weekend in January, another excuse for a hike.

×

Exif Data For The Selected Image
Camera Make	Google
Camera Model	Pixel 6a
Lens Model	Pixel 6a back camera 4.38mm f/1.73
Focal Length	4.38mm
Aperture	ƒ/1.73
Exposure Time	1/119s
ISO	93

This time, I was again sticking closer to the Issaquah Foothills, in large part because of how much I enjoyed my recent hike on the Chirico Trail. I had seen some beautiful pictures from the end of this particular trail, and I wanted to check it out for myself. The trail's incredibly uninspiring name: West Tiger #3.

For the most part, conditions were clean, tracks were easy to follow, and it was a nice, brisk, uneventful hike.

The elevation gain, a mere 2,100 ft. The trail, dry and bare, below snow level.

So it happened that 2023 rolled around, and New Year's Day fell on a Sunday. That meant that I got the following Monday, January 2nd as a holiday from work. And, the fact that I was still a little jet lagged from hanging out in Pennsylvania meant that I was well and truly motivated to get up early for a hike.

And, I actually mean that I got up kind of early. I was catching a stunning sunrise as I cruised along I-90. My destination was one of the popular and formidable Mt. Si trail.