There was an ice storm here on the island yesterday and everything is covered in a centimeter or more of ice. My truck is completely encased. As are the trees, which is why this lumberjack is taking a break today. If the sun comes out I may go out to take some photos though.

When I was a teenager I spent a couple of years reading Russian literature in my free time. This was pretty much in fitting with rebelling against my family who was (and still is) staunchly anti-Russian. My Ukrainian-born grandmother told me Russian culture was trash and I was wasting time reading Russian literature. After tearing through many of the works of the greats I came to the conclusion that she was mostly right – Tolstoy was a mediocre talent, Dostoevsky provocative but still mediocre, etc. But I ended up really liking so much of Anton Chekov’s more concise work and enjoy it to this day.