Reporting In

The trip to Nashville, Tennessee, went very well. It was colder than cold but the road surfaces were clear and dry. The coral sale and trade was a success and gave new live reef keepers a chance to purchase new stock at reasonable prices. There were folks there that we only see a couple of times each year - it was nice to say a face to face hello and swap stories. There are really two groups within this group: 1) The live coral reef keepers; 2) The spouses who support and enjoy the results of the reefs. I'm part of the latter and enjoy being so.

It is really cold here. OK, I know our weather is nothing to compare with the weather that the Midwest is enjoying. And wind chill is another matter. I'll never forget the January and February that I spent in Rock Island, IL. It was never above freezing (seldom above 5 degrees) and the wind never stopped blowing. I could leave juice and water on my window ledge INSIDE with the drapes closed and it would freeze. (I was staying in a hotel.) Snow was even with the top of my knee-high boots. I don't remember exactly how low the wind chill registered but it was the deep minus readings. The Mississippi froze in big chunks and all the natives seemed to see nothing unusual about all this. I was not warm for the whole time I was there. My sincere sympathy goes to those of you who live through this extreme weather. On the other hand, here in the south we have heat and humidity that's unbelievable in summer. Always something to complain about. Human nature is well served.

I have to get plans underway for our gathering today. Will post a few pictures of the corals we took to the swap/sale this evening or tomorrow morning.