morning minutiae

it is a bright, brisk and breezy day in albemarle county. dramatic cloud formations fill the sky.

this morning i picked up a set of speakers i scored from freecyle. our current speakers have a hole in one of the woofers which causes a terrible rattling noise, especially when there is any sort of deep bass. the free speakers are ancient and rather banged up, but the woman giving them away said they work well. we shall see.

i decided to take a drive after picking up the speakers, since i was north west of charlottesville and have been wanting to explore that territory. i didn't have my local map with me but it's pretty easy to maintain your sense of direction with the westward blue ridge as your guide. i followed dirt roads and found myself in a village called earlysville. i meandered through the foothills and passed many estates with names like fox haven, cool stream, solitude, seven gables and cricket's heaven. i passed by roads called boondock and goose call and bleak house. i felt exhilarated by the lumpy lump roads and the thickety thick woods and the sunny sun sunshine. i also appreciated the occasional appalachian household sporting several layers of junk piled on the front porch, about a half dozen cars scattered about the muddy yard, a couple of laundry lines flapping bright fabrics, and a goodly quantity of loose trash scattered about the nearby wilds. and then i found myself beside a glorious meeting of the sparkling forks in the rivanna river.

then i went to the grocery store and purchased several packages of butter that were on special.