Another February weekend is here and it'll be an interesting one in the weather.  Although we'll have a little non-sunny stuff, the temperatures should be relatively nice in our part of the state.  There will be a little precipitation along the way, and possibly some accumulating to the north.

The weather will be better than the first part of the week when I wasn't motivated to do a lot here.  I'm not sure what it was, but some very less than pleasant thing developed in my stomach and caused some discomfort and, well, embarrassment.  But that's all behind me now.

The Gator bunch doesn't have any chores scheduled for this weekend, but we will be visited by our daughter and her dog, our dog's sister.  The dogs will have the chance to run and romp out in our large yard, but if it gets too wet, their activity will be restricted.

It's time for the Old Gator Dude to say "Goodbye" to my Fearless Friend.  Now this is far from a final parting; in fact, of course, we'll be able to maintain communication via email, etc.  At long last he and Mrs. FF are heading for their Florida retreat for a much shorter winter stay this year.  His trip was delayed for a month and a half due to a medical procedure he had at the beginning of the year.

At least he'll be there for his favorite part, at least I think it's his favorite part, of the trip:  Baseball's Spring Training.  One of the Major League teams trains right there in his Florida Home Town so the two of them frequently visit the ball park for games.

They leave Saturday but they will return this spring.  I'm not sure if he's told me they'll be there only until his normal annual return or he'll stay a little longer to make up for the delay in going.  I think he's told me, but I'll use the age excuse for not knowing.

In any event, he'll be spending this weekend traveling South with a stop to visit his sister and brother-in-law along the way.  We wish Mr. and Mrs. Fearless Friend a very pleasant and safe trip to their Florida home and are already looking forward to their return to Maine.

On the political front, I had mentioned a while back that I didn't understand why Maine' Republican Party scheduled it's caucuses over a several week period.  I didn't understand why, like most of the country, they weren't all held in one day.  Then to compound the confusion, the Party scheduled a straw vote for President right in the middle. 

The GOP is now paying for that scheduling decision as some caucus votes are not being included and result reporting confusion in others have caused  considerable controversy within the Party.  It's too bad those in control hadn't had the same lack of understanding I had.  The controversy, which should have been foreseen, could have been avoided.

And in anothe front, in a special election last Tuesday, a Democrat was elected to the Maine Senate in a normally Republican district.  I wonder if the voters there were giving the GOP a warning that unless those Republicans elected to get the state under control don't stop acting like Democrats and do the job they were elected to do, the voters will simply turn them out in November and return to what hasn't changed.

I hope you have a super weekend.

Gator