Happy Everest Day!

50 years ago, Tenzig Norgay and Edmund Hilary tried what they thought was the stairway to heaven-- and discovered that, when they reached the top, they were cold, tired, hungry, and couldn't breathe.

At Everest base camp, yes the base camp, the air contains only half the amount of oxygen as at sea level. And yet some crazies are actually running a marathon there! And paying for it!

Everest is the only place I can think of where there are two simultaneous reasons to turn blue.

But, hey, this is a desert rat talking.

Speaking of which-- Somebody snuck onto a 5 acre spread about 15 miles from home (Sky Valley, CA, if anyone cares) and stole about 45 oleander plants. Yahoo News seems to have dropped the link, but even stranger than waking up with big holes where windbreaks used to be is how common it is, and how much a lot of our neghbors can't seem to get rid of theirs!

More to come....