100 and Done! (Countries that is...)

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We are back! This last trip brought the total countries visited to 100! It is a crazy milestone. It is difficult, time-consuming and can be (IS) expensive. After I got back from Antarctica in 2007, I started thinking about it. After 2010 I was thinking about it more (as I moved from NY to Georgia) and in 2014 it had become a real goal. Between Angie and I we have been to 109 Countries. We are tied at 100 countries each. We have 9 countries different in our lists. For example, I have been to San Marino. She has not. She has been to Israel. I have not, yet. There has been some fun competition in this area. That's why we had to establish rules. 1.) Must be listed (as a country) with the US State Department 2.) Being in an airport doesn't count. You have to get through immigration somehow and not in a DMZ or a no-mans-land 3.) A passport stamp is not required. I have been to Canada, Paraguay, and Uruguay without getting my passport stamped. There are friendly borders in many places...
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I got a nasty bug that was going around work. Man o Man. I was sick. I lost over 5 pounds in less than 24 hours. Bonnie and I both got sick. That was unusual. The animals must have gotten concerned about their food supplies. The animals are all fine. Current animal count is 6 llamas, 7 chickens, and 1 big orange cat. We are still looking at feeder-beef and breeding a llama.

I am making farm plans for this spring. Every year we bring the farm back a little more and make it more attractive and useful.

I have some NY state government training coming up. That will be good. There is a lot to learn about all the laws and procedures and what-not with the economic development and planning arena in which I participate.

Then the snow started. After the "storm" was over is when we got hit with most of the snow. I am well enough now to get us dug out and operational again. There is almost no comparison to Antarctica. It is so humid. The air density is nice and high and you can hear birds and other critters. People who are used to living in our area deserve to give them selves a pat on the back though. It is tough here. Traveling in the snow is difficult and dangerous. We have a tendency to forget that. Plan don't drive.

I have all sorts of projects now that I am back from the ice. Some are ice related, some are based on contacts I made on the ice and others I am working on because I have had a fresh set of eyes. The bottom line is that I just have to let things happen. That doesn't mean I am passive. It means I get out what I put in. It is about steering rather than paddling. This is a fundamentally different worldview for me.

This is a photo from the bobcat after I made a pass through the driveway.

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