Monday Morning Edition - 2456719

Water Witching Wineries?  You betcha.  We found a great article about how California vineyards are using dowsers to find water for their parched properties.  We actually have a lot of experience with water witching.  We learned how to do it from an RV park manager in Flagstaff more than 30 years ago.  The park was so old, the guy had to learn how to witch out his water lines before doing any digging.  He became quite good at it and taught me how to do it.

In the mid-1980's, we brought a condemned house on North Leroux Street back to life.  City officials claimed it never had a sewer connection.  They wanted thousands of dollars to connect the house to the sewer.  We claimed it had one of the original sewer connections.  Finally, we made a "deal" with the city.  We said we could prove precisely where the old sewer line was located.  We said the city could dig there and if they didn't find it, then they could bill us whatever they wished to connect up a sewer.  (We were convinced the city had severed the old line when they put in a new main in the alley.)

Anyway, the city worked showed up with a backhoe and I am standing there looking like the guy in the photo above with my two coat hanger divining rods.  The workers were snickering and guffawing with each other, making fun of me as I went about my business.  Finally, I pinpointed the old line and said, "Dig right here and you will find the old line."  The backhoe operator was laughing out loud as he fired up the big machine.  Imagine their shock and my glee when they dug right down to the old line!

That was my sweetest moment ever in my dowsing history.  I've had lots of other success stories but that one really takes the cake.  Anyway, here's the story that triggered this tale:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/california-farmers-hire-dowsers-to-find-water/2014/03/02/950347f4-a262-11e3-84d4-e59b1709222c_story.html?tid=hpModule_a2e19bf4-86a3-11e2-9d71-f0feafdd1394&hpid=z14

And here's the website for the new wine shown in the photo above:

http://www.thediviningrod.com/

Newsweek is coming back in print.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/03/business/media/tiny-digital-publisher-to-put-newsweek-back-in-print.html

If you talked to either of us very long, you've heard a sales pitch about Air BNB.  And if you've visited us from out of town, chances are you've stayed in Maria and Tim's Air BNB property nearby.  Air BNB is truly awesome in every regard and Maria and Tim have awesome reviews of their great property.

Anyway, Air BNB has become so big and so successful that people are figuring out ways to piggyback small business ideas onto Air BNB.  Here's teh low down from San Francisco:

http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Airbnb-spawns-array-of-companies-to-aid-hosts-5282838.php

Here's the main Air BNB website.  If you've never been to this website, take some time to browse any where in the whole wide world.  You will be amazed at what you find.

https://www.airbnb.com

Finally, here's Maria & Tim's specific listing so you will know where to book and stay when you come to visit us:

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/984896?s=ETGS

Great weather graphic this morning from the Pocatello NWS.  Below in bold italics is the short narrative that accompanied the graphic:

"As far as weather is concerned, March is continuing where February left off. We are off to a wet start with plenty of precipitation expected over the coming week. Snow levels will remain around 5500 to 6500 ft through Wednesday, rise to 6500 to 7500 ft on Thursday, then fall sharply Thursday night as a cold front drops into southeast Idaho. We could see a break from this precipitation on Friday and Saturday as high pressure pushes through, but another storm system looks to bring more rain and snow to the area early next week."

We learned a new trick this morning--how to add the "percent of median" to the Snow Water Equivalent data from the US NRCS Idaho SNOTEL network.  Check it out.  Yesterday increase brought the Banner Summit SNOTEL up to 94% of average.  With what's coming through the pipeline, it looks like Banner will get back to normal this week.  Considering it was a mere 57% of median in early February, this is huge news, especially to a guy who happens to have a July 12th Middle Fork permit!

And, finally, lest we forget, be sure to check in on Sue Malone's excellent travel blog.  They are having a wonderful time in Florida.  Thanks for all your great posts, Sue!  http://mohotravels.blogspot.com/