“ It’s a sad day when you find out that it’s not
accident or time or fortune,
but just yourself that kept things from you."
~Lillian Hellman~
“ Be more concerned with your character than your reputation,
because your character is what you really are,
while your reputation is merely what others think you are."
I came upon this Naugha dam.
While looking up info, I realized that no one has posted info on Wild Naugha,
so I made the first such internet post of the cute little creature we all know as the
Naugha.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Wild Hairless Naugha Naugha-officionalis
Range:
Native to the mountainous regions of Upper-Lower Slobovia.Imported and released into various sections of California (largely
unsuccessful attempt at natural pest eradication) in the mid nineteenth century.
Habitat: The Naugha is a habitat specialist and
thrives only in the pristine Old-Growth Bluewood forests of Upper-Lower Slobovia,
specifically in the Naugha Mountain Range. It requires small year-round streams of less
than one foot width, and one inch depth, with browse plants nearby such as tender
succulent grasses.
Description:
The Naugha is a harmless mammal of the genus Naugha. There is only one species in this
genus, and little is known of it’s natural life cycle and mating habits. The Naugha
is a small creature that resembles a cross between a turtle, a musk ox, and a weasel, but
with a small prehensile trunk, no hair, webbed feet and unique-among-mammals three toes.
The wild species will reach a height of several inches at maturity. Wild native Naugha has
a bright red skin color which stands out in the green areas of it’s natural
environment. Due to its lack of natural camouflage, the Naugha is generally found with
thick moss growing on its skin which it will cultivate.Wild Naugha is often confused with a moss covered rock by the uninitiated.
Habits:
The Naugha is a reclusive creature, that has not been adequately studied in its natural
environment due to inaccessibility to the natural ecosystem.
Naugha is a non native species to
California. It was imported from Upper-Lower Slobovia by the French who had tried an early
and failed attempt at biological control of the snail species they had witlessly
imported into California in the nineteenth century. Unfortunately for California gardeners,
Naugha is not well suited to the dry climate of Southern California. Therefore tens of
millions of Californians are left with no alternative to prevention of their gardens
destruction other than environmentally damaging snail poisons, or ‘chucking’
snails into their local roadways to get run over. California’s medical care costs are
driven higher than other portions of the country primarily due to the ‘repetitive
motion’ injuries to shoulder, wrist and elbow from chucking snails, as well as hip
injuries from people who slip on the snails themselves. There is also a more
environmentally friendly way to destroy snails, and that is beer. A bowl of beer placed
level with the ground will draw snails from the surrounding area. Some will get drunk,
drop in and down (what a way to go), and some will merely get tipsy and try to slide away
(sideways and swaying). These snails can be picked up ‘gliding while
intoxicated’ and dispatched into a plastic sack where they will die a slow horrifying
death in the landfill. Unfortunately, as the use of California beer for this use spreads,
the price of beer has risen due to chronic shortages.
Naugha is a small species that
often leaves traces of its short-lived transit along small streams. These streams are
dammed by the Naugha in a manner similar to their larger cousin, the beaver.Needless to say, these streams must be very small
to accommodate the inability of the Naugha to cut any plant material thicker than a
toothpick. Naugha are very small animals and cannot tackle trees as beavers do.They are often accused of roaming into suburbia
at night and gathering lawn debris, and placing it into nearby gutters, thinking these are
streams. Alas, when the sprinklers turn off, and the water ceases to flow, the Naugha are
soon forced to leave.
Naugha are rarely seen by the
casual observer, (the author has never seen one). Their rarity in California, the
nocturnal habits, and extreme shyness has left us with a creature that has never been
photographed in the wild.
Selective breeding years ago resulted in a superior for agriculture breed
that has a larger skin surface area. This is the breed that is now raised primarily for
it's skin, called, when tanned, 'naugahide'.
January 30, 2008
Rivenrock Pond
It's nice when the pond is full of water. We know plenty of water is
going into the water table.
Having water displays has always been a large part of many gardens, especially in water
deficient areas. Unfortunately, our pond is seasonal, and does not even fill every year.
But that also means we do not use water to fill it, all the water is from seasonal
underground springs.
This is a view from the terraces to the Northeast of the pond.
Right below us is the spice plant called rosemary.
The tall cactus is Cereus peruvianus. The Blue one is Agave Americana.
There is a plant called oleander to the left behind the rosemary, and in front of the
young oak trees. The last three plants mentioned have some degree of poison in them. This
is how we are able to grow them and not have the deer eat them down. Anything we want to
have growing here, has to be either poisonous, spiny, or in general, something deer just
don't like for one reason of another (citrus).
The view from the southeast.
In this view, we see some native plants and introduced non-natives reflected in the pool.
We see native oak trees and the Monterey pine. There is also Eucalyptus growing, this is
an introduced plant from Australia. We also see a nice upside down view of the hillside.
View from the southwest.
Oaks, Agave and Cereus are visible.
Having a little respite from the rain is great.
We've been hit pretty hard, we had rain pretty much all day and all night for about seven
days. But today was finally a nice sunny day.
January 29, 2008
Political Bobbleheads
or 'The lesser of two weevils'
I was pointed to an interesting website that lets you fill out a form
giving your opinions on the presidential political candidates. Then it generates a
form that shows you the candidates that most closely match those requisite concepts. And
you can even get a little bobblehead of your favorite candidates. The form to go to is
below.
I filled out the easy form to answer some questions about concepts and
ideas, and was given this nifty page showing the candidates and their rankings based on my
thinking...
I find it interesting how little percentage difference there is
between my top-runner, and the first Democrat in the list. Perhaps even more scarier is
how close that first Democrat (John Edwards) is to Hillary.....brrrrr!!!!
Could it be that what some say is becoming really true? That the Democrats and the
Republicans are both moving to the left slowly, but the Republicans are catching up to the
Dems, so that there is now a smaller margin of difference between them?
Then I went and downloaded the little bobbleheads of my top three
candidates...
Blue on black
Tears on a river
Push on a shove
It don't mean much
Joker on jack
Match on a fire
Cold on ice
A dead man's touch
Whisper on a scream
It doesn't change a thing
It don't bring you back
Blue on black
Part of a car in the canyon creek.
I was socializing with some neighbors who live alongside the
canyon road. As we watched the occasional cars go by (perhaps five cars in the hour I was
there), we commented on how you can tell the people who live in the canyon from the ones
who are coming to visit someone they know. The ones who live here have learned that
driving fast on the winding dirt road is not only a way to seriously damage your vehicle
in no time; it is also a way to plunge it into the creek, into a tree, or up over (or
into) a bluff. I don't think there's a year that I don't see some vehicle that has run
into serious mishap on this road. And I'd say that always a driver was at fault.
I don't know the story on this particular vehicle, I never heard who was
driving it, or if they were hurt. It appears the vehicle was hauled up, but the
grill/bumper section was left behind as no one wanted to go into the rain swollen creek to
retrieve it. The water is rushing fairly fast, and going into it is not anything you want
to do unless someone's life is on the line.
This is the condition of our road right now. This is due mostly to the
huge amounts of rain we have been getting, at the time of this photo, it was some five
days of non-stop rain. This was the first break in the weather, and my first trip out of
the canyon in that whole time. But, it is really nice just staying at home. And besides,
it is a pain getting in and out, better to just stay at home.
It is really hard on a vehicle to drive such a road. There
are fellows who will get some really built-up suspension and frame on a vehicle. They will
then think they can drive fast on a road like this and slam their tires against
these potholes without causing trouble. Well, I'd think they are a bit wrong...true their
vehicle might last longer with all those modifications, but it's still gonna take a
beating on this road. Drive it at thirty mph long enough on here, and you're surely gonna
have busted parts popping up here and there. I swear, there are some spots of this road
where I drive about three mph for short stretches, there is just no way to make it through
these pothole patches without hitting some here and there. And you know when you hit one
hard, that you are doing massive damage to the metal pieces that make up the vehicle
you rely on for transportation.
Oh, for the days of my wild mis-spent youth, when Mom and Dad paid the living
expenses, and all my money from lawn mowing and restaurant work could go into buying parts
for my little car. But eventually, when I had to pay for my own room and board, the choice
between cool chromes and a cheeseburger became easy to make. When it comes to sparkle or
food, my stomach makes the choice for me.
January 27, 2008
It is the driver's responsibility to insure
I worked at a place where I had to pass a sign on the gate that said,
'It is the driver's responsibility to insure the vehicle has been properly
inspected".
I'm pretty sure they meant 'ensure', because I never filled out any 'vehicle inspection
insurance'.
Little synonyms like this make me smile. It can be so easy to accidentally use the wrong
word, that really does sound right.
Go to '48 way to embaress yourself in writing' to get an informative and fun
article on this subject.
Ch-ch-ch-changes
or: from the frying pan into the fire
'Changes'
~David Bowie~
I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence
So the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're going through
Speaking of informative and fun, take a look at the great change that everyone seems to be
pushing for politically.
Now, you've got to be for adapting to changing circumstances, but change just for the sake
of change without a well defined plan and outcome might just lead to even more problems in
the future.
Someone has taken clips of the major candidates for the Presidential
Election, and compiled them into a little film/video that shows them chanting the mantra
for 'Change', because we all know they are going to 'come in with a new broom and sweep
the place out', and this time they are going to initiate a 'change'.
The cool thing here is this video end up with the candidates singing the David Bowie tune,
'Changes'.
The video is clever and very well pieced together.
January 26, 2008
Milky Water
Tao Teh Ching
Chapter 77 The way of nature is much like the drawing of a bow.
That which is high is lowered, and that which is low is brought up.
The excess is removed, and where there is deficiency more is added.
The way of nature is to reduce the excesses and spread them to where there is deficiency.
The way of Man is otherwise,
Mans way is to take from those who have little, and give to those who have much.
Who is it that can offer more to the world, and have still more to offer? Only the person
of the Tao.
Therefore the sage acts without laying claim to the act.
He can accomplish without boasting.
He has no wish to appear superior.
A nearby canyon.
This is the creek in the next canyon over. For some reason
this year, the water in this canyon is running with a lot of white colored soil from
erosion somewhere further up the canyon. It looks like some light-colored rocky shale
scree is getting washed away. It has colored the water to a white hue, and left many small
pieces of shale rock pebbles along the sides of the stream.
I guess that's all part of nature's great 'wealth-redistribution' scheme.
Broken-Windows Theory
The same creek a little further up.
Note how the creek over the years has cut a channel underneath the oak roots.
This channel erosion is exacerbated by the pebbles from further up that rush along
dislodging still more material from further down.
Thus it is that much erosion is contributory to accelerated erosion further downstream.
In this case it is not such a terribly bad thing,
the deep channel reduces flooding risks to the adjacent roadway.
Another spot where the creek goes under a road.
Oh yes, it's good to have water again.
January 25, 2008
'Rocky Mountain Music'
~Eddie Rabbit~
Back on an old dirt road, next to a swamp full of toads;
Was a slanted wooden shack, with three little kids and a Mama.
Papa died in '63, left little Jimmy and me,
To plant them taters and pull up another tomorrow.
Rocky Mountain music fills my memory,
Rocky mountain music,
Papa can I hear you playing for me?
Little brother was never quite right; he used to sit on the floor in the sunlight,
Play with the dust that danced on the beams in the window.
Sister had to cook and clean, cause Mama she got sick and mean.
Sometimes I think she just died away missing Papa.
Rocky Mountain music fills my memory.
Rocky Mountain music,
Mama can I hear you singing to me?
Well every thing has changed today; little brother he was taken away.
Sister, she married a soldier and lives in Toledo.
And me I'm in a Nashville bar, and I've never been so far,
From that old gravel road and the rivers that run through my memory.
Rocky Mountain music fills my memory.
Rocky mountain music,
brother can I hear you calling me?
The precious fluid we call water.
It is as vital to the functioning of the Earth as our own internal moisture is to our
bodies.
This is our pond, down the hill from our home. It is
dry all year, except for a short time most winters. We've gotten so little rain the last
couple of years, that I don't think it's gotten all the way full like it is now for at
least two winters.
In the evenings it is a megaphone that is powered by a small number of frogs
that come to mate and act up. It can be so loud near the lip of the pond that it can
actually hurt your ears. The funny thing is, it can sound like their must be hundreds of
frogs, yet when I shine my light around, I might see a half dozen or so. As the rains
cease, and the underground springs that supple the water to the pond dry up, the water
level will drop, on good wet years, the frogs will be successful and be able to get their
little tadpoles off to a good start with legs and all.
But other years, it is kind of sad when I watch the water go down day-by-day, the
hundreds and maybe thousands of tadpoles being more and more densely packed into the
ever-disappearing body of water. At the end it might be a small patch a couple of feet
across, and a couple of inches deep with many tadpoles vying for space and oxygen in the
water. the ones which have developed lungs will be gulping air, their mouths out of the
water like some gulping lungfish (I've got a great story about a lungfish pet I had once,
I'll tell it to you one day).
I've tried adding water to the diminishing pond, but that is an exercise in
futility, the thirsty/loose ground will drain away all water I put onto it. I have on
occasion dug into one end or the other, to get closer to the water table, so there is one
end of the pond that is deeper than the other and has some standing water that will help
keep the tadpoles alive longer. The water in this photo is about six to eight feet
deep.
It seems like every few years, there are several hundred young frogs that get
off to a good start in life on our place. We enjoy having these frogs hopping all
over Rivenrock. They are good at reducing bugs, and are fun to listen to at night.
And just being surrounded by such life and vitality is zestful.
Speaking of tadpoles, there are two times that I've been called to industrial
sites to 'remove tadpoles' that some environmental engineer found in a water tank
that was going to be dumped and rinsed. Seeing the 'tadpoles' they would get worried about
harming wildlife and call me to 'humanely remove and relocate' the 'tadpoles'. Both times
I got there and the supposed tadpoles were actually mosquito larvae. I was a bit surprised
that people could be an environmental engineer and go through college with that as a major
and still confuse mosquito larvae and tadpoles... but such is the state of the
governmental education system, and kids pretty much growing up just in town.
Rivenrock Creek, up the canyon from our house.
The canyon this creek runs down goes up about two miles, so
it potentially drains a couple of thousand acres watershed by the time it gets to our
house.
People who live in areas that get plenty of water must laugh at us getting so
excited about eight inches of rain so far this month, and at us considering this
intermittent creek a substantial thing. But we're in an area where we have giant rivers
that run for a few months a year, and are still called rivers, even though for eight
months each year they might be a two hundred meter-wide dry sandy riverbed. The last two
winters we got some ten inches or less of rain each year. So already this month we're over
what we had the entire rainy season last year.
This is substantial water for us, and a reason for rejoicing and being happy.
Our reservoirs might get filled up again, the water table will likely raise up some, the
hillsides will again be green, and the brush, which has been sparser than I ever recall it
being, might start to fill in again.
All in all, things are starting out OK this year.
January 24, 2008
Oh, I Hear the Weather's Nice in California
~Kellie Pickler~
'I Wonder'
Oh, I hear the weather’s nice in California,
There’s sunny skies as far as I can see.
If you ever come back home to Carolina,
I wonder just what you’d say to me.
There's long, slow, soft ballads, and there's 'I Wonder' by Kellie
Pickler.
Some people just have such talent.
But what really makes this a masterpiece,
is the heart and soul of the artist that she so readily shows to us.
Isn't the soul of art the 'wearing of the heart on the sleeve'?
She's taken a lot of flack for not being too sharp learnin' wise.
But I think she's done just fine for herself. As long as she stays from the
things that are making some of these other young girls fall down, and has a good team of
people for advisors, I expect she'll do fine.
I've known some folks who didn't know too much about the world, but they knew
an awful lot about the things they needed to in their own little corners of the world.
One of the most gifted mechanics I ever knew could not read nor write. But he
could sure figure out how a machine worked, and he knew enough reading to be able to
figure bolt-tightening-sequence-patterns and torque values from the 'exploded' diagrams we
had.
I guess this song kinda gets me cause I spoke to my brother
today in North Carolina.
Like so many other American families, ours is strung across the country.
And this 'Carolina/California' dichotomy is kind of sad, yet liberating and
freeing, because in this culture; in these times we have much ability to pick and choose
how and where we will live.
We're just a bi-Coastal family I guess.
Trees of Black Mountain North Carolina
Visit our show on Chimney
Rock a marvelous Natural Attraction near Asheville N.C.
And while I listen to this beautiful soulful song, I am stuck indoors with blustery winds,
and cold rain, day after day, with another week of potential rain predicted.
'IT NEVER RAINS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA'
~ALBERT HAMMOND~
Got on a board a west bound seven-forty-seven,
Didn't think before deciding what to do.
All that talk of opportunities, TV breaks and movies,
Rang true, sure rang true.
Seems it never rains in Southern California.
Seems I've often heard that kind of talk before.
It never rains in California,
But girl, don't they warn ya;
It pours man it pours.
Out of work, I'm out of my head.
Out of self respect I'm out of bread.
I'm under loved I'm under fed.
I wanna go home.
It never rains in California,
But girl don't they warn ya, it pours, man it pours.
Will you tell the folks back home I nearly made it,
Had offers but don't know which one to take.
Please don't tell them how you found me,
Don't tell them how you found me, give me a break,
Give me a break
Seems it never rains in Southern California,
Seems I've often heard that kind of talk before.
It never rains in California,
But girl, don't they warn ya,
It pours man it pours
So, while many people seem to think it is ALWAYS nice in California, most folks know we
also get some rain here and there. And when we do, sometimes we get a good amount
all at once.
Now we've been getting rain non-stop for the last couple of days. I am a bit ashamed to
admit that for two days I never left the house until this evening when it stopped raining
for a bit. It was good for me to get out and check on potential damage, and I am happy to
report that our culverts are flowing properly and not filled in with brush or refuse. Just
before dark I took a couple of photos.
Rivenrock Creek flowing past the terraces. The shrub to the left is
called California
Coffeeberry, and is a native California plant. The bush to the right is called Coyote Brush.
Rivenrock Creek flowing past the concrete stacked to keep the soil in
place.
The giant root is from a mature sixty foot Monterey Pine tree.
Here's some videos I have been in.
I've been pretty fortunate to be able to work around some very talented people.
January 23, 2008
Sunrise
What can match such beauty as given to us daily?
No one can make anything to match the work of God.
Some admire the painting, and forget about the painter.
Do not worship the creation, worship the Creator.
January 22, 2008
Photos of a plane near Lompoc California.
January 21, 2008
Foxy Brown
Tao Teh Ching Chapter 55
One who is abundant in virtue is much like a newborn child;
bees, scorpions and snakes will not sting or bite such a one.
Wild beasts will not sink claws into the infant, nor will birds of prey strike a blow.
Though his bones be soft, and his sinews be weak, his grip will be strong.
The infant doesn't yet know of the union between male and female,
yet this one is perfectly formed, the ultimate in vitality.
Babbling and screaming all day, he does not become hoarse;
this shows the harmony of the infant.
To know virtue and harmony like this, to keep it constant, this is illumination.
To try to force life: this bodes ill.
To try to exceed nature brings calamity.
To try to control nature brings violence.
And things that are over-luxurious,
overgrown and extremely fecund are not in keeping with the Tao.
These things will wither and perish.
This little Gray Fox
was crossing the path before me, and stopped in the shelter of the brush to watch me, as I
watched it.
I must admit, I really like these little foxes (Urocyon
cinereoargenteus). They are a very attractive and interesting animal that gives all
appearances of being highly intelligent. They are also usually very plentiful around
here (although occasional bouts of distemper reduce their population when it has grown
large).
One day I was working on the hillside when I heard the brush cracking and one
of our cats came running from the brush with a fox five feet behind her. The fox was so
intent on chasing the cat, it never realized that the legs the cat hid behind were those
of a human. I stood stock-still watching this entire confrontation play out as the fox ran
to within just a few feet of me, before it looked up at me leaning on my shovel. It
stopped in its tracks, then after a few seconds in which we were eye-to-eye... with an
explosive burst of energy it sprang around and disappeared like a dart into the brush.
They are so well concealed by the brush and their own color patterns, they
seemingly melt into the underbrush.
Another time I was walking at night along our road. I saw something
shining a bit down the side canyon. Watching it, I could see it was two eyes
reflecting the flashlight beam. As I watched, the eyes grew closer and closer, and were
going from side to side about eight feet each way in a hunting/scanning pattern. Then
another set of eyes appeared behind the first, perhaps twelve feet behind, presumably to
pick up any prey animal hiding from the first, that might dart out when the first was
'safely' away. Then a third pair behind the second appeared.... these all got closer and
closer to me. They were so intent on their hunting they did not notice they were coming
directly to a human (the gentle breeze was blowing from them to me). As they got to within
forty feet I could see they were foxes. And the movement-pattern they exhibited reminded
me of some high-tech soldiers scanning a battlefield in combat formation. The 'point-man'
came to within five feet of me, and I worried of it's reaction if it bumped into my legs,
so I cleared my throat (quietly). That little tiny noise caused them all to dart off in
three different directions both quickly and quietly.
These foxes don't really cause us a lot of bother. Sometimes they come onto
the patio to eat the cat food, but our dogs raise Cane when they smell them around, and
the little Chihuahuas like to give chase to the foxes. We worry a bit that the foxes will
eat our dogs, but so far we/they have been lucky. The foxes like to eat our cactus fruit
though. They will actually chomp into the rind to peel some off, then eat the delicious
meat inside. And I suspect it is them that climb our persimmon trees to get the ripe fruit
there.
Yes, there are some encounters with animals I guess I'll never forget.
The Lord gave us such a beautiful planet, full of mystery and enchantment.
Let's not ruin it all with strip malls.
January 20, 2008
"I feel your pain"
~William Jefferson Clinton~
Winter is on us now. The Sycamores have shed their leaves fully.
This is a photo of the winds blowing the leaves off a couple of weeks ago.
But still, we're really lucky. Nights are getting into the low thirties, but not terribly
freezing, and the days right now are in the sixties to low seventies with clear skies.
Looking at the national weather charts, I feel for the folks back East (been there, done
that).
January 18, 2008
It's Goodbye to All My Friends
(To live is to fly low and high)
"A Recession is when your neighbor loses his job,
A Depression is when you lose your job."
~Ronald Reagan~
In 1981 I was a young feller who walked into a huge industrial
building and got a job that paid more than what I was making working at a Federal Prison.
They were very upfront with me and told me the job would likely last only six months to
two years.
Now, nearly twenty-seven years later, the job has finally run it's course.
Today was my last day, and I am now officially laid off. This message is to the long-time
friends and co-workers I have had through that half of my life.
Together we've grown up, and raised families. We've had the normal ups and
downs of industrial and bureaucratic life in a plant working in a large company. But now,
after being in place for twenty-five years, the building will close it's doors to us, as
new tenants move in.
I'll remember the people who made me laugh, like Mark when he said something
at 'the-most-boring-meeting-I've-ever-been-in' just as I was taking a big gulp of coffee,
and I snorted the coffee through my nose into my cup. Everyone saw it and we all laughed
for hours. It became 'the-one-meeting-I'll-never-forget'. All those hundreds of fun
little things that happen in the course of the work days as you come to know your
co-workers well. These happened to all of us through that 'half-a-lifetime'.
Now, it is time for us to say our 'fare-thee-wells'. The company has
been hemorrhaging workers for the last two years. And now there is only a small crew left.
People have been leaving the area and moving across the country to other plants to build
similar products.
Myself, I am tied to this place now. This place of the terraces climbing up
the hillside, this place of green verdant cactus plantings that has become such a large
part of my life. I will still be looking for other work, both driving or similar, as
well as any acting gigs that might help make ends meet. But the cactus will now become the
locus of my worklife as I work to build the business into a full-time venture.
If you wish to see my resume, you are free to forward it to anyone in the area who might
need a driver or similar type person for part-time or full-time work.
If you happen to know a Casting Director or such who might need someone with
my own unique looks for film or print to play a homeless fellow, biker, trucker or
barbarian, do forward them the addy to my acting pages.
Life is funny, you never know what might come your way. I have been extremely
fortunate to have been given the opportunities I have had through my lifetime. I've been
able to feel that the things I have done have made a difference in the world. A positive
impact has been felt by the small things I've contributed to the workplace, and together
our collective efforts have resulted in rocket launches that have sent satellites both far
and near. My time in the Army was a similar time of feeling that the things I was
doing was making a difference, deterring the Soviet menace on the German borders, as well
as working as a liaison between the American Military and the German Police. Who knows now
what might await me in the next phase of my life, but although I'd like to stay on keeping
the same job... that is not in the cards at this time. So, I will walk out into 'the
world' and see if I can make my own fame and fortune therein.
So fellows and gals, until we meet again in the unemployment line, or while
strolling through town (it likely won't be while shopping or eating out because I'm on a
very strict budget now) I tip my hat to you all, and thank you for the good times and the
memories. You have all enriched my life immeasurably, and I wish the very best for you all
in your continuing endeavors.
May God Bless us all and help us as we continue forward.
'To Live is to Fly'
~Cowboy Junkies~
Days up and down they come
like rain on a conga drum
forget most, remember some
but don't turn none away
Everything is not enough
nothing is too much to bear
where you been is good and gone
all you keep's the getting there
To live is to fly low and high
so shake the dust off of your wings
and the sleep out of your eyes
It's goodbye to all my friends
It's time to go again
Think of all the poetry
and the pickin' down the line
I'll miss the system here
the bottom's low and the treble's clear
but it don't pay to think too much
on the things you leave behind
I may be gone but I won't be long
I'll be bringing back the melody
and the rhythm that I find
We all got holes to fill
and them holes are all that's real
some fall on you like a storm
sometimes you dig your own
But choice is yours to make
time is yours to take
some dive into the sea
some toil upon the stone
To live is to fly low and high
so shake the dust off of your wings
the sleep out of your eyes
January 17, 2008
As Advertised
A friend of mine and I were trading poems and such a year ago.
He whipped this one out, and told me he made it up himself for some class.
I liked it so much, and asked him if I could use it in this blog...
he gave me the poem and said to just put his name on it.
Don is an engineer, and a right smart fellow he is.
This poem just scratches the surface of his analytical mind.
Thanks for all the great conversations Don!
If a poet did but know it
And he had the time,
He could take a piece and make
A simple little rhyme.
Then he could, if just he would,
Apply it to a thought,
And change the words once found absurd
To things that mean a lot.
This is not, as some have thought
An easy thing to do,
For it takes a lot to make
The meaning all come through.
And even if I had this gift,
The time's not here to spend.
So as for me, this poetry
Has reached its fatal end.
Thank you . . .
Donald G. Vetter
You'll notice that he is the same fellow who wrote a great New Year's Eve Poem
while he was working at the Diablo Nuclear Power Plant some two decades ago.
16 January, 2008
Lagar de la Ciudad el Paso de Robles
Paso
Robles is a fine and smallish town in San
Luis Obispo County California. Being in the new 'wine country', it has recently seen
the trend in new wineries enter the town. And this is one of the newer ones. I was driving
by and liked the 'Taos' look of the architecture so much I had to take a photo.
Their new cactus plantings had a bit of a hard time with the recent storms.
Some were totally killed by the frost, and others were slightly blown over by the wind.
But, with time, their roots will spread out and anchor them well. I'd say a careful push
(careful for the pusher), and some shovel work will put them straight again.
The building is a beauty to admire from outside, although I did not venture
inside as I had elsewhere I had to go. But...there's always time to snap a photo, isn't
there?
15 January, 2008
Catcher in the Rye
This Blue Heron walks around the grassy areas looking for gophers and such.
About a month ago we saw it with a gopher in his bill, but I didn't have the camera ready.
An animal like this is a very useful creature, they can get rid of the
critters you don't really want around.
14 January, 2008
Port San Luis
Yep Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore!
This is an iconic view of California. Port San Luis in the
Central Coast County of San Luis Obispo is an important 'Port of Call' to fishing and
pleasure boats in the area.
This coastline is treacherous, and full of strong currents, harsh winds and
sometimes raging waves. A safe reliable harbor is very important in such an area.
Port San Luis is more of a commercial fishing port than the beautiful and trendy
'touristas' type places that cater to weekenders. This is the port where I got my first
(and only) commercial fishing job on a tuna boat.
You can see a nice aerial view of Port San Luis at ZimFamilyPhotos
Not too far from here is the impressive double nuclear reactors of Diablo Canyon Power
Plant run by PG&E. Many of our friends and neighbors have or still work there. Many
work for a short time doing special assignments during their powerdown periods.
The ZimFamily has more photos of the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant and the local area
full of it's spellbinding beauty.
Now, Jim Zim is a fellow photog, and his beautiful images of the local
areas can be seen at Jim's website of San Luis County photos. Oh yes, he's got some beauty
photos there for sure!
We're pretty lucky to be living in such a pretty spot.
And when you know how lucky you are; man, you are really lucky!
13 January, 2008
Geeky Web-Statistic Numbers
Yeah, I'm a bit proud of ol' Rivenrock Gardens. In our
eleven years on the web, we've increased sales over 600%. We've also gotten a fair number
of hits on the website now. I was going through year-end statistics and stuff like that.
And even though I'm no mathematician, nor statistician, I do like compiling lists of our
web statistics. This helps me figure where we need to push advertising and concentrate on
marketing. But some of the fun is getting to the year-end numbers, where it all congeals
together. Here's what we've got for this year on some of the important (to me) numbers for
the year 2007.
Downloads of screensavers... 3,481
You can go to our screensavers page
to see the screensavers there that we give away for free!
It's fun knowing so many people went to the site and snatched screensavers.
We like sharing the beauty of the Central Coast with everyone.
And also, we include our company logo as the first image, so it makes an advertising
thing.
Go ahead and download some screensavers, and e-mail them to your friends too!
Total number of page views in the year at www.rivenrock.com...
340, 814
Total number of countries that visited Rivenrock.com... 152
OK, now some of these aren't real countries, like 'arpanet' the forerunner to the
internet, and '.mil' sites where service members (we love you guys and gals) probably
stationed far away from 'The World' peruse sites looking at photos of home to keep their
'homesick blues' away.
And some of them' countries have less GDP than our county. Places run under 'nice
Leftist' governments like Zimbabwe
where the production of food has been run into the ground under the 'beneficent'
administration of a despotic tin-pot dictator, and the people probably have to look at
food on the internet just to see what food looks like cause their government is so bad.
(dang, I'm such a hate-mongering Right-Wing Conservative sometimes, I guess I'm just part
of that there 'Vast Right-Wing conspiracy).
1,863 pageviews were more than thirty minutes.
Perhaps this is due to my bad habit of setting outside links to open in a new window...
but I don't want you to leave our site!
5,915 were from ten to thirty minutes.
6,370 were from three to ten minutes.
So, overall, it was a good year for us. We had a lot of views, a lot
more sales than ever (it keeps going up year after year, which is how you want a business
to go).
We have fun with our customers, sitting back here in the hills, reading the shipping
labels with the exotic locations such as Egg Harbor
Township New Joisey, and Waco Texas (I was in the army with a guy from Waco, we called him
'Wacky Godecki').
Year after year, the seasons come and go. Each brings it's own hazards and it's own
rewards. Many times we've had to scrabble and dig for the rewards (raids by deer and frost
figured hard on us this year), but the Lord has given us plenty by putting us in a land
where the government is at least a bit amenable to conforming to the wishes of the people
(even though we can't shoot the deer that destroy our livelihood without special permits),
where business is encouraged (even though we have to spend thousands on permits, fees,
licenses and other 'Gubmint' stuff), and where the corruption is minimal (no comment).
God Bless the USA!
January 12, 2008
Have a seat!
Tao Teh Ching Chapter 53
If I possess even the smallest bits of wisdom,
I would walk the Great Way,
and my only fear would be in straying from this great road.
The Great Way is wide and the going is easy,
but how people seem to prefer the side paths.
When the offices of government,
the palaces and temples are richly adorned, and lavishly outfitted...
when the ministers are concerned chiefly with pomp and display;
the fields will be dusty and overgrown with rank weeds,
and the granaries of the land will be bare.
The gentry wear elaborate richly embroidered clothes,
eat and drink in excess with their sharp swords at their sides,
these are surely the robber barons.
This is not in keeping with the Way.
Some neighbors of ours are very accomplished artists who work in wood,
stone, clay and now we see they also work with metal!
They made this most interesting garden seat from refuse materials.
A motorcycle wheel rim makes the base for this seat.
Chain makes the frame and support and footrest.
An old tractor seat (they don't make that style anymore) makes the seat itself.
'Ford' wrenches, and open-end wrenches combine with chain to make the sides and backrest.
These folks are so very creative and smart. Every time I visit their place, I leave
feeling enlightened and renewed with a thirst to develop my own creative juices.
Being around creative people can enhance your own creativity.
It is an ancillary to the perceived truth that a good kid will not usually bring a 'bad'
kid up, but instead, the bad kid will likely exert a negative force over the good kid,
helping bring him down.
My folks always said I would be judged much by the folks I know and hang around with.
It is good to be around delightful and good and hardworking creative people who care for
other people, their families and careers. Such people are not likely to help pull you down
the side paths into a miasma of sadness and 'wrong-living'.
January 11, 2008
Chevy Microwave
I had some work going on in Morro Bay. Since I'd not be near a
microwave oven, I took my Chimichangas for lunch and tucked them onto my intake manifold
while I drove around the worksites. The engine heat warmed them up enough to eat them. But
with all these hoses and wires for pollution control, it's hard to be able to tuck your
lunch onto your engine. But...it worked out OK.
January 10, 2008
Contrails or Chemtrails?
'Bungle in the Jungle'
~Jethro Tull~
The rivers are full of crocodile nasties,
And he who made kittens, put snakes in the grass.
He's a lover of life, but a player of pawns.
Yes, the king on his sunset lies waiting for dawn...
To light up his jungle,
As play is resumed.
The monkeys seem willing to strike up the tune.
Contrails
(Condensation Trails) are the freezing of water droplets made by high-flying jets.
Some people call these 'Chemtrails' and are under the belief that they are actually a secret
government plot to spread 'mind-control' agents among the populace.
No, I don't think our government controls us this way. The government tries
to control us by keeping us happy by letting us have Monday-night-football and pizza and
beer (i.e. the American Dream). And they let us know this will all be taken away if
we don't act the way they want us to. If we disobey, we get Bubba and an eight-by-ten,
three-hots-and-a-cot.
I don't think that the government can keep a secret that involves the many
thousands of people required to spread these unknown chemicals across the entire country
and world. I hold to the belief that these are merely water vapor frozen as jets pass by
it.
January 09, 2008
Yucca
We got an e-mail from
someone wanting to get rid of some tough old yucca roots.
Here is the mail we got....
"... have had yucca plants for 20 years at my home. They were planted by the
original owners. I have tried digging them out many, many times and they always seem to
return. This year I have vowed to remove them and replant with other plant types. Do you
have any advice? The roots are very deep. I removed the roots to about a foot below ground
this weekend. What next?"
Here is the mail I sent back....
"Hello,
You have to either get the roots totally out of the ground (i.e.: backhoe), or you can
just keep breaking off the little shoots that come up for the next year or so until they
finally exhaust the roots and they cannot put out any more shoots at all.
Another alternative is to put four feet of fresh horse manure down. It will start heating
as it decomposes, and the heat should kill any shoots coming up. In effect you will be
cooking the fresh shoots as well as the roots. I've used that to good effect. But it will
still take a half year or so.
Best of luck, but you can kill them in time. I've dug as deep as four feet, and still had
taproots a foot thick at that level. Then I'd watered them down heavily to loosen the
soil, and used a truck winch to get them out. They are survivors for sure.
See ya
John"
Yep, some succulents are really tough and hard to get rid of. They are the type of plants
that are meant to survive in very hard and tough conditions, and they are as hard to get
rid of as they are tough. Removing cactus and such can be a tough thing to do, you
can either work hard at it by hand (and wear lots of safety gear). Or you can work smart
with lots of big and expensive equipment (such as tractors and backhoes). Or you can work
the simpler way, with a ton or two of fresh horse manure, that works well each time, and
also leaves you a year later with really great soil in that spot.
January 06, 2008
'Water, water, everywhere'
or
'We The People'
"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of
government.
It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from
the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates
promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy
always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average
age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years."
"Great nations rise and fall.
The people go from bondage to spiritual truth, to great courage, from courage to liberty,
from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency,
from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependence, from dependence back again to
bondage."
~quote attributed to various thinkers, but unverified~
~as found at Loren
Collins website~
Water and mud run from a neighbor's property over the road.
The rain came down hard on us for a bit. We were lucky in
that we didn't have too much of a problem, but some neighbors did some grading on a creek
a couple of years ago. They graded along the creek and enlarged a wagon track that had
been alongside of it for many years. They cut into the hillside and dragged the dirt from
the hillside and into the creek which only runs for a day or two during heavy rains.
This gave them a much wider area to drive up and down the hillside.
But anytime you try to control where the water flows, you often find that
water does not always do what you tell it to. For instance, when you fill in a
creek, the water does not decide just to not flow anymore, a watershed must drain water,
that is the nature of such a natural system. In this case, the water will still flow, but
now it will carry away all the dirt they filled the creek in with. And the dirt must go
somewhere, and this time it went across the road that everyone in the canyon must drive in
and out on. Muddy flows several inches deep covered the road, and the alluvial fan created
was later cut with narrow rivulets that we all must slow to nearly nothing to
navigate. Another consideration is the mud debris that was deposited into the stream below
the road. The mud they deposited will also raise the creeks' bed higher, and closer to the
small bridges. We are prohibited by Fish and Wildlife from deepening the channel to keep
the stream lower, so year by year, the steam tends to creep ever higher to the bridges,
making us more susceptible to flooding and being stranded in the canyon during
emergencies. The bridges are also more likely to be washed out during floods. It's
funny how the government does not like any 'human interference in natural systems', not
even to correct the imbalances that result from human interactions.
What'cha gonna do when the Government doesn't let you take care of yourself?
Maybe turn to them to hold your hand every time there's an emergency? But you know you
can't depend on the government to take care of you, the government can hardly take care of
itself. We are the government, the government exists because of, and for us. It is
imperative that the people hold the reins of leadership, that we band together as a united
people to ensure the government represents us. We have the ability to vote out our
government when it does not perform the way we need and wish it to. But, could it be that
the government might have such a plan as to ensure that Americans are not allowed to take
care of themselves, so that we turn to the government for everyday help and become
dependent on the government? I hate to sound so cynical, and in general, I wouldn't
believe that is a plan of our politicians and government folks... but still, sometimes it
makes ya wonder.
But, there is a problem inherent in this system of governance. It has been
speculated that the maximum effective life of a democracy is some 200 years. That the
people will go from a people who take care of themselves, letting the government just
protect the people from outside enemies, to a people who will become dependent on the
government. And when they realize they can vote themselves money from the treasury, they
will ensure the bankruptcy of the government, as well as enable life-long politicians who
run and rule for the money and lifestyle it gives them, and who will open the coffers to
the people in order to ensure their re-election. I'm thinking we are getting into this era
now, and I do worry for the long term prospects of this country. It's like we're less
likely to be degraded by outside forces, than by our own internal enemies who are just
looking for their own self interests.
In regards to the grading that caused this mud problem...many neighbors spoke
to these folks and advised them against continuing with the grading they were doing. The
fear most folks here had was that this exact situation would occur. Eventually someone
turned them into the county (I heard) for illegal grading, and they were forced to install
riparian diversion systems such as fiber socks to channel the water. I do seem conflicted
when I in one paragraph belittle the county for not letting us work on lowering the creek,
and in the next seem to extol the county for having gotten after these people to fix some
of the problems they caused. In essence, it comes down to doing what is right. When you
are doing something that is going to affect downstream people, you have to modify your
behavior to limit your involvement in causing them problems. The governments' greatest
purpose should be to protect us from others both internal and external. So for the county
to get after these folks seems right since they are doing something that will affect every
single person in the canyon. Someone else who builds a barn without a permit is not likely
to affect every single person in the canyon (but the county LOVES to find those little
rural barns 'cause they can threaten the people with making them tear them down unless
they pay increased taxes and fees). So it is a matter of degree whether the government
should get involved. But by all means, I support the government checking into things.
January 05, 2008
Fire Down Below
'Fire Down Below'
~Bob Seger~
And he's looking out for Rosie and she's looking mighty fine.
And he's walking the streets for Nancy,
And he'll find her every time.
When the street lights flicker, bringing on the night,
Well they'll be slipping into darkness, slipping out of sight.
All through the midnight
Watch 'em come and watch 'em go.
With only one thing in common,
They got the fire down below
We had a dead tree that I finally trimmed the branches off of. The smaller branches were
too small to bother cutting into firewood, so I burned them so they would not lay together
in a big pile and be a fire danger. I use the standard safety techniques, the pile was
never larger than six feet across, it was a couple of hundred feet from the tree itself,
in an area we use for burning. The surrounding vegetation is sparse due to mowing and
we wetted it down so it would not be as likely to catch on fire. I made about a
hundred trips dragging the long branches from the tree to the burn area, so the fire would
never be too large. It made for a great deal of effort, but the dead tree with it's
attendant fire danger is now gone, all that remains is the central core of the tree which
we'll cut into firewood.
Here's a close-up of the fire.
We usually do a few burns a year like this, the tree trimmings, brush piles etc.
I never burn wet or green materials, doing so causes huge massive dark clouds and
particulates in the air. I like it best when I can burn without my neighbors even knowing
I burnt. In other words, the material you burn should be dry. And we don't burn
piles of leaves, they make sooty messy smoky smoldering piles. We cut the trees that die
into pieces, and leave little piles here and there to dry for a half year or more. This
particular tree was cut in August and burned in January. It had been dying for some
months, and had to be removed, as it was getting to be both a toppling danger (near a
power line and road), and a fire danger (it might easily catch fire from a spark since it
was going dead and would be a huge torch and spread fire easily to other live and healthy
trees nearby).
Trees should be trimmed up high to reduce the fire danger
from the grasses below them (fire ladder), but what to do with the branches you've cut
away? Some people say to run them through a chipper, but that uses fossil fuels, and emits
hydrocarbons. Also, I find it to be a huge task to stand there all day trying to get a
chipper to chop a whole tree unless you rent one of the huge commercial ones. Then we're
talking some bucks, and a drive into town to get the machine and tow it home (plus even
more fossil fuel use).
This also got me thinking about Al Gore and his carbon footprint with all of
his huge houses and globe trotting in private jets. He says he offsets his carbon use by
planting trees through a carbon-offsetting company, and encourages all others to do the
same. Well, first off, he owns the company, so when you pay them, he gets some of that
dough. Secondly, what happens in fifty or a hundred years when the tree dies? It
will rot and eventually that carbon will end up back in the environment when the tree
is burned in the future, whether through a forest fire, or as a result of being used for
firewood. Planting forests is good for the environment, but I don't think it is a
'solution' to the global warming issue.
These thoughts come to me each time I do these burns. I read the articles on
proper stewardship of resources, and how to maintain wildlands and agrarian areas
in a way that is productive from an economic standpoint, while still being friendly to the
environment. And these are all things I wish to do, but sometimes the realities of modern
life and a burgeoning population must be considered. For instance, many books recommend
you not remove brushpiles. We might be advised to keep these large piles in place to
provide shelter for small animals. That's all well and fine, but in California we have a
very real danger of fires, and a large pile of brush that is years old has a very large
fuel load. Every ton of dry material has about the same amount of BTU's in it as a gallon
of gasoline. This is a very explosive mix of combustibles to have anywhere near live
trees which might catch fire from the brushpile burning.
Like it or not, we are modifying the environment, and we cannot let things
lay as they would in an untrammeled nature. In nature these brushpiles. can lay naturally,
and if a fire comes along they will catch fire and burn terribly hot, but the fires will
pass on, leaving some areas unscathed as natural fires often do. But since the fires will
occur every few decades, the brush and the attendant dead fuel (fuel load) will not
usually get as large as it will in areas with human interference. We think we are doing
nature good by trying to extinguish every fire, but I think the California environment is
adapted to occasional 'low severity' fires that will keep the fuel load constantly low,
while opening up areas to grass and low shrub growth. When these areas have gone through
that cycle, and the heavy brush comes back and has grown for some decades, the area is
ripe for another fire that will again open it up.
Wildlife lives on the margins of different environments. They might take
shelter in heavy brush, but browse in the opened areas with grasses. Fires will skip some
areas in the erratic movements that winds and terrain push it around into. When we prevent
fires in an area for a century, we force the fuel load to become massive, and the browse
for most animals is reduced to nearly nothing. We have in effect created an empty
wasteland. And one day, when a fire comes through, it will be a massive conflagration,
with huge fire temperatures that will bake the soil, crusting the soil surface and
destroying the humus that might be present. This will also result in more soil erosion
when the rains finally do come, because the water will not easily penetrate the soil
surface due to the crusting and glazing effect. As it travels over the glazed surface, it
will channel into the natural rivulets, and then break through, resulting in massive gully
erosions once it gets through the surface.
Like it or not, we (humans in general) are living on this land now, and we
have a large population that cannot exist as nomadic hunter-gatherers (what humans were
naturally adapted to do). We have to live sedentary lives on small patches of land, and
prosper through our economic systems benefiting ourselves, while doing as little harm to
the environment as possible. Every person on a wilderness property must evaluate their own
system of land management. It is good to leave land open for the animals if possible, but
to reduce the fuel load through selective cutting and burning seems an appropriate way to
reduce wildfire danger and benefit wildlife simultaneously. In effect, it is to our
advantage, and the environment and animals to try to replicate the natural system of fuel
use and opening of areas and borders/brush in a way that will nearly prevent massive
wildfire dangers, while still keeping the land open for wildlife and economically viable.
For really good information on wildfire danger reduction for the rural home
go to Firewise Fire info
They have great and useful information, even a fun little game to help you learn what
steps should be made to prepare a home for wildland fire.
They have a PDF
file that has among the most succinct information I have ever seen on rural living
fire preparation.
Yes, there are environmentalists who have visited us and disagree
with some of the techniques we use for wildfire preparation, such as modification of the
natural environment around us. But lacking the natural fires that would burn in this area
occasionally, we have elected to do much the same thing with chainsaw, mowing, trimming,
rakes, fire resistant plant (cactus) landscaping, and backdoor burning.
There are plenty of folks in California who don't want to remove the dead
tree that birds might nest in, or to clear the brush near their homes that rabbits run
into...but some of those same folks watched their homes, the dead tree with young birds,
and the rabbits burn down last summer. Better perhaps to build a birds nesting box, plant
some landscape plants that are fire resistant further away from the house (for animal
shelter), and have it all last through a firestorm that will likely come by at some point
in the future.
January 04, 2008
Central Coast Vineyards
California's Central Coast has become a well known spot for excellent
varieties of grapes.
Here are a few photos I've taken of some of the vineyards I've seen along the Central
Coast.
From Telephone Road, in the Santa Maria Valley California.
Oh yes, this photo cannot do justice to the beautiful panorama that it purports to show.
Because of the scale and the mist, you cannot make out the ocean in the background.
But on the (very) occasional clear day, the thin blue line of the sea is seen between the
hills on the left and the right. But what is visible is many thousands of acres of
slightly rolling land that gently slopes down to the sea from this site, the highpoint of
the end of the valley. I suppose it is about ten to twelve miles 'as-the-crow-flies' to
the sea. In that space is grown a large percentage of the nations broccoli, strawberries
and summer lettuce.
In the foreground we see a fairly large vineyard.
This area has become world-renowned for its wines.
Here's some vineyards in San Miguel, a bit north of Santa Maria.
The same comments on the excellent local wines should be inserted here.
And near Templeton, still more vineyards.
Note the antique Fire truck parked in the driveway of this 'farmhouse'.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
On another note...
I came upon a website that had a banner advertising that it is a blog readable at the
post-grad level. Impressed with myself to be reading such high-falutin' stuff, I input my
own blog URL and was a bit miffed to see that I write to the 'Elementary School level as
displayed below.
Well, I guess that's not so bad after all, it is best if a family blog
be written to a wide audience, and we do so encourage kids to visit this site to read
about animals, travel and other things such as that (we also try to keep it clean for the
kids).
I was writing articles on organic gardening for a local paper some years ago, and the
editor once told me to refrain from 'ten-dollar words'. He said the average American reads
at the fourth grade level. I was a bit surprised at that, but maybe I should not be what
with the prevalence of our 'Government School system' and the holding back of entire
classes to the lowest mean level.
I do think there is truth to the fact that the government designed the current school
systems to educate the mass of the populace to be automatons, rising up at the requisite
time, and learning to learn rote while they punch the clock and engage in mindless drivel
all day, not worrying about the calcification of their brains, nor engaging in any serious
deep thought, for such people might make poor assembly-line workers or office workers.
There, I've had my say against the daily mass of automatons today.
Now, I go back to working a chainsaw cutting a fallen tree.
Note, such work actually entails many dimensions of higher and critical thinking....
Such as....
What direction is the wind blowing?
What are the internal workings of a two-stroke internal combustion engine?
Where is South? (the Southern side of a tree is usually thicker and heavier, ergo, more
likely to want to fall that direction).
Geometry figures as you must calculate angles, lean, stability, roll factors, spin, pitch
and yaw.
Situational Awareness must factor high, what about overhead hazards such as power lines,
what of pedestrian or vehicular traffic, or tripping hazards?
Reading, yes, the chainsaw manual must be read and understood.
Arithmetic, yep, how many 'board feet' are you gonna get if timber, or how many cords of
firewood might you get? What fuel/oil ratio mix is required, and how do you calculate
this?
Local laws, and environmental considerations...will you be able to burn the slash, or is
chipping a better option?
Safety gear, you gotta save your skin, organs and precious bodily fluids, this means wear
the right stuff always, for this, you gotta read the operators manual (the safety
section).
And patience...don't work when you're tired, that just is asking for accidents. Don't
hurry and rush either, that's another recipe for disaster. Don't handle power tools when
you're mad, take a breather, meditate and pray some to calm down and 'center' yourself
before getting back to using sharp or pointy tools.
Drug and alcohol fasting...don't work machinery while under the influence of any
medications legal or self prescribed...that includes 'The Recipe' (white liquor).
Working well with others....some things just should not be done alone, so if you need
help, you gotta be good at getting along with your playmates so they'll want to come and
help you when you need a hand. This also means, you have to go out and help your
buddies sometimes when they need a hand.
Kids, keep reading, reading is Fundamental.
Oh, and study math and philosophy too.
Work hard, study hard, and get plenty of rest.
When I work, I work hard
When I think, I think deep
When I sit, I fall asleep
January 03, 2008
Skunky Times
Most folks'l never eat a skunk...
But then again, some folks'l,
Like Dicus,
The slack-jawed yokel.
The patio Skunk has not been bothering us too much lately,
but last night I forgot and filled the cat food dishes on the patio, and he must have been
watching. Within a short time he came out and started eating the cat food, and this
unfortunately was about the same time Vickie opened the door to let the dogs out. She
started chasing the skunk with a broom (he's a pretty tame skunk), I threw water on it and
accidentally got water on one of the cats, Sissy Vermin. Yes, things were kind of a mess
what with three dogs in the house barking like crazy and us three on the porch running
around with brooms and water. Vickie is mentioning maybe I should shoot the critter, but I
am in no mood to shoot a skunk on the porch. I know he's not a problem if I just don't
leave cat dishes with food sitting where he can get them after dark, so I must admit, it's
my fault.
Don't try to teach a pig to sing,
it wastes your time...
and it aggravates the pig. ~American Proverb~
Dig the claws on this fellow! We tried to trim his toenails one
time, but it just aggravated him (kidding).
Skunks can dig pretty well. They are well adapted to digging, what-with their huge
front claws, and particular musculature.
This guy also seems pretty healthy, what a shine to that fur!
He's been coming around for years, and he's made a regular circuit of looking for food
from us. Sometimes we don't see him for a few weeks, then he's back in the neighborhood
for a few weeks.
Once we know he's around again, we hold off on feeding the cats on the ground near dark,
to deny him food. We don't want to encourage him.
Like keeping squirrels out of a bird feeder, this guy is hard to keep from the cat food no
matter where we put it. We have put it on drums and barrels, he learned he could push
against the drum, turning it, and making the food fly off as off a turntable. He
can't climb well, so now we keep the cat food on a table outside when he's coming around.
But, he caught us by surprise this time. It's been a good while since he got a meal from
us.
He's a bit perturbed that this particular dish has no Friskies in it.
Video we made of the Skunk a couple
of years ago. I think it's the same skunk.
January 02, 2008
All the little animals
From the film 'All the Little Animals'
I thought of running away, but how could I have left Mr. Summers?
Then, once I started digging, I didn’t really want to stop.
I thought about all sorts of things, whilst I was digging that hole.
I could hear the sea-sound, making me think how big the sea was, and how small I was.
It seemed I couldn’t really matter since
I was so small.
And I thought about the birds, and the little animals, and after them the insects.
And after them there were even smaller things whose names I didn’t know.
And there were trees, and plants and grasses, and they were all alive.
Mr. Summers thought all these things mattered.
"If they didn’t matter," he would say, "why were they there?
And why were they so beautiful?"
So then I thought that, if all these things did matter … then, maybe I mattered too.
And for a little while, I felt…a bit better.
Vickie and I watched a delightful film today called 'All the Little
Animals'. It is the screenplay adaptation of a novel written by Walker Hamilton. I
found it to be a very sentimental look into animal activism and animal rights, as well as
the being of being human. The story centers around a young man who has been slightly
brain damaged as a youth due to an accident. He has developed a fondness for, and a unique
affinity for animals. But his mother has married an evil man who kills the numerous
animals he keeps in the house. Eventually, after the death of his mother, he runs away and
meets a hermit in the woods. The hermit (played by John Hurt) calls himself Mr. Summers,
and he spends his time wandering the roads of the wooded area, rescuing animals from the
road when he can, and burying those who die as a result of autos.
This film deals with more than just animals and humans. On a deeper level it
deals with the philosophy of existence. What is it all about? What is the meaning of it
all? Does it matter, and do we have a right and a purpose here?
Perhaps these questions can best be summed up in the tagline of the
film..."On this earth, in this land..we are all here for a reason".
What that reason might be, we don't know. And certainly we can't count on it
being revealed to us in this lifetime. The reason might be just so mundane as to serve as
a bad example to someone who might make a difference in someone's life some far time in
the future. So, it doesn't matter why. All that counts is that we try to live a
decent life, and serve the world as a force of good in society and the environment. Carry
on with righteousness and good, reject bad and evil. Despite some who say there are no
concepts such as these, they are not the same, there is a supreme good and truth.
Moral relativism has no place in the universe, such is an abstraction promulgated by evil,
reject such moral relativism, keep your moral compass pointing to good, and reject evil.
January 01, 2008
A New Year
A New Year, a New Life
Vickie and I were in town the other day, and saw this young
couple walking around with Pedro in their hands. He is about two months old, and so cute,
we had to take a photo.
I must say, these Chihuahuas are really great little dogs. They are excellent
watchdogs since they are so wary of anything, they alert at anything that is the least bit
frightening, suspicious or scary, like say Potato Bugs, or anything that is bigger than
them (like cats).
This guy is dressed really cute with a big 'scary-looking' leather collar
with metal spikes. Yep, he's gonna be a real hell-raiser one day.
Not wanting to leave our own dogs out and hurt their feelings,
I include a photo of our newest dog, Chica.
And here's our number one dog, Whitey
I tried to get a photo of 'Little Dude', but that fellow is
really scared of me (he's a 'rescued' dog, as are our others). Little Dude seems to have
suffered terrible trauma in his life. He is wary and suspicious of men especially. His
little body is scarred and his tail was broken in several places. He bites me several
times a week, although he is careful not to bite in so hard that he actually tears my
skin, and he's a bit old, so his teeth aren't all that sharp anyways. The other day he got
as high as my calf when he bit, but his little mouth could not open wide enough, so before
I could react, he took another bite, this time snagging me really good on the ankle.
He did tear the skin on my niece's ankle, but I suppose she has more tender skin
than 'ol boot wearin me'.
He's has some major stuff go on in his life, and we can't even reach over and
pick him up. If we try he runs off, so we actually have to trap him to trim his nails
every month or so. I've never had such a schizoid dog, but we try to be understanding due
to the nature of his mental state. So we let him just go on living with us, he has a good
time with the other two dogs, and you can see he does enjoy his life, it's just that he
doesn't want ANYTHING to do with humans... other than food and shelter.
Chica and Little Dude
Just after writing the above, I was able to get a shot of Little
dude with Chica. Having Chica around seems to have really brought Little Dude a bit out of
his shell. He responds well to her and enjoys playing with her, something he and Whitey
never really did. So finally, he has some company, and his solitary living in the family
is a bit relieved.
