"And if you would know God be not therefore a solver of riddles.
Rather look about you and you shall see Him playing with your children.
And look into space; you shall see Him walking in the cloud, outstretching His arms in the lightning and descending in rain.
You shall see Him smiling in flowers, then rising and waving His hands in trees."
~Brandi Snyder~ “To the world you may be just one person, but to one person you may be the world.”
July 31
24
I've become a fan of the television show '24'. I find the quick action, the intrigue, politics and precision-timing to be compelling, much like the old 'Mission Impossible'.
I also like the movie 'Napoleon Dynamite'. It was a bit odd, but interesting in a quirky way. Well now 'Save the Soldier's.Com' has made a fun melding of
both these shows in a parody video, visit 24 Parody Video to see it and be amused.
July 30
Kingdom of Heaven
When I was sixteen I won a great victory.
I felt in that moment that I should live to be one hundred, now I know I shall not see thirty.
You see, none of us chose our end really.
A king may move a man, a father may claim a son.
But remember that, even when those who move you be kings or men of power, your soul is in your keeping alone.
When you stand before God you cannot say "but I was told by others to do thus" or that "virtue was not convenient at the time.
This will not suffice.
Remember that.
The Nose Knows the Flavor of Fruit Wherever it Goes
We got a request for an agave stalk from some folks in Cajun Country who raise exotic birds. You can see the really cool birds they have at their website
We really liked the Toucans, and think they must have a high 'Fruit Loops' bill to feed all those birds.
They support captive raising of these birds rather than the commercial harvesting from the wild. We're glad we were able to help with the agave stalk which a nesting pair of toucans wil hopefully use as a nesting site.
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And another customer who captive raises reptiles and promotes the same rather than collecting them from the wild is Clay Davenports Captive Born Reptiles. He specializes in snakes, and has a lot of good info on them. He bought some cactus to feed his tortoise, now if only he could convince the Boas and Pythons to eat cactus!
July 29
Mindfulness
Tao~Chapter 10
Can you coax your mind from it’s wandering...and still yourself?:
Are you able to avoid separation from creation?
Focusing your energy on oneness with all:
Can you be like a child?
Can you cleanse your inner vision,
until you see nothing but the light?
Can you love people and lead them,
without imposing your will?
Can you deal with the most vital matters
by letting events take their course?
Can you step back from your own notions
and understand all things?
The Tao Gives birth and nourishes,
it produces, but it does not possess.
The Tao acts with no expectations.
Be like the Tao: surpass, but don't take charge.
This is called The Mysterious Virtue.
Passion and creativity walk hand in hand. And where these two are given full rein, excellence is their child.
Consider the wonders of the human mind. The creativity exhibited by artists and other explorers of the mind fascinate and hold forth the truths that the mind is the most precious thing you own.
Mankind has been given such a wondrous mind, yet it is unexplored by most people. The best the largest part of humanity experience is to travel along the edges and take occasional reaches into the depths. But there are some who travel deep into their mind and find the spark of genius that lies deep in all of us. But getting to it is the difficulty.
There are some in whom the folds of the mind expose some facet of this spark of creativity. But the same folding and layers of thought processes also sometimes cover deeper that which is easy to the rest of us. It is these people we call savants. The cracks that appeared expose deep recesses of the mind and release the genius, but they have also riven the parts that allow us to decide which socks to wear, or if there is even a sock at all.
There are others who can occasionally travel deep into their mind to reach the uncharted sections hidden from the rest of us, this takes practice and patience. These people can for a time experience the wonders of the mind.
And some rare ones there are who can reach deep inside the depths of their mind much as the rest of us might reach into a jar of pickled olives. They plumb the depths that are obscured from our vision. They pick that talent they need and utilize it to their best ability.
In the case of composers, the musical genius comes to them on occasion. They utilize it, as we must all utilize our talents. To not put your gifts to use for the forces of good is a shame to you, and a loss for all the rest of us.
Tao~Chapter 33
Understanding the world is knowledge,
Understanding yourself is enlightenment.
Mastering others is strength,
Mastering yourself is true power.
Having many things is affluence,
Being content with what you have is satisfaction.
Will power will increase perseverance,
But tranquility with the Tao brings eternal endurance.
These thoughts all coalesce in my own mind as I watch Pink Floyd’s new DVD ‘Pulse’. The excellence of this album ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ resonates some three decades after it’s initial composition. The piece entitled ‘Breath in the Air’ is a masterful work of art that has now enraptured two or three generations. It will doubtless continue on so into the far future.
But what struck me was the beauty of the visual elements they used in the concert; the flaming jet, the large screen with the movies that match and are timed to the music. The genius of human ability is put to good use for the enjoyment of all.
Still some people will put those talents they hold to the use of the community.
Do what is right and proper, but let your best creative abilities come forth, shine like a light.
Tao~Chapter 70
My words are very easy to understand.
My teachings are very simple to put into everyday practice.
Yet no one who is tied to the world can understand them.
And if you are chained to the world, you cannot apply them in your life.
My doctrine comes from the source of Nature, my actions have a purpose in accord with the Law.
If you cannot understand this; you cannot understand me.
Because I cannot be understood I am a greater treasure than you know.
This is why the sage wears simple unpretentious clothes,
but his treasures are kept close to him, in his heart.
July 28
Imago Articulus
Today I got a nice e-mail from local photog Rusty Lopez who thanked me for putting a link to his website of local photos he took himself. I had it linked from my Nipomo Links page.
Glad to do it Buddy, the pleasure's all mine; cause..dang, you took some mighty fine photos of this area pardner, and ya' done us proud!
July 26
Short hair, baggy pants, and a silver bracelet
I met a young man from India yesterday. I recognized him as a Sikh, a member of a religious group from the Northern section of India, primarily Punjab. The oddity about it was the absence of a turban and his hair was cut short. Sikh men are required to never cut their hair and beards.
Enjoying the chance to learn more about another culture melding into our own I asked him why he had shorn his hair. He replied that the hair and turban identified him as a foreigner upon first sight while he was going through High School. So he decided to reduce the conflict by cutting his hair and ‘ditching’ the turban to blend into the dominant culture here. But he proudly displayed to me the bracelet he is required to wear as a symble of his faith. This explained the low-slung baggy pants, underwear hanging out the top and the oversized looking tennis shoes.
He has only been here for three years, and after one and a half years in high school he ‘dropped out’ to get away from the tension of being a foreigner and turned instead to being a truck driver (which is how I ran across him).
He is still markedly a foreigner, and will doubtless always carry an accent, but he is trying hard in his own way to fit into our way of life here.
While I have a bit of sorrow that he dropped out of school, I think he’ll do OK because he has a job, skills and license that is in high demand and will doubtless keep him employed for as long as he wishes.
I asked him how his parents feel about him cutting his hair and neglecting the turban, he replied that they were sad and disappointed with him on this. But that when he met a woman to marry (a Sikh woman), he would then regrow his hair to set the ‘proper example’ to his children. I laughingly told him that his kids will likely do just as he did, and rebel against him by cutting their hair (and I wanted to add that they’d dress funny too).
We parted ways with laughs and well wishes.
We live in a marvelous country, with opportunity unbelievable to others in different parts of the world. It is up to each of us what we make with this opportunity. Opportunity comes knocking, when it does, do you open the door?
July 27
A short visit from 'Behind the Wall'
I visited my parents the same day some hours after meeting the young man mentioned above. I was surprised to learn that an old friend of my parents was coming to visit, and that she was bringing her brother from Germany with her.
My mother is German, and I was raised in a house with the sound of German often being spoken by her and her friends when they came to visit. It is seldom now that I hear German spoken, and even less seldom that I speak it myself. So I looked forward to seeing these people from Germany and speaking with them about their perceptions of the USA.
When I asked them where they came from they replied Eisenach. Although something about the name seemed vaguely familiar, I could not place it as anywhere I knew of. Then they told me it was where Martin Luther had nailed the famous declarations on the cathedral doors. But why did I not know the town? I wondered. That was then that they mentioned it is in the former DDR (Deutsche Demokratiskhe Republik) or East Germany. Ahhh, OK. So that is why it is unfamiliar. I never really looked at a map of East Germany. To me in the seventies it was all forbidden territory.
I had a good time eating and socializing with these people. To hear their perspectives of life behind the Iron Curtain was eye opening to be sure. They seemed to have a little bit of mixed emotion about the whole thing. On the one hand Communism is great because you do not have to pay for much. On the other hand it sucks because there is not much in the way of consumer goods because there is no profit motive to supply materials and services.
Later on I thought of all the people I’ve known who worked some time behnd the Iron Curtain, and the tales they’ve told me. I’m just glad I was born in West Germany and not behind the wall like so many of my relatives.
The fact that my mother was born in Hungary, and I have family there has caused me to be interviewed a couple of decades ago. The government just wanted to make sure I was not a commie living a deep cover life, ready to spring into action against the West when sent ‘my secret code’.
People who are from countries with which we have a deep philosophical or political difference should be prepared for such questions. So if this is your case, be happy that your adopted country is trying to keep us all safe from the ones who would kill us and change our way of life.
July 24
Vandenberg Air Force Base
The Main Gate of Vandenberg Air Force Base, California at sunset.
July 23
What bothers me might not bother you
PBS is facing a quandary...Do they release unedited the salty words of WWII veterans who speak about the realities of the conflict they saw? Or do they edit the words to comply with new rules that PBS has released to avoid running afoul of the newly moralized FCC? It is a strange case they are facing. To me I think they should keep some of the little words (the ones I might be inclined to speak on occasion when provoked) but 'bleep' the really bad ones.
Perhaps this is part of the problem, what is OK by me might not be OK by you, and Vise-Versa. OK, you can read the NY Times article at Soldiers’ Words May Test PBS Language Rules
Ever heard of 'Lord Haw-Haw?' He was a British traitor who went over to the Nazi side in WWII, and was subsequently executed after the war. This is something I think will never happen in this present war we are facing, we'll execute murderers, but not traitors. I am sure in the next decade there will be a good many traitors who will enable our enemies to terrorize the American populace, but we can rest assured that the best punishment ever meted out to them will be Life in SuperMax.
OK, enough of this heady serious stuff, let's look at something fun while being mind-altering...No, I'm not talking about substances in your brain, I'm talking about the mind altering experience of travel. There is little else that will awaken the mind like travel. And here is a fellow who has traveled more than almost anyone I know, his name is Where the hell is Matt?, and you can see his silly dance routine that he films at each of the marvelous places he visits. I've been to a couple of the countries he shows himself in, but almost every place on his short video is somewhere I would like to travel to one day.
Now, what do you think of Matt? Well, a fan of his in Budapest Hungary (where my mother was born) had a response, you can see it at Where the hell are we Matt?
OK, while watching Matt's video, Vickie remarked how it reminded her of the old 'Hamster Dance' we recall from so many years ago. Moments later, while browsing through UTube and watching the responses to Matt's original video, we came upon this one titled Where the Hell is Matt's Hamsters? And yes, it has that same silly little song. It is delightful, and watching the people dancing around being silly was so fun and made me laugh. Then it made me sad to think that now there are people being killed in Somalia for dancing and listening to music now that Sharia law is being implemented there. It seems that it is impossible to lose sight of this war we are engaged in now.
Alright now, while we were looking at the videos above, Vickie mentioned that there was a sound like 'electricity' outside. A moment later she looked out back as the dog had just gone outside. She let me know there was a rattlesnake outside the back door. I took a few moments of video before the little guy crept under the steps. I had to pry them up with a 2x4 (American term for a type of wooden board used for building structures) and fish the little guy out. I wish I'd gotten more video, but getting him out seemed more important than filming him. If this had been in the woods I would have left him alone, but I don't want him crawling around our house.
You can learn more about the Pacific Rattlesnake at California Pacific Rattlesnake on Wikipedia To see the vieo we made, go to Rivenrock's Rattlesnake It's Scientific Name is Crotalus viridis helleri
This one was about twenty inches long, and perhaps two years old. He had about seven buttons. This guy is a bit on the small side, but we did see a smaller one earlier this year.
Whoa boy! It's over 100 degrees outside, so we're sitting here all day watching videos and laughing at the antics of cats on Things Cats Do What a day!
For those who like Japanese Anime, ( an art style with which I am not familiar) go to Final Fantasy-Passion. I was blown away by the beauty of this four minute video.
Another Japanese Anime, speaking of the wish 'to become human'. by Inuyasha The Dance set to the music 'The Dance' by Garth Brooks.
Here's a couple of girls who put together a really well done little video of themselves clowning around. Nothing overtly explicit, but on the edge of risque, see Tasha and her friend dance. And I really liked the song, 'Hey' by the Pixies.
Breathe, breathe in the air
Don't be afraid to care
Leave, but don't leave me
Look around and chose your own ground
For long you'll live and high you'll fly
And smiles you'll give and tears you'll cry
And all you touch and all you see
Is all your life will ever be
Run, rabbit run
Dig that hole, forget the sun,
And when at last the work is done
Don't sit down it's time to dig another one
For long you'll live and high you'll fly
But only if you ride the tide
And balanced on the biggest wave
You race towards an early grave.
It is said that most people will come to meet about ten thousand people in their lives.
These people will touch us in some way as we will touch them.
It is the human condition that as one huge tribe of humanity we must try to reconcile our differences in some way so that we cause only good and positive events to occur when we meet others. When we meet on the street it is nice to give a smile, when we pass on a country road it is accepted to give a wave. When we come upon someone in need it is regarded to be the essence of all religion and philosophy to give aid where and when we can.
Do not pass the broken down if you can afford the time and expertise to help.
Today I met a few youngsters in a truck who (as youngsters are want to do) were traveling a bit too fast for our dirt road. They say a deer jumped before them and they swerved to avoid it, this is the common cause given for ‘one vehicle crashes’ here.
I happened to have our truck with the winch on it, so I helped to pull them out of the willows they had tangled their truck in.
Another five feet and their vehicle would have gone into the creek.
When the truck came out there was barbed wire wrapped around the axle and driveshaft. But they were happy to be out of the trees and off the bank of the creek. They were really nice kids and reminded me of myself and my friends some few decades ago.
They were very apologetic about driving too fast, they seemed to have learned a lot from the experience, and they were very thankful that I took the time to drag them out. Handshakes and very sincere “thank you”s were given to me, and they called me ‘Sir’ as kids here are taught to do, but usually don’t do unless they are in trouble.
As I was leaving, the landowner came along, I suppose she and the kids discussed their payment for the section of fence they tore away, and the repair that must be made quickly before cattle get out and start to get run over by trucks causing yet more damage. So often it is that the damage we do to ourselves, causes yet more suffering to others both man and beast.
I drove on that day feeling better about the situation with young folks in this country. When we look at the professionalism the young people in our modern military give (with the woeful exception of FAR FAR less than .001%) it can give us nothing but hope that despite the ‘ME generation’ of the sixties through the eighties this country is on a firm footing and will continue to be a beacon of freedom, tolerance and plenty.
Long may our banner wave, over the land of the free and the home of the brave.
God Bless America.
July 21
Some Differences Between Women And Men
1.On NAMES
If Laurie, Linda, Elizabeth and Barbara go out for lunch, they will call each other Laurie, Linda, Elizabeth and Barbara.
If Mark, Chris, Eric and Tom go out, they will affectionately refer to each other as Fat Boy, Godzilla, Peanut-Head and Scrappy.
2.ON EATING OUT
When the bill arrives, Mark, Chris, Eric and Tom will each throw in a
$20, even though it's only for $32.50. None of them will have anything smaller and none will actually admit they want change back.
When the women get their bill, out come the pocket calculators.
3.ON MONEY
A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he needs.
A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn't need, but it's on sale.
4.BATHROOMS
A man has five items in his bathroom: a toothbrush, shaving cream, razor, a bar of soap, and a towel from the Marriott.
The average number of items in the typical woman's bathroom is 337. A man would not be able to identify most of these items.
5.ON ARGUMENTS
A woman has the last word in any argument.
Anything a man says after that... is the beginning of a new argument.
6.ON CATS
Women love cats.
Men say they love cats, but when women aren't looking, men kick cats.
7. The FUTURE
A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.
A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.
8.ON SUCCESS
A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.
A successful woman is one who can find such a man.
9.ON MARRIAGE
A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn't.
A man marries a woman expecting that she won't change, and she does.
10.ON DRESSING UP
A woman will dress up to go shopping, water the plants, empty the garbage, answer the phone, read a book, and get the mail.
A man will dress up for weddings and funerals.
11. ON Being Natural
Men wake up looking much as when they went to bed.
Women somehow deteriorate during the night.
12.ON OFFSPRING
Ah, children. A woman knows all about her children. She knows about dentist appointments and romances, best friends, favorite foods, secret fears, and hopes and dreams.
A man is vaguely aware of some short people living in the house.
13.THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Any married man should forget his mistakes. There's no use in two people remembering the same thing.
AND FINALLY....
A couple drove down a country road for several miles, not saying a word.
An earlier discussion had led to an argument and neither of them wanted to concede their position.
As they passed a barnyard of mules, jack asses, and pigs, the husband asked sarcastically,
"Relatives of yours?"
"Yep," the wife replied, "IN-LAWS."
July 20
Press '1' for English
And why does the 'Drive-Up-Window' at the bank have braile on the keypads?
There have been times I've been caught on a 'phone-tree' and had to sit through the entire set of directions in both English and Spanish. If I did not need to get cooperation from the company or entity I was trying to contact I might have complained about this.
But in the end, I suppose 'Press one for English' is preferrable to having to listen to the entire set of instructions in both languages.
Perhaps what we need to do to stop this, is have a class-action lawsuit against all of the 'Press one for English' companies by all multi-language persons who are upset that their particular language is not included in the 'phone-tree'.
Could you imagine having to sit through a list of some fifty languages to choose before they get to the English key? If this were to become commonplace, perhaps everyone would decide to transact business in English only.
July 19
Fit for a Sunday drive
The automobile has revolutionized our lives. We use them for conveyance, business, and for driving to clear the cobwebs from the mind.
Browsing the Internet I came upon an article that lists the 'Top Ten Scenic Drives' in the USA. It was a delightful yet unsurprising thing to see that two of the top three drives listed were in areas that my family lives. Both the 'Blue Ridge Parkway'that winds through the Appalachian Mountains and 'Highway 1' that twists along the California Coast were listed.
They are both spectacular drives that are well worth a look to get a glimpse of America.
July 12 through 16, 2006
Santa Barbara County Fair
The Santa Barbara County Fair is taking place this year from the 12th of July to the 16th. You can attend it at the County Fairgrounds in Santa Maria.
July 16
Santa Barbara County Fair, Old Tractors
I suppose no country fair would be complete without a couple of lovingly restored old tractors.
This John Deere was making hay back in the old days.
And the famous Farmall, this one from 1947.
July 17
Santa Barbara County Fair, New Tractors
I like to look at the old tractors, but I would not want one. I like the new technologies that make the new ones work so well and last so long. These next two are the type I could really use.
When I think of Challenger tractors I think of the 'rubber track-layers' that can go into almost any terrain and make very little soil compaction. But they also make four wheel drive machines too, I really liked the features on this one.
And I could go on and on about the reliability and ease of use of Kubota tractors, we own an old Kubota ourselves. But looking at one like this, with the backhoe attachment....well, let me just say I'd love to be King. I'd have all the tractors I could fit into my castle.
July 18
Santa Barbara County Fair, Santa Maria style BBQ
Since BBQ is HUGE here, it is no surprise that 'custom made BBQ grills' were featured.
Santa Maria has been famous for it's local style of BBQ.
The BBQ is a local favorite.
July 15
Santa Barbara County Fair, On things I like, and things I do not
I like food a great deal, and I'm not afraid to eat. So I relish the opportunity to eat something I do not often come by.
A small Taco Wagon called 'Nemo's Fish Tacos' was making these little tacos out of a delicious fish, with a table full of the condiments. I got these two little tacos for $2.00. I was quite happy with the taste of the food, and the value I got from this little treat.
The sign on these scorpions said to pet them, but not to pick them up. I wonder if someone took the sign from the rabbits and put it on this little cage. I did not see anyone put their hands into this cage, so I did not either.
My Daddy taught me "Don' go stickin' yor hand in no dark hoes in the woods, son". And the reason is those dark holes hold little critters that bite, sting or scratch. I was stung by a native scorpion some years ago, I don't trust them not to sting me again.
The info board on these guys said the they are African Emperor Scorpions, and that they are one of the largest scorpion species in the world. They are said to be relatively low toxicity. This makes them good for the pet trade. The information board said they are eaten by native peoples in Africa... I bet they taste like chicken.
There was a Peruvian Fellow at the fair who had a display of Peruvian Artwork for sale. I enjoyed the beauty of the blankets and tapestries. I have known a great many people who journeyed to Peru, and they all brought back glowing accounts of the artwork, the beautiful vistas and History, and the friendly people. Peru is on my list of places to visit in my lifetime.
July 14
Santa Barbara County Fair, Or, The Big, The Little, and The Cute
What Fair would be complete without a 'smallest of' and 'largest of' exhibits, and the cute little animals in the petting zoo.
This miniature was billed as 'The world's smallest horse'? I do not believe it is in the record books, but it is really a cute little fellow, and only costs 50 cents to look at him. So it's worth the look. They have him in the bottom of a pit, so you have to look down at him, this gives the effect of making him look still smaller.
This fellow is a big pig indeed. His name is Harley. He is of the breed called 'Duroc'. But I think I've seen larger sows when I worked at a Hog farm for a while. Here is a photo of Vickie exclaiming at the size of this big fella.
The stats on this fellow give him as four feet high, and eight feet long and 2,000 pounds The info board said that red pigs were brought to America by Columus on his second voyage, and by DeSoto at some later time. The descendents of those pigs are the modern Duroc breed.
Yeah, zebras are interesting at any time, but when they are waist high little colts, they are irresistable.
July 13
Santa Barbara County Fair
The Santa Barbara County Fair had a Rain Forest Exhibit. There were a great many animals from the tropics on display. Many of them were tame enough to pet. Here are some of the animals we saw.
This Giant Curassow was in the Rain Forest Exhibit at the Santa Barbara County Fair. This bird grows to 36 inches and eats berries and fruits and seeds. This is a very pretty bird.
African Spur-Thighed Tortoises.
A snapping Turtle.
July 12
Santa Barbara County Fair
Vickie and I attended opening Day which is also known as 'Dollar Day'. Parking is a dollar, each ride is one dollar, and attendance is one dollar per person. We had a good time, there are many attractions that cost little or nothing to see.
One of the free sights is this person in a big bird type suit. He caused some mixed reactions among the crowd.
This big hairy dude was very keen to get his photo taken.
I encourage all persons in the county and local area to visit the Fair. It is really fun and a good place to bring the kids for a day of frolic.
July 11, 2006
Buck Moon
We like to pick our cactus early in the morning. This is because at that time there is less of the natural acids in the leaves, and we think they travel and store better when they get to their destination.
On this morning the full moon was just setting below the hill as I stepped out to pick cactus. I thought the morning had a surreal aspect to it, and it deserved a photo.
The odd thing is the little bits of dust on the camera lens that light up the screen. Yes, dust on the screen. Or might that be the spirits the Chumash said lived in this canyon.
So often we hear the term 'Harvest Moon'. But did you know that only comes once a year? The other full moons of the year have their own unique names also, you can find out about them at The Names of the Full Moons.
... a warrior goes to you swift and straight as an arrow shot into the sun.
Welcome him and let him take his place at the council fire of my people.
He is Uncas, my son.
Bid them patience and ask death for speed;
for they are all there but one
I, Chingachgook;
Last of the Mohicans.
~Chingachgook~ from James Fenimore Coopers novel ‘Last of the Mohicans’
Many of my father's people came into the New World from England, Scotland and Ireland in the late 1600's. They settled at the edges of the frontier and progressed west as the expansion enfolded more and more of the wilderness with European customs. But they were also marrying into Native families, and living near and among them as frontiers people do. I was raised with a mix of Old Norse/Celtic sagas and Native American Lore and Legend.
And to watch a movie such as Last of the Mohicans brings a rush of familiarity as if I myself lived among the wild peoples of that time not so very long ago.
I sat and watched this movie today, and was touched by the beauty of this land in the old days. The verdant forests and the hills high and craggy. There are many who say that we've ruined this land, and I must agree in some respects. But it must be remembered that the movie was filmed in the USA, and not on a movie set. Those hills on the movie are still there in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains near Ashville North Carolina from whence my family moved some two hundred years ago.
Regardless of the amount of wealth we've coaxed from the land, or wrenched from the ground, we've done a pretty good job of keeping things in perspective and not letting the clamor for wealth completely destroy our environment. If you look at less developed countries you will often see environmental destruction on a scale far beyond what we have in this land, and meanwhile the average person in those countries is destitute.
I have often heard it said that the Native Americans were the first environmentalists. This may well be true. I think you miss what you've thrown away, and the native populations often destroyed much in this land while trying to wrest a living from it. From the theories of the 'mega fauna extinction' in the Americas being cast at the feet of the ancient Americans, to the elimination of forests on the great prairies from regular fires setting to encourage sweet grass growth for foraging animals, the original inhabitants of this land did their share of killing and destroying things.
I submit that this is the reason the Natives Americans are so often known for their environmental activism. I believe this is why the modern Americans have taken up the mantle of environmentalism, we have seen the degree of destruction caused by previous generations, and we see that we can have a modern world with it's attendant luxuries and comforts, and do it with little degradation to the environment. It is incumbent on all people to realize that you cannot destroy your surroundings and still have a good life. The inhabitants of Easter Island destroyed their land, and ended up the poorer for it. The famed cedars of Lebanon have been relegated to a few protected copses for many centuries now. But using proper management we can see the past while we look forward to the future.
When I was in High School all of us guys were afraid to take any classes such as Ballet, Typing or Home Economics. Yet looking back on it now, that's precisely the classes we should have been taking, because those classes were all full of girls, and that's who we wanted to be around.
In my Sophomore year my father leaned on me hard to take typing, he told me if I was a decent typist it would keep me off the frontlines in war. I would be able to stay in a tent in a relatively safe area and type reports for the officers. When my dad leaned on people in those days, people usually did as he 'suggested'. So I signed up for typing in school. While sitting around eating lunch the day of signups, I proudly mentioned my Algebra, Agriculture, Biology and Western History classes I had succeeded in signing up for, but I dared not mention my typing class to my three buddies.
The next day, while waiting for this first period typing class to begin, those three guys I 'hung-around' with came to the class line to wait the opening of the class. We were all laughing about how our fathers (all career military men) had all told us the same thing with the same result, we all signed up for the class, but were too embarrassed to tell the others we were in a 'girls class'.
Things turned out OK. We sat through the semester and practiced typing daily. I never got the hang of 'touch typing', and constantly had to look at the keyboard (I still do). The Vietnam War ended before my High School graduation, and we were spared having to type battlefield reports and casualty figures of men who did not 'weasel out' by typing reports for generals. Two of the four of us went into the Marine Corps (Semper Fi dudes!), one went into Aeronautics and now builds airplanes and rockets, and I went into the Army, and later Agriculture (as well as a few other things I dabble in).
You never know the twists and turns that life will bring you. But one thing for certain... it darn sure can be advantageous listening to the old guys who know a little bit about life already. Who'd have thunk that some thirty years later I'd be typing on a daily basis (at the same miserable 32 WPM I did in High School), far from the battlefields, while other men are fighting for us.
July 08, 2006
California Quail
California Quail are really cute little birds that live all around us. They often come to the edge of our house. Here we have a small covey of them who were walking past our bedroom window.
We especially enjoy watching the young ones, and appreciate the great care the parents take in raising their young.
It is intriguing to witness the high level of cooperation these birds take in the protection of the covey. When there is a bush nearby there is usually one of the males standing guard over the covey, ready to call alarm at the approach of danger.
When they are crossing a road, the male will go first, and will then stand in the middle of the road while the young are crossing. When the female comes 'bringing up the rear' he will then leave her to guard the rear while he scurries forward to ensure all the young that already crossed are safely together in the bushes. As the last baby scurries across the road, the female will follow.
It is too bad more people do not take care of their children the way these creatures take care of their young.
July 07, 2006
Pismo Beach Sunset
Pismo Beach is a nice little town stuck right on the edge of Avila Bay. This is a view looking West while heading SouthEast on 101S. The Marine Layer is advancing from the sea. This is common in this area, especially this time of year.
This area is generally cool in the summer. While it might be in the nineties just a few miles inland, it will likely be in the high sixties to low seventies right along the coast. This makes for a very liveable climate.
A Shell Beach Business
The Marine layer moves in, just North of the Avila Beach Turnoff
Tile roofs, stucco walls, and all for less than one million dollars! (sometimes). And you get to have a birds-eye view of the Marine Layer coming in each evening to enshroud your million dollar view of the ocean. But when it's a clear evening, and the full silver moon is sinking into the glossy still sea, it's worth all these folks have paid and more.
July 06, 2006
Come to the Edge...And Fly!
~Christopher Logue~
Come to the edge.
We might fall.
Come to the edge.
It's too high!
COME TO THE EDGE!
And they came,
and he pushed,
and they flew.
I do a lot of work outside using different tools and equipment. For safety I often wear steel-toed boots and shoes, or my calf high Wellington's, and also a couple of pairs of tennis shoes for my walks and cactus collecting. Now, I pick up various bits of debris on my shoes and boots that Vickie would rather keep out of the house. So long ago I took up the habit of (sometimes) taking these shoes off outside and leaving them hanging on the upper beams of the porch.
This year while my tennis shoes sat there on the patio, a pair of birds found them and decided they would make a nice nest site. When we noticed them carrying little bits of straw to my shoes to build a nest, we decided to let them have the shoes. We thought we might enjoy the drama that would ensue when a birds nest is on a porch with a dozen barn cats.
It turns out that this was an excellent nesting site for the birds, that particular beam was inaccessible to the cats although it was maddening for them to hear that nest of little birds chirping away just inches from their paws. But they were unable to get across one small span and the birds remained just outside of their reach.
Through the weeks that ensued, Vickie and I enjoyed the sight of the parents flying back and forth, bringing little treats for their babies. There would be one or another of the parents coming to the babies about every two minutes. Being an organic farm means we have a lot of little bugs here, and the parents were able to use this to their full advantage.
They seemed to be feeding little caterpillars to the young for the most part.
One day, while we were both at the computer, we saw one of the young birds come flying out of the nest, he flew over the heads of a half-dozen cats that were sitting on the porch, and he flew to the windowscreen by the computer just a couple of feet from us, and stayed there for a minute or so, looking in at us, the people he had grown up hearing all his short little life so far. When we moved to get the camera, he spooked and flew off.
Over the next two weeks, we saw the young ones enter and leave my shoes (their nest) several times a day, as their parents were acquanting them with the ways of the world. One day we noticed we had not seen any of them for several days. That was when we took down the shoes to take a look inside at the nest.
Life is full of wonders, and we have to have our eyes open to see them. You can rush through life and not see the wonders right in front of you. Open your eyes, live life. Enjoy, and have your senses bring the rich tapestry of life to your being.
July 04, 2006
By the Rocket's Red Glare
We were invited to a neighbor's house for Barbeque on the Fourth of July. These folks have a fine home and are very welcoming people. They cooked the traditional Tri-Tip and chicken, Chorizo sausage and beans. There were salads and cookies. We all sat and ate and partook in the traditional feasting that is a part of the human want from time immemorial to celebrate good fortune.
The Santa Maria Style Barbeque involves a grill with a rotational device permitting easy adjustment of the grilling surface, and the indispensable 'Tri-Tip' beef. Another common meat featured in this 'Que' is chicken (yardbird). We also had Tri-Tip and chicken, Chorizo, a type of sausage that is held in high regard for cooking with eggs for breakfast in this area.
July 03, 2006
Encounter with a Pack-Rat
My brother and I were out on the porch when he noticed this Pack Rat sitting quietly in the crook of the oak tree in front of the house.
We both got our cameras and took photos of this little fellow as he carefully and slowly made his way higher up the tree once he realized we were onto him.
He was a really cute little fellow with a pink nose, and a white belly. He gave an air of reticence as he tried to keep away from us in a very low key way. He had a bit of the squirrel way of trying to stay on the other side of a branch from you to prevent you from seeing him.
He did not seem hungry or sick, he was well fed and very healthy looking. I guess we just happened to come out when he was intent on exploring in the tree, and he had probably been sitting quietly for some time before my brother's sharp eyes spied his long rodent tail hanging down the tree branch.
Now, these fellows are often around these woods, building their little nests of piles of sticks sometimes some three or four feet high, sometimes on the ground, and sometimes in the trees.
We hardly ever see them except as a quick flash of rodent running to or from a pile as we walk toward them. It was a lot of fun being able to see one close up, and still.
Now, this fellow might have come up the tree to investigate the solar light. These little guys are known for liking shiny things.
This photo shows his long Rodent Tail hanging his entire body length below him. I bet these little creatures would make good pets.
Our cactus plants do not need as much water on them as most other plants would that yield the same weight of material. But we do like to keep them happy and productive. So I do water once a week or so depending on the season and the species.
I like to give them a good deep sprinkling of water from overhead sprinklers. With their wide reaching yet shallow root systems I have found this to be the best watering system for our particular conditions. I think it best to water in the morning before the sun becomes too hot. The plants do enjoy the water, you can feel the excitement in the air as the plants are enveloped in the tiny shooting jets of water that bounce off the leaves and spray a splash of refreshment that will reach all parts of the root system.
The cactus do like water, they just don't like staying wet all the time, so watering them when they need it is good for them. They are healthier and happier with proper care.
These plants are five years old, and are already in the eight to nine foot range. From this point on we have to control their growth to keep them from getting too tall. Believe me, it's no fun picking cactus from a ladder, even when they are as low in spines as these guys are.
July 01, 2006
A drive out to Templeton
Templeton is a really nice little town North of San Luis Obispo (our county seat) and south of Paso Robles. While going through this area of gently rolling hills dotted with vineyards of all sizes, I had to take some photos to show the different ways that grapes are grown in this area.
Most grapes in the USA are grown on a trellis system. There are systems that will use just two horizontal arms on one wire (two arm knieffen), or four arms on two wires (four arm knieffen), or six arms on three wires(six arm knieffen).
But for some reason there are many vineyards in the Paso Robles/Templeton area that are trained in a system called ‘spur pruned’, or ‘Head Trained’. In this system the plant is allowed to grow out into a circular distribution and the plants are usually planted into a hexagonal grid pattern. In this ancient way of growing, the farmer can run a tractor or other implements in four directions through the vineyard reducing weed growth using purely mechanical means. The plants are attractive and sprawl along the ground in a relaxed laissaz–faire fashion.
The Side Gate to the famous Hidden Valley Ranch.
This is one of the many of beautiful and fun wine tasting rooms at a local vineyard. There are a great many of these vineyards through Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties.
Here are some vines trained in the old fashioned 'Head Trained' way.
Here are some vines trained in the more modern (but still old) 'knieffen' system.
