Tales from the country, photos and other stories. Sit,relax have a talk. It is still a free country.
With the cold weather has been the fog, leaving an icy coat on the great outdoors.
Tangled patterns in the trees
ice coated buds
Fairy ice queen country roads
Wind swept icy sentential
Bowing under the glaze
Stillness over the land
Big Mac’s on the hoof wait it out
Nature will be solemn for a few days as the frozen wind of the Mrs. Artic spews over the prairie. Leaving icy breath on everything as she floats through the grasses.
Oh my goodness, let me tell ya, sprung has springed a leak, the tulips were a squeakin, the buds were a expandin, me thmb was a greenin. Today was the teaser of the coming feast. Down the road the aroma of burning burgers were heard, snapping brauts’ and cold beers. Mercury was flirtin in the 70’s, a tee shirt n shorts were a jumpin around, what a goregeous day. Clear blue azure sky, nary a clound and the dirty air was in the city. Great day for playin hooky, I did, I sat with a soda and some chips, let the sun crawl across bare arms, tickle the ears and dance on the face.
Then there is the end of the day, boo hoo. For more days like such I hope for. I toe tap on the grass, listening to the birds and watching float on the currents high above, perched on the high line the keeping watch.
If I were but a muse, my pen would shout forth the glory of the day. Stroll among the thoughts of the warmth, watching shows flickjer in the rays of ole Sol, casting about longing for the days they shall return.
Cattle lazing in the pasture, sun settling into the horizon, cars drifting by, train tooting in the distance. There is a joy in the air, snow is melting, streams easing to the creek, the frozen silence is ended for but a moment. Tomorrow, turn the earth on, look for an instant replay, oh for but more moments when it is a joy to live in a creation that is happy.
Back flips, somersaults and cart wheels, a time to rejoice, for the artic hawk has retreated with the Alberta clipper to the far north. Tomorrow the gods of the north will open their gates again to let the great hawk of the artic to soar on the Alberta clipper. Ice will clip the strings of Old Sol and warm rays will hide behind the clouds. Birds will hover in snug corners, little critters will burrow down in heated dens.
Florida has caught a train to hurry back south to the warmth. Farewell ole teaser, for on your wings they will return for Ole Sol is going north, no matter what chicken little says.
Went for a cruise in the outback last week, looking for a ghost town and the Russian Orthodox Church. Found both but along the way were side tracks and detours.
In the small communities are usually a few interesting buildings or machinery and I will roam the streets looking for them. One such little town I found an old brick schoolhouse that appears to now be a private residence. So I stopped to take a couple of pictures. I parked across the street to keep the pickup out of the way. Where I parked there were a couple of turkeys nibbling on the corn stalks that had been tied to a post.
So a took a picture of them. the birds were very nonchalant and just looked at me.
I walked across the street to take pictures of the schoolhouse and the turkeys went on their way pecking at the ground to get what they could.. I took my pictures and headed back to the pickup and I came out of the play ground there was a flock of more turkeys coming out from another house across the street.
I stopped, whoa what is this, mad turkeys on the loose. They were headed right at me at a quick trot. As they got closer there was a wanting look in them. Apparently somebody in town feeds them and they must of thought I had some edible goodies for them.
As they got closer they veered off to the left for they did not recognize me nor did I have any feed. The flock went on past and stopped under the tree and stared back at the stranger.
I’ve had some interesting encounters with wild life but this is going to be unique. Maybe I need to carry some grain in the future if I go there again. Give them dance lessons so they can do more then the turkey trot.
Ah Ha….. a fur lined bunny basks in the warmth of the sun on a cold morning.
The vacant lot next door houses lots of junk which makes nice dwelling spots for little critters. Cottontails get in among the stacks and make nice little burrows to live in and make little fur balls. As the population grows so do the visitors. Being at the bottom of the food chain lots of hungry larger critters show up for a meal. To see a bunny this size is unusual, most make the menu of a visitor to the vacant lot dinning parlor.
Coyotes stop by in the evening, the hoot of the owl notes that it is hungry and looking the buffet over. then there are the feral cats. Cats camp out near food and they use the junk piles as home also. There are also the neighborhood cats that browse the diner.
This one took up residence in the clump of grass and spent the morning soaking up some warm rays of El Sol. A loud noise and he would perk up and look around. Lay the ears back down and go back to drowsing. Most of the snow is gone but the rays are still warming.
The setting moon this morning was interesting. rising sun gave it a silvery glow with a plum cast sky.
The following is from an e-mail I get. Some interesting bits are brought up and they make sense. When I look at it I see issues from 150 years ago still being discussed today and it will probably not change over the centuries.
| The Civil War arose from the radically different cultures that had developed across the American landscape. The South, comprised mostly of tenant farmers, had developed a loose culture that allotted them more personal freedoms. Additionally, the South, wanting to give their states the leeway to set policy which best fit their residents, supported strong individual state sovereignty. In the more densely populated North, the people preferred a strongly centralized government. Something had to give, and the mounting tension brought about the Civil War. |
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| Though the importance of the Civil War has not been lost by history, many of the important facts have been forgotten or distorted with time. The Emancipation Proclamation, championed as a shining example of the moral superiority of the Union, has long been represented incorrectly in the annals of history. Devised as a propaganda tool that would also keep foreign countries from intervening on the Confederate’s side, the Emancipation Proclamation didn’t free any slaves in the North, or in any Confederate states occupied by Union troops. The document declared that these areas should be, “left precisely as if this Proclamation were not issued.” As Confederate President Jefferson Davis predicted, the North did indeed re-write history in its favor. |
With the days end the shadows grow to the end, reaching to the horizon, a sun colored cloud floats overhead, burning the candles end. No longer is the evening meal in dark, twilight flickers over the landscape. Headlights bounce off the barren branches of trees, cresting the hill, diving down the rise to disappear behind the next hill. Over the crest the headlights reappear to begin their descent into flat bush grounds. Curling on the dimly lit horizon the parade of lights ushers forth the evening.
Red tail lights splatter the sparkling silver of on coming cars. rolling christmas trees are mixed in, clearance markers of amber define the trailers edge. Passing by, going from somewhere to somewhere. Land ships passing in the evening, marching to the close of another day.
No longer do I sit in darkness to watch the parade approach. Miles away can be seen the sparking glitter of oncoming vehicles. At times the tri-headlights of approaching train pierces the eve. A low rumble can be heard as the cars trample the rails, shaking the earth. The engines grumble as the cars clatter over the iron road. Closer the train approaches, clicking of the wheels over the rail joints. Soon it will be a low level din competing with the passing trucks. A pleasant tone of the transportation orchestra floats over the land. The horn ushers forth its bleat as it approaches the grade crossing in downtown. Soon it will be gone into the distance, swallowed up by the horizon.
The cows graze across the pasture on other side. Occasional moo echoing over the basin. Lights move over the pasture, cattle perk up, chase after the pick up as it spreads feed out for their evening meal. Youngsters scurry to get in the food line. The pick up circles round, eyes peer out the window intently looking at his stock.
Watching the evening pass brings a joy, the moment is quiet, the calm of time is expanding. No longer do I watch the tableau unfold late afternoon, now the twilight is later and I can pause for a few over the meal. Looking out my small frame on the window of the world passing my pathway. Long nights are fleeting, warm evenings are approaching. Easy chair on the courtyard beckons, snow pile reminds, to the warmth of the kitchen and fixing the meal continues.
There things that happen that are entertaining, don’t have to go to the theatre or turn on a movie. They are part of life and happen.
Neighbor has two dogs, a mini mutt and a large black mongrel. They do not a yard to be in so the when let out side the mongrel gets chained up and the mini mutt roams. When they first moved in the mongrel was let loose with the mutt. the mongrel thought that was okay and roamed about the town and countryside. Mutt, well it stayed close by. with livestock around it is not advisable for loose dogs to be nearby, been known to acquire cases of lead poisoning. Hence mongrel is now chained up when let outside.
Mutt cruises the neighborhood and not much of a problem. There are also scads of cats in the neighborhood, most are feral. The alley is a freeway for the free roamers for here is the trash bins. If there are bags of trash stacked up the cats will rip them apart looking for …… trash? Open trash bag now spills around the bins and onto the alley.
Mutt sniffs through this assortment lying in the dirt and occasionally gets lucky. Ah ha…. a bone. Off home goes the mutt with its treasure. In front of the house it plops down to chew on the delicacy.
Mongrel being on a chain can only lay there and watch as mini mutt gnaws away just out of mongrels reach. Mini scurries about the front and lays back down to chew on the bone, picks it up, moves over a bit and gnaws on the bone some more. Mongrel lays there, eyes focused like cross hairs on the mini mutts bone. Very intently mongrel’s eyes focus, tail a twitchin’, head shifts as mini mutt changes location.
Mutt jumps up with bone in mouth heads along the edge of house, within mongrels reach on chain. Chomp, big ole mongrel now has bone. Mini doggie looks at big doggie, tail a waggin’, big dog….. grrrr. Little dog goes over and sits down, ears perked up, a slight whine. Mongrel is gnawing away. bone is disappearing as mini mutt sits by and soon lays down whining.
Few days later….. instant replay.
May God be with you this week and guide your steps.
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So goes the title of the song. Buffalo no longer thunder across the plains but there still are herds of deer and antelope that dance over the prairie.
Didn’t spot any antelope close enough or with with enough light to capture a picture of but this deer collection was nice enough to pause by the road side and pose for me.
Twilight and it time to go look for the evening meal. Along the creek bottom they will browse on the grass and there are pools of water near by. When others are closing down for the day others are out searching. The sounds change but it still nature’s rhythm that carries on.
Homeless they could be considered. Most have been booted from their home by the greenies wanting to live in the mountains with nature. Losing their habitat the animal had to move to find food. On the prairie the land is not as crowded as the foothills are becoming. Here the deer can live, maybe even under a bridge.
The dudly do gooders complain about the homeless yet by their actions they create a new group of homeless. these critters will adjust and they will survive much like the homeless of the street do.
To live and let live for some people is difficult. So many think they have the answer how nature should operate but do not look at themselves as being part of the problem.
Much like this doe looking to get through the fence to join the rest. We have people we like to associate with and then there are those. Yet like nature we will go on.
It was a cold evening as I took these out the window. They mostly just stood there and looked at me. Not real spooked but wary. There were a few on the other side on the hill walking on down to the creek. I split them up when I drove through. Temps were about zero to below F.
The first full week of the twelfth year of the 21st century is rolling out the carpet. Take a few steps, feels no different then the previous steps. Ouch, yes it does, the toes are creaking and old age is creeping. Such is the second decade of another millennium, the ticks march forth, marking off time.
Hope your beginning is as enjoyable as mine has been. A blizzard roared about spitting out a few flakes and the north pole showed up. The temp has been below zero past few days, –25C. Huddled around the heater has the carcass been, cold it has not wanted to face, so I obliged and mostly stayed indoors past few days. Today was sunny and in 40’s. Took a ride about after church this morning looking at things. The snow creates a purity on the land and drifts are sculpted over the landscape.
Nice warm office building to work in, sell a few cars, make a widget or two, maybe paint a picture or stare out the window, day dream a bit, what is in the future, what do I want, where to go and maybe seek out the other side of the road..
Let the moment be a fleeting fancy of times past. Fondness bringing forth smiles, a tender moment, hugs of comfort and happiness.
Have a Great week beginning the year.
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This is part of the Garden Railway Society layout at the Colorado Railroad Museum. It is G-scale and is designed to be built outdoors. In the museum complex they have a space about 200 feet by 200 feet to build their model railroad empire in.
On the far east edge is this loop of tracks. It was a barren circle to run live steam engines on. Since construction they have added scenery and buildings plus detail work. Below the train is a wooden box with a water jug on it. This is the kit for feeding the little steam engine. The water is probably distilled, so no scale build up and the alcohol, for fuel, is dyed so it doesn’t get mixed up with the water. These little engines work like a regular steam motor. The water boils making steam and pushes the piston and down the tracks goes the little puffer. There are small levers in the engine to control the fuel mix and the water flow plus the steam to the pistons. A few have put radio control on them to adjust the feed to control the speed of the engines.
For Christmas some of the miniature trees were decorated with miniature lights. There are books on landscaping the railroad with miniature plants and slow growing trees. Everything is built on a scale in proportion to the real thing. When they first started that was barren dirt and some rails were laid. A small stream flows through the museum and the garden people used it as part of the layout. The bridges are going over a trickle of water from a nearby spring off the mesa. Building have been built, people are working and there is landscaping. When it snows they bring out the rotary plow and plow off the tracks.
There are trains that are powered by electricity through the rails and they circle around the miniature villages. through the summer the club operates trains here and for special events. Members take turns operating trains and working on the layout.
Wouldn’t it be cool to have something like this in your backyard.
