Spring Showers and White Stuff

 

Woke this morning to another blanket of white same as yesterday morning.  Then during mid day it rains.  Ah the foibles of spring time in the Rockies.

 

Been following the battles of man vs nature on Donner Pass.  Read on a post today that one of the ski areas there has over 200 inches of snow.  that is a whole lots of white stuff.  On one of the RR sites I visit there have been pictures posted of the railroad plowing and blowing snow and not winning.  The big train engines have become stuck, trapped and derailed by all of the snow.  There have been pictures of the engines in snow almost to their roofline.

Man’s battle with Mother Nature is amazing yet we continue to believe we can control nature.  We can help nature but control, I doubt it.  Even the weather forecasters have a poor record of predicting what kind of weather we will have tomorrow. 

The great irony of this is the global warming people,they said there would be less moisture in the Sierras.  Just the opposite has happened.  It took an earthquake to flood a coastline not global warming and there have been other examples of just the opposite of what the doomsayers predicted.  So many set themselves up as god’s and when they fall they deny they were wrong.

Read that Germany elected a greenz party and one of their things is to close down the government operated nuclear generating plants.  Not sure where the Germans are going to get the electricity to replace this lost electrical power.  Yet this tells me that people buy in to myths real easy.  Rather then questioning and looking down the road at the consequences they go full bore then when people get upset. 

I look at this and wonder where our sensibilities as a society are.  I feel we have become very gullible and buy the lines of bull from the different groups. One of the problems is arrogance, arrogant people do not make mistakes and attack people that question them.  Most people do not like confrontation and bullies feed on this which is a trait of arrogance.

So when I watch the people battle the weather on the high passes of California I wonder why.  What will be accomplished.  when nasty weather hits here in the country, most of the folks hunker down and wait out the storm.  They have supplies and back up electrical generators plus gas tanks.  When the storm is over they dig out and go on with life.  the big city people are in such a greedy rush they do not have that kind of patience.  So big mouth political types open up that they can control the weather and keep the roads clear.  Guess what they either are reelected or get the boot.what’s scary is how people believe them.

 

                                      Legos

 

This was a display at a model train show, looks pretty good but look closer.  Everything is made of legos.  And no, it is not little kids that put it together.  Wouldn’t it be cool to be a little kid again to play with something like this.  I would of loved to of had lagos when I was a wee tyke.

 

The week moves on, have a great rest of week.

Out On The Range

 

Driving across the plains I can see remnants of cattle days and the wild west.  Cattle grazing on the hillside the occasional cowboy, usually in a pick up sometimes horse back.

The train rolling in the foreground and grazing bovines in back.  If the hill was dotted with trees it would probably be called a mountain.  It is about 7000 feet in elevation but no trees so it is but a big hill.  In the fall the cattle will be rounded up and moved to another pasture.  That is when the cowboys are out on their horses or ATV’s. 

The stage was routed through here in the 1860’s and then the railroad in the 1870’s.  Could you imagine walking across here and pushing a wheelbarrow back then. The gold fever brought a great collection of mankind across the great American desert.  Few had hand carts, others wagons but most were on foot. 

The wind has been blowing so spring must be getting closer.  Dust is floating in the air, making a nice haze.  bigger patches of green are peeking out and the robin has made its rounds in the weeds searching for bugs.

Been kind of droopy past couple of days.  Popped myself in the ribs with a steel bar.  got the pipe moved but I also moved the side a bit and the ribs let me know, especially when I sneeze, ouch. It is going away and I am sleeping better.  Next time I’ll let the steel bar lay at rest.

Sometimes the media fascinates me.  There are times they come off as some of the most uneducated people.  This deal with the nuclear plants amazes me.  Radiation exposure has been effecting us ever since birth, it’s called sunshine and there are other sources of radiation.  How many know what safe levels are?  Like any thing the body has a pretty good tolerance of lots of things.  Consider a poison called Arsenic is also a heart medicine when used in proper dosage..  There is also a thing called nuclear medicine.  Those with cancer understand this.  Radiation is used to kill cancer plus other things.  Yep its dangerous, then so are lots of other things….. even eating to much food.

Snow is in the forecast….. yahoo, didn’t get any real good snows this winter, just real cold days. 

Got up early to go to the clinic for the exam and was treated to a great sunrise.  I am not an early rising bird so for me to capture a sunrise is a rare occurrence.

The weekend is here, have a great and blessed one.

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The Green Has Sprung Forth

Went outside and got down on me knees, looked at the dirt very closely and lo and behold, I spied tiny blades of green grass ushering forth.  It is that time of year to face the great green ogre of the south and say thanks for its return.

There are other sign of spring, new life come forth, here is a collection of youngsters, less then a month old, probably a week or so old.  Mamma must of got mixed up with a red bull to have red calf.  they are fun to look at, like all babies, they are so clean and fresh, all wide eyed and ready for a new adventure with mom near by.

Late winter has been mild so there has not been much hassle with the calves being born.  Soon there will be other little critters roaming across the grasslands.  Birds are arriving from their snow dens, the chirp of the Western Meadow Lark rolls over the prairie, the trill of the Red Wing Blackbird can be heard and there are more flocking to the bird feeder.  There will be more arriving as the land warms up and butterflies will flutter around shortly.  Freeze has not left yet, it will still get blow freezing until May and there may be some more snow on the ground to watch the robin huddle in the trees wondering why it left the warm climes.

I love jumping in the jalopy and cruising the grasslands looking to see what I can find.  With the price of gas acting like a space shuttle and headed for the moon I may be doing more two foot adventures.  Politics aggravates me so much at times…. choose your side, then look at the greed that fuels the little slime balls.  Politics should not impact my day to day life but it does and it makes me mad.  Have no ideas how to change it but I do ventilate.  Hah…. got that dumped in the cesspool……. now on to other things.

Getting up on the high hills around here I can get a pretty good view of the mountains.  Pikes Peak in particular.  It has been so dry lately that the wind picks up lots of dust and rearranges the dusters.  When the dust is sitting on the ground the mountains become crystal clear and dominate the skyline.  One can look at them and pick out the glacier paths, the lava domes and outline the volcano caldera.  It is quite impressive.  Would of like to of seen it when it was about 40.000 feet in elevation.

The view from atop this mountain is what inspired the song “America the Beautiful.”  The view from the summit is unequaled in the world.  When the plains are a verdant green it is a sight that has nothing to compare to.  Animals move around, new life is brought forth, death strikes and the cycles continue.  A land that is dormant brown, barren in appearance carries a new life from the death of winter, green will blaze forth, blooms will dapple the green.

 

Have a great week.

Electric Days

Read a blurb about the reason for daylight savings time.  It said that the primary purpose was to save electricity.  Over the years the savings have hardly been noticed it stated.  So if it is not doing what it was set out to do, why do we still have savings time?  Is daylight time really saving any thing?

For me it’s like a lots of things, they sort of hang around pretty useless but no one picks it up and puts in the trash. 

Anybody have a spare bag I can go around and collect the spare saved time then go make a deposit at the time dump.

Electricity is one of things that is fairly modern.  Until Ben Franklin flew his kite electricity was a mystery and lightening was a fire bug.

Today how could we live without it.  Look at all the things we use that rely on electricity.  Look at manufacturing plants, all the electric motors they have.  At the turn of the 20th century electricity was a luxury.  Street lights quite often were still oil lamps.  Candle making was still a big business.  Anybody have a kerosene lantern?  I have a couple of RR lanterns and I have a kerosene lamp.  I still use it on occasion, burn a scented oil in it.

Yet was candles and lanterns that our grandparents used to light their way or do schoolwork by.

Living out on the prairies I see lots of high power transmission lines strung across the open spaces.  For some it is progress, others it is an eyesore.  It is a distracting sight on the open plains.  folks in the big city got to have their juice but don’t put the equipment in their back yard, put it in somebody else’s yard.

then I look at the problems in Japan,oh man do they have problems.  I hope they can deal with things for Mother Nature can be very humbling.  There was the earthquake, then the big wave and the buildings were crumbling or awash.  Electricity was lost, power plants shut down, nuclear fears and then explosions.  Hell is walking to and fro on the island of Japan.  Will the radiation leaks from the nuclear plants be a disfiguring as Chernobyl or will it be deadly like the bombs of WWII?

Thousands are without homes, family members lost, swallowed up.  Man becomes so insignificant when Mother Nature vents or has a cough.  I feel for the people over there and will give to a relief fund such as the red cross or through church.  Is there a lesson in this.  I’ve read that many fires were quelled because of switches that were built into gas meters to shut off the gas if the earth was jolted.  There were other standards on building codes the Japanese addressed to help in case of earthquakes.  It appears many lives were saved because of that.  Yet many people will look at the nuclear plants and howl at them and not consider the other things that were done.

When I turn on a switch I am thankful for that flicker of light that comes on, the appliances whir and the puter sputters.

The world has changed.  It was Mother Nature that effected the changes, no man that has that kind of power…. yet.

I will move on with life, read the stories, get mad, be sad, laugh some and turn the page. 

A Nite on the Firth

Well maybe not but it seems like a good start to musings about the passing of days.  Haven’t went on a tour for a bit and with the price of gas headed for the moon the next tour may be on a bike.  Pedal power is a ;itt;e cheaper but tougher on the legs.  The pistons there just do not pound like they used to.

Well who do we blame for the rising gas prices…… the democrats….. or the republicans.  From where I’m sitting ….. both have made some serious blunders.  Used to be business did not have lots of regulation and so many rules.  Oh we would complain about something and the politicians thought they were pretty powerful.  To get re-elected they would pas all these laws and all of sudden business is no longer rolling along.  Jobs have been lost because of the the rules and regs that were passed, by both parties.

 

Right now what the republicans said about hyper inflation is slowly becoming true.  Besides gas, groceries are up, clothing and other goods are increasing.  The Democrats had two years where they had the super majority and could pass any law/bill they wanted.  They spent money all over the place and what did we end up with, a huge debt. 

What this is telling me is that government does not have the power to solve our problems like the politicians thank they have. Instead they create more problems then they solve.  Look at some of the bills the republicans are proposing, I don’t see much solution in their proposals. 

For me the solutions is in our own household and how we live our lives.  We have tremendous power to determine how we live.  the key is having a firm set of ethics and willingness to follow them.  There are sectors in society that feel they know what’s best for me and they want to tell me how to live.  They have been called the ruling elites.  They are on both sides of the fence and as long as we go crying to the government to solve our problems these people will take it to the halls of government and use its power to force us to live in their style.

If a person would get out of the democrat/republican schism a look at the reality of politics, lots of issues would go by the wayside.  As long as we use government to impose our ideals/morals there will be problems and we will end up with class warfare big time.

What are you envious of, jealous of…. how is the government going to help you with these issues?  The political system has created two classes, one is a group of elephants and the other is a collection of donkeys.  Neither has been very successful with leadership.  I have not seen a good president since high school and that was a 1000 years ago, in my dreams.

 

Gone looking for a bicycle with fat tires for gravel roads.

May God bless your steps this weekend.

Nice Soft Fluffy White Mantle

 

Woke up this morning and momma nature had been busy during the night, Small gentle flakes were drifting downwards covering momma earth.  Fresh blanket of white stretched to the horizon, white flakes floating about and alighting in their own pattern. 

The dogs went bounding out caring less about the white stuff in their yard, there were other things to tend to.

With coffee brewed I settled into my observation seat and watched the show.  Slight breeze swirled, making new patterns, the brown of winter was in disguise.  The purity of the white burned the eyes, bouncing the traces of sunlight through the window.  The little dog jumped up and took her position on the arm of the observation deck.  It was a great morning to sit and be an observer.

The dried weeds are above the snow line.  Soon they will give way to green shoots as the moisture seeps into their roots.

Tracks of the bunny from hopping over the snow looking for eats.

My coyote sits in the yard, perpetual howl at all things that pass by.

Grasses stand tall, feet wrapped in a white cape.

A bouquet leftover from last summer.

Snow capped rock lies in repose among the weeds.

 

A clean fresh snow brings so many thins to life.  Soon the sun came out, the wind picked up and the canvas of nature wash awash.  New forms were appearing, the white mantle was pealing back, brown spots on the white canvas.  For a brief moment white beauty reigned supreme.  Nature was preparing a new canvas.  There would be more delights for the oculars, be patient and green will usher forth.  Slow down enjoy the beauty of the moment, drink in the freshness of the cleansing mantle that reenergizes life.

Lost Dreams

traveling over the prairie I see numerous farms and ranches that sit empty.  Some are large and elegant others clap board and paper.  Around here stucco was popular as there were not many trees. 

Times change and the lure of the big city wails its siren.  children grow up and do not want to stay on the home.  They think their father had it to hard so off they go to the big city looking for the easy life and fun.

Mom and Dad hang onto the farm or ranch until they no longer can work it and they lease the land or sell and move to  town.  The home they built now sits empty, dust rolls in the tiniest of crevices, attics fill up and mother nature roars trying to reclaim its bounty.  On hillside overlooking rolling hills the empty buildings become a monument to faded glory days.  Winds of the past float by the rafters, over the roofs, shaking the few trees and timbers rattle in the breeze.

Mom and Dad’s kids want another life, they see the bright lights and fly to them like bugs on a hot June eve.  When the folks pass on the children are mournful but do not want to live on the homestead.  Up for auction goes the memories.  Dreams are placed on auction blocks.  Highest bidder takes the faded dream and lets it sit.  The land is still worked, cattle graze and birds climb the clouds.

 

 

Soon Mother nature will have her way, timbers will crack, walls will fall and roofs collapse.  This is where dreams had become reality.  A place of independence, no one looking over the shoulder.  A piece of ground to call his own.

Neighbors drive by saying, that was the __________ place, Bill Jones was born there.  I used to play with his daughter.  There are other memories that drift through the trees.  travel in the waving limbs.

A land that was changed by government policy, torn up by greed, destroyed by greed, restored by common sense.  Feeling the tugs of greed and envy, a small battle ground in a larger war.

 

Winds of time stack the grains to drift to another wave. Curling down the even side forming ripples.  Drifts angling to new heights to blow down ward to another drift.  grains forever moving, heeding the call of the wind.  A Siren sings in the branches, the melody of onward.  Beckoning to new grains tumbling over each. 

Damm Politicians

Alan Simpson, Senator from Wyoming, Co-Chair of Obama's deficit commission, calls senior citizens the Greediest Generation as he compared "Social Security" to a Milk Cow with 310 million teats. August, 2010.

Here's a response in a letter from a unknown fellow in Montana... I think he is a little ticked off ! He also tells it like it is !


"Hey Alan, let's get a few things straight...

1. As a career politician, you have been on the public dole for FIFTY YEARS.

2. I have been paying Social Security taxes for 48 YEARS (since I was 15 years old. I am now 63).

3. My Social Security payments, and those of millions of other Americans, were safely tucked away in an interest bearing account for decades until you political pukes decided to raid the account and give OUR money to a bunch of zero ambition losers in return for votes, thus bankrupting the system and turning Social Security into a Ponzi scheme that would have made Bernie Madoff proud.

4. Recently, just like Lucy & Charlie Brown, you and your ilk pulled the proverbial football away from millions of American seniors nearing retirement and moved the goalposts for full retirement from age 65 to age 67. NOW, you and your shill commission is proposing to move the
goalposts YET AGAIN.

5. I, and millions of other Americans, have been paying into Medicare from Day One, and now you morons propose to change the rules of the game. Why? Because you idiots mismanaged other parts of the economy to such an extent that you need to steal money from Medicare to pay the bills.

6. I, and millions of other Americans, have been paying income taxes our entire lives, and now you propose to increase our taxes yet again. Why? Because you incompetent bastards spent our money so profligately that you just kept on spending even after you ran out of money. Now, you come to the American taxpayers and say you need more to pay off YOUR debt.

To add insult to injury, you label us "greedy" for calling "bullshit" on your incompetence. Well, Captain Bullshit, I have a few questions for YOU.

1. How much money have you earned from the American taxpayers during your pathetic 50-year political career?

2. At what age did you retire from your pathetic political career, and how much are you receiving in annual retirement benefits from the American taxpayers?

3. How much do you pay for YOUR government provided health insurance?

4. What cuts in YOUR retirement and healthcare benefits are you proposing in your disgusting deficit reduction proposal, or, as usual, have you exempted yourself and your political cronies?

It is you, Captain Bullshit, and your political co-conspirators who are "greedy". It is you and they who have bankrupted America and stolen the American dream from millions of loyal, patriotic taxpayers. And for what? Votes. That's right, sir. You and yours have bankrupted America for the sole purpose of advancing your pathetic political careers. You know it, we know it, and you know that we know it.

And you can take that to the bank, you miserable son of a bitch."

Got this in an e-mail and it pretty well sums up my feelings. I am going to post it every so often.

So many depend on Social Security for retirement. It is the difference for some between surviving or thriving. Not everybody can work for the government and get a nice retirement or a big corporation. Social Security is also a fund that we pay into, it is our money that the government is supposed to return to us at age 62 or later on a monthly basis. It is not money the government can go and spend on various other programs yet they have and Social Security is going broke.

Rather then looking at the policies of government the politicians are blaming the populace for drawing to much money out.