Mute Monday: Work

Guarding the Family

Keeping Everyone on Schedule

Toy Safety Testing

Ever Vigilant

Food Testing

Yard Patrol

Baby Sitting

Grilling

Dog Training

Hard Day at the Office

Nest Construction

Thinking of Next Project

Committe Meetings

Landscaping

Breaking Computers

Being a Wonderful Mom

Being a Loving Grandmom

Defending the Country

Come home soon and safe!

Kaiser's Ranch South Dakota 1990

I lie prone n the grass, listening to the meadow larks calling, the rustle of the grass. The gravel is rough under m, a newly emerging cactus sticks my in the thigh. I view the prairie dog village, miles of mounds marking their homes waiting patiently for things to quiet, my presence to fade into the smell of the sage. It gives me time to watch cotton puff clouds hang still in the bright blue sky, a Redtail Hawk circles over another part of this huge village looking for lunch. The dogs start coming out of their holes and so it is time. I shoulder my rifle, thumbing off the safety, the smell of gun oil replaces the sage. I pick my target, focus on my sight picture cheek welded to the varnished stock. Slowly I squeeze the trigger, holding my breath, steadying the rifle. It seems as though minutes have passed before I hear the retort, see the shiny spent casing fly out in front of me, feel the bolt ram another cartridge into the chamber and see a puff of dirt an inch to the left of the prairie dog.

He seems unconcerned so I adjust my sights a bit, take a breath,hold, and squeeze the trigger, again a loud report, the casing flying yards in front of me and the prairie dog disappears down his hole.

Then a shadow passes over me, the Redtail has come to join my hunt. The dog's shrill whistle warn of the danger from the sky and all duck into their holes. The hunt is over for now.

The Slightly Imperfect Storm

We really got schwacked last night - the lightning strikes were so frequent and intense I felt it imprudent to go out and film them. Despite the light show and the ferocious winds we received little or no rain, hence the imperfect storm. I should be happy the winds didn’t rip off our back porch roof but it would have been nice to get a good soaking out of all the fury. My weather alert radio was going off every few minutes with warnings about storms all over the valley, most as fierce or worse than the one that hit El Mirage.

I did enjoy watching through the window, I have always loved storms, always admired the raw power and sinister beauty of the spectacle.

I hope Gustav gives Little Lamb a pass, though I suspect the people of New Orleans may not be so lucky. While I understand the historical significance and the attachment the people have to the place I believe they need to find another place to live – there are plenty of other places girls can lift their tops for colored beads. Or we can keep losing lives and sinking money into one of the worst locations for a city on the Southern coast. I suspect it will be the latter.

Keep your powder dry!!

Still Here

Got some things going on right now, but I haven't forgotten you all!!

School Schmool

Was supposed to do a Mute Monday on School, as in going back to, and had a great plan to have a big "back to School" sign over a stack of AK-47s but decided that would be in poor taste as we have already had one school shooting in Tennessee. Off to a good start. Aside from that I don't have very many fond memories of school, at least the later grades so screw it.

Been a bit down lately, hopefully things will calm for me a bit and I will no longer be armed, dangerous, and off the medication. Just kidding. Will try to come up with something more jovial later and visit everyone soon...

An Addiction

It is completely my grandson's doing. I'd seen the colorful package before, with the gross looking vaguely animal shape cookies smothered in florescent frosting on the store shelves, but it never crossed my mind to eat any. They looked repulsive, and though I know you aren't supposed to judge a book by it's cover, in this case I felt relatively safe. Then came Max who became my frosted circus animals pusher. Sure, the first handful was free, but he knew I'd be back, and I was. Now I am addicted to frosted circus animals. This is a gateway cookie, the next step is the hard stuff - the "Parade of Cookies." Yes, there is a bag tucked deep in the cabinet. My apologies to Jin and the rest of you bakers but I am hopelessly addiced to these cookies.

Phos doens't officially endorse either "Mother's," or "Frosted Circus Animals,' nor are the HGH laced treats the official snack of the Olympics, though it probably shoud be.

Mute Monday: Songs

We are the music makers, we are the singers of songs

What's in Your Tool Box

For better or worse I studied to be a geographer, which means unemployable until you get a PHD. Geology was my thing at the time, but wound up with earth science, not quite the same. One thing about studying geography is that you get to nose into other branches of science. One of the most interesting courses was cultural geography. I am pretty sure the professor was an idiot, and as time has gone on I am even more sure, but one thing that came out of the book we used intrigued me and can tell a person a lot about a culture or an individual for that matter.

Everyone one has a tool box, or tool kit if you prefer. Early man had a fairly small one because his main function was to find food without becoming food. Sharp sticks, knapped flint tools, and fire were pretty much it for his bag of tricks. In fact his "if it ain’t broke don’t fix it attitude" persisted right up through the bronze age with little chance in the types of tools in his kit.

The tools in your kit are the things you need for survival and may include actual tools made out of materials bronze age boob-heads would have killed for, concepts, techniques, or methods that never entered the walnut sized minds of early thinkers. Our tool box has become increasing complex and increasingly specialized. We owe a lot of that to the development of agriculture where we could settle down and the odds of being eaten dropped significantly. Man (and woman) had time for other things. New occupations sprang up and with them new tools found their way into people's kits. It is awesome to think what my grandson will be able to reach in and pull out when he needs something. So what is in your tool box??

Good Morning!

Mute Monday: West

Political Rant

So one party can't keep it in their pants (except toe-tappin' Joe from Idaho, probably a democrat at heart ) and the other takes every opportunity to get in on a swindle. Fine choice we have. America has even managed to turn the political process into "American Idol." It is no longer about the people or the issues or upholding the Constitution, but about grabbing as much power for the party as possible.

And "We the People" sit on our indolent asses watching NASCAR and reality TV while we are having the couch stolen right out from under us. Maybe all we deserve for leaders are the Obamas and McCains.

Storm Tease

The East Valley has gotten quite a bit of rain (for the desert, that is) but the West Valley has missed out. There is a little tease going on right now with some pop up cumulus, but it remains to be seen if we get anything besides cotton ball clouds from this action. 'Strella Dog isn't taking any chances and decided to catch a few rays while she can.

More IR

Tried taking some photos in the early morning with an IR filter. I have ordered a neutral density filter as well to limit the amount of light our desert sun bounces through the lens so I can take some pictures in broad daylight.

Mute Monday: ZipCode, The Tiny House 'hood

Liberty

One thing I prize above all others is my liberty, my freedom if you will. Liberty means different things to different people. I am reading an Essay by John Stuart Mill on the subject and his principal definition is that the state should not be able to force an individual to do something, even if it is for the betterment of that person, however, the state may force an individual to do something if it is for the betterment of the state. This view constitutes the underpinnings of socialism and n my mind isn’t what I would think of when talking liberty.

I have books by Jefferson, Paine, and Addams all waiting in queue as I try to find out where things have gone wrong here in the US. I would seek a return to a more literal translation of the constitution, where the states would hold most of the power, but not so much as to interfere with our daily lives. Washington and the scoundrels that inhabit the capitol are too far removed from their constituents - who better to make decisions on laws that effect you, your local government or a far removed Federal government. Isn’t being governed from afar with little or no representation what our revolution was about in the first place? Just food for thought.

Spam This Blogger-Bot!!!

Apparently Blogger went haywire for a bit, as amazing as that might sound, but things are sorted and I am (for better or worse) once again unblocked. On the downside now I have to come up with something to post.

This will have to do for now as we're taking Mrs. Phos's van in to get the CD player fixed under warranty. You wouldn't think a CD player would be a vital part of the car, that is until you drive from the West Valley to Tucson without one and only two huskies for company.