Nice Morning

Forest FloorMy Big Buddy and his friend Mr. Stumpy showed up around 11AM
today. (Yes they are deer) The turkeys and squirrels were here several hours
earlier. Looks like it's going to be a hot day again. They say it's cooler
but anything over 90 is about the same. So low 90's isn't that great of a
break. Sure it's better then a 104 degrees.

More leaks in the cause of 9/11. Army had a secret data mining team called
"Able Danger." They looked into Al Quida and knew that some of the terrorist
were here in 1999. They didn't tell the FBI about them because they weren't
suppose to be spying on American Citizens. So when did this new policy
happen. The FBI is full of files of normal people, now they are protecting
the civil liberties of foreign terrorist. now that makes a bunch of sense.
The lawyers that told the Army not to tell the FBI must have been informed
by one of Bush's buddies like Roberts or our new Attorney General now.

Sense the Bush team planned the fowl up during the first election and
Diebold put them over the top in the second, the country need to start
paying attention to what is going on and not listening to sound bites. The
people with the most to loose voting for the republicans for moral values
need to be stopped from breeding becasue the definitely have the stupid
gene. The group calling themselves the religious right really are a bunch of
sheep in that they follow blindly, without logic or reason. To say Bush is a
Christian is like comparing Adolph was a Christian too. Germany use religion
to control the masses when Adolph came to control. Now Bush is doing the
same thing to America slowly,by righting new laws like the patriot act which
takes away our civil right and make the government more powerful without any
checks or balances.

The only God Bush and his friends have is money, Good Old Dollars. For the
Christians to think Bush is on their side they need to take a real big look
after taking off the blinders.

Farther and cancer

Forest FloorMy father called me Sunday to tell me he had surgery for bladder
cancer. He still hasn't got the stitches in. He didn't tell me if he need
more treatment. It's sinking in more today of what is happening. It's to bad
I live 600 plus miles away. I'm wondering if this is something new or
something that is spreading.

Lost a one year old deer yesterday

Forest FloorIt was day break and the turkeys were going crazy. Turns out it
was two coyotes chasing tow young female deer. The caught on deer and ate
most of her by the time I got there. Today the vultures are here. About 6 of
them. And yes they do circle. I thought the turkeys were big but these guys
are BIG. I'll see if I can get some pictures together and post them but not
tonight, hands hurting from typing. It's getting better then last week after
surgery, that really put me in a different place.

Nothing but Butts and Antlers

The deer are here. A lot of deer are here all at the same time. Usually they stagger in at different times all night long. Well it's hot and they need water and I'm glade to sit out with them. They really like the apples that fall from the trees. They also like the plums which really gets their tongues going. I can't believe it, another over 100 days. This whole summer has been that way. The winter was rather wet too. Now, it's dry, spitting dust dry. The apples are green and very tart. Not to many peaches. The red plums came in but not the yellow ones. Think the blossoms were washed off. Turkeys just left for the night. It's quiet out, even the bugs aren't making noise.

 

Back is hurting not sure what I did to make it feel this way. Wrist is healing after the surgery yesterday. Have to keep the pain pill going or the pain gets out of hand. Right now my wrist has a big old bandage on it and it doesn't move to much. Moving it does put me through some changes. I feel like I need to lay down and rest my back. The problem with getting old.

Cool morning

It's cool now and I'm watching the deer feed in the field along with the squirrels. It's going to be hot again today, yes in the 100's again. Yesterday it was about 5 PM and I was walking on the hill south of the house. The air was so sweet smelling. The smell of pine was the most dominant it reminded me of being at camp when I was younger. It was a feeling that I used to look forward to every year. For a few minutes I was back in the days of my youth. Smells change and so does times, people and the world. Back then it seemed a lot simpler then today. The farther I remember back in my life it seems life was simpler. Seeing things for the first time without any reference was fresh and impressive. I still get that here but not so much. I still find new plants I've never seen before. I guess it's like watching the baby deer exploring the world. They seem so happy with out a care in the world. I've never seen an animal, which I shouldn't just call them that but they are so happy. They don't bother no one, life is very simple. To say they are animals, bring me to that same level of being an animal. There are so many similarities in all the mammals. There is only minor differences. They don't have to re-download programs because you pressed the space bar and it canceled the installation. No frustrating computers to deal with. Sure they say it's an advancement to the humans but what does it take away. 

New Life in the forest

This morning was great watching mom and her to babies having  snack. The kids were exploring the world with such happiness. Every things new and fresh to them, they want to see every thing and run just to have fun. The forest is coming alive. First it's one then two then dozens of squirrels. The young one that seem to need the most energy because of the energy use by playing games like chase or climb the tree and run back down. The older squirrels are more calm and just interested in eating. Momma turkey and her three little babies are here briefly as they make their daily rounds. Slowly more and more birds come into the area celebrating the morning. 

 

I new there was a pregnant mother skunk around here ready to give birth. Well, she did over night under the house. As a matter of fact they are right under my bedroom door and wall. I can hear the little ones, they sound like little birds chirping. If it's like the other skunk families I've seen born this year there should be at least six young.

 

It's going to be another hot bad air day according to the news. You couldn't tell that by the squirrels playing outside at this time. Later today if it's going to be like the rest of the week, when the heat is on the forest seems to stop. For now it's great watching all the life of the forest.

Buddy didn't show up until 12:30 AM

To hot to be outside. The house hasn't warmed up yet since I have it closed up. They said it's going to get to 103 degrees down in the valley. Lucky I'm under the trees where it's cooler but not to much today. It's 79 degrees in the house and a oven outside. I just turned on the fire scanner to listen if there is any fires.

 

Most of the deer showed up just after sunset, even the mother and her two babies. Every one loves a baby deer. They were more interested in running and exploring the world then eating. Still I waited outside getting eaten by mosquitoes so I would move fast to swat them. The girls showed up first then the mother with the kids. Then slowly the rest of the boys drifted in except Big Buddy. I went to bed early but woke up at 12:30 AM just in time to catch a little "Conan" in HDTV not that I could see it that way but could see the frame size. I noticed the porch light was on. When I went to the door Big Buddy was there with his son Little Buddy. I went outside and encouraged Buddy to eat. I put out two pounds of corn which he walked over to as soon as I put it down. When he was first hurt he was very stand offish but now he is more tolerant of me. He ate most of the two pound of corn then went off to the alfalfa. I'm very glad he's keeping his weight on and eating even though he is limping and his leg is very swollen where the break is.

Had to sit with Buddy

Last night as the deer came through, I've been trying to help Buddy recover from his broken foot. The other deer were trying to push him out of the way and get to what ever Buddy was eating. I sat out there to protect him and to encourage him to eat and drink.  His break is very swollen up and big as his foot. At least Buddy is trusting me more again since I was keeping the other deer away from him.

 

The skunks have been getting out of hand. Just to many skunks. The momma skunk is ready to have kids, either that or she is really big. I put out some steak parts and those guys went to town on it, fighting fiercely over the steak fat.

 

Well the squirrels are looking at me funny since I ran out of sun flower seeds. Off to the feed store.

Nice warm relaxing day

Saw a mother deer this morning with two fawns but she still looked pregnant. The fawns were having such a good time running and bucking while mom looked on. There's nothing more happier then a baby deer. Later on after a couple cups of coffee I noticed Little Buddy laying out in the yard. It's late afternoon now and the only critters outside are the baby squirrels eating and having fun chasing each other. It's that time of the day and here comes the turkeys on their tour of the property. They come down and eat and lay around about 3 o'clock each day. Momma turkey and her three kids should be coming around. It's like clock work every day when every one shows up. The only ones I don't like showing up are the pigeons. They make it so I have to wash my car daily.

 

I saw Big Buddy later night and he seemed to be doing okay. Still limping with a broken foot. I cut up at least 10 pounds of green apple and they are all gone today. I noticed Big Buddy and his two kids really went over then last night.

 

Well it's time to put out the nights feeding for the kids. The turkeys seem to get bothered by the incoming pigeons. When they take off they scare the squirrels which grab hold of what ever they are on.

Another Momma Skunk showed up today

Yes another mother skunk was on the porch enjoying popcorn and sunflower seeds. She's getting ready to give birth. I can see that some of the other skunks born a couple month ago are getting rather bi about the size of a gray squirrel. That will make three families of skunks that are living around here. Watching pushing and shoving but not really fighting but just trying to get the most food. Life is a challenge for the little guys. And no they don't go spraying everything that comes their way. You need to have to really piss them off, like your planning to eat them or something. Other that they are rather gentle in their actions. Like I noticed in the squirrels they all don't look a like, there is minor differences in the fir and the spots on the fir.

 

My Big Buddy broke his back leg. I think he stepped in a gopher hole and his foot fell in. He's still getting around but not to fast. I feel so sorry for him and I've been trying to get help but no one will help. The local "Animal Control" wants to kill him. UC Davis Veterinary University says they don't do deer. If you go to their web site you will see how they are rescuing a horse with a helicopter. I thing the picture is more for there ego then the care of animals. They will take care of a dogs and cats cardiac system but not a deer. Goes to show you when your a Republican you play God with who lives and who dies.

 

It's amazing that pet owners spend millions each year on their pet which I don't believe in, we outlawed slavery a 150 years ago. I guess it part of the capitalist system, this is mine and you can't have it. Sort of like how some people have their marriages. Just a gathering of toys to prove how successful you are.

 

I can see how the European invasion of the Americas and the way they treated the Native Americans as they were animal. Well the tables are turning, the conquers will be conquered and we will be the looses. If You look at history you will see that this has happened over and over. No one country has lasted forever and never will.

Cute baby skunks

It's been the first time I've seen baby skunks. I've seen al the other babies in this forest and this year is the first for baby skunks. No raccoons yet. No baby deer yet but I know they are coming. Last night put out a couple bags of microwave popcorn. I must have spent a couple hours watching them eat the popcorn.

There is a lot of groups of quails but no babies yet. Going to have to get some pictures of them this year. They are small and fast so they are hard to get pictures of.

Cutting that tree down yesterday did me in. I was supprized at how fast it came apart. Nothing like sharp manly tools.

It feel like a Hitchcock movie with all the pigeons that are coming around. There must be at least a 100 of them outside.

They say there isn't going to be anymore rain. I just can handle setting up the trees that fall over.

No cherries this year the rain got them all.

Well time for my next cup of coffee and then it's outside. Have to pick up a couple bags of grain for the birds. The poor turkeys are missing out because of the pigeons

One other thing, a skunk or something was eating the scraps I put out from the chicken I had but they broke my Vision frying pan. It was my favorite glass frying pan for baking in.

Summer and it's going to rain

It's one of those days again where I don't want to get out of bed. Feed the kids some time around 7:00 AM and again around 10:00AM. Momma and her kids just stopped by. The chicks are getting so big so quick. The skunk family is growing rather fast too. I've been noticing a lot of baby squirrels the last few days. I watched one that was on the picnic table and was looking for a way down. He ran back and forth on the table top looking for the shortest distance down. He took a leap of faith and jumped to the seat of the table and went through the same process looking for the shortest distance down.

 

The "Black Headed Grosbeak's are getting big enough to feed themselves but momma bird still feeds them. They look almost the same size as an adult but the coloring is lighter to blend into the back ground of the forest. The kids are more brown and have a orange stripe on their heads. The parents don't have the orange strip and have black feathers with a brilliant orange color on their bodies.

 

I watched Mister Stinkers come in last night at sunset. He walked up the old road and down to the creek. I thought he was going to just walk up the creek and to the house. He ducked into the thick forest under brush. Later I saw him walking up the hill. I don't even go up that hill since it's so over grown.

 

Wow, this is interesting. Their are three young Grosbeak's and one is all black with a brown head. The way they are traveling as a group, it looks like they are all from the same family.

 

The other day I was watching a more aggressive pigeon on the porch. Usually they don't come on the porch but this one did. I thought he was going to choke on the sunflower seeds. It seems he would crack the seeds but was so hungry he wouldn't finish taking off the husk and swallowed the whole thing. Usually the pigeons just seeing me they will take off but this one didn't care. He just looked at me and kept eating.

 

Well it look's like I'm going to have to get dressed and head to town soon even though I could just as well sit here looking out the door and watching the birds and squirrels feeding.

Oh' Man Could the day get any worse?

It's been raining for a day and raining real good. I woke up early to turn off my computer after defragging it last night. Then I noticed the computer has locked up. Re-starting the computer the dreaded "CHECK SUM ERROR." No problem, I'll deal with it in the morning. Well waking up at a normal time and watching the baby chicks and mom. I feed the other turkeys and squirrels then went back inside, not looking outside in great detail. After a few cups of coffee I returned to feeding the squirrels. That's when I noticed the fig tree had fallen over. My road is completely blocked. I'm going to imply some of my climbing skills and a little physics to try to stand it back up. I'm going to have to have to sacrifice some of the branches to lighten the load. Well, guess it's time to dig out the webbing and carabineers

 

Pictures to follow....

Had Enough for Today

Had enough poison oak, bugs, pokes, sticks and scrapes. So tired feeling so drained. Time to get on my back and if I stay awake long enough to watch the news. But, for right now falling over is the plan. Question, If a Bob falls over in a forest and no one is around to hears it, did Bob really fall over?

Pictures from the forest

Mr. Stinkers
The Stinker family came by last night again. The little guys were trying to get the pecking order but Mom was the top skunk and they couldn't get close enough to her. I blocked off a way under the house but I think the family of skunks have moved in. I had sealed the hole where a drain pipe comes out from under the house with foam. They eat or clawed their way through the foam. I don't want to seal the hole right now since dead skunks under the house would smell worse then skunks spraying on each other.


Little flower from the under forest. These flowers are very delicate. The seem to pop up after all that rain has come for the year. The little flowers don't stay out very long but the color I find very pleasant.


Wild Peas. They are small but still they are wild natural peas. You could be hiking along a miss these peas since they blend into the back ground and are not in big groves. I missed them many times as I walked past them dozens of times.


Left overs from the mining days. 3/4" cables
Not sure what I'm going to do with them since they are big and heavy and don't fit into a trash bag.

Well, I feel like I got it again, poison oak! My arms and face is itching. Even my fingers itch. It feel like it's in my right eye too. I'll find out more when I wake up tomorrow. If I wake up and have scratched al night or my skin has red bumps then I'll know how bad it is. Sneaky stuff, it doesn't show up for a couple days after it settles in. Think I'll take another cool shower with lots of soap.

Also, going to have to wash all my cloths so I don't contaminate myself further. Well, time to wash and watch the news. Take the weight off my dogs, back and what ever is aching.

The first baby chicks

While sitting here today scanning some slides, the first 3 babies turkeys came by with momma turkey. The daughters of this same mother were all excited. The males wanted to check to see if they were their offspring but the daughters were protecting the mother. I can't tell which one is a male turkey yet but it seems the males can. They don't like any competition in male turkeys so they like to kill off the young. I have to say it's another exciting day for me here in the forest. Since they stopped here today they will be coming back every day after this unless something happens to them. Mom has to teach them where and what to eat. I noticed that with the skunks too. There was two young deer with pregnant mom here this morning. The males didn't want to share but I could see the youngsters wanted to come down and see me. They remembered me from last year and remembered our hand signals. It sounds crazy to name wild animals but I do and they seem to respond to their names too. What a great day, sunny and warm out and I'm inside scanning slides. Guess I'm going to have to get out there and work up a manly sweat and try to get another case of poison oak.

Cutest thing I've seen so far

I saw a black and white tail moving in front of the door. When I got to the door it was six baby skunks and momma skunk. The babies all kept close to mom but wanted to see what the world had to offer. They were so small even smaller then a young squirrel that mom would let run out of the nest. Seeing all my steps covered with little black and white bodies was one of the exciting moments of living here in the forest. They were scared off by the boys Big Buddy, Mr. B, and Stumpy my friendly deer that visit most every day. Since they seem to like the dark I'm thinking that they will be back later. As far as I could tell they ran under my tool shed. Don't know if they are living there but if they are that makes working in the shed a little tricky. Going to have to walk lightly. Still This has to be one of the high light of  living here like when I saw the family of raccoons come through.

Don't scare a skunk

Well, my Big Buddy and Stumpy was outside having a snack when I decided I'll give them a little more to eat. Soon as I opened the door the skunk started freaking out. I think it was because there were two skunks out the one the porch and one next to the planter, a half oak barrel. Scaring the skunk on the porch got him running to hide but he came in contact with the other skunk. An invasion of food territory. Well, the little guys started screaming and the next thing I knew there was this distinct odor. Not bad as skunks go but one of them did go. Funny how living in the forest and how you get used to odors like skunks. The screaming chased off the deer. Well they all will be back some time over though the night.

 

I got some pictures of the one skunk at sunset. It was the big tailed skunk. Usually the skunks never fight or if they see me they just run off. Then again, the first year I was here there was a cat that wanted to mate with the skunk but the skunk didn't want any part of it.

 

Can't believe the traffic going to Tahoe. There must have been three miles of traffic backed up just coming into Placerville. Yes the fruit cakes are on the road. Why is it on a holiday people just think they can do anything. Driving at unbelievable speeds on the roads. Yesterday a car changed lanes into a motorcycle. The motorcycle crashed into the center divider and killed the driver. Lot of one car accidents too. Those always amaze me why one car would just flip over or run off the road.

Singing in the Rain

Nothing like the deer making fun of you


I'm singing in the rain...


Last night was great with the almost full moon. The light came through the sky light and window and I could make out the trees almost like day light. Went to bed early did to much yesterday. It's always that way, do to much and take two or three days to recover. Some times it might even take months to recover if I do one minor movement wrong. Terrible getting old when your mind still fells so young.

The last couple days have been sunny and warm. Sure beats the rainy days but it's all a part of life so you just need to get dressed up and experience the weather. If you don't it's like only experiencing part of life.

Haven't seen so many quail here before. They are doing real good this year. The turkeys and squirrels are having a great time too. What I get a real kick out of is the Black headed grosbeaks.

Well, better fill the seed bags for the finch's and get ready to go to the doctors office.

Rain and Wet Skunks

Sprinkled all day and was dark out. Couldn't get moving since it was so gray out just wanted to sleep or at least stay under the covers. It's pouring tonight and I have two wet skunks on the porch. It's worse then a wet dog their hair gets all matted down and not the usual standing up. Feeling sorry for the little guys I put a bag of microwave popcorn out for them. They just love popcorn, don't know if it's the grease on the corn or what. They go at it like jocks eating steaks without their hands. The popcorn is to big for their mouth so they have to chew it to smaller pieces. It's almost like they are attacking the popcorn they way they hop around. Their bodies remind me of a miniature bears. There's a woman back east that sells de-gland skunks and says they make great pets. I'm not one to keep any animal a prisoner for my enjoyment. People that own pets do just that own like they used to own people a 150 years ago. I don't agree with hunters because of their mind set. It the adrenalin rush of chasing and killing something that can't fight back. I guess they might be the same ones that keep their wives in place and own dogs and children and other living things. It might be fun to hunt the hunters with tranquilizer darts. Tie them to the front of your grill as you drive your trophy home. Could you imagine the reaction of a hunter waking up tied to the front of a car on the freeway. Seems like it would be a fair game, a catch and release program. Sneaking up on the sneakers.

"Stay the Course" of at least 50 grit

Nature these last few years we have come up with some new quotes by the administration and the war. "Stay the course," and "Mission Accomplished are two of the most recognizable. What is bad is they are becoming common place words that don't mean much. "Stay the Course," seems to mean, we are going to cut off our noses despite our faces no matter how wrong we are. The Republican agenda is some thing not what's good for the country but what's good for a few of the top 1% of the rich. Going into Iraq was like kicking a dog while he was down, there was no weapons of mass destruction or WMD as we now use it as slang. Mission Accomplisished means we go the oil and you don't. Even Greenspan is using "Stay the Course" for the economy even though it's been going down hill since Bush took office. The Russian President was right when he said you call yourself democratic when a court appoints the president. We don't know how much graft there was in the second Bush election because there wasn't a paper trail and it seems like pulling teeth to get a paper trail. The Republicans didn't want a paper trail because they didn't want to loose. It's to bad that the today's Republicans have the I.Q. of hand balls in the way they voted. If the Republicans would have said that there agenda is to break the unions and make most of the people of the united stated live below the poverty line similar to how it was in the 1800's. Where the company used you until you died. Now with United Airlines passing off their pension plan to the government it's going to be a rush by the other corporations to follow to stay competitive at the cost of the tax payers and at the expense of the pensioners. Out of the five years Bush has been in office we haven't met the need of jobs per month. Which was 350,000 new jobs per month. Inflation is another one of my beefs. When inflation is higher then what you get back from your savings your a looser. The numbers might say your making money because of the interest but when you take in the fact the negative part of inflation your going backwards. When Bush say's he wants to support the troops and then cuts their pay, medical services, close down the VA hospitals. It's so amazing how misinformed the American people are worried more about gay marriage then the security of the country or the solvency of social security. If the people would have known that Bush was going to cut their social security I don't think Bush would be president or the puppet of the corporate world. United Airlines is a dead dog and should start be dismantled selling off the planes and terminals to pay for the pensions of it's workers. The no child left behind should be no rich child left behind. The clean air act is how to confuse people to make more money while people choke down more chemicals. They blame smokers for lung cancer but it's more the environment that is killing you.

More Rian

Rained yesterday and all night. So far today it's just overcast. The squirrels must know something that the weather service doesn't because they are eating like it's going to rain for several days where they won't be able to gather food for days. Then again the squirrels are like dogs in a way, you can feed them to they explode. I should give them more credit then that because they do eat seeds then go off and eat greens. Same with the turkeys, they don't just eat grain but bugs and greens. My lawn is growing to fast for them to keep it trimmed down. Most of the time it's well manicured.

 

I sat outside with the squirrels while they came up on the porch a few feet from me. It still amazes me the variety of the squirrels, in that they are all gray squirrels but each one is just a little different. From the shape of their nose to their eye brows. There colors very widely from light colored to a dark gray. The younger ones are like puppies with a more fuzzy body hair. They have longer black hairs which seems to make up their color. Take out their black hairs and you'd have white squirrels.

 

The suns out again for a few minutes. The pigeons are hanging out in the trees waiting for the squirrels to leave. The turkeys are the only one that get close to the squirrels while eating. A siren went off some where in town and the squirrels scrambled to the trees. The turkeys started gobbling every time the siren whined.

 

Well better get ready to go to the doctors. Seems when I step outside there is always something to do. Just one more thing, always just one more thing.

Jumping Squirrels

I slept in today when I was a woken by a squirrel. He was running into and up the door just past the window. I've heard the little guys scratch on the door to get my attention but this was a first. I have to tell you I'm always amazed at something here.

 

Today was a good day for turkey watching too. This one male is so shy. He still thinks he's small like his sisters which were all here too. Was a good day for deer watching too. Friend sat with me for an hour or so. Bullwinkle a young deer about two years old has a well developing rack. You can see he's young by his narrow body and nose. They are have little things you can notice to tell how old they are or how's in charge. Like Big Buddy is the one to watch out for the rest of the group. The quail are some what the same. One of the males will be up high while the rest will be looking for food, always in pairs. I like seeing the pairs of doves walking together. I know they do greave if their mate dies because I've seen that when I was down south. They will go around just like the other one is there so I felt it was like a period of sadness for the bird.

 

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Want to hear something scary? I seen one of our elected Republicans using Michael Crittians new novel as fact about global warming. Yes that's "right" using a science fiction novel as truth. This goes along with the same people that bring you "Creationism" and Intelligent Design." This country is going backwards as far as intelligence is going. Why are the jobs going over seas? It's because we have people that read a sci-fi book and take it as fact. The worst thing about that is here's someone in a highly elected position preaching how sci-fi book is for real. Makes you wonder if the people that take the Bible word for word, totally out of contacts because they only read one line at a time as fact instead of science. When the founding fathers used the word "God" in the language at the time it was a group of people called free thinkers. They believed that there was some one that gave the universe a push and that was about that.

 

The matter in Kansas that is going on is a bunch of morons trying to get the bible in the science classes. What's real sick is that they will most likely win and we are going to have a generation of idiots. Smiling and blessing you without a clue voting for the republicans because someone told them to. Just like the past two elections with it's wedge issues..

 

Hearing the nominee of Bush's from Texas the woman who thinks that raping the earth is just fine. When it comes to the earth and making money there must be defective genes in republicans to think they can destroy the earth and still be able to live on it. I don't know if it's that they are waiting for some sort of scientist to fix it all. Come up with some sort of cleaner called "Nuke Away." When the air becomes more deadly then smoking cigarettes like in Los Angeles rush hour traffic. From a study I heard some years ago, they said, "driving in rush hour traffic is like smoking 4 packs a day." The cover up of using diesel fuel and how much it pollutes has been covered up for so many years by the trucking and truck manufactures.

 

What is this world coming to? A bunch of apathetic people that don't care about anything but their own back yard. 

Watching a squirrel make a nest.

I don't see this to often but when I do it's real neat. Theirs a squirrel stripping bark from a cut down apple tree. As she pulls of long strips and hold them in her mouth she stops and reworks the pieces turning thing into long stringy parts to the nest. I've seen them also cutting fine blades of grass sorting them all out to 1 1/2 inches long. The strips she's cutting today look like they are around six to eight inches.

 

Since it looks like it's going to rain again, it throws off the critters timing. When the clouds come over they think it's getting dark and need to eat for the evening. When the sun comes out it's time to play.

 

Well, the clouds are really coming in now. It's a real dark gray sky and it doesn't look like it's going to be a outdoor day. I wanted to do some weed eating but that looks like it's going to have to be put off. Same with the foundation fix, the ground is to wet and muddy. It's only in the 50's today. I noticed that there is a lot of cherries on the ground because of the rain. It's been too windy for the fruit to stay on the branches. If things keep going like they are there won't be any fruit this year.

 

The turkeys are walking down the road thinking it's going to get dark soon. I've been able to gauge what time it is by watching the wild life and where they are moving during the day. Right now it looks like it would be around 7:30 PM on a normal day. Some times I like dressing up nice and warm and getting outside. Being cold is okay but cold and wet is another. There was a day when it didn't matter to me but getting old and slow moving makes staying inside seems the thing to do.

 

It's turning into a feeding frenzy for the smaller birds. The jays and pigeons and out in force. When I see them eating like there's no tomorrow then I know that the rain will be here soon and maybe for a long time. They say it's going to be in the 80's later this week but you couldn't tell that from the way it looks now. I'd be taking pictures but there is not enough light even using 800 ASA film.

 

Looking out the window I can see things are getting wet. No down pour, yet. This winter has thrown a lot of curves. Hot where you can be out in shorts then rain then hot again. Some of the weeds are almost full grown while others have just started. Well better check the NOAA website and see what's going to happen. Yesterday they had tornado warnings out and had some funnel clouds. I missed most of that real bad weather mainly because it went around me.

All weather all the time

Dark, rainy and want to sleep but I had to go down the hill to the doctors. What a journey this was. Rain, hail , fire brimstone, funnel clouds. There was a brief period that it wasn't raining but for the most part it rained. Saw a couple cars on the side of the road that smacked into each other. One was on the side of the hill going the wrong way. Right at that time was when I hit a squall line so I guess they got caught off guard and smacked into each other. Like the rain hit and one bone head slammed on the breaks forgetting people were behind them.

Hand has lost it's numbness after the cortisone shot. I feel the cortisone part as a stiffness but the lidocaine wore off. It'll be a couple days before I start having better hand function.
__________________________________________________________________

Back at home.
The deer stopped by. Big Buddy, Stumpy and one guy last year was big buck on campus and now has a limp and Marty Feldman eyes. I thought he was going to die he was in such bad shape. One of his eyes last year was closed and his antler were knocked off. It looked like he dislocated his front left leg but it's seem to heal sort of well. Still he has a limp. Don't think he's going to be that same scrappy young thing he was last year.

It's nice having it stay light so late but today it just was one of those days. It just had a red dark fade to night.

24
Only two more episodes left. What city will get blown up! Let see the little places I used to see around Los Angeles that are suppose to be else where. Still, the series has a lot of great tension. The best way to see 24 is to rent the whole series and watch them all at one time. You don't even want to pause the DVD play to take a pee.

Good day for the critters

Sort of sunny today. Some high cloads so the sun comes out in spots. Had five deer here a few minutes ago. Have six squirrels outside right now chowing down. I guess it's going to rain again because every one is eating early. Usually this part of the day every one is kicking back in the trees and don't come back out until 3 PM. Grampa Tommy and one of his young hens are outside too. Since the turkeys have all mated they are out nesting. The only hens are one year old and daddy bird is watching the youngsters. It so cute to see the young squirrels. They like doing squirrel things to make them into a strong squirrels. They play chase and bounce off trees. The grosbeaks are becoming more visable. guess it's because there is more of them. The young squirrels are so small you could put one in your hand. I can get close to them but not that close. Everything here is wild and I bilieve that it's because of trust that I can get as close as I do to them. Well, done with my coffee and watching, better hop in the shower and get out and do something before it rains.

Rainy day but the little critters are out.

New "Life" in spring.


A great looking flower with some great detail.


Lazy day and a little hen getting some rays.


Big Buddy stealing the birds food. He lost a lot of weight since the rut and he's growing new antler.

Last night I had a bunch of deer eating in the field. There was Big Buddy, Stumpy fellow, Friend, Mom Girl and the two babies which are one year old now.

There are a lot of quail and grosbeak out today. My favorite little bird is the nuthatch but the little guys won't sit still to get the picture taken.

You can tell you have a healthy forest by the amount of birds you see. At least that's what I'm gauging my forest by.

I saw Mr. Stinkers last night. I didn't see him come on the porch but I did hear him pushing things around.

I see evidence of the bobcat coming around but I haven't seen him in a few month.

With all the rain we have been getting everything is growing so fine. Going to have a lot of fruit and berries. I think I picked up a little poison oak but it's not bad yet. It's just that I've got the scratches all over. I think what happened was the oil from the poison oak soaked through my sweaty cloths. Well it's sprinkling again and all the little critters ran off for shelter.

When I hear that Kansas is having talks on intelligent design and no science people are there to debate it, it shows me that the country is going backwards as far as science goes. Without people going into the science industries we are just making a country of burger flippers. It's one thing to have faith but to make that faith the law of the land is like Islamic countries making it the law of the land. That's why we went to war in Iraq and won't let them have an Islamic government. So why does Bush keep pushing the Religious Right as the Germany did before WWII? Unless this is a ploy to do the same thing that Adolph wanted to do in making it a "Christian" country. But no one learns from history these days. Hell, you don't even know what you did last week. To ask you what you did last year would be a pipe dream.

Getting ready to rain

Have all my toy put away and ready for the rain. Did some more forest cleaning today used the chain saw like crazy. Well, here comes the quail. They're here early. Then again every one ate early getting ready for the rain. It looks like it's going to rain 3 or for days then a one day break and rain another 4 days. Looks like inside work for me. As it is right now I'm still drying out from my forest fun. Been dragging a lot of trimmings that the power company has left be hind after there trimming. Makes a lot of sense to put a pile of dried wood under the power line so if one breaks and drops to the ground it could start a good fire. The bad thing about them trimming trees is they don't know how to. They cut the top of a pine tree off then it turns into six or eight trees growing up. Not to mention the branches they leave hanging in other trees as they fall. To avoid any clean up work the push the branches under other bushes. If it's one thing I learned in life, short cuts will come back to make problems. Last year when I complained to the tree service the power company uses they said they don't have to clean up in a forest but it was my back yard so I don't get it. Last year they started a very large fire in the county and it was totally out of control. Highway 50 was closed. Then it rained which put out the fire but also caused a land slide. I just wonder how many people have no idea they are sitting on time bombs.

Long day

It's been a long day of tree trimming. The good part of the day was watching the birds and squirrel. I never get tired of watching them. Saw two grosbeak today. Friend showed up, a young Stumpy Fella's son. Never thought I'd be naming all the deer but when you can tell them all apart and see how they all act it make them rather special. Trimming the forest of the dead wood to make it look like a fire has cleaned it out is a job. I did that on the south end of the property over three years and it's growing great. Now to the north end where the poison oak bushes are as big as trees. Took a few picture with my 500 mm lens with the Pentax, they came out rather well. Using the Canon they didn't. Not sure why that was, the Canon always worked well. Think it has something to do with no f stop. Thing is I had a Phoenix lens with no f stop and it work well. Maybe the shutter is hanging up. I don't use it enough. Although it will work with a 200 mm zoom lens with f stops. The Pentax I can control that problem. Think I'll be getting a lot of pictures this year. I've been slacking off the past year. Funny, a few years ago I was shooting 12 to 24 rolls a week.

Well, had a nice sit down with my Big Buddy. We both heard a noise of towards the creek then Mr. Stinkers popped up on the road. I see he's wandering up this way and will be here when it's a little more quiet. I know Buddy will run off as soon as he sees Mr. Stinkers. Later this summer I'll keep trying to get close to the little guy. Last year I was laying in the door way and he came right up to may face. Skunks got a bad rap. Then have such a nice coat of fur, it's just amazing. I hope to see some raccoons this year. The first year there was mom dad and the four babies. The deer didn't know what to think of then and the babies didn't know what to make of the raccoons. The deer did try to give them a sniff.

Have my coils almost finished to do my low frequency studies of the magnetic field of the earth. I'm sure I could read more on it but there is some new facts happening to the earth magnetic field. Could we be instore for a polarity shift? Again? From what I've read in college it looks like they happen over a 100 year cycle. So looking a Polaris might be the south pole. What they didn't say about polar shifts is does the planet turn over. That would be a real drag. But it could happen to keep order to the solar system. The suns pole has been constant as far as we know. I still look at it as our planet if like a spark from a welder that is cooling off with the hottest parts keeping it moving until it's cold like mars.

First grosbeak today

Saw my first grosbeak today. Got out the 500mm but he was gone by then.

Big Buddy and Friend came by and had dinner. I sat outside with them till they left. I don't think many people can say they can walk around with wild deer. When I bump into them in the thick forest and they can't see me, I give them my whistle and then they stop running because they know it's me, their friend.

I gave a whistle this morning and five young squirrels came running down with mom. They knew I had place sunflower seeds out.

The pigeons are coming back. They are good looking birds and they are wild but they are destroying my paint job on my car.

Having a good herd of quail this year too.

Saw the Jack Rabbit the other day. What a great looting creature. I was folding socks and I think it saw me move and took off running. It was just a few feet from my telescope and that was about 30 feet from my bed.

Rainy day and everything is so green outside

Nice and warm inside but cool and wet outside. It really came down last night. I saw a flash of light and started counting, one, almost two, bang. It was really close. I was waiting for hale but it was just water. My burn pile went out and smoldered like a camp ground trash fire, with it's camp ground odors.

Flying

Started raining about midnight lastnight. The wind was wiping though here at a unbelieveable speed. I thought it was going to rip some of the trees out. The oak tree in the front yard was moving inches which I never seen before because it was close to the base of the tree.

That flying of the ladder number I did last week has still slowed me down. You don't get to fly 10 feet into the ground and feel good over night. This sleeping is getting to be excesive. The pollen is doing a number on my too. The runny wet eyes and wet nose make me feel some what dinged out. Well the pollen from the Walnut tree is almost over.

Think I'll take advantage of the cold spell and do some work in the attic. Need to get my alarm in, put some foil on the roof to reflect the heat. Need to work on the venting too. The fan works but when the vent closes the air can't get out. Then there is the problem of no screen on that vent.

Well it llooks like it's going to be an early night tonight. Just haven't been able to wake up all day. Must be the rain and dark day.  Maybe it will be better tomorrow, maybe see some sun. I've always been one to be a sun peson. If I'm in the sun durring the day then I like to or able to stay up at night.

Histroy Repeating It's Self

Been a not so long time for me to be a grumpy old man at history.

I've been watching the BBC series on "The Wars of Britain."

Looking at what the English have done over the years have to be worse things then the, Roman's, Napoleon his French Army, Bo-Park, The Japaness,

Gengous Con

 

Cheaters always prosper.
and good guys always finish last.

 

 

Flying

Started raining about midnight lastnight. The wind was wiping though here at a unbelieveable speed. I thought it was going to rip some of the trees out. The oak tree in the front yard was moving inches which I never seen before because it was close to the base of the tree.

That flying of the ladder number I did last week has still slowed me down. You don't get to fly 10 feet into the ground and feel good over night. This sleeping is getting to be excesive. The pollen is doing a number on my too. The runny wet eyes and wet nose make me feel some what dinged out. Well the pollen from the Walnut tree is almost over.

Think I'll take advantage of the cold spell and do some work in the attic. Need to get my alarm in, put some foil on the roof to reflect the heat. Need to work on the venting too. The fan works but when the vent closes the air can't get out. Then there is the problem of no screen on that vent.

Well it llooks like it's going to be an early night tonight. Just haven't been able to wake up all day. Must be the rain and dark day.  Maybe it will be better tomorrow, maybe see some sun. I've always been one to be a sun peson. If I'm in the sun durring the day then I like to or able to stay up at night.

AOL

I guess you get what you pay for. Since it's free I guess that why is doesn't work. The 45 day of free service won't work until they start reaming you with a high bill. I bet this post won't even get to my blog. To bad, I feel sorry that people don't know they could get the came service or more for less then $10 per month.

Still trying to get AOL to work on my computer, it's been 4 days so far to try this out.

AOL Hell, You get what you pay for, iff it's free you don't get much

I guess you get what you pay for. Since it's free I guess that why is doesn't work. The 45 day of free service won't work until they start reaming you with a high bill. I bet this post won't even get to my blog. To bad, I feel sorry that people don't know they could get the came service or more for less then $10 per month.

Saturday, rainny day blues

Started raining about midnight lastnight. The wind was wiping though here at a unbelieveable speed. I thought it was going to rip some of the trees out. The oak tree in the front yard was moving inches which I never seen before because it was close to the base of the tree.

That flying of the ladder number I did last week has still slowed me down. You don't get to fly 10 feet into the ground and feel good over night. This sleeping is getting to be excesive. The pollen is doing a number on my too. The runny wet eyes and wet nose make me feel some what dinged out. Well the pollen from the Walnut tree is almost over.

Think I'll take advantage of the cold spell and do some work in the attic. Need to get my alarm in, put some foil on the roof to reflect the heat. Need to work on the venting too. The fan works but when the vent closes the air can't get out. Then there is the problem of no screen on that vent.

Well it llooks like it's going to be an early night tonight. Just haven't been able to wake up all day. Must be the rain and dark day.  Maybe it will be better tomorrow, maybe see some sun. I've always been one to be a sun peson. If I'm in the sun durring the day then I like to or able to stay up at night.

How do you know when you live in a big city?

Twenty some years ago I was working in Los Angeles, that when I noticed the rush hour sirens. Every afternoon about 3 PM the sirens started. At first I was like a moth to a flame running outside to see what was going on. My older brother ask, "What are you doing, it's only a siren." I could get over the amount of sirens every day. Living in Orange County I didn't hear the sirens like that every day. It wasn't until a few years later then I started to notice the sirens about 3 PM every day. It was slow in coming but it came as the county developed and more traffic.

Moving to the mountains and in a small town, I noticed the same thing, the 3 PM sirens. People coming from down the hill coming home a break neck speed rushing through traffic like it was some sort of race course. Every day there is the "they stopped and the others couldn't." Then there is the one car roll-over's or one car crashes. Going to fast for a turn, listening to the radio and changing the channel or talking on the phone and forgetting your on the road. I can't see how some one can be on the phone, driving and shift the transmission. Some how that doesn't make sense at all.

All in all, you know that the city is getting to big when you start hearing the 3 PM sirens.
______________________________________________________________

Quail are up side. They look so cool running around in pairs. Turkeys are on the fence picking feathers. I went down the road with the weed eater today. The birds love it. I can see them scratching through the cuttings.

I put some dried cherries on the porch today and the squirrels found them. There's only little scrapes left when I checked where I put them.

Well, time to kick back and take off my boots. I'm glad I took the time to clean up my old boots. If you take care of boots they can last a long time if you buy good boots. These are, my old good old climbing boots made by Lowa in Germany. I haven't seen any boots like this in any stores these days. I paid $225 dollars in 1972. I wonder how much they would cost today. Funny thing, these are 5 pounds each and these aren't my heavy boot. The other boot, my High elevation boots are two boots in one. You put on the first boot which you can use to walk around camp and stuff. Then you put on the other boot over the top. Lowa made a pair like that to go to the top of K2 and Everest. These are Swiss made for there Army. How about that, Swiss Army Boots.

Evening time to fade away

Nice sight, four quail feeding until dark. I was rather supprised to see them out so late. That must mean they live or are staying real close tonight. I didn't hear them fly away so I guess they walked home.

Rather productive day, even if I was limping around. I know I did well today, my body hurts, just a little more then normal. Still need to clip that screw off one of the squirrels houses. At least I got the ladders there to use tomorrow. Antenna is finally finished and working good. Still might try putting an amp right at the antenna but might have to pad it at the house. For living in the forest with the trees blocking the signal, its working rather well. I can get the San Francisco stations now, no great but I can get them.

Squirrels went crazy today. They got under the house and were fighting down there. At first I thought it was the Bobcat chewing one of the little guys. It turned out a young male wanted to mate and wasn't taking no for an answer. I think there was two males fight for this one female but not sure. I did see this one squirrel running down the road to it's nest but not before I noticed that it's eyes looked chewed out. It might look worse then it really is because there was a lot of dirt on it's face. I know the oak tree that the little guy lives in so I'll check on him tomorrow. Since my first year here when I noticed the minor patterns that they have in their faces, now I can tell which family groups they are from a far.

Had a visit from my Big Buddy around noon today. I was wondering what he's been up to. I see his antler are coming in and the skin is bleeding on the right side. That causes flies to get on their face and go for the blood. If only I could wash them down the flies wouldn't bother them. Later in the summer when their coats are thin, the flies take bites out of them. If you ever just see a deer standing there and all the sudden take off running it's either a fly, bee or wasp landing on them. Two years ago, Mr. Fuzzy antlers had a wasp sitting on his nose. The deer didn't move a muscle until the wasp flew off. Then again, while foraging with Mr Fuzzy Antlers he just bolted and ran down to the creek jumping and bucking all the way. So I can only guess it was a big bug on him.

Speaking of big bugs, I was one land on the screen while typing away one night. It was at least 3 inches long. The antenna were a couple inches too. I should have took a picture and tried to capture it but instead I flicked it with my finger. Took a couple of flicks to knock it off the screen.

Well, better see how the sauce is doing. Doing "SPAG" tonight. To lazy after today. Foots throbbing, back is stiff and I'm starting to slouch, neck is going out too. Guess it's going to be a night with PBS and the Nova programs.

Will my copy of "Apple Quicktime" ever stop asking me if I want to update?

Word of advice....

Always leave enough food outside for the critters. If they know your home and didn't come out, they become revengeful. They start chewing on anything and everything like Kenwood speaker grills you have on the porch. Didn't matter there wasn't any food value it was my value to them that the squirrels attacked.

I had a squirrel a couple years ago take a brass water fixture up the tree and drop it when he was over me from some 100 feet up. As I went for the nozzle, then I was attacked by red ants where the squirrel dropped the nozzle.

I also had them run off with one glove and then hide it from me. Drove me crazy looking for it


Still trying to recover from the fall the other day. Been sleeping a lot and not moving to fast. I feel like I've been in an auto accident. Have to keep reminding myself, I'm not a kid, I'm not indestructible, and what I see on TV I can't do. (Ha-Ha)

Lower left quadrant is still hurting and been having the skidders since I fell.

It Not Facsism if you do it right.

Fascism \ Fash-iz-em \ n 1: often cap: the body of principles held by Fascisti  2: a political philosophy, movement or regime that exalts nation and race and stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition.

 

When You hear the bush-it that come out of the republicans, I wish the news services would use profilers to tell who is telling the truth or lying. Maybe use stress meters to see the lies. I notice that the republicans tend to be very animated when it comes to head movement.

 

I had a friend that every time he was lying he would tip his head. In watching the cop shows, they say looking up and you are making it up and looking down and your lying. If you turn your head diagonally to keep your eyes looking forward isn't that the same as looking down?

 

UNITED STATES of AMERICAN, Inc.

 

Today they call it reform but it's reform so the rich get richer and the poor and middle class eat it. As Mrs. Helmsly once said, "Rich people don't pay taxes,"  and the republicans are working to make that happen too.  They did away with inheritance taxes which would have been only paid by the top three percent.  In the bankruptcy laws they made it easier for the rich to claim bankruptcy and hide there money but the poor need to pay back every last dime. Next they will be asking for their first born sons, oh they are and they send them off to war. A war for oil. To make the rich richer and the poor without sons.

 

---

 

Darn bi-focals, took a step off a latter today and ended up on the ground. It looked like it was a just a step down and turned out to be about six feet. I ended up on the road laying they stunned. I don't know if I was knocked out but I was stunned. I'm still feeling stunned and the pain is coming. It felt like a shock wave ran up to my brain. My hip hurts and back isn't doing the best. I was hungry before that but not anymore. I feel sort of tipsy like I've been drinking. To bad I stopped that 20 years ago. My left wrist is cramped up from trying to break my fall. My right wrist is cramping. Think I'll lay back on the heating pad. Took a hot shower and that felt real good. I don't know why my lower abdominal area is hurting too but it does. Doesn't look like I'll be doing to much tonight. I wanted to paint the trim on the bedroom door but it can wait. I have the door just about done. That's going to be an expensive door when I finish fixing it. It might have been cheaper to buy a new door. The door should look good with the burlap on it.

 

---

 

Pinheads send the flu to the labs in 18 countries. It only took 6 months to figure out it was a real dangerous. They said they are documenting the destruction of the flu vials but can't guaranty it. 

 

---

Regards,
Bob

 

Air, you can't live with out it.
Out at Bob's
http://www.bigbirds.home-page.org
http://outatbobs.blogspot.com

What a good day to be a live until I ran out of gas.
Gas can $10 bucks, gas $5 bucks.

Went to church today, what a first in a while. As in the song I once heard, does a ritual make it right. They were talking about "The Hunt." What I saw there was real Hollywood. Selling Jesus as a commodity. A good show but what it make me think of is the physics of the universe. I think Jesus was an understanding person. Far to all and placed blame where it was needed. Then a movement saw it could be used to make money. First knocking off the trimming of the males for a little cash. Then it was Jewish light in diet. Give some more money and you can eat what ever you want to. Now it's lights camera action and the show is on.

The tid bits of the Bible and the way it's used is like saying Newton said, an apple fell there fore it must be fruit. And since it's fruit it has to be sweet fruit. It must be a color we all like too but with out an observation it a good fruit. That's a good deduction isn't it?

I keep looking at String theory and my idea of what I'd like to think it's more descriptive of it that is nodes. Interference patterns like a hologram. It's a matter of just knowing where the big bang started and where we are in relationship to where we are now. Everything we see is from the past. We need to find a way of projecting the way things are now in the universe.

Google Looking at me

What about data mining?

I was just think, again, that the "Patriot Act" where as the government gets to check out our reading habits at the library, is more then just that or could be. We know how credit card companies use our buying habits to predict what your going to buy next. Even what food you like and car you drive and want to drive. Where you want to go on vacation. Did you ever think what OnStar does for the government? It's like LowJack keeping track of you and your car. What about that cell-phone? A little GPS sending unit that keeps track of your where "abouts" going from cell site to site. As they used to say, close enough for horse shoes and hand grenades. Now the government is using data miners to predict your habits too. Is he a terrorist or could he be one. What's he reading on the web? What politics do they want to hear. What will they believe. It's a media circus and the G-Men are pulling the strings. They sold us a war and blamed it totally on the people that were suppose to know what's going on in the world. When they called it a rush to war, it was because if we hung out to long we would find out the truth and then no war. Right now the government is fighting the VoIP companies becasue the signals are encrypted. You can do that with your e-mail but like anything it can be cracked.

 

Tom Delay said it was ten year in the works but in Mike Moore's movie it's evident that no one read the bill that they were signing. I guess you can compare it to the credit card companies telling you 0% interest, then the fine print says for 6 month. Then after that the annual interest will go up to 18 percent. Then more fine print, if you screw up in any other part of your finance your rate will jump to the max of 25% annually. They used to call people like loan sharks but that was when life was still the American Dream and you could have one.

Good morrning "Critters"

Event one's here, well not everyone Bug Buddy and four of his friends. The boy's really didn't hold back from me today. Big Buddy was always in the front of the pack. One of the guys which I should call him "Mister Magoo Eyes" because of the loose skin around his eyes. You really can see the emotions of the deer when he looks around. They all have little buds starting on their heads. Wish I could find out where they drop all their antlers. They still have their winter coats but that should thin soon. One of the turkeys was trying to protect the pile of grain I tossed but that didn't keep that long.

 

Have one hungry squirrel on the porch already. No hens yet.

 

The Republicans keep saying the Demarcates need to put a fix on the table but it just shows that the Republicans have nothing going on. The Republicans are a bunch of whinny name callers and that is getting old. Bush keeps telling people to invest in stocks and bonds but what if they are all junk bonds like what went down during the first Bush administration. That's when they Wall Street walked off with 7 trillion dollars. Sure they were fined but it was only $1.2 billion dollars which just shows you how insecure the stock market is and how much you can loose.

 

Bush wants to give us a "New Deal" it's "kiss your ass good bye deal."  If I didn't know better, it looks like he's trying to make the world so unstable so the rich can pick up the pieces after the worlds economy collapses. He got his drilling in Alaska, He's still working on drilling in the "Rocky's." Why aren't they going for the oil off Florida, because Jeb says no, no he want' Jeb to look good enough to run for President then they will start drilling there. If you ask me, Bush wants to send everyone into poverty for low wage workers. It's not about just the old but there is a lot of people collecting because they became disabled or parents have died. If anything we need to cut the retirement founds going to Congress and the Senate. For every one congress person, you could take care of a 100 people. Congress people are generally rich people anyway so why do they need to take such a cut of the taxes.

What a great day.

Foot is killing me but I did get a few things done around here.

Had my big boots on the Lowas.

 

Turkeys hung out most of the day until dusk.

It's fun watching the birds but I found a dead robin.

I think he died of the cold.

Don't know if it might be something else like some virus.

 

Worked on a couple antennas.

One for the alarm and the other for the TV.

That beam should make things come in a lot better.

 

The little squirrels can't stop eating.

One day one of them will explode from eating to much.

 

Haven't seen any deer in the last couple days.

Bobcat was here last night for the turkey and chicken bones.

That could have kept them away but I have noticed when the weather is bad they come around.

 

All and all the day was rather warm and sunny.

Hope tomorrow is as good.

Maybe I'll hang the TV antenna.

 

Right now, getting tired and need to eat.

Then maybe sleep or watch a movie.

Nothing on the Tube but junk so I might put in a DVD.

Marburg Spreads in Angola as Death Toll Hits 174

By Stephanie Nebehay
GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Health Organization (WHO) Friday called for stepping up measures in Angola to halt the further spread of the deadly Marburg virus, which has killed 174 people mainly in the north of the country.

The United Nations agency said a first case of the incurable disease had been found in Kuanza Sul, the sixth province in the northwest to be hit, while a suspect death was also under investigation in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo.

There was an unusually high death rate among the 200 cases identified since October, mainly in the northern town of Uige, with an overwhelming number of initial cases striking children under 5 years old, the WHO said in a statement.

"The situation right now in Angola is not under control yet...This is still a health crisis at the national level and requires a profound commitment both from national authorities and the international community in order to contain this disease," Mike Ryan, director of WHO's alert and response operations, told a news briefing.

Some 50 international experts have been deployed in Angola, where 27 years of civil war have left weakened health systems and staff untrained for coping with a major epidemic, he said.

By isolating victims and tracing their contacts, officials were "breaking the chain of transmission" in Uige, he said.

Two deaths have been confirmed from Marburg in Luanda, a teeming capital of 4 million people, where six more cases are being investigated, Ryan said.

There was no evidence of transmission within Luanda, where the two deaths have been a 15-year-old boy and a nurse, he said.

But Ryan noted the densely populated city saw "movement and exchange of people between all areas of Angola," adding: "Therefore it is crucially important that the surveillance systems and isolation units have to be fully established in Luanda, both to maintain confidence in travel to Angola and also to protect that population. That is ongoing."

Separately, the United Nations issued an emergency appeal to donors for $3.5 million to combat the virus, one of the most virulent pathogens known, over the next three months.

The rare haemorrhagic fever, related to the deadly Ebola virus, is characterized by headaches, nausea, vomiting and bloody diarrhea. It is spread through close contact with bodily fluids including blood, saliva and semen.

The outbreak has surpassed the previous record of 123 deaths in a 1998-2000 epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The hospital itself in Uige, a town of 500,000, may have contributed to spreading the virus, according to Pierre Formenty, a WHO expert on haemorrhagic fevers.

"There is a possibility ... that the hospital served to infect children who came to be treated there. It is not confirmed, but it is a hypothesis," Formenty told reporters.

Twelve health care workers were among the total 200 cases.

Medical anthropologists were enlisting tribal leaders to inform the often illiterate population about the dangers of contracting the disease while caring for the sick or preparing bodies for burial, Formenty said.

"Our simple message is very clear: don't touch sick patients and don't touch bodies," he said.


04/08/05 09:52

© Copyright Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved. The information contained In this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of Reuters Ltd.

Still raining.....

Well, having a bad weather day, again. The sky is getting lighter but the storm is still moving this way at 10 miles per hour. From what I hear on the radio there is a tornado and severe storm warning until 6:50 PM.

Now that Terry and the Pope have past, what about that "Marburro Virus" in Angola? Just a passing threat or something to worry about. Well, it's in Africa and for the most part it's been hands off for the white countries. Let them run themselves into the ground and let the White's pick up the pieces when the worst is over, I guess. They say this virus is worse then the E-Bola virus. Wonder why it's not in the news?

Been going over some of my old notes and videos. Forgot so much over the years. For that much the world has forgot so much. It's day to day and hour to hour and not year to year, no long term planning. It's what's the price of gas today. "Oh, by the way, we are going to drill for oil in Alaska's wild life sanctuary."

I can hear the 2 meter hams coming up the hill complaining about the weather. Good thing I'm inside.

Going to cook a turkey tonight, not one of my buddies but a store bought one. 12 pounder. That should last me a couple weeks.

Been changing my front side bus clock and it seems to speed up the computer. Not sure if it's hurting anything. If I can I'll keep pushing it until it's not going to run any faster but stable. So far the front side bus clock is set at 142 and that works out to 284 and that pushes the system to 2.0 gigs plus as it says in easy inspection. Good thing I have lots of fans in the cabinet. Think I'll get off line and push it 2 more and see what happens. The worst is that it locks up and I have to rest the BIOS.

Lot of one car accidents out today. Morons racing home in the rain rolling over.

Why

Why isn't it working when I send a message to my blog site?

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WET Out

Yes it's raining again. Critters are outside getting a bite to eat. Some of the hens are walking up onto the porch but the squirrels chase them off. Sunflower seeds are everyone's favorite. I still see them eating corn and bugs. The bug patrol is when they are scratching the leaves and looking of the good juicy bugs.

 

Think the pentax battery is dead. Can't get the LCD to come up. Was trying the 500mm lens on it since something isn't working well with the Canon's. I'll figure it out but not right now, it's raining and I want to just lay down and stay warm. Such a nice green outside with the low soft light. I'd need a long exposure to get one of those. Maybe I'll try it with the 10 second countdown.

 

 

 

Bob

 

Out at Bob's
http://www.bigbirds.home-page.org
Nature, you can't live with out it.
http://outatbobs.blogspot.com

Didn't get to much rain last night. The thunder storm was a lot of bite and barking too. I broke my toe as I went to the door to see if there as a strike. The thunder and lightning happened at the same time so it was real close.

Have two ups units going, now. One will be just for the alarm system. The other one will drive the computers. It's just a matter of power distribution. Going to try to make something that would be more solar over the next year or so. The wind turbine with the pulse generation of power. Not to many people use this system since I seen it used on a BSA motorcycle.

This "March Madness" is a great marketing ploy. Myself, I can't see it. I liked playing sports growing up but I can't see sitting on the couch and getting fat.

Latest NOAA Pictures

Latest NOAA Pictures




Dream Speakers, again.


Been thinking of making the same speakers but using 10 inch speakers and miniturize the cabinets. Need to do the math to see how the back pressure works out. See if I can get things in phase.

Usually this works good with Foxfire but this time it looks better with IE.

Ohhh, my little toe.

The first lightning strike knocked me off the couch. I ran to the door and looked outside to see if a tree hit the house or if the lightning bold hit any trees. My right ear is still ringging. The lights went out and I could see the flash of the bolt. I tripped on a bunch of tool boxes that I'm going to take down to the tool shed. Well, those tool boxes stayed right there and my toe cracked into it. The power has gone off and back on a half dosen times so far. I have my laptop set up on the ups unit but I'm one the big computer right now. It looks like the cell has moved over us. The rain is still coming down on a 45 degree angle. There was another flash about a half second away. going to get off this computer befor I loose power or get hit. Need to check NOAA site for strikes.

Long day

Had to take a mid-day nap today. Put in the new spot light, light in the kitchen. Started that at 7 AM and finished around 11 AM. Had to take in my Saturday morning NPR Station.

Was thinking about Greene's 11 dimension string theory, which I like to call wave node theory, it's just a little cleaner that way the way things work out.

Been thinking of a way of setting up a multi-visual astronomy base here. Going from low frequency to light. If I could get the e-ray maps to fit to my system it would give you a good view of what's out there and what time it is. The question what time is it really? Speaking relative to the rest of out known universe. Based on the big bang and constant expandtion, there must be other "universe" out there too. It's just that we never over lapped or maybe we did and haven't seen them yet. They are to far in the past. It's to bad we can't make a computer model to place the universe as it is now, in real time. No lag time like the edge of the big bang. Some where in space there is a large shock wave traveling out there. Wonder if it's slowing and at what progression. We know the heat decay.

Rain is on the way, going to check NOAA before I get off here. Need to find out if I can do some of the concrete work to seal the one side of the foundation.

The apple tree that fell over last storm I propped up and it seems to be growing again. Thing I'll give it a vitamin fix tomorrow. I just hate working in pouring rain. And to think, there was a day I'd think anyone that couldn't drive a bike in a driving rain or snow storm was a woos. Must be getting old. Had to use bi-pods to set the tree right. Those days of muscling up a tree with out aids are over. Bi-pods, tri-pods, pullies and ropes and cables are the way to do it. It takes longer and I never thought I'd be applying physics this way instead of making tin cans land on a dime. Wonder how Robin's father is doing, he did do the equasions for the "Apollo" moon trips. Some thing cool to through on your resume.

The other Robin, Wonder if she still where's the ring I gave her. That was a love that just went wrong but we needed to grow. Wonder what would have happened if we would have gotten married. It would have been a real difffernet reality.

Great Observation

The little fuzzy thing I thought was an ugly cat turned out to be a Bobcat. Just a bit bigger then the house cat. Looked like it had a mind of it's own and was using it.

I hooked up my squirrel cam. Not to good at night but good at dusk settings. Going to set it's focus real close and put a pile of seeds in from of it see how many pictures I can get. Close-ups!

Wrist are still feeling funky after the two cortisone shot in them. I think they will feel better in a couple days.

Still working on my horizontal TV antenna.. Just doing a bit of beefing up and making it a bit stronger and more directional.

Happiness is a working calculator!

Bed room door is almost finished. Need to do some shaping and sanding. A little filling of the molding and screws.

Need to do some chain sawing after this last rain. Got 12 - 14 inches in a bucket which works out to 12 - 14 feet of snow up top.

Living here it's either wet, wet or dry, dry, dry weather. Prevention of water damage is very important. Also, dry wrought is an summer destroyer. It's amazing that anything is still standing here after 150 year. The stone work was don good. The Victorian houses did a good job of following good building practices. I've seen some wood work that is failing after just a few years. Craftmanship is something that is dying out.

Week in review

There was a few more jolts in the Indonesia area. I know a person there and she seem to give me a real and different take of what is going on when the earth shakes there. Speaking of the earth shaking, PBS just had a special on earthquakes in the cascade range. Which is a fault like the one that made the Andes where the Incas go. "Carve up a hill, for a ship to land in the Andes, PARK IT, PARK IT." Excuses me, couldn't resist Frank Zappa humor. Ha, they even named a rock after the place, "Andisite". Which is a rock that comes from a subduction zone, just like the subduction zone that runs along the North West coast. Did you catch the week in review? Bush says all life is precious and then signs a bill to drill in a "Wild Life Sanctuary." Sanctuary, isn't that like going to a church or being in a church? You seek "Sanctuary to be at peace or to run from danger. Mean while around the world 90 plus countries hate the United States and want to do everything they can to get rid of it. Now to tie this all together. Gas is up, thinking are down and the world can live with out us again. Yes it gave us another warning this week. Remember what happened to the world the last time Krakatoa past some gas. (1400's 1800's it blew ash around the world for 150 years the first time thus calling it the dark ages. In the 1800's the shock wave was heard around the would and dimmed the sun for two weeks. I'd like the two week version rather then the 150 years without sun light, make it hard for plants to grow.)

 

 

Bob

 

Air, you can't do with out it.
Nature Photography
http://www.bigbirds.home-page.org

 

Out at Bob's Blog Spot
http://outatbobs.blogspot.com/

 

Cheaters always prosper.
and good guys always finish last.

 

 

Stupid, Stupid, Stupid

I was taking some close up pictures of moss and flowers. What I forgot to rmember is to look what I'm laying in and on. I'm sure this is going to be a good case of posion oak. There are some bumps on the back of my neck and head that are killing me. I'll have to call the doctor tomorrow,

Well, no more flower pictures for a few days. The rain has started. I had to do some dirt moving the last few days. The rains really was coming down in the last storm, about 9 inches. I noticed a oil film coming down the hill from the east side. Also the rain gutters don't tip down hill. The water is leaking into the house from the south side and I just had the celler dried out.

Been getting a lot done here as far as the closet goes. I can put 10 more boxes of cloths in there.
Well, on coat hangers. Still have about six boxes to unpack. I need a 1x12x5 feet for the shelf. I used a couple of thos parts of the closet orginizer. Going to put some more shelves in the second bed room. Need to do some thing about the closet in that room.

Well, well, Jordan's on so it's getting close to bed time.

What a week!

What happened to the past week, as a mater of fact what happened to the past two or three weeks, I let my computer set the time "Automatically": but it doesn't seem to work since I re installed everything getting rid of those pesky programs, My hibernate doesn't work. I need to figure out this modem sharing.

 

Well, Easter tomorrow, guess I'll do some painting. The pains are still going on the right side of me. Still I think this has something to do with my knee.

 

Working one a hybrid antenna into a super TV antenna. Two Verticals, one high gain horizontal beam. Some of the channels are coming in better but some others are not so good. When I get the horizontal beam it should work better on the low end. It's been about two years since I haven't been able to receive the channel guide. At least that's working now.

 

The apple tree that fell over was made a bit shorter and modified like a trout mask replica. The roots are in the ground and the ground has been packed in. I also gave it some miracle grow. maybe I can get the parts that were growing can get going. 

 

I'm so worn out from the rain the fast few days. Working in the rain just suck the heat from you. Then when something smacks you in the head it's a real shock to the head. Speaking of head my sinuses are doing me in. It's those oak trees, My car turns this sort of powered yellow. Well I'm going to call it a night and what ever needs to get done will have to wait.

 

 

Bob

 

Air, you can't do with out it.
Nature Photography
http://www.bigbirds.home-page.org

 

 

Cheaters always prosper.
and good guys always finish last.

 

 

More Smoke and Mirrors

The news is crying out, save the brain dead lady.

No one's talking about who is going to pay for this but it has to be done.

It's not coming out of George's Medical Budget this year or any year in the future.

 

Oh, and by the way, we are going to start drilling in a "Wild Life Sanctuary in Alaska."

Ya, we can get a million barrels of oil per day just like that BP pipeline that should go online this years some time.

 

For those of your listeners who don't remember what happened when the oil companies couldn't get their way for the first Alaskan Pipeline. We forget the long lines and the even and odd days in which you could get gas. Then when the pipeline was put in the price of oil dropped a little but not much. I guess that's where we get the term, "they got you over a barrel."

 

For a President that claims to be doing common since things I have to question is that something a drunk would come up with?

What the real cost are

The insurance companies are like the mafia, you pay them so nothing happens to you.

You have to remember that insurance companies are not just into one service.

If you make a claim on your car because of an accident, the money doesn't come out of just one company but a insurance corporation.

Look are "General Insurance Corporation," "and their little lizard commercials" "Sears, and All-State the largest credit lenders in the nation." Nation Wide with all their subsidiaries. I haven't even started on the Health braches of insurance companies. Remember, they are corporations and not just companies. They make money by investing in places like the stock market, loaning money to banks and you pay for their investments because you are the end sucker that nothing is suppose to go wrong in your life. How about that life insurance, you get to collect after your dead, what a deal.

 

Well, lets start at the bad energy investments in Mexican energy back in the 70's and 80's that went bust?

What about those earthquakes in California?

What about all those "Tornados" and "Hurricanes" in the South East?

What about those real bad investments in Wall Street?

Remember Wall Street sucked 7 trillion dollars from people.They had to only pay 1.2 billion in fines and were asked not to do it again. No one went to jail either. This same group was a large contributors to the "Republican Party."

 

Why did the price go up in California? Because they would pay it.

Why does your car insurance in California go up, because they made it the law to have it.

This made it so every one had to buy insurance and now they could charge anything they wanted.

 

When it comes to insurance companies paying out money they drag their feet.

There are people that still haven't been paid for the devastation of the earthquakes in California.

There are some people that still haven't been paid from the Hurricanes in Florida like hurricane Andrew some 15 years ago.

 

 

The only way that we could make this all fair to all the people of the United States is to Nationalize Medical Insurance, We need to nationalize medicine too.

This will be the only way that it would be fair to all.

You could also work "Social Security" into this same program.

This would make the United State the biggest investor in the world and would make us a better country and not a country of people that spend all their time thinking of ways to steel money from others with in the laws we have set up.

 

 

Bob Sakall

Hot day.

Second day of wearing shorts. Taking a break and having some coffee. Need to get outside and change my oil next. So many projects but I feel so much better now that I've been on Prozac. Before that, I was just draging form day to day.

The smell of something dead under the house is almost gone so I'll be going under the house soon. I'll let the fans run for a few more days.

The amount of flowers popping up is unbelievable. Every day there is dosens more. You can tell it's spring the bugs are coming out.

Don't believe it. Must be the Bushniks sensering me

Just got done writing for two hours. Then when I went to check the spelling I lost everything. That darn MS firewall crap came up and asked if I wanted to permit the pop up. I pressed yes. Then every thing was gone.

More later.

Don't believe it. Must be the Bushniks sensering me

Just got done writing for two hours. Then when I went to check the spelling I lost everything. That darn MS firewall crap came up and asked if I wanted to permit the pop up. I pressed yes. Then every thing was gone.

More later.

Late night and nothing on but repeats

Was outside until 6:00PM to night. My legs hurt from all I've did today. Doesn't seem like much but it was. Lot's of little things. Picked up a end table and little TV at the thrift store. Good twenty dollar investment. The only thing is I can't find a remote for the TV. For now I'll use the VCR tuner. Going to have to run to the box store and see if they have one.