Start them early

He is getting the idea already.  It's never too early, now if I can just get him to talk turkey.

A Different Time

I love antiquities.  It's fun to look at something like this and imagine how it was to work and carry your goods on an old wagon drawn by horses.  What a difference from what we know today.

Sometimes

Things don't always come easy.  They don't always happen when you want them to, but sometimes...if you hang in there, and never give up...

Home Sweet Home

Out on a walk I came across this little shack.  I slowly approached and peeked inside, and it was obvious that someone is living here.  I wonder how it feels to lay down at night and to try and sleep in a place like this.  What thoughts would run through your mind?  Surely it provides a small amount of comfort knowing that you are somewhat protected from the wind and snow, but it’s a desperate lifestyle to say the least.  As I stood there contemplating the who, the why, and the how of the situation, I felt so thankful for what I have compared to some.

Too Close to the Forest to see the Trees.

They hang there day after day in silent splendor and who notices?  When their time is finished they wither… and fall, only to be summarily whisked up and discarded.  They truly are worth seeing…really seeing, but we rarely take the time.  Sometimes we truly are “too close to the forest to see the trees”.

Take a moment

Over the years I have noticed that the flowering trees are more beautiful every other year.  I am not sure why this happens or even if it is just my imagination, but it seems to hold true.  This is one of the good years.  If you haven't taken a few extra moments while out walking, or driving to notice the trees this spring, you should.  It's a nice way to eliminate some of the stress that we all have to deal with.  Enjoy...

Sweet Success

Sweet success!  We went turkey hunting again today and got this nice Merriam tom.  It was a very exciting morning.  I called to him and 8 hens, first with a crow call and then with a turkey box call.  Thanksgiving dinner is in the freezer.

Old Glory Deserves Better

The rules for flying the American flag state that if it is flown with a state flag or a "social flag" it should be larger than the other flags and it should be flown higher than the other flags.  It's an honor that our flag and all those who defend it deserve.  These two flags are the same size and are being flown at the same height.  The angle of the photo may make it appear that the American flag is slightly higher but I studied it carefully and it is not.  When I saw this today it bothered me, especially since the other flag is the type that it is.  The rules also stipulate that if the American flag is flown after dark it must be illuminated.  When I passed this building at 5:00 am it was very dark, both flags were flying, and there was no illumination at all.  It is incredible how some people's values have changed.

What a beautiful morning!

Here is a view of Pikes Peak that you don't often see.  I went turkey hunting again today and this is the view I had to put up with all morning.  What a beautiful day!

No, no turkey yet.  I guess I'll just have to go back, darn it.

Happy Patriot's Day, April 18th

Patriot's Day commemorates the battles of Lexington and Concord, which were fought near Boston in 1775. Patriot's Day is annually held on the third Monday of April to honor those soldiers and civilians...Patriots who helped form our great country.  We owe them a great deal.

For people in some states, the third Monday of April is a day off work and school. In the area around Lexington and Concord, re-enactments of the battles in 1775 and the events leading up to them are held. A particular highlight is the opportunity to ring the bell that warned the local troops that British soldiers were approaching.

Someone is watching

We were using the tractor today to pull some logs out of a ditch when all of a sudden the driver's side rear tire just fell off.  Those tires and rims are extremely heavy and we keep them full of water to increase the traction so it weighed even more.  It took us three hours just to get it back on.  Moral to the story...check the hardware on your equipment and check it often.  We were darn lucky that it fell off in a nice flat place with good solid ground.
Someone was watching out for us for sure.  It could have been a disaster.

Soft as a Feather

As he laid his on mine I could feel the warmth but his skin was so soft I could barely feel his hand at all.  What you can't see in this photograph is his innocent face, his trusting but almost apprehensive smile, and his soft blue eyes.  He wasn't really sure if he should be touching my hand or not, not sure what it meant, not sure if he was brave enough...but he reached out and he did it...he is 9 months old. 

As I looked at his hand and mine together many thoughts ran through my mind. How many places my hands have been, how many miles they have traveled, what they have done, and how many times I have skinned a knuckle or blackened a fingernail.  How many blisters have come and gone, and how many words they have written.  Thoughts of the multitude of hands that have shaken mine, and of the few faces that met them during fits of anger. Then my thoughts turned to his; how young, how inexperienced, and how new.  Thoughts of all the wonderful, and some not so wonderful experiences they will have...it's amazing the difference 61 years can make.

Visit to the Park

There is a small park on the west side of Colorado Springs known as Pioneer Park.  This location used to be a cemetery with graves that dated from 1859 to 1903.  When it became a park, rather than move all the bodies, they put up a memorial with all the names of those buried there listed on the stone monument.  One of the names listed there is William Lee.  William was Mary's great grandfather; this would make him the Great Great Great grandfather of Austin, Tyler, Mason, and Titus.  I went to the park today; don't know why, just felt like it.

Note: Pioneer Park Cemetery is one of the El Paso county cemeteries that have transcriptions hosted at the Colorado USGW Archives.

Who are they?

We took a walk in the foothills near Holmes middle school today. It could be such a beautiful area, with tall Cottonwood trees, pods of wild Yucca, deer herds, and a magnificent view of Pikes Peak.  Unfortunately there is also a view of this. Someone took the time to haul their old boat full of garbage away, but not to the dump like normal people would.  Instead they chose to dump it in the foothills. They obviously were not concerned about how offensive this would be, or about who would have to pay to have it cleaned up.  When I see something like this it makes me want to sit down with this person and just ask them..."what were you thinking?” but then I realize they probably didn't think. They are probably incapable of any decent thought at all. I am convinced that ignorance is the worst of all human afflictions.

In the Turkey Woods

Sorry, just another picture of me, but I spent all day turkey hunting and didn't have much else to take a photo of.  At least you can see how beautiful it was where I spent the day.  Sorry the composition is not better but there was only one stump to sit the camera on.  No, I didn't get a turkey yet but the season is still very young. I love being out in the forest this time of year.  Everything comes alive in the Spring and the weather is usually pretty nice; although it was only 23 degrees when I got there this morning.

We deserve what we tolerate.

Katrina caused this...
Old out dated refineries caused this...
Not enough refineries caused this...
The hurricanes caused this...
BP's oil rig disaster caused this...
The unrest in the Middle East caused this...
The devastation in Japan caused this...
Oil speculators caused this…
The Democrats caused this...
The Republicans caused this...
The EPA caused this...
Not being able to drill new wells caused this...
OPEC caused this...
China caused this...
Oil company executives getting a 37% salary increase this year caused this...
(BP's CEO made $5.8 million this past year, $375,000 of this was his bonus for excellent safety.)

There is one excuse after another, and if something is not done it will just get worse.

One way to fix this and take away all the lame excuses is to throw your car keys on top of the refrigerator and don't pick them up for at least 24 hours.  Do this once a week for three months. There are approximately 300,000,000 registered passenger vehicles in America.  If every driver in America did this, the gas supply would be so high that prices would quickly get back down where they belong.  If you have to go someplace that day (which ever day of the week you choose), take a bus, ride a bike, walk, car pool with someone, or just put if off until tomorrow.  Every driver...1 day a week...for 3 months.  I think we would all be amazed.  One of my favorite sayings is "We Deserve What We Tolerate".  I for one don't want to tolerate this anymore.

Be Yourself

Don’t overdo it.  Often times a “little more” becomes “too much” and what seemed like a good idea at the start becomes ridiculous.  This holds true in almost every facet of our lives.  I have always found people who know who they are… and who are not afraid to let everyone else see who they are… to be the most appealing.  It’s really pretty easy to spot a phony and usually the only one who does not realize that… is the phony them self.

My Blood Was Pumping!

There are few things in life that get my blood pumping like seeing a herd of Elk.  Mary and I came across this beautiful herd of wild elk today and they were kind enough to cooperate for a few photos.  You can still see a few young males with their antlers, but most of the larger darker bulls have shed their headgear.  There are also some nice looking cows in this group.

 

Last in the Series...for now...

More strange photos from the dark side, or the bright side, however you want to look at it. If you see anything weird or frightening in these images, trust me, I did not add a single thing to them.  I did some cropping and brightness / contrast adjustments, but nothing else.  They do make me wonder...

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Demons...or...Beauty?

I am trying something new and I need your input.

I'm told we all have a dark side, where our demons wait in hiding.  Waiting for just the right moment to show themselves.  I think mine might have been speaking to me today. 

Grandma's dishes

We all have memories tucked away in the private places of our minds.   Some memories are good, some are disturbing, but a few give us such a special warm feeling that we like to keep them handy so we can call on them when we need to escape where we are.  Grandma's dishes bring back many warm childhood memories for me.  I have a vivid recollection of walking into her kitchen and being eye level with her butter dish full of homemade, hand churned butter sitting on her table.  It would be a very odd sight today, and I wonder if our grandkids will have fond memories of the cardboard box of supermarket butter that we have sitting in our refrigerator.  It just doesn’t seem the same. 

Why do we go?

And so the planning begins.  You try to anticipate everything that you might encounter, what you’ll need to survive, what food you will eat and where you will find water, what you will need to save your life if your worst fears should come true.  Of course you can’t predict every possibility, but the last thing you want to become is a feature story on “I Shouldn’t be Alive”…so you try.

When you step out of the truck and pull on your pack it’s with a sense of excitement, anticipation, and trepidation all at the same time.  Deep down inside you know it will all be fine…you just know that it will... but…you don’t really know. 

So why go?  Why take the chance?  Why push into the wilderness with only what you can carry on your back?  Why step out of your comfort zone into a harsh hostile place where the elements and the wild beasts have the upper hand?  You could get a nice motel room and sit by the pool sipping margaritas all afternoon.
 
I could say we go for the adventure, the challenge, and the beauty and that's certainly all true, but it goes much deeper than that.  We go because when we come out, that margarita by the pool tastes so much better than it would have if we hadn’t gone. We go because when we get back the simple niceties that we often take for granted seem so much nicer than ever before. We go because when you are out there, just the two of us, miles from any civilization, it builds a special trust like nothing else can.

April Gifts

The Native Americans considered this to be a sacred place.  It's known as the Garden of the Gods, and it's not difficult to understand why it received such a name. 

If you look closely between the Yuccas you can still see the remnants of our latest gift from the heavens, an April snow shower.  It’s not much, but any moisture right now is a blessing.  A local fire official recently said that the conditions in our area have not been this dry since 1912.  We certainly need more gifts to fall.

Remarkable Moods

There are mornings filled with dull dreary light so filtered and flat that all the excitement is missing…there are mornings with cloudless cobalt skies bright with warm sunshine…there are mornings when the freezing wind and blowing snow veil all its allure but yet spark a deep sense of adventure…there are mornings so fogged with rain that it does not make an appearance at all, and then…there are mornings like this.  It is a mood that does not emerge very often; a subtle combination of light and cloud that creates a mysterious almost seductive attraction.  It is a fleeting moment that if you wait a split second too long you will miss.  Each morning is a discovery; you never know what mood you will find.  It’s just one of the small things that makes life such a pleasure

Daydreaming

When you see the birds begin gathering twigs, the neighbors watering their lawns, and the Daffodils blooming …you know its Spring.  I begin daydreaming of freshly caught Walleye filets sizzling in salted butter, the sound of tom turkeys gobbling through the woods, and Rainbow Trout rising to the Blue Wing Olives.  Soon, very soon, I’ll be out there...among them all.

Puzzled by the mix

Many, not all, but many homo sapiens believe in a supreme being in some form, yet it also seems that we have very little tolerance for the ideology of others.  For ions mankind's spiritual beliefs have caused swords to clash and gun powder to burn.  I have always been puzzled by the mix. Religious principals and bullets just don’t seem to go together in my way of thinking.

Happy April Fool's Day

I remember when I was a kid how disappointed I was when I first opened a can of "Pork and Beans".  I fully expected to find some pork mixed with the beans, not just a miniscule piece of  fat.  I guess we all get fooled from time to time.  I wonder what was going through this little gals mind as she tried to take her breakfast from this piece of twine.  As is common in life...things are not always what they appear to be.  Have a happy April Fool's Day.