DAYS GETTING SHORTER - - NATIVE HORSE

My wife finished one of our recent lunch chats saying, "you know the days start to get shorter now?" 

No, I have not been paying attention to that. Was not ready to hear that. Had no intention to deal with that change in the yet to come summer months. Winter still is wearing on me and the damn rain and chilly days persisting. 

Wood needs stacking and worry about the up coming snow removal. Snow removal here is not an option. No snow removal, no going anywhere; either one of us. Thinking of how to escape for at least a month this coming winter and have not figured out an answer yet. 

And all of a sudden the days are getting shorter. Crap!!

Early morning and yesterdays mowed lawn. The air was fresh sweet and a deep breath was followed by an audible "awwwwwwwww." Simple things in life and worthy of a moments notice and enjoyment. 

The cat accompanied me outside for the photo above. She too is much older now and exhibits similar habits of aging that I do. No more outings in the woods nor overnight stays outside. No kills yet this season. A first. Spends most of her time in her cat house, coming out only for a momentary touch, neck rub, fresh cream and canned cat food. She meows from time to time about some complaint which I cannot read. Maybe cat pissing and moaning. After all of these years, she has given into a loving touch and resolved the fact that we do love her no matter how she acts. 

She was on her toes in the above photo, looking over her shoulder and peering into the woods she use to own. Her situational awareness skills are still intact and I think now she has resolved to error on the side of safety. No longer able to run fast to escape nor looking for a snack of a smaller rodent or bird. Just happy to be warm, fed and safe. 

She led our way back to the garage, stopping often to look back over her shoulder. She was first in the garage before she sat down, secure in the safety of that space. 

That she has survived all these years on this predator-filled property is testament to her ability to read the land. 

She is our last pet.

Herbs are taking off and we are way behind on harvest and use. I have yet to see the amount of light this little solar led light puts off during the night. I guess I need to walk into the other room, peer out the window once during the night. Sleepiness is getting in the way, though. 

The little basil in the top middle back ground (on the rock) was removed from the main bunch to see if it can fully come to life. A home of its own. 

....................

EBOLA

........is still fresh in the above blog. I have referred to it often and will refrain from repeating worries about all the possibilities of this outbreak. These are hard reads and most will not want to spend the time. I think it worth sharing, though. Drill down through his current stuff and check his blog site for current information written over the past couple of weeks. 

.....................

FROM NATIVE HORSE

I came across these videos of horse and trainer(s) this past week. Enjoy!

"Its like a dream come true"

"The Horse"

"I am singing a song about you"

"I am the voice of the Wind"

"I live to dance with horses"

..................

Thanks for the visit this week.   

MORNING SUN - - KEEPING AN EYE ON EBOLA - - STEM CELL INJECTION UPDATE - - LaVAGABONDE - - DANGAR MARINE

Sunday morning sun breaks over the Hostas. 

Quiet week and not wanting to get caught up in the main tides of worldly news.

The weather has finally turned warm with back to back days of sun, blue skies and warmth. Flowers and herbs doing well. Outdoor chores beckoning but the wife and I have found quiet pleasure in sitting in our lawn chairs just looking at it all.  I tell her often that I can teach her how to sit and do nothing and be happy with the time spent. She is working on it. 

EBOLA IN THE NEWS - THE POSSIBILITIES

All it takes is just one case confirmed. It appears from this story that maybe there is a push to get Ebola here via our unsecured borders. By design and on purpose. San Antonio could become ground zero here in the USA.

By the time this is reported, there will be more cases. The Ebola outbreak will be in our lands and I believe we all are going to be on our own to survive this. "Facts are troublesome things." John Adams quote I believe. 

When the news of the first confirmed case comes forward, it will up our game here. The biggest question is when do we pull the plug, lock the gate and stay housebound; and for how long? Will we be over re-acting? 

Can we watch this from our nest and survive? I honestly do not know for reasons and events yet to unfold. 

Many may think this is just one of those things that will comes and goes and no need to worry. Ebola may surface in Texas, but that is Texas and not where we live. That type of thinking may be flawed.

How will government(s) handle such a break out? Think lock down. No coming. No going. Ebola outbreak plus government attempts to manage can turn ugly in an instant. Add public panic. 

Keep an eye on this as I have mentioned. Time will tell.

Enough.

STEM CELL SHOULDER INJECTION - 8 WEEKS - UPDATE

Office visit with the doctor Monday and we discussed a general overview of shoulder recovery. Still some close-in body improvements noticed, slight off-body improvements, but other off-body movements still difficult and painful. A smorgasbord process.

The doctor seemed generally pleased and released me to physical therapy to gain strength in left arm motions and movements.

He explained that the stem cells repair all the way around the shoulder joint. That being the case, there is potential for me get motions back with strength, a by product of therapy.  There were places inside my shoulder joint where cartilage had all but disappeared. I do not expect a perfect shoulder again. But an improvement in everyday living appears to be reasonable and realistic. And no need for the dislocating chicken wing analogy of shoulder surgery replacement. 

Twenty pounds weight loss to boot with sights on the next 20 pounds over the next several months. Making a huge difference in over all health. 

(Wife and I had lunch out yesterday. The waitress brought to our table a hot bread roll, butter and a knife resting on the crisp crust, placed for the first cut. Broke my heart. Just broke my heart!! I have never ever in my 74 years ever turned down hot warm bread and butter. Never ever!! That changed on 061020) 

...................

FUN STUFF

TV as I use to know it is/has run its course in this household. Maybe a quick weather report and even that tries to be more that it needs to be thus wrecking the simplest of news reporting. The political themes, agendas and flawed story telling openly bleeds on all channels. We still have an off button and am thankful for that.

To occupy my time now, I check a dozen blogs or so for basic current events and how they are unfolding. Just a headline and a few paragraphs here is more than sufficient. From there I go to YouTube for other things of interest. Content developed and shared by normal folks living lives on different and interesting paths. Folks with on-going projects that allow the general public to enjoy and travel with them. 

SAILING LA VAGABONDE

These two young Australians met 5 years ago, have sailed around the world and now have a young son on board. They are currently anchored in the Bahamas and are planning to sail north to New York and Maine. I am guessing they want to get out of seasonal hurricane weather by moving north along the east coast. 

They post every week and offer complete escape for us as they share their lives and travels. I enjoy their accents, story-telling and adventure. Fun to see young folks starting a life and family together and doing it their way.

Can imagine the life stories Lenny will be able to tell?



REBUILDING A STEEL TRAWLER BY DANGAR MARINE

Another Australian and his adventure is purchasing and refurbishing a steel trawler. He has a variety of mechanical skills and shares his story in an interesting fashion. What he does not know, he learns, asks questions and makes a plan. Matter-of-fact and a very good window into buying any boat that one plans to restore. 

I like the simplicity of his story-telling and find interest in all the hard and simple work he is putting in on this project. Weekly reports. I think this is one of my favorite stories to follow and I look forward to his up-dates. 

He is going to have a wonderful little trawler when all is said and done. 

.....................

As always keep heads up, stay aware and avoid crowds. 

Thanks for the visit.

  

BIRDS - -STEAK - - DARPA - - EBOLA - - UFO'S

Full flaps:check; gear extended: landing check complete!

Playing with a new remote attachment for my camera last week. This was one of the best shots of birds hitting the tired bird feeder. 

...............

LAST WEEKS POST: FLANK STEAK WAS NOT FLANK STEAK.

I mis-spoke last week when home butchering a few slaps of beef and making steak tips. Flank steak is its own cut of beef. I was trying to liken the thin cuts I got from that butchering to be similar to flank steak. I did marinate and BBQ as per the recipe. They turned out delicious and the photo above does that recipe justice for thin slabs of beef off the BBQ. Enough!

.................... 

MAMMA ROBIN

After putting the tractor away last evening, I pulled the keys and sat there momentarily inside the wood shed. While looking around I spotted this mother bird, sunk into a nest she has build on top of a ladder resting against one of the wood shed posts. Needless to say the ladder will not be moved until she and her family have moved on. 

Mamma bird barely fit inside the nest, resting on her eggs. She was motionless and it took some time for me to recognize what I was seeing. Out of place inside the shed and a new nesting place for locals.  

Most of the simple things in life are truly amazing. The poop down the sides of my truck each morning, not so much. A small price to pay.

.................. 

DARPA BUGS

As new technologies emerge, seemingly daily now, is there anyone in the room who does not immediately think of how to weaponize the new advancement? Of course not. 

Let your mind run awhile on the bat s*** crazies getting their hands on a few thousand of these little fellows. 

After eliminating mice, relocating squirrels and chipmunks before last winter set in, I cannot fathom bugs like this invading. 

But, I still want a DARPA Dog! 

......................

EBOLA UPDATE  

A June up-date from Raconteur Report. The author terms the potential of this becoming a "slate wiper." It is not like his take on this of how ill prepared we are, is of and in itself a mind opening read, the term "slate wiper" cements an idea of there will not be coming back to anything we know now or have lived our entire lives. No coming back. 

A society hell bent on concerns of the Muller Report, will in an instant realize that "we are not in Kansas anymore" should Ebola seed the smallest number of people. Think just one person crossing from Mexico into the country. Just one, then how many they have been in contact with.Thinking along this line is most reasonable given freedom of current immigration movements and large numbers of people. 

So, what to do? 

Preparing now is by far the easiest of all the worries. Food, water, take care of waste material, communications and the prospect of staying home bound for a long, long period of time. When do we make the hard decision on staying in our homes for the next 6-12 months without leaving AND WITHOUT LETTING ANYONE COME IN TO JOIN OUR/YOUR long term survival? One person will kill the whole survival world you have set up. Just one new person coming in during the after. No coming back!!

So I do worry, but not crazy worry. Prepare somewhat and keep an ear to wall of what is and is not being said regarding this. We all will be on our own and best to lay good ground work now, what ever that may look like. 

..................

UFO SIGHTINGS

I read this article and was taken aback by the folks who try to explain away what other people have eye-witnessed. I guess because the eye-witness is just not smart enough to know they saw what they saw. It is the these experts  that are completely out to lunch!!

Quite a few years ago, three aviation friends and pilots and I hopped in a Cessna 210 and left the west coast of Washington state to fly a couple hours inland to Eastern Washington. We went to look at purchasing a Cessna 177 RG for our flight club. 

I opted for a back seat ride to Eastern Washington so that I had a front flying seat on the return flight home. 

We took off VFR with a dead-reckoning marker of Mt. Rainier off our right wing. Had Seattle flight following monitoring our flight on radar. Weather was perfect and the flight most scenic. 

We flew the 177 RG and found it to be a sound air craft, but later opted out of the purchase as it was too much aircraft for most of the club flyers. 

The return flight that night gave wonderful VFR weather, Seattle Center flight following and Mt. Rainier off our left wing. With the lights of Tacoma and Seattle in the foreground, we all saw a bright bright light moving from north to south over western Washington. As we briefly visited about what it could be,  Air Traffic Control communications lit up with airline captains talking of the space shuttle re-entering the earths atmosphere. It was then visible north over Seattle and heading for a landing in California.  Much chatter from other pilots watching the re-entry as it unfolded before our eyes. 

The re-entry was fast and lasted only a few minutes. But the glow from that event was what we saw and no one could have talked any of us in our plane out of what we had seen. Had the radios been silent, we would have wondered all the way home what it was we saw. Too slow to be a meteor, but fast enough to be a controlled event. No expert could have ever convinced us it was some kind of aberration.

Experts have long been vocal about UFO's and I believe that they think it is our own best interest and that we "cannot handle the truth". Nice of them to worry so much about the riffraff. 

Hundreds of thousands of folks have seen objects acting abnormal in the sky's above for decades; longer. To think we are alone in this universe is absurd. My opinion. Quite often the space station shuts off live feed whey these kind of objects come into view. 

So what?

I think we are closer than ever to an official announcement that we are not alone. Proof. 

Ought to be a grand comedy show from the media and appropriate agencies. 

......................

Thanks for the visit this week.