Shot outside of Las Vegas, Nevada as I killed time before flying home after a couple of weeks on a job. This week's challenge: 'Mountain'. Please read our Participant Guide before deciding to submit a link. Your link must be to a static page that will always show your challenge…
It is a monochromatic world I pass thru on my drive to work today. After a week of beautiful, clear, but cold mornings, the overcast sky today has shut down the world's colors. The leafless trees show gray bark to the world. Even the evergreens along the edge of the…
Here it is early afternoon on Friday before Christmas. I should be out shopping for a few last minute gifts for my wife...Instead I'm sitting here in the kitchen with the double French Doors wide open, sun streaming in, listening to the wind chimes out back and the crows in…
It's been a while since I last mentioned Felder Rushing, so today's podcast led me back to his websites. One of the first things I saw online about Felder was a reference to slow gardening...Here is a handout from Felder's Slow Gardening Website... Slow Gardening Handout SLOW GARDENING Slow gardening…
May you have a great day giving thanks with kith and kin. Enjoy being with those you love if you can. Have some pie for me...I'll be trying to refrain from indulging. For all of those whose turkey carving skills rank up there with my own, you may want to…
I passed this old farm as we drove south on the Blue Ridge Parkway from Floyd to Boone. I nestled down a bit off the road behind a line of round hay bales. Just enough of a glimpse out of the passenger side window to force me to turn around…
This week's challenge: 'Travel'. Eight States, ten Days, 1750 miles, five hotel rooms, from heat to freezing to fall comfortable to snow to fall comfortable. That's Travel...And here's my Vacation Slideshow for proof... . Please read our Participant Guide before deciding to submit a link. Your link must be to…
Pushed through to home last night and arrived about 10pm...I see why I have a love/hate relationship with the American Interstate Road system. While they let you cover immense distances in a single day they are essentially...boring. Long corridors through the countryside, shut off from the real world by a…
One of the places I have tried to hit in North Carolina for a number of years has been Roaring Creek off of 19E out of Elk Park. Roaring Creek tumbles off the southeast side of Roan Mountain feeding the North Toe River. Each year something has come up to…
I cannot complain about the weather here in northwestern North Carolina on this autumn day. The rain, light as it is, is desperately needed. But it sure puts a "damp-er" on the quest for pictographs. Of course any trip to this area by the Boyd's means a stop at the…
As we left Virginia behind today Mother Nature gave me a perfect picture postcard view of Mabry Mill. Actually the two colorful trees in the background are about the only two left in the vicinity with much color but they were in the right place at the right time for…
A while back I wrote a review for Fred First's, A Slow Road Home, at the time we had only met on the pages of each others blogs and through the exchange of emails. This is what I wrote back then... Today for lunch I joined a friend I've never…
Driving South on the Parkway through Humpback Rocks brought a surprise this afternoon... It must have come down pretty good overnight since it had been melting for a while by the time we got there. But everyone traveling up the Parkway was having a lot of fun playing in the…
We spent yesterday at Jefferson's Monticello... Today we head south down the Blue Ridge to a introduction to Floyd, Va...See ya down the road.
No not really. It just hit me that it made more sense to run the Interstate up to the terminus of our trip and then begin working our way south rather than vice versa. It should cut almost a days drive off the trip home this way... So yesterday was…
Sunrise this morning was spent at Craggy Gardens on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The weather was clear and cold. I didn't know how cold until I got back in the car to drive back down...The temperature was 19°. Here's what I saw as the sun came over the horizon... And…
I closed yesterday with a shot of sunset so lets open the day with the morning sunrise fro the other side of Asheville... Heading back to breakfast I stopped at the French Broad River Overlook and caught this... Now its time to get ready for the Biltmore Estate and any…
We drove into the darkness on Sunday to get to Birmingham. The only observations from the drive on Sunday were we both commented on how dry Mississippi looked. It was a noticeable change right at the state line. The roadside went from green in Louisiana to brown looking in Mississippi.…
I am just finishing up with email and all before I throw the final items (like this computer) into the car. We are hitting the road in the next hour or so for our first stop in or around Birmingham. We could probably go further but we don't have anything…
The high yesterday afternoon (read in the car) was 72°. With the afternoon breeze, it felt just right.
Where once there was laughter...Silence This week's challenge: 'Silence'. Please read our Participant Guide before deciding to submit a link. Your link must be to a static page that will always show your challenge image, and not your website's main page. Read this for more info. Reminder: Submit only one…
This week's challenge: 'The City'. Houston on a beautiful winter day in February of this year. Taken while attending a National Geographic Photography Session at the U of H Downtown Campus. This week's challenge: 'The City'. Please read our Participant Guide before deciding to submit a link. Your link must…
Blog Action Day On October 15th, bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind. In 2007 the issue is the environment. Every blogger will post about the environment in their own way and relating to their own topic. Our aim is to get…
I keep seeing these high record notices scattered up and down the east coast. New York, New York (10001) Conditions & Forecast : Weather Underground Record high temperature set at Kennedy...a record high temperature of 90 degrees was set at Kennedy today. This breaks the old record of 75 set…
HDR Slideshow
My new toy finally arrived from Dell yesterday...A 17" laptop with some bells and whistles to make photo editing easier. I planned to post the first blog this morning. I got a little sidetracked with a phone call from a high school buddy making arrangements for the 35th reunion this…
Bush the philosopher has one thing right: Human dignity is served when people make choices for themselves rather than being nannied by the government. But only simpletons suppose that this principle is absolute: Where unfettered private initiative produces evidently bad outcomes, most people prefer an alternative. This is why we…
My wife and I were discussing my/our dream of living in the mountains yesterday. It hit me while we were talking that she only sees the mountains through vacation eyes. Her vision of mountain living is high on the side of the mountain with views that reach all the way…
From Coffee Muses Babe in his mother's arms...That's comfort. This week's challenge: 'Comfort'. Please read our Participant Guide before deciding to submit a link. Your link must be to a static page that will always show your challenge image, and not your website's main page. Read this for more info.…
Going through the Google Reader feeds this morning I stumbled over Dick Cavett at the Times. If you need a review of his column take this into consideration...I read all the wy to the end to get these final lines to drop quote here. Witness for theWho, Exactly? - Dick…
Storm warnings posted for parts of Gulf Coast | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle MIAMI — Tropical storm warnings were posted today for parts of the U.S. Gulf Coast as a subtropical depression formed in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.At 10 a.m. CDT, the depression had top sustained winds of about…
There is a new deal floating through Washington DC. It's called Republican Speak. Whenever a Republican does something, blocks some law, breaks some law or rule the idea is to get the MSM (mainstream media) to blame it on the Democrats. Damned if it ain't working. Yet, to hear the…
The fantasy of a fishing camp on a week day while working away at the office.....You don't even need a hook and bait. This week's challenge: 'Fantasy'. Please read our Participant Guide before deciding to submit a link. Your link must be to a static page that will always show…
Wunder Blog : Weather Underground Tropical Storm Humberto is steadily gaining strength as it closes in on the Texas coast near Freeport. Radar animations from Houston show a well-defined circulation, with plenty of low-level spiral bands wrapping around the center. Humberto is organizing quickly, and it is a good thing…
SciGuyHumberto forms, how will it affect Houston? 12:35 p.m. UPDATE: The National Hurricane Center has just designated the tropical system off the Texas coast as Tropical Storm Humberto, with 45-mph winds. It could strengthen a bit further before landfall tonight. See below for further information on effects from Humberto. ORIGINAL…
It has been hot and humid here in southeast Texas this weekend. Both the temperature and the humidity have been in the upper half of the 80's (measured under an acre of shade here at my house...which tends to be a bit lower than the official temperature). So outside, misery…
The sky on an autumn morn as the sun comes over the horizon... This week's challenge: 'Purple'. Please read our Participant Guide before deciding to submit a link. Your link must be to a static page that will always show your challenge image, and not your website's main page. Read…
The Labor Day weekend played out long as usual. The bar-b-que was well received by one and all. I think we ended up with a bakers dozen here at one point or another during the afternoon. We pigged out, literally...Ribs and sausage (though there was some fresh chicken sausage on…
No matter how much wishing and wanting you might do, remodeling projects take longer than the best laid plans. Looks like another night at the Best Western for the three of us. Tom Philpott has another good read up at Grist. This weeks "Victual Reality" hits home. I am trying…
I have just one comment...It's about time. One more down, too many to go. Gonzales quits as attorney general Associated Press CRAWFORD -- Embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, under fire from congressional Democrats, has resigned, senior Bush administration officials said today. A senior Justice Department official said that a likely…
Thanks to Rebecca Blood for the link... I agree with her assessment. It is great advice on living well. Reflections On Italy TODAY WHILE TROLLING the hard drive on my Macbook Pro I came across a .txt file titled "Reflections on Italy." Link: Seat 1A: Reflections On Italy ++++++++++ Walking…
Unfinished Grandson... This week's challenge: 'Unfinished'. Please read our Participant Guide before deciding to submit a link. Your link must be to a static page that will always show your challenge image, and not your website's main page. Read this for more info. Reminder: Submit only one link per challenge!…
It’s not straight from the VP’s mouth, but it’s straight from his policy book. Energy companies rule and all you folks living in the neighborhood can “just go f— yourselves” to quote on Administration Official.
These first days back at work are taking a lot out of me. My posting is slip sliding away, and I don't like missing a post after getting the habit pretty much ingrained. Today in my web wandering I stumbled across a reference on Appalachian Treks to the everybodyfields a…
The day has finally arrived where I am returning to the office on a daily basis. Since the daily routine has gotten a bit slack in the last couple of weeks I am running short on time for the muse to inspire this morning. So here's the latest from the…
For many years back in the late 1980's and into the early 1990' I spent way more time than I should have exploring fractal images. On Friday GreenmanTim over at Walking the Berkshires posted an image from The Fractal Bargain Bin that brought all of those hours tumbling back on…
It looks like it's time to keep an eye on the tropics if you live in this part of the world. Hurricane Dean has reached category 4 and he's still strengthening. He is prognosticated anywhere from the Bay of Campeche in Mexico to the mouth of the Mississippi, due to…
Old Friends And old photo's of Old Friends... We still get together once and a while, me and my old friend from the 6th grade...It is over 40 years ago that I developed my first school boy crush on this old friend. She went on to be the steady of…
The predawn hours have been accompanied with the distant rumble of nature's own percussion section. Tropical storm Erin moved ashore just northeast of Corpus Christie this morning and the outlying rain bands began to come ashore here yesterday morning. So far we have managed to dodge the heavier bands of…
Today's emails contained this week's copy of the "Weeknight Kitchen Newsletter" from The Splendid Table. I've been listening to Lynne Rossetto Kasper on the Splendid Table Podcast for a while now and enjoying it immensely. This week's newsletter contained a link to the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch. I had…
From Washington Forgive me a few moments of happiness at the news from Washington. The one bit of uniting not dividing to come out of the White House in six years...Karl Rove is resigning. One of the few good quotes I've seen about the resignation of Karl Rove... "Buh-bye, Karl…
I am in the process of working my way through Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle...A Year of Food Life, so be prepared to see more on the state of American food. Every day that goes by I read another article on the epidemic of obesity in this country...And another article…
It's been a while since Fred First came up with this idea...contest? So I thought I'd throw out another mention just to see if I could push it about a bit... It would be neat for contributors from all over the country to offer their images to an aggregate gallery…
While most of the country encounters a Christmas Snow with a fair amount of regularity, this is the only known Christmas Day Snow in Brazoria County, Texas. I would think that would rate it as an "oddity". On Christmas Eve 2004 the snow began to fall at about 10pm. It…
For the record...This is day 1 of week 2 Post-Radiation. In a bit of serendipitous follow-up to yesterday's post. My email brings me this from Grist...How to prioritize your organic food dollars to get the most from your budget. On prioritizing organic purchases | By Umbra Fisk | Grist |…
In my internet wanderings and muses I find myself being drawn to many of the same subjects that interested me 3o plus years ago. It appears the wanna be back to the lander, mother earth news reader, Rodale convert from the '60's still resides inside these middle aged bones. Which…
The whole time I was doing the seven weeks of radiation the technicians and the nurses warned me that the two to three weeks after the treatment ended would be bad to worse...They spoke truth. The burns on my neck didn't begin to manifest until after the last treatment was…
Fragments From Floyd: June 2002 Archives June 5, 2002 Summer LightningThe animals have been tended, my wife and son have left for work, and I am alone watching the first rays of a humid, empty day through the windows. I am in my slippers, merely waiting, early into my second…
This morning Garrison informs us of a birthday... It's the birthday of Wendell Berry born in Port Royal, Kentucky (1934). He grew up on farmland that had belonged to his family since 1803. He went on to college and to graduate school. He lived in California and Italy and New…
This is what my front yard has looked like on way too many days this summer. This week's challenge: 'Wet'. Please read our Participant Guide before deciding to submit a link. Your link must be to a static page that will always show your challenge image, and not your website's…
This story caught my interest the other day. A Factory Farm Near You - New York Times Once upon a time, only a decade or so, it wasn’t hard to know where factory hog farms were because they were nearly all in North Carolina. But since those days, the practice…
After this afternoons session, my sacrifices on the alter of the atomic spheres comes to an end...The number for the day is 35...of 35. An ending and a beginning, even though I am yet to be thru this journey I am embarked upon. In the news today on the weather…
Today's number is 34...Only one more day to go. As I was rambling through the news today, reading the stories out of Washington, and the comments from readers, I was struck with a wild and crazy idea. My idea was to give the veto power to the people. In addition…
"The days still come in order. Gray light collects in the bedroom long before dawn. Then comes a bleached noon and nearly always the threat of a late-afternoon thunderstorm. The darkness is notated by fireflies, who have been unusually numerous — or is it unusually bright? — this year. The…
Todays number is 32...The effects of swallowing the sun are beginning to manifest themselves. The gravel in my voice has become a whisper this week (along with the voice itself), and my energy level has fallen to a new low. Almost done... I was running through my Reader today and…
Todays number is 31...Look Ma, no voice...He said with a raspy whisper. If this doesn't look like the eye of an angry God, I'll eat my fire and brimstone upbringing. I have visions of a bird of prey here... The Helix Nebula Dust makes this cosmic eye look red.…
Technically, it's the last day of week six since the 4th fell in there and these treatments run their course in 35 days and not 7 weeks. But, since we started on a Wednesday, and we'll end on a Wednesday, this Wednesday will be the start of the week for…
The number for today is 29... I spent a chunk of yesterday afternoon riding the John Deere. I discovered we are totally saturated since I was driving through standing water in places I have never seen standing water twenty hours after a rain...I guess now is the time to ask…
Today's number is 28... Last evening we had a real gully washer of a thunderstorm roll through after 8pm. As Sherry and I sat at the kitchen table reading we started hearing distant rumbles. The first time, I pulled up the National Weather Service site and there wasn't anything showing…
I heard Megan Hickey on Americana Roots Review a couple of weeks ago. I liked her sound so much I bought the CD - Wire Waltz, her band is called The Last Town Chorus. John Scalzi posted this video on Whatever last week. The gist of his comment seems to…
For all of us Newbie WordPress bloggers...Keyboard Shortcuts Via Lifehacker TipMonkies » Blog Archive » WP: KeyBoard Shortcuts These are shortcuts you can use in the wordpress post editor. Bold: Alt SHIFT b Italics: Alt SHIFT i Link: Alt SHIFT a Blockquote: Alt SHIFT q Code: Alt SHIFT c Read…
This image caught my eye yesterday so I dropped it here. What it reminded me of was a Mandelbrot Fractal like the ones I used to spend hours generating and exploring back a decade ago or more. The mathematics and graphics were so intensive on those old 286 and 386…
From Coffee Muses This week's challenge: 'Vacation'. Please read our Participant Guide before deciding to submit a link. Your link must be to a static page that will always show your challenge image, and not your website's main page. Read this for more info. Reminder: Submit only one link per…
The number for today is 27...Almost there. There is a magical time of night that seems to call me on a regular basis...It's 3:33am. I can not recall how many time I have rolled over in bed at night and opened my eyes and seen the three threes glowing there…
I got involved in a WordPress Upgrade this morning along with trying to find some answers to some questions Fred had with his migration to WordPress over the weekend. I'll try to post something this afternoon after my radiation shake and bake and Dr. musings...Later Oh, If ya really miss…
I see my Congressman is still stirring the pot... When U.S. Rep. Ron Paul recently gave the keynote address at a ceremony presenting overdue medals to 24 veterans, he talked about patriotism, the country's debt owed to veterans, the need for a strong military and strong personal freedom. What he…
We carry with us these footprints of vanished places: apartments we moved out of years ago, dry cleaners that went out of business, restaurants that stopped serving, neighborhoods where only the street names remain the same. Verlyn Klinkenborg - Remembered Spaces - New York Times Today's number is 24...One of…
Today will be radiation treatment #23. That means just 13 more to go... The weather station on the wall has the outside temperature at 73°. That would be very comfortable for this time of year except that the humidity reading is 99%. After the morning rains yesterday we had a…
I have spent the morning doing some WordPress studying so my muse hasn't really kicked in. In the process of looking for something online to help Fred First with his integration into WP I stumbled onto a keycode that opens the extended editing bar in the wysiwyg editor...Just hit alt-shift-v…
I hope some of you out there were able to catch Bill Moyers Journal last night. It was one of the strongest cases I have seen made to date in favor of impeaching both the President and the Vice-President. The thing that impressed me the most was that the strongest…
This week's challenge: 'Barren' Taken in January 2005 on my last trip to Vegas... PHOTO FRIDAY Please read our Participant Guide before deciding to submit a link. Your link must be to a static page that will always show your challenge image, and not your website's main page. Read this…
Warning...Political Rant Coming Ok, if this trend continues, we are going to have to suspect divine intervention in the AG firings. How else can we explain the "fact" that no one had any input on which AGs were fired? Seems from all of the testimony so far that no one…
Lady Bird Johnson dies at 94 | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle Lady Bird Johnson, a former first lady, a Texas legend, a woman who used the humble wildflower to teach an entire nation to treasure and preserve the environment, died Wednesday. She was 94. She was a damn fine Texas…
Today is the end of my fourth week of radiation treatment. After today I will have three more weeks to go. The treatments have become a daily routine...The people at the treatment center are really nice and always courteous. The patients I see each day are all friendly. I have…
I have been lax lately in being the doting grandpa....Here are a couple of shots of the grandson . Father and son eating ribs on the fourth... Mother and son at rest...
One year ago this week we were sitting on the side of a mountain in northwestern North Carolina. We aren't the first Texans to have discovered and fallen in love with the Blue Ridge Mountains and I'm sure we wont be the last. The plan for this year was to…
Via The Ethicurean this morning I followed a link to the following... In his Meat Manifesto, Fearnley-Whittingstall corners the reader: “Are you,” he demands, “among the millions of consumers putting pressure on farmers to produce mountains of cheap meat of dubious quality, by dubious means?” I thought I had perhaps…
It was a little strange this morning, waking up to the sounds of silence. No thunder, no pounding rain, not even the subliminal sound of water dripping from the eaves, seems very weird. I am sure it won't last as the humidity is at 99% and the temperature is already…
The rain falling again this morning almost lulled me back to sleep after our wet and rainy 4th. I finally dragged myself out of bed...But, now that I am through with the first (pre-commute) cup of java and have read all of my email the coffee muse isn't musing and…
