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Monday, June 28, 2010

BP, the oil leak, lack of action and why me Lord?

Well, I just got to take a minute here and weigh in on the current crisis, although I hardly consider anything that has gone on this long "current", but rather "historical.  Is any one with me on this? Is this not the most stupid, asinine thing we have seen lately?  How a bunch of adults can just set by while the oil pours out of that hole is beyond me!

Oh, we have already had the hearings to determine what ever it is we have the hearings for and British Petroleum has already set up the trust fund and still the oil pours out of the hole and into our oceans. What the hell is wrong with this picture?  When I have a problem here in my little corner of the world, I fix it. If I have a leak I either fix it or call someone who can.  Course I am probably not the brightest bulb in the box, but I do know it won't fix itself!

They stand around like a bunch of idiots pulling on their chin whiskers and trying to guess how much is pouring out in a 24 hours period.  Excuse me! What the hell difference does it make? The question here is what are you going to do about it? I have an idea that just might work...let's take all the greedy oil men, tie them up, and poke them down in that hole! There should be enough to do the job, in my humble opinion.

Now, I realize, I perhaps sound a tad bit radical and maybe I am, but I had a cat fall in an oil pan once that was left attended. Then the cat came in and walked around the house, across the kitchen counters, over my bed and out onto the sun porch. That was from a cup of oil, not thousands of barrels.  Luckily my cat survived, unlike the Brown Pelicans and how many other species that are going to be history when this is over with?

Ok, just had to vent here a little.  I know my job is to teach you something and I guess  what comes to my mind at this time is the little Dutch boy who saw the leak in the dike and put his finger in to hold back the sea until the dike could be repaired. We read that story way back when I was in the second grade which was over 60 years ago.  Too bad people poking holes in MY EARTH never read that one.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Pueblo AIDS Memorial Quilt #3

This is the third panel that I am highlighting in this series.  Just noticed on this that 2 of our guys passed on the same day.  Probably a lot more about these panels then I noticed at the time.  Taking care of them has been a definite labor of love and I shall miss them when someone else takes over the job.

In the upper left is my friend
Wally Miller
3/15/1965-7/23/2001.
I knew Wally for 3 years before I discovered how well we were connected. I was giving him a ride home and we started talking about the University and when he attended. I told him my son attended during the same time. Who was my son? When I told him it was Sam, he said, "Oh, my God! Sam was my best friend!"  That friendship was soon revived. Wally was such a dear!

  Elsie
6/26/30-/12/03.
I did not know Elsie very well.  Only that she was our oldest client and she loved to cook as well as eat. Her husband was a lot younger than her, but took very good care of her until she passed.

Myron
12/19/72-12/21/03
I did not know Myron well, just that he liked to hunt and especially loved the Colorado Rocky Mountains.

Paul
2/22/62-4/26/03
Paul was a dear and a very lost little soul.  He had the saddest brown eyes in the whole world most of the time, but when he found something amusing they would light up the whole room. He fought alcholism his whole life and lost.

Felix
9/30/66-10-19-2000
I never met Felix, but made this panel and gave him my Mickey and Minnie Mouse because I knew he would want them just by the way he was described to me.  He loved roses and had many of them at his home.

Jenny
8/22/71-9/6/01
This panel was made by her mom and 2 young sons. It is a work of love and it shows.  Her sons are big boys now, but still reflect the gentle nature of their mother.

Dennis
2/8/54-1/19/01
Dennis loved flowers, finer things in life, his home and most of all his dogs.  He is sorely missed by friends and family and the dogs.

Dennis
8/21/50-7/23/01
Here is a guy who knew what good was!  Dennis loved Kentucky Fried Chicken and I think Colonel Sanders was his hero! He also like bright, flamboyant things, to include flowers.


And there you have this installment.  Will try not to let so much time expire next time.  This represents another 8 lives cut short to the disease we pay so little attention to nowadays. I had a guy explain to me the other day that AIDS is now a thing of the past and that there is a cure.  I told him he might want to check that one out a little closer!
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Sunday, June 20, 2010

One in a million shot of baby goose and the mother!


Every once in a a while you get a shot with your camera that is actually worth saving.  This is mine!  Baby geese began hatching at my house Thursday evening.  This is a long arduous process. I have an Emiden setting in one part of the compound and Goosie, this African Gray, in another part.  Goosie is a story in itself so I will cover the Emiden babies a little later.

About 5 or 6 years ago  Bret decided he absolutely had to have baby geese.  The fact that we had 20+ ducks at the time was immaterial.  So off we went to Big R for the purchase of 3 geese. I do everything living in triplicate for some odd reason that only God is privy to. Any way, the geese grew and were quite attached to us and the ducks.  As luck would have it, we had 2 ganders and the one hen.  The first 2 years Goosie would lay her eggs and I would eat them.  I called this retro active birth control.

Then the third year the biggest gander developed neurological problems and had to be put down.  I let Goosie set that year.  Her eggs were not fertile, so there was a stinking mess!  The next year I had acquired  3 pairs; 2 Chinese, 2 Emidens, and 2 more Africans. They all set, except Goosie,  and they all hatched and the ganders trampled most of them, but I did manage to grab the 6 surviving babies and take them to my friend Penny to take care of until they were feathered. While over there 2 got sick and died, one was ate by a coyote and 3 survived. When they got tired of taking care of them they brought them back. This brought me up to 10. One of the Emidens did not make it through breeding season, so down to nine.

I decided to let Goosie try this year and we were very happy when this little fellow pecked it's way out of the shell.  Bret spotted this shot and took it for me.  If you click on the picture it will get bigger and you can see the little fellow nestled in  Goosie's wing with just it's head showing.

If you are ever in my neighborhood, feel free to drop on over and check out my little farm here.  Better hurry though, because the fox is busily eating my ducks and you may not see them if you don't hurry!!

Have a good one, and happy Father's Day to all the male species, with and without feathers!





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Monday, June 14, 2010

The Wily Old Fox and the Helpless Critters!



There you see part of my flock.  The seven critters on the left are what I refer to as the Seven Musk a Tears.  These seven guy and gals all hang out together.  I suspect these are the seven that were given to me when Lyn moved into town.  There are a white and a spotted that hang out; they were litter mates.  Then there are twin gray and whites, a broad banded mallard, a khaki Campbell and another spotted.  There is a renegade mallard that is lighter than all the others.  He is the one who is in love with the goose. He chases her all over the barnyard trying to kiss her.  All this to the consternation of her husband! But that is another story for another time.  The big bird on the right is an African Gray Goose.

The point I am trying to make here is that much like people, the birds in my flock tend to sort of mate for life.  They stay in the group they grew up in and like it that way.  Much like we, as humans, cling to our roots.  The difference being, we can defend ourselves and my flock is just part of the food chain.  Mother fox, you know the cute little Red Fox that is indigenous to this area, had herself 3 babies this spring.  Oh, don't we all know how hungry those babies can be!

At the height of my flockiness, I had 36 ducks and 10 geese.  This morning I counted 14 ducks and somewhere there is a satisfied family of Foxes.  It was one thing when the foxes were eating the nasty old drakes, but yesterday one of my little twins disappeared. That broke my heart. Did you ever give any thought to a duck's defense mechanism?  They waddle when they walk, they have 2 wings and a rounded beak. No defense their.  When they sense danger the stop stock still and do not move. Well, that makes no sense at all.  But it is what they do.

Some people are of the assumption that foxes hunt at night.  They may very well do that, but they also hunt during the day. They hunt whenever the food source is available. Just happens to be daytime around here.  As much as I would like to be able to stand guard over the flock, I do have other obligations.  So, I guess I am open for suggestions on what would be the best solution for all concerned here.

The foxes need to eat.  The Ducks need to survive.  Trapping the foxes on an acre of ground is almost a virtual impossibility.  Keeping the ducks inside a fox proof house is cruel and out of the question.  So, I am open for suggestions here.  Ideal would be if you would come to my house, catch the fox and take it home with you!  Right now, I have thought  and thought and my brain may explode.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

The DragonTree in Beulah, Colorado, up close and personal!!

 We were on our way to the park in Buelah.  Just cruising along headed uphill on Highway 78 when this Dragon jumped up right in front of us!  Renate almost ran off the road. I, of course grabbed for my camera, but alas, it was not to be found in this car.

So, being a woman possessed, I decided to go back up with camera in hand on Monday. I had told some of the chatters in my chat room about this, and of course, they thought I was nuts. One of them got online and found Bishop's Castle, but there was nothing online about a DragonTree in Beulah!

Need to give you a little history here.  One of these fellows is a firm believer  that if it is not on Google, it does not exist. Very faithful fellow. I told him I was sure I would know before Google, but he had no faith; hence the trip to Beulah in 105 degree heat. I took a friend with me because he is really tall and I thought he could get better pictures. And he was very sucessful as you can see. Just a shame that I can't get the pictures the size I want or where I want, but that is not his fault! Well, I guess it is my fault, but ....
                                                                                                                                        
 
This is the base of the tree and it is indeed a tree.I spoke with the  man who did this.  His name is John Clay and he does this kind of work on commission.  This one was made for Catherine Halcomb.  Pine Drive used to be a divided road and this tree was in the middle of it.  He said you can still see the old road bed. So Catherine contracted with him and he gathered up his tools and went and created this work of Art!
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I will be meeting with Mr. Clay hopefully next week.  He is going to give me all the details of who, what, when and where.  I am very excited about the City of Beulah and I am going to post a lot of pictures and give you a full report on the happenings.  I know they have an Beulah Art show at some point in time and we will be there, front row seats!! And being in the  mountains, the beautiful Rocky Mountains, it will be cool and clean this summer.  What a respite!

If you have some carving you would like done, just give John Clay a call at 719-485-9605. Oh, and be sure and tell him Lou sent you!
In the meantime, enjoy these pictures and don't forget to stop and see Jan, my BFF at the Stompin' Grounds Coffee Shop!


And my words of wisdom for today Keep your eyes open so you do not miss the Dragons in your life!!

Monday, June 7, 2010

Beulah, Colorado the friendliest place on earth, and good food, too!!!


Today I wandered off to Beulah, Colorado, a little spot about 20 miles West of Pueblo, on highway 78.  I went with a purpose in mind. I had gone on a picnic at the Mountain Park a few days before and had seen what appeared to be a Dragon Tree, which is a dead tree sculpted to be a Dragon along with flowers and all. Convinced that I was probably nuts, I strong armed someone to go with me.  So off we went with me at the wheel.  Let me interject just a bit of my homespun wisdom here.
A man, any man is at a distinct disadvantage when in a car that is not his, with a woman he knows slightly, headed to he knows not where to see he knows not what and the only thing he is sure of is that he has not had his daily ration of coffee.  I must say he was a real sport! Hats off to the German Guy!

After due time we arrived at the Dragon Tree that I had seen.  We parked the car. Now, him being a foot taller then me, decided he would take the pictures.  He thought  he would be a lot closer to the dragons mouth. Me being the person I am decided he would probably just stand there and get himself ran over.  Between the two of us we got some beautiful shots, but that will need to keep for another day.

We then decided to go visit the lovely town of Beulah.  After a quick trip up to the park, we drove to the fair city of Beulah. If you have not been there, you have got to go!  Call me, I will go with you!

There is located in this fair mountain town, a small eating place called The Stompin' Grounds  Coffee House. See the first picture up there?  That is my new BFF (best friend forever).  We walked in and this lady had the sweetest smile of welcome. Her name is Jan Miller and she is the proprietor of this place.  See there behind her is a pink peace sign that someone made her. The Peace Sign along with the one outside that said "Hippies use back door" told me I was in my kind of place.

The picture below Jan is the menu. Lots of coffee and some of this or that to eat. Below the menu is some of the customers.  Oh! It is Kris Allen and her mom! They live right next door and along with half the town pop in for coffee or tea after exercise or a walk or whatever.  Just down home folks, although I have known Kris for many years and was very happy to see her.                                                                  The mantra is on the wall.  Jan had her friends come up with something that would describe the ambiance of the place and they did a beautiful job! All the tables and chairs are eclectic (which means they do not match!). It is just a real comfortable place to be.       
This is the front.  Has a table and chairs out there also, in case you want to set in the fresh air. 

There is a totem pole of sorts over there on the left and a close up can be seen in the last picture.  The sign there in the front says there are special artist days.

By the time I finished my coffee and left the place, Jan was my new BFF, I had caught up with Kris on all the news of the Cuba Caravan.  It was certainly a fruitful day.  Which brings me to this conclusion; Had I not gone to Beulah searching for the dragon, would I have ever met Jan?  Would I have ever wandered into the Stompin' Grounds? You think of predestination and wonder.  Seems like this whole business today was laid out in a grand plan!

You will read about the Dragon Tree and a lot of other Beulah sites as soon as I make the proper contacts, but for now, we have Jan and the Stompin' Grounds Coffee Shop, 8913 Grand Avenue, Beulah, Colorado. It is open every day from 7:30 AM till 2 PM except Thursday.  No Thursday.  Thursday it is closed.  Ah, and Saturday night from 5-8 PM is special also.  That is when they have Pizza, Calzones, Salad and Desserts.  Oh, Saturday night in a tiny mountain town!  What more can you want?  Oh, might want to call just to make sure they are there and have some food for you..I know the coffee is the best I have lucked into for quite a spell.  That phone number is 719-485-0852.  When you drop in tell Jan that Lou said "Hi!"

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Pueblo AIDS Memorial Quilt #2

This is the second panel I am highlighting. I don't know if you realize, but these are not presented in the order of constuction, but in a rather willy nilly fashion that pleases me.  And what is that saying, "If momma is happy, everybody is happy!"

In the upper left corner we have a particular favorite of mine. I made this out of the slinky stuff you would use for a dress if you were someone who wanted to show case something! I made it as a pillow case while Allan was still with us, but he soon learned it was nothing you could sleep on, because it made you sweat! I had also made him a nature stationary to hang on his wall. But that shall be another post! Allan was born 4/29/1967 and passed 5/26/99. We had a surprise birthday party for him a week early.  Good thing! He was Colorado Diving Champion one year. He was offered a "Full Ride" Scholarship to Brown University which he declined because family was more important to him.  My adopted son is named after him. He weighed 83 pounds when he died. His mother passed a few years later.  I miss them both!


Below Allan is Reverend Blong.  3/15/1926 to 7/26/1999. He was a very beloved Priest to a friend of mine.  I made this panel for her.

The next one is Jeffery 12/22/1963-8/9/2000.  I did not know Jeffery although I made this panel. The world has lost an artist!

The last one on the left is for my friend Judy.  11/14/1946-10/14/2000. Now here was a woman who knew how to cook!! Mashed potatoes required BOTH butter and heavy cream and butter on top!  I am sure she is in charge of the kitchen up THERE!

The top one on the right is for Tracey 2/22/1964-8/6/1999. Tracey was a very lovely girl. She actually died of heart problems, exasperated by the medications.  I made the basic panel, but it was designed and painted on my her friend,Mike.

The second on the right is for Daniel. 4/22/1954-1/30/1998.  There are 2 necklaces on here that Daniel wore constantly. He was a very colorful fellow. I made this panel for his mother.

Now we come to Mark. This person did not want anything known about Mark, but did want to memorialize him in some way. She comes when the quilt is on display.

And now we come to one of the more moving panels.  This is for our little Daniel Yarnell. He was born 10/10/1984-9/22/2000.  He was not 16 yet when he passed. His mother made this panel for him and since she has also written a book about their journey, I am sure she will not begrudge me using his name.  Daniel was so special. He loved Beanie Babies and had a website with some of his pictures on there. On hot, hot days, when we had picnics at the office, Daniel would show up in his coat, mittens and a wool hat.  How can your heart not bleed for this kind of suffering?  Daniel will always hold a special corner of my heart, as does Allan.

As I think back, there is not one I have written about yet that does not own a piece of Lou Mercer! And we still have more to meet.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Personal Bags for the Migrant Workers

This is the trunk of my car, a 2007 Ford Focus. Now you know that year had a fairly big trunk.  As you see this trunk is full.  There are 4 large trash bags in there and in each trash bag is 10 bags of personal items for the migrant workers.  That seems like a lot, huh?  But wait.

This is the back seat of my car. There are 3 more trash bags here. In two of them are 10 migrant bags and one holds 5.  That makes a total of 65 bags for the migrant workers. For those of you who do not know what I am talking about, I will tell you. In my fair city, or county we have  many gardens. That is farmers who grow produce for market. We are especially known for our Pueblo Chile, which is a particular breed of chile pepper which is used in our Green Chile. It is not as hot as a Jalepeno, but it is pretty close. Without the produce which is grown out here on the Mesa, a lot of farmers would go broke. Pueblo is also famous for it's Chile Frijole festival which happens every fall downtown on Union Avenue.  If you want to know what heaven is you gotta go to one of these.  I will find out the exact date and blog it so you can be sure and come. It draws people from all over the world, I kid you not!



But, this is about Migrant Bags.  On these farms are a lot of "Migrant Workers" and they are called that because if they were illegal immigrants they would be sent back to Mexico.  But facts are facts, and East of Pueblo there are many "Migrant Workers" who come to work on the farms and without them, the fields would lay fallow. Occasionally there is a crack down and it is then the produce suffers.  The "work force" in town does not want to work under a system that pays them by the bushel to drag a sack through a field in the blazing sun with no job security at all.  My daughter and son in law tried it once. They lasted 5 hours each, 10 hours together. It was time to harvest the peas.  Total take for the day:  $3.30 . That figures out to 33 cents an hour. Courses that does not take into account the trip to the emergency room to clean her eye after Tex tossed a weed over his shoulder and hit her in the eye!

Back on the subject. The workers have no medical, no child care, no nothing, but there are philanthropic people who know where to go to volunteer and help. There is a clinic staffed with 4 doctors who shall remain nameless in a location which shall remain undisclosed. There is a place the people can go get free clothes and once a week a care package consisting of dried beans, corn meal, canned tomatoes and some other dried staples. Several churches get together in the spring and make up "Migrant Bags" which is a cloth bag we sew.  Inside is a towel, wash cloth, a bar of soap, a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a comb. We used to put more stuff in when we did it on our own, but now that we are organized they are more uniform.  Sometimes it takes very little to give a man or woman a little bit of pride.

Our church along with Christ Congregational packed up 65 bags.  Tomorrow I will take these to a church down on Hudson and they will be placed with the ones from several other churches and will be taken to the centers east of town to be dispersed.  The cloth bags are made out of cotton material and are very pretty as well as useful.  If you would be interested in helping us in this endeavor, please leave me a comment and I will get in touch with you.

If you are just wanting to disrupt an operation that has been going on for umpteen years, please just turn your head and look the other way. The Good Lord rewards that also!

Another year down the tubes!

Counting today, there are only 5 days left in this year.    Momma nailed it when she said "When you are over the hill you pick up speed...