Getting Lost on the Internet: Confessions of an Easily Distracted Human Being

One of the hazards of the Internet is the ease with which one can join a site, participate in it, then lose track of it, only to stumble across things again.  About two and one-half years ago I posted 4 videos to YouTube.  Life intervened, sending me down another path.   Months passed.  Memory faded.  I knew the videos were on YouTube, I just couldn't locate them again!  So I started another YouTube account.  

Of my original uploads, one had to do with my use of the Critter to make pulp for papermaking, another one was about our honeybees (who have since swarmed off into the wild blue yonder), and two more videos which were posted during the high gasoline prices a couple of years back.

The links to my "forgotten" videos are below.  I only found them because someone made a comment about one of the videos and through that comment I found my "lost" videos! Thank you, kind someone. (Some might think the video clips deserved to stay lost, but it was like seeing old friends again for me.)

Maiden Run of the Critter

Honeybees in southwest Oklahoma

Saving gasoline in Rural Oklahoma, Part I

Saving gasoline in Rural Oklahoma, Part II

Even if there isn't climate change or global warming . . .

What is the use of a house if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on? (Henry David Thoreau)

Short post today.  Just this:  even if Inhofe and all the other naysayers are right (which they aren't), but let's pretend - even if they are and there is no climate change/global warming, wouldn't it be better for the world, especially the United States of America, if we all lived as if there were climate change/global warming?

What is the harm of converting automobiles to cleaner fuel?  What is the harm of walking or bicycling more?  What is the harm of taking public transportation? What is the harm of reducing factory emissions?  What is the harm of cleaner water?  What is the harm of discovering alternative ways to heat our homes?

What is the harm of living as if there really is global warming/climate change?  (And there is climate change/global warming.)

Education in Oklahoma

Last night the Oklahoma City school board adopted a new calendar.  This coming school year -- 2011/2012 -- will begin August 1 and end June 1.  The Oklahoma City school board is referring to this new school calendar as "continuous learning."  I was heartened by this development until I read further into the article (which is in today's The Oklahoman).  The amount of days in the school calendar remains the same -- 173.  The days have just been redistributed. 

Why not add more days?  Apparently the Indianapolis Public Schools adopted a similar calendar, except they added 20 more days.  Hooray for Indianapolis!  Smart people.

You know why Oklahoma City didn't add more days?  That would mean paying teachers more.  Heaven forbid that Oklahoma should increase teachers' salaries.

Oklahoma gives lip service to wanting better education for our children, but when it comes to putting our money where our mouth is, we shut our pocketbooks and close our checkbooks, refusing to pay more in taxes.  Taxes should be called "life enhancements." (See my previous post regarding life enhancements.)

Don't you want your child to do better in life than you did?

A Somber Anniversary: Bush v Gore

"But don't you just want this election to be over?  Don't you just want a president?" said my boss after the November 2000 presidential election and during the Florida recount. 

And, ten years later, here we are.  A president who was given the office by the Supreme Court in 2000 did change the course of history and, in my opinion, not for the good.  This is a sad anniversary indeed.

This country's impatience will shoot us in our collective feet everytime!

Reference: December 6, 2010's Jeffrey Toobin article in The New Yorker

Also, an analysis on NPR this morning. Listen.

The Grinch and Sunflowers in December

There is no reason for the posting of this picture of the sunflowers I grew one summer other than that they provide a wonderful contrast to the Grinch.  Sunflowers are such happy flowers, don't you think?

This morning while I was relaxing with the newspaper and a cup of coffee, I came across an article in today's The Oklahoman.  I didn't stay relaxed very long.  The headline read "Dallas church's site reports 'Grinches'." The article is by Sam Hodges of The Dallas Morning News. There is a web site developed by the First Baptist Church of Dallas where people can "report" businesses who don't greet them with "Merry Christmas."  I visited the site just to see what people were saying.  For some reason, I was reminded of my grade school days and tattling.

Businesses are commercial.  Christmas is a celebration of a religious event.  Gift giving is something that has grown by leaps and bounds as the years have passed.  The spirituality of the event is long gone and requiring our business owners to greet us with "Merry Christmas" or we won't give them any of our green stuff will not bring that spirituality back. Christmas is a commercial event.  Some businesses make upwards of 70 per cent of their total yearly profits at this time of year.

To penalize a business because they don't greet a shopper with "Merry Christmas" is ridiculous.  The Grinch web site doesn't even like "Happy Holidays" as a greeting even though the word holiday is a combination of the words "holy" and "day."  The word "holiday" is Middle English derived from the Old English word haligdaeg. (Source for my reference.)


One complainant on the web site mentioned that she hadn't been able to find any gift bags with the manger scene printed on the gift bags.  Huh???


And as William Lawrence, dean of the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University pointed out in the article, "The appropriate thing for Christians to do at this time of year is to find new and more effective ways to extend the love and peace of the season to others, not to insist that such enterprises as commercial businesses put  up Christmas trees."


Poor Dr. Seuss.  I'm sure he never imagined his beloved Grinch being used in such a manner.  But then, I guess the pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas is enjoying all the publicity.

Ford, you need to do better!

Sunrise, 10 Dec 2010 at 7:27 a.m.

According to my latest mailing from the Union of Concerned Scientists, of which I am a member (I am not a scientist, but I am concerned), Ford, GM and Chrysler are at the bottom of the UCS’s Automaker Rankings 2010 report.  (The full report can be viewed at www.ucsusa.org/clean_vehicles)  The rankings were based on average per-mile smog and global warming emissions.  The higher the score, the more the vehicles polluted the atmosphere.

Ford came in just over the industry average at 108. Only GM and Chrysler ranked below Ford. Why am I concerned about Ford?  We drive a Ford.  A lot of people drive Fords.  People drive Fords because they are affordable and, for the most part, dependable.

Honda and Toyota were at the top of the rankings.  Their cars contributed the least amount of pollution to our atmosphere.

In the United States, passenger vehicles account for about 20 percent of US global warming emissions.  Here in my flyover state, we love our cars.  We bought a Ford Freestar van in 2006, before the economic debacle and the rising gasoline prices.  We did it solely because we have five grandchildren whom we like to take on little trips. We didn’t buy a Honda Odyssey because we could not afford a Honda Odyssey.  We can afford a Ford.

Ford needs to up its game and produce cleaner automobiles, while maintaining an affordable price.  Come on, Ford, you can do it.  You are the world's fourth largest automaker.  You have been around over 100 years.  We know you can do better than your current performance.

Sunrises and Slowing Down

Look at the gorgeous sunrise this morning.  Our Oklahoma skies are always so beautiful before the storm arrives!

In the December 6, 2010 issue of The New Yorker, in its "The Talk of the Town" section appears an article by Ian  Parker about Rod King, the founder of "20's Plenty for Us."   A resident of Warrington, Cheshire, UK, Mr. King recently visited New York to deliver a speech at an anti-speeding conference.  (The entire article can be viewed at The New Yorker)  


It is good to know that somewhere out there is another person who believes that slowing down is a good thing and a safe thing to do.

This morning on our local news, there was a report of gasoline prices going up, up, up.  And that report reminded me of where we all were a couple of years ago with a gallon of gasoline kissing the $4.00 mark.  The tax rebate that Bush sent out was spent by us on a three wheeled bicycle. We really believed that we would be cycling to the nearest town to get essentials.

Our three wheeled bicycle that we bought with
Bush's tax rebate.

In the USA, Tim Castleman has a web site, drive55.org, which advocates the adoption of a national 55 mph speed limit.   I am in favor of this.  In addition to improving safety on the roads, the 55 mph speed limit goes a long way toward conserving our dwindling oil supplies.

However, after the last gas crunch was over, Okies went back to purchasing behemoth vehicles and flying down the highways and byways.  Our more talented Okie drivers can do this while texting, eating, and running  DVD players in their behemoth vehicles.  When we are tootling home on I-44 in the evenings, SUVs will flash past us, their DVD screens flickering in the night.  Doesn't anyone want to look out the window anymore?  Hey, it's okay to be bored once in a while.  Our lives are filled with constant entertainment, leaving little time for reflection. But I digress.

I wish Mr. King well in his advocacy of 20 miles per hour in residential areas. Nothing is more important than a life.  A life cannot be replaced;  it can be snuffed  out in a moment through the negligence of inattentive and speeding drivers.

See my earlier post on walking and cycling in a flyover state.

Solar Power

Previously on this blog I have written about how we were without power for 11 days earlier in 2010 because of a horrific ice storm. (See Ice Storm of January 2010) While we had talked about alternative power sources before the ice storm, we never actually did anything about it -- it was just talk.  Then when everything went dark and cold for over a week, we decided to make changes as soon as we were on our feet again.

My husband says that we are too far along in life to try wind power even though we live in one of the windiest states in the nation and we live out in the middle of a cow pasture.  But he's right.  The start up costs for wind power are prohibitive for ordinary people, which is a shame.  Start up costs are at least $20,000 -- and that's doing it yourself.

However, Harbor Freight had a deal on solar panels and my husband thought we would experiment with that idea.  In addition to living in one of the windiest states, we also live in a very sunny part of our state.  He ordered the panels and they arrived promptly.  Then he found a video produced by user GoatHollow on YouTube which we found helpful and entertaining about installing and using solar panels from Harbor Freight.
Thank you, GoatHollow!

My husband built a frame for the panels and we installed them on top of my little house, "Summersgaze."  Right now the solar panels are powering two lights and my husband is also using the panels to recharge different batteries around our place.  We are pleased with the solar panels and if our little experiment continues to work, we may purchase more.

A box full of three solar panels from Harbor Freight

My husband installing panels on roof of Summersgaze.
I helped him lift the panels onto the roof.

Marriage going the way of the dinosaurs?

From a small voice in the Bible belt.

On the front page of this morning's Lawton Constitution is the headline "What's a family? Four in 10 say marriage is becoming obsolete."

First, the article mentions divorced people.  People cannot get divorced unless they are married. Divorced people were once married.  They utilized the accepted legal system to get married.  When things didn't work out, they also utilized the accepted legal system to get un-married.  Property and possessions were divided in the courts; child support and custody issues were settled in the courts.  Divorced people were once married and have nothing to do with the institution of marriage going by the wayside.  They are simply people that recognized that that particular marriage, for whatever reason, was not working out so they divorced.   To me, the institution of marriage is still intact. 

Now, let's move on to people who live together.  Great.  Go for it but don't expect the courts to divvy up your shared life when you both decide to end it.  And, if (for the love of God, why?), you have reproduced, you are really swimming in a murky pool.

I am not talking about morality and immorality.  I am simply talking about smart and stupid.  Women, let's be smart about our bodies.  Use birth control. (I cannot believe the number of young women in my state who are having babies willy-nilly with no thought for the future, theirs or their children's.)  The Pill was such a huge thing in the 1960s.  Since that time so many new forms of birth control have been developed.  They only work, though, if you use them.


Men, use birth control.  Protect yourself from unwanted pregnancies and disease.

Do not reproduce until you are with a person who is as committed to your life together as you are.  Be smart! Don't be stupid. 


Recently I heard a young couple say that having a kid together is no reason to get married. Having a child is every reason to get married.  A child unites two people forever.  You will be linked through the child even if, at some point, you and your significant other go your separate ways.  

Children are forever.   Marriage isn't always a forever matter, but it is the legal system that the United States uses to recognize the establishment of a relationship.  And if gay people want to get married, go for it.  Gay people should be able to use the United States legal system just like heterosexual citizens.

Looking at situations through "tsk, tsk, bad or good" and "Heaven or hell" will bite us every time.

Try to handle life realistically.  Here in my flyover state, we bury our heads in the sand.  "Our teenaged daughter isn't having sex;"  "my son is a good boy, he would never do anything like that;" "but the Bible says . . . (pick your poison)."

Use birth control.  Take precautions.  Make every child a wanted child.


Well, I've gone off topic from my opening paragraph and I know I sound like such an old lady.  Nevertheless.  Be smart.  Don't be stupid.

Our corner of the world

The eastern horizon this morning about 6:30 a.m. Central Standard Time, eastern Comanche County, OK

The poster pictured above is in my kitchen. I read it to remind myself that my little corner of the world is just that.  Everyone else on this planet has their little corners too.  This flyover state is part of a much larger world. 

I purchased the poster back in 2004 from what catalogue I don't remember.  The beautiful artwork is by Ann Altman.  I looked up Wade Davis to see who this wise man is.  He is an anthropologist and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence, so if anyone knows about different corners of the world, I think it would be Wade Davis.   

“The world in which you were born is just one model of reality.  Other cultures are not failed attempts at being you; they are unique manifestations of the human spirit.” (Wade Davis)

I think we forget that sometimes here in the middle of our sea of grass.  I think that is part of our problem with understanding other people's points of view:  we have no ocean.  New ideas, even with the Internet and media, take just a tad longer to make it to our corner of the world and the acceptance of them takes even longer.  We get just a little bit too comfortable and any hint of change scares us.   I think this last election is an indication of that.

Just try to stretch the mind every once in awhile.  Try to see the world through another's eyes.

My Last Rant on Daylight Savings Time at least until spring

6:20 a.m., Monday, 8 Nov 2010 - Venus rising above the
largest tree on the horizon.

Can you tell the sky is important to us here in the flyover part of the country?  It is everywhere and we comment on it frequently.


This will be my last rant on changing time at least until spring.  Here is my initial rant.


So how are you all feeling today?  I've learned that it doesn't matter if we fall back one hour or spring forward an hour, it takes at least a week to adjust.  And to those of you with babies and young children, I know it's especially rough on you and them.  


My normal wake-up time is 5 a.m.  I was awake at 4 a.m.  My eyes are hard to keep open after 9 p.m. -- now they are trying to shut by 8 p.m.  I tell you, I'm a barrel of laughs!


I heard a story the other day on NPR's Saturday Weekend Edition with Scott Simon about Great Britain's discussing perhaps leaping forward two hours in the summer and falling back one hour -- here's the link to the story --  Time change and Great Britain -- and the person interviewed gave the same ridiculous reasons that were given to the American public about why messing with the clock is so wonderful.  It isn't wonderful.  If anything can throw a population off kilter, it's messing with the clock.


Here's another story that NPR did in 2005 about the history of the time change. NPR story on daylight savings time   It's enlightening and interesting as all things are on NPR, but I still don't like time changes.


So, I think that does it.  No more ranting about time change.  I shall move on to something else.  Thank you.

We're back to Central Standard Time!

Look for Venus above the large elm tree. She was so bright this morning. Hope you remembered to set your clock back one hour.

Blogging, Despair, John Stuart Mill, and a Great Horned Owl

I don't know if you are familiar with Despair, Inc.  We get their hard copy catalogue.  Clever concept and it's worth a visit to the site if you enjoy cynical, on-the-money points of view.
  
Anyway . . .there is a poster devoted to Blogging.  It says "Never before have so many people with so little to say said so much to so few." 


Perhaps.  I prefer to think, though, all the blogging taking place on the Internet is really just the 21st century's version of John Stuart Mill's marketplace of ideas.  


And the following picture has nothing to do with what I just wrote, it's just a cool picture of a great horned owl that I took Thursday morning.  He was waiting for the chickens to be let out of the coop!


Happy blogging.

Can you spot him?  If you look closely enough, you
will see two glowing eyes.  Picture taken 4Nov2010
west of Fletcher, OK.

A Land of Elephants and Fat White Guys

I am a blue dot in a sea of red here in this flyover state.  And I’m a native.  Somehow, the political makeup has changed over the years until, during the last Presidential election,  my flyover state was the reddest in the nation.  And for some perverse reason, we are proud of that.   


On my Google home page was a funny quote by Seth McFarlane:  “The two symbols of the Republican party:  an elephant and a big fat white guy who is threatened by change.”


Welcome to the land of elephants and fat white guys!  We battle Mississippi for the bottom rung in educational rankings, yet we vote down Question 744 which would have required our state to spend at least as much money per student as the bordering states do.  Aren’t our children worth the investment of our tax dollars?


We seem to think we are in imminent danger of Sharia law taking over our state’s courts because there was a state question about that.   Also, there was a state question about making  English the official language in this flyover state.  If anyone is familiar with this flyover state’s use of the English language, they might find this state question ironic.  Heck, the natives have trouble using English!  But now it’s official -- English is the official language of this state.  The only people this did not affect are the Native Americans.


And, of course, my candidate for governor -- Jari Askins -- did not win.  I now understand something that a professor from the East Coast once told me.  “You think you’re liberal?  You’re not liberal.  You should see the East Coast liberals.”  I understand now.  Even our Democratic candidates are barely recognizable as Democrats.  And, heaven forbid, if you aren’t wearing the required Christian cross around your neck.  That and the American flag lapel pin.  


Oh, and we also voted to block the new federal health care initiative.  It’s crazy.  We are already one of the unhealthiest states in the nation, but we don’t want any help with health care.


We’re represented by two Senators, one who says there is no climate change (there is!) and who is famous for flying his own plane which he recently landed on a closed runway (see Inhofe plane landing under FAA investigation).  And then there's Senator No.  He makes news only because he calls a press conference to say “no.”  Doesn’t matter what the question is; his answer is “no.”  He reminds me of my grandchildren.  “No.”  


Oh, and one more thing:  we elected a man to represent us in Washington, D.C. whose work experience was being a director at the Falls Creek Youth Camp, a big deal here in Baptist Oklahoma.  If nothing else, watching him maneuver around in our Nation's capitol will be interesting.


I told my husband we should move to another state.  His response, “Why should we move? We were born in this state!  We have just as much right to live here as anyone else. At least until there's a state question on the next ballot asking voters to decide if we can still live here.”


And, finally, to all you voters who switch allegiances back and forth with each election.  I believe you call yourselves "independent."  (Maybe wishy-washy?) There's a great cartoon appearing on this morning's Lawton Constitution editorial page.  A man is screaming at the TV which shows Election Night 2010.  "WE WANT CHANGE!!!"  Twenty-four hours later, the same man is screaming, "It's been 24 hours!  Nothing has changed!!"

Hot Flashes + Discomfort = Hormone Replacement Therapy? Not for me.

Those of us in the throes of menopause and those poor souls who have to live with us are aware of the incredible hot flashes that women can have.  I am experiencing menopause the natural way, with no hormone replacement therapy.  I deal with hot flashes by breathing deeply, exercising, drinking lots of cold water, and ripping off clothing at inappropriate moments.  :-)


Bobbie Mullins wrote a piece featured on The Lawton Constitution's editorial page (1 Nov 2010) entitled "Think twice about hormone replacement therapy."   We already know about the 2002 findings of the Women's Health Initiative which stated that combining estrogen and progestin increased the risk for breast cancer in women.  Later studies found that "estrogen only" treatments did not have the same effect.


However, did you know that some of the estrogen replacement drugs being now prescribed to women are made of the urine of pregnant horses?  That urine is rich in estrogen.  These horses must wear rubber urine collection bags to collect the necessary urine. They are kept in confining stalls. The horses' fluid intake is carefully monitored -- the less fluid, the richer and more concentrated the urine is in estrogen.  


Think about that.  A horse pees in a cup so that women's symptoms of menopause will not be so overwhelming.  Really.  There are better ways to handle the discomforts of menopause.

NOT BY THE HAIR OF MY CHINNY CHIN CHIN!

My third great grandmother's
chin hairs ca 1885.

The purpose of this posting is not to ridicule women in the 1800s.  By way of introduction, I will tell you that, while scanning beautiful old cabinet cards and photographs passed down to me by my grandmother and great aunt, I noticed something "a little extra" on one of my third great grandmothers.  After scanning the photo, I sectioned it into eyes, mouth, nose, and chin.  (I often do that to see if any of the parts that make up the whole resemble any relative that I have met.)  So back to the chin -- I kept enlarging it on my computer until . . . yes, it was . . . a fine crop of chin hairs on my third great grandmother's chin.  Aghast, I immediately focused on myself and saw what lay ahead for me if I did not pluck and pluck and wax and wax.  Then I started checking other photos of women from that time period and realized that, more often than not, they too sported nice crops of chin hairs.


By coincidence, while thinking of a way to work chin hairs into a blog posting,  yesterday morning on PublicRadio.org's Performance Today, an acapella song, written by Ysaye Barnwell and performed by Sweet Honey in the Rock, called "No Mirrors in my Nana's House" was performed.  Fast paced and heartfelt, the song tells about a little girl who lives with her grandmother.  Her grandmother has no mirrors in her house.  Each day, the little girl's grandmother describes to the little girl how she looks and tells her how wonderful she is.  She looks at the little girl with love and that's how the little girl sees herself.  She grows up with no negative image of herself.


Then, again a coincidence, there was a recent article in the 28 Oct 2010 The New Yorker by Ben McGrath about Gawker's Nick Denton.  In the article, Denton says that "he is a staunch believer in the primacy of vanity. . . . calling someone ugly will always trump calling him incompetent or a thief."  How true.  We remember the negative things that have been said about us, rather than the positive.


Harper's Bazarr is credited with beginning the marketing campaign for hair removal on women between 1914 and 1915.  And while that campaign's focal point was mainly underarm hair removal, it knocked over that first domino in our march toward the ultimate goal of being as smooth as a baby, no matter our age.


Today we are pounded and hounded with images of how we should look. People in the public eye who are "of a certain age" have their faces stretched until they are no longer recognizable as the people they once were.   They get that desperate look about them. And it's sad.  None of us appear willing to "go gentle into that good night."  We will color, stretch, smooth, and medicate, attempting to stave off the inevitable.


I do wonder how it must have been to have not worried so much about one's physical appearance. There were, of course, fashion standards to which people in the 1800s tried to adhere, but I don't think they were hounded and pounded by images quite as much as we are in the 21st century.  If the study of genealogy teaches us anything, it's that human beings are the same no matter what century -- it's just the tenor of the times that is different.


So, all that being said, my hope for you today is that the ones you know will look at you through the eyes of love and that you, too, will look at others with the same eyes.  Life is so short.  


A life without mirrors.  Think about it.

OF GARDEN SPIDERS, BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND A SINGLE PAYER HEALTH CARE SYSTEM

Hanging out laundry this morning, I faced into a cool wind blowing from the north.  A cold front is moving in. Summer 2010 is truly over. The hummingbird feeders came down this morning; I always keep them up until the last moment just in case a straggler hums in from the north on its way south.  My husband is harvesting the last of the green peppers and butternut squash. The garden spider has even come down from her magnificent web on Summersgaze and is now crouching on the southeast side of a paint chipped Adirondack chair. Summer does come to an end.


The 1 minute piece posted above is composed of shots taken from 5:15 a.m. (feeding the cats time) to 8:15 a.m. today.

* * * * * * * *

This morning I heard an interesting piece on NPR.    It was about a company in Needham, Massachusetts -- Vita Needle Company -- that hires people over the age of 65 to work.  One woman who was interviewed is over 98 years old.  It's an excellent piece -- the link is here:  NPR story


This piece, however, inadvertently pointed out the need for a single payer health care system in the United States.  Caitrin Lynch is quoted as saying that in addition to appreciating flexible hours, senior citizens bring along their own health care -- Medicare -- so the company does not have to provide health care benefits.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if all that companies had to worry about were creating  jobs for people, making a profit, and providing excellent retirement packages for their employees?  Under a single payer health care system, that could happen.  As it stands now, we are at the mercy of a health care insurance octopus with companies footing the health care expense burden when health care should be a benefit of being a citizen of the United States.  A life enhancement, if you will.


Single payer health care system.  That's the way to go. And, yes, it is that simple.

Cluck! Cluck! Cluck!

We have chickens.  In addition to the eggs, meat, and pest control that these feathered fowl provide, they also provide entertainment.  Above is a 1 minute clip of some of  our chickens in action.

Have you heard of the Sand Hill Preservation Center?  Here is the link:  http://www.sandhillpreservation.com/
This is a wonderful place that sells heirloom poultry and seeds.  On the front of their hard copy catalogue is "over 1600 rare and genetic treasures for your selection."

During the long winter, this catalogue is a great one to just sit down and read . . . like a book.  The enterprise is run by a husband and wife team.  They live on a working farm.  The reader of the catalogue is also cautioned not to expect immediate email responses.   They also only take  orders by regular mail. Their time is limited.  And if you are someone who wants immediate service, this place is not for you.  But if you are someone who has patience and is willing to wait, wonderful things will come your way.

The catalogue is black and white.  The 2010 catalogue cover was done by a student at Calamus-Wheatland High School.  Sand Hill  Preservation Center is run by Iowans involved in their community.  I've never met these people, but I like them, just because of their catalogue.

My husband has been ordering seeds from them for several years, but this was the first year we decided to try their chickens.  What beautiful chickens they are turning out to be.  We ordered the farmyard assortment.  It's a crazy quilt of chickens!  Polish, Egyptian, the beautifully named Crevecouer, and other breeds.

Corporate farming involves millions of chickens -- all one breed -- the breed that will provide the most eggs and meat in the shortest amount of time.

Sand Hill Preservation Center is dedicated to those breeds of poultry who are overlooked and forgotten.  The seeds for the garden are heirloom seeds also.  Worthy genetic strains which still have value today.  If you are a "hobby" farmer or gardener, I urge to order one of Sand Hill's catalogues.  The catalogue in itself is a great read!

SLANTED SHADOWS

The slant of the sun's light is beautiful this time of year. During the summer, the sun glares down from overhead washing out all but the brightest of nature's colors. The landscape turns into a setting for a Cormac McCarthy novel. But autumn brings a gentler sun and with the gentler sun comes the angled light and slanted shadows.

Beginning with my feeding the cats moon shot at 5:20 this morning, above is a collage of pictures taken on our morning walk. Lovely time of year.

Take a deep breath and relax.

No ranting today.  The older I get, the more rants I have!   My generation -- the baby boomers -- seems to be up in arms about something all the time.  


Today, though, is a peaceful posting. Enjoy.  If your Internet connection is good, this clip will just take a minute of your time.  It's composed of a moon shot when I was  outside at 5:15 this morning feeding the cats, then shots I took during our two mile walk this morning.


And I'll leave you with some autumn roses which are blooming just outside our kitchen door.

October roses

DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME - WHY DO WE STILL HAVE IT?

Walking at 7:30 this morning.

Reflective wear I don before
walking.

I've already talked about the dangers of walking on our road in a previous post, but since it was dark this morning on our walk -- my husband put on his flashing tail light -- I thought I'd post pictures yet again of what we wear to avoid being smashed by a vehicle. I recommend this clothing for all cyclists, joggers and walkers.

Someone, whose name I will not allow my lips to speak, once commented that the United States is a "nation of whiners." True. I just hate it that the words were spoken by the unnameable one. Nevertheless, this quote is a nice segue into my latest "whine."

Daylight savings time. Really. Isn't it time we just stick on one time and quit switching the clock back and forth? No matter whether the clock is "falling back" an hour or "springing forth" one hour, it still takes us at least a week to adjust to the time change. We are either feeling rushed or too early.

Isn't life in the 21st century stressful enough without looking at whatever one looks at to check the time (cell phones, clocks, watches, etc.), without the (warning: old lady trying to be hip) POA (period of adjustment) our bodies go through each time the change takes place?

Think of young families with babies and toddlers who are (hopefully) on some kind of schedule. Even one hour can throw the whole day off. And farmers. While not true farmers in any sense of the word -- one could call us "farm piddlers" -- we have sheep and chickens whose tummies tell us to show up at a certain time of day, hang the darkness. I can't imagine what it is like for full fledged farming operations.

The National Geographic has a good article on the history of Daylight Savings Time, the full text of which can be seen here: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news

The article says that we are sold (my word) daylight savings time with talk of the decrease in the number of traffic accidents and crimes committed. Congress chimed in by stating that our Nation's youth benefit from the extension of daylight at the end of the day so they can play outside longer. Consumers can continue shopping, spending money further into the extended daylight. Congress also pointed out that it helps domestic offices when the USA's office hours overlap those of the European community.

It sounds nice . . . it always does. Kind of like a frog being dumped in a pot of water on a stove burner. Slowly the flame turns up and slowly the unaware frog boils.

Society is running 24/7 all the time now. Thirty years ago, when our children were babies and required late night feedings and rocking, we could still see a bit of flag waving and listen to the National Anthem as the television stations, one by one, signed off -- and we were living in a big city at the time. Do any television stations sign off anymore?

Some brick and mortar stores are opened all the time, and the Internet offers us 24/7 opportunities to research, shop, and communicate at home.

Let's choose a stable time -- a time that does not switch back and forth with the seasons. In this unstable world, we need something that is always the same: a calendar year has 12 months, a day has 24 hours, a week has seven days, and a clock, whose hands, when they are on 3 o'clock, it is really 3 o'clock.

Not, "OMG, it's really 4 o'clock". Heart races, blood pressure goes up . . . does the USA need that stress?

And, remember, FALL BACK the first Sunday in NOVEMBER.

The Wichita Mountains this morning at 8:10.

Voting, Bee Pollen, and our Morning Walk

Sunrise, Monday, 25 Oct 2010 

Today my husband and I voted!  We had our ballots mailed to us earlier last month.  We studied all the questions that are on the Oklahoma  ballot this year.  I am not sure why we have a legislature.  Don't we elect representatives to handle a lot of these decisions?  

This year, the time to fill out a ballot at a polling place will be 10 to 15 minutes in length because of all the questions.  It took us at least that long sitting at our kitchen table this morning reading over each question presented.  I'm not sure how actual voting -- next Tuesday -- will go.  After filling out the ballots we went to our local tag agent and had our signatures notarized before posting the ballots at the post office.

Bee pollen from the Elgin Tag Agency

The woman who owns the tag agency is also the wife of a bee keeper in Tipton, OK.  She had a nice display of honey and bee pollen.   (My husband has purchased hives from Tipton Valley Honey Company but his adventures with bees are for another time.)  I asked the tag agent about bee pollen and she said she mixes about 1/8 teaspoon in her yogart each morning.  It is supposed to help with allergies and other aches and pains.  I'm going to try it.  I've read about bee pollen before but have never seen it offered locally.

Our morning walks are on a beautiful road -- not much for
driving on but great for  walking. (25Oct2010)

The Wichita Mountains and windmills.  This is a
view from our road.  I took it this morning on our walk.

All Hail, Judge Judy

Before I begin my praise of Judge Judy, I wanted to share these pictures I took this morning of our sky in our little corner of a flyover state.  In the east, the sun was rising, and in the west, the moon was setting.  This  morning was beautiful.  This is a wonderful time of year.


Now, let the praising begin . . .






All hail, Judge Judy


I used to make fun of those judge shows.  “Who watches this stuff?” 


Until . . .


A few years back my second oldest grandson - Sweet Baby Boy 2 -- was sick.  He was only about four months old at the time.  My daughter had a busy day and she asked if I could drive up to watch him.  


Sweet Baby Boy 2 had a bad cold and all he wanted was to be held.  I rocked him, patting his back.  Holding a baby, rocking him, has got to be one of the best feelings in the world.  I knew I was doing the most important job I could be doing at that moment in time.


My daughter left the house, with the television going.  It was on the station that had the judge shows.  I didn’t  realize until after she had left that I didn’t have a clue how to work her television’s remote and I didn’t want to disturb Sweet Baby Boy 2, so I sat, rocked, and watched judge shows.  (One of our Oklahoma City stations has court shows all day long.)


The longer I sat and rocked and watched, the more I got into it.  I’d get up to change diapers and feed Sweet Baby Boy 2, but I always came back to the rocking chair and those silly court shows.  I liked “Judge Alex” but then “Judge Judy” came on.  


Wow!  Who knew?  She runs those plaintiffs and defendants through her courtroom like nobody’s business.  She is confident in her sometimes snap decisions.  And while I don’t always agree with the outcome, I respect the way she conducts her courtroom.  Plus, she has no reluctance in using the word “idiot.”  That is one of my favorite words and sometimes that’s the word that says it all.


I was hooked.  I am hooked.  She comes on in our area at 4 p.m. each weekday and, if possible, I try to catch her show.


My kids make fun of me for watching it -- I didn’t tell anyone for a long time -- it was my guilty secret. Then my husband retired and was hanging around the house more.  So I got him hooked on “Judge Judy” too.


I tell my kids that it is Sweet Baby Boy 2’s fault because if I had known how to operate that TV remote that day I was sitting and rocking him, I would never had enjoyed the opportunity to watch “Judy Judy.”

Emma and the Headless Chicken

My life today at 10:12 a.m. in my little part of a flyover state.


I was in the middle of cleaning, taking advantage of that zing of energy I get in the morning, hurrying before the zing went zang.  Tomorrow two of our grandchildren will pay us a visit. (It’s fall break in my  part of the flyover state.) 


The telephone rang.  Caller ID showed “Happy Hollow Vet.  Late yesterday afternoon, my husband had dropped our dog Emma off for a “deep” cleaning of her teeth and she was to be put into a twilight sleep for the procedure.


Me:  “Hello?”


HH:  “Hi.  How are you?  We have Emma under anesthesia right now and the doctor has noticed a mass on her right rear leg.  He said that he could also remove the growth as long as she is under anesthesia.  It would just be $75 extra.”


Me:  “Mmmmm. Let me check with my husband.”


I opened the kitchen door and stepped out onto the porch.  


“Carl!” I called.  (We have four acres -- he could be anywhere.)


He was within the sound of my voice.


He was under the carport, his back to me.  He turned.  


“Yes?”


In his hands was a headless chicken he had just finished plucking.  


I knew I had come a long way in our country living experiment when I managed to gulp once, ignoring the naked, headless chicken, and say, “Emma has a mass. The vet wants to know if he should remove it while she’s still out.”


“Yes.”


I gave the vet’s office the green light and returned to my cleaning, trying to recover any zing I had left.  


Carl continued plucking.


There will be no picture on today’s posting.  I leave it to your imagination.

Just an Empty Box: The End of an Era

Once upon a time there lived a "ladies' man" called Mr. Hess.  He was as much of a ladies' man as one could be in Arkansas City, Kansas in 1885.  There was a social event one hot August evening and Mr. Hess wanted to get a date for the event.   He went to the telephone and “sounded the alarm” -- that is what “ringing” was called in Kansas in 1885.  His call was misdirected.  Not knowing that his call had gone to the wrong telephone, Mr. Hess called out “Hello” into the receiver and a female voice answered.  He asked the lady if she would accompany him to the party.  She replied in a distant, cool tone, “My husband will go with me.”  Mr. Hess was so embarrassed by the encounter that he “is opposed to telephone communication now and says it is wrong on general principles.” (Arkansas City Republican, August 29, 1885)


Flash forward to 1889:  The United States’ first pay phone was installed in a bank in 1889 in Hartford, Connecticut by its inventor William Gray.  It was a trusting pay phone because at that time, coins were installed after the call was made.


Fast forward to 1905.  The first outdoors pay phone was installed on a street in Cincinnati.  It was not a big hit.  Oddly enough, people in 1905 were reluctant to have a private conversation in a public area.  Now, over a century later, we can listen to people’s private lives anywhere we go, whether we want to or not.


By 1957 we were able to drive up to a pay phone and make a call from our car.  The last time I checked, the only drive up pay phone in our vicinity now -- and we live in a rural area -- is at the Fina Station just before getting on I-44.  People still use it.  I, for one, am glad it’s there.  Cell phones are nice, but they have to be charged up, maybe one is in a “bad” area tower-wise for using a cell phone, and land lines are always necessary.  (Witness our January 2010 ice storm.  We were so happy we still had a land line because the cell towers were down for a time.  Land lines still serve a purpose.)

Empty pay phone box at the Fina station
 just west of Elgin.

Well, guess what?  I just drove to the Fina to make sure the pay phone was still there and look what I found.  


Back to Hartford, Connecticut, in 1966, the “dial tone first” was introduced on pay phones.  Before that time, one had to deposit coins to get a dial tone.  Now, emergency numbers could be dialed from a pay phone without depositing coins.


In 2001 ATT announced it was getting out of the pay phone business.  Will the pay phone be a victim of cell phone technology?


Not everyone can afford a cell phone and the contract plans that go with it.  It’s just as much a hassle to get all that set up as it was waiting for the telephone man to come out and install your telephone and land line.  If I’m not mistaken, the actual telephones belonged to the telephone company.  The telephone man brought out the telephone and set everything up.


Progress isn’t always progress.  For more information on the history of the telephone, visit this interesting link: www.telephonetribute.com

Oh, and after seeing that the pay phone was no longer at the Fina station, my husband and I became curious.  There is no longer a pay phone at the local grocery store -- just the empty box -- and then we drove to Fletcher and there is no longer a pay phone at the convenience store, just an empty box.

Empty pay phone box
Fletcher OK