My Sweet Girl

I don't know what in the world those white dots are in two of the photos.  I'm new to this digital stuff, so I don't have a clue.
Darcie and I spent a quiet day at home.  I really miss going to church though.  Both of us only got about four hours of sleep Saturday night.  She had another 'episode' with her back hurting and heartburn.  She was also throwing up. 
She had surgery over two months ago for a ruptured appendix.  The amount of infection was very severe.  The doctors cleaned her up but said she may have some long-lasting effects from the surgery.
Apparently, she can't handle foods high in fat such as ice cream or cheddar cheese.  She has an attack every time she eats these foods.  Her pediatrician said it's because fat foods don't go through the intestines as rapidly as healthier foods and hang around giving heartburn, etc.
So we're taking steps to increase the good bacteria in her intestines and keeping her away from the fatty foods.  This hasn't been too hard as she is loathe to experience another night like last night.  I served cheese grits for Sunday dinner (among other things) which is one of  her favorite foods, and she declined!  Smart girl!
Here are the grandkids and Darcie playing ball with Pee Paw in the front yard of my parents' house.  They had such a good time playing in the leaves and with him.  He's always been such a fun Daddy and now Pee Paw.  
The great news is that I get to go back up there in two weeks.  I'm taking Gayle to the Atlanta airport to fly out to Oklahoma and help Garrett drive home.  He'll be finished with gunnery school.  Yeah!  And since they only live two hours north of the airport, we'll go up the weekend before and stay a few days.  Can't wait!

Sowing - big time

Out for my early morning walk when we were visiting my Dad on Speyside a couple of weeks ago I came across plenty of farming activity. This monster was sowing carrots. The land on the river valley floor is rich and fertile, but it wasn't always so peaceful. A few hundred years ago (in 1296 to be exact), King Edward I of England, known as the 'Hammer of the Scots' because, well, he kept trying to conquer us, stayed the night in the castle on the hill. You can just see the only remaining wall between the modern houses and the trees on the skyline. His army bivouacked on the plain below - right about where the tractor is.
Now it's just spring ploughing and sowing.

In the Spotlight: Jockey’s Ridge

After our visit to the Wright Brothers National Memorial (blog post here), we made a detour on our way back to the campground to check out Jockey’s Ridge State Park. Located in Nags Head, the 426-acre (~172 hectares) park is home to the tallest living sand dune on the East Coast of the US.

Left: Number 6 on the map shows the location of the park in Nags Head.
Right: map courtesy of the park’s website.

Glimpse of the sand dune for which the park is named (From the overlook).
(see the break in the trees on the right; we’re going to climb to the top via that path.)

The area was designated a state park in 1975 after residents and visitors alike resisted a move to develop the dune. No one knows for sure how the dune came to be named Jockey’s Ridge. One theory is that it was from the early practice of using the base of the dunes to race Spanish mustangs that ran wild in the area while spectators watched from the top of the dune. A more likely theory is that the dune was named for a family with the surname of Jockey (or perhaps, Jackey) who might have owned the land.

we have Success climbing to the top of Jockey's Ridge.

Most geologists believe that this dune, which fluctuates between 90-100 feet (~27-30 m) above sea level, was formed by strong water currents resulting from hurricanes and other strong storms that washed sand from offshore shoals onto the beach. Over many years, the sand was moved inland. Shifting maritime winds continue to blow billions of grains of sand every which way, changing both the shape and the size of the dune.

Winds create constantly shifting waves in the sand.

Any other time, we would have spent a considerable amount of time exploring the dune; maybe even walking the Tracks in the Sand Trail to see the soundside views. Not today. Not only were we tired after a long visit to the Wright Brothers Memorial, but the wind was blowing the sand about quite a bit. And those miniscule grains of sand were all looking to find a new place to settle into — including into the nooks and crannies of our cameras. Sand and electronic sensors don’t play well together, so we stayed just long enough to watch youngsters — and youngsters at heart — running the dune. This looked to be fun, but more than a little dangerous as we watched runners often fall and tumble down the ridge in a way that seemed like an open invitation to a broken neck.

We’re going to skip dune running today; don’t need any broken bones … or worse.

In addition to the crazy antics of the dune runners, the smaller dunes on the other side of the park were filled with newbies learning to hang glide before they tackled the main event — hang gliding over the sound from the top of Jockey’s Ridge.

Finding a not so steep part of the dune, we made our way down to the base to watch the dune runners for a few minutes, before following the trail along the dune back to the overlook where we began our visit.

How they made it down without taking a tumble I'll never know.

I’ll close this post with a quickie video clip from the footage Mui took …

Christmas Eve Ride

An awesome bike ride this morning with the folks from PC Bike. About 10 of us headed out from the bike shop.
I am not sure exactly what all trails were on. Its the regular route the Saturday ride takes - for the 12 mile ride.
What I could see, we were along Palm Coast Parkway to the toll bridge. St. Jon Walkway, right onto Waterfront. Some beautiful scenery along the Intracoastal. Stopped for a group photo (above). From there over to the Graham Swamp Trail.
Had to take it easy on that trail as the surface is crushed coquina shells. Rides like crushed limestone. Thankfully, it was not soft or loose. At Old King's Highway, we stopped for a break.
Back down the Graham Swamp Trail, into the "B" section of town. From here, I got a bit confused. I saw a sight that were were on the Butterfly Trail(?).
Back on Palm Coast Parkway, stopped to take a photo of me at the panther. Ended at the bike shop for coffee and doughnuts.
Thanks for the great was to start the holiday weekend!

Chicks!

I piddled around and waited too long to order chicks. Sold out!
I should have realized, after hearing stories about seeds flying off the shelves in this poor economy, that the same would apply to small livestock.
But we found mystery chicks from the Cullman Tractor Supply store.

I think we have Leghorns, a Rhode Island Red, and Dominiques. Maybe.

They are cute, at any rate, although I suspect that a high percentage may be cockerels.

Fuzzy.

Wuzzy.
We put them in a pen outside one sunny day, to soak in sun and eat bugs and scratch around, but mostly they acted like it was just another ploy to try to kill them.

The female Muscovy was verrrry interested. Poor thing wants to be a mama so bad, but is too dumb to figure out how to sit on eggs correctly. Maybe we should have brought her some ducklings.
This is how much they grew in just a week:

That one on the far left and one other black chick have tails already, which says "male" to me, but I pray I'm wrong.

Look Ma, real feathers!
To buy the chicks, we had to sign a paper: name, address, phone, driver's license number! I considered yelling "No NAIS!" and running out the door, but I didn't. I hadn't felt Big Brother peering over my shoulder like that since we tried to drive up to view the local dam, and had our plates and license numbers recorded.
Lord knows what sort of watch list I'll be put on for buying chicks, visiting a dam, and buying Sudafed.

"I'll be watching you."

You Dirty Rat

Sparky and Bennie were shown the door last night.

George had spotted a rat having a feast on some birdseed which had fallen under the old apple tree.

The girls were having a nap - we cruelly woke them, and popped them outside, near to where the rat had been and then we nipped inside and shut the door, quickly!









Eventually, as it was a cold night, we let them back inside to warm their toes and fill their tummies before settling for the night.

Grandson Harry ran across to our house today, shouting that he'd seen a dead animal... Upon investigation it turned out to be a very large, dead rat! Unfortunately this isn't a photo of our dead rat, I forgot to take one.

Can't take the triumph away from the girls though, whether by team work, or one working by herself (they do both) they got their target!





Fish suppers all round tonight.

A Proud Sadness

I haven't posted in a while, because we've started homeschooling for this year. This is our first full week, and I'm trying to stick to the schedule faithfully. The hardest thing for me to do is get in bed by 10:00. As you can see, it's 10:51, and I haven't had a bath yet. If I don't go to bed at 10:00 then I can't get up at 5:15. I'll get up instead about 6:15 which will give me time to have worship and exercise before waking Darcie at 7:00. I'll just miss writing in my journal and reading a book on creativity.
I got some bad news today. Garrett called and said he'll be leaving for Iraq on October 2. That only gives us two weekends, and he's not coming home this weekend. He's going to a Clemson game.
He kept asking me if he should go. Of course I'd rather he came home, but I wasn't going to tell him he had to. We'll get to see him for a long weekend the next week.
I hate this feeling of sadness I have. I have to keep telling myself over and over that I believe God is sovereign over life and death, and if it is his turn to die, he'll do it here in the U.S. or somewhere else. It doesn't matter where.
My heart says, "Of course it matters! I want him here in town where I can control things." Like I can! I'm having a hard time letting him go. I guess it's a mom thing.

Arnold's Magic Trick, Fairy Doors & Toby

click to enlarge any image!

Arnold is a well-fed, happy, old horse, who enjoys my visits, especially the part which involves treats.

He gets a little grumpy when I produce my camera instead of carrots, tells me to make it snappy.

No image 'thinnification', this is what he does, I simply

drained the colour for added effect.

He possesses an unusual ability - one I really wish that I could mimic - he can make himself look very thin (so thin that he looks as though he will expire if I don't give him something to eat) ..

a puff of wind could blow him away...



feed me, please....



He had his carrots, his apple, and two mints. He was a happy boy and he suddenly resumed his normal proportions!

I wonder whether he has learnt this magic trick from the fairies who live in the yard...







..I found these two fairy doors right next to Arnold's paddock.

They are in the base of that gigantic ash tree. Split ash trees are supposed to have magical healing properties.

I wish I had remembered that yesterday.




Toby may be the grumpy one when I tell you that I had to ring for a wheelbarrow to take him home from Arnold's...he had hurt his front right leg and couldn't walk on it. I couldn't find a thorn, a cut, a bee sting, or any obvious reason for the pain, but he wouldn't allow much probing.

Normally it would probably have been possible to hobble back the short distance home - but given Toby's recent problems with his rear right leg ... he just wasn't going to get anywhere on two legs! He was embarrassed, but tried to look dignified.

He had a check-up at the vet's and he couldn't find anything either. Salt water bathing was recommended. Watch, wait, and see whether anything develops.

This morning he is walking without any problem. Fingers are crossed. A walk without Toby is not the same.

Nokian Extreme 294

A week ago, on bitter cold day, I decided to install my new studded tires on my hardtail. A good day to work in the house and I was anxious to see how well they work.
You are supposed to ride them on pavement for 30 miles as a break-in. Before doing that, I rode 4 miles in the snow, singletrack at Lake Manawa.
On the snow-packed trail, they performed abut the same as normal mountain bike tire (riding with less than 25# air pressure). As the temperature climbed, I watched for snow packing on the tread. The fork of my Trek4300 hardtail was starting to pack with snow, but the tire tread kept pretty clear. At icy spots, I noticed that I did not slip on the hills (a very good sign).
The next day, I headed out on the local paved bike trail (11 miles). I upped the air pressure for this ride - about 35#. As expected, the trail is mostly clear, with spots of ice from snow melting. This is where the studded tires excelled. Previously, I would lift my feet off of the pedals and spread my legs for better balance as I rode across the ice. With the studded tires, I could continue pedaling right across the ice. As a test, I found I could even accelerate on the ice!
The other test was section was riding on a packed snow/ice trail which was plowed, but not "cleared" (see photo). Where previously I might walking the section, I was now able to ride right through.
Finally I finished the break-in with a 20 mile ride on pavement. Air pressure upped to 40-45# (probably should have been higher). On a 20 mile ride, I noticed the higher rolling resistance of the studded tires. My riding pace was slower and my legs sure felt it the next day!
Bottom line - The Nokian Extreme 294 Studded Tires are AWESOME. Now I am not an aggresive rider, but I did not feel slippage on either bare pavement or ice. They do the trick riding on ice or packed snow. However, for the higher rolling resistance of the tires, I will ride non-studded tires for normal riding - use the studded tires when you know you will encounter icy conditions.

Have a Merry Season of Joy!

Mom's Acting Debut a Disaster

About two weeks ago, Mom got an email from our local neighborhood association's president headed with big red capital letters: WE NEED 11 MORE PEOPLE TO BE VICTIMS. PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU ARE INTERESTED. Mom, being Mom, was intrigued and signed up.
It turned out that the California State Military Reservists along with the San Rafael Office of Emergency Services needed volunteers to be disaster victims during a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) class simulation exercise, to be held at our National Guard Armory. A large-scale earthquake would be the "event" to be simulated.
Volunteers began showing up at 10:30 yesterday morning for "moulage," the art of applying mock injuries for the purpose of training. There were four great young kids who applied all kinds of make-up to simulate injuries ranging from soup to nuts - fascinating to watch.
Volunteers chose cards of the injuries they wished to have, along with their vital signs listed, and whether they would be needing immediate attention once found by the reservists, or else delayed treatment if the wounds were superficial. The volunteers received a wonderful box lunch, which I was particularly interested in, from a fabulous restaurant nearby. Even though the following photos show us eating lunch with our fake injuries, they could make some squeamish, so stop here if you don't want to look.

Mom chose to have fallen with lower leg and back injuries. Here is some of the "moulage" done on her. She just has superficial injuries.

More injured victims in their very life-like make-up, eating lunch. Some of these volunteers laughed a lot as they chatted up a storm!

A lot of discussion on our acting roles: victims were to moan, scream and act "it" up. The CERT instructors of these Reservists really wanted the "actors" to let it all hang out. One big secret was that the Army guys had no idea that there would be a simulated earthquake and NO CLUE that there would be all those victims lying about both inside and outside the Armory grounds. There was also to be a real fire from "downed power poles" and everything had to be "handled" within half an hour besides. Whew!
Mom said thanks to me for coming and guarding her lunch, but a soldier told Dad and me that we had to leave. Then, the Volunteers' fearless leader took them all to their various and widespread stations and the drill began. They couldn't take photos, but mom said it was amazing.
The Reservists first divided up into teams of four, then put out the fire, and found all of us, spending the time necessary to assess our injuries and acting accordingly. Mom thought that her rescue team, which loaded her onto a furry tippy stretcher and carried her a long way to the "field hospital" should have been real doctors! She couldn't remember the day of the week! I think Mom's going to pursue a CERT certification herself. I hope I get to go!