Sunday Blessing
My blessing upon all you fine people on this fantastic summer day:
May you outlive your pets
DT
The Rape Gang Inquiry Report
Joe recently sent me a copy of an article highlighting the British-supported atrocities uncovered by Rupert Lowe MP (Chair) and Inquiry Panel. For those interested, the report is available here.
The article Joe referred to is "Hell on Earth ... in Britain" at onthenorthriver.com
Coming soon to a society near you.
Continue reading →Coming Through
There's a tidal pond (or half dozen) on Jamestown Island. As far as I was able to tell, this guy and some of his pals ran things around the pond. Goes where he wants, does what he wants, doesn't let a little mud get in his way.
I'd head out there and watch the wildlife shift as the tides came in and went out. Got to the point I was watching the tide tables to figure the times I needed to be on the island to get the pictures I wanted.
Update: Courtesy ghostsniper:
I came in the house and yelled up the stairs to my wife, “I lost a snapping turtle in my vehicle!” She came around the corner and asked how someone loses a turtle in their vehicle.
I was coming across the causeway last week at Lake Lemon where the 2 lane road has water up to the edge on both sides and no guardrails and there it was. I didn’t know it was a snapper yet, but I knew I had to save it before someone came by and ran over it.
I picked it up and the aggressive little skudder stretched his neck out and back and tried to get me. Whoa. I quickly got back in my Blazer, sat him on the passenger seat and took off.
He immediately tried to climb between the seat and the console but there was very little room. None the less, he got through. I got back to the house, hoping the whole time that he wouldn’t come over by my feets and bite me.
I looked high and low, even got a flashlight, but he was not to be found. I was stymied. My 2 dr, 4×4 Blazer is small and there was nothing in it but my small jumper box on the back floor. I looked everywhere, 2, 3 times and he was just not findable. So I left both doors open and went in to tell my wife.
She looked in the back and there he was, bigger than Stuttgart, under the rear seat, staring at me with a severely pissed off look on his face and his mouth wide open ready to clamp down. I latched onto him and brought him out to the light of day.
My wife took this pik and then I released him down by the crick at the rear of our property. I’ve looked a couple times since but have not seen him again.
His shell was about 6″ long and 4″ wide. A yung-in.
Road To Sneffels
Heading up west of Ouray, Colorado is the road to Camp Bird Mine, the townsite of Sneffels (1875 - 10,600 ft - once home to 2,000 people), the Revenue Mill, the Virginius, Ruby Trust and other mines on the upper slopes of Mt Sneffels.
Unlike the road coming down from Engineer Pass, this road has a pretty much, mostly, usually not too bad surface. Just left of center, you can make out traffic on the Sneffels road.
Unlike the Engineer Pass road, the Sneffels road is even passable in winter
Sneffels: A town of 2000 people in the late 1880s, the Revenue Mill was the big employer, 600 men to process the vast quantities of silver ore coming from the mines around: "workers at the Revenue mill enjoyed favorable living conditions for the day. The three Revenue boarding houses had electric lights, indoor plumbing, steam heat, and the men were well-fed, reportedly off of china plates."
But no one lives up there anymore ...
Continue reading →Forget The Money
Use whatever tools you want but no computers or CAD machinery
Is it even possible to do such work today?
Corral, Idaho
There's not much left of Corral, Idaho - not that there was much in its heyday either.
Settled in 1886 near Corral Creek - named after a location of corrals used during cattle round-ups of the 1870s - Corral served the needs of local ranchers. The first school was built in1891, replaced by two others in 1908. School was held between December and February up to 8th grade - considered a full education in those days (with a curriculum much more difficult than faced by 8th graders today).
It was a 12 hour ride to get to a doctor until the telephone lines came through in 1900.
The town continued to grow …
A creamery was established in town but didn't last long; the buildings were moved to another location - the creamery didn't do well in its new location either.
By 1905, the town had a store and post office. A feed barn and saloon were opened; a hotel and second saloon were soon added. Another general store and farm implements store were opened.
The railroad came through in 1911 but missed the town of Corral by about a mile. Grain elevators were opened but the town itself struggled, kept alive mostly because of the post office and a pool hall. The railroad shut down the line in the 1960s.
The Corral store remained and was bought in 1968 - signs along the highway proclaiming "It's Coffee Time!". The population was 38. It was the only business in what remained of the town.
Most of Corral is gone now - so is the railroad but the grain elevators still stand as does one of the school buildings. The general store still sits along the highway, but the coffee … and store … ran out in 2001.
Continue reading →Tunesday: Johnny Rivers – Summer Rain
A sample of some obscure - and maybe not obscure - tunes from my strange and off-the-wall collection.
Today's medley selection: Johnny Rivers - "Summer Rain"
Off the 1968 album "Realization", "Summer Rain" is considered one of Johnny River's best songs. Reflecting on the summer of 1967, perhaps one of the best descriptions of the dream of the "Summer Of Love" (which was the summer of riots for yours truly).
Written by the other Jim Hendrix, he was once married to Cass Elliot of the Mamas & Papas. One of the members of The Mugwumps, a group that lasted a few months before the band split to form Lovin Spoonful and Mamas & Papas. Jim Hendrix was not a member of either band.
Hard to find information about Jim; some other guy had a similar name at a similar time.
Johnny Rivers (John Ramistella) was popular in the 60s with 9 songs in the top 10 and 17 in the top 40. Secret Agent Man and Poor Side of Town are two hits for which Johnny Rivers is known.
He is still alive but gave his final public appearance in 2023.
New & Old
Paper White/Antique Yellow
Infinite memory - original model
Instantaneous access - no "boot" time
Glare-free design with readable size display
Centuries of life - no recharge necessary
Does not require "Airplane Mode"
July 4
They signed some pretty papers 250 years ago, give or take a day or two.
Wonderful prose, wonderful thoughts
But it was all whistling-in-the-dark until 1781 at Yorktown or 1783 at Paris when "the united States of America" truly came into existence.
Until then, the "American Revolution" was a treasonous insurrection, now subject to 18USC Ch 115, §2383: "Whoever incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States." - then subject to hanging (see "Nathan Hale")
Happy Independence Day!
Just heard that apparently someone donated $100k for a fireworks show this year in a nearby small town.
Supposed to be sunny, warm, and clear this evening.
The second death blow to the Confederacy landed the day after the Gettysburg debacle when Grant took Vicksburg, opening the Mississippi River to the Yankees.
"Summer In The City" was released by the Lovin Spoonful
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams die this date in 1826
The French cursed us with the Statue of Liberty in 1886
Fire Season
We don't have hurricanes or tornadoes or floods (I'm on top of a hill) but we do have fires. And this year's shaping up to be the worst I've seen here in over 25 years.
It was an extremely dry winter; snowpack is about 40% of normal - the lowest ever recorded here; below 70% is the drought threshold. Boise metro is under a Drought Emergency Ordinance (I believe such things when the golf courses turn brown. If they stay green, it's a political emergency).
We've had several small fires in the region - early this year - and I live at the edge of a sagebrush/cheat grass covered hillside.
We had a fire come upslope in this neighborhood a few years ago. Five fire depts and a sort-of paved road stopped the advance - Had it hopped the road ... but it didn't. One guy had flames up to the edge of his newly laid sod 10 ft off his house. No damage to structures.
I've played this game before ...
$1400 of insurance.
Obtained one - with more available - 255 gallon tank. It (will) sit near an eavestrough to funnel rainwater into the tank (screened of course). [ a "please take it off our hands" bargain) ($400 if purchased). NPT drain fitting.
Through one end of a 2" suction hose with a strainer into the tank ... ($110)
Will drop hose and strainer in through the top - minimize debris.
And feed it into a 2" high-pressure trash pump such as this Northstar ($700) 135gpm, 94psi unit
Put a 2"-to-1½" reducer on the output ($25 ea) - cause the pump itself will empty that tank in 2 minutes running full bore
which connects to 100ft of 1½" fire hose ($110)
where I can control the flow of water through a brass fire nozzle ($40)
A bit above the equivalent of a USFS Type 6 fire truck (150 gal/50gpm/100psi/300ft hose). Not quite a Type 5 which carries 400 gal at 100psi at 50 gpm on a pickup frame comparable to a Ford F550 4x4.
I don't need the truck.
It's what the pros would show up with for initial attack before the heavy stuff arrives ... and $1400 is cheap compared to what a house fire - even a minor one - would cost.
One does not simply open the nozzle and let the water fly ...
Idaho became the 43rd state on July 3, 1890.
George Washington took command of the rebel army in 1775
General Lee headed back south after a failed visit to Pennsylvania in 1863.
Brian Jones (Rolling Stones) and Jim Morrision (Doors) died on this date 2 years apart (1969/1971)