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| Comb blowing in the wind. |
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| Fluffy butts! |
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| Feathers all in a ruffle! |
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| Bug hunting |
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| Dignity |
Monday, June 14, 2010
My Favorite Chicken Photos for the Week
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Weasel Trap 3
Each time we lose a chicken to predators, the kids rebuild their weasel trap. This is more complicated than the other traps they have designed._/\_/\_
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Cooling Off in Crystal Lake
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| Ironman found a maple leaf. |
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| Ironman wanted a photograph of the leaf in the water. So I did. |
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| Nate swings Catgirl through the air. |
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| Amelia joins in. |
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| Catgirl swings through the water. |
How to Landscape Your Driveway and Find 8 Tons of Steam Boiler
This photograph shows a partially landscaped driveway. Messy, but a work in progress. We have a lot of telephone poles in the woods (nobody knows why) and a lot of day lilies. So John dragged the poles out of the woods to line one side of the driveway and then we planted the lilies behind the new edge. We had all but one pole in place.One week before the wedding, I decided I wanted the last pole in place and the last of the lilies planted, so John fired up the tractor to do the job. This should have been a 15 minute job — dig a small trench, haul in the pole, shovel the dirt back in to secure the pole and then I could plant.
It didn’t work out like that.
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| Our first clue that something wrong was under the earth. |
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| The little trench needed for the telephone pole edging was growing bigger. |
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| One of the first sections of the steam boiler to be uncovered. |
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And more pieces were pulled out from underneath. |
Above: John explained the function of each piece as he pulled them out. But, of course, I have forgotten now.
Above: This piece was so close to the top of the soil that grass grew on it. John said it explained the hard bump he felt whenever he drove his truck over this area. If he had not excavated the steam boiler, the winter freezes would have gradually pushed more of the boiler up and made it hazardous.
Above and below: representative other sections of the boiler. Each of the knobs on the long pipe was attached to more pipe to a radiator in a room. There were many of these knobby pipes, so we know that this boiler came from a big building like a school.
Above: Ironically, the face plate was one of the last sections to be pulled out of the depths of the driveway. This steam boiler created at least one billion BTUs of heat!
Above: the final pile of what John excavated from the ten foot pit he had to dig in the driveway. It was about 8 tons (16,000 lbs or 7,257 kg) of scrap cast iron.
Above: The scrap metal dealer showed up about a week later with a huge truck to haul it away. It took two trips. |
Above: The last load is ready to go. |
_/\_/\_
Scott Wheeler: Giving a Voice to Vermonters in Montpelier » Sad Story From Barton
Scott Wheeler: Giving a Voice to Vermonters in Montpelier » Sad Story From Barton
I'm friends with the family who is suffering this awful loss and the entire town of Barton — indeed, the entire Northeast Kingdom — is shocked and sad. Please help my church help the family. The moose collision took place at Sheffield Heights on I-91, the infamous section of the road where the weather is horrid and the moose are many. I constantly worry about my family when they travel that road.
I'm friends with the family who is suffering this awful loss and the entire town of Barton — indeed, the entire Northeast Kingdom — is shocked and sad. Please help my church help the family. The moose collision took place at Sheffield Heights on I-91, the infamous section of the road where the weather is horrid and the moose are many. I constantly worry about my family when they travel that road.
_/\_/\_
Sad Story From Barton
swheeler at 5:47 am on Saturday, June 12, 2010
Although outside of my district, I can’t help but feel for the family of a young woman who was killed when her car hit a moose. She leaves behind three children from nine years to six months. I can not imagine their pain. If anybody wishes to donate to a fund for the family they can mail it to the “Larose Fund” to the Barton United Church, PO Box 306, Barton, Vermont 05822. Hopefully the Save the Pete people will now refocus their lives from a moose (who, no, contrary to some people, is not a human, does not talk, and isn’t running for governor) onto this suffering family. My heart goes out to them.
LOL Cat Bible: Lectionary Readings for Sunday, June 13, 2010
Sunday, June 13, 2010
1 Kings 21:1-10, (11-14), 15-21a
Psalm 5:1-8
2 Samuel 11:26-12:10, 13-15
Psalm 32
Galatians 2:15-21
Luke 7:36-8:3
1 An it caem to pass after dese tings dat Naboth teh Jezreelite can has a vinyerd dat wuz in Jezreel, next to Ahab teh king uv Samaria's palaec.
2 So Ahab sed to Naboth, "Oh hai. Ai can has yur vinyerd, so ai can has a vegetabul gardun rite by mai plaec? Yu can has bettah vinyerd fer dis one. Or ai can gifs yu munnies fer it kthnx."
3 But Naboth sed to Ahab, "STFU! Ceiling Cat sez yu no can has mai inheritunce frum mai daddehs!"
4 So Ahab wen hoem all pissed off becaues Naboth sed to him "Yu no can has mai inheritunce frum mai daddehs." An he got in him bed an wuz all emo, an wudn't eated any fud.
5 But Jezebel him wife caem to him, and sed, "Oh hai, y yu act so emo dat yu no eated yur fud?"
6 Him sed to her, "Iz emo becaues I sed to Naboth, 'I can has yur vinyerd? Ai can gifs yu anuther one or yu can has a money fer it.' An him sed, "STFU. Yu no can has mai vinyerd.'"
7 Den Jezebel sed to him, "You can has tellz peeps wat to do! Stop bein emo an eated som fud--nom nom--and I can has Naboth teh Jezreelite's vinyerd fer yu."
8 An her rote emailz in Ahab's naem, an sent dem to teh eldahs an teh nobels who were in teh citeh wif Naboth.
9 Teh email sed, "Call fer teh kittehs to no eated, an gif Naboth hi spot among teh kittehs;
10 and can has two skankeh d00ds befer him and dey can has sez, "OMG yu talk bad abot Ceiling Cat an teh king! GTFO!!1" Den taek him out, and thrwo stoens at him until him iz ded. Srsly."
11 So teh d00ds (teh nobels an teh eldahs) of Naboth's citah did liek Jezebel tolded dem to do in teh emailz.
12 Dey calleded fer teh kittehs to no eated, and gif Naboth hi spot among teh kittehs.
13 An two skankeh d00ds caem out and talked bad abot him to in front uv teh othurs; dey sez, "Hay! Naboth iz no peeps wif Ceiling Cat or teh king!" An teh kittehs were liek, "OH NOEZ DO NOT WANT" an taeked Naboth outsied teh citeh an trew stoens at him, until him was ded frum teh stoens. Srsly.
14 Den dey sents email to Jezebel wich sez, "We can has stoeneded Naboth an him is ded. Srsly."
15 An so wen Jezebel gotz teh email an red dat Naboth wuz ded, her sed to Ahab, "Oh hai. Yu no act emo nao; yu can has dat vinyerd becaues Naboth iz ded nao. Yu no haev to worree abot him sez to yu to STFU an no taek yur monees. Srsly."
16 So Ahab sed, "O rlly?" an wuz happee dat Naboth wuz ded, an wen to stealeded teh vinyerd ovah teh ded bodee uv Naboth teh Jezreelite.
Teh Ceiling Cat Puts Ahab In Teh Kornur
17 Den teh word uv Ceiling Cat caem to Elikhat teh Tishkite and sed,
18 "Yu can has taek a taxicab to see Ahab king uv Israel. Him liev in Samaria. Der him iz, in teh vinyerd uv Naboth, where him has stealeded it.
19 You can sez to him, 'Thus sez Ceiling Cat: "Yu can has killed mai peep fer him vinyerd?"' An yu can sez to him, "Where teh loldogs lickd teh blud uv Naboth, teh loldogs can has likc yur blud, tew."'"
20 So Ahab sed to Elikhat, "Yu can has foudn meh, mai enemeh?" An he sed, "Ai can has foudn yu, becaues you can has solded yursef to do ebil in teh site uv Ceiling Cat:
1 Behold, ai can has brign teh pwnage on yu. I willz taekz yur monees, an willz cutz off frum yus every mael in Israel, free an slaev.
26 when uriahs wife herd dat her husband wuz ded, she mournd 4 him.27 aftr teh tiem ov mournin wuz ovar, david had her brought 2 his houz, an she became his wife an bore him son. But teh ting david had dun displeasd teh lord.
Nathan Disses David
1 teh lord sent nathan 2 david. When he came 2 him, he sed, "thar wuz 2 doodz in certain town, wan rich an teh othr poor.
2 teh rich man had vry large numbr ov sheep an kattle,
3 but teh poor man had nothin except wan lil ewe lamb he had buyd. He raisd it, an it grew up wif him an his children. It shard his fud, drank frum his cup an even slept in his arms. It wuz liek daughtr 2 him.
4 "nao travelr came 2 teh rich man, but teh rich man refraind frum takin wan ov his own sheep or kattle 2 prepare meal 4 da travelr hoo had come 2 him. Instead, he took teh ewe lamb dat belongd 2 teh poor man an prepard it 4 da wan hoo had come 2 him."
5 david burnd wif angr against teh man an sed 2 nathan, "as surely as teh lord livez, teh man hoo did dis deservez 2 dye!
6 he must pai 4 dat lamb 4 tiems ovar, cuz he did such ting an had no pity."
7 den nathan sed 2 david, "u r teh man! Dis ar teh wut teh lord, teh ceilin cat ov israel, sez: i anointd u king ovar israel, an i deliverd u frum teh hand ov saul.
8 i gaev ur mastahs houz 2 u, an ur mastahs wivez into ur arms. I gaev u teh houz ov israel an judah. An if all dis had been 2 lil, i wud has given u even moar.
9 y u despize teh werd ov teh lord by doin wut iz evil in his eyez? U struck down uriah teh hittite wif teh sword an took his wife 2 be ur own. U killd him wif teh sword ov teh ammonitez.
10 nao, therefore, teh sword will nevr depart frum ur houz, cuz u despisd me an took teh wife ov uriah teh hittite 2 be ur own.
11 "dis ar teh wut teh lord sez: out ov ur own haushold im goin 2 brin calamity upon u. Before ur vry eyez im gonna taek ur wivez an giv them 2 wan hoo iz close 2 u, an he will lie wif ur wivez in broad dailight.
12 u did it in seekret, but im gonna do dis ting in broad dailight before all israel. "
13 den david sed 2 nathan, "i has sinnd against teh lord." Nathan replid, "teh lord has taken away ur sin. U r not goin 2 dye.
14 but cuz by doin dis u has made teh enemiez ov teh lord show uttr contempt, [a] teh son born 2 u will dye."
15 aftr nathan had gone home, teh lord struck teh child dat uriahs wife had borne 2 david, an he became ill.
15 Since we iz Jews,
16 we know dat nobodi getz to go to teh Ceiling bcz dey obey teh law. Beleevin in Jesus iz teh onli wai to get dere.
17 Spoze dat whiel we iz tryin to get riet wif Jesus, we maekz sum Invisible Errors an evribodi notisiz LOL. Duz dat meen Jesus iz in favor of Invisible Errors? Hell noes!
18 If I braekz sumthin an den fixiz it, I iz obviusli a criminl.
19 Bcz thru teh law, I died to tel law, so dat I cud liv for Ceiling Cat.
20 I died wif Jesus, but Jesus iz in me livin. I liv bai beleevin in Jesus, who liekded me an died for me.
21 It iz importnt dat Ceiling Cat forgivz us. If u cud get forgivniss thru obeyin teh law, den Christ died for nothin. Think about dat for a whiel.
36 A pharsie sed "Hay u can come haz cheezburger" so Jebus did.
37 A bad kitteh herd he wuz tehre so she cam with cookies,
38 an gived him cookies and didn't eated them, an she lickded his fur all clean an stuff.
39 Pharsie wuz liek, "wtf ur no smrt, she gotz invisible errors an ur lettin her clean ur fur."
40 Jebus sed, "Simon, I haz sumtin to say to u." "Wut iz it?"
41 "2 ppl owez a dood sum cheezburgers. 1 owez 500 an otehr owez 50.
42 Bcuz tehy both no has cheezburgers, dood sez ok wahtever nm kthxbai. So which 1 luvz teh dood moer nao?"
43 Simon sed, "1 who owez more cheezburgers." Jebus sed, "ya rly."
44 Tehn he wuz liek, "do u see tihs womin? wen I cum here u dint clean my fur but she did.
45 U dint givez me cookies, but she givez me lotz of cookies and didn't eated tehm.
46 U dint doez scratchies bhind my ear, but she doez.
47 So I sez to u, she no has invisible errors now, so she luv lots. Sum1 who dint haev big sinz not luv lots."
48 Jebus sed to her, "U had invisible errors but wahtever nm kthxbai."
49 Everbudy wuz liek "omg who is tihs guy taht sez nm invisible errors?"
50 But he sed to her, "Ur fayeth savez u kthxbai."
1 So after dat Jesus wented around doin his thing, wif hiz twelv followrz,
2 an sum ladiez too. He had heald dem from dizeeziz. He had throwded sevn deemnz out of Mary Magdalene.
3 Dere wuz also Joanna an Susanna an sum otherz. Dey wuz helpin out, supportin teh rest of Jesuss followrz.
1 Kings 21:1-10, (11-14), 15-21a
Psalm 5:1-8
2 Samuel 11:26-12:10, 13-15
Psalm 32
Galatians 2:15-21
Luke 7:36-8:3
1 Kings 21:1-10, (11-14), 15-21a
Naboth Iz Maed Ded Fur Him Vinyerd
Naboth Iz Maed Ded Fur Him Vinyerd
1 An it caem to pass after dese tings dat Naboth teh Jezreelite can has a vinyerd dat wuz in Jezreel, next to Ahab teh king uv Samaria's palaec.
2 So Ahab sed to Naboth, "Oh hai. Ai can has yur vinyerd, so ai can has a vegetabul gardun rite by mai plaec? Yu can has bettah vinyerd fer dis one. Or ai can gifs yu munnies fer it kthnx."
3 But Naboth sed to Ahab, "STFU! Ceiling Cat sez yu no can has mai inheritunce frum mai daddehs!"
4 So Ahab wen hoem all pissed off becaues Naboth sed to him "Yu no can has mai inheritunce frum mai daddehs." An he got in him bed an wuz all emo, an wudn't eated any fud.
5 But Jezebel him wife caem to him, and sed, "Oh hai, y yu act so emo dat yu no eated yur fud?"
6 Him sed to her, "Iz emo becaues I sed to Naboth, 'I can has yur vinyerd? Ai can gifs yu anuther one or yu can has a money fer it.' An him sed, "STFU. Yu no can has mai vinyerd.'"
7 Den Jezebel sed to him, "You can has tellz peeps wat to do! Stop bein emo an eated som fud--nom nom--and I can has Naboth teh Jezreelite's vinyerd fer yu."
8 An her rote emailz in Ahab's naem, an sent dem to teh eldahs an teh nobels who were in teh citeh wif Naboth.
9 Teh email sed, "Call fer teh kittehs to no eated, an gif Naboth hi spot among teh kittehs;
10 and can has two skankeh d00ds befer him and dey can has sez, "OMG yu talk bad abot Ceiling Cat an teh king! GTFO!!1" Den taek him out, and thrwo stoens at him until him iz ded. Srsly."
11 So teh d00ds (teh nobels an teh eldahs) of Naboth's citah did liek Jezebel tolded dem to do in teh emailz.
12 Dey calleded fer teh kittehs to no eated, and gif Naboth hi spot among teh kittehs.
13 An two skankeh d00ds caem out and talked bad abot him to in front uv teh othurs; dey sez, "Hay! Naboth iz no peeps wif Ceiling Cat or teh king!" An teh kittehs were liek, "OH NOEZ DO NOT WANT" an taeked Naboth outsied teh citeh an trew stoens at him, until him was ded frum teh stoens. Srsly.
14 Den dey sents email to Jezebel wich sez, "We can has stoeneded Naboth an him is ded. Srsly."
15 An so wen Jezebel gotz teh email an red dat Naboth wuz ded, her sed to Ahab, "Oh hai. Yu no act emo nao; yu can has dat vinyerd becaues Naboth iz ded nao. Yu no haev to worree abot him sez to yu to STFU an no taek yur monees. Srsly."
16 So Ahab sed, "O rlly?" an wuz happee dat Naboth wuz ded, an wen to stealeded teh vinyerd ovah teh ded bodee uv Naboth teh Jezreelite.
Teh Ceiling Cat Puts Ahab In Teh Kornur
17 Den teh word uv Ceiling Cat caem to Elikhat teh Tishkite and sed,
18 "Yu can has taek a taxicab to see Ahab king uv Israel. Him liev in Samaria. Der him iz, in teh vinyerd uv Naboth, where him has stealeded it.
19 You can sez to him, 'Thus sez Ceiling Cat: "Yu can has killed mai peep fer him vinyerd?"' An yu can sez to him, "Where teh loldogs lickd teh blud uv Naboth, teh loldogs can has likc yur blud, tew."'"
20 So Ahab sed to Elikhat, "Yu can has foudn meh, mai enemeh?" An he sed, "Ai can has foudn yu, becaues you can has solded yursef to do ebil in teh site uv Ceiling Cat:
1 Behold, ai can has brign teh pwnage on yu. I willz taekz yur monees, an willz cutz off frum yus every mael in Israel, free an slaev.
see more Lolcats and funny pictures
Psalm 5
2 mah meowin. 2 Lissen 2 mah meowin, mah boss an mah Ceiling Cat, cuz I iz talkin 2 u. Rly. 3 I iz meowin in teh mornin, Ceiling Cat, an I iz watchin 4 u. 4 Cuz u do not want bad stuffz, and no bad cheezburgrz too. 5 And u do not liek dum peeplz or bad peeplz. 6 U wil pwnz trash-talkers an KSers. 7 Iz I can be in ur guild plz? I sharez cheezburgr, k thx. 8 We can haz raid in ther base, an not aggro teh dog. 9 Theyz all trash-talkin, stealin ur burgrz, an tryin to haz props but they sux. 10 Pwn dem, O Ceiling Cat; taek burgrz an giev 2 me; throw dem in teh alleyz; dey are bad kittehz. 11 And den givez happy face to gud kittehz: let em purr an nap cuz you liek dem: let gud kittehz haz cheezburgr. 12 Cuz Ceiling Cat lieks gud kittehz, an u gievz him gud cat bedz. |
2 Samuel 11:26-12:10, 13-15
26 when uriahs wife herd dat her husband wuz ded, she mournd 4 him.27 aftr teh tiem ov mournin wuz ovar, david had her brought 2 his houz, an she became his wife an bore him son. But teh ting david had dun displeasd teh lord.
Nathan Disses David
1 teh lord sent nathan 2 david. When he came 2 him, he sed, "thar wuz 2 doodz in certain town, wan rich an teh othr poor.
2 teh rich man had vry large numbr ov sheep an kattle,
3 but teh poor man had nothin except wan lil ewe lamb he had buyd. He raisd it, an it grew up wif him an his children. It shard his fud, drank frum his cup an even slept in his arms. It wuz liek daughtr 2 him.
4 "nao travelr came 2 teh rich man, but teh rich man refraind frum takin wan ov his own sheep or kattle 2 prepare meal 4 da travelr hoo had come 2 him. Instead, he took teh ewe lamb dat belongd 2 teh poor man an prepard it 4 da wan hoo had come 2 him."
5 david burnd wif angr against teh man an sed 2 nathan, "as surely as teh lord livez, teh man hoo did dis deservez 2 dye!
6 he must pai 4 dat lamb 4 tiems ovar, cuz he did such ting an had no pity."
7 den nathan sed 2 david, "u r teh man! Dis ar teh wut teh lord, teh ceilin cat ov israel, sez: i anointd u king ovar israel, an i deliverd u frum teh hand ov saul.
8 i gaev ur mastahs houz 2 u, an ur mastahs wivez into ur arms. I gaev u teh houz ov israel an judah. An if all dis had been 2 lil, i wud has given u even moar.
9 y u despize teh werd ov teh lord by doin wut iz evil in his eyez? U struck down uriah teh hittite wif teh sword an took his wife 2 be ur own. U killd him wif teh sword ov teh ammonitez.
10 nao, therefore, teh sword will nevr depart frum ur houz, cuz u despisd me an took teh wife ov uriah teh hittite 2 be ur own.
11 "dis ar teh wut teh lord sez: out ov ur own haushold im goin 2 brin calamity upon u. Before ur vry eyez im gonna taek ur wivez an giv them 2 wan hoo iz close 2 u, an he will lie wif ur wivez in broad dailight.
12 u did it in seekret, but im gonna do dis ting in broad dailight before all israel. "
13 den david sed 2 nathan, "i has sinnd against teh lord." Nathan replid, "teh lord has taken away ur sin. U r not goin 2 dye.
14 but cuz by doin dis u has made teh enemiez ov teh lord show uttr contempt, [a] teh son born 2 u will dye."
15 aftr nathan had gone home, teh lord struck teh child dat uriahs wife had borne 2 david, an he became ill.
Psalm 32 1 Cheezburgerz iz for him who iz badnesh are forgeevenz, whoes invizible error hav hided. 2 Cheezberger for da cat whoes invizible erros teh Ceiling Cat doeshunt haz ues againsht him and in whoes speerits iz noes trickory. 3 When ai iz be quiet, mai bonse waisted awai cuz ai iz meowing all de dai lawng. 4 Foh dai and nite Yor big paw wuz on meh; and ai wuz week and fraid of getting crushord az in de heet of shummer. Srsly 5 Den ai told yu, Ceiling Cat, dat ai invizible errored and did nawt coverz up nuthin. ai sayz, "ai haz confesh meh transhazgreshonz to de Ceiling Cat"— and yu forgivend da gilt of meh invizible error. Srsly 6 Derfore let allz whoes iz luv Ceiling Cat prai to yuz Whaile yu may bez lickd; shurly when da mitey watahs risez, Dey will nots get him wets. 7 Yu are my shafe place; yu will hidez me from bad gaiz k? and seengz lotsh of songs plz. Srsly 8 ai will haz teachre yu de wai to goz; ai will haz watch yu az yu go, and shometiem whiel yu lick yurshelf. 9 Dunt be like de horsie or mulez, k? dey got no undershtanding and musht be ridden on bai kittiez wit bitz and bridles or dey wunt come to yu. 10 Many sadness iz for de bad kittie, but de Ceiling Cat luvs de kittie who haz trust him. kthx! 11 Be extatik wif da Ceiling Cat and be goowd kittie; seeng, allz yu hoo are uprites in de hart! kthxbai! |
Galatians 2:15-21
15 Since we iz Jews,
16 we know dat nobodi getz to go to teh Ceiling bcz dey obey teh law. Beleevin in Jesus iz teh onli wai to get dere.
17 Spoze dat whiel we iz tryin to get riet wif Jesus, we maekz sum Invisible Errors an evribodi notisiz LOL. Duz dat meen Jesus iz in favor of Invisible Errors? Hell noes!
18 If I braekz sumthin an den fixiz it, I iz obviusli a criminl.
19 Bcz thru teh law, I died to tel law, so dat I cud liv for Ceiling Cat.
20 I died wif Jesus, but Jesus iz in me livin. I liv bai beleevin in Jesus, who liekded me an died for me.
21 It iz importnt dat Ceiling Cat forgivz us. If u cud get forgivniss thru obeyin teh law, den Christ died for nothin. Think about dat for a whiel.
Luke 7:36-8:3
Jebus Anointed By a Bad Kitteh
Jebus Anointed By a Bad Kitteh
36 A pharsie sed "Hay u can come haz cheezburger" so Jebus did.
37 A bad kitteh herd he wuz tehre so she cam with cookies,
38 an gived him cookies and didn't eated them, an she lickded his fur all clean an stuff.
39 Pharsie wuz liek, "wtf ur no smrt, she gotz invisible errors an ur lettin her clean ur fur."
40 Jebus sed, "Simon, I haz sumtin to say to u." "Wut iz it?"
41 "2 ppl owez a dood sum cheezburgers. 1 owez 500 an otehr owez 50.
42 Bcuz tehy both no has cheezburgers, dood sez ok wahtever nm kthxbai. So which 1 luvz teh dood moer nao?"
43 Simon sed, "1 who owez more cheezburgers." Jebus sed, "ya rly."
44 Tehn he wuz liek, "do u see tihs womin? wen I cum here u dint clean my fur but she did.
45 U dint givez me cookies, but she givez me lotz of cookies and didn't eated tehm.
46 U dint doez scratchies bhind my ear, but she doez.
47 So I sez to u, she no has invisible errors now, so she luv lots. Sum1 who dint haev big sinz not luv lots."
48 Jebus sed to her, "U had invisible errors but wahtever nm kthxbai."
49 Everbudy wuz liek "omg who is tihs guy taht sez nm invisible errors?"
50 But he sed to her, "Ur fayeth savez u kthxbai."
1 So after dat Jesus wented around doin his thing, wif hiz twelv followrz,
2 an sum ladiez too. He had heald dem from dizeeziz. He had throwded sevn deemnz out of Mary Magdalene.
3 Dere wuz also Joanna an Susanna an sum otherz. Dey wuz helpin out, supportin teh rest of Jesuss followrz.
Weekend Cat Blogging
(see the week’s& host to enter your WCB post in the comments for the weekend roundup)
Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos
Optional Theme
(submit your post here)
The Carnival of the Cats
(submit your post here)
Friday, June 11, 2010
A New Design
Well, I've done it. I've changed my blog template and I failed to save the old template. So that's that. All my customization is gone. But I'll be tediously and unendingly changing it. I've taken out a lot of the clutter, too. My kids always tell me that I live a cluttered life. I'm feeling a bit anxious here — as if I've lost stuff. I hope you like this and I hope it is easier to read. I hope I can put larger photos in now. And you can click on your reaction to each post and can rate each post. Let me know what you think!
_/\_/\_
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
Overheard : Is This What You Meant?
Overheard at my wedding: Above is a photo of little Ironman's feet after an evening at the beach at Crystal Lake (where the wedding was held). He was so happy with his dirty feet that he asked me to photograph them! So I did.
I wonder if this is the "dirty" that my guest was talking about?
;0)
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Turtles and Otters
Eastern Painted Turtle
Two articles came to my attention this week and I want to share them with you.
The author of the first article, Christine Nelson, lives in central New Hampshire. I met her when I lived there and she is a lovely, observant woman who works hard in her community for Relay for Life. She often writes for the InterTown Record, a local weekly paper to which John and I subscribe. She wrote the lyrical piece that follows and has given me permission to reprint the article here with her name and e-mail address. Please drop her a line — she’d love to hear from you! Her article appears in the Tuesday, June 1, 2010 edition of the paper on page 17.
Why Did the Turtle Cross the Road?
The week while driving our roads, I have encountered a number of turtles making a move to cross the road. It occurs to me that they are not happy on the plush side of the road they are leaving. The one I saw most recently was the ever popular Eastern Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta). The head is a deep shade of green with yellow stripes and one spot each directly behind the eye. The shell is smooth and criss-crossed with lines making uneven sections across the top. There seemed to be spots of red on the edges of the shell as well. The State of New Hampshire lists this turtle as widespread across the state, with lesser populations in the northern parts of our state. The one I saw on my road was leaving the wetland area and headed to a nice sandy patch across the street in the woods.
From my reading, and without having to “investigate further,” I deduced she was a mom looking to make a nest. She wasn’t too big, maybe about six inches in diameter, but she was making good speed in turtle inches per hour. I was concerned that she would get run over and decided to turn around and see what I could do to keep the road mortality number down and make sure she got across. To my horror, before I could turn around, a car came speeding up the road. Fortunately, the car passed right over her without crushing her. I was more determined then to help her finish her journey. I turned around, pulled just behind the determined mom-to-be, and flicked on the flashers of my car lights. I got out to watch her, remembering not to help her by touching her but just observe and protect. Me — the Turtle Police! As a car slowed down going past, I heard a child yell to the driver, “Look, Mommy, it’s a real turtle!” It’s nice to know the smaller things in life are still appreciated by the smaller humans.
I leaned against the front of my car and noticed that there were “hitchhikers” on the back of mom’s shell. They looked like slugs. I felt the urge to “scrape” them off, but I resisted. A friend stopped and asked which species I was helping along this time. We had met some 20 years ago, with me doing just that after having moved here the year before. As the momma made her way to the woods and I made my way home, I wonder if she found a comfortable nesting area and if I will encounter her youngsters in the near future.
Last spring in New Hampshire, John and I each rescued turtles — he rescued an Eastern Painted Turtle like Christine did, and I saved a wood turtle (click the links to read the articles). I don’t know if it is bad form to handle the turtles that you rescue. John and I brought them home to the ponds. And the naturalist I quote below actually notches the turtles he finds in order to identify them in future years.
The photograph above is of one of the otters in our beaver bog. It was taken with my 18-55mm lens, so it is not a good photo. The next time an otter comes through here (they only pass through; they do not live here because otters and beaver do not coexist well), I will use my new lens to get real photos. I love otters. They are fun to watch. And they are cute. But there is a dark side . . .
The following excerpt is from a book I am now reading: Following the Water: A Hydromancer's Notebook by David M. Carroll. It is a poetic book about Carroll’s explorations in his bog in New Hampshire. In the very first chapter, Yearbreak, page 6:
I raise my head and look upstream. Can I be looking at a wood turtle? The shape is far enough ahead that I cannot be certain, and my disbelief that a turtle would be so exposed, up on an open, muddy mound of stream bank, surrounded by snow and ice, prevents definite recognition. But as I advance I begin to read it as a turtle, and the reading is disturbing. The angle, something in the way that so-familiar sculpted shape is settled, is sharply out of keeping with any search-image I have. Wood turtles always place themselves in harmony with their surroundings, with the configurations of the earth or stream bottom on which they have settled or over which they move. This gestalt has struck me as unfailing. Except when they are compelled to cross a road or open law, wood turtles are never out of place.
Even from some distance, as I wade, looking into the turtle’s face, I know that something is terribly wrong. Where is that light in the eyes, the light of life and reflected day that shows before the gold-ringed eyes themselves can be clearly seen? What are those shadows, dark pockets on either side of the jet black head? Where are the legs, black-scaled, with vivid flashes of red-orange skin color that should be part of the pattern? Riveted by this troubling vision, I never look away as my feet find their way over the streambed and I wade to the turtle. A profound confusion comes over me, the elation of seeing that first turtle up out of the water at the end of hibernation mingling with a reality I do not want to see. The turtle’s eyes are closed, her legs are gone.
I pick her up. Her shell is so familiar, that shadowy umber brown carapace with yellow-gold striations, like faint flecks of sunlight. Tiny notches I have made along her marginal scutes identify her. An adult female, she is one of the wood turtles I have documented along this brook, where I have been recording them in notebooks over the past twenty years. Her head does not move, there is no sign of life in her tail as I move it from side to side. A few tiny bubbles appear at her nostrils, perhaps a last flicker of life. All of her right front leg is missing and the lower half of her left front. Her right hind leg has been eaten away from the knee joint down, and her left hind leg is only a shaft of bone to where the knee joint was. How did she get up here? My crowded thoughts and questions settle out, and I realize that of course she could not have climbed up onto this mound but was left here by the otter who discovered her in her winter-hold in the stream and wrestled her onto land to work at her, force out at least a foot to eat from the fortress of her shell. There is not one tooth mark on her carapace or plastron; predators know there is no biting through the shell of a wood turtle this size.
A sense of foreboding comes over me, as it did five years ago when, at this same seasonal moment, I discovered an adult male who had lost both front legs and then a six-year-old who had been bitten through and killed. I am familiar with reports by others who study turtles of heavy losses on colonies of painted and snapping turtles by otters preying upon them during their hibernation. I found no further evidence of such predation that year, but I wonder what I will find when the wood turtles here begin their first streamside basking of this new season.
I set the turtle back down. The temperature will drop well below freezing tonight. If the least flicker of life does remain within her, it will be extinguished. A life of decades, likely more than half a century, has come to an end. Borrowed stardust is at length returned, and the flame that burned within passed on. In silence, the water flows on by.
Eastern Painted Turtle Set Wood Turtle Set_/\_/\_
Saturday, June 05, 2010
A Photography Rant
A couple of years ago, Humanities Magazine (a magazine for the National Endowment for the Humanities) contacted me about publishing my photo of the round barn at Shelburne Museum. They did not offer any payment except crediting me with my name on the photo. I granted permission if they would send me a few copies of the issue. They did, and I was thrilled.
Green Mountain Farm to School has often used my photographs in their calendars and annual reports. Each time they use a photo, they send me multiple copies of the publication. I am thrilled with the recognition and with the ability I have to help them in illustrating their good works.
In a Toyota 4Runner web advertisement, my photo was used without permission. It was called to my attention, but Toyota contacted me and paid me, and other photographers, $500 for each photo used.BUT
Our Water, Not Broadwater asked for permission to use this photograph I took in New Haven Harbor in a brochure they were planning to publish. They were a non-profit organization that said they could not afford to pay me, and again I said yes they can use my photo if they give me credit and send me some of the brochures. Nothing has ever showed up in the mailbox from these people.
John and I did my annual sugarhouse visit in 2009 to Sugarbush Farm in Woodstock, Vermont. The farm owners saw the photos on Flickr and asked permission to use them in an upcoming cook book they were writing. I gave conditional permission: if they would give me a cookbook for each photo they used, and credit, I would give permission. I never heard a thing from them.
A librarian asked to use this photo from Westlook Cemetery in Glover for a commemorative publication they were planning for the bicentennial celebration for Runaway Pond. I gladly gave permission. No money expected. No response has been received.
I was asked by a northwestern state environmental agency to allow permission of my garden loosestrife photos for their invasive species page. I granted permission if they gave me credit and the final link. I never heard a thing from them.
The list of unresponsive organizations goes on. These are the ones that come quickly to mind.
My son-in-law, Aaron, the professional art and commercial photographer, has told me again and again to stop giving photos away, and I have (I will give photos to non-profits, though). I naively assumed that when I gave non-profits permission to use my photos for free in exchange for links or copies of the publication in which they would be printed, that I would be eagerly accommodated in appreciation of my generosity.
I don’t see why I should allow somebody to benefit monetarily or in any other way when they use my photos and I get nothing in return. Is it greed, laziness or inconsideration that motivates people to behave so carelessly with others?
Rant over.
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Friday, June 04, 2010
Another Fisher Cat Story
On the Saturday night of the women's retreat, Amy and Nate went out for the evening. The chickens always put themselves to bed, but the days are longer, and they hadn't retired to the coop before the kids left for the evening. Now this has happened before, and the kids have always gotten back fairly early. But this night was different.At 10 PM, I went out to the garage to count cats to make sure they were all in for the night. The garage was closed but I heard loud chicken clucking. The chicken wasn't in the barn — which is very bad. I ran to the stairs and called out to John, who had gone to bed earlier. Then I grabbed a flashlight, a very poor flashlight, and ran outside. I knew that it would be a couple of minutes before John would be able to get the rifle and get outside to get the raccoons and I wanted to stop any more massacres.
The panicky, clucking chicken was in the driveway in front of the garage door, under the outside light which was on. She was pacing back and forth as if waiting for the garage doors to open so she could get into the house. I ran up to the barn. My plan was to shine the flashlight into the barn and holler, which would hopefully slow down or stop the raccoons.
I shined the inadequate light into the open barn from where I stood outside and an unholy scream broke out. I began to scream. At the same moment, John came out the garage door with the rifle. I stumbled towards the house as John came towards me. He hollered at me for screaming and scaring the animal in the barn. I got back to the garage and waited with the chicken.
She was still clucking wildly and pacing in front of the garage doors. Occasionally she would stop her clucking, cock her head and listen to a scream that we heard on the mountainside. As soon as the scream would end, she would throw herself into the air and try to get into the garage through the sealed garage door windows. She left the imprint of her wings and feathers on the dusty glass of the windows.
John returned and said it was not a raccoon that had been in the barn — it was a fisher cat. He said I had been very foolish to go to the barn unarmed when I knew that was trouble in there. There could have been a bear or bobcat in that barn. Or a raccoon. But this time it was a fisher and I had put myself in danger with what I had thoughtlessly done. John was furious with me. I realized that he was right and apologized.
The screaming on the mountain from the angry fisher cat continued for awhile and faded away. But the chicken was not calming down or going to her roost. We opened the garage door and the noise scared the chicken into the barn, where we managed to herd her into the coop. All this time, the cats, who could have gone outside through the garage, and the dogs, who always bark at excitement outside and could have jumped through the screens on the window, were completely quiet and stayed in. They recognized the cry of a fisher cat and were not going to antagonize it further.
It was midnight before the chickens were in bed for the night and John and I could return inside. The kids got home around 1 AM, when I told them the whole story. Thankfully, the repairs to the chicken coop that Nate had made had held and everyone was safe.
Since that time two weeks ago, John has seen the fisher cat prowling the land at night. The raccoons tried to get into the coop one more time. I heard wild clucking again one night. By the time everyone got out to the coop, there were no threats to the chickens in the barn. But there was a lot of blood on the chicken wire over the window. The raccoons had tried to chew through the wire and gotten badly cut.
We are in the process of dismantling the falling down barn and building a big, secure coop.
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