Commissary Shopping

Went shopping at the Fairchild AFB with my son and daughter-in-law...for over 2 hours.

Grandpa got to carry around his grandson for the last half hour while he slept...the grandson, not me...

Just wanted all my loyal readers to know...I am still out here...currently sitting in the library on base, trying to get my email and print a form that a certain government entity seems to have lost, although they have the one document that was enclosed in the same envelope.

A momentary pause

 I will be away for a week. Family issues require my attention, a parting thought:







"Benedicto: May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. May your rivers flow without end, meandering through pastoral valleys tinkling with bells, past temples and castles and poets' towers into a dark primeval forest where tigers belch and monkeys howl, through miasmal and mysterious swamps and down into a desert of red rock, blue mesas, domes and pinnacles and grottos of endless stone, and down again into a deep vast ancient unknown chasm where bars of sunlight blaze on profiled cliffs, where deer walk across the white sand beaches, where storms come and go as lightning clangs upon the high crags, where something strange and more beautiful and more full of wonder than your deepest dreams waits for you --- beyond that next turning of the canyon walls."
Edward Abbey

While I am gone, I just wanted to pass this blessing on to each of you.  I will try and do a mobile post, but I understand my host has no internet connection at his home...I may have to stumble the long mile to reach a "Starbucks" (really, am I considering that?) that has Wi/Fi just to put out a post while I am away.

Florida Panthers

With recent recruits from Texas, the Florida Panthers are getting a better chance.  No, we aren't talking sports, we are talking about the endangered Panthers of Florida.

Wildlife biologist introduced eight female Texas panthers 15 years ago to help with genetic diversity in bringing back the big cat.  Biologist are stating that this has helped not only increase the population of these cats, but also made a healthier population in this isolated pocket of the species.

This provides hope for isolated populations of other large predators, like the Grizzly Bear or Grey Wolf.

And on a global scale, Lions and Tigers in isolated populations will benefit from the findings of this intense study.

Originally, thousands of Florida Panthers roamed the southeast, until in the 1990's their population and range was depleted to a small area between Miami and Naples and there were estimates of only 20-25 adults remaining in the wild.  Now with an estimated 100 of the big cats located in the ever declining area, biologists have released the results of their extended study of this isolated sub-species and feel that they have hope of strengthening some of the other endangered large cats of the world.

Birds: Congratulations to the winners of the I-Race 150 mile race today, and a special shout out to Sal Rodriguez, who had two birds in the top 5 places.  Next week will be the 300 mile race, looking forward to being there.

Honey: Going to set the wine aside tomorrow, and attend Oktoberfest up at Snowbird!

Just my opinion

It's just my opinion, so it probably doesn't count.

A parent's primary job is to provide a child with the tools to become a productive part of society. To teach them right from wrong and to have respect for others and the law (not always the same thing). That they should respect their elders, veterans and their country (not necessarily their government).  To support them in their times of uncertainty and let them know that they will always be there, when the child is ready to talk, to come back for a refresher course in any of the above.

Secondary things are how to care for their own children and respect the Earth.  That, family is more important than friends...that you have only a few friends and many acquaintances.  That they (the child) are not the center of the universe and that life is full of disappointments.  And that true character is shown in how we deal with those disappointments.

Feel free to chime in, tell me I'm wrong; that I am right; that I've taken too many prescription drugs for the pain and I should be sleeping. 

Question:  When you are wronged by a family member, how do you deal with it???  What if you forgive and they do it again???

Birds: Keep your neighbors happy, always fly your birds before you feed them.  Feed them before  you call them in, so they aren't out sitting on the neighbor's new, freshly washed SUV.  If said SUV becomes a target for aerial bombardment, offer to wash the vehicle.

Honey: The grapes on the vine are almost ready to juice...anyone want to give me an early Christmas gift, I need a new 5 gallon Carboy.

Pigeon Rescue

I got a call early this morning about a bird that had been found. This has happened fairly often since I used to be the president of the Ogden Racing Pigeon Club.

What made this call unique, was that it came from my son who is stationed in Spokane, WA, with the US Air Force...Stranger still, the band number he was inquiring about was one of the bands registered to me.

You might wonder how something like this could happen, so I decided this was a good opportunity to explain a little about racing pigeons. These are not the birds you see perched on the side of building, or roosting under overpasses.  These birds are genetically bred for one thing: to fly home, and to fly home fast, from distances out to 600 miles (for our club). There are clubs that hold longer races, and there are even speed records recorded out to 2000 miles.

 Every bird is given a unique seamless band when it is 5-10 days old. 

That band is registered to a specific national organization, in our case, the American Racing Pigeon Union or AU.  Each band is clearly marked with four identifying features: National Association; Year; Club Identification; and a unique identifying number.

The bird in question this moring, wore the band AU 2010 OGN 642, signifying American Racing Pigeon Union, hatched in the year 2010, member OGN (OGDEN) club, and unique number 642.  Since I have all OGN bands in the 600s, I know that this is one of my bands.  Checking my band register, I see that I actually gave this band to my partner at Stealth Lofts when he ran out of bands in late July.

I asked my son how he found the bird in Washington, over 400 miles away since the bird is, at best, only a few months old.  He relayed a story of having a friend from down here in Utah call and tell him about finding the bird and wanting to know if there was a way for her to get it back to the owner.  I told him to give her my number and I would arrange to pick up the bird. Then I contacted my friend and told him about the found bird and that I would retrieve it.

I am always impressed by the people that find our hurt or injured birds and the bond they develop in such a short time. 

If you should find a lost bird, go to the AU website, and follow the steps on caring for a lost bird.  Contact the club secretary listed on the Web site.  And if that doesn't work, leave a comment on my blog and I will do all I can to help get the little fellow home.

Technology goes wild

AT&T wants to make sure you can't get too far into the wild to get lost.
New cell phone, the TerreStar Genus, that came out today will use satellite coverage to reach the furthest points of the nation and coastlines.  For just an additonal $25 a month and 65 cents per minute, you will be able to have cell phone coverage in the most remote wilderness we have to offer. Of course, the phone costs almost $800.  Initially, it will only be available to "professionals", and hit retail stores later this year.  You can also use this phone to email from remote locations via satellite...for a mere $5 a megabyte or 400 times the going rate of internet back home.

Soon, there will be no place you can escape the ring-tone of your cell phone.  The wilderness will truly be tamed...forest rangers, search and rescue teams, emergency crews will find it useful.
Everyone will feel secure in venturing into the wilderness, when they can call for help from anywhere!

There are a couple of drawbacks; you do have to have a clear view of the southern sky, where the satellite hovers, without trees, buildings, hills or canyon walls. Another drawback, the satellite is only aimed at the U.S. and doesn't provide global coverage.  So if you are carrying you $800 phone, and fall down into one of the southwests canyons, there is still the chance that you could enter back into the food chain for a hungry turkey vulture or coyote, before you could use it.

Birds: 150 mile money race scheduled for the upcoming weekend, in Beaver, Utah where I still have two birds competing.

Honey: My honey's blog has drawn a lot of negative attention for comments about Evergreen International...stop over and read it to draw you own informed conclusions.

Free Pass Day or Volunteer

Thousands of volunteers in every state will put their hands to work on Saturday, September 25, 2010 in a coast-to-coast effort to improve and enhance our treasured lands.  You can find a listing of places you can volunteer at http://www.publiclandsday.org/. Here are just some examples:

Oops!!!
Leave it to the media to avoid the issue of volunteering: what can I give
versus what can I get

Zions NP to host free admission. On the day we should be volunteering to do things for our public lands, the media would have you know that you can get free admission to enjoy your public lands.

Now to really enjoy the day, get out with other volunteers and do something to make the outdoor experience good for everyone:

There are 26 sites in Utah that will be working with volunteers. No matter what you are into in the outdoors, there is something for you to get involved in, from ATVs to fishing; from pulling noxious weeds to trail maintenance; from campsite clean up to watershed clean up...come out and help make the outdoor experience better for everyone!  Simply click on the blue letters "26 sites in Utah" for more information!

National Public Lands Day... September 25, 2010
Visit or volunteer, there are rewards for both. If you haven't seen some of the country's greatest public lands, many will offer free entry this coming weekend...no fees!  And if you volunteer to help on NPLD there is a program to get volunteers free passes for later dates.

This is not just a Western thing, public lands across the country are allowing free entry this weekend.

There will be 33 sites in Virginia!

Locally in Arizona, there are 27 sites planned!

Check to see what you can do in your area...get out and enjoy the outdoors...the colors on the mountain are wonderful here!!

Grazing for next to nothing

Just a quick note for my Abbey reading friends, there are a couple of groups you should consider if making donations.  Western Watersheds Project and Center for Biological Diversity have filed a suit in US District Court for the District of Columbia that would force BLM and the US Forest Service to accurately reflect costs both administrative and environmental associated with the practice of grazing on public lands.  The suit is being fought against by Farm Bureaus from 11 states.

Wild Weekend

President Obama has designated September as National Wilderness Month, so get out and do something wild this weekend.

If you are down in the Four Corners area, or actually just about anywhere in those four states (Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona), this will be one of the last wild weekends of summer!  There are some great activities if you want to socialize with like-minded desert rats and beer drinkers.

Telluride: Starting today, The Telluride Blues and Brews Festival featuring George Thorogood...and about any type of micro brew you could possibly desire...try them all!!! All at one of the most scenic venues you will ever experience.

Las Cruces, New Mexico, has it's own weekend of celebration to protect the Organ Mountains with free food, music and children's activities...invest in the next generation to protect what is wild!

Elsewhere in Colorado, on Tuesday the Fremont County commissioners took the first steps in designating 125,000 acres as wilderness. Ed Norden, chairman of the Fremont County commission said: "Wilderness designations seem to have an attraction to some visitors." Maybe in some remote plane of existence there is still some hope for us wilderness advocates...even ATV supporting county commissioners realize some of us want/need/expect wilderness.

Here in Utah, you can always go up to Snowbird Ski Resort, for the 38th annual Oktoberfest going on every Saturday and Sunday until October 10.  An excellent write up on the event was done by Utah Beer Blogspot.

Birds: Sunday is the 150 mile stage of the I-Race in Beaver, Utah...I still have 2 birds in the race!!!  A phone call just showed me how fickle this sport can be, as a fire west of the race course may require a week's delay...hard to make plans to go down for the festivities when you don't know what day. 

A pigeon friend out in Chico, California, had one of his birds place 5th in an Auction race with the Pueblo Racing Homer Club, raising him a few dollars. 

Chic Brooks of HappyCo Loft has donated a group of birds for auction in Indianapolis, Indiana...some wonderful Van Loons that my partner would give his right arm for...if interested, contact me and I will give you the info. 

Honey: Bottling wine this weekend, if I survive the local rivalry of high school football. Layton High Homecoming tonight, and we're going with friends...they play the Davis Darts, my old high school and the school where my step-daughter is a member of the drill team.  Should be an interesting night.  GO DARTS!!!

eBooks (saving our forests one book at a time)

"No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets."
- Edward Abbey

The wave of the future in books is the rapid expansion and use of electronic Books (eBooks). Environmental issues are raised with these electromechanical gadgets produced mostly of plastic.  However, further research into production of plastic reveals that it is merely a byproduct of North America's dependency on oil--as long as you are driving that gas-guzzling hunk of Detroit metal. The ingredients for plastic have already been ripped from mother earth to feed your need to get there faster than your own two legs will carry you.

Oil Rig on the edge of Canyonlands NP

In 1979 the annual volume of plastics produced exceeded the volume of steel that was manufactured. The annual volume of plastics produced tripled during the period of 1940 to 1945, due to the wartime demand for products. Plastics are essentially a byproduct of petroleum refining.  So as long as we are using petroleum products for energy, plastic will be available without further destruction of the environment, specifically for the production of plastic.

As with all materials, there are environmental costs and benefits associated with the use of plastics. Plastics replace natural materials, including ivory and wood. Synthetic fibers also provide a substitute for cotton, a water- and energy-intensive crop. The use of plastic materials in cars and airplanes reduces their weight and therefore increases their fuel efficiency. The insulating capacity of plastics such as styrofoam reduce the amount of energy required to heat and cool homes.

One of the most significant environmental problems associated with plastics is the improper disposal of plastic goods by consumers. The use of plastics has enabled the development of innumerable disposable products, which has increased the amount of trash that is disposed.  Although paper accounts for most of the trash in landfills by volume, plastics account for 25% of all waste in landfills when buried.
A significant amount of plastic, however, is not properly disposed in landfills and makes its way into the environment. Plastic does not biodegrade quickly which means it remains in the environment for a very long time. Plastic trash has made its way to coastal ecosystems and the ocean, presenting a danger to marine and birdlife.

For my money, the eBook seems the best environmental way to go, and it also makes it easier to carry my library into the field.  Research materials, birding books, plant identification, first aid...all of it able to fill the space of my old copy of  The Monkey Wrench Gang or Ecodefense: A Field Guide to Monkeywrenching (I'll have to go look to see if that is on Kindle).

Birds:  110 mile training toss this last weekend...still have two birds in the Beaver I-race...34th and 76th...beat out by my partner whose bird was 32nd.

Honey:  This weekend I will be bottling the Backyard Blonde and cleaning the carboy to start a new batch of Mead that will be ready in March, and with any luck will last us through the summer.

Canyonland NP

Happy Birthday Canyonlands National Park!

On Sept 12, 1964, Canyonlands National Park was established in an area of southeastern Utah.

This is one of my favorite wandering places, and the end of many wonderful river trips have occurred for me at the edge of the Canyonlands.  This area offers desert recreation, escape, and the chance to view artifacts that have remained unchanged and unbothered for centuries.  The official website provides more information...I don't want to share my secrets of the area. 

The Maze section of Canyonlands has always held special interest to me, since reading Edward Abbey's Desert Solitaire and his description of entering the Maze for the first time with a friend from Colorado.  When I first traced his approach with my uncle, things were almost the same as described in the book.

Mineral Bottoms at the northern edge of Canyonlands NP

One of the other notable places on the way into the Eastern entrance of Canyonlands, south of Moab, Utah is Newspaper Rock...truly a marvel to see and experience.

Other things of interest that occurred on September the 12th...

Sept 12, 1940 Cave Paintings discovered in Lascuax, France 

Sept 12, 1954. Lassie TV Premiere. This long-running series was originally about a boy and his courageous and intelligent dog, Lassie (played by more than six different dogs, all male). For the first few seasons, Lassie lived on the Miller farm. The family included Jeff (Tommy Rettig), his widowed mother Ellen (Jan Clayton) and George Cleveland as Gramps. Throughout the years there were many format and cast changes, as Lassie was exchanged from one family to another in order to have a variety of new perils and escapades. Other featured performers included Cloris Leachman, June Lockhart, and Larry Wilcox.

9/11

Yesterday was a day of reflection for many of us, a time to ponder the changes brought about by a terrorist attack within our country's borders and the senseless loss of life that this date signifies. Since yesterday's date was so somber, today I had to look for something positive in my life to reflect upon...I believe the establishment of the wonderful, scenic Canyonlands National Park is exactly what my mind and heart needed today.

Honey Wine

Backyard Blonde and Raving Mead

I wanted to share the latest on my wine making...I only made a gallon batch of mead in February, primarily because my 5 gallon Carboy (used for holding mead or wine) was being used for my Backyard Blonde...

I had to try the white grapes in my backyard and see what type of wine they would make.  One of the really interesting parts about making your own wine is you can experiment with all types of grapes and all kinds of fruit...and if it doesn't turn out, then you just don't tell anyone. 

Mead by the gallon was a real success...just ask those friends that helped me polish it off...oops, I meant to save a bottle for the rack and let it age a year.  Don't worry, I'll share the recipe before I am done...simple, and anyone can do it...you just have to have patience to wait 6 months before bottling it.  Another reason I like mead, is the various tastes it has while developing into a real honey of a wine.  This year, I used Clover Honey...local...and it was some really good stuff. 

Here is the recipe, but I would suggest that you visit your local wine/beer making supply store and get a book on wine making, read it and understand the sanitary precautions and make sure you have the supplies you will need before venturing further.  This recipe should make 4 or 5 bottles of wine in six months...depending on how much tasting you do as it ferments.  The real key to success with winemaking, is patience.  So, once you have all the basics understood try this recipe:

INGREDIENTS:
4 pounds Clover Honey
3 quarts distilled water or spring water...or worst case, you can boil tap water (make sure it cools before adding yeast, or you will just kill it)

Heat and blend until disolved, place in your gallon carboy, fill to neck of gallon jar with additional water if needed and allow to cool...once cooled, add

3 tsp acid blend
1 tsp yeast nutrient (not mandatory, but you can tell a difference in the long run)
2 crushed Campden Tablets

When solution is at room temprature, take your hydrometer reading and write it down...this will let you know how much alcohol you can expect to have in your mead at the end of 6 months.  Place airlock on neck of bottle and allow to stand for 24 hours.  After 24 hours add one packet champagne yeast. I used Lalvin EC1118 on this last batch.

Carboy Airlock

Stir daily for the next week. After a week, if you have never tasted a yeasty mead, this is your chance...there is really no alcohol present at this point, but you will get a feel for the flavor if you taste it monthly and see how it develops. 

Now, it is all a matter of waiting.

Wine Thief

Daily, tell your wine good morning and good night...not literally, but check on it.  Weekly, taste it (a drinking straw capped with your finger makes a good wine thief for this) and record your experience, it will help with later batches.  Monthly, "rack" your wine to another clean bottle (you will need two bottles and two air locks) and top off your wine with sterile water.

At 6 months, bottle it...if possible, try and keep a bottle to taste after a year...Mead actually ages better up to 5 years in the bottle...or so they tell me. I can't keep it around that long.

Disclaimer: these are the basic steps to making mead...if you don't understand basic winemaking and sanitary precautions, you may not have a good experience...visit your local wine/beer making supply store...ask questions and make sure you keep good notes for the next batch.

Fearless Honey Badger

Fearless honey badger escapes from Prague zoo…did you catch the video a couple of weeks ago on MSN??? Or you can still find it on You Tube. 

I always thought our local relative the Wolverine was the winner, but after seeing the honey badger struck by a cobra, and taking a nap to shake it off…well, I’m re-thinking the subject. How would you like to see that in your back yard, if you lived in Prague????

I've been thinking a lot about the Wolverine lately, since reading about a study on them in Glacier National Park and thinking I missed the boat; instead of enlisting in the Army, I should have gotten a degree in biology and tracked Wolverines.  If you feel the desire, you can contact them and make a donation to the research at the Wolverine Foundation. 

Of course, when I think of Glacier, I tend to think of Doug Peacock and his book "Grizzly Years."  I've met Doug Peacock three times, I remember all of them...although I am sure they are a little fuzzy in his mind.  I love listening to his tales of times with Ed Abbey.  Last time I saw Doug was at a reading by him and his lovely wife at Ken Sander's Rare Books...and that always makes me think of Ed Abbey.

All this thought of Abbey, and I need to escape to the desert...drink a few beers and do some hands on research for that book that I know I have hidden away inside me...Then I think of Doug and Ed and wonder what could I add to what they have written?  I realize that what I have to add, is my perspective the unique accumulation of all that I have endured and achieved in my half century...so the desert calls...

Birds:  Race this weekend!

Honey:  This batch of mead will be named "Raving Mead"

Damn those burning Bobcats...

PIRU, Calif. (AP) - A bobcat climbing a power pole got electrocuted and sparked a five-acre brush fire in California's Ventura County. County fire Capt. Dan Preston told the Ventura County Star that the bobcat was apparently chasing an owl or another bird when it touched the power lines, caught fire and fell to the ground in a rural area near Piru.


The fire was reported at 3:36 a.m. Monday atop Torrey Peak. More than 40 firefighters extinguished the blaze about five hours later.



No homes were threatened and no one was hurt. The bobcat's charred body was found beneath the power lines.

Smokey the Bear was wrong when he said only you can prevent Forest Fires...unless you are a Bobcat climbing a power pole.  Wonder if they gave him a Christian Burial???

In unrelated news, BYU Retired emeritus archaeologist leads site excavation in Southern Utah that dates back to at least 9,000 BC...WTF?!?...I thought the Mormons believed there was only 8,000 or so years since Adam...and the Bible shows the time between Adam and Christ as between 4000 and 5500 years.

Mustangs and the 2nd Amendment

Well, the Economy and the Livestock Lobbyist are winning out over wilderness again...63% of the wild horse herd in the Conger and Confusion of southwestern Utah are slated to be rounded up...removed from the range.  Their fate?  Well a majority will be put up for adoption...you can get one for yourself for next to nothing...but in this economy, the fact is most of them will end up on permanent pastures in the Midwest.  Not exactly the John Wayne movie setting you visualize when you think of the mustang.  But don't worry, we are paying through the nose to keep them on that pasture, so the local Utah rancher can graze his cows and sheep on Utah's scenic BLM land instead. 

"According to the BLM website, it cost taxpayers $29 million in the 2009 budget year to care for the horses in captivity. As of August, according to the agency, there were 25,700 permanently pastured wild horses and 8,800 in short-term corrals, likely bound for adoption."

That's quite a bit of taxpayer money to subsidize the Utah rancher...

Maybe it isn't really about 2nd Amendment, but the Davis County Commission repealed their ban on shooting in the foothills today.  Seems there is already a Utah State Law on the books that it is illegal to shoot in the direction of houses while shooting in the foothills...What happened to common sense and basic firearms training?  Know your target and beyond!  I have hunted on this mountainside above my parents home for almost 40 years...when I was young, if I had even pointed my gun back towards town, I'd have had my butt warmed but good.  Of course, it's just my opinion, but if you own a gun and you carry it, you should be responsible for your actions with said gun.

Birds:  I-race in Beaver, results for 100 mile training toss...took 7th and 9th place out of 109 birds with nest mates from my Vic Miller cock (thanks Fahy) and my Fabry hen (Thanks Ted).  Next toss is 150 miles, and pays the top 5 places.

Honey: Meniere's Disease is ravishing my honey today...we will make the best of it, but it is so frustrating for her and nothing I can do.  At least, I can be here.

Nature, Birds and Mead

The beginning of a blog...how did they talk me into this?

Labor Day and a Labor of Love...

Nature:  

The Idea of expanding the number of wolf kills in the lower 48 is saddening to me.  The statistics and numbers to not add up to create a need for this.  Most of the ranchers that are complaining about livestock losses are grazing on public land for next to nothing...it's been going on for generations...their grandfathers and great grandfathers are the reason for no wolves remaining in the first place.  Since reintroduction, they estimate the population in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming at 1700...and they have "harvested" 1400 during the reintroduction period.

Birds: I-race in Beaver Utah is the only futurity race I entered this year.  Scheduled to take place on 25 September, I still have 3 birds in the race...wish me and them luck!

Mead: Just finished off the gallon I started in February...with the cost of honey, looking for patrons to provide enough to start another 5 gallon batch...let me know.

Oh, and last Wednesday, I was informed that after 4 years, 6 months and 17 days they have approved my disability retirement!  I will be looking for part time, non-physical employment to fill the gaps of a fixed income.

Birdman