Now here's a twist...or is it?

Many of my Utah associates send me email after email, without checking the content on Snopes. A large amount of those emails are about illegal aliens, how they are stealing from the taxpayer and how much crime is committed by them. A new study out in the Desert News (a paper I seldom trust due to association with the Mormon religion) states that illegals are not responsible for a disproportionate amount of crime in the state of Utah, even though a majority (62%) of Utahns believe that they are. Only 5% of the penal population in Utah are illegals...which is misleading, since they can't apply for parole and are not eligible for rehabilitation programs for an early release. This means they tend to stay in jail longer than non-illegal offenders.

Coming across the border, at least in Utah, is a civil offense...one they shouldn't even be in jail for, but "the majority of undocumented immigrants in Utah jails are being detained solely for border-crossing violations."

This same paper reported in September that the illegal population in Utah was declining, and the day before that they had reported that the national population of illegals was declining.

This will surely have some of that majority up in arms about a biased media...but then, everything in Utah seems to be biased. Makes me wonder what they will develop a hatred for next.

On a lighter note, buy your kids iPhones, so they can escape would-be kidnappers. In reality, it wasn't an iPhone, just an iPod Touch, but when this twelve-year-old was accosted and her attacker demanded she get into a van, she pretended to use the iPod as a phone and told the assailant she was calling for help.  Smart kid!!! The perp hurried off.

Birds: Cooler weather is here, my birds are not drinking near as much as they were during the heat, and they want more food. This is a delicate matter: too much and they will get too fat to breed as successfully as you would like; if they don't get enough feed, their immune system will weaken from fighting the cold. This is a good time of year to handle your birds often, check to see that they are maintaining weight. Adjust the feed accordingly.

This is also an important time to watch for rodents who are looking for a permanent food source through the winter.  Like the story of the grasshopper and the ants, the mice and rats want the easy way out. Besides disease, rodents can be a problem by attracting other predators.

Honey: I am thinking of adding some blackberry juice to a batch of the Backyard Blonde to see if that adds a delightful twist to it.

ATVs not a family affair

The ATV industry is advocating an ATV as being the perfect gift for children as young as five.  This creates the use of ATVs as a family activity. Children involved in ATV accidents are becoming an epidemic, according to recent studies. We are losing 150 youth a year to ATV accidents, and thousands more are being seriously injuried. Children under 16 should not be allowed to operate them, according to both the Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Surgeons.

Even the Consumer Product Safety Commission began getting involved, as early as 2005. At that time over 1/3 of the 6,000 fatal ATV accidents reported since 1982 involved children under the age of 16.



Even adults often suffer serious injury on ATVs

 And then there is this headline: ATVs are more deadly than Motorcycles. The researchers said that even when the severity of injuries was the same, the patients who had been riding ATVs were 50 percent more likely to die, and 50 percent more likely to need treatment in an intensive care unit, as compared to the motorcycle riders.

Regulations are in place in the state of Massachusetts and in Canada that require operators to be 14 years of age.  This brings up a personal delima for me. Do we legislate morality? Parents should be responsible for the raising of their children, and this requires the common sense to say no to dangerous activities. I personally don't believe that we need laws to create a safe environment for children, but we need laws that make a parent or guardian responsible for ensuring they learn common sense.

Birds: My blog got mentioned in a blog in the UK, I often enjoy reading Pigeons as Pets. A different approach to having pigeons than I am used to, but maybe one that works well for them...and that is what the hobby is about: the pleasure we get out of it individually.

Honey: Time to start the next batch of wine...still waiting for suggestions from friends, but the response to Backyard Blonde tells me I have to make another batch of that.

Massage my back

Almost 5 years ago now, I suffered a fall at work that resulted in some serious back problems. I have been through several procedures to find some relief from the pain. Surgery in my case is not a procedure with a good prognosis. Although some people think that there should be some miracle medical cure for all injuries in this day and age, it just isn't so. I have been told this by every spine specialist I have seen both mine, and the 2nd opinion doctors for the Department of Labor.

Spinal specialists have tried prescription medication for both pain and muscle spasms that occur...these are just bandages that cover the pain and give very limited and temporary relief. Although I still have prescriptions for these, I try to limit the use of them.


Doctors have also attempted epidural injections to my spine...OUCH!!
These have had a very poor response and do not last long enough.  There is also a problem with location of the impingement of nerves in my neck, making it almost impossible to place the injection in the proper position.


So after all this time, the conclusions have been reached, that there are two specific treatments that are effective in my case. Trigger point injections of a steroid and numbing agent directly into the muscles surrounding the areas of the spine where the pain and reduction of movement is located. These are effective for about six months, by rotating between the two major areas, I can find continuous relief by a quarterly treatment.

I also have to limit my activities in regard to bending, stooping, twisting and lifting weight above 20 pounds. 

The other treatment is a weekly session with a massage therapist and Chiropractor.  This gives me the most relief and lasts for 5 to 7 days,  I quite often can go almost a week without using prescription medication following a massage session.

If you are experiencing back pain, perhaps you should see if massage will help you.  The best I have found, are the women at Alta Vista.

Arch Canyon

Another one of my best less known areas has fallen to invasion by motorized traffic.  The first news that we here about it comes 7 days after the decision by BLM...

Soon, there will be no where to escape the noise and tire tracks!

The ruins in Arch Canyon when I first viewed them over 20 years ago were almost as pristine as any I had ever seen.  At that time, there was no motorized traffic in the canyon.  A recent trip to the Butler Wash area put me near enough to check in on some old haunts...no longer the same, the tranquility of the canyon was ripped wide open by the drone of OHV motors running up and down it...maybe its not so during the week, but on that Sunday morning, I was pestered by the sounds of four different groups in the three hours I was in the canyon.

I think a permit system needs to be put in place like they have done on many of the rivers, and many of the more popular hikes in National Parks. 

What a shame to loose another memory to the greed of Corporate America!

Rain and motorcycle, pigeon racing and the environment

So, yesterday was not the most pleasant weather for getting out on the motorcycle. The forecast for the next few days has got me thinking about water, in the form of rain and in the run-off that affects our environment.

Erosion is generally the first thing we think of when we consider water and the environment. There are so many other factors that water affects in our environment. Especially here in the desert...which is where we are, regardless of how people act here in Utah. This is a desert with a finite amount of water.

Erosion in the desert is not only caused by water, it is also generated by wind...both water in the form of run-off and wind can carry the loose bits and pieces of sandstone. In effect, this is like having walls sand-blasted to remove the dirt or outer covering.

Water also affects the desert environment in its ability to sustain life. With a finite water source, there are finite populations that can be supported. Not only must consideration be given for the amount of water that is available for use, consideration must be given for those living down stream.  

In the middle and early portions of the last century, many, many "water retention" areas were created to resolve issues of water lost to run-off...basically, this is a very selfish idea, as putting up the dam creates a pool of water behind it. This pool is subject to greater evaporation than the running water.

The west is now overpopulated...not too many people per square mile if compared to the east, but too many people for the land (and water) to support.

In this region, water is the source of life...if you don't think so, try going without it for just 4 days.

The current issues that are extremely pressing now that the human population is in place, and constantly growing, is where will we continue to get more water. Who owns the water in the rivers?  Water rights have led to more than one homicide in the west. Everyone and everything wants the right to water, and how and when do we tell them there is not enough?  People are becoming pretty inventive in finding more water. Actually not more water--remember there is a finite amount--but water they feel they are entitled to.  I recently watched a documentary on the Green River. 

There is a 37-mile stretch that flows through the state of Colorado, so now they are looking at old water right laws and saying they want their cut. The basic idea is to dig a canal or pipe water from the Flaming Gorge area of Utah and Wyoming over to the Front Range area of Denver.  Somehow, the idea that the answer maybe a reduction in population in that area does not get through.

If you have any good ideas, I am certain someone will listen...Saint George, Utah, and Washington County are running dry pretty quick. It wouldn't take too many years of drought to make a big problem for the humans there.

And if it is affecting humans in such a manner, how is it affecting the creatures that can't adapt their environment?  The ones that were here first?

Birds: And what about pigeons and racing in the rain? Every year, there is debate over whether or not a race should have been released based on weather. For the most part, pigeons negotiate the rain well enough if they do not become too wet to fly. A theory that I have about thunderstorms has gotten some local and national interest.  From my time in the military, I know that helicopters develop static electricity in flight. Enough, that when doing sling loading of supplies, I have seen loaders tossed across the LZ when the person that was supposed to "ground" the bird missed the hook with grounding rod. I would suggest that our birds, when flying in a massive flock such as during the beginning stages of a race, also created similar static electricity with the motion of all those wings. I suggest that they actually will draw a lightening strike from the static electricity in the clouds of a thunderstorm...resulting in poor results on a race where they may come in contact with a thunderstorm. On such races, the birds that come in first are usually the birds we lest expected. I surmise that the reason is they were not with that front group that attracted and were dispatched by a lightening strike.

Honey: My 2010 Backyard Blonde can be deemed a success. My friend's mother enjoyed it thouroughly when I provided her with a bottle.  She is quite the critic when it comes to wine, so I am very proud of what I accomplished with the backyard vine.

Bike weekend...

First issue, avoid drunken pedestrians running out to cross the highway.  A long story, but that is how the bike got this way.  The bike is all better now, and once again she is ready to ride.

This may be the last weekend before snow!  Yes, I said that ugly word...but of course once it is on the ground it can be quite wonderful...cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, no lawn mowing!

I am off on the bike today, first to the final production by dancing daughter...then 70 miles the other direction to pick up a new corker for bottling wine...then back home and clear additional space in the drive way for my honey's car.

Have a wonderful and safe weekend!!

Ozone as pollution and the breeding season

L.A. Smog

Ozone: the word was coined back in 1840.  It is actually a triatomic molecule consisting of three oxygen atoms.  Ozone serves a particular purpose where it belongs in the upper atmosphere, protecting us from the sun's harmful ultraviolet light. But in the lower atmoshere, it is a pollutant that can cause respiratory problems in animals, including humans. In the lower atmoshere, we often call this heavy oxygen "smog." The link above provides some really interesting history on Wikipedia about ozone.

We have always been told, "move to the country to escape these types of emissions." An article today in the Salt Lake Tribune refutes that idea. The Uinta basin of northeastern Utah is about as rural as you can currently find. Vernal is the gateway to Dinosaur National Monument, but due to the oil and gas fields surrounding the basin, the air held unhealthy levels of ozone for 40 days last winter.

That puts it on a level with Los Angeles and the San Bernadino Valley. Hard to believe rural Utah, was ranked right up there with the highest pollution-ridden areas of the world.  And at a time of year when ozone is not normally a consideration as a pollutant. 

Bottom line, we have to reduce emissions, or we have to find another planet to live on...this one will kill us off if we keep causing her harm.

Birds: The most important part of the race season is starting all over the country in major competitive lofts.  They are preparing for the breeding season. Many will start around Thanksgiving, hoping for birds that can be banded on the first day of the new year.  Many breeders will be standing on the club secretary's porch, waiting for bands on January 1, 2011.

Now is the time to prepare for that. Healthy parents create healthy youngsters, creating a better possibility for a winning season.  Breeding lofts should be sanitized. A simple water and bleach solution will work when sprayed on to scraped surfaces and allowed to sit and air dry.  Many pigeon breeders will paint the lofts at this time too.

The birds themselves should be getting a 4 in 1 or 5 in 1 treatment.  My primarily concerns are paratyphoid; canker; coccidiosis; e. coli; and worms.  I treat the birds for 5 consecutive days, then use a probiotic for 5 days then repeat the whole process. So now is the time to start if you want the breeders ready by the end of November.  I also do this treatment on the Old Bird race team while I am at it. A reminder, it is show season, and you never know what the bird in the next pen might be sharing with your birds, so this is a good practice to prevent an outbreak in your loft.

 

Honey: Does anyone know of wineries on the Hawaiian Islands? We will be taking our honeymoon there next month, and a wine tour would be a fantastic way to find a good local wine or two for the beach, along with some cheese and crackers or fresh local bread.

Veteran's are being noticed

First, just a shout out for the National Parks System for recognizing veterans on Veteran's Day...in honor of those of us that served, they will allow free entrance to all of the almost 400 National Parks on 11 November 2010...there is always something to be seen, in almost every state.

We will be on our long awaited honeymoon in Hawaii at that time, so we may just have to go over and see Pearl Harbor.

Although Pearl Harbor is not one a National Park or a National Monument, it is a fitting place to visit on Veterans Day!

Additionally, there are 8 true National Parks and Monuments in the Hawaiian Islands, and we will probably go see one or two of them also.



Another point of interest found in the news today, even the United Nations is becoming active in combatting losses in the plant and animal world due to human-caused environmental issues. They say we are facing the worst extinction rate in the last 65 million years, since the dinosaurs were here. Nations and business are prompted to take increased steps to protect and restore ecosystems. (Unfortunely, some cannot be brought back...my example, Glen Canyon.)

Birds: This is the show season, so a little extra safflower in your mix will add to appearance, and weekly baths are very important even with the tempratures dropping off a little.

Honey: Although not a fan of Chardonnays per se, I really enjoyed one this weekend, and the visitor from the Northeast didn't recognize it as being the same wine they get back there...makes one wonder about regional availability from wineries.

Sharing a few moments from the ongoing hunt

I just wanted to update everyone on the progress of the hunt...the elk are winning.
All we saw is a couple of moose.

The first day we were up on the north slope of the Unitas, it snowed a few inches.  And sleeping in my father's tent trailer, I found that the heater created more condensation that it did real heat.

We spent four days hunting hard, I think I walked about 40 miles according to the GPS.

Although we didn't "harvest" any elk or deer, we still have until this Thursday to "bag" one. I enjoyed getting out, seeing some great scenery and some historical old dwellings.

I found more evidence to support my stance on stronger regulation of off-highway vehicles. 

Notice that they drive their OHV around the sign instead of turning around before it.  The next day while standing on the edge of the same meadow about 50 feet beyond the sign, I had a guy pull up to me on his OHV and ask if I had seen anything. When I questioned him about riding beyond the sign, he threw down a lit cigarette butt and spun his tires getting out of there.

On another OHV trail, they found a puddle, and made the most out of tearing up the road and making it almost impassible when it dries up and becomes hard again. Have people forgotten that they can walk?  There was no reason for tearing up that road like that, other than a desire to run their engines and avoid a little physical exercise in name of seeing more faster.  That is not the style or ethic of hunting I was raised on.  Oh, and if the road gets repaired, it will be done with our tax dollars...dollars for the Forest Service that could have been used elsewhere in protecting or understand the basic needs of nature.

Where is the thrill of the stalk and the hunt, when you ride up, shoot your prey with a high power rifle from a distance the animal still feels safe. Then ride right up, throw it on the back end of your all-terrain toy and ride back to camp to show off your hunting skill and prowess.  It sickens and saddens me.

Just a quick bit on eBooks and ePublishing...someone shared a blog with me while I was hunting that needs input in the discussion to allow for a greater readers say.

Birds: I will be donating three CBS DeKlak breeders to the Northern Utah Show and Auction this year.  Details to follow on time and date of the show.

Honey: We hosted friends last night, and I spent a good deal of the evening explaining the whole wine making process to one of our guests that works at a large chain restaurant...now her head will be filled with unusable knowledge when she pours that commercial glass of wine to her customer.

Why I had to moderate comments on my blog...lol

Well, my mentally and socially challenged stalker is back...lol
They are without ethics and have so little self-esteem, that they want to attack me, my doctors, the Dept of Labor doctors, my military career, and my family...while hiding behind being anonymous.  So, for my few readers, I apologize for digressing but this needs to be addressed...they commented on a comment on the blog: How can the bids be bogus if the sale was bogus???...

Sorry folks, no pictures today.

This is their comment:

Oh please. Forced disability. ???? You can do everything you ever could do..... just trying to get out of work as always. Your whole career (milatary as well) is defined by the same BS. Your new friends will figure you out soon enough. Your new found attempt at intellect and blog is sorely missing it's mark. You are simple and everyone can see it. A joke. You married someone with more sickness than you.......... go figure. Maybe the $1000 she makes on being an "author" with save you both.

By Anonymous on 10/15/10

So let's get the record straight. Forced disability: after four years and eight months following my injury, my employer could only find enough work for 45 minutes of an 8 hour day and expected me to sit or stand (since medically I am unable to sit for extended periods), waiting for them to have work within my medical restrictions. I was told that the only place I could do this was either in a small glass room which put me on display as an example for having an on-the-job injury or stuck in a storage area.  Which place would any thinking individual want to be?

"You can do everything you ever could do." Well gee, boss...lol.  I used to be able to pick up and carry my grandchildren without pain...now I can't do that.  And no, it's not because they have grown up, there are still plenty of small ones.  I can't sit for extended periods of time.  I have a loss of grasp in both hands and overall loss of strength.  I have three discs in my neck and one in my low back that are bulged or have moved due to the fall I took while on the clock and doing my assigned duties.

"Just trying to get out of work as always." Sounds like you are misplacing your work ethic upon me.  I have and always will continue to have a good work ethic.  In 10 years and 9 months of punching the clock at that place, I was only late twice.  Unlike other coworkers, when I was done with my work, I clocked out and went home...not waited 20 minutes for the half-hour mark.  Or stretched my day talking with customers because I didn't have a full day's work.  Or cut corners on the job to make it so I could get home early on the long days.  Good hell, I was the only employee on the overtime desired list for seven years...yeah, I'm just lazy.

"Your whole career (milatary as well) is defined by the same BS." First, you can't even spell it. Second, you really don't want to challenge my military career, most of which was spent in line units or doing classified work that I still can't discuss. I was on active duty for almost 12 years, and after the things I saw during the first Gulf War, I just couldn't go on doing that 24/7/365...so I went back to school and graduated with my bachelor's degree at 38 (where's your degree???). I was active with the US Army Reserve, and did an additional tour following 9-11.  Don't talk down my military service or the service of those that didn't return or returned as less than they left (and we all come back changed from war).  You haven't earned that right!  Show me where you have served with honor, show me where you are even brave enough to put your name on a comment.

"Your new friends will figure you out soon enough." A wise man once told me: "You will have many acquaintances, but count yourself blessed if you have enough friends to count on one hand." True friends know you, they want to be your friend with all your flaws and imperfections.

"Your new found attempt at intellect and blog is sorely missing it's mark. You are simple and everyone can see it. A joke." The only joke here is the person that wants to make accusations without proof, that feels they must put others down to pull themselves up, that doesn't have the intestinal fortitude to show themselves and let others know who they are.

"You married someone with more sickness than you.......... go figure" Now, if you know that my wife has been ill recently, that means you are way too close to my family to make those assertions. That is the most chickenshit thing a person can do: to attack someone when they know that person is down.  Either you are a FAKE friend or acquaintance, or you are someone lurking in the shadows of our life sending out all the bad energy you can in the hope of destroying our happiness for your own sick and unrealistic reasons.  I didn't marry her for any reason other than our happiness...so stay the fuck out of it!!  If you are an acquaintance, I would very strongly suggest that you never make this breech of etiquette in my presence.

"Maybe the $1000 she makes on being an "author" with save you both." Once again, you have shown your total ignorance, and absolute lack of knowledge.  Being a writer means that you MUST write...you are wired that way.  Being a good writer means you have talent.  Being a New York-published author means you have enough talent that others notice.  Being a best-selling author, means that you have all the previous, and you caught a break, achieved a following or sold your soul.  Unless you are the last type, there is no real money in being a writer.

So now that you have been exposed as the joke you are, I would suggest that: 1) You either identify yourself so we can all laugh at you. 2) Continue to lurk and raise the ratings of my blog. 3) Get a life.

I will continue to moderate, and will continue to remove comments that are not germaine or that are attacks on myself personally or my family. Doesn't mean that I won't spotlight what a moron you are on my blog. Everyone should get to enjoy your complete idiocy. Why should I have all the fun?

How can the bids be bogus if the sale was bogus???

"If so many people are miserable and pessimistic at the wealthiest and most comfortable time in history, could it be that wealth and comfort are not the best goals for human society?" Tim DeChristopher

A Facebook post by a friend made me think of Tim DeChristopher...if you don't know his story, you probably don't follow much about the environment and local Utah news...or the feds have successfully covered the story up until it is forgotten and they can just lock him up and throw away the key. 

The short version, Tim finished taking a test during his senior year at the University of Utah, went over to a rally against the unlawful sale of mineral rights to BLM land by oil and petroleum companies and decided to wander on in to this secret sale...he was mistaken as a bidder, and given the bidder card #70.  He purchased 14 parcels worth 1.7 million during this illegal auction and then told them that he had no money to pay for his winnings.  So, for attending a secret or bogus sale and bidding for illegally sold parcels of public land without the money to cover the bids on the illegal sale, Tim is facing federal charges.

The post that got me thinking of Tim was about BLM's contracted Oil Shale research in Utah.

This past week, Tim was in attendance and addressed the Govenors Energy Task Force...Tim has found himself in the position of the head of a new environmental movement.  One that feels "a continued focus on the development of fossil fuels is a declaration of war against the living.”





I had the opportunity to meet Tim briefly at a screening of a documentary on the Green River and water use. Amazingly, the movie is playing on the local PBS channel tonight.  Tim is being regarded by some as a modern-day Edward Abbey.  I found our brief encounter to be insightful, showing an awareness beyond his young years...he is truly passionate about saving our earth from mankind.

They have moved Tim's trial date back to December 13, 2010...two years after Tim made his stand by bidding for parcels during a secret and illegal sale of rights on public land.  Maybe the feds were hoping by then the issue would fall off the radar...but you and I can keep it alive.  Check out Peaceful Uprising, and see what you can do to assist in this environmental struggle.  If you can do nothing else, plan to stand in solidarity for the environment on December 13, 2010.

Birds: After much consideration and thought, I am going to step away from the sport of racing pigeons for a few years. My partner has offered to take my best breeders that I use for one-loft races and keep the family alive for me until I return to the sport.  I will still have several breeder pairs that will need to be sold or given to novice racers to help retain the sport...and some will be donated to the annual club auction.

Honey: The first frost has sweetened the grapes...they are ready for making the best of the best, late harvest juice for wine-- dessert wines.

Long Gone

Wish me luck, I am out the door to go on the elk hunt.
Be back next week, look for pictures and results here.
Davis High vs. Fremont on Wednesday the 13th...both are undefeated!!!  GO DARTS!!!!!

Just wish I could do as well as my uncle did this year...

Birds: Keep them flying, and good luck on the last races of the young bird season.

Honey: Special Late Harvest grapes when I return...hoping for a slight frost.

Is happiness in the aspen grove?

I read not long ago, that the largest living organism on the planet is an Aspen Grove. Shortly after that, I began to read disparaging articles about massive aspens die-outs.  I read good news today, that recent research shows sudden aspen decline is on the wane.  Why am I talking about aspens?  Well, as I prepare for this hunting adventure with my father it becomes a key factor in elk habitat. A study back in 2000 stated that the aspen decline in the Yellowstone region may be due to the lack of wolves, allowing for an increase in the elk population.

Whatever the cause of the decline, the effect for me is one of sadness.  I have very fond childhood memories of aspen groves in the mountains of the west.  Memories of camping in groves on the La Sal Mountains; Logan Canyon; the Wasatch Front, near Fish Lake and high in the Uinta Mountains of northeastern Utah.  Those memories for me equate to a form of happiness; that is on my mind this morning after reading a link from a friend.

Just what is happiness?  Sounds like a philosophical question to me, but I read a blog this morning that makes me wonder, are we in control of our own happiness?  Is the world around us the cause of our happiness?

Birds: The frustration of a less than scholar race season can make you want to tear down the lofts and start an herb garden...ugh!

Honey: The vines have a wonderful smell of concord grapes as the first chill brings more sugar to the fruit.