You can't eat money

“Only when the last tree has died, and the last river has been poisoned, and the last fish has been caught, will we realize that we cannot eat money.” –Native American proverb

We are in the midst of downsizing, getting ready to retire and travel. I am selling my birds, the lofts and large items that won't fit in a motorhome. 

I have had some pretty strange people contact me, like the guy who offered me $100 for everything to do with the pigeons. When I told him to come out and see the birds, the loft and the equipment; then make me a reasonable offer, he was offended.

His response: 

"Im sorry to bother you, I thought that was a fair price to offer. I could buy New materials for 80 dollars and put it together myself in a few hours. I just thought you were trying to get rid of it so I thought I would check......."

I don't know about you, but to build an 8x8 loft with two sections, including nest boxes and perches costs me about $800...if this guy can build them for $80...he should be doing that for a living.

Okay, so we want to downsize and selling some of our items on craigslist or KSL.com seemed like a good way to get them out there...but I wasn't ready for the crazies to come out...lol

And the 9 foot church pew, and the military 10 man tent sold within minutes...anyone need a 35 mm camera???

'I think I could turn and live with the animals, they are so placid and self contained; I stand and look at them long and long. They do not sweat and whine about their condition; They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins; They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God; Not one is dissatisfied-not one is demented with the mania of owning things; Not one kneels to another, nor his kind that lived thousands of years ago; Not one is responsible or industrious over the whole earth.'-Walt Whitman

Amazon...does anyone understand it?

My wife, the beautiful author, Natalie R Collins, has 5 books (actually 8 but the others are under another name) available on Kindle, through Amazon.com. I have been tracking them daily for over a month now. The results are a little difficult to understand.
From what I have been able to discover through research, there are over 1,000,000 titles available on Kindle through Amazon. Today, all five of Natalie's books are ranked below 100,000 paid in Kindle: that's 5 books in the top 10%...isn't it???
Now the part I don't understand...yesterday is a prime example. At 6:00 pm last evening, "Behind Closed Doors" was ranked 102,089 in paid kindle sales...at 11:30 last night, it had jumped to 51,729 in paid kindle sales...from the numbers, it would seem she sold a bunch of copies during that period...reality seems to say it was only 2 or 3 copies. At least, that is what the royalty numbers seem to indicate.
So, can anyone out there shed some light on this subject? How does Amazon ranking work???


And what does it mean when "Sister Wife" has been ranked as high as #10 in "Books>Religion & Spirituality>Christianity>Mormonism" ???

Moving Forward, or life evolves

I really can't complain about my life, there are others that have it worse, much worse. I have had my trials over the last 5 and half years since my accident. But the past year and a half has more than made up for it. My beautiful wife has made such a difference in my life. Helping her through her periods of illness and having a teenager back in the house have been "character" building for me...they have also brought me great joy.
For a year now, I have been on disability retirement, next month we will lose a third of my income. While Natalie's books have grown in popularity and sales they will not replace the income we have lost.
We are moving ahead, it is a scary time...we will be putting the house on the market very soon. In this bad economy, and the fall in the housing market, we will be lucky to get out and break even after living here for over 6 years. But a bright future awaits us.

The dancing daughter is ready to graduate high school and move out on her own...within the parameters set by her mother...and hopefully assisted by her father. The whole applying for colleges and looking for scholarships is taking up a large part of our time. She has recently thrown a small wrench in the works, wanting to run off to Hollywood and become an actress as soon as she graduates...we are working on getting her a little experience in that field, hoping that she will understand that it isn't as easy as she thinks, or everyone would do it.
My own children, and grandchildren are doing well...all out on their own and developing in to productive parts of society...I'm proud of them all!!
Our other daughter, has become much more mature, and is having conversations with her mother again. Including me in her family and accepting my children as her sisters and brother.

For me and Natalie, the next question is where do we want to go together? She has never lived outside of the "Zion Curtain", oh she has traveled, but vacations are not the same as living somewhere. We are making a list,  "The Top 10 Places We Want to Retire to"...we are thinking that over the next 5 years or so, we will travel and live for 6 months in each of them, to get a feel for where we want to settle. Suggestions are welcome.

Natalie wants a beach and somewhere warm...but she will settle for somewhere that doesn't get snow, within a half day's drive of the beach.

I have lived all over, I have my ideal places, ones that include being near the wilderness, somewhere rural, but close enough to a "City" to have the conveniences and luxury we both enjoy.

For the next few years, having pigeons will not be an option...hard enough trying to travel with a Great Dane.

Wine will become something we buy and not make (well, maybe a gallon on the kitchen cupboard).
Wish us luck, give us suggestions on retirement areas we should check out, and continue to follow our adventures on our blogs...and read Natalie's books...suggest them to friends...buy them and give them as gifts.

Wine: The blackberry mead...didn't make it...I'll try again one day.  The Backyard Blonde is fantastic...and if you run into us, we might even share a glass. I got a start off the old vine in the backyard, so that will be going on with us...where ever we end up.

Birds: I am down to the last of the birds, still waiting to have the old racing loft hauled away by it's new owner. I gave a pair of my best birds to my sister...so I'll have the family when I want to get back into the birds. And my partner Eric Ellis has taken a couple of my breeder pairs to preserve the family I created.

BBQ Recipe

So my wife and daughter are doing a special diet, no processed foods. Today, I am making Country Style BBQ Pork Ribs. The homemade sauce turned out pretty good if I do say so myself.

1 Cup Wine (using Backyard Blonde)
1/2 clove garlic
1/2 onion diced
2 Tablespoons powered mustard
4 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar (using Honey Ginger)
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Sea Salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika

After mixing ingredients in the slow cooker and bringing to a slow simmer, add boneless pork ribs/chicken or lamb. Cook until tender.
Let me know how it turns out for you and any variations you come up with.

End of Summer

The dancing daughter and our grandchildren have gone back to school, the Young Bird race season has started...all signs that summer is at an end. It has been a hectic summer, I still have wine that needs to be bottled, the peaches are coming on and soon the grapes will be ready to juice. Politics that I try to stay away from are gearing up...especially the local primary elections. My 75 year old father has thrown his hat in the ring to run for the City Counsel. So if you have friends or family living in Kaysville, Utah...he would appreciate their vote.

Disclaimer: My views are not always those of my father's and his are not always mine, but he does stand for the type of change in local government that I can stand behind and support.

Sentencing for a Hero

Tim DeChristopher was sentenced to two years in prison and a $10,000 fine today.
His statement to the judge prior to sentencing shows exactly why he is a hero in my book.
It's a long read, but worth it.

Can't wait to see you when you get out Tim.

Celebrating a year

Today is a very special day, it is my 1st Anniversary of being married to Natalie R Collins. For me, it was amazing to find love so late in my life...to tell the truth I didn't believe I would live this long.

For our close friends and family (blood as well as the adopted ones) thank you for your support.
Two major surgeries during the last year for Natalie have at times put a strain on our relationship. The continued battle over the discrimination that forced me to accept a disability retirement has not helped.
It is never easy for middle-aged people to start a new lifetime relationship...we are set in our ways, have the baggage of our lives dragging behind us...and these quirks tend to show themselves at the worst possible moment.
It hasn't been easy for either of us, but this first year has been wonderful in so many ways, that the little day to day difficulties of a relationship are eclipsed by the love we share.

Thanks for putting up with me, Natalie. I love you today more than I did when I asked you to spend the rest of your life with me.
Thanks for all the support!

New study on how pigeons navigate and who is who in the flock

A very interesting study to understand more about pigeons.
Thanks Dennis for sending this along.
Take a moment and read the results.

Saving the Grand Canyon

"Sandbars and beaches have dwindled since the government finished Glen Canyon Dam in 1963."

Another issue about the damn dam...we are loosing native fish populations and habitat in the Grand Canyon. Without the natural flow of the river and the spring flooding, the sandbars are missing, and the debris remains.

"Experimental floods from Glen Canyon Dam have proved effective at rebuilding environmentally critical Grand Canyon sandbars when timed properly, but could kill endangered fish when they’re not, according to a new U.S. Geological Survey report."

The last of three experimental flood occurred in 2008, the report suggests that timing is critical to the survival of endangered native fish species. The report suggests that the best time to flood "The Canyon" may be fall, since Paria Canyon which is the primary source of sand accumulates this sand during autumn monsoons.

 "What is so frustrating is they can fix this, but they won't," said John Weisheit, conservation director for the Moab, Utah-based conservation group Living Rivers. "Glen Canyon Dam is a cash-register dam, and they want it to make money. They're going to have to make a choice. The Grand Canyon or some kilowatt hours?"

The hydroelectric power generated by the damn dam now affects six states, and despite the known effect on the environment, the filling behind the damn dam of sediment, restriction of the flowing river that helped create the Grand Canyon and the beauty that was destroyed when the damn dam was built...there are still those who see this as only a money/energy issue.
But, there is hope...

"I’m hearing the USGS saying we should test that," Ostler said, "which means we’re kind of running a test on endangered fish."

Grand Canyon National Park officials hope for more flushes, assuming river managers also control trout.

"It’s our feeling," said acting Park Superintendent Jane Lyder, "that if we can have a high flow whenever there’s a sedimentation trigger, then we will be much better off than we have been in the last 15 years."

Money/Energy drives this country, its minimalistic view of wilderness and the environment has caused more than one division between friends and relatives. Another example of this is the issue of off-road and ATV use in the red rock area.
Just last month, $35,000 in fines were levied against two men responsible for "creating" an ATV trail to some of my favorite ruins. Now the government is considering making it a legitimate "trail".

“Why on earth would BLM legitimize what was a criminal act to begin with?” asked Rose Chilcoat, associate director of the Great Old Broads. “It’s a little like giving the bank robbers the money they stole from the bank.”

I have friends on both sides of the issue, but the real issue for me, is what will be left for my children and grandchildren to enjoy in the same fashion I have? Once the road is there, once the tracks cut into the cryptobiotic soil (or whatever we are calling it these days) the area is changed forever. In areas, you can still see the wagon tracks that are over a century old.

I for one would like to find an answer, one that would appease everyone, but I don't think you can when there is a group that figures it is there inalienable right to drive where ever they want to go...after all, they spends tens of thousands of even hundred of thousands creating their off-road monster machines, just for this pursuit.
I would love to hear proposals to the question...how do we please both sides? Is there a middle ground?

Birds: With Old Bird season just around the corner, I am watching for the day when the starlings quit flocking, in my neck of the woods, this is the indicator that the migratory hawks and falcons have past through, and I can start flying the birds again.

Honey: Time to rack the wine again, I will have to add pictures again soon, the color of the Mead is a beautiful mahogany, can't wait until it clears and reveals the final color it will take on.

I'm back...watch out world.

I know some of you groaned when you read it.

I think I heard at least one small cheer way in the back there.

It has been a hectic and depressing month for me. Deaths, fatal illnesses and being forced to go back into my darkest days, have all left me feeling out of sorts and questioning the future. I took a little time, and did some inner-reflection and soul searching. It took a while, but I realized that the forces that would hold me down and force me to be less than I am or have the potential to be are all things that are truly insignificant in the long run.

I will never understand suicide...I don't think we are supposed to understand it, just do all we can to prevent it, help where needed and make sure that we tell those around us how much they mean to us. In the past month, I have had two friends attempt this unthinkable act, one was successful. I am certain that he would never have done it if he could have seen what the outcome would be. This friend was always the joker, the one with all the one liners and he never left the room without leaving you with a smile or a groan at his joke. He had a lot of pressures in his life, and attempted to relieve it with humor. There are wonderful things being said about him now that he is gone, and there are some who don't understand that the very things creating stress and issues in his life are the things that will haunt us all. He was so opposed to controversy, avoiding conflict with family and friends forced him to hide behind the humor. These are the same issues that brought my other friend to attempt the same type of act. She too had the pressure of a family that did not understand her or her wishes, but that wanted her to be what they thought she should be, not what she is. Religious and Societal norms make people pretend to be someone they are not, to try and do things that they themselves oppose. Somewhere, somehow, we need to quit being so quick to judge and just accept people for who they are, even if we don't agree with what they are or the choices they make.
During the past month, I have had to confront death in other ways too, not death now, here, today, but the mortality of those that I love and care about. Maybe it was that last birthday, and reaching the half century mark, but it seems the people around me are sick...not sick in the way the kids these days use the word, but sick as in dieing. Most of this, I feel is from environmental issues, where they have been and things they have done that have shortened their lives. For these friends, it wasn't always avoidable, these environmental issues may have been from childhood and choices that their parents or grandparents made. Ultimately, the blame will fall back on society, government or corporations that know what they are doing is harmful, but who find the cost acceptable, considering the profit of the moment.

Other controversy over environmental issues has risen in the past month. The use of wild areas and their designation have created undesired and unwanted gaps in friendships. The "Elitist" attitude of using it now and not worrying about the future is alarming to me. The idea that we should do it because we can, or that if I don't do it someone else might beat me to it are concepts that I don't adhere to. Wilderness, places where machines are not allowed to go make sense to me on many levels. Biggest and foremost is the concept of wilderness for wildlife. Large carnivorous predators need space, they need hunting ground, they need tracts of undisturbed land to breed, raise their young and train them to be apex predators. We as humans need wilderness, we need a place where more than our imagination or random thoughts can escape to. We need the ability to explore, to feel that we are the first of our kind to have been there...or at least to have been there in a very long time.

The abuse of power and authority by a chosen few have set me upon this current "rant", the desire to have a world that is non-judgmental with clear lines of moral and ethical consideration for others. Again, there is the "Elitist" idea of doing it because I want to and I can come into play. My philosophy of the circle of life does not allow me to approach things in such a manner. My darkest hours are not the hours spent in combat, or detailed by the military to perform tasks and functions for which I saw a need. No, my darkest hours came from being punished and psychologically abused for doing those things that the law provides for me. For following the directions of medical doctors and for demanding my rights. I was forced to re-live every moment of the 11 months I endured this treatment, in testifying to that abuse. I can only hope that others will realize that they would not want to be in the same position, that for someone to abuse their authority and power in such a manner is morally and ethically wrong.

Birds: 5 babies have been banded, I lost one the day after it hatched, and have had several eggs that never made it to the stage of hatching. I am working towards another season of young bird racing this fall, it may be my last if I pull up stakes and move to a warmer climate.

Honey: The next batch of mead is in the carboy, five gallons of splendor spiced with the juice of blackberries. I'm still hopeful that the bees will recover, from disease, or from the hand of man.

Happy New Year--do something green

Happy New Year to all the folks kind enough to take a gander at my blog...even if you are here just snooping into my life and what is in my future.

If your city has legalized beekeeping like the 5 boroughs of New York, let them know over at The BeeKeeper blog. This is a positive aspect from 2010.

Smith Electric Vehicles is British no more...the majority of ownership has come to America. This is great green news. This is a 90-year-old British company that produces Britain's "milk floats," the primary delivery system for dairy products in the UK. Here in the US, things are headed towards using these non-fossil fuel vehicles with orders for the vehicles being placed by some heavyweight US companies.

The company has developed a special niche – medium-duty electric box trucks – and it has orders for more than 200, including 176 for Frito-Lay and 41 for Staples. Other launch partners include Coca-Cola, AT&T and PG&E. They've all bought trucks, too, but CEO Bryan Hansel won't say how many.

2011 for us looks like a bright new beginning. My lovely wife is feeling much better and improving daily. New developments in her writing and books are soon to be announced. The Ties That Bind should reach publication this year, with any luck. She has also got her graphic arts website up and is working on book and Website trailers.

I am currently uncovering historical relics in our attic as I make some needed home improvements.

The best discovery so far, is a copy of the "Juvenile Instructor" dated December 1, 1891. Check out N-D girl's blog for more info.

This was the first illustrated children's magazine published west of the Mississippi.

Hoping for more as I clean out a section of the attic that seems to have been shut off since 1944.  I plan to seal and re-insulate this section, with the possibility of extending an existing room here as a writing studio for my wife.

Birds: Eggs in 7 nests right now, so I should start having babies any day. Still need to order bands for the old German owls and go pick up racing club bands from the club secretary. I am really excited about the old German owls, since I raised no babies from this breed last year. I have a pair of yellow lace that I am hoping will produce well, and a dun hen with the strawberry red cock to the right that should make some exciting genetic variables.

On another note, I had something occur this morning that I have never experienced before. I have a feather-footed Van Loon hen that I got from my friend Don White; he claims the trait comes from the famous 083 hen; Ken Christopher claims the feather-footed ones make the best breeders. I have been concerned the last couple of days that she may have become egg-bound as she had not laid after two weeks of being paired up. This morning, there were two eggs in the pen. Sadly, one had fallen out of the nest bowl and frozen, but she is sitting on the other. If anyone has had such an experience, share it with me, please.



Honey: If you are involved in beekeeping, make sure you follow the link above and share what your city is doing about legalizing beekeeping. And if you have a special honey, let me know...I would like to get some exotic honey to make into mead. Maybe cactus honey or orange blossom honey.