Palo Duro Canyon

We spend a decent amount of time at an area state park - Palo Duro Canyon. It is claimed that it is the second largest canyon in the United States. We spent Memorial Day there doing some hiking and playing in the water. Our area rainfall has been above normal so far this year and the result is an abundance of wildflowers in Palo Duro Canyon. I do not recall ever seeing so many Indian Blankets in the many years that I have been going there. There was quite a variety of flowers and colors to enjoy.

This Memorial Day also happened to fall on Amy's birthday so she got to choose what we were going to do. She likes to hike and usually two of the children do as well. However, Cyrus is usually our complainer and he made good on that description this time as well. We used to take him on regular hikes in Palo Duro Canyon which he greatly enjoyed when he was younger. At 10 he seems to have outgrown that enthusiasm for hiking. Deveny gives out before we are done and ends up on Amy's back or my shoulders. Alonzo tires himself out by going nonstop even when we are making a rest stop.

You could hear the buzz of bees as they made their way between the many flowers. You could see a bee in almost every flower on the prickly pear cactuses that were in abundance. Cyrus had the opportunity to chase some lizards. However, those lizards were too darn quick! We would try to corral them but they would make a dash past one of us.

At one of our rest stops we noticed a spider web on the cliff beside us. Upon closer inspection I noticed the nice little spider happened to be a Black Widow. Luckily, none of the kids were curious enough to check it out more closely before I noticed what it was.


To see more pictures from our day at Palo Duro Canyon go to my web album.

Yes, Squirrels are Evil!

The very same day I made the previous post, our cable company informed us the problems we had been having with our cable reception (ghosting) was due to squirrels chewing up our cable wires!

I even have a picture of one of the little terrorists.

Squirrels Evil?

Okay, I've liked squirrels for some time. As a kid I remember my Great Grandfather feeding a squirrel that would come right up to him. I enjoy watching them run around the yard burying nuts and looking for previously buried nuts (which they seem to only find again by chance). Even after we had one romping around in our attic, I still did not hate them. Now, however, they're crossing the line. First one car and then another have been attacked by these little beasties. How does a squirrel attack a car, you may ask? They chew on your wires, that's how.

The first vehicle was one I was getting ready to sell and was parked in the back of our house. After I took care of some minor repairs I noticed some wires had been chewed on and the hood insulation used to start a nest of sorts. The wires were to an electrical connection on a sensor that caused the check engine light to come on. With some soldering and additional wire I was able to fix the problem.

A couple of weeks later, I am driving my car (that is parked in the front) during a warm day to run some errands for work. I notice my air conditioning is not blowing cold air when it had just the afternoon before. I figured maybe it needed to be charged so I got a can of freon or whatever they are calling it these days. However, as I was checking that out, my neighbor noticed some wires had been chewed on and severed near an electrical connection for the air conditioning. Another car had been attacked by a squirrel!

No, I haven't witnessed a squirrel doing the deeds but they are pretty much the only critters we have running around that I have seen and can list as suspects. There's been a couple of regulars as of late. My wife is not appreciating their presence as they seem to be digging all over the place looking for their lost food storage. Also, it seems I'm not the only one that has had similar problems. There is actually a website called Squirrels Ate My Wiring with tales of this type of squirrel shenanigan.

Maybe it is time to look up some of those squirrel recipes. Is there a squirrel season? Do I need a license?

Meet the Robinsons

There's not much at the theaters right now for kids. Spider-man is in the spotlight but it is not the best movie for the younger ones. A movie our family enjoyed is still around - Disney's Meet the Robinsons. It is a good movie with a good message.

Meet the Robinsons was in the works before Disney purchased Pixar (who had a partnership with Disney for Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Cars and etc.). With that purchase, Disney made Pixar's John Lasseter (who directed Toy Story and others and had worked at Disney many years ago) Chief Creative Officer of Disney Animation. Pixar's Ed Catmull became president of Disney Animation (in addition to Pixar). They reviewed what was currently in the works at Disney Animation including Meet the Robinsons. There is a lot of talk about how the movie was vastly improved because Pixar came in and "fixed" it. Well, I won't argue that but the movie was largely done already by the time John Lasseter, came into the picture. Here is a quote from John Lasseter (made at a stockholder meeting if I remember correctly):

"... the day after the announcement of the merging of the two studios, Ed and I walked in the Disney Animation Studios, and there we got to meet all of the artists. And each of the directors took us through all the films, and the one director, the young guy named Steve Anderson, was directing this movie called "Meet the Robinsons," which was the next motion picture that's coming out from Disney Animation Studios. And he talked about this story, which is about a boy who is given up for adoption and he always wondered why. Why did his mom give him up?

And, as he told this story, Steve mentioned, "I'm adopted." And his personal story touched me so deeply that when I finally saw the movie, which, by the way, I have to say, it was about 80% finished when Ed and I walked into that studio. I looked at it and it was like the film didn't have in it what Steve's personal story had.

His personal story story brought me to tears, right, and I thought, ah, this feels like it's had too many cooks trying to stir this soup. So we gave him a lot of notes, some really strong notes. We were very honest with him about the movie, but then I gave it back to him. I said, Steve, make the movie you want to make. Tell your story.

And he came back with changes to this film, minor changes, but it made all the difference in the world, and this movie about Lewis, the main character Lewis, who is focusing on the past, and he's wondering, why did his mom give me up? And he wants to focus on his past, but this focus actually takes him to the future, where he meets this amazing, crazy, wonderful, appealing group of characters that actually
turns out to be his future family.

And he learns through this experience to look forward in life, not to look back. And this story, it's Steve's story. We're really excited about this. I'm very, very proud of the film and what Steve and his crew have done. The film is really beautiful too. They have a stylization in this film that is really striking."

So it is a personal story that teaches an important lesson. No wonder the story is touching (and it seems many are agreeing with that assessment of the movie).

"The Mormons"

I am posting this at both my blogs. I don't post often on religion as many are more articulate and complete on the subject. I have linked on this blog some great blogs on the subject of my religion and I will probably add more links as time goes on. My religion is very important to me and essential to my life. Thus, I feel it important to include this post here.

As a believing and practicing Mormon I have to take issue with the recent broadcast of "The Mormons" on PBS. I am surprised so many are calling this a thoughtful presentation of my Church and religion. The presentation missed so much. I found this article by Maurine Jensen Proctor to be a great response and to reflect my feelings on "The Mormons" quite well. I do not believe a responsible approach was taken in this production, not that I have a problem with the subjects that were touched on, but largely about what was left out and the lack of balance.

Belgian Cartoons/Comics

My mother is from Belgium so I thought I would mention two Belgian cartoons/comics. The first is one that many in the US are probably familiar with - the Smurfs. The little blue folk were created by a Belgian who went by the pen name of Peyo. While the cartoons have not been on TV on a regular basis here in the US since the 80s, a movie is in the works (CGI - Nickelodeon Movies).

Another famous Belgian creation is Tintin from The Adventures of Tintin by Hergé. This example, however, is not as well known in the US. With a movie being produced by DreamWorks, that may change. A lot of research went into Tintin's adventures, creating a lot of historic and political realism. The Adventures of Tintin ran from 1929 to 1986 (Hergé died in 1983 and his final work that was finished posthumously came out in 1986).

St. George, Utah

We spent most of Spring Break in St. George where my mom and sister live. Besides some ATVing, picnicing and swimming we went to a couple of local places. We visited Dinosaur Discovery, a site where some dinosaur footprints were found. I'll admit I wasn't too excited about dinosaur footprints and the kids weren't overly excited, either. However, it seems to be a great place for kids to learn about dinosaurs, especially if you live locally and can take them there for the various educational activities that are put on. There are some knowledgeable people there, as well. The work being conducted is ongoing and you can witness some of that. They even take volunteers to help with the work. In actuality, upon seeing it and reading on it, it is an important discovery site.

Then there is The Rosenbruch Wildlife Museum. A lot of great information with a lot of work put into recreating habitats of many different animals. I have to say all the dead animals makes it kind of creepy. It is like a zoo of dead animals. Don't get me wrong, I don't have a problem with hunting (for food) and I enjoy hunting myself (for food). I can't say how all the animals for the exhibit were obtained so I can't really comment on that beyond that I find sport hunting distasteful. Among the useful education, the museum is really is a big advertisement for hunting rights and I even agree with some of the points made. However, most often I find sport hunting wrong. I'll say that one would not be able to see so many animals in such a small space (relative to a large zoo) anywhere else. I did enjoy the bug and butterfly collection.

Updates

I'm going to try to be better at blogging so those who care actually find something new here when they visit. I did some link updating so I believe most are good. I added Toon Club since I have found the art so good and a link to the administrator of that site, S. T. Lewis, who not only does great art but has a hilarious blog.

Bean Leaf Press is the home of The Tales of Dark Leaf a five book series that is currently at book 2 (about to come out) and the artwork of Travis Hanson. The Tales of Dark Leaf is the work of Travis Hanson and Aimee Duncan. I've read the first book, Bean's Song, with my oldest son.

Watch for more updates.

GLADiator

Here's another from Toon Club that I couldn't resist. It is done by Seth Hippen.

20 Foot 'Shroom?

A fossil long un-classified is now believed to be a 20 foot fungus from about 400 Million years ago. You can read more here. That conjures up a vision from Voyage to the Center of the Earth. If you are truly bored and want to read up on the debate regarding this fossil you can you can do so here. This link includes an artist rendition of what the fungus may have looked like (it was created before the debate was settled). The world 400 Million years ago was definitely different from now with no more than insects running around stunted trees and bushes. That would have been an alien world to walk around in.

No Addiction Here...

You can tell from my frequent posts here that I'm addicted to blogging...

Anywho... Ran into a cool blog of creative people - Toon Club. Its populated by animators and illustrators. Here's a piece that caught my eye:


Yes, YIKES! Here's another - The Problems with Frozen Foods, Jurassic Style:

These samples are by Mark Swan (of Swan Animation, I believe). Go to Toon Club and check out all the great creativity. There are other great artists to enjoy as well!

Enjoying the Snow

Yes, yes, I know. This snow fell last month but as usual, I have neglected my blog. Cyrus and I had to make the best of our foot of snow so here is a couple of pictures of our snow structure (its not an igloo, so I didn't know what to call it). Now I can just imagine what we could do with what upstate New York got recently! It took a while for the snow to melt due to our unusually long lasting cold spells. The kids enjoyed the snow sticking around for a while.

Ice, Ice Baby!

We were hit by an "ice storm" in that it rained and everywhere the rain fell, it froze. A lot of trees in town lost limbs, some taking out power, cable and/or phone lines. Our neighbors lost all three. The first picture is of our neighbor's (our other neighbors) tree that has some branches hanging over our driveway. Luckily, it hasn't lost any on our cars. The kids' school also lost some power. When I dropped of Alonzo and Cyrus the hall lights weren't working and neither was the heat.

Luckily, we at least got some snow to top off the ice. Looks like all our snow will be melted by Christmas (we're supposed to get more Friday but it doesn't sound like much is expected).

The second picture is from a nearby park. The broken tree limbs lined all sides of the park (as the park is lined with trees). This was the scene throughout town.

Christmas MeMe

I wasn't tagged this time and I won't tag anyone else but I'd be happy to see some other's answers as well.

1. Egg nog or hot chocolate? Egg nog does take priority during this time of the year. I dilute mine with some milk, however. Not only does it make it last but it makes it less fattening.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Both

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Colored lights on the tree that do all sorts of patterns. We have some blue swag lights for the house but I dislike them and haven't put them up.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? No. Don't know why not, just don't. Haven't thought about it. Cyrus would probably be concerned.

5. When do you put your decorations up? During our Thanksgiving break. We usually get the tree the day after and decorate over the next couple of days.

6. Favorite holiday memory as a child: I'm having a hard time coming up with one. We often went to see my grandparents for Christmas. Not much memory left from my childhood days (or, at least, it is selective). A more recent favorite Christmas, however, was when my annual Christmas wish for snow came true big time. As in over a foot of snow! That is my favorite holiday memory as an adult child .

7. How and when did you learn the truth about Santa? I honestly don't remember (yes, bad memory!) I think I suspected for a while but I didn't say anything, just going along with the attempted "deception".

8. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? That was my family's tradition when I was a kid but we haven't carried it on. I guess with fewer presents to open it just takes away from Christmas morning.

9. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? With ornaments, lights, the colored balls (what are they called?) and that silvery string stuff (ugh! what are those called?)

10. Snow! Love it or dread it? See #6 above. Love it!

11. Can you ice skate? Yes, awkwardly. We went ice skating at the Galleria mall in Dallas when my wife and I got married. Not too many places to ice skate where we are, so we haven't done in quite a while!

12. Do you remember your favorite gift? Probaby my first camera with the second camera coming in second. After some additional thought I my have to update this one.

13. What's the most important thing about the holidays for you? The reason for the season which in turn draws the family close. The birth of Jesus Christ is why we have Christmas so that is what everything should revolve around. The giving of gifts is fun and a supplementary feature.

14. What is your favorite holiday dessert? We make all sorts of goodies on Christmas Eve. My favorite is probably the Chocolate and Rasberry brownies but I also really like magic bars.

15. What is your favorite holiday tradition? I like singing Christmas Carols and the making and eating of goodies. The time with family is the best. We have a little visit from St. Nicholas on December 6 as they do in Belgium, where my mom is from. We also read and act out the Christmas story.

16. What tops your tree? A star with lights.

17. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving? Giving as I don't get so much these days. But the giving is fun.

18. What is your favorite Christmas song? Probably "O Come All Ye Faithful" But I really like most of them.

First Winter Snow of the Season

Here are some pictures of the kids enjoying the first winter snow of the season here. We got around 6" of snow and school was canceled so they got to enjoy it. Their play lasted for a little while before they got too cold (it was around 24ºF).

Update - we actually got 8.25" officially.