In the field a short time after sunrise to avoid the heat - wife and I picked nearly 7 gallons of blueberries in a couple of hours. Shared with the neighbors - the rest will go to good use over the next week - wife makes a dynamite blueberry kuchen - ready for the weekend festivities to begin - Happy 4th to everybody.

Holly,

That would be Lake Pleasant. I'd go diving there this weekend, but it will be a zoo.

Soon, I hope to be gathering my own lobsters - spiny variety - in the Bahamas, because, once again, I've been asked to "house sit" for a friend... for the entire month of September (You just can't reason with hurricane season. - Jimmy Buffett)

Here are some pictures of the McCallaghan-Tillman Bridge walkway. I edged my ass along the concrete wall separating it from the Nevada-bound traffic lanes. With the 40 mph winds, gusting to 50, I felt like I was "standing in the door" - sans parachute. Japanese tourists were near the rail, one with a child on his shoulders!

I was able to start the 4th of July weekend off by spending the morning at the range with my two brothers; celebrating our second amendment rights. It was a great day to put a few rounds through my first AR.

Two milestones in one day. Congratulations to both of you.

Thanks for sharing your story, Doc. I love your attitude and no doubt you'll be a blessing to those you attend.

Susan

LOL...well not long. :p Then my laptop took a dump on 6/22...but finally is fixed. My cousin's kid is a magician. :D

Thanks big Bro.

Congrats, may you have a long history of healing...and inspiring others to follow your footsteps.

You stand as a rock solid inspiration to us all. Now I really need to get off my butt and get to PA school! Thank you for setting a truly outstanding example of excellence, sir.

Cheers!

Mick

Lake has been rising 8-9 inches per day.
Weather's nice in the morning; water temperature is about 75 degrees.

Have enjoyed some good times with the kids this summer.

Had a sobering thought this morning while on the lake.
Men I've never met, in places I've never heard of, are completing dangerous missions about which I'll never know.

Men such as these make possible the life my children enjoy.
Thank you all for your service and sacrifice.

*********
*********
Kids 2&3 were playing in the surf at Seal Beach, CA back in May.

We found an island in Lone Rock bay this morning where we could beach the boat.
Kids 2, 3, & 4 decided to paddle the tube over to "claim" a couple of other islands (Lone Rock can be seen behind them).
I swam over to supervise some cliff jumping (Lone Rock beach can be seen across the bay).

Some of the side canyons were just becoming navigable a couple of weeks ago.
Snapped pictures of some young bighorn sheep coming down for a drink.

GC,

Looks like a lot of fun. I have good memories of great times with my kids at Lake Powell - eons ago - with their cousins down from Orem, UT.

Great pics of the bighorn.

When they're ready to scuba - pm me. You can get a bulk rate! :)

ZD,

Well,

Don't ya just luv reading this, "Happy Thought" thread?

Looks like you were balls to the wall in that photo....:D And it looks like good times!

Oh and...I got, " The Job." :lifter

Will be back late September, .:cool:

Holly

Congrats!

Great pics GC!

Indiana Candidate for National Office
 

My daughter just finished her year as a State Officer for FFA and today she topped 5 other candidates and was selected as Indiana's nomination for National Office for FFA!

Candidates for Naional will be selected in October at the National Convention.

Attachment 19530

Reading Tourniquet Placement today..........:eek:

Congrats to your daughter Go Devil!


B, edit...never mind I now understand what you meant... :eek:

Congratulations! FFA is an excellent program.

My 18 Year-old just received voter card in the mail.

Another registered Republican :lifter

Got off work early today, went for a ride.

WD...


That made my day!:D

Glad you got off work eraly, Sir!:lifter

Holly------>Luv this thread!

WD - Something tells me that if you rode past a lady in that outfit (or something similar) that you would chat her up, if for no other reason than to have a little more time to enjoy the scenery. :D

Brother, we spent the entire afternoon together.

Enjoy living in a beautiful area of the world.
Saw an amazing funnel of rain falling on Kayenta, Ariz., contrasted with the bright light around it and lightning flashing through the storm.

Seen some amazing sights here in northern Arizona over the years.
There may be a another one coming up in a few weeks.

Back in August of 1992 or 1993 (can't remember which year), there was an amazing sunset/ full moon rise over El Capitan in Monument valley.
Every car on the road was pulled over to watch. Every single one.

The lunar precession is about 18.6 years, so if the weather is good, the moon rise on August 13 should be similar.
Not a bad sight to see if anyone is in the area that weekend.

No matter how bad things get..i'ts OK.. they can always get worse. :lifter

Little Fisherman
 

My nine y/o had his first fishing experience in Kodiak. Caught a fish on his first cast and within 10 minutes he had caught another. He was thrilled! Needless to say, another avid fisherman was born. Every chance he got after that he had a fishin' pole in his hands. Next morning he tried surf fishing and yup - first cast in the surf he caught another fish. Lucky kid. :D

Susan

Outstanding!

:D:cool::D

And a new addict is made. Congrats. Nothing beats the smile on a kid's face as he pulls in his first catch.

Little Fisherman
 

Requiem, that is a great picture. It is something to look forward to when the kids grow up, for now we are enjoying mashed sweet potatoes.

Trapline, enjoy those fleeting days of babyhood. It goes too quickly! You'll be fishin' with your youngster before you know it. :)

1stindoor: yes, an addict is made. His grandpa is coming up for a visit and when fishing was mentioned, the new addict got out all the fishing gear. Gramps isn't even here yet... :D

Susan

Kid #5 had his first day a preschool and it went great.
We were a bit worried. He has autism and is speech-delayed.

Nonetheless, humans seem to have an amazing capacity to adapt and learn.
Just gotta throw 'em in and trust that the Creator knows what He's doing.

Right in the thick of this at the moment as well, actually, it's mashed whatever we are eating, if he hasn't pulled it out of our hands first. The attached picture should look famiiar to most parents on here :D (it's actually my daughter who is now 4, I have yet to catch my son with a perfect "what are you looking at" expression :D ).

The schedules finally meshed to where my husband and I got to spend some quality bonding time at the range, Monday. Nothing says I love you like spent brass and dead paper targets. :)

Submitted an original article to the Lancet, submitted an absract for presentation at the annual American Society of Hematology conference and reviewed an article for Blood today before heading home. I sen my wife off for a women's night out, played with the kids and then mowed the lawn. Finished the night off with a cigar and some single malt scotch to celebrate the birth of a colleague's son.

It was a good day, made possible through the sacrifices of those wearing the uniform. Thankful doesn't even begin to describe it.

The lake.
It just keeps generating happy thoughts.

Took a friend, his boys, and my kid #2 up lake this morning to visit Rainbow Bridge.
Not quite 50 miles one-way.

The pictures don't do it justice.
You aren't allowed to get very close and it is much bigger than it appears.

My friend is Navajo and keeps all the traditions; the trip was quite educational.
He told his boys of the tradition regarding Rainbow Bridge -- it quickly morphed into a lecture about the importance of doing homework properly. :D

GC, beautiful pictures. What did he share regarding Rainbow Bridge?

Ahem...I'm a bit too old for homework. :D

Thanks for the thought Dusty :D

Being that that was posted in the Los Angeles Times it speaks rather loudly.

Before answering that, let me preface by saying that "lost in translation" is an understatement for many things which go from Navajo to English.

Someone can look at an idea written on a chalkboard, and say "that's just a bunch of fragmented calcium sulfate and gypsum adhering to a slab of slate."
They would be technically correct, but would be missing the point.

Navajo history, religion, medicine, education, etc. don't compartmentalize in the same way as contemporary America.
The language expresses ideas in a radically different way than English, involving a different type of thinking, so it's not easily translated.

Meanings are highly dependent upon context.
Without being fluent in the language, it is difficult to understand the context.

Given that long-winded caviat, I'll try to relay what I was told.

**
Rainbow Bridge was formed when coyote ran across a beautiful rainbow, which turned the beautiful rainbow to stone.

My friend explained this as coyote being a "smart-ass" and going where he wasn't supposed to go.
Coyote's careless lack of self-restraint resulted in permanent destruction of the beauty (and left the record of his misdeed).

**
Posted at the end of the trail are signs which state that the monument is sacred to many tribes and should not be walked through nor approached.

My friend said that if people do walk through, they should walk back through the same way (not going around), and in exactly reverse order in the case of more than one person.
Doing otherwise disrupts their "hózhǫ", or "balance" in their life.

The admonitions against walking through aren't just about preserving the site.
They are genuinely meant to be warnings for the benefit of the visitor.

The "walking through in order" was the part my friend used for instructing his sons.
He spoke to them in Navajo, and didn't translate to me how he connected that idea to doing home work properly.

I know my friend and his sons, and have tutored his oldest in math.
Given that context, I can understand the idea, but can't really relay it effectively.

On the trip up, looking at the canyons and lake, we discussed geology, history, and religion.
Lake Powell is an amazing place.

We've known each other for nearly a decade, are close friends, and speak which each other almost every day.
The Navajo have a rich culture and history, much of which is locked behind (and arguably protected by) a difficult language barrier.

Thanks GC, I appreciate you typing all of that out. Your friend sounds like a very special man.

It sounds like a very spiritual place.

Happy thought of the day....16 days till I leave for SFAS.