Dig This

So I was reading this book about a minister who is administrating the construction of a hospital-nursing home. In addition to many items that are going on, he takes it upon himself to go to the site (which is in a hilly area) and steps to the edge of the deeply dug hole to look into it while the construction equipment is digging away. The construction manager comes over and gives him what for...

It somehow reminded me of DIG THIS, don't ask me why. Watch the video--this is really so cool. A place where one (male or female) can go and have access to the REAL earth moving equipment on ten acres of land meant for digging.



You can dig as much as you like, earth move, flatten, trench etc in the only heavy duty equipment play area in the world. Imagine it caterpillars excavator, D5G and Skid Loader as playtoys for a day.



You get to rearrange the sandbox on YOUR TERMS!

The place is located in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Actually, it is not too expensive...one hour with instructor and the dozer or excavator of your choice for $200. I've seen other less exciting tours for the same or more!
OK, I know, I have WAAAY too much time on my hands ;-)

Horseshoe Crabs

We found an unexpected treasure on the beach at Cedar Key, Florida—Horse Shoe Crabs partaking in their annual mating season. I remember them in droves on the Delaware in southern New Jersey and always thought of them as ugly and useless. I could not have been more wrong! Here’s why:


What lies behind our reluctance to embrace the horseshoe crab as a creature to be treasured and valued? For much of the past century the horseshoe crab was used as fertilizer for farms and driven nearly extinct by over-fishing. At the end of the twentieth century, Limulus polyphemus finds itself at the center of a tug of war-- of interest to commercial fishermen as bait for conch and eels; to birders as a source of eggs for migrating shorebirds; to biomedical companies for the clotting and antibacterial capacity of its blood.

Fishermen have used them as bait for their livelihood for years. Currently, there is experimentation with artificial bait that eels and conch respond to as eagerly as horseshoe crab legs…I fervently hope they are successful. I’d hate to see people suffer because of a moratorium on the Horse shoes, but it sure looks like they need some protection, because

Scientific researchers have discovered that the blood of a Horseshoe Crab protects them from infection. An extract of it’s blood is used by the pharmaceutical and medical device industries to produce drugs and vaccines that are free from bacterial contamination. While this is great for humanity, numerous crabs die in the process of blood extraction.

Finally, they are key to the survival of a migratory bird known as the Red Knot. Simply said, these birds fly from South America north to the Arctic breeding grounds, stopping over along the Atlantic Coast to gorge themselves on Horseshoe Crab eggs so they have the fuel to make to the breeding grounds; 10 other species also feed on the eggs but not to such exclusivity.

The destruction of their eggs nests is so severe that it is estimated that only 10 percent of the eggs actually hatch. The little horseshoes also have predators so fewer and fewer actually make it to adulthood.



Oh...if you happen to see one on its back, just flip it over. Don't use the tail, just touch the edge of the shell and flip it. This is a movement that they cannot accomplish without help. You will save its life. It will be grateful.



The sign that I saw at Cedar Key was the beginning of our awareness that these little guys need as much protection as they can get if they and the Red Knots are to survive all the other assaults they must endure.

Here is a short video tribute to Irena Sendler. A Catholic Polish woman who was instrumental in saving 2,500 Jewish children during the Holocaust. She was a health worker specializing in tuberculosis; this specialty gave her incredible freedoms in accessing all people. She smuggled children out of the Ghetto in any way possible, in sacks, coffins, under lumber, behind a long coat and through the sewer tunnels. She wrote each child's name and related family history on a piece of paper and kept them all in a jar. The jar was buried under an apple tree in her back yard shortly before she was captured. The children were placed with Catholic families in Poland and had to (for the time) outwardly adopt Christian rituals.
She was captured and tortured but managed to escape. When the war was over she dug up her jar of over 2,500 names and began to reunite the children with remaining relatives that could be located.

For more information please go to Irena Sendler

The following YouTube video summarizes her life. She was born February 15, 1900 and died May 12, 2008.

Got a Gadget...Need Protection

Check this out...



You can get your invisible shield at Best Buy or online at www.zagg.com

Odds and Ends

I stole this little ditty from a monthly electric co-op magazine that I receive from my electric company...THAT NEVER happened in New Jersey.

"I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend...if you have one" George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill

"Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second...if there is one." Winston Churchill, in response.

...and verbal abuse was born. (my addition)

But wait there's more...

Here are a few definitions you might enjoy from my friend Ambrose Bierce and his Devil's Dictionary:

Kill, To create vacancy without nominating a successor.

Kleptomaniac, A rich thief.

Dentist, a prestidigitator who, putting metal into your mouth, pulls coins from your pocket.

Coward, One who in a perilous emergency thinks with his legs.

Nepotism. appointing your grandmother to office for the good of the party.

Yankee, in Europe, an American. In the Northern States of our Union, a New Englander. In Southern States the word is unknown. (See Damyank)

Happy Trails

(Thanks Darline)

An old prospector shuffled into town leading an old tired mule. The old man headed straight for the only saloon in town to clear his parched throat. He walked up to the saloon and tied his old mule to the hitch rail. As he stood there brushing some of the dust from his face and clothes, a young gunslinger stepped out of the saloon with a gun in one hand and a bottle of whiskey in the other.

The young gunslinger looked at the old man and laughed saying, 'Hey old man, have you ever danced?' The old man looked up at the gunslinger and said, 'No, I never did dance, just never wanted to.'

A crowd had gathered quickly and the gunslinger grinned and said, 'Well, you old fool, you're gonna' dance now,' and started shooting at the old man's feet. The old prospector in order to not get a toe blown off or his boots perforated was soon hopping around like a flea on a hot skillet and everybody was laughing fit to be tied. When the last bullet had been fired the young gunslinger, still laughing, holstered his gun and turned around to go back into the saloon.

The old man turned to his pack mule, pulled out a double barreled shotgun, and cocked both hammers back. The loud, audible double clicks carried clearly through the desert air. The crowd stopped laughing immediately.

The young gunslinger heard the sounds and he turned around very slowly. The quiet was almost deafening. The crowd watched as the young gunman stared at the old timer and the large gaping holes of those twin barrels. He found it hard to swallow. The barrels of the shotgun never wavered in the old man's hands. The old man said, 'Son, did you ever kiss a mule's ass?' The boy bully swallowed hard and said, 'No. But I've always wanted to.'

There are two lessons for us all here:
1. Don't waste ammunition.
2. Don't mess with old people. I just love a story with a happy ending.












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Scissortail Flycatcher

I was out riding through the neighborhood today and saw two (!!) scissortailed flycatchers. WOW!!
I checked out their vitals on wikipedia and found that they eat insects and berries and are native to the south-central US, They are NOT endangered and live in open shrubbery areas. Cool.

I did not take this picture (I stole it from wikipedia) I guess if I admit that it's ok.
here is a great shot of one. Oh they are so pretty!