Facebook...

So I have to admit something.... I use Facebook... you probably know this because you are my friend on the site or have asked me to be your friend. If it took me a while to accept your friend request it is because I was thinking about whether or not I wanted you cluttering my account. Every time I get a friends request from someone I don't know or hardly know I want to decline their offer. However, I guess this would be construed as anti-social. Recently, I was cleaning out my friends list of the people I haven't spoke to on Facebook or in person in over 6 months. This little exercise got rid of about 16 "relationships" or whatever they are referred to on Facebook. You know what, within a couple of days most of the people asked to be my friend again. I reluctantly accepted the invitation knowing that I would perform the same exercise in a couple of months and see if I can slip under the radar.

Dragon's Tooth hiking...

This past weekend my Dad and his girlfriend Sherry came to visit Carrie and I. We had a good time. The only thing that would have made it better was if they had more time. The came in late Friday and left early Sunday. He was in DC at a conference and Sherry came to do some sightseeing with him. We had a lot of great conversation and went out to eat a couple times. Then on Saturday morning we went up to Dragon's Tooth. It is near Salem. 460 to 81 to 311. The hike is about 5 miles round trip with an elevation gain of about 1700 feet. The reason they call it Dragon's Tooth is because a toothless dragon lives up there. He is kind of disheveled and pitiful looking. He does blow fire.

Pointing at something...
Victory! Sherry in the foreground.

Awww.

Things That Go Bump in the Night

The invasion has begun... Rhaphidophoridae, better known as Camel Crickets, have started lining the stairwell to our basement as they did last summer and as they probably have done every summer before that. They are the scariest looking bugs I've seen in person. They look like large jumping spiders, and I hate spiders. Luckily they are harmless, and as fast as they are, Madi is faster. She likes to play with them but mostly ends up killing them unwillingly.

I also came across Toad tonight. He likes to sit in the dark and catch bugs for dinner, maybe even a camel cricket or two.

Old posts are like old photos...

It is funny how looking back at old posts is a lot like looking at old photos. Things that were relevant and current at the time of the post are now history. It can be in your face if you proclaim you were going to do something and never followed through with it. FYI. We did end up selling our massive stereo and paying the money on debt. We have generally simplified our lives since I posted these thoughts some months ago.

So I am getting rid of my stereo. This is not just any stereo.... this is a 2 channel super stereo! It is made up of component's by Classe, Acurus, B&W, Martin Logan, Audioquest, Signalcable.com, and a few others. Basically, it is a culmination of 5 years of saving and trading. However, for as much money as I have put into it I don't really use it that often. So therefore, I am selling off each component. I have gotten rid of the speakers and the preamp. Part of the reason I am selling it is because I found that my wife and I would site and watch movies or tv shows on dvd instead of doing something interactive. Recently we have begun playing cribbage. I can tell you it is far more fun to play a game than it is to watch a movie. Another reason for the departure is I want to consume less energy. It was amazing how much energy consumption a stereo and plasma television use. I have found that my possessions own me. So I figure I can just get rid of them and then the problem is solved! All I really need is my skis, backpack, tent, sleeping bag, boots, flashlight, bicycle, Carrie (wife), Rummy (my dog), Madi (Carrie's dog), bow staff, and I am good. In fact, I would like to live out of a Honda Element and ski all winter long in some Western mountain town! But for some reason I don't think Carrie will go for that!

This is my favorite girl.

Whistler Blackcomb, British Columbia.

This past March I went with some friends skiing at Whistler Blackcomb mountain in British Columbia. It was an amazing trip. I am anticipating a ski trip this Winter. I know that it is August and still in the 90's here... but there is something about getting cooler at night and in the morning that does something to me. It is like a switch is flipped and I am thinking about all the fun to be had this Winter. Skiing is bar none my absolute favorite activity. When I say skiing I mean skiing in the big mountains of the West. Where you can lose yourself in the mountains. When at times you are the only person on a run. The feeling of sliding through powder snow. The way adrenaline pumps throught your body as you slide down a steep fast run and all you can do is let out a primitive howl. In my opinion there is nothing that rivals skiing. As I begin anticipating the coming Winter, which happens earlier and earlier each year, I wonder how long it will be before I live permanently in the big mountains of the West.

A pretty sweet gladed run at Whistler.Josh, Myself, and Caleb.Portrait = Turd.

Children of the World - We have three kids for the week.

Carrie works for worldhelp.net and the have three groups of children that travel the US and perform.... they are The Children of the World. So, we have three boys until Friday. Two of them are from Uganda and the other is from Nepal.


From left: Jonathan (11), Deepesh (9), and Matia (claims to be 7).


All three of them are very nice. Every time I walk by Deepesh he grabs my hand and puts it around him. Matia is the smallest and is really cute. We will see what it is like with three children in our house.

The attack... sadly, it finally happened.

What you are about to see is not cute, pretty, or anything nice. This was a dangerous encounter with a deranged, wild dog.... frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if this animal had rabies. Look at your own risk.

This first photo is of the dog searching for prey.

The dog angry because it is having a difficult time finding prey.

Prey found... sad.












As usual, Rummy is laid back and happy. Though he witnessed the attack he did not take part.

South Ossetia? Very sad.

South Ossetia is a province of Georgia... a former Republic of the USSR. It is very sad to see civilians being targeted or at least not avoided by military operations. The thought of war raging on US soil is foreign and difficult to imagine. Reading the news and seeing people that are the collateral damage of opposing governments is frustrating. Most of the time the casualties are the people that really don't have anything to do with whatever the conflict is. In the case of South Ossetia, the people that live in the province want to succeed from Georgia. They are primarily Russian citizens and that is why Russia is getting involved. I can understand why Georgia is trying to take back control of the region... imagine one of the US states trying to succeed. Again, however, it is very difficult to see women, children, and the elderly being harmed by the fighting.

Flowers going crazy...

In early Spring Carrie and I started what we thought was just putting in a couple of azaleas to make the backyard look better. Little did she know that 5 azaleas would lead to over 50 new shrubs. It has been a lot of fun. I have learned a few things along the way. One of the best things is watching plants grow and really do well. The series of photos below is an example of that:



It is incredible how well the plants are doing around the azaleas. They are providing great root shade. It is hard to tell but the azaleas a growing really well, too.

One thing that is stressful is when a shrub I planted dying. I don't understand why they die and no matter what I do, nothing helps. It stinks, but I guess nature takes its course.

Crape Myrtle - More landscaping...

So, I spent some time the past couple of days getting my next landscaping project underway. First I wanted to remove the old shrubs as they were really old and one was in pretty bad shape... half the truck was rotted out.

I used my a saw and fire to get the shrub and root out of the ground. I burnt the root system for about two days... this was very effective and much easier than trying to He-Man it out. So, today I replaced the old with some new.

I got these Crape Myrtles today at Lowe's for really reasonably. The subspecies of the plants from closest in the photo are: Tuscarora Crape Myrtle which grows pink and gets about 15' tall, Acoma semi-dwarf Crape Myrtle grows white blooms and about 10' tall, and Zuni Crape Myrtle grows lavender and about 9' tall. All of these plants bloom from summer to late fall. It is nice to have some color in the dog days of summer. Jerk.

Let's smoke a cigar...

Carrie and I were hanging out on the deck last night. Carrie insisted on having a smoke. It was an Oliva which rated 94 in Cigar Aficionado. It is nice sitting on the deck under the umbrella. If your not under the umbrella it is way too hot... it has been over 90 deg for a good while. Enjoy!





She looks like a pro!