Water, water, everywhere water! Is it time to build and ark?
Sunday, September 10, 2017
Monday, September 04, 2017
Friday, September 01, 2017
Hurricane Stress
I have to take breaks from watching the24/7 coverage of the disaster caused by Harvey. Having narrowly escaped the rising waters twice this week, I'm really counting my blessings! To watch the rescues and evacuations of hospitals, and hearing about the loss of drinking water in areas, plus the news of another hurricane heading this way, really adds to the stress of trying to grasp the enormity of this hurricane aftermath.
One almost forgets there are TV channels not covering the flood waters, but I did remember last night and turned the dial. So what did I watch? ICE ROAD TRUCKERS.
One almost forgets there are TV channels not covering the flood waters, but I did remember last night and turned the dial. So what did I watch? ICE ROAD TRUCKERS.
Tuesday, August 29, 2017
Tuesday afternoon weather report
Rain stopped, crickets chirp
That's my version of Haiku
Late this afternoon, around 7pm the sun came out! Harvey is moving on but still causing havoc.
Monday, August 28, 2017
Harvey
The lightening flashed
And rain poured down
The wind was blowing
When hurricane
Harvey came to town
As Harvey churned
The Gulf coast waters
Creeks and bayous started to rise
As rain kept coming
Rivers reached new highs
Reservoirs and bayous overflowed
Creating new rivers
Where there were roads
Rains kept coming
And the waters rose
When will it end? No one knows
And rain poured down
The wind was blowing
When hurricane
Harvey came to town
As Harvey churned
The Gulf coast waters
Creeks and bayous started to rise
As rain kept coming
Rivers reached new highs
Reservoirs and bayous overflowed
Creating new rivers
Where there were roads
Rains kept coming
And the waters rose
When will it end? No one knows
Sunday, August 27, 2017
Rain, Rain and more Rain
I have a river flowing by my front door. There has been rain from the outer bands of Harvey, a cat 4 hurricane, before it even reached land. I watched the TV reports of the damage and flooding as the hurricane progressed, but my area was relatively free from the heavy wind and rain for a day or so.
Family and friends telephoned frequently to check on the weather where I live and to make certain I was not in danger. I responded to one and all that I had enough food and water to outlast any hurricane and I assured family members that all was fine. We discussed the predictions of flooded streets, but never having been discombobulated during past storms, I felt that in a few days Harvey would be history.
Weather reports warned of serious flooding and tornadoes, but it wasn't' until late Saturday evening that my area began having tornado warnings every 5 to 10 minutes, and that Houston would be hard hit around 9:00 pm. At 9:30pm, the street in front of my apartment building had become a fast flowing river. It was running so fast I could hardly believe my eyes. I had once seen water like that outside Tucson Arizona when I witnessed the Pantana running in a flash flood.
I'm writing this at noon Sunday and the river is still running. It has reached the top step of the landing to the entrance of an apartment foyer, but since the water hasn't gotten higher, I'll keep my fingers crossed. The sky is so dark with blinding rain I have to have lights on to walk around the rooms. The river is not running so fast now that is has become more of a lake. I think It's time for some COMFORT FOOD..
Family and friends telephoned frequently to check on the weather where I live and to make certain I was not in danger. I responded to one and all that I had enough food and water to outlast any hurricane and I assured family members that all was fine. We discussed the predictions of flooded streets, but never having been discombobulated during past storms, I felt that in a few days Harvey would be history.
Weather reports warned of serious flooding and tornadoes, but it wasn't' until late Saturday evening that my area began having tornado warnings every 5 to 10 minutes, and that Houston would be hard hit around 9:00 pm. At 9:30pm, the street in front of my apartment building had become a fast flowing river. It was running so fast I could hardly believe my eyes. I had once seen water like that outside Tucson Arizona when I witnessed the Pantana running in a flash flood.
I'm writing this at noon Sunday and the river is still running. It has reached the top step of the landing to the entrance of an apartment foyer, but since the water hasn't gotten higher, I'll keep my fingers crossed. The sky is so dark with blinding rain I have to have lights on to walk around the rooms. The river is not running so fast now that is has become more of a lake. I think It's time for some COMFORT FOOD..
Monday, August 21, 2017
Thursday, August 17, 2017
Equality
This nation is the only one in history founded on the moral principle that all men are created equal. Our founding fathers proclaimed to the world with the Declaration of Independence that all men are created equal with rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness..
A great civil war was fought and won, reaffirming the moral principle of this nation. The rights of men to life and liberty was won on the field of battle and these rights are ensured by our Constitution.
A great civil war was fought and won, reaffirming the moral principle of this nation. The rights of men to life and liberty was won on the field of battle and these rights are ensured by our Constitution.
Monday, August 14, 2017
Words to live by
Gettysburg Address
--------Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Declaration of Independence
---------We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
--------Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Declaration of Independence
---------We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
Monday, August 07, 2017
Eagle Huntress
I recently watched a spellbinding documentary filmed in2016 called Eagle Huntress. Its the true story of Aisholpan, the thirteen year old daughter of a Kazakh nomadic Mongolian family. Her family spend summers , living in a yurt in the Altai mountains, and spending winters living in a house in town. Her father is an eagle hunter and this 13 year old wanted to become an eagle hunter too. Its traditionally a male event, but with her father' help she learns to train Golden Eagles.
Her father also helps her capture her own Golden Eagle to train. Her father also supports her when she wants to enter and participate in the annual Golden Eagle festival where men show off their eagles in the many ways they have been trained to provide both food and furs.
Facing both disbelief and strong opposition from the men, she competes and ends up winning the competition. Her eagle even breaks a speed record in one of the events. After the festival, she must complete another stage in the bird's training in order to be known as an eagle hunter. She travels with her father during the winter into the mountains to hunt for foxes. After several misses, her eagle successfully kills its first fox.
This 13 year old girl becomes the first female eagle hunter in 12 generations of her Kazakh family.
Her father also helps her capture her own Golden Eagle to train. Her father also supports her when she wants to enter and participate in the annual Golden Eagle festival where men show off their eagles in the many ways they have been trained to provide both food and furs.
Facing both disbelief and strong opposition from the men, she competes and ends up winning the competition. Her eagle even breaks a speed record in one of the events. After the festival, she must complete another stage in the bird's training in order to be known as an eagle hunter. She travels with her father during the winter into the mountains to hunt for foxes. After several misses, her eagle successfully kills its first fox.
This 13 year old girl becomes the first female eagle hunter in 12 generations of her Kazakh family.
Tuesday, August 01, 2017
Electrical outage
We had a power outage last night. It was different from precious outages. Not all the outlets in the apt went out at the same time. Around 8:45pm everything went pitch black and silent. The TV, the oscillating fans and the AC all stopped working. I managed to feel my way to the bedside table where I keep an emergency light.. It had been 95 degrees that day so I had to fish around for my tiny handheld fan.
I discovered that the oven light and the microwave were still working as was the outdoor light on a neighbor's garage. The shops on the other side of the street from my apartment complex had lights, but otherwise the whole neighborhood was dark. The garage light was quite a distance away, but the light shone thru my bedroom window. It was very dim but enough to let me see the objects in the room. I rolled up the venetian blind to let the light shine in while I sat in the dark room and contemplated the situation. What to do Percy? What to do?
I had watched a movie on TV the day before about a legendary escape of Marines during the Korean War. A group of Marines were completely surrounded by Chinese soldiers near the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea. A Marine officer decided to lead his men, single file over the mountains, in the dead of night where they couldn't even see their hands, during a blinding snow storm with temperature far below freezing. The details of that struggle are mind boggling, and as I sat in the dark, I thought of those men tying to make their way to freedom.
The day had been 95 degrees and I was unsure how long the battery in my tiny fan would last, so I waited as long as I could before turning it on.. When I thought of turning it on, I'd count to a hundred 2 or 3 times, then use the fan for a couple of seconds. As I counted my blessing and thought about the Marines as distraction, then counting thru the hundreds before using the fan, I managed to spend most of the evening sitting in a chair. When my watch said 10 o'clock, I went to bed. I knew the electrical workers were busy trying to rectify the situation, but having lived thru Ike, the hurricane when we were without power for 8 days, I didn't know what to expect. Happily the power came on while I was sleeping.
I discovered that the oven light and the microwave were still working as was the outdoor light on a neighbor's garage. The shops on the other side of the street from my apartment complex had lights, but otherwise the whole neighborhood was dark. The garage light was quite a distance away, but the light shone thru my bedroom window. It was very dim but enough to let me see the objects in the room. I rolled up the venetian blind to let the light shine in while I sat in the dark room and contemplated the situation. What to do Percy? What to do?
I had watched a movie on TV the day before about a legendary escape of Marines during the Korean War. A group of Marines were completely surrounded by Chinese soldiers near the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea. A Marine officer decided to lead his men, single file over the mountains, in the dead of night where they couldn't even see their hands, during a blinding snow storm with temperature far below freezing. The details of that struggle are mind boggling, and as I sat in the dark, I thought of those men tying to make their way to freedom.
The day had been 95 degrees and I was unsure how long the battery in my tiny fan would last, so I waited as long as I could before turning it on.. When I thought of turning it on, I'd count to a hundred 2 or 3 times, then use the fan for a couple of seconds. As I counted my blessing and thought about the Marines as distraction, then counting thru the hundreds before using the fan, I managed to spend most of the evening sitting in a chair. When my watch said 10 o'clock, I went to bed. I knew the electrical workers were busy trying to rectify the situation, but having lived thru Ike, the hurricane when we were without power for 8 days, I didn't know what to expect. Happily the power came on while I was sleeping.
Monday, July 31, 2017
Monday, July 24, 2017
Saturday, July 22, 2017
A Moment in Time
This morning I experienced a moment in time that diverted my attention away from my computer screen. I was watching a chess tournament with some of the world's best chess players. There were six boards showing the moves as each game progressed. Each of the boards showed games at a different level of the game and it was interesting to anticipate the moves of players as they took turns in moving knights and bishops this way and that.
As I followed the moves of each player, I happened to glance out the window and noticed a single strand of spider silk glinting in the sun. It stretched from a hanging plant at the edge of the window, across the width of the window and disappeared in the plants below the window sill. A barely discernible breeze moved the strand of silk in and out of the sunlight. It shimmered in the sun for only a moment before it was lost to view. It was so lovely I waited for it appear again, then I noticed a tiny flying insect, possibly a mosquito, flitting around the hanging plant. It was very tiny, but the sun shone thru the wings and I could watch it hover over the plant leaves. I didn't land, just hovered as if looking for nectar or moisture.
As the bug flitted around the plant, I became mesmerized watching and waiting to see if it would become caught in the spider web. I knew it was inevitable that the insect would land on the web strand when out of view, or when glinting in the sun, but as minutes went by, the little thing kept flitting in its random up, down and all around, over and under the strand of silk.
I lost all interest in the chess games as I watched this mini game of cat and mouse between the spider web and insect. I wish I could tell you how this moment in time came out, but I had to answer the door. When I came back to the computer room, the sun had moved, and I couldn't see the spider web strand or the insect, I don't know if the insect fell victim to the spider web, or if the little thing flew off to another plant. The chess games lost their appeal so I turned off the computer and will learn the outcome of the tournament tomorrow.
As I followed the moves of each player, I happened to glance out the window and noticed a single strand of spider silk glinting in the sun. It stretched from a hanging plant at the edge of the window, across the width of the window and disappeared in the plants below the window sill. A barely discernible breeze moved the strand of silk in and out of the sunlight. It shimmered in the sun for only a moment before it was lost to view. It was so lovely I waited for it appear again, then I noticed a tiny flying insect, possibly a mosquito, flitting around the hanging plant. It was very tiny, but the sun shone thru the wings and I could watch it hover over the plant leaves. I didn't land, just hovered as if looking for nectar or moisture.
As the bug flitted around the plant, I became mesmerized watching and waiting to see if it would become caught in the spider web. I knew it was inevitable that the insect would land on the web strand when out of view, or when glinting in the sun, but as minutes went by, the little thing kept flitting in its random up, down and all around, over and under the strand of silk.
I lost all interest in the chess games as I watched this mini game of cat and mouse between the spider web and insect. I wish I could tell you how this moment in time came out, but I had to answer the door. When I came back to the computer room, the sun had moved, and I couldn't see the spider web strand or the insect, I don't know if the insect fell victim to the spider web, or if the little thing flew off to another plant. The chess games lost their appeal so I turned off the computer and will learn the outcome of the tournament tomorrow.
Monday, July 17, 2017
Monday, July 10, 2017
Monday, July 03, 2017
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