Richard Towle's Bloggy Goodness

Still not Blogging, just ...

2011-09-11T12:04:00.001-07:00

a few more pictures.

Not blogging again just yet, just ...

2011-09-10T19:08:00.001-07:00

a few pictures from the other day.

I believe I have time ...

2011-06-22T21:45:00.001-07:00

lapse mosquito bites from Janet's party-in-da-meadow-2011.

A new itch every day.

Yippee?

Last post for a while.

2011-06-18T22:00:00.000-07:00

Pictures from Saturday.

Mining Museum:

I'm flying???:

Idiot listening to American Idiot:

Listening to American Idiot ... again:

Apparently not THAT afraid of heights:

Burnt:

Follow the signs:

Green:

Gears:

Ant farm:

Last picture (obviously did not save the best for last):

I'm a winner in the war of the ...

2011-06-17T22:31:00.001-07:00

salsa's.

The loser, full bowl hers, empty bowl mine:

The loser again in front of a neat sculpture/fountain (the granite ball rotates):

Second try at stupidity times three ...

2011-06-17T22:21:00.001-07:00

Bleh.

Fish head:

?Magneto? head:

Too small hat plus too small mask plus too big head == just stupid:

What horrible-horrible ...

2011-06-15T22:00:00.000-07:00

movie ends with the following two lines of dialog?

7 year old girl: "No more pull-ups"

Divorced father: "Nice!"

Answer in the comments.

Proof that I'm not alone: Google for "[redacted] no more pull-ups"

Sweeeeeeet product placement!

Scenes of wild beauty from ...

2011-06-12T19:18:00.001-07:00

Sibley Volcanic Preserve.

I walked three or four miles - more than I'm currently permitted but I am trying to prepare for "Janet's hike" next weekend.
I took a three or four hour nap when I got home in a so far futile attempt to recuperate.

I took pictures of only a fraction of the available and blooming wildflowers.

I was the only person in the 'park' without a dog.

Breathtaking:

Much prettier from close up:

Barely noticeable cell phone and microwave towers (on the highest point in the park 'Roundtop'):

Maze to nowhere (dogs welcome):

Fog and flowers:

Maybe a bit past it's prime:

Yes, eaten after taking the picture:

Duh! Everyone knows you can't hike anywhere without a paved path to follow:

Scenes from the urban ...

2011-06-05T21:50:00.001-07:00

jungle.

Yellow:

Green:

White:

Nooooooooooo oooooooooo oooooooooo! This is not ...

2011-05-30T21:01:00.001-07:00

supposed to happen. Not to me. Never. Ever.

Place: Taco Loco #1 in Ukiah

Players: me vs Shellie

Weapon of choice: various salsa's from "the salsa bar"

My score, five:

Shellie's score, seven:

And the winner is ... SHELLIE!!!

Nooooooooooo oooooooooo oooooooooo!

Tried and failed miserably with one, successful with ...

2011-05-29T22:46:00.001-07:00

another movie.

Failure: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

Success: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Was told not to bother trying with a third because Shellie hates all musicals: Chicago

Reeves Canyon Road, part three. Mostly ...

2011-05-28T18:20:00.001-07:00

green!

Fini, ...

2011-05-17T21:22:00.001-07:00

fidi, fici.

Some pictures from the day.

Stormy birds:

Neato colored Pyramid Lake:

Lichen on a larger than normal scale:

Big snow, big stick, bigger fool. On old highway 40 just below Donner Summit:

The road ahead:

That's all folks!

Austin Nevada was the ...

2011-05-16T20:51:00.001-07:00

only place we had any snow today. And it was only a few flakes falling in the bright sunshine. Compared to yesterday, the weather today was very boring. How sad. Tomorrow should be ?better?.

A few pictures from the day.

Ruth Nevada - Interesting fence:

Austin Nevada - Stokes Castle:

Austin Nevada - Lander (True Value) Lumber & Supply:

Along highway 722 (thanks to Loren for this suggested detour) - cows in flooded pasture with snow showers in the distance:

Big winner???:

Ely plus a jail cell ==

2011-05-15T21:21:00.001-07:00

dinner at the Cell Block Steak House inside the Jailhouse Casino:

Snow at the railroad:

We have safely arrived in ...

2011-05-15T17:09:00.001-07:00

Ely, Nevada.

Crazy beautiful windy weather all day. Rain, snow, sleet, sand storms. Just started snowing ... very sideways in Ely. Storm front just arriving here.

Consistent winds of 60 to 80 mph. Mostly tailwinds so I expect good gas mileage for today.

Blizzard in Tonopah.

18-wheeler tipped over blocking road to Ely for several hours. I forced Gramcie to listen to "American Idiot". She survived ... barely.

The road ahead:

Not the repeating pattern I first thought:

Framed:

The craziest "art cars" I have ever seen:

'Wait a moment, let me fix my hair':

Smashed trailer:

We completed a successful circumnavigation of ...

2011-05-14T14:22:00.001-07:00

Mt. Richard this morning. Starting in Beatty and ending up in Rhyolite, following dirt/rock 'roads'.

Wildlife spotted today:
* Western Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia hypugaea)

A few pictures ...

Richard's Arch National Monument:

Pointy:

Twisty:

More interesting/colorful in person:

A wet tumbleweed:

If Titus Canyon Road is a ...

2011-05-13T20:01:00.000-07:00

one out of possible ten in difficulty, then the road that Mom/Gramcie and I took after dinner this evening searching for Geodes was a nine and a half. Lotsa 4x4 low range on roads last traveled in the 1800's scratched out of the side of cliffs with poorly constructed dry laid stone walls. Common sense prevailed and we retraced our path back to the 'civilization' of Beatty.

Geode less.

A few pictures from our after dinner adventure.

We were passed by three SUVs and two motorcycles during our ...

2011-05-13T13:00:00.000-07:00

enjoyably slow trip through Titus Canyon. As far as I can tell, the people that passed us were trying to 'do':
* Titus Canyon
* Bristlecone Pines
* Yosemite
* Golden Gate Bridge
* Redwoods
all in the same day and thusly had to speed through Titus Canyon rather than taking the time to savor it's beauty.

A few pictures ...

Red:

Not a straight line:

Wall flower:

Mud can be beautiful:

Layer cake:

More beautiful mud:

Keeping my surgeon happy by keeping my leg elevated:

Scary giant vampire cow:

The friend of snow is ...

2011-05-12T21:10:00.000-07:00

a washboard road. Miles and miles of bone shaking evil washboard. Driving slow didn't help, driving fast didn't help. Driving on the left side of the road didn't help, driving partly off of the road did help - but increased the risk of a flat tire.

The washboard-friend-of-snow started at about mile sixty of a seventy-five mile detour on Big Pine/Death Valley Road. Mile sixty as in too far to consider turning around and going back to the 'main'/paved road into Death Valley.

A few pictures from the day.

Yucca Gramcie:

Killer of flowers:

Flower:

Flower guardrail:

Mine:

Cactus w/flowers:

Crankshaft Junction:

Asphalt, blessed asphalt:

Fool, keeping leg elevated while balancing on the edge of the Ubehebe Crater in a sixty mile wind:

Bike to work day in Rhyolite Nevada:

Resident of Rhyolite:

Mine:

Rocks:

Foiled again by the suggestion of ...

2011-05-11T20:56:00.000-07:00

snow. Not actual snow, just the complete absence of the same on the road to the Bristlecone Pines - blocked by the USFS for NO REASON AT ALL. But I'm not bitter because we successfully circumnavigated the entirety of the White Mountains today following this path starting from Bishop:
* South on 395
* North-East on 168 thru the beautiful Westgard Pass
* North on White Mountain Road as far as the road closure above the Sierra Viewpoint at 9,500' elevation
* South on White Mountain Road
* North-East on 168 again
* North on 264
* North-East on 773
* East on an unnamed dirt road
* South on Emigrant Pass Road
* North on Emigrant Pass Road
* North-East on an unnamed dirt road
* West then South on 6 back to Bishop

Highway 168, paved but one very narrow and twisty lane:

Cactus with flower:

Closeup of the cactus flower, with ants:

Rock flower:

Succulent:

Purple:

Yellow:

Blue and white:

Beautiful mixed up geology along Emigrant Pass Road:

Water:

Antelope hoof:

Intelligent wild horse:

Boundary Peak:

Foiled again by ...

2011-05-10T17:34:00.001-07:00

snow drifts on obscure back roads at eight or nine thousand feet elevation. In every case, the only sign of other traffic was from ... snowmobiles.

So we turned around - several times rather than attempt to traverse the longer and deeper snowdrifts.

The start of our adventures. Impulsively we made plans to drive all the way to Provincetown, MA but I got distracted by a dirt road just a mile or two past this sign and we didn't see pavement again for sixty miles and never made it to Provincetown.

Volcanic Tablelands:

Just barely warm enough today:

Orange flower:

Yellow flower:

Lotsa yellow flowers:

Killer of yellow flowers:

Different yellow flower:

Small cactus:

Home to the Bishop Triangle Snake:

White Mountains:

Layers:

Salt and arrowhead (left behind):

Salt flower:

More salt:

Colorful Jeffrey Pine:

Closeup of the colorful Jeffrey Pine:

Mono-Inyo Craters, unreachable due to snow:

Navy Beach at Mono Lake:

Scenic routes taken ...

2011-05-09T20:45:00.001-07:00

today.

Burcham Flat Road: we drove ten miles of the fifteen mile length before turning around near 8,000' elevation where two other 4x4's were already stuck. Assume they came the other (five mile) way since there weren't any tracks the way we drove.

June Lake Loop: couldn't see more than a hundred yards due to the blizzard.

Rock Creek Road: stopped just short of Rock Creek Lake at 9,700' elevation.

The middle segment of State Route 168: stopped at Lake Sabrina at a slackeriffic 9,200' elevation.

As promised, ...

2011-05-09T20:19:00.001-07:00

exciting pictures of the exciting snow.

Mmmm, tasty:

Not covered in white flowers:

Someone took this picture while someone else was staying warm:

The road ahead, traveled:

Patterns:

The road behind, traveled:

Again, someone took this picture, and someone else stayed warm:

I was NOT dressed appropriately for the day:

Lonely tree:

Hah - flowers! Note: it WAS indeed snowing when I took this picture.

Slightly foreboding:

Snow, snow, snow, snow and more ...

2011-05-09T14:57:00.001-07:00

snow.

It snowed all day with the exception of the last ten miles into Bishop.

Lotsa snow. Blizzards of snow. Snow covering the road, drifting deep enough that I chose to detour around the worst. Snow ten or more feet deep. Single lane roads thru the ten foot deep snow. Snow at 9,700 feet, snow at 5,000 feet. Snow everywhere in between.

4x4's stuck in the snow ... and amazed to see a 'city boy' far off of the beaten path.

Pictures later ... after I take a hot shower. And then possibly another hot shower. Very cold from repeatedly scraping ice and snow off of the windshield - with my bare hands. No gloves, no ice scraper, no common sense.

Sights ...

2011-05-08T19:48:00.001-07:00

Bad hair day along Highway 50:

Twenty-five miles to something:

Snow plus dirt equals ... snoirt?

An interesting palette of colors:

Mini iceberg:

Trees (duh):

Monitor Pass:

The route the GPS said to take to get to 395, "Big Springs Road". Really. Not taken any further than shown.

High valley:

A horrible picture of the ugliest ...

2011-05-03T19:58:00.001-07:00

bird that I've ever seen:

Much prettier without the bird:

Not as tall as an ...

2011-05-02T08:34:00.000-07:00

Elephant's eye. Not nearly. But then again ... this ain't Iowa.

Across the grain:

Aligned:

Proof that I made it ...

2011-05-01T16:44:00.001-07:00

outside today, even if only for a few minutes.

Young Bay Laurel:

Wild Strawberry (probable):

Hound's Tongue (Cynoglossum grande):

Groundbreaking of young Kelloggs Black Oak:

Immature Water Maple leaves:

Bay Laurel with flower:

Cedar bark:

Skinny:

Some pictures from "False ...

2011-04-30T22:47:00.001-07:00

Lover's Leap".

A long way down:

Oooooooh, a rock. How exciting.

Possibly, supposedly, hopefully ...

2011-04-30T09:20:00.001-07:00

"art" created with the iPad app "Fluid Monkey":

Still ...

2011-04-27T20:25:00.000-07:00

alive and still recovering from the latest Fasciotomy on my left calf. Back at work half-time - exhausting and not sure how I'll be able to handle full-time starting Monday next.

Been having problems with my cell phone. Gmail is best method of contact - checked daily - except when my Internet connection is down.

Really been enjoying the (North Fork of the) American River Canyon "Book of Days".
Although it has been saddening to read about Russell's problems with the 'Moody Ridge rednecks' wanting to keep everyone else away from Lovers Leap and the Giant Oak.

Mostly for myself ...

2011-04-22T23:57:00.000-07:00

“When It’s Not Your Turn”: The Quintessentially Victorian Vision of Ogden’s “The Wire”

Just a reminder that I do not need or want any more ...

2011-04-20T21:37:00.001-07:00

of these!

Even though they are kinda cute.

101 things to learn, or ...

2011-04-19T08:57:00.000-07:00

suffer another humiliating defeat at Scrabble:

The 101 acceptable 2-letter words

Consider yourself warned!

Far too much ...

2011-04-18T18:20:00.001-07:00

frolicking and attempted frolicking.

Attempted, proving the impossibility of frolicking in Davis:

Actual frolicking in Rocklin:

A hundred mile detour for ...

2011-04-17T18:35:00.000-07:00

this??? The 'big toilet bowl' of Lake Berryessa:

TOTALLY NOT WORTH IT, except for the other sights along the way:

Partial pardon, day two ...

2011-04-16T15:51:00.001-07:00

Following this route:

Starting at North State Street in Ukiah
West on Orr Springs Road
West on Comptche Ukiah Road
South on Flynn Creek Road
East on Highway 128
Lunch at Navarro General Store
South-East on Highway 128
Brief stop at Navarro Vineyards
South-East on Highway 128
North on Mountain House Road
North on 101

A few pictures from the trip follow.

Pictures from my first ...

2011-04-15T16:46:00.001-07:00

travels since my surgery on Monday.

Ukiah equivalent of a hot rod:

My prison guard:

Boring birdie on the grounds of the "City of Ten Thousand Buddhas":

Different boring birdie:

Different but not nearly as boring birdie:

Before and after ...

2011-04-14T15:45:00.000-07:00

the consumption of a Taco Loco Burrito, a scientific comparison.

Before burrito Scrabble game #1: Mom 266, me 335

Before burrito Scrabble game #2: Mom 225, me 294

After burrito Scrabble game #3: Mom 325, me 324

Twelve hours after burrito Scrabble game #4: Mom 307, me 322

Conclusions: although the burrito is obviously improving my physical well being, it is detrimental to my otherwise awesomely mad Scrabble skills for exactly twelve hours.

KWYJIBO lives!!!

I recommend the following ...

2011-04-14T14:48:00.000-07:00

unrelated things.

"The Last Ring-bearer" by Kirill Eskov. (discussion on SlashDot, review on Salon)

"At War: Notes from the Front Lines". Especially the entries by C.J. Chivers.

Oddly colored ...

2011-04-12T19:48:00.001-07:00

but otherwise completely untouched sunset picture from Shellie's:

My recovery is slower than I want ... due to my lack of Taco Loco burritos.

Well enough after ...

2011-04-11T18:30:00.000-07:00

my hopefully last fasciotomy on the anterior and lateral compartments of my left calf this afternoon.

Pain level two or three out of ten ... with heavy duty pain meds.

On crutches for a day or two, but already able to walk.

Recuperating at Shellie and Jeff's in Redwood Valley.

More pictures of ...

2011-04-10T23:45:00.000-07:00

mystery.

Mustard growing in a field of Alfalfa:

Not Mustard:

A confluence of ...

2011-04-09T16:29:00.001-07:00

pictures ... mostly taken at or near "the confluence" (ha ha) of the Middle and North Fork of the American River.

Proof that fishies don't like Digger Pines:

The best I could do with my crummy camera. Mountain Quarries across the way:

Not quite so confluencial:

Circular goodness:

Exposure adjusted ...

2011-04-08T22:00:00.000-07:00

closeup of the seasonal waterfall across the North Fork of the American River from Iron Point:

More Iron ...

2011-04-08T19:30:00.000-07:00

Point-edness.

Me:

Mini-me:

Closer closeup of the seasonal waterfall:

Always annoying:

Casa Loma again:

Almost all the way to Iron ...

2011-04-08T19:00:00.000-07:00

Point. Almost.

Up canyon:

Down canyon, Giant Gap:

Cross canyon:

Cross canyon, closeup of the seasonal waterfall:

Up canyon again:

Towards Casa Loma:

Proof of ...

2011-04-08T16:00:00.000-07:00

snow falling at Moody Ridge.

Abnormally yellow and happy in ...

2011-04-08T13:00:00.000-07:00

Weimar but no snow.

But ... it was snowing quite heavily as I passed thru Colfax.

And ... it was snowing quite prettily in "downtown" Dutch Flat.

And ... it was snowing very heavily on Moody Ridge.

But ... none of the snow was sticking anywhere.

Golden hour ...

2011-04-07T19:33:00.001-07:00

trees.

Meh.

Not snow, part ...

2011-04-01T17:17:00.001-07:00

deaux.

Favorite again, with ants:

Mossy goodness:

No snow ...

2011-04-01T13:55:00.001-07:00

here above Redwood Valley.

The closest thing to snow, Lichen on a Live Oak:

My favorite:

Not favorite:

More not snow, Spanish Moss:

Ditch scum:

Pics from Redwood ...

2011-03-31T22:38:00.001-07:00

Valley (of course).

After a long hot drive in the blue pickup with ... all the windows down:

The end result of Scrabble game #1 (several non words were played, the two blanks are a "c" and "s"):

Scrabble game #2 in process:

What is behind the mirror???

2011-03-27T20:02:00.001-07:00

The front of the mirror:

The front of the mirror again - without flash:

Behind the mirror:

My decipherization of the text:

From the
"Boss"
Furniture Store
Over the
N.Y. Store [I believe in reference to a business called the "New York Store" in Chillicothe]
Chillicothe
MO
D.F. Chapin & Son
Prop's

Related links and such:
Chillicothe, MO

... the "New York Store". This Chillicothe mainstay was built in 1871, handling all of Chillicothe's dry goods and serving as one of north Missouri's finest establishments for purchasing ornate hats, caps, gloves and robes as well as other necessary household items.

Froggy ...

2011-03-26T20:15:00.001-07:00

was confused as to his provenance. He thought he was a frog but all the other frogs were afraid and wouldn't play with him. He croaked like a frog, hopped like a frog, had the same number of legs as a frog but he was not a frog. Froggy was an alligator and he was raised by a wolf pack in the high alpine mountains of northern Iowa. The wolves taught Froggy to be a cowboy, but he was allergic to cows and had to change careers. He tried selling used cars. He tried working as a barrista at a Starbucks. He worked in a bookstore. But all Froggy could do was be a frog.

Hmmm, I think my eyes are painted gold:

My what brass teeth I have, said Froggy as he was feeling a bit peckish:

Terry is no longer in ...

2011-03-25T22:15:00.001-07:00

first place in the "Lane Splitter" game on my iPad.

The proof in pictures:

Sorry Terry. But I hope you learn a lesson from this and ... don't ever tie me at Scrabble again. Vengeance is mine!

Upside down ...

2011-03-25T22:04:00.001-07:00

mobile picture.

Or is it???

Mom/Carol/Gramcie/Sugar has a new blog because ...

2011-03-21T17:41:00.000-07:00

she forgot the password to her old blog.

New blog:
Gramcie forgot the password to her other blog blog

Old blog:
M-G bloggy foolishness

Some neato looking river maps ...

2011-03-21T15:57:00.000-07:00

Made in the style of transit maps here:
SomethingAboutMaps - River Maps.

Details of the process followed in the creation of these maps can be found here:
SomethingAboutMaps - On River Maps

A snippet of the details:

Distort the Rivers

Even though the rivers are already a gross oversimplification of the real stream network, more distortions are needed. It’s not possible, usually, to label everything clearly and have all the network connections be unambiguous while keeping the river lines and settlement locations in approximately the right place.

So, I stretch out or shrink certain parts of the river, and move settlements around, to keep everything clear and easy to read. I also move whole river systems around to space them out more clearly. Understanding the connections and relationships is the goal in this design. Spatial accuracy is great, and I try to keep it where I can, but it’s secondary. Also, this part is, again, fun to do.

One specific map that should of interest to the few readers of this blog:

Terry played an excellent game of ...

2011-03-20T21:33:00.001-07:00

Scrabble tonight. This was his first ever game and ... he tied with me for first place with 214 points. Karen was close behind with 188 points.

My best word/play: FLAMBEAU for a bingo and 66 points
Terry's best play: CHOPREDA for a bingo and 88 points

The board:

The scores:

After yet another "Storm ...

2011-03-20T21:14:00.001-07:00

of the century" in the Rocklin area.

Snow:

Floaty bits (with a few snowflakes):

Frosted:

Lotsa snow:

Snow drift:

Ducks and snow:

Pentagonal snow:

Based on my prior Blog post, Loren ...

2011-03-20T14:34:00.001-07:00

Little sent these pictures of a 1960's Ford model 951 tractor.

Before, with a nice patina of rust:

Same tractor as above, after a light dusting or something ... completely ruining the patina:

Not just tractors ...

2011-03-19T20:46:00.001-07:00

I hate the BlogPress App ...

2011-03-18T23:19:00.001-07:00

and I lost at two games of a Hearts this evening ... likely due to some very questionable scoring.

Game one: Richard, Barry and Carol/Gramcie

Game two: Richard, Karen and Carol/Gramcie

Both games represented on this score pad:

SPLAT, SPLAT, splat-splat, ...

2011-03-18T00:15:00.000-07:00

splat-splat-splat, SPLAT, splat-splat.

Very uneven rain just started falling here.

Splat splat splat splat splat splat splish splat.

Starting to even out a bit.

Now a lull.

Maybe not as even as I said?

If it wasn't past midnight and I wasn't so tired I would redo the above in Haiku.

Splat ... splat ... splat ... splat-splat splat splat spat ... mini-lull #2

I just watched ...

2011-03-17T21:09:00.000-07:00

"The Lovely Bones" and am emotionally wiped out.

Wow.

I'm not sure how much of too much emotion is a good thing. But I know that I've got it and have had it since Russell died with extra vigor since I was assaulted.

Wow.

Super Dork 9000 ...

2011-03-15T22:06:00.001-07:00

Supreme with Cheese!

At the UCSF Ortho Institute apparently in front of a scene from Avatar ... that I somehow missed at the time. I especially like how badly the black shoes and socks go with the rest of my outfit. In hindsight, I should have worn a white shirt for even more dorkitude, stood up a bit straighter, and sucked in my gut a bit ... more.

And the answer is: I'll probably need a fasciotomy on my left calf. Not as severe/critical as the others and hopefully with a shorter recovery time.

My legs are extremely sore tonight as a result of the forced treadmill march followed my six checks (with giant needle) of the pressure in the compartments in my calves.

?Art? by ...

2011-03-14T22:01:00.001-07:00

IPad and the free "Substrate" application.

Random plants and ...

2011-03-14T19:00:00.000-07:00

?!?animals?!? without any plant pictures because %#*}^!?£€¥ BlogPress is so buggy.

A very tall cat ... with bonus plant for hair:

Wild guard rooster:

Supposed to be a frog I think:

The sun saying "Meh or Gerg or whatever. I'm tired. Maybe some rain would be nice for a change":

It was a long and winding road ...

2011-03-12T20:22:00.000-08:00

railroad that is ... that I rode today in my quest for a vacuum cleaner belt. I finally found the correct belt in Davis and had lunch with a Janet, Shellie and Mom - who claims to be 85 but doesn't look a day over 65 to me.

I found the belt in the Ace Hardware store a block from the station. I tried to convince the gang to walk over to the world famous Davis Farmers' Market but it was not to be.

So I rode the train back to the Bay Area, had a burrito for dinner, watched "The Adjustment Bureau" (meh), watched the last fifteen minutes of "True Grit" (excellent), went to the new Target super store figuring it wouldn't be busy on a Saturday night (it was a complete zoo), and then went 'home'.

And then installed the belt in my vacuum and vacuumed - yippee!

Bonus post for all writers in the family

2011-03-11T21:27:00.000-08:00

and without any ellipsis just to be different ...

Good Show Sir - Only the worst Sci-fi/Fantasy book covers

Oops ... sorry 'bout the ellipsis above and just now again.

I failed in my quest ...

2011-03-11T19:58:00.001-08:00

to find a belt for my vacuum cleaner but succeeded in finding a cheap dinner with free live music on trendy Piedmont Avenue in Oakland at Pizza Pazza.

Excellent food - a slice of pizza with walnuts & goat cheese
Excellent Blues - Augusta Collins and Mark Anderson

Caution! ...

2011-03-10T13:30:00.000-08:00

Man at Work???

Picture taken with my new & horrible BlackBerry Curve phone.

Well, if it's on the Internet ...

2011-03-03T21:02:00.000-08:00

then it must be true. Right?

The Mystery of Snakehead Point: An Ancient Power Center?

Found while looking for the answer to the 'Google search diary challenge' as mentioned on "An American River Canyon 'Book of Days'".

Russell had the following to say about "The Pyramid":

Another Green Valley rumor which is amazingly widespread, concerns a supposed pyramid. Aliens from outer space, it seems, had taught humans to build pyramids. The two oldest human structures in California are pyramids, one in the Owens Valley, one in Green Valley. I met adherents of this fabulous concept decades ago, and they pointed out a certain knoll of serpentine in the west end of Green Valley, a little north of the river. That the spot is beautiful, that is has a lovely view of Lovers Leap and Giant Gap, that the light of the setting sun when near the winter soldtice, just kisses this bedrock knoll, I cannot deny. That it is any kind of pyramid I do deny. Nevertheless, I call it The Pyramid. There is magic and mystery in Green Valley, just not the sort these flying-saucer mystics want to find there.

It seems that the source of this Green Valley Pyramid rumor was one Dr. Wallace Halsey, who formed a sect called the Christian Brotherhood, in the 1950s. Adding results, it would seem that Jesus himself zoomed around in flying saucers (occasionally visiting Green Valley). Halsey's description of the Green Valley Pyramid would place it on the south side of the river at the Hayden Hill mine, where another lovely knoll perches above the general level of Green Valley.

The Rural Mysteries of the North Fork Polygon folk have a dedicated page: The Pyramid of Green Valley

More steps ...

2011-03-02T18:19:00.000-08:00

infinity plus one to be exact:
5 steps then 42 steps then 38 steps then 40 steps then 39 steps.

Starting at Oak Glen Park and going uphill on
Richmond Way
-or-
Kempton Steps
and ending at Kempton Avenue.

Names of the steps from an article in the SF Chronicle on June 17, 1990 titled "A Glen Filled with Mystery", part of "The Bay Area at your Feet" series.

In response to overwhelming requests ...

2011-03-02T14:22:00.001-08:00

three pictures from the back porch of my new 'home' in Oakland. BlogPress was slightly less buggy after I dumbed down the resolution to a paltry six megapixels. Oh the shame of only six megapixels.

Patio (with a few of the infinite steps in view):

Live Oak tree:

Redwood tree:

Steps

2011-03-02T13:56:00.001-08:00

There are six steps, then twelve steps, then eleven steps, and then a final half step to get into my new 'home' in Oakland.

The total number of steps == infinite!

I tried to include some pictures from my porch but the buggy/crummy BlogPress app I'm using keeps crashing.

Irrefutable conclusive proof that ...

2011-02-28T16:12:00.001-08:00

all birds hate Blueberries!

Blueberries, day two or three (not shown is the popcorn, BBQ potato chips and bread that the little birdies DID eat):

M i c ... k e

M o u s e

Requisite macro:

Macro vs ...

2011-02-27T16:04:00.001-08:00

icicle (mostly), and the winner is ???

Frozen in time until ...

2011-02-27T09:00:00.000-08:00

it warms up a bit.

Aack, another attempt at a ...

2011-02-26T18:29:00.001-08:00

drawing of a snowflake. This one created with SketchBook "O" (O for Oprah) on my iPad.

Macro vs ...

2011-02-26T15:56:00.000-08:00

snow. And the winner is ???

Snow snakes, looking for sun:

A macro:

And another:

And another another:

Noooooooooo! It's over, the ...

2011-02-26T09:47:00.001-08:00

latest storm of the century has passed by and all we have left is boring sunshine and such.

Birdie:

Rabbit #1:

Rabbit #2:

Trees:

More trees:

Not a rabbit:

Closeup of not a rabbit:

This is not a ...

2011-02-25T16:19:00.001-08:00

Pipe.

Nor is it a snowflake.

Snow, snow, snow and ...

2011-02-25T15:44:00.001-08:00

MORE SNOW!

Once again, someplace I did not hike today. :-(

Second worst ...

2011-02-25T10:19:00.001-08:00

snowflake ever:

Random linkage ...

2011-02-25T09:11:00.000-08:00

of the day: How to pass thru a door.

Yep, more of the same, more ...

2011-02-25T08:00:00.000-08:00

snow. Lotsa snow. Drifted to about four feet because of the strong winds. Unsure of how much is new since last night.

More 'art':

This is not a ...

2011-02-24T22:17:00.001-08:00

snowflake:

And neither is this:

Obviously, I am not an artist! But ... there are billions and billions of snowflakes falling on Moody Ridge as I write this.

Late addition: as of 11:30pm there has been twelve to fifteen inches of new snow since this afternoon.

More pictures of ...

2011-02-24T19:03:00.001-08:00

mystery (from February 10th).

Fruity Oak Tree:

Closeup of some of the 'fruit':

This is not Black Butte near Mt Shasta:

The snail and the ...

2011-02-21T16:00:00.000-08:00

mountain.

Some people got snow, we got ...

2011-02-18T17:00:00.000-08:00

nothin' but flowers and such here in Redwood Valley, a sampling:

More NorCal neighborly-ness ...

2011-02-10T17:00:00.000-08:00

oops, I meant anti-neighborly-ness!

Ten second timer ...

2011-02-10T12:00:00.000-08:00

FAIL!!!

Pictures of ...

2011-02-09T17:00:00.000-08:00

mystery.

Bah humbug!

2011-02-08T18:00:00.000-08:00

Dr K. called with the results of the blood test I had yesterday and ... my CPK number is higher than it is supposed to be. Not nearly as high as when I was admitted and etc but still above normal range. I'm under orders to NOT exercise and get another blood test this Friday.

But on the bright side, I'm not being rushed into surgery or anything (like before).

Bah humbug!

Status: waiting for results of blood tests

2011-02-07T19:45:00.000-08:00

And that's all I have to say 'bout that (for now) other than I expect to hear the results on Tuesday or Wednesday.

For lack of anywhere else to go ... I'm back in Redwood Valley. I considered going up to Mt Shasta for a few days but thought it wiser to stay close to 'my' hospital just in case I need a few more emergency surgeries.

Not for me, ...

2011-02-06T19:00:00.000-08:00

not today or tomorrow or this month???

Merg!

Merg or Blech or Meh or ...

2011-02-05T18:30:00.000-08:00

something or the other.

I drove from Ukiah/Redwood Valley to Moody Ridge today so I could challenge myself on the 'real' Green Valley Trail rather than the poor substitutes I'd been walking on. I was hoping to stay up here for a week or so but ... I'll be heading to Berkeley on a Monday to see my Ortho Surgeon and General Practicioner because I *may* be having a reoccurrence of Compartment Syndrome. Probably the lesser exercise induced version. Nothing critical for now.

I will keep you-all informed of my status via this Blog. Because of my 'situation' I still do not have access to email addresses for most family & friends.

And sadly no, I will not be hiking any of the Green Valley Trail tomorrow.

Merg.

Blech.

Meh.