Dog Sprayed by a Skunk?

This has happened several times to my friend's large dogs due to the high concentration of skunks in the older city neighborhoods where the houses are all built 18" off the ground giving the skunks a great place to hang out.

We tried The Brady Bunch trick of using tomato juice but that didn't work--or was it The Partidge Family?

Here's a recipe from my vet to get rid of that smell.

Skunk-Off

1 Quart 3% hydrogen peroxide
1/4 cup baking soda
1 tsp. Dawn dish soap

Shampoo pet, let bubble for 20 minutes, then rinse well. I haven't tried it yet. Let me know if it works.

A Little Bit of Sanity from Richard Feynman

"I don't feel frightened by not knowing things." Yes, indeed.

Morning Light on Clouds

Click on photo to enlarge. This is a big file, 2.4 Mb, but you won't regret it.

A Family Meal in the New House

Dad appears to be enjoying himself and Mom appears to be enjoying the view ... and the wine.


Emily is waiting patiently for the leftovers


I had to catch this Scarlet Larkspur (Delphinium cardinale) backlit in the afternoon sun. This is one of our native perennials and can sometimes exceed five feet. They are a favorite of the hummingbirds. And the humans too! (click on photo to enlarge)

Yesterday's Panoramic Sunset

What a beautiful planet we live on. Click on photo to enlarge--you must do this.

Baked Some Bread

I left it in about 5 minutes too long but it is still fantastic, just a little extra crunchy. I decided to make some french onion soup. I have a couple more baguettes from this batch in the freezer. I'll have to watch more carefully next time.





This is the coolest little convection oven. It can slow cook food like a crock pot, toast like a toaster oven, bake cookies like a convection oven, cook a small chicken on a rotisserie, grill fish on top, grill a burger, make pankaces on the griddle, bake a whole pie, keep food warm for someone who's late for dinner. What an amazing product. It uses much less electricity than the big oven. I don't know how I ever lived without it! It is made by Welbilt.

Rattlesnake Season is Here

I love rattlesnakes. They're actually pretty mellow as long as you leave them alone and they do a great job of keeping the rodents in check.

Emily and I have had many encounters and I have taught her that they are to be avoided. She's pretty good at spotting them and often warns me about their presence on a trail.

I noticed this one while talking with the neighbor who owns the sheep that Emily and I tried to round up. He stopped by to ask me about the adventure because it seems his sheep has still not been found. I guess the sheep has been out for several days now. He is also the owner of the long-horned cattle that stopped by this morning. He has a forty acre property down the road from me but he doesn't have a house yet, just the animals. And I don't think he is going to keep them for long after this weeks breakouts. Nice guy. I have a lot of pretty cool neighbors.

The First Night with Electricity

I couldn't get the microwave to work, the pressure pump won't shut off and they forgot to hook up the water line to the icemaker but other than that, the first day with electricity was heaven.

The very first thing I did was a load of dishes. For those of you who know me well, you know I detest washing dishes by hand. I don't know if it is the fact that it is an endless job or all the grease and gunk that makes me hate washing dishes but I know that it is the primary reason I don't cook anymore. Now, with this wonderful invention, I hope to get back into cooking like I used to and hopefully, I'll gain some weight.



Emily knew we were finally in the house for good when she saw me take her dog bowls out of the dishwasher and set them up in the laundry room. Up until now, she had been using a soup bowl for her food because her regular dish was at the trailer.



The morning brought yet another exicitng adventure when four long-horned cattled dropped by for a visit while I was watering outside at about 7:30 in the morning.

This was completely different from the sheep incident because those horns were REALLY long and REALLY scary looking.

When I looked up and saw a huge bull with huge horns coming up the top of the driveway at warp speed, I dropped the hose and grabbed Emily to put her in the house. She's an old dog and these animals were moving fast.

Did I mention they were HUGE and had HUGE horns?

After getting Emily to safety, I grabbed my camera but was only able to get a snap shot as they exited the driveway and headed back home. They never stopped moving and I felt like we had just participated in the running of the bulls in Spain. (click on photos to enlarge)

Leaving the driveway and heading home.

The owner with a big stick rounding up the animals.

The proof.

I always felt that this piece of land was a bit magical. I think the animals feel that too. Tarantula Mountain is the place to be!

We Have Power!

Finally!

What a Fun Morning!

The utility trench passed inspection this morning and as we were finalizing the inspection, a sheep walked up the road to say hello.



Emily thought it was the greatest creature ever invented and quickly made friends.



We tried to herd it back the way it came but Emily and I are clearly not shepherds because the sheep went up the driveway and then we chased it around the garage and then around the house and then up the street and then down the street. It finally acted like it was going home and I followed it to a neighbor's house until it found some shade to lay down. I called around and we still don't know who it belongs too so Emily and I are headed back up to see if we can help out. What a fun morning!

But the best part ... is when my Dad called to tell me they expect to finalize the electrical installation this Wednesday! I sure hope this works out this time. I can't take any more disappointment.

So Wednesday is the big move-in day! Woohooo! Time to go round up a sheep.

Islamic Christian Fundamentalist Kills Abortion Doctor in Terrorist Attack at Kansas Church

The terrorists are coming ... the terrorists are coming! Bring out the wiretaps! We must defend the United States from these barbarians who go around murdering and molesting children in the name of their God! Oh, the children! Round up all those evil Christians and have them shot! Oh wait ... I thought we were talking about Arabs here.

My bad.

George Tiller Killed: Abortion Doctor Shot At Church

Phalaenopsis Breeding, Harlequin Spots and Stripes

This is Dtps. I-hsin blackjack "M187";


It is a cross of a famous hybrid called Golden Peoker;



And a hybrid called Leopard Prince of which there are two examples below;



I'm not sure which clones of these crosses were used in making the I-hsin blackjack "M187" clone but you can get the general idea of where the coloring originated. It is unusual in that the back of the flower shows more of the striping and spotting which is obscured by the maroon blotches on the front.

I'm excited to breed the blackjack with a large white phal. with good form and substance. With all the harlaquine spotting and striping, the cross should produce all sorts of cool patterns. And I will probably do a selfing of this clone to see if anything strange might show up from the doubling of these chromosomes--maybe large blotches of striping or striping around the edge of blotches? These flowers have very heavy substance and should last for a month or more on the plant.

I sure hope we get electricity this week. I have things to do ...

A Little Tropical Flair

This is a Doritaenopsis orchid a friend gave me. It is a cross that I have coveted for years (Dtps. I - Hsin Black Jack "M187". Parentage - Phal. Golden Peoker x Dtps. Leopard Prince). I'm going to breed this with a large white phal to see if I can get a larger flower with more irregular purple blotches. Cool plant.


That same friend also bought this killer palm tree which was a promo at Home Depot for only $69 down from $199. Wow! What a great price. This is a Kentia palm and is very slow growing. It should last quite a few years before it gets too big for the house. It is also the most graceful of the palm trees and is considered to be the cadillac of indoor palms. You can see why from the picture.

I was planning on keeping this one in the bathroom but it is just too large for that area.



So I moved it into the dining area where it will have plenty of room to spread out. What a spectacular plant! I think it is the most beautiful and expensive plant I have ever owned. Thanks Rick. It really classes up the joint.

Electric by Next Week?

That's the game plan. I'll believe it when I see it.

Here are the before and after pics for the electrical work that needed to be redone in order to satisfy the inspector.

Before;


After;


Before;


After;

Power Lines Up, Still No Power

My idiot contractor strikes again. We failed the trench inspection and are now waiting for the contractor to come out and do the job correctly. The power company put up the lines today. One hurdle down. It appears we might get power to the house next week sometime.




I love this amarylis. A friend gave it to me last year and it is a very strong grower producing many offsets. I expect at least one more blooming spike and possibly a couple more beyond that. Amazing plant. I'm going to self-pollinate it this year and see what the seedlings will look like. Amarylis are very easy to grow from seed and they make great gifts to friends. It takes a few years for them to reach blooming size but it is well worth the wait.

Morning Light

Click on photos to enlarge.

First Night at the House

No, the electric is still not in. Long story ... I don't want to talk about it.

So I decided not to wait for electricity before enjoying the house. I bought a miniature LED camping light and made sure the water pressure tank was charges so that I could flush the toilets.



I had a grand time watching the sunset with Emily--a relaxing moment after a couple of months of stress and frustration. Then we sat on the back stoop and just listened to the night. There was a full moon that made walking about easy but we decided to stay put, lest we get eaten by some monster.



After an hour of listening to the night, I suddenly had the urge to move furniture around. That little camping light, when placed properly, shed light on the whole living area including the kitchen, dining room, living room and hall. I spent some time moving things about to get the perfect angle for viewing both the mountains and the fireplace. I came up with a couch design that I think will foster conversation and tie in with the landscaping.

I put out my Grandmother's Lladro porcelain in the guest bath for all to enjoy. It is a special piece that I have always loved. My Grandmother purchased it when whe was a young woman and working as a buyer for a department store. She would go to New York CIty to look at purses etc... for her store and found this piece and had to have it. She caught me admiring it when I was a youngster and left it to me after her death. I still find it fascinating and spent a good amount of time poring over every detail again as I remembered my childhood with my Grandmother.



We finally got tired and went to bed. Emily was very excited to be staying at the house. We jumped into bed and spent the next few moments appreciated all that had transpired over the last eight years trying to get the house built. It was hard to get to sleep. I kept opening my eyes up and marveling at how big the room was--a far cry from the trailer. I got up several times just to walk around and let it all soak in. I am the luckiest man alive right now.

The morning came. The house is very well insulated and I don't think it got below 65 degrees over night. Very pleasant. Emily and I got up much earlier than usual and I grabbed the camera to get some shots in the morning light.




It is going to be a very good day today. Enjoy.

Christians Support Torture More than Non-Believers

From CNN:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The more often Americans go to church, the more likely they are to support the torture of suspected terrorists, according to a new survey.

More than half of people who attend services at least once a week -- 54 percent -- said the use of torture against suspected terrorists is "often" or "sometimes" justified. Only 42 percent of people who "seldom or never" go to services agreed, according to the analysis released Wednesday by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

White evangelical Protestants were the religious group most likely to say torture is often or sometimes justified -- more than six in 10 supported it. People unaffiliated with any religious organization were least likely to back it. Only four in 10 of them did.

This survey had a small sample size and was not as in-depth as necessary to get an accurate picture on this subject but the results are disturbing ... and not at all shocking. The bible delves into torture on many occasions and appears to support it when engaging the enemy, whoever that is. Raping and pillaging--no problem. Stoning unruly children or those wearing two fibers in one garment--no problem. Treating women as property without any rights as human beings--no problem. Tell me again how the religious own the moral high ground. I keep forgetting why that is still conventional wisdom.

Don’t Believe in God? You Are Not Alone

From the New York Times;

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Two months after the local atheist organization here put up a billboard saying “Don’t Believe in God? You Are Not Alone,” the group’s 13 board members met in Laura and Alex Kasman’s living room to grapple with the fallout.

The problem was not that the group, the Secular Humanists of the Lowcountry, had attracted an outpouring of hostility. It was the opposite. An overflow audience of more than 100 had showed up for their most recent public symposium, and the board members discussed whether it was time to find a larger place.

And now parents were coming out of the woodwork asking for family-oriented programs where they could meet like-minded nonbelievers. Keep reading

If you don't believe in god, come out of the closet. You have many new friends waiting on the other side.

End the culture of hate and violence caused by religious orthodoxy by joining your local secular humanist society where you can make a difference by volunteering at a food pantry or homeless shelter, offer companionship to a shut-in, and do all the other life-affirming things you used to think were the sole purview of the religious. And you can do it without having to trash gays, or support torture, or question the patriotism of those who disagree with you. You won't even have to sign an oath--the secular humanists strongly support disagreement and debate on issues and many members believe in a higher power. Toss off the shackles of organized religion and think for yourself.