California Vs. Texas

A man is jogging with his dog along a nature trail. A coyote jumps out and attacks dog.

California :
#1. Man starts to intervene, reflects upon the movie "Bambi" and then realizes he should stop; the coyote is only doing what is natural.

#2. He calls animal control. Animal control captures coyote and spends $200 testing it for diseases and $500 for relocating it.

#3. He calls veterinarian. Vet collects dead dog and spends $200 testing it for diseases.

#4. Man goes to hospital and spends $3,500 getting checked for diseases from the coyote and on getting bite wound bandaged.

#5. Running trail gets shut down for 6 months while wildlife services conduct a $100,000 survey to make sure the area is clear of dangerous animals.

#6. $50,000 of state funds are allocated to implement a "coyote awareness" program for residents of the area.

#7. State legislature spends $2 million investigating how to better handle rabies and how to possibly eradicate the disease.

#8. PETA protests the coyote relocation and files suit against the state.

Texas :
#1. Man shoots coyote and keeps jogging. He has spent $0.50 on a .45 ACP hollow point cartridge. Buzzards eat dead coyote..

Any wonder why California is broke????

Where in the World is Grace O'Mally?

Grace O'Malley is one of our three box turtles. Her first name is Grace because all of our turtles have names that start with "G". Her last name is O'Malley because when we first started the turtle thing, Amanda named our first turtle Grumpy O'Malley.

So I went out to feed the O'Malley family this morning (Grumpy, Little George and Grace). Little George came walking up to me because he knows his food source. Grumpy had once again climbed up on the cinder block wall that surrounds the perimeter of their pen and was going for a walk. Grace was nowhere to be found. The cinder block wall offers many shaded resting spots for the turtles, so I checked all of those...three times. Next, we have a wood pile shelter built in the middle of the pen. Checked there, also three times and she was not there. In the past, turtles have crawled under their "water bowl" (an upside down trash can lid), so I checked there. Grace was still nowhere to be found.

At this point, I was trying to figure out how a turtle could disappear from our turtle pen. I was pretty sure she had not found a way to escape. If there was a way to escape, Grumpy would have found it on his many wall patrols. Didn't seem very likely that an animal would eat a box turtle. If she had died, I would have found her laying around somewhere (shells don't rot too fast!). Why would somebody come steal a box turtle?

Finally I decided to check the area where the turtles usually hibernate. It's not the right time of the year for that, but I had run out of options. Sure enough, as I began to move my hands through the leaf piles on the ground, there was Grace. She was buried head up, so it seems she may have been laying eggs again. Usually if they are trying to bury themselves, they go head first. In any case, the mystery was solved and I could safely wake up Amanda (who would have been devastated if a turtle had disappeared).

Let Me See If I Got This Right

IF YOU CROSS THE NORTH KOREAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU GET 12 YEARS HARD LABOR.

IF YOU CROSS THE IRANIAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU ARE DETAINED INDEFINITELY.

IF YOU CROSS THE AFGHAN BORDER ILLEGALLY, YOU GET SHOT.

IF YOU CROSS THE SAUDI ARABIAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU WILL BE JAILED.

IF YOU CROSS THE CHINESE BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU MAY NEVER BE HEARD FROM AGAIN.

IF YOU CROSS THE VENEZUELAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU WILL BE BRANDED A SPY AND YOUR FATE WILL BE SEALED.

IF YOU CROSS THE CUBAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU WILL BE THROWN INTO POLITICAL PRISON TO ROT.

IF YOU CROSS THE U.S. BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU GET...

1. A JOB,
2. A DRIVERS LICENSE,
3. SOCIAL SECURITY CARD,
4. WELFARE,
5. FOOD STAMPS,
6. CREDIT CARDS,
7. SUBSIDIZED RENT OR A LOAN TO BUY A HOUSE,
8. FREE EDUCATION,
9. FREE HEALTH CARE,
10. A LOBBYIST IN WASHINGTON ,
11. BILLIONS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF PUBLIC DOCUMENTS PRINTED IN YOUR LANGUAGE,
12. THE RIGHT TO CARRY YOUR COUNTRY'S FLAG WHILE YOU PROTEST THAT YOU DON'T GET ENOUGH RESPECT.

I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE I HAD A FIRM GRASP ON THE SITUATION

If You're Not a Geocacher, You Won't Appreicate It

Long Service!

Mower Shed Repair

Our church mower shed was built more than 20 years ago and has held up very well...up until last year. Last year the weather caught up with our shed (and with several of our buildings at church). I'm not much of a carpenter, so I put out a call for somebody take on this project, but when nobody responded, I called my Dad. Dad is great at this kind of stuff and was willing to help, so he came to the church on Monday.

This is just one example of the weather damage. This is the side of the shed and a piece of trim that goes along the bottom of the building.

We got one side replaced, the back, the front, and here we are trying to get the door on before the rain.

And here's a picture of the mess we were rushing to clean when the rain started. We still have to replace one side, remount the doors (they are on, but they need some work still), the trim that goes around the top shingles and the trim that goes along the bottom of the building. Of course, there is caulking and painting to do as well.

Dad is coming back out sometime next week to help me get the project finished. Since carpentry is not one of my gifitings, I was hoping somebody would take care of this project for me. That did not happen, but because of it, I've been able to spend some quality time with my Dad, and that's better than finding somebody else to do the job.

Made Me Laugh

Geocaching

The weather was nice today and I had the itch to do something outside (something fun, unlike mowing the yard!). I was torn between geocaching and riding my bicycle. I asked Amanda if she wanted to geocache today and she said "yes", so that settled that. I miss geocaching and I REALLY miss geocaching with GeoPunkin.

Amanda's ability to find caches that I cannot find is not my only reason for wanting to geocache with her, but it sure makes life easier. This was our first cache today, a multi (find the cache at the given location, and it will give you coordinates to another "leg" of the trip...this one had three legs). These little gnomes guarded the caches along the way, and Amanda found the first one.

OK, this picture is totally staged. Amanda got a new cammo shirt this weekend and could not wait to go geocaching with me so we could both wear our cammo shirts. She also wanted to find an ammo box cache today because they are full of fun-for-kids trade items. We intended to take our picture together when we found our fifth, and last, cache today (the ammo box), but we forgot. Next best thing? Come home, grab an ammo box, stand in front of some bushed and let Mom take a picture. Now if only the bushes had been a little taller so you could not see the house in the background!

Mower Help

A couple years ago, I put Amanda on my lap and gave her a ride on the riding lawn mower. Ever since that day, She has been consumed with the idea of driving the mower. On Saturday, I had to mow my yard and the church fields surrounding my house. I took a small patch in the field right behind our back yard, "cut out" a square, put the mower in second gear (say "granny gear") and let Amanda give it a try.

Once Amanda understood which tire to put on "the line", things went better. She gave it a good effort and most of the grass in her little area got cut. Next time, we'll work on comprehending straight lines.