Sunday, August 31, 2008
ChiGGrrrrrrrrrrrs!
I hate chiggers but they love me. Every year I seem to get torn up by them at least once. Fortunately they only seem to get me, Debby and the kids are not really bothered by them.
Rock Dove update
This morning I found a dead pigeon in the breeder loft, it was IF 2004 Scholar 1192. Don't know what happened to this bird, he was not one of the birds that I recently vaccinated.
I've been doing some work with the pigeons and the lofts. I've moved most of my 2007 race team to my old bird loft. This weekend I've built an aviary, landing board, and some nest boxes for the old bird loft. It's working out pretty well although the birds don't like being moved.
I am also working on the young bird loft, today I installed a landing board/trap entrance on the end of the loft. This will allow me to close up the aviary and give birds access to the aviary while still permitting birds to trap into the loft.
I've been doing some work with the pigeons and the lofts. I've moved most of my 2007 race team to my old bird loft. This weekend I've built an aviary, landing board, and some nest boxes for the old bird loft. It's working out pretty well although the birds don't like being moved.
I am also working on the young bird loft, today I installed a landing board/trap entrance on the end of the loft. This will allow me to close up the aviary and give birds access to the aviary while still permitting birds to trap into the loft.
Dos Equinos
Peanut has a pasture buddy, as of yesterday. We are now boarding Spirit, an 8 month old Tennessee Walker colt who belongs to a friend. The introduction was really nice. Peanut was out in the pasture and we put Spirit in the field with him. Peanut was on the far side of the field so we called him in. He started trotting around the edge of the field, turned the corner, headed our way. Then Peanut saw Spirit and instantly stopped, body erect, ears forward, his full, total, complete attention on the new four legged critter in his pasture. After a few seconds he slowly approached, the horses sniffed each other, and that was that. Well, it was not quite that simple. Peanut let it be known that he was going to be in charge of the herd.
Peanut is only in the pasture for a couple of hours in the morning and again in the evening because he's a Welsh pony and he will eat too much. Spirit stays in the pasture 24/7. So when they are separated they sometimes neigh or whinny to one another and it's nice to hear.
John was out catching butterflies today when I took the picture.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Fishing Rodeo, update
Debby and John just left for a kids fishing rodeo at nearby Roane State park. Mary, Pup-pup, and myself are getting ready to leave and go meet them. I've not shaved in a couple of days so I looked at Mary and said "Daddy looks a little bit like a mountain man".
Mary responded "I think you get it from Mamaw and Papa".(Returned from park): We met some friends there and had a great time.
Yesterday Debby and the kids went on a home school field trip to WonderWorks in Pigeon Forge where among other activities John and Mary hit the climbing wall. Back at the house Dad challenged the kids to a foot race and Mary brought on the heat and won.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
John Art
John writes:"This is a legend ball that I created from pokemon last week.If you look real closely at the bottom of the picture you will see writing, it says groudon, groudon is a legendary pokemon that I caught last week."
Fridge Art
What's on your fridge? This is one of Mary's latest masterpieces (click for a slightly better view). Mommy and Daddy are holding hands. Daddy has hair in this picture. A pigeon is flying in front of the Sun. There is a tree with a bird's nest in it. Mary says that the hole in the trunk is a raccoon home.
Candied Apples!
Debby made a plate of chocolate covered candied apples today. The kids definitely approve! Mary had a tough time though due to her missing teeth.
Splash Country
Debby and the kids went to Dollywood's Splash Country yesterday in Pigeon Forge, TN and had a wonderful time. They met some home school friends there. The local schools are back in session so the park was not very crowded.
The kids experienced a lot of water yesterday at Splash Country, but we are still in a drought, presently with a 4.5" rainfall deficit for the year (after a severe drought last year) and virtually no rain so far this month. We were expecting to receive some rain from the storm system hitting Florida but the forecast has changed and now does not show any rain.
Gas price update: I filled up the Taurus yesterday, regular unleaded was $3.38/gallon, my mileage was 27mpg.
The kids experienced a lot of water yesterday at Splash Country, but we are still in a drought, presently with a 4.5" rainfall deficit for the year (after a severe drought last year) and virtually no rain so far this month. We were expecting to receive some rain from the storm system hitting Florida but the forecast has changed and now does not show any rain.
Gas price update: I filled up the Taurus yesterday, regular unleaded was $3.38/gallon, my mileage was 27mpg.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Peanut Pony rides
This evening Debby saddled up Peanut and John and Mary had a short ride. I took video and was going to post it but even a short video was 20 MB so this picture will have to suffice for now.
Smile!
Picture of Mary taken this evening showing off a toothy Tennessee grin. Her remaining top front tooth is wiggling, should not be too long before another visit from the Tooth Fairy. Mary says "Mommy, I've got to tell you ..... it's hard to talk through these teeth".
Vaccination Station
Today I vaccinated 49 pigeons with Sal-Bac vaccine from Biomune Labs. Each 5 ml dose administered using a 20 gauge needle under the skin on the back of the neck near the shoulder. I changed to a new needle after every 5 birds. Injection sites prepped with alcohol.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Perspective
Heard the following story on the radio this morning on the way to work.
A realtor in a small town is scheduled to show a home to two different families. The first family asks the realtor if he thinks they will like it there. The realtor responds by asking how they liked it at their last place. They replied by saying it was a lousy place and they could not wait to move. The realtor then told them it was about the same situation in the new town and that they probably would not be happy.
The realtor then met with the second family and they also asked if he thought they would like it in the new town. The realtor asked them how they liked their last place. They responded that they really loved their last home and were sorry to leave. The realtor told them that they would feel the same way about the new town and would be very happy there.
The world is not as we see it, it is how we are.
A realtor in a small town is scheduled to show a home to two different families. The first family asks the realtor if he thinks they will like it there. The realtor responds by asking how they liked it at their last place. They replied by saying it was a lousy place and they could not wait to move. The realtor then told them it was about the same situation in the new town and that they probably would not be happy.
The realtor then met with the second family and they also asked if he thought they would like it in the new town. The realtor asked them how they liked their last place. They responded that they really loved their last home and were sorry to leave. The realtor told them that they would feel the same way about the new town and would be very happy there.
The world is not as we see it, it is how we are.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Wildlife update
John is very excited because one of the tadpoles he brought back from Virginia is now a frog. It appears to be a tree frog, it is able to climb up the wall of our aquarium.
Yesterday John and one of his friends went to the upper pond where they saw a painted turtle. They caught a few tadpoles and two spotted salamanders which they brought back and put in the aquarium.
This evening after dinner we were getting ready to go out and put Peanut back in the barn when we saw some deer out in the field near the well house. We used a pair of binoculars that Nanny sent and counted five white tail bucks. Some of the bucks had really nice antlers. Debby said "get the gun, we need to fill the freezer" (it was a joke). No, the kind of shooting we like is with a camera, we need to get a good zoom lens camera, infrared scope, or a night scope.
I then looked out in Peanut's pasture and saw the momma deer near the salt/mineral lick. Debby looked and she spotted the baby deer nearby in the tall grass.
We've seen the momma and baby deer quite a bit lately but this was the first time to see the group of five bucks. Puppy has been doing a good job of running the deer off so this was very nice to see.
Yesterday John and one of his friends went to the upper pond where they saw a painted turtle. They caught a few tadpoles and two spotted salamanders which they brought back and put in the aquarium.
This evening after dinner we were getting ready to go out and put Peanut back in the barn when we saw some deer out in the field near the well house. We used a pair of binoculars that Nanny sent and counted five white tail bucks. Some of the bucks had really nice antlers. Debby said "get the gun, we need to fill the freezer" (it was a joke). No, the kind of shooting we like is with a camera, we need to get a good zoom lens camera, infrared scope, or a night scope.
I then looked out in Peanut's pasture and saw the momma deer near the salt/mineral lick. Debby looked and she spotted the baby deer nearby in the tall grass.
We've seen the momma and baby deer quite a bit lately but this was the first time to see the group of five bucks. Puppy has been doing a good job of running the deer off so this was very nice to see.
Tooth Fairy visits again, Olympic BSOD/computers, gas
Mary lost another tooth yesterday, it was her top right front tooth. This tooth had been loose for quite some time, it finally came out last night. The tooth fairy visited overnight and Mary had $5 in her tooth fairy pillow pocket this morning. Mary's smile is really something to see now, since she also recently lost two front bottom teeth. We'll try to get a picture of her smile up asap.
Most people who know me know that I'm a free software person, I've been using the linux operating system since 1995. I'm a big fan of free open source software (such as the firefox web browser), and I'm not a big fan of Microsoft. I presently use ubuntu linux (ubuntu 8.04.1) at both home and work. Debby and the kids also use linux. We have been Microsoft free for about ten years. We don't pay for software, we don't pay for virus protection for buggy software, our computer does not get corrupted with viruses, malware, spyware, adware, etc. Our computers just work.
I also use google mail and google apps extensively but I'll save that for another post.
So, during the opening ceremony at the Olympics in Beijing they used computers to display images around the top of the "bird nest" stadium as a man jogged around the top while suspended about 70m in the air. Many people noticed that one of the images was the famous blue screen of death (bsod) which appears when microsoft windows crashes and needs to be rebooted. Here's a link to the story.
Gas price update: yesterday I filled up and regular gas was $3.50/gallon. I read yesterday that Americans drove 10+ billion fewer miles in June 2008 than in June 2007. I wonder if the energy prices and the change in consumer habits could be having positive effects on weather or air quality, something that could be measured. After the attacks on 9/11 there was no air travel for three days and I believe that scientists were able to observe an effect on weather, but that was just a brief three day window. With sustained high energy prices leading to sustained changes in people's habits it might be possible to measure the effect with less uncertainty.
While on the topic, we are all for clean air and clean water. This should be a big priority. Locally, North Carolina is suing TVA because it believes that pollution produced by TVA power plants is making it's way into NC and hurting the environment and making people sick. I don't know if this is true but I hope in a way that NC prevails and the power plants are required to clean up their act.
Back in Beijing, the Chinese are in the middle of an interesting experiment to reduce emissions and clean the air for the Olympics. Scientists are using the opportunity to study the situation, the results should be interesting.
At work last week there was an announcement that ORNL will replace it's natural gas and oil fueled steam plant with one that runs on biomass, wood waste. This will be accomplished using $90 million in private funding and is projected to have the effect of removing 2.1 million cars from our roads.
Another project underway at work:
"A new solar panel—one of the largest and most efficient in the state—is the cause behind the recent construction at the intersection of Fifth Street and Bethel Valley Road. The big solar panel will be 288 feet long by 10 feet wide and will generate 51.25 kilowatts at peak power.
Most people who know me know that I'm a free software person, I've been using the linux operating system since 1995. I'm a big fan of free open source software (such as the firefox web browser), and I'm not a big fan of Microsoft. I presently use ubuntu linux (ubuntu 8.04.1) at both home and work. Debby and the kids also use linux. We have been Microsoft free for about ten years. We don't pay for software, we don't pay for virus protection for buggy software, our computer does not get corrupted with viruses, malware, spyware, adware, etc. Our computers just work.
I also use google mail and google apps extensively but I'll save that for another post.
So, during the opening ceremony at the Olympics in Beijing they used computers to display images around the top of the "bird nest" stadium as a man jogged around the top while suspended about 70m in the air. Many people noticed that one of the images was the famous blue screen of death (bsod) which appears when microsoft windows crashes and needs to be rebooted. Here's a link to the story.
Gas price update: yesterday I filled up and regular gas was $3.50/gallon. I read yesterday that Americans drove 10+ billion fewer miles in June 2008 than in June 2007. I wonder if the energy prices and the change in consumer habits could be having positive effects on weather or air quality, something that could be measured. After the attacks on 9/11 there was no air travel for three days and I believe that scientists were able to observe an effect on weather, but that was just a brief three day window. With sustained high energy prices leading to sustained changes in people's habits it might be possible to measure the effect with less uncertainty.
While on the topic, we are all for clean air and clean water. This should be a big priority. Locally, North Carolina is suing TVA because it believes that pollution produced by TVA power plants is making it's way into NC and hurting the environment and making people sick. I don't know if this is true but I hope in a way that NC prevails and the power plants are required to clean up their act.
Back in Beijing, the Chinese are in the middle of an interesting experiment to reduce emissions and clean the air for the Olympics. Scientists are using the opportunity to study the situation, the results should be interesting.
At work last week there was an announcement that ORNL will replace it's natural gas and oil fueled steam plant with one that runs on biomass, wood waste. This will be accomplished using $90 million in private funding and is projected to have the effect of removing 2.1 million cars from our roads.
Another project underway at work:
"A new solar panel—one of the largest and most efficient in the state—is the cause behind the recent construction at the intersection of Fifth Street and Bethel Valley Road. The big solar panel will be 288 feet long by 10 feet wide and will generate 51.25 kilowatts at peak power.
In fact, it will generate enough electricity to help power an entire ORNL office building: the already Energy Star-rated Building 3147, which will combine waste-heat recovery and energy-efficiency techniques with the solar panel to become a zero-energy building".
Good stuff.Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Olympics
As you must know the summer Olympics are now underway in Beijing, China. Of course there is a pigeon angle to this, because traditionally at the games there will be a release of doves (homing pigeons).
Apparently during the very first Olympic games in Greece the man who won the marathon race sent a pigeon home to his village with a piece of ribbon tied to it's leg, this was to send the news of his victory back home.
It seems also that pigeon racing is a very popular sport in China, I think that about half of all the pigeon fanciers in the world are in China.
I saw that the American women's fencing team swept the medals for their event. Last night we did some fencing at the RockDoveFarm and while there were no crowds or medal ceremonies we had a wonderful time and were rewarded with a beautiful sunset and lovely evening.
This morning it was a cool 50 degrees F outside, just delightful. While doing my pigeon chores I noticed I was able to see my breath, so I had to share this with my wife. Debby came outside and was also able to see her breath. This is on August 12, 2008!
Apparently during the very first Olympic games in Greece the man who won the marathon race sent a pigeon home to his village with a piece of ribbon tied to it's leg, this was to send the news of his victory back home.
It seems also that pigeon racing is a very popular sport in China, I think that about half of all the pigeon fanciers in the world are in China.
I saw that the American women's fencing team swept the medals for their event. Last night we did some fencing at the RockDoveFarm and while there were no crowds or medal ceremonies we had a wonderful time and were rewarded with a beautiful sunset and lovely evening.
This morning it was a cool 50 degrees F outside, just delightful. While doing my pigeon chores I noticed I was able to see my breath, so I had to share this with my wife. Debby came outside and was also able to see her breath. This is on August 12, 2008!
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Date Night, Farmer's Market, Sewing, deer
Last night (Friday) was date night for Debby and me, we had a baby sitter for the pods and went out and had a very enjoyable dinner. It was nice for just the two of us to go out for a change.
On Saturday mornings there is a farmer's market just down the road at Riverside park in Harriman. We all went and Debby bought some fresh produce, the kids had a good time at the playground. There was live music in the park. One vendor had local honey and he gave the kids flavored honey filled straws which they enjoyed.
Debby went to Gina's today for her monthly sewing class, it was awesome! They introduced the new Bernina 830 sewing machine. We'll just add that to the Debby wish list.
On the way back from her sewing class Debby stopped at the farmer's market near Farragut. Debby learned about heirloom tomatoes and they had free range lamb, chicken, eggs, beef, etc. Debby bought some light blue eggs laid by free range arucana (sp?) chickens.
The weather is beautiful, sunny, clear, 54 degrees at the house this morning. The sky was gorgeous last night.
The pigeons got a bath this morning. I'm planning to do some work on the pigeon lofts, I've got to get the young bird team ready for training and the fall young bird races. I noticed one of the young birds was missing some feathers and had a wound on his chest, perhaps he flew into a wire or something. I had this happen to one pigeon last year.
This morning I saw a Momma deer with her baby at the edge of the woods and the pasture. I have seen them a few times before, I plan to put out another salt/mineral lick and perhaps some corn for the deer.
Puppy runs off most of the deer, we would like to change this as we enjoy seeing the deer. Hopefully we will make some progress in this area, but it's a difficult task since puppy is definitely part hunting dog. We have a shock collar but it only works out to about 75 yards, we need to get one with more range.
Sadness, three out of our seven tadpoles have died. These are the tadpoles that came from uncle Paul's farm, they are supposed to be tree frogs. The tadpoles have been transferred to a new aquarium home.
On Saturday mornings there is a farmer's market just down the road at Riverside park in Harriman. We all went and Debby bought some fresh produce, the kids had a good time at the playground. There was live music in the park. One vendor had local honey and he gave the kids flavored honey filled straws which they enjoyed.
Debby went to Gina's today for her monthly sewing class, it was awesome! They introduced the new Bernina 830 sewing machine. We'll just add that to the Debby wish list.
On the way back from her sewing class Debby stopped at the farmer's market near Farragut. Debby learned about heirloom tomatoes and they had free range lamb, chicken, eggs, beef, etc. Debby bought some light blue eggs laid by free range arucana (sp?) chickens.
The weather is beautiful, sunny, clear, 54 degrees at the house this morning. The sky was gorgeous last night.
The pigeons got a bath this morning. I'm planning to do some work on the pigeon lofts, I've got to get the young bird team ready for training and the fall young bird races. I noticed one of the young birds was missing some feathers and had a wound on his chest, perhaps he flew into a wire or something. I had this happen to one pigeon last year.
This morning I saw a Momma deer with her baby at the edge of the woods and the pasture. I have seen them a few times before, I plan to put out another salt/mineral lick and perhaps some corn for the deer.
Puppy runs off most of the deer, we would like to change this as we enjoy seeing the deer. Hopefully we will make some progress in this area, but it's a difficult task since puppy is definitely part hunting dog. We have a shock collar but it only works out to about 75 yards, we need to get one with more range.
Sadness, three out of our seven tadpoles have died. These are the tadpoles that came from uncle Paul's farm, they are supposed to be tree frogs. The tadpoles have been transferred to a new aquarium home.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Return of the Adventurers
Debby, John, and Mary returned home to the Rock Dove Farm last night after two wonderful weeks of adventure, fun, and visiting with friends and family in Virginia. The picture was sent in from Papa, it shows John and Mamaw just before the ceremony at John's summer camp (check out those stylin' hats!).
On their way back home from White Stone the adventurers visited Uncle Paul and Aunt Sharon at their farm near Danville and had an excellent time. Uncle Paul has a nice stocked pond and John caught a very large bass, both John and Mary caught (and released) several fish. The kids brought 8 tadpoles home with them that are supposed to grow into a type of tree frog.
Aunt Sharon shared some canning tips with Debby and sent some beans, potato's and other produce from their garden. We had some of those green beans last night with dinner and they were excellent!
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Gas and the Pillermobiles
I filled up my car yesterday and was pleasantly surprised at the prices, $3.65 per gallon for regular and $3.85 for 93 octane. That's the best I've seen in a while.
Like everyone else we have changed our driving habits to save money. I'm driving my 1995 Ford Taurus with 213k miles on it, it still gets 25-30 mpg. Debby is driving the 1998 GMC 4wd Suburban with about 185k miles and it gets 15 - 20 mpg. The Suburban has a 40 gallon tank so at $4/gallon it costs $160 to fill up. Ouch.
The Suburban has been a great vehicle and we'll hopefully keep it awhile. It's really nice to have a large heavy safe comfortable 4wd vehicle for trips and it's an excellent tow vehicle. We can also get a lot of stuff and people in it, sometimes we can drive it instead of two vehicles. The Suburban has been handy to have on the farm.
At the moment it makes financial sense for us to just keep using these two vehicles, with no car payments. If the price of gas goes up or if we drive more then it would make sense to get a replacement vehicle with better fuel economy.
Like everyone else we have changed our driving habits to save money. I'm driving my 1995 Ford Taurus with 213k miles on it, it still gets 25-30 mpg. Debby is driving the 1998 GMC 4wd Suburban with about 185k miles and it gets 15 - 20 mpg. The Suburban has a 40 gallon tank so at $4/gallon it costs $160 to fill up. Ouch.
The Suburban has been a great vehicle and we'll hopefully keep it awhile. It's really nice to have a large heavy safe comfortable 4wd vehicle for trips and it's an excellent tow vehicle. We can also get a lot of stuff and people in it, sometimes we can drive it instead of two vehicles. The Suburban has been handy to have on the farm.
At the moment it makes financial sense for us to just keep using these two vehicles, with no car payments. If the price of gas goes up or if we drive more then it would make sense to get a replacement vehicle with better fuel economy.
White Stone, Summer Camp
John was in White Stone this week with Mamaw, Papa, and his cousin Melanie. John attended a swimming, tennis, and golf camp this week at the Indian Creek country club.
The Kilmarnock carnival started Thursday evening and they all went and had a great time. Other activities this week included kayaking, fishing, crabbing, and taking a boat ride to Grog Island.
The picture shows John on the dock in White Stone, he was very much looking forward to that dock! Thanks Mamaw and Papa for all you did, this was again a wonderful experience for John.
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