And just when you thought...

...it couldn't get anymore ridiculous.  Ladies and Gentlemen:

The solar eclipse on Monday is RACIST

H/T David Thompson

Winter Weather Humououour

I've been watching Jim Cantore on The Weather Channel this morning, and laughing at his antics. Don't you love Jim? He's trying to remain upright in a blizzard in Plymouth, Massachusetts,  He's covered with snow, and I don't think he can see out of his frozen glasses. The snow is falling in buckets, and the wind is howling. However, in spite of the brutal conditions, he's dancing! He's pumping his fists in the air! He's running, and leaping, and twirling in circles! He's screaming "YES! YES! YES!" What could make a middle-aged man and seasoned weather reporter act like a little kid?

Why, THUNDERSNOW of course!

And here in the South, we're battening down the hatches for freezing rain and snow this afternoon, tonight, and tomorrow. Winter storm Octavia is bearing down from the the frigid nether-regions to give the budding fruit trees and roses a reality check. Everyone in the Ozarks has purchased their obligatory extra gallon of milk, flashlights have fresh batteries, la casa Redhawk has stocked plenty of food for my spoiled pups Molly and Bella, and my little power converter is charged. The wood stove is ready for action in case the ice accumulations take down the power lines, which seems to be a yearly occurrence in February.

I have a good book that I just started (Defending Jacob, by William Landay) and a great supply of tea, cocoa, and coffee. I have tortilla chips, cheese, and jalapenos to indulge my nacho cravings, as well as other fun "snowed-in" foods. I have projects to work on, and big furry warm socks to wear with my jammies.

Bring it, winter! My 8" high cucumber and tomato plants in the kitchen know that spring is right around the corner.

Beautiful redbud blossoms...any day week month now! Hah!

Water Is A God-Given Right.

Hand over your wallet, you evil taxpayers!

Garner said the reality is that nearly half of Detroit Water and Sewerage customers can’t pay their bills; and that has led activists to lobby the UN to step up and take action.

“If they do contact us we are willing to speak with them,” she said, adding “We owe it to the customers that are paying to collect from those that aren’t. Somebody has to pay for the water.”

And while Garner says water is “a God-given right,” she says there is a cost to move water from the water resource to the customer and that the infrastructure costs money.

*snip*

Posted Kathy Ward, “This is just insane. If someone is that destitute that they truly cannot afford their water bill, there are already welfare programs in place for that. I’m guessing those same people not paying their water also have a TV, cable, I-phone, etc. People need to get their priorities straight, not expect another government handout.”

Ouchie. That had to hurt.

Rebellion In Rural Arizona

The White Mountains of Arizona are a rugged range that extends across central Arizona and into New Mexico. These mountains are beautiful, and elevations can reach over 11,000 feet. Alpine is a tiny little town tucked into a mountain valley.  It seems that the locals there have taken up torches and pitchforks against the federal government and the wolf reintroduction program. Again. This program has been fought over for years, and there are many facets to both sides of the argument.

The presence of wolves, who are responsible for the killing and harassment of livestock, is resulting in “despair, fear and hopelessness” in the rural community, she said. Wolves are also responsible for lowering the quality of beef. “Consumers demand high quality meat, the product of gentle handling, a low stress lifestyle. Growing up in a den of predators is not conducive to choice beef.”

Many speakers described  U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the architects of the wolf reintroduction program, as a failed agency. Patrick Bray, Executive Vice President of the Arizona Cattlemen’s Association, said Fish and Wildlife “has stalled out. I think it’s safe to say the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has failed at this program. It seems the only way we can manage this program is by dragging our feet.

“The sad thing about the wolf program now is that it is not managed by science and common sense, it’s managed by politics and lawsuits.”

You can read more here.

Not On The News Feed

Over a hundred thousand acres of the most beautiful forest on earth is burning.  The Wallow Fire in the remote eastern Arizona timberland is uncontrolled as of today, and towns are being evacuated ahead of the inferno.

Residents of Alpine and Nutrioso were evacuated from their homes last night as the Wallow Fire raged on. The fire has consumed 106,000 acres and is at zero percent containment as of Friday, June 3.

 Much of this area is well over 8,000 feet in elevation.  Every spring, after the snowpack melts, the winds come a-blowin' and turn the forest into a tinderbox.  The country is very rugged and much of it is inaccessible except by foot, horseback, or parachute.  I love this forest, and have spent many years hiking, hunting, snowmobiling, and fishing there.  This gives you an idea of what the forest looked like before the fire:

And now...

Please say an extra prayer for the firefighters/smoke jumpers who are battling this monster, and for the people and animals fleeing ahead of the flames.

UPDATE:  6/7   Here's a photo taken this afternoon, from Springerville.  Evacuations are currently underway.

UPDATE:  6/8:  From Springerville:

This Too is London

Amateur photographer Alex Saberi has captured some amazing photos of wilds of England - in the middle of London!

(Richmond Park really does seem to be pretty close in!)

HT: Instapundit.

For florrie....it's spring!

I'm not exactly a great photographer like Matt, aridog, and florrie, but here's my humble offering.  One of these days I'll post some of Noah's photos; he's really good too!

Peach blossoms on a tree we planted last spring.

Purple hyacinth in our bulb garden.  At least I think it's hyacinth!

Redbud blossoms.

Pink hyacinth.

New green leaves on our little plum tree!

It's Not Nice To Fool With Mother Nature

I've read bits and snippets about the theory that the contrails decorating our skies contain chemical additives, but I didn't realize the "chem-trail" theory had such ardent supporters.  From a small, eastern Arizona newspaper:

She might be retired from political life, but former state senator Karen Johnson is not retired from being an activist. After serving in the House of Representatives for eight years and the senate for four, Johnson retired in 2008 to her home in Linden where she now has time to garden and become more active in issues that concern her.

One of these issues took her on a recent trip back to the state capital to try to bring the subject of chemtrails and geoengineering to her former colleagues, including Governor Jan Brewer and Senator Sylvia Allen who is from Snowflake.

Taking several people active in the chemtrail debate with her, Johnson visited the House, the Senate and Governor Brewer's offices, dropping off packets that contain the DVD "What in the World are they spraying," and articles and information on the subject.

At first, my reaction was "huh?". Then, as I read the article and the comments that followed, I found myself shaking my head. "Who are these nuts, anyway?" I thought. "Don't Arizona's legislators have more important issues to deal with?" However, the article kept nagging at me.

The proponents of the whole "chem-trail" debate seem to be regular folks, not foaming-at-the-mouth conspiracy nuts. Investigative journalism is dead and cold, and the government lies about pretty much everything. What if these "chem-trail" people are right, and our scientists ARE secretly attempting to geo-engineer our environment to counter global warming? Is this the cause for our wacky weather? Did someone in the lab get a little too happy with earth-cooling chemicals?

I'm reasonably sure that the streaks in the sky are just water vapor. Reasonably sure.