Images from Yosemite National Park

Below are photos from our visit today (Monday, 8/13/12) to Yosemite National Park. Unfortunately, because of the extreme heat Yosemite Falls was dry as a bone and Bridal Veil Falls was nearly so. The park was still impressive, as were the efforts to reduce traffic congestion. Even so, portions of the park must be near gridlock on weekends.

Bridal Veil Falls

Yosemite Falls

El Capitan

Entering the Yosemite Valley from Route 41

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Images of Crater Lake National Park – Oregon

Phantom Ship

Phantom Ship in the foreground and Mt. Thielson in the background

Crater Lake Lodge

Vidae Falls

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Images of Lassen Volcanic National Park

Lassen Peak (volcano)

Brokeoff Mtn (volcano) in the background

Lake Helen

Sulphur mud pots

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“I’m a Pepper”…in more ways than one

Source: flickerhivemind.com

The famous tag line , “I’m a Pepper” was used by Dr. Pepper for many yeast as its advertising theme and slogan. And while I love Dr. Pepper (my favorite soft drink), it is not the only pepper that I love.

Red, yellow, and orange bell peppers are wonderfully yummy alone or prepared as part of a dish. Green are good too, but not as flavorful. I also like banana peppers and ground pepper. To the left is a photo of stoplight peppers (red, yellow, and green). And yes, they are sold in packages here as stoplight peppers.

I am also a fan of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, especially after Chad started to sing “Hail to the Victors” (Michigan Fight Song) at a concert in Buckeyetown, peppermint flavored gum and candies, as well as pepperoni served on pizza at certain occasions. I also like listening to Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart Club Band.

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The only pepper I am not a big fan of are jalapeno peppers, though I can handle the more mild ones.

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Post climate change Summer Olympic events

• Sauna cycling
• Climate change denier decathlon (make them run till they drop)
• Heat wave high-jumping
• Swimming in sweat
• Bad ass butt-blistering badminton
• Empty pool concrete crawl
• Track and burnt to a crisp fields
• Diving into melted marshmallows
• Hop, skip, and puddle jump
• Arid aerobics
• Hot as hell hammer throw
• Molten lava shot put (can you say hot potato?)
• Blistering baseball
• Torrid tennis
• Fiery flame fencing
• Hot foot gymnastics
• Desert doom marathon
• Asphalt egg-frying
• Perspiration polo
• Dead tree trunk lifting
• Bermuda short boxing
• Water bottle relay
• Mirage javelin  and discus throw
• Greenhouse gym-gastics
• Wrestling with guilt (everyone qualifies)

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Mapping costly climatic disasters in the USA

Here is a fascinating map depicting those areas of the United States with the most and least billion dollar disasters since 1980.  If you want to avoid destructive weather and climate related disasters, the south is not the place to be. On the other hand, Hawaii, Alaska, Wyoming, Michigan, New England, and Puerto Rico appear to be the safest. Sadly, with the recent glut of monstrous wildfires, Colorado may no longer be among the safer places.

Source: blog.cleanenergy.org

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Are summer turf wars really necessary?

While I was riding my bike to work the other morning, I stopped for a traffic signal to change.  As I was sitting there, I noticed four separate lawn care crews at the intersection, each distinguished by the rumble of their oversized diesel pick-up truck and attached utility trailer filled with mowers, leaf blowers and a litany of other lawn care tools and instruments. It was if reveille had been blown and the competing armies were on the move across the front lines of the summer turf wars.

In all honesty, I have never quite figured out what all the fuss is about regarding having the perfectly manicured lawn. They look so sterile and are hardly natural. You get far more interesting wildlife by “de-sterilizing” it some.

Manicured lawns may be aesthetically pleasing to some, but traditional turf is hardly good for the environment. So much of the crapola we spread, spray, pour, drop, or distribute ends up washing right down our collective storm sewers and right into the local watering holes turning them into yucky and smelly algae blooms.

When I was looking at houses some time back, a realtor told me that one homeowner they knew actually used a carpenter’s level to make sure his grass was neat, tidy, and evenly cut. As my dad used to say, “if it is green it is good.” Thankfully, he never obsessed for the perfect lawn in sure a manner.

Neither have I. Fertilizer or weed killer have been rarely applied to my lawns and then if it must, it had to be organic. I also fail to see the need to drench your yard when dry conditions take place. The grass goes dormant and brown. So what? As soon as the weather turns, it will turn green again.

While lawn care services proliferate the yellow pages, advertising, and other media, most of the time I see the summer turf wars as good money being wasted by consumers on elusive dreams. That money could have been used for something more environmentally friendly and far more productive.

Lastly, instead of hiring a service, maybe more people should get off their duff and get some light exercise taking care of their property. Every little bit helps, particularly in this era of gargantuan soft drinks, super-sized servings, and sugar-coated everything else. Just a thought.

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Ten banes of a bicycle commuter

These are presented in my order of annoyance. Please feel free to pass yours along. It might be fun to compare notes.

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1. Headwinds – Why does it always seem that I am riding into the stupid wind? Aeolus must not like urban planners who bike commute.

2. Stupid drivers – No, the crossing signal does not mean turn right and cross in front of me, you moron!

3. Ice – No explanation is necessary.

4. Cold, especially combined with a headwind

5. Uncleared trails/roads

6. Walkers/joggers wearing headphones – don’t act surprised I am passing you if you are wearing these.

7. Thunderstorms

8. Bugs in the face or helmet - got stung by a yellow jacket on top of my head once when it got stuck in my helmet.

9. High humidity

10. Unannounced construction projects

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So far (fingers crossed), in nearly five years of bike commuting I have not had an issue with dogs, but that would be high on the list if it did take place.

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Forlorn and forgotten

Loneliness is a sand volleyball court in Michigan in winter.

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Like any other Sunday…karma’s sense of humor

Don’t know about any of you, but I find many Sunday afternoons to be rather somber. Something about the end of the weekend or the start of the upcoming work week just makes me blue. This being a holiday weekend, some might ask why are you even thinking about the work week? Well, although I work for a local government, President’s Day is not a holiday that we get off. So today, is just like any other Sunday.

Sunday afternoons used to annoy the crap out of me as a kid, because I knew it meant time to get started on my homework and then wake up early for school the next morning. In college, it tended to depend on my class schedule and if I decided to skip my 7:30 a.m. Monday morning English composition class. But, once the post-graduate career began, Sunday afternoons once again became my bane. I am certain it has something to do with work or school, because I definitely do not feel it (or it is not quite as bad) on Sundays that are part of a vacation or a holiday period. The feeling on Sunday afternoons is eerily similar to the bummed out feeling I tend to get at the end of a vacation, though I think it is tougher to shake in the winter and when you are living alone.

Football season helps abate the Sunday blues to some extent as do the four major golf tournaments (for me), as long as the games/tournaments are close. If they are a blow out, forget it. So…I try to find an activity (like writing this post) to keep me busy, take a short nap, do chores, or read to pass the monotonous time. When the walls of the apartment start to close in too much, I take the dog for a walk, go for a bike ride, or do as I am doing right now – head to the library where there are people around. I may not talk to them, but somehow their presence and the constant activity is reassuring.

Apparently, I am not the only one whole feels this emotion on Sunday afternoons or evenings, as a Google search brought up 8.780 million results for the topic of “Sunday blues.” Another term listed called it “Sunday Night Syndrome.” So there must be a collective “blah” that occurs as the arrival of a new school/work week are about to dawn upon all of us. Sounds like we all could use a great big group hug.

Oh, by the way. If I had known at the ripe old age of 18 that I was going to be writing and publishing blog posts several decades in the future, I think I would have skipped sleeping in on those Monday mornings when I was supposed to be in my English composition class.  Karma sure has one hell of a sense of humor! : )

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