I know.

This is a video about a squirrel.

My hope for life was to never become this sort of person. But I guess that my efforts have been in vain, because here is a video of a squirrel's story. And it made me smile.

i wish i wish i wish i wish i wish, i wish.

Train to nowhere

I have a slight obsession with trains. I can follow it back to the first time I realized that trains deviate off the path of the highway to run their own course through land that I will never see; unless I start to drive the train maintenance roads, which could fill a lifetime of hours.

#uck the deliveries

Fuck the deliveries, originally uploaded by Funky64.

No, this is not mine.
Nor can I take any credit for the title.
But, if I may say: It's right on.

Brine Shrimp on the Great Salt lake

I am an industrial oil refinery

This is what I am told. I dish out massive amounts of the goods, without disclosing where or when they were created. Sounds like I'm creating my own following of consumers. I am Martha Stewart. No. Just a bad dream.

Here is my disclosure as follows: I've been wandering the western half of the states. Specifically from the Pawnee Grasslands of Colorado, to the Great Salt Lake of Utah. I'm in constant awe of the horizon. "Stop" has not yet lost its ability to cause a spike in Chris's blood pressure. I've promised to wait till the vehicle has come to a complete stop before I throw myself out into the cold. And it has been cold.

I hope that you're enjoying my photos as much as I am enjoying creating them. My stats say that many are looking, but that few actually praise me.. I like praise.

wild horses

The Great Salt Lake

turbines

Ecostar Satellite Super Power

From the house of Galli

Chris: "Big news!"
Me: "..."
Chris: "Eighty wants to be baptized!"
Me: "......"

Smithsonian Photo Contest Travel Winner

This is not my photo- although I wish that I could claim it.

It is titled: Dining in Gion, by Bogdan Bratosin, taken January 2008, Kyoto, Japan and is the winner of the Smithsonian Travel Contest.

Want to hear a good story?

The Homeless. The Houseless. People who lack "fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence"-according to Wikipedia. What lead them to their current stasis? Have you ever paused to question this?

"Brother can you spare some change? Maybe a change in perception?"

Imagine all of the stories that are out there- tucked away in the pockets of our fellow citizens. If only someone had the time to pose the questions? Most people probably don't care, it may even be beneath them to do so. I admit that my curiosity will probably kill the cat in the end.

It is the homeless people who use our cities. Yes I know- they may not contribute as grandly to our sales taxes as us housed individuals, but they are the ones who live literally in our communities. They are the eyes and the ears, the secret keepers and the invisible. I'd bet that they know more about our communities than we do, assuming that all who are reading this have houses to live in.

So, the point of this rant is that although I have a degree in urban planning- and I realize that bureaucracy is a given piece of the larger picture, the smaller picture consists of people. It is the people who create the culture who therefor form the communities within our cities- whether they happen to live within four walls or not.

That being said, isn't it worth the time to ask the questions in order to find the answers before more of us end up towing our stories in the pockets of our layers?

I love solicitors

The Morman Missionaries found us again- I'm thinking that it would be easier to break lose from a gang. Is there such a thing as non-mojo witness protection? And why are they always so handsome? A young man in a suit always gets my attention. What I really want is to ask them if they are seriously still- you know what I'm saying. But instead I keep my whit’s about me and smile..."no, I already have the Book of Morman...but if your willing to read it to me, well then, o.k, what’s one more.”

Pawnee National Grasslands

How much time do you have?

It's now cold and windy here in Fort Collins. I've established that this is the beginning of the end until April of 2010, at least in my geographic location..or possibly limited to the six by six square foot area in which I am inhabiting at the moment.

So here I am, protected in my many layers of soft and fuzzy fabrics, catching up on the world of Internet. One good thing about uninhabitable weather is that it affords me the much-appreciated time to steep in what others are thinking about this thing called life, and the world that we share.

100 Abandoned Houses is a photo collection of abandoned homes of Detroit. Although the photos are definitely worth your time, what I really found interesting was the article linked in the About section, and the comments that follow the article. I may have just called myself out as a nerd..hopefully my fellow planner friends will also feel the love.


http://www.100abandonedhouses.com/

And the link that I mentioned above. detriot and how it got this way

Why I refuse to grow up

One final paragraph of advice: Do not burn yourself out. Be as I am-a reluctant enthusiast... a part time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it is still there. So get out there and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, encounter the grizz, climb the mountains. Run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, that lovely, mysterious and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to your body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much: I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those deskbound people with their hearts in a safe deposit box and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this:

You will outlive the bastards.

--Edward Abbey

Tour De Fat, Fort Collins. 2009

I think that the Tour is the best people watching of the year. Click on the photo to see more.

Quote of the Day

"Crown molding is Mind Blowing!" -Chris

I think that his brain was actually smoking.

O.k., o.k., o.k. Here's what I've been up to

Chris and I played some serious hooky, serious hooky- we left a pile of wood and a compressor in the middle of the living room floor, and went to Utah for the U.S. National Paragliding Competition. 7 days of continuous flying for Chris, and 7 days of sun, rest and wind for me. What more could a girl want?

The pictures above are linked to my photos of the competition; and yes, they are strippers..but we prefer to call them 'Fluffers'.

Monster Man

Bye- bye Mr. Munkey-Man

Say Good Bye to Mr. Munky Man. As Fuzzy and cute as he is, a domesticated pet he is definitely not. If your child ever brings home a tempting little chipmunk and asks "Please, oh please can we keep him?" Don't even think twice. Just say "NO".

Tomorrow, we head out to where we found Munk to return him to his home land. It'll be sad I'm sure, but everything must come to an end.. right?

I imagine that he'll look over his furry little shoulder, wish us fair well, and skip into the forest of pine. Never to be seen again. And my good deed will be done.

I need a new subject

Luminosity

a first for everything

I successfully administered the Heimlich Maneuver last night... on a chipmunk. Who would've known that I've still got it in me? ... so cool under pressure.

I guess that if he continues to eat with this much gusto I should keep my Blue Cross certification current.

Jersey-Munk-Chip-Cha-Cha

It's a long story. Just know that we have added an addition to the Galli family. His name is Jersey-Munk-Chip-Cha-Cha and he's a beauty.

We found J.M.CCC at a ranch in Lovell. Nathan spotted him and gave it his best to ignore the fact that his naked little body -the chipmunks that is, was beginning to freeze to death in the cold, and that an over weight woman who couldn't decide between food or the bathroom came dangerously close to stepping on him more times than a cat has life's. Needless to say, I'm proud that Nathans heart is is still in working order and that he decided to help the little guy before he became chipmunk pie.

We are raising J.M.CCC to go back to the wild at the approximate ripe old age of 10 weeks. He is now about four weeks old, has just opened his eyes as of yesterday and has his own agenda- definitely taking after Nathan.

How will you insure that he stays wild you ask? His and her chipmunk costumes. Thank god we don't throw anything away.

The Great Salt Lake