Saturday, July 18, 2009

Iowa to Michael Jackson: No Butter Sculpture

So -- it's been decided - no Michael Jackson memorialized in butter at this year's Iowa State Fair! Read all about it here. Plus, you might enjoy some of the comments. Even the non-dairy spread Earth Balance is mentioned!

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Something Old - Something New


The old: A slice of this ancient oak was exposed by ice age floods and then found by road crews in the 1930s in Central Washington, sage brush country near Vantage by the Columbia River. This petrified example and several hundred others, including the rare Ginkgo, are on display at the Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park that Dave and I visited this past Sunday. Plus, there are some petroglyphs on display that were salvaged from oblivion when the nearby Wanapum Dam was built. An eloquent park ranger willingly shared lots of information with us.


The new: The guide here at the Wild Horse Wind Facility ten miles from the Park on Vantage Highway, was quite informative too, as were the displays in this visitor's center. This relatively new 9000 acre wind farm currently has 127 wind turbines with more in construction. Note the 'old-fashioned' windmill in the picture - like the one on our farm (except ours was metal and had a ladder) where my dad had to rescue me when I was about four and I tried climbing its ladder!

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Kasey Recommends

On a hot summer day, Kasey finds this napping position very comfortable.