Occupation of Independence

 I can't quite explain why meadowlarks are so enjoyable to listen to.  They are difficult to see because they run around on the ground or perch on low branches of sagebrush .  But I finally caught one of them, singing an operatic aria to the mountains of western Idaho . My little dog runs merrily through the grass, looking for critters: I think you can expand the photo with your fingers to find the little cutie in the center of the photo. A local ranch hand stopped by and chatted.  I love to soak up information, and hope that I don't overdo it and scare people off.  He said the yellow flower that grows all over the place in the spring provides a lot of protein to the cows.   Things like that are so important to somebody whose interests have shifted from scenery to Life.  Life needs Food and Water.  The grass around here is lushly green and has big seedheads.  You'd think seedheads would wait until late summer. At any rate, with such thi...

 There are times when Nature comes on as an irresistible force.  There is a violence to it.  It is relentless.  Only a few North Americans experienced the volcanic event of Mt. St. Helens .  More have experienced floods , hurricanes , tornadoes , wind, or ice storms . Recently I experienced the weird Trickster-God of nature: wet clay .  You can't necessarily see it coming from a distance, unless you see the deep tire ruts that somebody else put in it.  But the second you touch it with your feet, you just can't believe it. For one thing, your motor vehicle is stuck.  You get out to work on the situation, and you immediately have 3" of mud stuck on the bottom of your shoes, which you then track into your RV or motor vehicle. That happened to me recently with my RV.  It required a call to the towing insuring company .  It helps to remember that your insurance company might not cover you unless you are just off pavement or a maintained, gra...

 It makes good sense to feel sorry for certain countries whose livelihoods and standard of living are being run into the mud by the Israeli/American war of aggression against Iran.  It was not the fault of the people of Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and other countries in southeast Asia.  But they suffer nonetheless. Europe?  I don't really care about Europeans. On the other hand, Americans deserve to get it, good and hard.  Let's wallow in some schadenfreude if the American pickup truck market crashes.  You could say the same of RV s and side-by-sides .  I will feel content just to see these frivolous and stupid motor vehicles marked "For Sale" and parked near some highway or in a grocery store parking lot. If that makes me a bad guy, well, don't wait for an apology.

 Camping near water makes it seem like you are on a different planet for some campers (like me) who only do it once or twice a year.  A few feet away is the upstream end of Hell's Canyon .  The Snake River is blocked by dams of course. A reservoir of water brings boaters with a furious sense of urgency, even off-season.  What is the great attraction to water?  This is not to run their sport down.  It is just a chance to crawl into their heads. Driving a motorboat across a lake seems interesting for 3 minutes or so.  It just isn't all that exotic compared to driving a car to the grocery store.  Of course, on a hot day in July or August, getting wet is a great way to cool off!  Maybe much of the appeal of water doesn't come from its liquidness, but from it being public space.  Back in the city, the boater is boxed in by private property, traffic, rules, etc.   The camping here is pinched between the reservoir and the road. ...