Happy Halloween

One of my favorite books to read to children when I was a librarian is the story of Sifty Sifty Sam written by Angela Shelf Medearis. (See her biography.) Medearis is a wonderful writer of children's books as well as writer of cookbooks. She lives in Austin, Texas.

Below is an excerpt especially for Halloween. Of course when one reads this story one has to use a folksy, Texas (or some kind of Southern) voice. That comes naturally for me as I grew up in the deep south. Oh what fun!

The Ghost of Sifty Sifty Sam
by Angela Shelf Medearis

Deep down in the East Texas woods,
where the wind wails through the tall pine trees,
there stands a beautiful old house.
That old house sits by a lake that's so clear,
the moon uses it for a mirror.
Now folks in those parts say
that the house is haunted
by the ghost of Sifty Sifty Sam.

When everything is still and dark,
old Sam appears.
That's when all the mischief starts.
He wails and he howls and he rattles his chains.
Then he screeches so loud it shakes the windowpanes.
Old Sam roams around the house every night,
scaring scaring anyone who comes into sight.

Rio Grande near Taos, NM

On a pretty October afternoon we rode along the Rio Grande just south of Taos. The river winds through the gorge in this area and is lovely to see. The ride between Taos and Sante Fe is one of our favorite drives.

Looking south along the Rio Grande

Autumn foliage

Looking north along the Rio Grande

West rim of the gorge

East rim of the gorge

Looking down along the river

Dogs playing in the Rio Grande

Driving through Zion National Park

Nice vistas driving into Zion National Park.
The trees are not as colorful as we saw at the Grand Canyon.
Here are mostly evergreens, but the color is in the rocks.

Before entering the park is a ranch where the buffalo roam.

The mountains are very rocky.

Mountain goats were seen on the sides of the mountain...

...and down in the canyon.
People stopped to take photographs.

Deep red rocks...

...and these young men are going to climb.
Hope they are wearing sunscreen!
Even though it's cool the sun is intense.

Gerald (below) & me (above) enjoying the sights.

Waterfalls

Taken near the lodge and visitor center.

Yes, this guy is real! Didn't he pose well?

Pretty Window

Gail's Window

When the G-man & I were in California last month I drove to Redlands one morning to have breakfast with a dear friend of mine. He & I have known each other since 1975 when his wife, G3, and I took weaving classes together at the Southwest Craft Center in San Antonio, TX. She was a very talented fiber artist. Over the years G3 and I kept in touch. When they lived in Texas we would visit back & forth and twice I met Pablo & G3 in Spain.

Somewhere along the way they settled in California and I visited them once there. That was about 20 years ago. We wrote & when the Internet & email came about we kept up that way. About 5 years ago my emails went unanswered, but I was not too concerned; also I was caught up in my own little world of being separated from my then husband. It was 3 months before Pablo had the presence of mind to call & let me know G3 had died of complications from pneumonia. It was so sudden and unexpected; she was getting better from this nagging little illness.

Since then we have kept in contact pretty regularly. Pablo has met the G-man & me when we go to Nevada for golf tournaments, we talk by phone, & email one another. So it was nice to visit him at his home. The photo above is what I call "Gail's Window". It is just as I remember it from when they first moved into this quaint house in the midst of an orange grove. The sun was shining in so nicely when I visited & I couldn't help but snap this little visual image of the kind of person G3 was. She has been greatly missed by all who knew her. I think it helped somewhat that I visited their home & her studio once again. On the corner of my desk is a little shrine in her memory. I have little things there that she gave me; a photo of her, a little pocket doll, an etching of an Indian woman, a piece of her fiber jewelry. I will always remember her.

Today I emailed this photo to Pablo and decided I would write about my dear friend and show you all her beautiful window.

Above is a chair G3 had made for me with the initials L. F. on the back.
I didn't do a good job of photographing it.

Blog Action Day - Climate Change 2009

I came upon Blog Action Day from Lakeviewer at sixtyfivewhatnow and again from Holli at Holli's Ramblings. I was unaware Global Action Day was October 15. Holli wrote about the removal of giant tree stumps in Ghana that are being taken to England for and exhibit to center on the issues of deforestation. If you have not done so read her article by clicking on the link above.



My writings of late celebrate the beauty of the national forests and parks in the United States, but if it were not for the farsighted people who designated these areas we would not have them to enjoy... and we should never take them for granted. I am compelled to include in my blog today a bit of information about conservation efforts that have taken place in the United States and the wonderful results of those efforts.

Environmentalists & conservationists who come to mind are John Muir, Rachel Carson, Theodore Roosevelt, Lady Bird Johnson, and Bill Clinton. The beautiful Muir Woods full of Redwood trees are found in Marin County just over the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco, CA. Throughout her life Rachel Carson wrote about the need to protect our environment; her best known book is "Silent Spring".

President Theodore Roosevelt was responsible during his presidency for establishing five national parks (Crater Lake, Oregon; Wind Cave, South Dakota; Mesa Verde, Colorado; Sullys Hill, North Dakota; and Platt, Oklahoma). More information can be found by clicking on this link to Theodore Roosevelt and the National Park System.

Lady Bird Johnson was instrumental in bringing the attention of the beauty of the roadsides to the American people. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is located in Austin, TX and is dedicated to bringing knowledge of our native plants to all.

President Bill Clinton in 1996 designated (perhaps the last area put aside in our country) the Grand Staircase Escalante as a National Monument and is managed by the Bureau of Land Management rather than by the National Parks Service. This along with Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks are located in Utah. These are very near the Grand Canyon in which is located in northern Arizona and I have visited each.

Escalante - The Grand Staircase
(Photo borrowed from the Internet)

Yellowstone National Park is my favorite of the parks I have visited (I spent 5 days on a horse-packing expedition in Yellowstone in the mid-1990s--one of my greatest experiences). In 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant signed a law declaring that Yellowstone would forever be "dedicated and set apart as a public park or pleasuring ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people." Yellowstone is a giant caldera where the vestiges of volcanoes can be seen. It is an amazing place to visit with its enormous lake, beautiful valleys and meadows, geysers and hot springs (which are extremely hot and acidic and deadly to humans and most animals). Just outside Yellowstone is the Grand Tetons National Park which I have driven past but not driven into for a visit.

Geyser at Yellowstone
(Photo borrowed from the Internet)

Of course the Grand Canyon has high ranking and is especially on my mind as my husband & I recently had the pleasure of hiking and enjoying the views there. Several of my previous blog posts & a few more to come will have more photos of the canyon and its vastness. The majesty and beauty of the canyon is marred by a layer of smog hanging within the canyon brought forth from cities to the west and the south as well as from Mexico. It is sad that there is no longer purity in viewing the canyon. However, if you have never been it is a true wonder so see... and if you are from the U. S. make every effort to visit as many of our national parks and preserves as you can...

The Grand Canyon - Cape Royal Point

Images above & below taken at Cape Royal Point
(Altitude 7865 ft or 2398 m)

I took these images and cannot do justice to the grandeur of the canyon.

Each of these parks, preserves and monuments protects the flora, fauna and integrity of the land. It is an amazingly wonderful thing. I feel privileged to have visited as many as I have and know there are so many more yet to be seen. There will be more photos of mine in the days ahead of the Grand Canyon and Zion National Park which I hope you will enjoy.

Just Ridin' Along in My Automobile

No Particular Place to Go

by Chuck Berry

Riding along in my automobile
My baby beside me at the wheel
I stole a kiss at the turn of a mile
my curiosity running wild
cruisin' and playin' the radio
with no particular place to go

We are actually driving through the Kaibab National Forest
on the way into the Grand Canyon National Park.

In my last post I spoke of how the aspen take over after a fire.
Below is a good example of how this looks.
Many new aspen trees are covering the hillside.

The next photo shows how the aspen look after a few years.
You can see the evergreens interspersed among the aspen - or vice versa.

Lovely meadow where a water hole is fenced off to keep the cattle out, but allow the wildlife to jump the fence to obtain their water. Interesting way of doing things, but effective as cattle usually will not jump a fence. The cattle roam freely in this area and have another water source. We however did not see any cattle and I suspect they have been moved to another location in readiness for the harsh winter that is approaching.

Beautiful aspens.