Colorado Wildfires and Snow

The cold temperatures and snow has helped with both of the wildfires that are still smouldering - the fire at Fern Lake in the Rocky Mountain National Park has received a lot of snow, but at 1.6 square miles, is still smouldering near large rocks and overhangs, and under thickly forested areas. The Fern Lake fire is only 17% contained. The same goes for the Wetmore fire, which is 65% contained, and covers 3 square miles. Fourteen homes were destroyed in the Wetmore fire, and almost all folks who were evacuated are being allowed to return. There is also a third wildfire, burning near Cortez.

   It's 23 degrees outside, and the sun has just gone behind a cloud, even though we are supposed to be sunny. Aiko and Yoshi had fun in the snow this morning; and Nedi went out bounding around in the snow in the back yard when I got home. Lovey checked out the snow and came right back inside. I am worried about the "Frankenstorm" over by the east coast. What a combination of nasty things! I'm wondering if the storm will affect Chincoteague and Assateague like the Ash Wednesday Storm in 1962... I hope not.

   It seems that Austin Sigg, the person accused of the murder of Jessica Ridgeway, will be tried as an adult. Also, the judge who was at the original hearing has already placed a gag order, so until the trial actually happens, more information will probably be sparse.

     Go Gators! Go Gamecocks! Go Tigers! Go Buffs!

Snow!

The young man accused of abducting and the murder of Jessica Ridgeway is just that - a young man. He is currently in the Jefferson County Courthouse, being charged for these crimes and another attempted kidnapping, in the Juvenile Court system. His defender has called him, "this child," in front of the judge. The young man is 17 years old; he is a student at a Community College; he is, surely, of an age and an intelligence to be tried as an adult. - I honestly don't know exactly how the law works here; in Florida I was on a Grand Jury that had to decide whether to try a 13-year-old as a juvenile or as an adult. Since this young man gave himself up into police custody, will there be a Grand Jury hearing? Or, since he did surrender, does he automatically go to the Juvenile system? While I was still feeling befuddled by the fact that a 17-year-old was arrested for Jessica's murder, I then read that two teens were charged in the death of the 12-year-old New Jersey girl whose body was found in a recycling bin. I know that I am repeating the question that each generation before has asked, but... "What is going on with the youth of today? Are they so inured in computer, TV and movie violence that they have no real sense of living things, or of guilt?"

   Five inches of snow fell overnight here in Boulder. Hopefully, that amount, or more, fell onto the Fern Lake fire up in RMNP. There was a little rain, but no snow in the area of the Wetmore fire, which is still raging out of control to the west of Pueblo. Aiko and Yoshi had to potty so badly that they didn't want to wait for me to get a snow shovel out this morning - they went plowing out into snow that was up to their chins to relieve themselves. I grabbed a snow shovel and was able to clear off the deck, the front walk, and several square feet of grass for the boys for later - even though we're expecting another four inches this afternoon and evening. Nedi has been out, bounding and leaping in the snow. Lovey walked out, looked at the snow, and sauntered back to the litter box.

   I'm going slightly crazy without the web at Aiko and Yoshi's house. I'd like to be able to look things up as they occur to me, and to take my time to reply to letters, but that's not going to happen until Saturday night or Sunday. So, if I owe you a reply to a letter or note, you will get one, just not quite right away....

Just Stuff

I received about 10 catalogs in the mail yesterday - clothes, shoes, boots, foundation garments, puzzles, books, and seeds and plants. I have enough stuff to dream over for awhile... I've walked the little guys and Rosie and Remy today - Oklahoma! is on the Western Channel, and I've been singing along. The kits are out sitting in the sun, and after I've blogged, I need to pack up all my fixin's to make meatballs and marinara sauce. We're supposed to have a high temperature around 75 today, and 60 tomorrow, with snow starting tomorrow night and continuing through Thursday. This morning the weather folks said that Boulder will get between 3 and 9 inches of snow, so I'll need to pack my snow boots, too.

  It was glorious out this morning - the breeze was blowing golden leaves off the trees, and they formed into rivers of gold that poured, tumbling, down the roadways. I was wearing a pair of jeans, with a T-shirt and a sweatshirt, and was very comfortable. It was chilly at 7:30, but very nice by 9 a.m., and it's very nice in the sun in the back yard, at the moment. Last week, the neighborhood where I spend most of my time house-sitting and dog-walking, had several visits by one or a couple of black bears. They (or it) left multiple piles of scat, broke some bird feeders, and bent several wrought iron stands and hangers. Hopefully, with the on-coming cold and snow, the bears will den up, and we won't have to worry about them for a little while.

  Two ski slopes are already open here in Colorado - Arapahoe Basin opened 10 days ago, and Loveland ski area opened this morning. ... The authorities are still seeking the abductor and killer of Jessica Ridgeway. Police this morning said that there is a definite connection between Jessica's taker and a man who tried to grab, or abduct, a female jogger last May in a Denver park. Police are not saying what the connection is between the two.

  Even though I have already voted, I watched the debate last night between Obama and Romney. Romney and Ryan will appear at Red Rocks this evening, and Obama will appear at a public park in Denver tomorrow.

A Beautiful Day

It's 57 degrees outside, the sun is shining in an almost cloudless sky, and a soft breeze puffs through the screens at times.  It's gorgeous!  Both kits are lying on the concrete patio, soaking up the sun, and occasionally annoying the birds and squirrels.  Lovey spent most of last night and this morning snuggled on my chest.  Nedi was curled up next to me on the sofa.  We enjoyed the Gator game yesterday afternoon and evening, and then agonized over the last half of the Gamecocks - LSU game.
It's half-time in the Jets and Colts game, and I am very happy that the Jets are actually leading!
   The local communities are still grieving the loss of Jessica Ridgeway, aged 10.  Memorial services and candle-light vigils are being held across the state.  It was with surprise that I read of the missing UF student, Christian Aguilar - the media out here hasn't covered his disappearance at all.  And to now read that authorities believe that his body was discovered by deer hunters near Cedar Key is very depressing, on top of the news regarding Jessica.  A very bright, hard-working student, who had such high dreams and goals is a loss to our nation.  I know that Pedro Bravo was arrested for Christian's murder.  I hope that all the evidence is clean and clear.  This is just so sad...
   England has been fighting a  rising TB infection rate in it's beef cattle for the past 10 years.  Scientists have decided that the nocturnal badger is the carrier of this disease, and are now planning to kill 70% of all living badgers in Gloucestershire and Somerset.  Some studies suggest that if this plan is carried through, there will still be a high and increasing rate of beef TB, and a lot of badgers will die for no reason.  Naturalist David Attenborough is against this planned kill, and has posted his opinion in the London Daily Times. Don't you think we should support one of the most knowledgeable naturalists in the world?

Growing Up Without Fear

It's a grey day outside. I'm wearing blue Gator sweatpants and an orange Gators T-shirt. It's 50 degrees here in Boulder, but is snowing like mad at Vail and along the Continental Divide. It's nice to watch the snow fall on the camera view and be warm at home. I've got the back door open about 6 inches, and Nedi is chasing the ravens and squirrels out in the back yard. He runs back inside with his eyes hugely dilated and fluffed up and dives under the bed - sometimes the ravens stop at the patio, and sometimes they fly in and back out... They know me, and that I won't harm them. The squirrels are also used to my cats chasing them; they will run away for a while, but then they turn and charge back at the cats. The cats promptly put on their brakes, and they have a staring contest. Then the kits usually turn their attention elsewhere and ignore the squirrels for a spell. Lovey went out for a while this morning, then came back in and sneezed all over me. After sitting on my shoulder for 5 minutes, she's gone over to the reading chair, and is curled up there.

   I guess I read too many mystery books; after Jessica Ridgeway had been missing for 48 hours, I had small hope she'd be found alive and well, and after 72 hours I thought she was dead. The poor little girl. Someone with hopes, dreams and her own unique ideas is lost to our society. I hope her abductor is caught soon, and I hope the state manages to get an air-tight case against this monster.

   I was a lucky child - I had loving and caring parents, and I grew up at a time when the atrocities committed against kids today were extremely rare. I cannot remember being afraid, or "being on watch", at any time as a child. (We did live a mile away from a prison where the trustees did road work for the county, and I think I recall two times when there was an "escape" and we were told to lock our doors...) I remember wandering far and alone when I was 4 and living in Texas - walking out of the sight of our subdivision and following irrigation ditches through fields of grain that had grown taller than my head. And I was never afraid wandering around on Chincoteague or Assateague Islands, either. Once I was 14, and I knew about sex, I was more careful - but I still felt safe. I guess I was a tremendously lucky kid.

Arvada Body IS Jessica Ridgeway

The FBI and police have just confirmed that the "not intact" body found Wednesday night belongs to Jessica Ridgeway, the 10 year old girl missing from Westminster. Let's catch the monster that did this.  All children are our future hopes and dreams.  Jessica deserved to live to see her dreams.

A Good Debate, Sad Games; Body To Be ID'd

The police are supposed to hold a news conference around noon today in hope of being able to identify the body found in Arvada Wednesday evening. The body was found during the search for Jessica Ridgeway, 10, missing for a week. Police have said that the body found was "not intact." I have also heard the words "dismembered" and "in pieces" to describe what was found. This is a horrific find, whether the body is Jessica's or not. Hopefully, we'll find out an identity today.

   I enjoyed the Vice Presidential debate last night - there was some interesting give and take, and the moderator pretty much kept control. Also last night, was the CU Buffs game on ESPN; the Buffs were doing very well until the second half. At half time, the score was Arizona State 20, CU 17 - and the second quarter had been great. But the Buffs kicked off to ASU to start the third quarter; they ran the kick right back for a TD, and from then on, the game was a bust. Final score: Arizona 51, CU 17. And then, Maurkice Pouncey was injured during the Titans - Steelers game.... (**sigh**)

   Tomorrow I plan on watching the Gators against Vandy, then the Gamecocks against LSU. I'll be rooting for the G's, of course.

   Lovey and Nedi are continuing to let me sleep in - at least until 7:30. While I'm home, I let them run out and about in the back yard - loud noises and strangers cause them to run back inside, for which I'm grateful. Lovey's mouth looks good to me, but she'll see the vet Tuesday. I want to be certain that she is healing properly. Nedi has been cuddling at night; I don't know if it's because he's happy I'm home, or if it's because it's getting cold outside at night. All I know is that I love my little kitties... (And, as very few folks have looked at my photos from different countries, I'm going to stop posting them, and go back to whatever catches my fancy...)

Body Found, Not Yet ID'd; Is It Jessica Ridgeway?

Yesterday evening, police found a body in an open space area of Arvada, 10 miles from where the girl's backpack was found in Superior. The area has been identified as the Pattridge Park Open Space. Arvada police say that includes 82nd Avenue between SR Colorado 93 and Indiana Street. Federal and police investigators swarmed a grassy area north of West 82 Avenue and east of the BFI landfill on Wednesday. They were aided by lights and were using a fire truck's extended ladder to get a better view. Their work was focused near a building that appears to be a remnant of an old mining operation.

 Police say that the body has not been identified, and that it may take several weeks to do so. In the meantime, the search for Jessica Ridgeway goes on - she has now been missing for 170 hours.

The wildfire at Fern Lake Trail in Rocky Mountain National Park is still burning out of control. It is overcast here today, and one can still see pieces of ash in the air. .... Zoey Ripple, the CU co-ed who was shot in the bedroom of a stranger's house, while so intoxicated she could not verbally respond to the owners warnings, has made a plea deal. She pleaded guilty to felony breaking and entering and trespass; she received an 18 month suspended sentence. If she has no further run-ins with law enforcement, her felony conviction will be removed from her record. She still has the bullet she was shot with inside her body - it can't be removed at this time. She and her attorney are now saying that she must have been drugged with "the date rape drug" at one of the parties she attended that evening. I have a problem with that, as she was taken to the ER and had emergency surgery. When I worked in the hospital, each emergency surgery patient had an STD and drug test run upon admittance. I can't see that a dose of "rufy" would have gone undetected by the MDs during or after her surgery, along with the fact that her blood alcohol level was 4 times the legal amount. I think she was just completely sloshed. ....

RMNP Fire; Jessica Still Missing

The Fern Lake wild fire in Rocky Mountain National Park has spread to over 400 acres and is completely uncontained.  Due to windy conditions, the fire was allowed to burn in all directions today.  The fire was watched, but no fighting could be done.  Winds are supposed to be calm tomorrow, and 120 fire fighters are scheduled to work on containing the fire, with air support from one heavy-lift helicopter and a large slurry tanker.  Small pieces of ash were falling in Boulder today from the RMNP fire; the air was very hazy.
   Jessica Ridgeway is still missing. Tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. MDT, she will have been missing for 1 week - 168 hours.  She could be anywhere in the United States, or in another country by now.  The FBI has cleared her parents and relatives of any wrong-doing.  This 10-year-old girl disappeared within a 3-block radius of her home, walking to join friends, to walk to school.  Please stay alert for any possible sighting of this young girl.

Genealogy & Countries of the World

  Gee, the kits let me sleep in until 8:30 again! I'm amazed. I let them run in and out all day yesterday, and they spent quite a bit of time outside. Today, it's 15 degrees cooler, and Nedi is curled up in the afghan, while Lovey has opted for the Snooze Cube. I've been finishing work on a relatives family tree; once again, the person was told that a certain relative was a Native American, and it turns out they are not. I'm afraid I disappointed Patti. I was able to find photos of her great-grandmother's aunt, her great-grandmother's father, and one set of the person's grandparents, as well as all the dates and places information. I didn't find any mention of Indian blood, nor any hint of it in family discussions.... However, I report what I find, and won't make up stuff.

Jessica Ridgeway is still missing. Please let other people know that this 10-year-old girl has vanished. She needs to be found.

  In case you're wondering about the photos that I'm posting from different countries, it's because I realized (the other day) that I couldn't name all the countries on our planet; large countries, yes; countries frequently in the news, yes; others, no. There are 257 countries on our planet today, and 66 of them are disputed; so I decided to post photos from all the countries. I don't remember hearing of Akrotiri previously, but I found that it is on a peninsula of the island of Cyprus.  (See yesterday's photos)  ... At least I'm still learning a few new things as I grow older.

Vacation

I went to bed last night after the Saints won their game - and I slept for almost 12 hours. It was wonderful not to have to get up at a certain time. Of course, Nedi wanted me up at 5:30, and Lovey thought 7 was the ideal time to arise, but I didn't get up until 8:20 this morning. Comfort! It's in the low 60s right now, and Nedi and Lovey are travelling in and out the back door, playing outside and then coming back in to check up on me. Lovey has spent quite a bit of time just crouched down in the sun - I hope the sun will help her continue to heal well and quickly. Nedi is observing and chasing the birds and insects and squirrels, as usual. I had a late breakfast and took my meds, and could easily curl up again and go back to sleep - but, I do need to do a few things around the house: take out the recycling and clean out the 'fridge... Then again, I can always do that tomorrow!

   Jessica Ridgewy is still missing - this makes it over 72 hours sine she disappeared on her walk to school Friday. Yesterday afternoon, her backpack was found in a residential neighborhood 6.2 miles from her home; police and bloodhounds are searching that area now. Poor kid. If she's still alive her hair may have been cut and/or dyed another color, so please look carefully at her features, the gap between her front teeth, the fact that her ears are pierced, and that she is supposed to wear glasses (I always squint without mine):

I hope she is found safe, and alive, soon.

Jessica Ridgeway is Missing

Ten-year-old Jessica Ridgeway is still missing. Jessica is 4 feet 10 inches tall, and weighs 80 pounds. She is blond haired (shoulder length) and has blue eyes, and she wears prescription eye glasses with pink and purple frames. She disappeared while walking to school on Friday morning in Westminster, Colorado. She was last seen at 8:30 in the morning, on her way to meet friends three blocks away, with whom she usually walked to school. She didn't appear at the regular meeting place. She was wearing blue jeans, a black jacket, and black leather boots with pom-pom ties. If you have any information about Jessica, please contact the Denver Police, or your local police department.

Jessica Ridgeway, aged 10; blond hair, blue eyes; 4' 10", 80 pounds

MISSING

 

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  It's 28 degrees outside, with a wind chill of 23; and the humidity is at 86%. Belen just said that we should reach 50 degrees for a high today, and we'll be in the upper 60s for the rest of the week, with only Tuesday being cooler. I'll certainly welcome the sun again. I've never liked grey cloudy days, and as I get older, I find I dislike them even more. At least the heater in the apartment is working, and for the 8th fall I don't have a radiator leak. The Komen Race For the Cure was just won in Denver, and the young man who won was running for his Aunt, who has breast cancer, and for his Mom, who has bone cancer. That was a great interview.

   Since it's Sunday, I'll be rooting for the Redskins and the Broncos (tomorrow night for the Jets). Finn and Skippy's folks will take me over to Peach's later this morning, and, depending on whether Peter is home and awake, I'll either stay there, or go over to Kathy and Jim's, as I'll need to let Peach out every two to three hours. Then, this evening, I get to come home, love the kits, and pass out of history for two weeks. Don't worry, I'll blog - but only when I really have something to say.