Photos - Winter in Southern States

Phoenix, Arizona

Key West, Florida

Tallahassee, Florida

New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans, Louisiana

Pascagoula, Mississippi

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Houston, Texas

Disasters & Volunteers - Photos

Hurricane Harvey volunteers

Hurricane Harvey

Hurricane Harvey evacuees

St Maarten after Hurricane Irma

Canadian aid workers heading for St Maarten

My best friend's back yard in Fort Pierce, FL this morning

Key Largo after Irma

Key Largo after Irma

Jacksonville, FL before Irma

Jacksonville, FL during Irma

University of Florida in Gainesville

Fort Lauderdale hotel parking lot

Wildfires in Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, & Colorado

Since the beginning of March, it seems as if there has been a "Huge Sale" on wildfires.  There's a relatively small wildfire that began on 4 March in Mississippi; named the Missala, it's 90% contained and has burned 500 acres.  Florida has four wildfires burning: the Badcock Grub Road fire is 75% contained and has burned 400 acres; the Hickory Tree fire is also 75% contained, but has burned only 110 acres. The Trail fire, southwest of Miami-Dade, has burned 1,065 acres and is 75 % contained.  The big fire in Florida is the Lee Williams Road fire that has burned 6,500 acres and is only 15% contained.
  Our two major wildfires in Colorado have almost burned out, and are 100% contained.  The Wellington fire in Larimer County burned 2,000 acres.  The Logan and Phillips County fire burned homes, more than 200 cattle, and burned 32,550 acres.
   The other fires in three other states are all still total wildfires - except one small fire near Amarillo, Texas that is 100% contained.  The total amounts of areas burned in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas are staggering: more than 861 square miles have burned in Kansas; more than 700 square miles have burned in Texas: and in Oklahoma, more than 1,406 square miles are charcoal.   Livestock and wildlife have lost their lives, but, most importantly, seven people have died from smoke inhalation and/or burns.  I mourn all of them.
    Since 4 March, twenty-three counties in Kansas have had wildfires, and more than 1,000 square miles have burned.  In Reno County, more than 6,000 acres have burned, and that fire is 70% contained.  In Comanche County, more than 236 square miles are charcoal, and the fire is approaching the Kiowa County line to the north.  West of Comanche County is Clark County, and 85% of the county, or 625 square miles, has burned.  That fire is out of control.
    In the state of Texas, the small fire near Amarillo is contained, as stated previously, but there are two other large fires burning in the panhandle. The first, near the Oklahoma state line, has burned 492 square miles, and killed 3 people.  The second fire, a few miles south of the larger one, has burned 210 square miles.
     Oklahoma has suffered the largest area burned, with over 1,406 square miles. they have three separate wildfires alight.  The Starbuck fire began in Beaver County, Oklahoma and has crossed over into Kansas.  The 283 fire is burning in Harper County; and the Selman fire is burning in both Woodward and Harper Counties.All three of these wildfires are only 10% contained.
    Wow.  I just totaled the amounts of land burned so far in Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas and found that 3,021 square miles are scorched earth.....  We need rain and/or snow!
    Most of these fires have destroyed, or will continue to destroy, agricultural land.  These areas are farming country - livestock, mostly cattle; and grain and vegetable farms.  The food meant for our tables is being burned before it was able to produce a harvest.  Look for the cost of eating staples to rise.....
 

US EPA Superfund Sites - Map & Photos

EPA map of Superfund sites

Elizabeth Copper Mine, Vermont

Gold King Mine, Colorado

Old coal tar deposits on the Gowanus Canal, New York

Quanta Resources, New Jersey

San Jacinto River, Texas

Tar Creek, California

Cabot-Koppers, Gainesville Florida

Christmas Lights in the USA

The Plaza in Kansas City, Kansas

Decorated roadway in Grand Prairie, Texas

                            

I like icicles, myself....  (Colorado)

Shore Acres State Park, Oregon

Tree of lights in Hampton Roads, Virginia

Animals

Four-week-old liliger cub; Dad is a lion, Mom is a lion-tiger cross

Squirrel monkey in Ecuador

A handsome grulla horse

Rock squirrel in Texas

The owner of this dog says she sees Jesus wearing a robe in this view of her dog's bottom... What do you think?

Extremes

Yesterday ended up being cloudy here in Boulder, while this morning, the skies are cloudless, but we have higher than normal humidity (for Colorado).  At least we're not suffering from tornadoes and flooding or from wildfires at the moment.  In California and New Mexico, however, the continuing drought is taking it's toll.  The Powerhouse fire, near Lake Hughes in California, has burned over 25,000 acres and is about 40% contained.  More than 1,000 homes are in danger, and more than 2,400 people have been evacuated.  And the territory burning in California hasn't seen a fire  since 1929.  There are two fires burning in New Mexico, with the largest being the Pecos fire, that has already destroyed 7,476 acres of Ponderosa pine.
  Europe, in the meantime, has flooding problems due to heavy rains.  A meteorologist in Austria stated they had more rain fall in two days than usually falls in two years.  Austria, Germany, Poland, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic have all undergone flooding so far.  Slovakia and Hungary are preparing themselves for the onslaught of the water.  So far, the flooding has caused six known deaths, and eight other people are missing.
  And, if fires, floods, and twisters aren't enough for you in the US, go to Moody, Texas.  Over the weekend, a 62-year-old man was stung to death by an estimated 40,000 Africanized "killer" bees.  He was on his tractor, clearing some property, and hit a woodpile that bumped into an old chicken coop.  The bee expert who removed the swarm estimated the number of bees as at least 40,000.  Regular bees and honeybees protect their nests by stinging, but only 10% of their population will attack an intruder.  In a hybrid, Africanized hive, every bee except the queen will attack.
   Finally, looking at Saturday's Belmont Stakes:  It has been decided that Orb, the Kentucky Derby winner, is working well enough to be entered in the third leg of the Triple Crown.  Two other definite contenders will be Will Take Charge and Oxbow, the winner of the Preakness.  Gary Stevens has been in Oxbow's saddle for the previous two races, and will be again on Saturday.  But this past Saturday, Gary's mount broke down under him during a race, and he suffered a fall, which caused him not to ride his mounts on Sunday.  He Tweeted trainer D. Wayne Lukas, reminding him that he fell a week before he and Winning Colors won the Derby, too.  Keep on riding, Gary!!

Landscapes

Ashness Bridge in England

 

Trees at Glengesh Pass, Ireland

 

Abandoned school in Millbrook, New York

 

Sunset solar eclipse in Texas

 

Unusual Homes

Japanese house with cable-car connection to the mainland

 

The kettle house in Texas

 

A concrete "tree" house...

 

A painted "Hansel & Gretel" house in Bavaria, Germany

Critters 'Round the World

An armadillo eating corn in Texas

 

Red fox in a park in Berlin, Germany

 

Sheep on Streymoy, in the Faroe Islands

 

Awwwww... And an "Oh, My!"

Found abandoned, burned, and covered in soot, a bobcat kitten rescued from a Northern California wildfire over the weekend is recuperating just fine at a South Lake Tahoe wildlife shelter, officials said on Wednesday.

Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care

Chips, the bobcat kitten, was rescued by firefighters patrolling the Chips Fire in Plumas National Forest in California. She's fattening up at a wildlife center, getting fed mouse meat.

The 4-week-old bobcat is “starting to feel better and wants to get out,” Cheryl Millham, executive director and co-founder of Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care, told NBC News. “She’s sleeping and eating much better.”  Members from Northern California’s Mad River Hand Crew were patrolling the northern end of the 74,000-acre Chips Fire in Plumas National Forest on Saturday when they found the bobcat stumbling in the ashes, Millham said.  Crew superintendent Tad Hair spotted the animal, described as about the size of a domestic kitten, walking alone near a stump. The bobcat was walking in circles, barely able to hold herself up.

The kitten had suffered second-degree burns on her four paws. After seeing no signs of her mother, Hair decided to get her to a Sierraville, Calif., firefighter who transported her to Lake Tahoe, Millham said.  The wildlife center received the kitten, who was named Chips, on Saturday evening and started her rehabilitation. Chips will be sheltered throughout the winter at the center, where she will learn appropriate behaviors with other animals, Millham said. She's eating pulverized mouse and squirrel, and drinking formula.  "She will get well, heal up and be released into the wild when she is ready," probably when she is about 8 months, Millham said.  Chips is expected to gain 10 more pounds before her release into the wild. Her vision, which had been impaired by an infection from smoke and ash, is expected to heal, Millham said.

  Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care is a non-profit organization that helps injured and orphaned animals.

************** The mayor of the South Texas town of Hollywood Park has died after apparently being attacked by a 500-pound donkey on his ranch, officials said Wednesday.  The body of Mayor William "Bill" Bohlke, 65, was found Monday night during a search by Atascosa County Sheriff’s deputies and relatives, according to the sheriff’s office.  Chief Deputy David Soward told The Associated Press that Bohlke apparently was attacked on Monday morning by an aggressive male donkey on his ranch.  The Mayor went out to his ranch to takes photos of his prize heifers and check on all the stock.  A jenny was in season in an adjacent pasture, and the jack, known to be aggressive, attacked the Mayor.   -   My only (and truly awful) question is - was the Mayor a Democrat or a Republican?