MOON SHADOW

As I shut the front door to keep the dog from getting out, I promised I would take him for a walk when Ana and I got back from the movie. It was dark dusk when we started out for the hike. The moon was shining so brightly that it was reflecting off the buffalo truck windshield. I could easily see every pocket and the stitching on my coat. Looking behind me my shadow contrasted brightly with the surface of the road, even the length of my walking stick was distinctly silhouetted upon it. Turning forward to walk toward the moon again I smiled at the jewel like planet hanging beneath the moon.

Emma learned at camp that it takes your eyes 20 minutes to adjust to the dark and see at their full capacity on a dark night. With the time taken to walk to the bench and back and the glowing moonlight, my eyes seem to adjust to the descending darkness just fine.

I can't believe it's been so long since I've written on my blog. I think I'll do so more now because sometimes I want to expand on my thoughts or musings and Facebook is more of a sound bite type of social interaction forum.

These photos are from the Canyon City area where Dave and I went to stake out a house for his clients. I always enjoy the ride to Canyon City, you get to see the May Insect Museum, and the Pet Cemetery, and what remains of the Turkey Canyon Ranch which is now a subdivision. Large lots, but it's sad. The family who owned the ranch had to sell it to pay off inheritance taxes. The law firm I worked for in Colorado Springs, represented the family and I personally tried to find ways to either reduce the tax burden or get some entity like the Nature Conservancy to purchase it for preservation. It looks like after I left the firm it got sold to developers, which was one option the family was interested in.

I guess I should correctly spell Canyon City, "Canon City", but I don't know how to make a tilde over the n so we know it's pronounced Canyon. I understand that, but what about colonel, being pronounced kernel, what's up with that?

Dave was talking to Mike tonight about the little waterfall we go to. So here are two pictures, one of the Buddha where he was moved to, and the other of the waterfall earlier this spring. The picture of the Buddha was from a distance and I had to take it quickly, so it is fuzzy, but it's still fun to see him, I'll try to get a clearer picture.

Photos of the kids enjoying our fall break trip to Needles, a portion of Canyonlands National Park in Utah. It was so beautiful with the fall colors and the amazing red rock formations. The photos just didn't capture what the eye saw, but they are still not bad.

The bottom photo is a rock that butted up to our camp site, Emma and I were the only two brave enough to climb to the top, and then Emma didn't want to stop climbing every time she got bored. The next photo is near a cowboy campground, and the top shot is part of the cowboy campground, which I am sure was an Indian campground before that (when I took a Indian Child Welfare seminar, all the Native Americans called themselves Indians, so I think the term is not politically incorrect).

SHOTS AND BOOKS

Yesterday we went to Kaiser to get our flu shots, it was the most crowded it's ever been. I tried not to let it get to me, but I hate it when people butt in line in crowds, and a group of them did. bad manners.

Part of the bribe to get the kids, especially Emma who is deathly afraid of shots, to get the shots was lunch at Qdoba and a book from Tattered Cover.

Knowing that we are being affected by the economic crunch, I refrained from buying a book for myself. But I made a list of what I would have wanted and this morning I have all of them on my hold list at our library, in fact, three are already available. My choices:

Quirkology a psychology book by Wiseman;
The Tenderness of Wolves, a suspense novel by Penney;
Alice, a biography of Alice Roosevelt by Cordery;
Good Calories, Bad Calories, a factual myth buster about food by Taubes;
True to Form, a novel by Elizabeth Berg

Now I just have to pace the holds so that I can get them read before they are due, I'm starting with just two of the ones that are available now so they are not sitting here waiting until I have time to read them. I love our library!!!!

Some photos of our hike to the creek with Jake today. The buddha under the tree is surrounded by fall colors. He's been there for about 3 years now and hasn't been disturbed, except for some dust that has fallen about his shoulders.