We had just read a book that stated Raccoons hate swimming, and only do it if they "have to". This raccoon did not get that memo!
Thursday, September 15, 2016
Raccoon version of Marco Polo
So here we are back at the pond in what looks to be a raccoon version of Marco Polo. Imagine that game while viewing and see if you agree. Or is it a classic game of keep away? One really wants to enter the pond and the other just happens to swim fast enough to block! I can feel the frustration!
We had just read a book that stated Raccoons hate swimming, and only do it if they "have to". This raccoon did not get that memo!
We had just read a book that stated Raccoons hate swimming, and only do it if they "have to". This raccoon did not get that memo!
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
The art of Foraging
The first video is a mom raccoon and her two babies learning the art of foraging. It almost look like they are seeking moms approval of their burgeoning skills. Raccoons always visit our three little ponds in the backyard and must think the man who gave them this really cool water park is awesome!
Emergence
Friday, September 2, 2016
Victory Over Japan Day Memories from Dad and his LST
Today is VJ Day, or Victory over Japan Day. A day that my dad well remembers as he was there, fighting in the Pacific on the LST 734. WWII was dad's "high school" signing up at age 17 to join the Navy. And because of his young age he remembers it like it was yesterday at his present age of 90! He had so many stories he could fill a book. In fact he did write it all in a Journal which my daughter is keeping safe at this time.
Dad took a few buddies with him to see Hiroshima within a few weeks after the Atomic bomb drop. The officers really didn't want anyone to go as they didn't know at the time if there would be any after effects. But my dad's young curiosity got the best of him. He stood in shock and awe at the enormous black crater which looked to him like a gigantic dirty bathtub. He and his friends then explored the crater picking up souvenirs along the way. They saw what had been a school and imagined the horror of that day to those children. They saw "shadow people". Perfect black images on walls of people, like their very souls had been pushed out of them and singed forever. So horrifying but they knew that in their minds it was us or them. This day signified he could go back to his family and put the nightmare behind him.
Another vivid memory is the sinking of the freighter the USS John Burke. The John Burke was heavily laden with munitions and my dad's ship the 734 was part of the convoy. As you watch the video provided the tiny sliver on the right is my dad's fully loaded LST. When the Kamikaze hit the John Burke the explosion picked my dad's ship right out of the water turned it in mid air and slammed it back down! My dad, all 126 pounds of him went flying, crashed into a wall and he lost his helmet and his hearing! The worst and most gruesome part of this story is that pieces of the men he had been close enough to wave to were now raining down onto his ship. Yes my dad was in the Navy and lucky enough to come back alive, certainly he didn't face as much as the Marines. As one elderly Marine told him once, "you guys had the right idea dump us off and leave!" But he saw horrors never the less, the LST on the opposite side of the John Burke sank.
I swear my dad's ship was protected. Every day it had an "escort" of dolphins. One day I guess the dolphins couldn't make it and sent their friends- the whales! The ONLY time his LST was hit was with a dud shell which landed on the ship. My dad ran over and threw it over the side! So something miraculous was going on I am convinced of that.
As I close this chapter I noticed that one of my pages had 734 hits today on VJ Day and the number of dad's LST. The irony.
The explosion of the USS John Burke video
Dad took a few buddies with him to see Hiroshima within a few weeks after the Atomic bomb drop. The officers really didn't want anyone to go as they didn't know at the time if there would be any after effects. But my dad's young curiosity got the best of him. He stood in shock and awe at the enormous black crater which looked to him like a gigantic dirty bathtub. He and his friends then explored the crater picking up souvenirs along the way. They saw what had been a school and imagined the horror of that day to those children. They saw "shadow people". Perfect black images on walls of people, like their very souls had been pushed out of them and singed forever. So horrifying but they knew that in their minds it was us or them. This day signified he could go back to his family and put the nightmare behind him.
 |
| Dad and his sister Jane |
Another vivid memory is the sinking of the freighter the USS John Burke. The John Burke was heavily laden with munitions and my dad's ship the 734 was part of the convoy. As you watch the video provided the tiny sliver on the right is my dad's fully loaded LST. When the Kamikaze hit the John Burke the explosion picked my dad's ship right out of the water turned it in mid air and slammed it back down! My dad, all 126 pounds of him went flying, crashed into a wall and he lost his helmet and his hearing! The worst and most gruesome part of this story is that pieces of the men he had been close enough to wave to were now raining down onto his ship. Yes my dad was in the Navy and lucky enough to come back alive, certainly he didn't face as much as the Marines. As one elderly Marine told him once, "you guys had the right idea dump us off and leave!" But he saw horrors never the less, the LST on the opposite side of the John Burke sank.
I swear my dad's ship was protected. Every day it had an "escort" of dolphins. One day I guess the dolphins couldn't make it and sent their friends- the whales! The ONLY time his LST was hit was with a dud shell which landed on the ship. My dad ran over and threw it over the side! So something miraculous was going on I am convinced of that.
As I close this chapter I noticed that one of my pages had 734 hits today on VJ Day and the number of dad's LST. The irony.
The explosion of the USS John Burke video
Hurricane Hermine Hit!
Our First Hurricane at the dome! Hermine (Hermeen)came over at 2:30 am and boy was it scary! Heavy rain pounding the domes, high winds, tornadoes and even a few scattered thunder storms! For what seemed like an endless time our domes were battered by everything Mother Nature could throw at it! "If a tree falls in a forest and there is no one to hear it does it make a sound"? I have no idea. But I know what a heavy branch sounds like as it clobbers a concrete dome at 2:30 am it's LOUD! So today I was "almost" afraid to see what the end results were. I couldn't find the big branch, apparently escorted to OZ by Dorothy. The 1/4 mile driveway is a huge mess of twigs, leaves, Spanish moss, you name it and the pool was nearly over flowing. Other than that we are fine! The dome did exactly what it was built to do, take all attackers and beat them! Yea, the power of the dome!
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