Thunderstorms

[Spookymufu]

Thanks for the suggestion spooky. I'd be a little afraid of the Earthquakes, but there is a certain beauty to the desert. I have an old classmate who moved to California and she's living it up.

you learn to sleep through most earthquakes, I dont find much beauty in the desert (thats one reason I moved) Theres really nothing about Cali I like, but I'm glad your friends enjoying it

[MauEvig]

I'm not sure which part she moved to. Likely a metropolitan area but then again that's just a guess.

I suppose as long as they're mild. I still remember the one we got in New York once. It was pretty mild; but considering we aren't used to having Earthquakes around where we live it was a bit of a shocker. Stretched all the way down into Virginia even. I wonder if they've designed buildings there to better withstand Earthquakes.

I try to find beauty regardless of where I live. I'm not much of a city person, but I can find beauty there as well.

[Murfreesboro]

I agree that there is beauty everywhere. You have to cultivate an eye, or maybe an attitude, for seeing it.

[MauEvig]

A friend of mine who enjoys taking pictures says she sees everything in the form of a photograph. When you stop to think about the different things nature has to offer, I think that' s a beautiful way to put it.

Capturing something on a photo makes part of it last forever. Take flower blossoms for instance. The sad part about them as that they wilt all too fast. But if you take a picture, at least you're capturing that moment when they are vibrant and in full bloom.

I think the desert might have some pretty cactuses. I think i'd enjoy visiting the Grand Canyon and other great sites out west.

Maybe one day we'll take a trek that way. I love to travel but it's so expensive. Plus I have to worry about my cats. I think it'd be fun getting an RV though. Then maybe I can bring my cats with me. I'm sure they'd just love that. Although on a serious note my Uncle who had his own truck driving company did bring his cats along on his 18 wheeler. I remember he'd bring this one in particular. My cats flip out over a simple car ride. But then again; they probably think they're going to the vet, and most of the time that's the case. I'm trying to get my youngest male comfortable with car rides before getting him fixed.

Regardless I can deal with the weather here in Virginia. Sometimes it gets colder here than in New York oddly enough. But I think it has to do with the fact that I'm at a higher elevation than I was up North. At least the winters are milder; except for those last months of cold weather. Over all it's really nice around here. It's supposed to get up to 69; yesterday it said 70. I thought it was going to get hotter here than in my previous home in NY, but apparently it's slightly cooler here. Oh well. It's supposed to climb higher here than it is there though.

I don't like Monday's pollen alert at all though.

[Murfreesboro]

The higher elevation should keep you cooler in VA.

[Kolchak]

Yesterday was actually more like a late October than a late May day. It was in the low 70's and hardly any humidity. It got down to about 52 last night too. Warmer today and tonight but still low in the humidity department. With all these barometric changes in pressure it might get the fish biting. I may try and catch a few trout tomorrow!

[Murfreesboro]

Good luck with the fishing! We have had unseasonably cool weather as well.

[Kolchak]

Caught 4 trout and a perch. Tossed them all back, but it was nice to get out and enjoy the weather. Yesterday it was like a sauna here. I did my best to stay out of the humidity, but it was still a royal pain.

[Murfreesboro]

Oh, yes, very muggy here, too.

So you weren't allowed to eat any of the fish you caught?

[Kolchak]

Oh yea, I could keep them, but I was in a catching mood and not in a cleaning mood!

[Murfreesboro]

Oh, yes, I get you!

[MauEvig]

Save for little minnows in the river, I've never caught a fish. Not with a fishing pole anyway.

I kind of doubt I'd have the heart to keep and eat the fish anyway. It's bad enough that someone brought a big one in at work and I flipped out seeing the dead fish. Plus they have some at the store packaged up where the eyes stare at you. No thanks. I prefer to have my food without the heads on them.

Same thing goes for hunting. I think the only way I could bring myself to kill and eat an animal is if I were in a dire survival situation where I absolutely had to. I love meat, but someone else has to kill it for me.

[Murfreesboro]

Me, too, Mau. I realize, of course, that this attitude makes me a coward or hypocrite of sorts. If I am willing to eat the meat, I should be willing to kill it. But if I had to kill it myself, I think I'd become a vegetarian pretty quickly.

[MauEvig]

At least the Native Americans respected the animals even when they had to kill them. I suppose I could emulate that if I were ever in that situation.

But I definitely agree, either I'd suck it up and face it, or become a vegetarian quickly like you said. Thankfully I can identify most types of berries but I might need a little more knowledge of what's edible and what isn't. I know one rule is don't eat anything that's round and bright red. If it resembles something like a raspberry or blackberry it's probably OK.

Some people around here like to eat these onion-like plants called ramps. Perhaps I could look for those if I could recognize them in the woods. I may want to get a better study of what's edible here in Virginia, but I can't say it's all that different from New York. It's not like I'm going to another continent or anything. This is probably better suited for another topic: but I heard ramps were good with potatoes. A guy at work tells me about them all the time and thinks I need to try them. I heard they grow quite a bit in West Virginia.

Back on topic a bit we did have a little bit of lightning and rain here coming back from a short road trip, but nothing too major.

[Murfreesboro]

My daughter has made a study of the "kosher" rules and says that being humane to the animal is big in that type of diet, too. I mean, they do eat meat, but they are very respectful of the way the animal is treated, and how it is slaughtered, etc. I think in many early human societies, or "native" societies, meat was something of a rarity. People didn't eat it all the time the way most of us do, because it was just too expensive.