Some people think that living in a park must be great. You are surrounded by Nature all the time. They come to the parks to get away from it all, but I am pretty sure they are happy to get back to their "conveniences" of home.
One of the things that I missed most while being a seasonal was not having TV. I know there is not a lot on most of the time, but still it is nice to have some idea about what is going on in the fictional world of your favorite series or have some frame of reference for current pop culture. I was quite fortunate that this year my sister decided I needed TV, and provided me with a little financial "incentive" towards getting it.
After waiting until my EMT-B was over and done with, and after weeks (or months) of looking at packages, I made the jump. Satellite TV, one of the larger packages, local networks and DVR. I am so glad I did! I have found out there are still a number of shows on that I have no interest in, but I have been mindlessly entertained for hours with some of the new series and educated by one of my favorite channels--the History Channel. The best part of the entire decision was the DVR. I work varying schedules and don't get to watch a lot of "live" TV, so the DVR is probably my favorite part of the whole thing.
And this is not just me talking. Numerous seasonals have spent hours in front of their laptops in WI-FI areas watching prerecorded shows, or frequent the one facility in the park that has a public TV (even just for the opportunity to watch the commercials).
Nature, books, hiking and movies by mail only get you so far....sometimes you just need TV.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Winter white wonderland
No, not quite. Being from somewhat warmer climes, or at least an area where we have the good sense not got go out in this kind of stuff, I was not "exicited" about driving to work this morning--It had been snowing since about 2 am, anyway, and is currently doing so, at 10:22 am. I am sure I will be fine, however it is the "experts" that have 4-wheel drive, who think they can still go 65 mph that scare me. It is supposed to move through the area, so good speed to it!
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Latest Halloween News...
On a local network affiliate's website, one article posted a link to this year's top Halloween costumes and also had the following:
Plus: Find Fun Halloween Recipes For Kids
(trying to cut back, thanks)
Plus: Find Fun Halloween Recipes For Kids
(trying to cut back, thanks)
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Sometimes...
...on a slow day I read.
I may read online newspapers, online books, paper books, magazines, online magazines, blogs, websites, etc. You get the idea...
Today I have ventured onto the National Parks Traveler website: http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com/
There are some interesting stories here, and some lovely photos--I know it is possible to take a bad picture in the National Parks, but usually that involves human error of some sort.
I ventured into the site a little deeper than I usually do, and came across a list of blogs written about the National Parks. One, in particular, caught my eye--It was entitled, My Handicap Parking
http://www.myhandicapparking.com/
The author of the blog, Preston Filbert, has polio and so, experiences the parks in a different way than most visitors. The first sentence of the blog caught my attention: "National Parks make me think, which makes we write."
What a great statement. The parks have long inspired photographers and painters, but it was not often we saw an individual who was inspired by the parks to write (historical explorers and modern bloggers aside.)
The parks tell a story to anyone who will listen. The men who had the foresight to set aside these lands did so with the intention that everyone could enjoy them, not just the wealthy and elite as was the case in other countries. Mr. Filbert is just one of thousands of visitors who are able to experience the National Parks each day in spite (yes that is what I meant) of a physical challenge that just a century ago would have seen them abandoned or hospitalized.
In case you didn't know, the Federal Agencies offer what is known as an "Access Pass." The Access Pass is "A free, lifetime pass - available to U.S. citizens or permanent residents of the United States that have been medically determined to have a permanent disability - that provides access to recreation areas managed by five Federal agencies [National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife Service, Forest Service]." For more information about the Access Pass or any of the National Park Passes, visit:
I may read online newspapers, online books, paper books, magazines, online magazines, blogs, websites, etc. You get the idea...
Today I have ventured onto the National Parks Traveler website: http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com/
There are some interesting stories here, and some lovely photos--I know it is possible to take a bad picture in the National Parks, but usually that involves human error of some sort.
I ventured into the site a little deeper than I usually do, and came across a list of blogs written about the National Parks. One, in particular, caught my eye--It was entitled, My Handicap Parking
http://www.myhandicapparking.com/
The author of the blog, Preston Filbert, has polio and so, experiences the parks in a different way than most visitors. The first sentence of the blog caught my attention: "National Parks make me think, which makes we write."
What a great statement. The parks have long inspired photographers and painters, but it was not often we saw an individual who was inspired by the parks to write (historical explorers and modern bloggers aside.)
The parks tell a story to anyone who will listen. The men who had the foresight to set aside these lands did so with the intention that everyone could enjoy them, not just the wealthy and elite as was the case in other countries. Mr. Filbert is just one of thousands of visitors who are able to experience the National Parks each day in spite (yes that is what I meant) of a physical challenge that just a century ago would have seen them abandoned or hospitalized.
In case you didn't know, the Federal Agencies offer what is known as an "Access Pass." The Access Pass is "A free, lifetime pass - available to U.S. citizens or permanent residents of the United States that have been medically determined to have a permanent disability - that provides access to recreation areas managed by five Federal agencies [National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife Service, Forest Service]." For more information about the Access Pass or any of the National Park Passes, visit:
http://store.usgs.gov/pass/index.html
And may you be inspired to think...
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Approaching Winter (season)
What happens to a park when all of the visitors leave, the employees start thinning out, and the facilities start to close?
It does not just go to sleep, I can guarantee that! Time keeps passing by, perhaps a little slower. The leaves continue to lose their soft, green clinging life, and begin the brown brittle journey until they lose the last bit of "strength" that sends them to the ground to be tumbled by the wind and whirled by passing cars. Grass and plants go from green to yellow to brown to gone. The animals which hid from the hordes all summer venture out cautiously, curiously until their presence becomes a constant. Life is settling in, settling down, preparing for the coming months ahead where white blankets the world and ice clings not only to the places where the leaves did, but all structures.
Human life takes on a different quality, a different atmosphere. Friends, roommates, coworkers leave for the winter months, in search of another job, another year of education, another life. Those left behind unite in a force that forges through the winter, the dark hours, the cold, the blizzards.
And then, just as every year, it starts to turn around. The days get a little longer, just a minute or two at a time. The nights are not quite as cold. The snow melts a little faster. The seasonal employees begin their migrations back to the park, in preparation for the migration of visitors. Yellow grasses turn slowly to green, shoots of new plants come poking up through the brown and red and black soil. Buds grow and grow until they turn into the green leaves or the white and yellow and pink and red blooms. Once fat bellied does, then graze cautiously watching the bouncing bundles of brown and energy and white and life spring through the canyons and across the mesas.
And so the cycle goes.
It does not just go to sleep, I can guarantee that! Time keeps passing by, perhaps a little slower. The leaves continue to lose their soft, green clinging life, and begin the brown brittle journey until they lose the last bit of "strength" that sends them to the ground to be tumbled by the wind and whirled by passing cars. Grass and plants go from green to yellow to brown to gone. The animals which hid from the hordes all summer venture out cautiously, curiously until their presence becomes a constant. Life is settling in, settling down, preparing for the coming months ahead where white blankets the world and ice clings not only to the places where the leaves did, but all structures.
Human life takes on a different quality, a different atmosphere. Friends, roommates, coworkers leave for the winter months, in search of another job, another year of education, another life. Those left behind unite in a force that forges through the winter, the dark hours, the cold, the blizzards.
And then, just as every year, it starts to turn around. The days get a little longer, just a minute or two at a time. The nights are not quite as cold. The snow melts a little faster. The seasonal employees begin their migrations back to the park, in preparation for the migration of visitors. Yellow grasses turn slowly to green, shoots of new plants come poking up through the brown and red and black soil. Buds grow and grow until they turn into the green leaves or the white and yellow and pink and red blooms. Once fat bellied does, then graze cautiously watching the bouncing bundles of brown and energy and white and life spring through the canyons and across the mesas.
And so the cycle goes.
Friday, October 9, 2009
October? When did that happen
So at some point it became October. I know it comes around eventually, yearly as a matter of fact, but did not realize it would be this soon.
I have harvested the garden--about 2 weeks or so ago, and the only thing out there still are two pumpkins. We have had some really cold nights--i.e. the 20s, so I got out there after it got that cold the first time and picked everything. I was still worried about the tomatoes, but they have ripened nicely, so I have been enjoying those and have other stuff put away in the freezer. It was a nice little garden for my first real attempt, and I am excited about next year.
The leaves this year have reflected the cool temps in fabulous ways. In my 5 years here, this is the best variation of color that I have seen so far. It is starting to fade a bit, and the oranges and reds and browns (a lot of browns) are starting to take over. The tops of the mountains around us are a different color all together---WHITE. I know it is a sign of things to come here, but I hope it is not too soon.
I have harvested the garden--about 2 weeks or so ago, and the only thing out there still are two pumpkins. We have had some really cold nights--i.e. the 20s, so I got out there after it got that cold the first time and picked everything. I was still worried about the tomatoes, but they have ripened nicely, so I have been enjoying those and have other stuff put away in the freezer. It was a nice little garden for my first real attempt, and I am excited about next year.
The leaves this year have reflected the cool temps in fabulous ways. In my 5 years here, this is the best variation of color that I have seen so far. It is starting to fade a bit, and the oranges and reds and browns (a lot of browns) are starting to take over. The tops of the mountains around us are a different color all together---WHITE. I know it is a sign of things to come here, but I hope it is not too soon.
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