Turkeys

There is nothing quite like the sound of turkeys gobbling first thing in the morning as you are headed off to work, or as you're sitting around with friends in the evening. Nice to live in nature.

Spring

It is hard to believe, but according to the calendar this is Spring. Spring time in the mountains. This morning was not quite as "brisk" as yesterday--11 degrees Fahrenheit for the 24 hour low. We had a little snow day before yesterday too. It looks like the higher mountains around us have a fresh coating of new snow on them. The animals are starting to move. People have been seeing bears and yesterday someone saw a mountain lion. The wildflowers are starting to bloom too. Right now we have some Hayden's Gilia (Gilia haydenii) , arrowleaf balsam root ((Balsamorhize sagittata), and dandelions brightening the landscape.

Arrowleaf balsamroot from www.fs.fed.us

Sacred Planet

"Get set for a 45-minute journey around the world to some of the most exotic and beautiful places that exist. From the comfort of your armchair, you'll visit the last remaining old growth forests of British Columbia, the glaciers of Alaska, the red rock canyons of Utah and Arizona, the tropical jungles and underwater mysteries of Borneo, the ancient ruins of Thailand and the remote deserts of Namibia." (Netflix synopsis)

Rated: G

This is a beautiful film.  I have watched it twice and still have only actually heard bits and pieces of what is being said as I am so captivated by the images.  It is visually stunning.  Almost every second of film could easily be made into a beautiful photograph.  It was shot in IMAX format which means the images are huge--they just feel huge.  The message is fairly similar from all of the elders, but each one uses their own cultural references to say it.  There is a lot of time lapse images in here--but is not the usual grass shooting up through the ground ones that are often seen in nature oriented movies/TV shows.  The very simple use of speeding up the film and also showing normal speed speaks volumes to those who pay attention.

personal rating:

8.5 / 10 stars

Tis the time of rangers... seasonal ones that is...

As spring draws near, just like the swallows of Capistrano, another phenomena occurs all across the United States.  It is the annual migration of the seasonal national park employee.  Due to visitation (and budget) most parks can only offer full services during the summer months.  There are some exceptions to this--the Everglades, Death Valley--the places that are not exactly "user friendly" during summer months, which have greater visitation during the winter months.  With the full services comes the need for additional employees, hence, seasonal rangers (and other park employees).  The season of these employees is generally 6 months or approximately 1039 hours.  So what do these people do the rest of the year?  Many different things--some seasonal employees are students, teachers, retired, find another park to work at, or take the time off until the season starts again.  Unfortunately seasonal employees do not receive any sort of benefits, but can accumulate sick leave, and annual leave (which can be paid out at the end of the season for hours not used).  But it is an interesting way to spend a summer or winter, learning about different parts of the country, different parks, and different topics.    The National Park Service is not the only one that offers seasonal employment.  The Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and other federal agencies do as well, however one of the most common conditions is that the applicant is a US Citizen.  Click on the USA JOBS link to look for openings by job, location, or agency.

10,000 BC

The movie 10,000 BC will be out on March 7, 2008.  Though the story line doesn't look terribly promising, the animals and CGI work looks very interesting, and well done.  Will this be the Jurassic Park for 2008?

Lunar Eclipse

Tonight there is a lunar eclipse, the last until 2011.  On nights such of these, I wonder exactly how the ancient cultures perceived these types of events.  Surely they saw it as a sign of some sort.  It is very easy to see how it could have been a negative sign, but is it possible they saw anything positive in it?

Another new dinosaur discover announced

Another new dinosaur species has been announced, this time coming out of Mexico.  Velafrons coahuilensis,  a duck-billed dinosaur with a "sail-shaped crest" on its head, made its home in the lush tropical environs of present Mexico  around 72 million years ago.  Paleontologists from the University of Utah and Utah Museum of Natural History, say this "beach bum" is the "most complete dinosaur ever found in Mexico," living there at the time that an inland sea divided the North American continent.

Source:  Yahoo News