Thundersnow....you've got to love April in Colorado.

Excellent information

     I will start substituting sunflower seeds for cashews in recipes.

It's a new week, a new opportunity.........

Always trying to remember.........

I saw the following quote this morning, and it made me smile.....

Let a smile be your umbrella, and you'll end up with a face full of rain.
                            George Carlin
   

Ya gotta love Colorado humor!

TGIF, happy weekend

I really regret eating healthy today........said no one ever!

"How old would you be if you didn't know how old you were?"......Satchel Paige

     A new theory on time where present and future exist simultaneously.....this is oddly reassuring.  The past, present, and future all exist simultaneously.  There are so many implications!

https://physics-astronomyblog.blogspot.com/2019/01/a-new-theory-on-time-indicates-present.html?fbclid=IwAR2f5_DEXZmNYnoUB7MCpNRKHaQXOCd0IrKP7UMrpvf5Z7K5QfRsixDyjIE

Glyphosate dangers are real, everywhere, and accumulative.

Glyphosate, worse than we can imagine:
https://www.globalresearch.ca/glyphosate-worse/5674472?fbclid=IwAR0qYCCHz8zq7OyGxu4HPGlJmfePYy8sNoU8u5BIZJTIrpD9t4jBpC75TrU

Glyphosate decimates microbes in soils and the human gut:
https://www.globalresearch.ca/glyphosate-from-monsantos-roundup-decimates-microbes-in-soils-and-the-human-gut-new-science/5628871?utm_campaign=magnet&utm_source=article_page&utm_medium=related_articles



Here is an additional article:  Monsanto has known for over 35 years that glyphosate-soaked food causes cancer in mammals.
https://www.newstarget.com/2016-05-20-monsanto-knew-for-over-35-years-that-its-glyphosate-soaked-food-caused-cancer.html?A&fbclid=IwAR2OxtnM5quzrzCuLWIVFeS4LeEio8Y1vKao8Eo1YjQAWWlY7-5b7guQv3A

                                                     Fitting to share around Earth Day.

     (Rainy day today, my dog refuses to step on the wet grass or bark to pee.....going to be a long day)
     (Now we know, she can go 20 hours without going if it's a rainy day)

Earth Day

     I remember the 1st Earth Day back in 1970.   There were small events held in Lincoln, NE where I lived then, mostly encouraging recycling. I didn't remember the scope of the occasion, but it led to the creation of the EPA:  Those were exciting times.

"On April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment in massive coast-to-coast rallies. Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment. Groups that had been fighting against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness, and the extinction of wildlife suddenly realized they shared common values.

Earth Day 1970 achieved a rare political alignment, enlisting support from Republicans and Democrats, rich and poor, city slickers and farmers, tycoons and labor leaders. By the end of that year, the first Earth Day had led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts."

https://www.earthday.org/about/the-history-of-earth-day/

     The following link offers science-based climate change facts, such as the fact that atmospheric CO2 levels are up 46% and continue to rise.  We can't live on CO2 people, plants do that!
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/04/21/earth-day-2019-climate-change-humans-global-warming-weather-rising-water/3507125002/?fbclid=IwAR3o52D2FcFfLbz_BdXZJSJeZ1tEY2dDJiPnjIJz4IWTSrDQuzS8RNbFA2s


     The following article lists the fastest warming US cities and states.  Colorado is number 7 on the state list having warmed 2.9 degrees in the past 50 years.  Las Vegas is the number 1 city having warmed a whopping 5.76 degrees since 1970.  This article really brings home the damage already done.
https://www.climatecentral.org/news/report-american-warming-us-heats-up-earth-day

“We are an impossibility in an impossible universe.” ― Ray Bradbury

     Happy Easter.

     We walked through the Columbine Memorial this morning.  There were flowers, poems, and notes everywhere.  I've never been able to enter or leave without tears.
     Never Forgotten, (except by the government).

The Earth is what we all have in common......Wendell Berry

     Here is a great post to share for the upcoming Earth Day...."the rest of earth's inhabitants vote to phase out people by the year 2040."

https://outabouter.com/2019/04/11/rest-of-earths-inhabitants-vote-to-phase-out-people-by-the-year-2040/?fbclid=IwAR3P2AWOTHY1q_e6O9ahNejGVuBv4eWAkSSLLjU1T_xlipqGsDW_zsOHHSA

"For most of history, Anonymous was a woman." -- Virginia Woolf

(Update, 500,000 Denver area kids are all back in school today). 

The Columbine school shooting 20th anniversary will be on April 20.

     As you may have heard on the news, an 18 year old woman from Florida, who is infatuated by the Columbine school shooters and who is on the FBI watch list, managed to fly to Denver this week and buy a pump-action shotgun and ammunition in Littleton.  She was then dropped off somewhere in the Jefferson County foothills.
     The FBI considers her a credible threat and all front range schools are closed.
     I walked the dog to our usual Jefferson county open-space South Valley park.  We saw a group of people at the trail head and 2 county sheriff's cars. The sheriffs drove off but then a series of 7 Jefferson County open space trucks and SUVs arrived filled with people wearing bullet-proof vests and carrying nightsticks.  I wasn't close enough to see if they were otherwise armed.  I do know that Jefferson County rangers DO NOT wear bullet-proof vests or carry nightsticks. I'm guessing FBI.
     I assume this is related to the crazed armed woman.  Probably they were just there to search the park, but Charleigh-dog and I decided the wise move was to come home.
     The anniversary of the Columbine shooting isn't until Saturday....today is Wednesday.  If they don't locate this woman, will schools all remain closed? There are a number of vigils and commemorative events planned, I would hope they will be called off until this woman is found.
     This is a sad state of affairs in America.  20 years later and nothing has changed.


     UPDATE.  the massive manhunt has ended.  Sol Pais, the 18 year old woman from Florida, was found dead by suicide at the base of Mt. Evans this morning.  This is so sad.


(I'm totally exhausted today.....peak DOMS after Sunday's race I surmise.....resting)
(My finish line photo turned out good, but I'm not buying.  You can click here to view for a while)
https://cgphotog.zenfolio.com/cart.html

     I did it....I finished the race yesterday.  I'm stiff and sore today, though, but I always feel accomplishment afterwards.  That half mile steep uphill at mile 12.4 gets me every year even though I know it's coming.  I always fast walk it as it is too late in the race for me to run it.  Every year I  vow to be more prepared for next year. LOL.  Never happens.

      Freezing at the start.....

“You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.” ― Steve Jobs

     So we must just keep going forward.

     I have a race today for which I am unprepared.  I'll just consider it a training run with water stops....LOL.

 

     It is a cold damp windy day for April, but so very beautiful!  We only did 2 laps around the lake and my hands kept freezing.  It was a great day for socializing at Einstein Brothers with hot coffee, instead.  Spring weather should return tomorrow, and at least there is no snow shoveling required this time of year.

    This explains Betsy DeVos and the deliberate dumbing-down of America.

The Pinkerton plan for climate change

i.e. how to profit off of it instead of trying to stop it


https://boingboing.net/2019/04/12/guillotine-prevention-squad.html

     The blizzard was not bad...only 5 inches of snow....yay.....but it is cold and will be cold for a few days. 

Thought provoking.....

http://churchandstate.org.uk/2016/04/religion-oldest-weapon-of-mass-destruction-in-human-history/?fbclid=IwAR2mKoKNxg4qDDRtdZaSd4MKvGct2EAaMpouUFM1i7E3jxRCXde2pIGnfHk

Wow!

     The morning's cold rain just turned to snow at noon.....so the 2nd bomb cyclone blizzard begins.

ACT

My grief for America

     This is so worth resharing.
https://johnpavlovitz.com/2017/01/19/let-the-record-show/?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=facebook_page&utm_medium=John+Pavlovitz&fbclid=IwAR3uP4NvysRMPq1d53SD-2CCvBRFr1cyXoO2b3SQOPi-6TS0PeKrjV6_YkE


     Also worth resharing....this presidency is giving many Americans PTSD.  I believe it!
https://johnpavlovitz.com/2018/07/11/the-mental-health-crisis-of-this-unhinged-presidency/?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=facebook_page&utm_medium=John+Pavlovitz&fbclid=IwAR14gFLajzqgHvx1uwnnvhAIEwcnurUSMGWsON8T99A-p03UsPOxp2ybE3c

The HU---Wolf Totem

    I absolutely love this!  The HU are a Mongolian heavy metal band. Their first album will be released later this year.  So far, only 2 songs are available on YouTube. Both songs are visceral, moving, and indigenous.  They remind me of the feelings you experience watching a good Maori Haka.
     Enjoy.

                                         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jM8dCGIm6yc



     Here is their other song.  Their 2 string and 3 stringed traditional instruments are cool, as is their Mongolian throat singing. The videos are well done.

                                         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4xZUr0BEfE


     I found an NPR article on how "a Mongolian Heavy Metal band got millions of YouTube views."  It provides a good overview of the band. They are very popular. I'd pay to go see them.
https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2019/01/05/680528912/how-a-mongolian-heavy-metal-band-got-millions-of-youtube-views

Too funny!

(Listen to Wendell Berry read this poem here: https://onbeing.org/poetry/the-peace-of-wild-things/?fbclid=IwAR04noETcfWYLnM3uJtGEoAwFCRgW4-SWHQHQrwxK30wHFGzoH5-Jih4EZw )

My favorite weather is bird-chirping weather!

The meadowlarks are back!

Trails

     The trails in the beautiful park nearby are less muddy now so my Charleigh-dog and I headed out this morning to run entirely on trails.  I wanted to try out my new trail shoes.  But the weather is nice and people with dogs are everywhere making running with a dog difficult. It is hard to stop running every 50 yards to step off trail with Charleigh and then restart. They've fenced the path on both sides making it even harder to step away. I never run in the park on weekends for just that reason, but now even on weekday mornings both parking lots are full.  I'm happy for the park service that it is so popular and crowded, but not so happy for me. 
     There is another trail farther away, but it was still very muddy and no people were on it at all, causing me to worry about coyotes. It is all single-track so once rattlesnakes are about, I can't run there anyway.
      On the positive side, my trail shoes weren't tooooo bad on pavement and concrete. I guess I will have to continue to pursue adventures vicariously through YouTube through-hikers.  I would love to hike the 2650 mile Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada, but what would I do with my house and dog for 6 months?  I'm not sure I could manage sleeping on the ground in a tent for 6 months anyway, but it is fun to consider.
      Colorado is such an outdoorsy active dog-owning place to live. Ya gotta love it.

Wow, Scary.

     When the ocean levels rise 10 feet, where will you be?

https://www.sciencetimes.com/articles/19517/20190402/the-imminent-collapse-of-the-dooms-day-glacier.htm?fbclid=IwAR34Y2M-bx35unJFk3JbO2vTasQVFrVUCC7fd1M9Cuzql996Gp-LnFXHpZY

It's a magical world, Hobbs, ol' buddy....Let's go exploring! ----Calvin and Hobbs

   You've gotta love Calvin and Hobbs.  I still read them every day.

    I've been following various hikers on YouTube as they through-hike the Appalachian and the Pacific Crest Trails.  There are some pretty amazing people out there willing to trek for 6 months. I am exploring vicariously through them.

“Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.” - Muhammad Ali