Mark Twain-ism ... Duh Department

"It is better to be careful 100 times than to get killed once."  

-- Mark Twain

Quote of the Day -- Thomas Jefferson

"Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add 'within the limits of the law' because law is often but the tyrant's will, and always so when it violates the rights of the individual." 

 - Thomas Jefferson

My Choice for an Every Day Carry Flashlight...

http://www.browning.com/products/catalog/flashlights/detail.asp?fid=016H&cid=371&tid=1231#center




I have enjoyed the Browning Alpha 90L flashlight for a couple of years now as my primary Every Day Carry.  Not as bright as some of the higher-end lights, but also no where near the expense.  The light rides well clipped in my pants pocket.  I find myself using this tool quite often at work, home, church, and outdoors.

Quote of the Day -- Do Because It Is Right

"Cowardice asks the question: is it safe? Expediency asks the question: is it political? Vanity asks the question: is it popular? But conscience asks the question: is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor political, nor popular – but one must take it simply because it is right." 

- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Springtime Swayback Hike - 4/13/2013

Hike: Swayback Bridge Trail of Legends - Sat., 4/13/2013 - 09:45-12:30
Distance: 5.5 miles  Rating: 5/5
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Conditions: Mostly clear blue sky. Warm. Light wind. Trails wet from recent rains (muddy in a few spots).  A couple of Mtn Bikers on the trail but otherwise a solo hike.

Thoughts/Observations:

Quite possibly a perfect Spring day for a hike...  Wind was light, sky was gloriously blue with few clouds, and the forest was resplendent with the shine of fresh spring leaves.  The early spring leaves have something special about them.  Maybe it is because they are the first green against the dark colors of winter, but I believe the green is actually a lighter, fresher green. The forest literally shimmers in the sunlight, casting a mottled pattern across the floor.  Underneath the trees the fiddle heads are unfurling toward the sun, shedding their brown leaves stunted by frost and replacing them with bright green fronds.  Along the forest floor small streams babble and bubble with the water still draining from spring rains as it splashes toward the brown waters of Lake Jordan.  Scores of turtles sun themselves on logs and dead falls -- splashing into the muddy water as they see me hiking down the trail.  Some of the turtles are no bigger than my hand, though some would be larger than my head!

As I pause trail-side, I am serenaded by the ubiquitous passarines... their songs are truly lovely.  Wild azalea, woodland violets, and other small wild-flowers of blue, purple, yellow, pink, and red provide a concert of color.  Squirrels and chipmunks are busy about the forest floor, shoreline, and trees.  Their romping through the leaves is accentuated by the occasional lizard and snake scurrying away.  The forest is alive -- very much so today.

Worshiping during my hike, I remember John 14:6... "6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life."  HE brings life to the forest and HE will bring life to us as well.

Agape!

Gear List:
o RedHead Gortex Hikers
o MountainSmith Lumbar pack w/ FAK & ESK
o 1 KleenKanteen of water
o JazzCam
o Gerber CLS

Largest Solar Flare to Date in 2013

http://earthsky.org/space/sun-emits-a-mid-level-flare?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+earthskyblog+%28EarthSky+Blog%29&utm_content=Google+Reader



Beautiful picture from NASA of the M6.5 Solar Flare eruption on 4/11/2013 at 03:36EDT.  Largest flare (so far) in 2013.  Coronal Mass Ejection associated with this flare is "earth-bound".  More details from NASA at the above link.

"The heavens declare the glory of GOD..." (Ps. 19:1)

Sobering Though... Quote of the Day

"…There is no nation on earth powerful enough to accomplish our overthrow. … Our destruction, should it come at all, will be from another quarter. From the inattention of the people to the concerns of their government, from their carelessness and negligence, I must confess that I do apprehend some danger. I fear that they may place too implicit a confidence in their public servants, and fail properly to scrutinize their conduct; that in this way they may be made the dupes of designing men, and become the instruments of their own undoing."

- Daniel Webster, June 1, 1837

Quote for the Day...

"All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent."

- Thomas Jefferson

Wonderful Spring Hike - Cherokee Ridge - 3/30/2013

Hike: Cherokee Ridge Alpine Trail (North & South Loops), Saturday, 3/30/2013, 10:50-13:15 CDT
Distance: 5 miles  Rating: 5/5
Difficulty: Moderate
Conditions: Just about perfect!  Blue, mostly clear sky. Temps in upper 70s. Lite wind.  Trails clear and free of any mud.  Pine straw was dry and a little slippery but not a serious issue.

Thoughts/Observations:
Wonderful hike -- Even better for the spirit than the body.  Lake Martin was a vivid aquamarine with a coating of yellow pine pollen along the slough shorelines.  Small waves driven by light winds lapped at the shoreline.  Spring wildflowers lined the trails throughout the hike, springing up between rocks, at the foot of trees, and along the shore.  My personal favorite wildflower, the woodland violet, was a special treat -- appearing throughout the hike from ridge to shore line.  Jasmine, wild azalea, and red maple joined in the profound floral display.  Plump bumblebees were busy among the shrubs, trees, and small flowers.  The thick, resplendent moss along one section of the lake trail looked very inviting -- I believe I could have taken a nap there, but I did not take the time (maybe I should have).

"Before the Throne of GOD Above" kept playing through my mind during the hike:

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea
A great high Priest whose Name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me
My name is graven on His hands
My name is written on His heart
I know that while in heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart
No tongue can bid me thence depart

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end to all my sin
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me
To look on Him and pardon me

Behold Him there the risen Lamb
My perfect spotless righteousness
The great unchangeable I AM
The King of glory and of grace
One with Himself I cannot die
My soul is purchased by His blood
My life is hid with Christ on high
With Christ my Savior and my God!
With Christ my Savior and my God!

Gear List:

• Emerg Survival Kit (Light)
• Merrell Chameleon hikers
• 1 qt canteen kit
• dSLR
• EsKabar
• Browning Alpha 90L

Thinking about Aquaponics...

Nice article on Aquaponics (farming with plants and fish)...  I am at the considering/dreaming stage with this right now.  This type of agriculture has always intrigued me.

http://fivegallonideas.com/aquaponics-system/

Vial of Deadly Hemorrhagic Fever Missing in Galveston Texas!

Researchers at a Level 4 BioLab in Galveston Texas LOST a vial of a deadly hemorrhagic fever!  Not comforting.  Not comforting at all...

From RSOE Emergency & Disaster Information Service --

The Galveston National Laboratory lost one of five vials containing a deadly Venezuelan virus, according to the University of Texas Medical Branch, which owns the $174 million facility designed with the strictest security measures to hold the deadliest viruses in the country. Like Ebola, the missing Guanarito virus causes hemorrhagic fever, an illness named for "bleeding under the skin, in internal organs or from body orifices like the mouth, eyes, or ears," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "This is clearly an incident that is very discomforting and embarrassing to the University of Texas Medical Center and their national biosecurity lab that they have there," said Dr. William Schaffner, chairman of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn. "You can be sure there are a lot of sweating people down the chain at that institution." Fortunately, losing a vial of Guanarito is not as threatening as losing a vial of anthrax, said Schaffner, a former president of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. The virus could theoretically spread between humans, but it usually only spreads between rodents in Venezuela. rnrnResearchers don't believe the virus can survive in rodents in the U.S., according to a statement from David Callender, president of the University of Texas Medical Branch. Still, the virus has caused "at least several hundred cases" of human disease in regions where it is common, said NIH's director of the Office of Biodefense Research Affairs, Michael Kurilla. "The mortality is anywhere from at least 10 to 20 percent or slightly more," Kurilla told ABCNews.com, adding that there is no treatment or cure for Guanarito. "That is considered very, very severe if you have a 1 in 5 chance of dying without anything to do for the person other than provide supportive hospital care." Kurilla said the Galveston biolab requires the most stringent safety measures because it studies biosafetly level BSL-4 materials, or dangerous infectious diseases that have no vaccines or cures. BSL-4 materials include Guanarito, anthrax, Ebola and the plague. The Galveston researchers were conducting a routine inspection on March 20 and 21 when they noticed there were only four Guanarito vials instead of five. They announced the lapse on March 23.

Don't Rely on Riches!

From FoxNews...

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/03/25/cypriot-leaders-creditors-secure-agreement-toward-bailout/

Scary and Hopefully Eye-Opening -- Cypriots Scramble for Their Money

From FOXNews... Cypriots face an economic uncertain future.  A bank-run seems inevitable.  Hopefully this will open our eyes to the times in which we  live...

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/03/22/reporter-notebook-worried-cypriots-scramble-for-their-money/

Goblin Valley UT

Missed this little jewel in 2009... Another good reason to have another Great Western Expedition...

Word of Life for Today

23 The fear of the Lord leads to life,
And he who has it will abide in satisfaction;

He will not be visited with evil.

-- Prov 19:23 (NKJV)

 

Great thoughts to start off the day!  May we all look to GOD as our Source & Strength, as well as our Best Friend & Guide.

Quote of the Day -- Condoleezza Rice

"If you are taught bitterness and anger, then you will believe you are a victim. You will feel aggrieved and the twin brother of aggrievment is entitlement. So now you think you are owed something and you don't have to work for it and now you're on a really bad road to nowhere because there are people who will play to that sense of victimhood, aggreivement and entitlement, and you still won't have a job."

- Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice

"E.T. Phone Home"... Powerful ALMA Telescope Goes On Line

From EarthSky...

http://earthsky.org/space/alma-telescope-officially-online-on-march-13

The Survival Rules of 3 – Everyone Should Know These…

The Survival Rules of 3 – Everyone Should Know These…:

[Via WillowHavenOutdoor.com]
The post The Survival Rules of 3 – Everyone Should Know These… appeared first on Survival Blog | Survival Spot.

Thought for the Day -- Attitude

"I believe the single most significant decision I can make on a day-to-day basis is my choice of attitude. It is more important than my past, my education, my bankroll, my successes or failures, fame or pain, what other people think of me or say about me, my circumstances, or my position. Attitude keeps me going or cripples my progress. It alone fuels my fire or assaults my hope. When my attitudes are right, there is no barrier too high, no valley too deep, no dream too extreme, no challenge too great for me."

- Charles R. "Chuck" Swindoll

Liberty Outdoors - Expedition #1 - Rock Garden Trail

 Four of the Liberty Youth Gals getting ready to challenge the Toughest Hike in the State.  Lake Cheaha is in the background!

 Starting the ascent up Rock Garden Trail.  Some of the snow is making it to the ground and sticking!

 Conquering one of the many boulders along the trail!

 View is stunning!  GOD's work is beyond description.  How can we not see HIS handiwork all around us.  Open up your eyes and ears!  Enjoy HIS work today.

 Beautiful, simply beautiful!

 View from The Rock Garden across the valley!  Beginning the descent...

35 O God, You are more awesome than Your holy places. The God of Israel is He who gives strength and power to His people. Blessed be God!
Psalms 68:35 (NKJV)