A Sad Milestone

Christmas Day, 2006 marked a horrible milestone in the U.S. intervention in Iraq. On that day, the deaths of American military personnel in Iraq surpassed the 2,973 lives lost in the attacks of September 11, 2001. This doesn't even include the loss of life in Afghanistan, nor the tens of thousands of Iraqi citizens who have died in this misbegotten invasion of a country which posed no threat to the United States.

Rather than liberating a people longing for freedom, we have instead uncorked the bottle of sectarian violence that had been kept contained by the cruel regime of Saddam Hussein. Now we find ourselves paying in lives, money, and other resources; and bogged down in a civil war; a fact our President refuses to recognize. He calls it "resolve". I prefer the term "stubbornness". Mr. Bush, it is not a virtue to fail to modify tactics if current ones are failing. It is not "flip flopping" to adapt to changing conditions.

Amid the holiday celebrations with family and friends, I hope all of us keep in our thoughts the lives lost in this miserable Iraq war, and their loved ones. It is also imperative that we put pressure, and keep pressure, on our elected representatives to bring this misguided adventure to a close as soon as possible.

A Rocky Mountain Stream

Despite our holiday blizzard, one of the things I like about Colorado is the fact that we do get four seasons here. The photo above is one I took last spring as the creeks in the Rocky Mountain foothills were thawing out. The bit of snow in the middle of the water sits atop a bed of ice left over from the winter. The gnarly roots sticking up are the base of an old tree that has succumbed to the elements, lying dead on its side in the middle of the stream. I thought it made an interesting combination of elements, so I took the shot. I think it came out rather nice. It also reminds us that no matter how much snow winter brings, we have the warmth of springtime not too many months ahead, heralding the arrival of warmer weather.

I'm Dreaming of a Mele Kalikimaka

Bing Crosby may have made "White Christmas" a holiday favorite, but he had another Christmas tune he sang with The Andrews Sisters that sounds a lot more enticing after three feet of snowfall.

Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say on a bright Hawaiian Christmas Day
That's the island greeting that we send to you from the land where palm trees sway
Here we know that Christmas will be green and bright
The sun to shine by day and all the stars at night
Mele Kalikimaka is Hawaii's way to say Merry Christmas to you

The great Holiday Blizzard of '06 has moved out, leaving mounds of white snow everywhere. It actually is very pretty seeing the snow on the Colorado blue spruce trees and all over the pastures here. After the snowfall ceased Thursday afternoon, the digging out began. Our townhouse complex had a crew working from early Thursday before the snow stopped, until about 1:30 am to get our driveways and streets cleared enough to leave. Now we have a single lane plowed out and piles of snow 6 feet tall all along the road.

It is my hope that we have no more actual blizzards to blog about this winter. We now return you to our regular programming.

Drama in the Snow

A few minutes ago, I looked out my back door and watched a blizzard story unfold. The blue pickup you see in the photo above, behind the SUV, was stuck in the snow. It is a 4x4, and as the driver tried forward and reverse gears, all of his wheels were spinning and going nowhere.

Luckily, a Suburban with chained tires from the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office drove by, although we are in Douglas County. The Sheriff's Deputy spoke with the driver, and then moments later, a tractor came along. I think this was just plain luck, as I doubt he had time to respond to a radio call from the deputy.

In any case, they quickly pulled the tractor into position behind the stuck pickup truck, strapped a tow rope up to both, and the tractor made quick work of extracting the pickup from the snow in which he had gotten stranded. The video below shows the rescue.

Perfect Gift for a Grad!

This is a picture from a few months back. It was taken in a store in a local mall, which was featuring gifts for the graduate in the Class of 2006. One suggested gift item was a fleece comforter. The unfortunate way they were rolled & folded could reveal what the grad really wanted for graduation!

Snowed In, and Still Falling

Well, it is before 8 o'clock on Thursday morning. I was supposed to drive to Cheyenne, Wyoming this morning, but I-25 is closed all the way to the state line. Besides that, I can't yet even get out of my garage. The snow is deep, drifting, and I cannot even get out of the garage.

The first photo this morning is looking out at my neighbor's townhouse. The front porch is behind the visible part of the evergreen tree (which itself is really about 5' tall). As you can see, about 3' of white crap blocks her door, as it does mine.

The snow is supposed to stop later today, but we are still under a blizzard warning until noon. I really need to get out of here and get to the office, but at this point, I don't think that is yet possible.

The second photo of the morning shows the snowdrift out the back door. There is hardly any accumulation on top of the fence or the patio furniture, as the high winds have kept them clear. But that fence is about 5½ feet tall, and all but the top 10" or so are behind the snow.

Luckily, we still have power, water, gas, and food, so we will be fine. Still, with things to do and places to go, this is not good. It's on days like today that I wondered why did I ever move away from Houston!! I'd almost take a hurricane over much of this weather.

Update! - It Keeps Piling Up

Here is what I see upon opening the front door at 5:00 PM. The garage is behind a three-foot drift. The snow beyond the porch is about 2 feet lower than the porch at its base. Still, it keeps coming down!

Denver International Airport is closed down, Governor Owens has declared a state of emergency, the Regional Transportation District is bringing the busses in, and many highways are closed. Are we having fun yet?

Autumn Out With A Bang!

Here it is, the day before the Winter Solstice, the last day of Autumn. What do we get to mark the occasion? A blizzard. Snow started falling here in Parker at about 3:30 AM this morning, and by the time I went to work, it was already getting treacherous. I called it a day shortly after noon, knowing the drive home would be awful. I was not wrong!

Still, I made it safe and sound, despite people with no common sense, driving like maniacs. My little 4x4 Jeep did a good job, but even that was not so sure footed in this mess. By the time it all ends tomorrow afternoon, we expect up to two feet of snowfall. This is also very wet snow, unlike our typical Colorado fluff. The movie above was taken shortly before 2:00 PM, and it is expected to continue like that for at least another day! That is not static on the video, but sideways snow coming down very hard.

Looks like a white solstice and a white Christmas, even if only from the many inches of the stuff left on the ground by next Monday.

Ho, Ho, Ho!

Wisconsin's Historic Capitol

Interior of the dome from the rotunda.

Last summer during my weekend in Madison, I got to go to the Wisconsin Capitol. This is a very impressive building in many ways. The Capitol has four wings, giving the building the symmetry of an "X" shape. Built in the first decade of the 20th Century to replace the previous capitol which was destroyed by fire, the building boasts the largest dome by volume of any in the United States. It is also the only dome built only from granite. Two hundred feet above the floor of the rotunda is "Wisconsin Resources", a painting on the dome's interior by artist Edwin Blashfield, and the outside is graced by a gilded bronze statue, "Wisconsin", by Daniel Chester French. The Wisconsin Capitol is also the only capitol in the country built on an isthmus, as downtown Madison lies on a strip of land separating Lake Mendota and Lake Monona.

The interior of the capitol is crafted of various colors of stone, wood, and gilding, and is very aesthetically pleasing. Some of the stones contain ancient fossils.

In 2001, the Capitol was designated a National Historic Landmark. By state law, no building within a mile of the Capitol may be taller than the base of the columns which surround the dome, insuring the building's place in Madison's skyline.

The city of Madison is one of the more freethinking areas of Wisconsin, and home to one of the nation's most visible advocacy groups for protecting the separation of church & state. To counter officially-sponsored religious displays, every December, the Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation, places a plaque at the Wisconsin Capitol that reads:

At this THE WINTER SOLSTICE may reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.

The FFRF has also previously placed a similar plaque in Colorado near the creche mentioned in the post below about Denver's holiday lights, but it has been regularly stolen or vandalized. They eventually included the Biblical command, "Thou shalt not steal" on the back of the plaque.

There are many things to see there, but the Wisconsin Capitol building is well worth the time to visit when in the Madison area.



Interior stairwell near the North Wing.



Exterior of Wisconsin Capitol Dome.

Denver Holiday Lights

One of the annual traditions in Denver is the lighted holiday display at the City and County of Denver building (City Hall). This building lies across Civic Center Park from the Colorado Capitol building, and faces it. It is also just a short walk away from the U.S. Mint that manufactures our coins. On the way home from my company's holiday party at Coors Field tonight, I stopped to take a few photos. These are of the front of the building, which faces east. Here are two of them for you to enjoy.

The display has not been without controversy. The city has a creche on the front steps, which has raised First Amendment issues, but remains as part of the larger display. The display says "Merry Christmas" on one side, and "Happy New Year" on the other. When current mayor John Hickenlooper came into office, he proposed changing the Christmas greeting to the more inclusive "Happy Holidays", since the building belongs to all Denverites. The uproar was too much, so Hickenlooper relented, and "Merry Christmas" remains.

All controversy aside, the lights are breathtaking, and these pictures cannot really convey the impact of seeing them in person. Click on the photos to see a larger version.

Happy Holidays to all!

Prairie Dog

It is getting close to the start of winter here, and this little fellow is probably snuggly hibernating in his burrow tonight. Last summer, he came out long enough for me to get this quick picture of him.

The black tip on his tail tells us he is a member of the Black-Tailed Prairie Dog species, that lives in colonies, or "prairie dog towns" throughout the Great Plains of the United States. These little animals are not "dogs" at all, but a variety of ground squirrel. Their towns are a network of tunnels they create underground, with multiple entrances. They emit a high-pitched bark to warn the others when danger approaches. They are extremely shy.

They also can be somewhat dangerous in the wild, as the fleas they get tend to carry bubonic plague. While today's antibiotics mean the plague is no longer the "Black Death" of medieval times, I still wouldn't want to catch it.

There are other controversies about these cute little animals. As their tunnels can be a nuisance, as well as a danger to cattle stepping into the holes they make, some people poison them by the hundreds. This has caused animal rights activists to fight back, working to relocate colonies rather than allow them to be destroyed.

Here in Northern Colorado, you don't have to look far, even in urbanized areas, to find a prairie dog town. In captivity, they have a lifespan of approximately eight years.

The D & F Tower

My recent journey back to downtown Denver gave me the chance to shoot this photo of the famed Daniels & Fisher Tower, which stands on the 16th Street Mall. This landmark was part of the Daniels & Fisher department store, and according to Wikipedia, was the tallest structure west of the Mississippi at the time of its construction. Wikipedia also notes that it was modelled after The Campanile, or St. Mark's Bell Tower in Venice, Italy, and indeed it looks very much like its Italian sister. (CLICK HERE to see The Campanile).

Daniels & Fisher was acquired by the May Company, and starting in the 1950s, this historic tower became known as the May D & F Tower. When the old department store fell victim to the wrecker's ball around 1980, the clock tower was spared, and it stands vigilant over the passersby on the 16th Street Mall today, nearly 100 years after it was built.