Wakened this morning by the screeching of an eagle: Eeee, eeee, eeee, eeee (in bursts of four).
Why do eagles shriek? Are they warning their prey? Scaring off hawks or other eagles?
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Friday, April 13, 2012
Alleluia!
Easter is the hallelujah day of days.
The Messiah is risen--he is risen indeed!
I couldn't face going to an Easter service led by two male pastors today, so I didn't go to the church where I am a member. Instead I went to Mount Olive Lutheran Church (ELCA), two blocks from my home, where Stephanie Jaeger is the pastor.
She led a wonderful Tres Ore service on Good Friday, and my heart led me back to her church at 7 am on Easter.
After all, it was the women who went to the tomb who discovered the resurrection and raced back to tell the others. The male disciples thought it was "an idle tale."
Here are photos of the early morning service.
https://picasaweb.google.com/102150538747404124091/2012Easter
Sunday, March 25, 2012
A Misty Early Morning Run
I've finally found a sport I can participate in besides hiking.
10K runs are just my speed--you get all the fun of participating in something with a group but none of the pressure of team sports.
https://picasaweb.google.com/102150538747404124091/2012AouraHillsGreatRace
I remember in elementary school getting chosen last for the softball games required for physical education--and then feeling terrible because my striking out impacted all of my teammates.
This is my second 10K--discovered late in life! I've found the camaraderie of running with hundreds of other people from a start to finish line and never having to worry about my running time impacting anyone else.
It's great to have volunteers offering water at every mile--and then a medal and lots of free energy bars and health drinks at booth sponsored by advertisers.
Moms in Motion was my favorite booth. How exciting that this organization supports mothers and encourages them to make time in their lives for themselves--for running and exercising. I wish I'd had more permission to take time for myself when I had toddlers.
10K runs are just my speed--you get all the fun of participating in something with a group but none of the pressure of team sports.
https://picasaweb.google.com/102150538747404124091/2012AouraHillsGreatRace
I remember in elementary school getting chosen last for the softball games required for physical education--and then feeling terrible because my striking out impacted all of my teammates.
This is my second 10K--discovered late in life! I've found the camaraderie of running with hundreds of other people from a start to finish line and never having to worry about my running time impacting anyone else.
It's great to have volunteers offering water at every mile--and then a medal and lots of free energy bars and health drinks at booth sponsored by advertisers.
Moms in Motion was my favorite booth. How exciting that this organization supports mothers and encourages them to make time in their lives for themselves--for running and exercising. I wish I'd had more permission to take time for myself when I had toddlers.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Granite Glory on Hwy. 178
I don't expect to find many landscapes in California that make me shout "Hallelujah!"--it's just a prejudice of mine.
But John and I took a drive up the Kern River Canyon yesterday, and the rounded granite outcrops and boulders towering above our heads were breathtaking.
Dramatic signs at the entrance to the canyon warn drivers about the danger of swimming or rafting in the river::
"Kern River - 257 lives lost since 1968. Think safety."
That's not counting lives lost on the highway that twists above the stream and below the towering rock formations: "Do not pass - next 14 miles."
Photographer Casey Christie of the Bakersfield Californian took photos of boulders that closed the highway in December 2010.
http://www.bakersfieldcalifornian.com/local/x1680088508/Highway-178-through-canyon-to-be-closed-at-least-a-week
His article "The Road Warror" describes his daily commute since 1983 through this canyon (Feb. 19, 2012, p. D1). He recounts cows on the road at night, rocks through windshields, and drivers who go over the edge into the river. Unfortunately, that article is not online.
At Lake Isabella, formed by an earthen dam, we found a barren landscape scoured by cold wind.
Right through the middle of the dam traverses the Kern River Fault, so water in the lake is kept low these days. In case of an earthquake, water will still flood the small community lying just west of the dam.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/22/science/22dam.html?scp=1&sq=aging%20dams%20february%202011&st=cse
My family lived in Bakersfield from 1961 to 1966, but I don't recall any family excursions up to see this canyon and reservoir.
Why not? Were my parents too tired on weekends to plan excursions?
Or was it our Colorado snobbery? My father had grown up next to Boulder Canyon, my mother in Telluride, the box canyon where the San Miguel River ends.
Perhaps they didn't think the Kern River could have much of a canyon worth seeing.
They were wrong.
But John and I took a drive up the Kern River Canyon yesterday, and the rounded granite outcrops and boulders towering above our heads were breathtaking.
Dramatic signs at the entrance to the canyon warn drivers about the danger of swimming or rafting in the river::
"Kern River - 257 lives lost since 1968. Think safety."
That's not counting lives lost on the highway that twists above the stream and below the towering rock formations: "Do not pass - next 14 miles."
Photographer Casey Christie of the Bakersfield Californian took photos of boulders that closed the highway in December 2010.
http://www.bakersfieldcalifornian.com/local/x1680088508/Highway-178-through-canyon-to-be-closed-at-least-a-week
His article "The Road Warror" describes his daily commute since 1983 through this canyon (Feb. 19, 2012, p. D1). He recounts cows on the road at night, rocks through windshields, and drivers who go over the edge into the river. Unfortunately, that article is not online.
At Lake Isabella, formed by an earthen dam, we found a barren landscape scoured by cold wind.
Right through the middle of the dam traverses the Kern River Fault, so water in the lake is kept low these days. In case of an earthquake, water will still flood the small community lying just west of the dam.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/22/science/22dam.html?scp=1&sq=aging%20dams%20february%202011&st=cse
My family lived in Bakersfield from 1961 to 1966, but I don't recall any family excursions up to see this canyon and reservoir.
Why not? Were my parents too tired on weekends to plan excursions?
Or was it our Colorado snobbery? My father had grown up next to Boulder Canyon, my mother in Telluride, the box canyon where the San Miguel River ends.
Perhaps they didn't think the Kern River could have much of a canyon worth seeing.
They were wrong.
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