Waitin’ for the big melt
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Well…
Think Spring!
Basking in the sun
Welcome to Bismarck. Restrictions in effect. Only one catch: you may have to guess what they are
Barney
A number of familiar old “fallen farm” structures around town have finally succumbed to old age and fallen completely. There’s only a certain window of time in which these photogenic pieces of history may be captured, and after that they’ll simply collapse into piles of rubble and rot. I’m always intrigued by the thought that these were new at one time.
Somebody once stood back at the completion of building them and stopped to survey a job well done. Somebody was excited to finally have that barn or that new home. Somebody grew up, worked hard, or maybe even passed away in many of these crumbling old buildings. That’s why I think I’m so drawn to them; a photo of a decrepit farmhouse, barn or shed is merely a starting point from which one can look back and surmise what it could have been like back in its glory days.
Square Butte Horses (updated with larger photo)
I already have the best views of these unique formations marked in my GPS. I was dismayed to see the clouds begin to roll in a little while before sunset, but there was still color in the clouds before they began to thicken.
Adding to the mix was a pair of horses grazing in the field along the highway. I was sitting in my truck when I nabbed this quick shot and a few similar to it, and then I bolted home. I had just received a phone call from my four year old, wondering when Daddy was going to be home. “Soon,” I told him…and put the wraps on a pretty decent photography day. I’ve got plenty more from that trip that I haven’t posted yet, but they’re on the way.
Traumatic April Fool’s Day experience
Even more confused, I made my way to the kitchen to find the above: a CUTE little photography-related onesie with a little pink stick laying on it. Huh? I looked at it, saw two lines, read the writing on it, and internally FREAKED. Putting on my best calm, reassuring husband facade, I came back to the living room to assure her that everything will be okay. We’re all going through a lot of lifestyle changes right now, including her becoming a stay-at-home mom, so really this isn’t as scary as it could be. Of course, inside my head are all the flashes of guy-type panic, but I’m not going to let her know that.
That’s when, through her genuine tears, she sobbed, “April Fool’s, honey!” And started laughing. I was so shocked, I didn’t know how to react! Internally, of course, I felt enormous relief…but I was still off-balance emotionally from trying to process the idea of a Baby Number Three.
Of course, I can appreciate a good prank as much as the next guy. I wasn’t angry (again, probably due to relief) and simply gave her a hug and assured her that even if it HAD been true, I’d still have been okay and that I love her very much.
I later found that she borrowed the stick from a friend who’s expecting. You’ve got to love a girl who will go the extra mile for a little fun. Thank God that this day only comes once a year!
Eyecatching is exactly the right word for it
Get your wallets ready: preachy Bismarck Tribune article demands mandatory recycling to “get some class”
Home-grown or not, the idea of mandatory recycling in Bismarck-Mandan is not too far from reality. In an effort to force you and me to comply with their efforts to “save the earth”, a pair of local teachers have decided that you should no longer have a choice in the matter.
They’ve found a mouthpiece in this Bismarck Tribune article, complete with “you’ve got no class if you don’t do what we want” headline. This article is tagged by the Bismarck Hi-Herald, the student newspaper of BHS, but was one of the top 3 headlined stories on the Bismarck Tribune website last night when I visited the site. One thing I learned early on is that once you put it online, you own it. Apparently the Tribune likes headlining high-school level advocacy reporting.
As if there aren’t enough financial constraints placed on families these days, they would like to see fines imposed on those who don’t adhere to their ideology. BHS teacher Vallerie Smallbeck is quoted as saying, “They (the community) need to recycle … If not willingly, then maybe they would be more cooperative if there was a cost for not complying,” Of course, the Tribune offers no alternative viewpoint or cost analysis of such a program in a small community.
Naturally I’m all about good stewardship. I recycle various household items which I know are bad for the environment. I don’t, however, think it’s the job of some city official or nanny-state do-gooder to assess a financial penalty to my family if we don’t choose to rinse out and sort all our garbage. We can all decide what level of responsible recycling we choose for ourselves, thank you.
In issues like this, people tend to fall into two groups. The majority includes hose who want to go about living our lives responsibly as we see fit, minding our own business and expecting others to mind theirs. Then you have the minority, the vocal activists, who see injustice everywhere they turn and are frustrated that they can’t get the rest of us on board their campaign to reshape the community as they see fit. Sadly, those are the more vocal group.
You can help even the playing field by sending a quick note to your city government, urging them not to put a mandatory recycling program in place. At the very least they should put this sort of thing to a popular vote and let the cities’ residents decide if they wish to fund, enact, and submit tens of thousands of people to flaky ideas such as a mandatory recycling program. Click here to contact the City of Bismarck via a contact form, click here for the email addresses of Mandan city commissioners, and keep a watchful eye on your city government.
As this Tribune article demonstrates, there are plenty of activists out there trying to direct your life for you. Don’t let them get away with it.
What do you do when it snows AGAIN? Find cool stuff poking out of it
This is the first photo I wanted to post in this series, from beside a highway between Mercer and Wilton. As an information and communications junkie, I’m drawn to these old telephone poles that have long been out of service. Even better is one like this, with loose wires still attached…and modern wind turbines to boot! They may be an expensive and unreliable source of energy, but sometimes they can be photogenic.
As the title of this post indicates, I found a lot of interesting stuff poking out of the snow during my travels. You can expect those to slowly trickle in here on the ol’ Blog.