Elephant Butte, NM

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Sand Artist, part 1







I loved this! If I was around this all the time I would love to participate. There were a couple pro teams, several intermediate, novice family class and individual. I have seen this only in pictures, in person it was something! I would have loved to take the lawn chairs and watch from start to finish. It would have been neat to watch the tide take them down too! Maybe next time.

Monday, June 28, 2010

Chainsaw Carvers and Sand Sculptors.






Saturday we drove 1 & 1/2 hours to Ocean Shores, WA. There we saw chainsaw carvers at work in town. Also at the beach were sand sculptors. Both were really neat.
Here's the wood carvers. Tomorrow is it the sand.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Sunday joke.






This is the joke I wanted to post on Father's Day. But after some thought I decided it just wasn't quite appropriate. I guess it's that Mars and Venus thing. Somehow I think gals will enjoy it much more than the guys.




Overview: I had to take my son's lizard to the vet.

Here's what happened:

Just after dinner one night, my son came up to tell me there was "something wrong" with one of the two lizards he holds prisoner in his room.

"He's just lying there looking sick," he told me. "I'm serious, Dad. Can you help?"

I put my best lizard-healer expression on my face and followed him into his bedroom.

One of the little lizards was indeed lying on his back, looking stressed. I immediately knew what to do.

"Honey," I called, "come look at the lizard!"

"Oh, my gosh!" my wife exclaimed. "She's having babies." "What?" my son demanded.
"But their names are Bert and Ernie, Mom!"

I was equally outraged. "Hey, how can that be? I thought we said we didn't want them to reproduce," I said accusingly to my wife.

"Well, what do you want me to do, post a sign in their cage?" she inquired ( I think she actually said this sarcastically!) "No, but you were supposed to get two boys!"
"Yeah, Bert and Ernie!" my son agreed.

"Well, it's just a little hard to tell on some guys, you know," she informed me
(Again with the sarcasm!).

By now the rest of the family had gathered to see what was going on. I shrugged, deciding to make the best of it.

"Kids, this is going to be a wondrous experience," I announced. "We're about to witness the miracle of birth."

"Oh, gross!" they shrieked.

We peered at the patient. After much struggling, what looked like a tiny foot
would appear briefly, vanishing a scant second later.

"We don't appear to be making much progress," I noted.

"It's breech," my wife whispered, horrified.

"Do something, Dad!" my son urged.

"Okay, okay." Squeamishly, I reached in and grabbed the foot when it next appeared, giving it a gentle tug. It disappeared. I tried several more times with the same results.
"Should I call 911?" my eldest daughter wanted to know.

"Maybe they could talk us through the trauma."
( You see a pattern here with the females in my house? )

"Let's get Ernie to the vet," I said grimly. We drove to the vet with my son holding the cage in his lap.

"Breathe, Ernie, breathe," he urged.

The vet took Ernie back to the examining room and peered at the little animal through a magnifying glass.

"What do you think, Doc, a C-section?" I suggested scientifically.

"Oh, very interesting," he murmured. "Mr. and Mrs. Cameron, may I speak to you privately for a moment?" I gulped, nodding for my son to step outside.
"Is Ernie going to be okay?" my wife asked. "Oh, perfectly," the vet assured us.
"This lizard is not in labor. In fact, that isn't EVER going to happen.
Ernie is a boy.

You see, Ernie is a young male. And occasionally, as they come into maturity, like most male species, they um . . um . . . masturbate. Just the way he did, lying on his back." He blushed, glancing at my wife..

We were silent, absorbing this. "So, Ernie's just. . .just. . . excited," my
wife offered. "Exactly," the vet replied, relieved that we understood.
More silence. Then my vicious, cruel wife started to giggle. And giggle. And then even laugh loudly.

Tears were now running down her face. "It's just that . I'm picturing you pulling on its . . . its. . teeny little . . "

She gasped for more air to bellow in laughter once more.

"That's enough," I warned. We thanked the vet and hurriedly bundled the lizard and our son back into the car. He was glad everything was going to be okay.

"I know Ernie's really thankful for what you did, Dad," he told me.

"Oh, you have NO idea," my wife agreed, collapsing with laughter.

Two lizards: $140.

One cage: $50.

Trip to the vet: $30.

Memory of your husband pulling on a lizard's winkie:

Priceless!


Moral of the story: Pay attention in biology class.


Lizards lay eggs!

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Dave is always the one to see them but I did this morning...look






The Common Seal (Phoca vitulina), also known as the Harbor (or Harbour) Seal, is a true seal found along temperate and Arctic marine coastlines of the Northern hemisphere. They are found in coastal waters of the northern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans as well as those of the Baltic and North Seas, making them the most wide-ranging of the pinnipeds (walruses, eared seals, and true seals).
Common seals are brown, tan, or gray, with distinctive V-shaped nostrils. An adult can attain a length of 1.85 meters (6.1 ft) and a mass of 132 kilograms (290 lb). Females outlive males (30–35 years versus 20–25 years). Common seals stick to familiar resting spots, generally rocky areas where land predators can't reach them, near a steady supply of fish to eat. Males fight over mates underwater. Females mate with the strongest males, then bear single pups, which they care for alone. Pups are able to swim and dive within hours of birth, and they grow quickly on their mothers' milk. A fatty tissue called blubber keeps them warm.
Their global population is 400,000 to 500,000, and subspecies in certain habitats are threatened. Seal hunting, once a common practice is now illegal.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Sand dollars and crabs.





I saw a hummingbird again. I'm trying to get a picture. They are different than the ones in CA. When we went razor clam digging there were sand dollars everywhere. The on the left is from the Bahamas and the one on the right is from here. They are different. Enjoy the crab pictures. We see them clinging to the pier poles all the time.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Lordy, lordy look who's 40 plus 20! Sunday joke!




Is that a baby photo of my sister or one I pulled of the internet?
Happy 60th Birthday Sis!


----------------------------------------------------


We were dressed and ready to go out for a party. We
turned on a night light, turned the answering machine on,
covered our parakeet and put the cat in the backyard.

We phoned the local cab company and requested a taxi. The taxi
arrived and we opened the front door to leave the house.

As we walked out the door, the cat we had put out in the yard,
slipped back into the house. We didn't want the cat shut in the
house because she always tries to eat the bird.

My wife goes on out to the taxi, while I went back inside to get the
cat. The cat runs upstairs, with me in hot pursuit. Waiting in the
cab, my wife doesn't want the driver to know that the house will be
empty for the night. So, she explains to the taxi driver that I will
be out soon, 'He's just going upstairs to say Goodbye to my mother.'
A few minutes later, I get into the cab. 'Sorry I took so long,' I
said as we drove away. 'That stupid bitch was hiding under the bed.
I had to poke her ass with a coat hanger to get her to come out! She
tried to take off, so I grabbed her by the neck. Then, I had to wrap
her in a blanket to keep her from scratching me. But it worked! I
hauled her fat ass downstairs and threw her out into the back yard!'

The cab driver hit a parked car.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Dave got some great eagle pictures and one big clam!








We had the lowest tide yet. Water in and water out. It still amazes me. The eagles where eating and people were gathering critters. Here's an eagle desktop photo for you!

Monday, June 14, 2010

Shelton, WA







Last week I walked around Shelton. I had the camera along. Here are some photo's of what I saw. Also a few photo's from a drive Dave & I took. Below is a bit of info about Shelton. It's about 13 miles from the Marina.

Shelton is the county seat, of Mason County, Washington, United States. Shelton is the westernmost city on the Puget Sound. The population was 8,442 at the 2000 census. In terms of population, the city is ranked 161 out of approximately 500 municipalities in Washington. Shelton has a unique form of government in the State of Washington, being the only city in the state which still retains the commission form of government.

Shelton was officially incorporated in 1890. Formerly called Sheltonville, the city was named after David Shelton, a delegate to the territorial legislature.
Shelton was once served by a small fleet of steamboats which was part of the Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet. These boats included the Old Settler, Irene, Willie, City of Shelton, Marian, Clara Brown, and S.G. Simpson. The economy was built around logging, farming, dairying and ranching as well as oyster cultivation. The Simpson Timber Company mill on Puget Sound's Oakland Bay continues to dominate the landscape of the downtown area. Shelton also identifies itself as the "Christmas Tree Capital".