Partridge Family

We don't officially have any pets in our home (except for one Zhu Zhu pet named Pipsqueak). However, if someone asked us if we have any wildlife, I'd have to say that we don't throw any big parties, but we do have wild partridge.

This family of partridge has been with us (usually just during the winter) ever since we moved into Twin Peaks (2003). The fact that we always have food out probably has something to do with it. One lady across the way calls them "her chickens". Actually, they are our partridge. In my previous life, I used to go out hunting birds like this with Dad, but now they come to me, and I shoot them with my camera.

On Deck

In the aftermath of the 2009 Christmas Blizzard, our deck needed some serious attention. With part of it done, Kit snapped this photo to celebrate that we could once again open our sliding glass door.

It's amazing how much snow can accumulate one flake at a time. Let's not even talk about how heavy it is.

Christmas Snowstorm

It was originally reported that this snowstorm was going to miss the Fargo area to the south. We might pick up a few inches.

It ended up being more like a few feet. These pictures are deck side which faces South. The wind was out of the North during the blizzard.

Wrap-around snow results in a major Sunday project for Johnnny. That's OK because the Minnesota Vikings don't play until Monday Night.

Blizzard Warning

Today is Christmas Day! Up in the North Country, we are now experiencing a full-fledged blizzard. The official forecast is for a Blizzard Warning from this morning until tomorrow around noon. If you want to see what it looks like outside here right now (in the Fargo area), just look at a blank sheet of white paper. I decided to look back at photos from exactly four month ago to see some non-winter pictures of our back yard.

Under our deck, instead of snow, we had some pots that were hanging down and morning glories that were climbing up. We had zinnias surrounding our vegarden. Beyond that, a rock and flower garden with verbena & friends.

Here, instead of snow, we see some Sweet Peas in the foreground, with butterflied zinnias in the middle ground, and the verbena bed bringing up the rear.

Maybe the reason I'm reminiscing about August is because now it seems it was much easier to sprinkle & mow than it's going to be to shovel out after this Blizzard Warning storms itself out. Maybe we should start naming blizzards. Let's call this first one: Al Gore 1.

Pillow Fest

Since all my shopping was wrapped up about a month ago, I was out capturing some store moments. These pillows definitely caught my camera's eye.

So this is where all the extra pillows hang out when they haven't been bought yet.

Most of them will probably end up grouped on sofas, preventing family members and guests from sitting down.

Gone Green

This is the first in a series of posts showing Look-A-Likes. It's been done many times before and they're usually quite amusing. Don't you think there's a strong resemblance between The Hulk...

and the Jolly Green Giant?! Maybe this is why I think eating lots of vegetables makes you strong.

Another similar-looking pair, would be Winston Churchill and W.C. Fields. Isn't it interesting that Mr. Churchill's initials are W.C.?! My next Look-a-Like post will most likely feature them along with similar quotations.

2009 has been a fun year for blogging. I hope to do a lot more of it in the New Year. Talk about a major creative outlet! As a bonus, it's free. Thank you, Blogger.com. Keep on bloggin' everybody! Blog On!

Blue People

The new movie Avatar has introduced a new perspective on life. This movie is the next Matrix. Even tho I have not yet seen it, I do see it being apart of my future.

Our friends John & Lori recently visited our greatown. We met at the local Thai restaurant. They seemed rather blue that evening.

After you go see a 3-D movie, is there any danger in not being able to go back to 2-D? Lately, it seems the Blue Man Group has opened offices in my neck of the woods.

John & Lori will enjoy Avatar as soon as they get shoveled out from their recent blizzard. If you're going to get the winter blues, it's best to be blue together.

Who's that guy over John's shoulder, taking pictures in a public restaurant?

Lively Dividends

Add-On Poem by Kit & Johnnny. Title: Lively Dividends. Date Written: November 9, 2009. Copyright © 2009. All rights reserved.{Line 1: Johnnny, Line 2: Kit, and so on and so forth.}

Title: Lively Dividends

Air is thinner the further up the mountain

I raced there with time to spare a drink from the fountain

Drinking while thinking I'll build me a spa

To balance my chi, or wait, is it cha?

Whatever you do, don't lose sight of the top

Tend your seeds well and they'll envy your crop

Cook for a party of domestic animals and friends

The promise exists for quite lively dividends

Invest in your future and blog about the present

Stop watching what Mr. Jones has or hasn't

Anything we do affects all that we do on this earth

And our most loved posessions have no monetary worth.

Add-On Poem by Kit & Johnnny.
Title: Lively Dividends
Date Written: November 9, 2009.
Copyright © 2009. All rights reserved.
{Line 1: Johnnny, Line 2: Kit, and so on and so forth.}

Showcase

This area off our upstairs kitchen and living room is what we call The Showcase.During morning hours, it starts out Red, and gradually changes to Gold by midday.As the day progresses and the sun gets ready for bed, The Showcase starts to show its Violet side.We love the colors of our home, which we call: Twin Peaks.

Absaraka

While being driven across the state, I couldn't help but snap a passing shot of this exit sign to Absaraka. Perhaps this is alphabetically the first town in North Dakota.
Zap is probably the last.

It seems one of my favorite morning radio personalities in the area is always talking about Absaraka, North Dakota.
How else would I know their team name is The Crows?
And how else would I know this town has an airport?
Last Saturday when this photo was taken,
the landscape and sky looked very Vikings!

Dining Room

Last night, Kit wanted to start getting the table ready for Thanksgiving Day.

If you're having folks over for Thanksgiving dinner, it's nice to have a Dining Room. Not until recently, did we add a dining room table and chairs to this space. For quite some time, this was merely a walk-through area between our foyer and our main upper level. You had to watch your head as you passed under the hanging fixture.

I would like to give thanks for owning a home, that has a Dining Room, which now also has a dinner table. Now, I just have to wait until 4 o'clock to make use of it. :o)
Happy Thanksgiving everybody.

Rising Water

Travelling east-west across North Dakota, there appear to be a lot of bigger lakes where there used to be smaller lakes or ponds. It's pretty evident that the water is on the rise due to all the treelines that are newly standing in water.

The increase in the amount of water would be great if you're a duck or a migrating goose. It wouldn't be so great if you're a road, railroad track, farmer's field, or someone's home near water.

Maybe global warming will make North Dakota a popular year-round vacation destination.

Remembering Winter

It's been so mild here during the month of November, I had to look back at pictures of last winter to remember what it was like.

If memory serves, this was a very cold winter morning. Just as the driveway got shoveled clear, the plows came by clearing our street, and left behind a huge hard-packed snownami ridge. Besides building character, our North Dakotan winters do help keep out the Riff-Raff.
I still like to do it the old-fashioned way: with a big shovel and a hot cup of chocolate milk coffee.

Keep On Truckin

We drove across North Dakota this weekend. Luckily, the weather cooperated. Fargo to Bismarck can be a nice three hour drive. The clouds of geese in the sky just to the north of I-94 looked like locust swarms, just west of Tappen. On the return trip, there was a very strong wind out of the south (from right to left in this picture).
Every time we passed a truck, we had to try and time it in between gusts, in case the truck blew over.

That's a big 10-4, good buddy.

Egg Nog

This could be called my Nog Blog.

I know the year-end holidays are getting close when Eggnog starts showing up. It's probably not the healthiest thing to drink in the long-run, but who doesn't like Eggnog? A tasty combination of milk, cream, sugar, and beaten eggs, along with nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla, it's my favorite Chistmas-time treat. Eggnog Recipes

Snow Flakey

This 6-sided snowflake was created at this website. You can cut, preview, cut some more, and then save and/or send snowflakes to your scissor's content. There is also a gallery of 20 million flakes to look through. Tis true, no two flakes are the same.

Where Zen Is

An Add-On Poem by Kit & Johnnny.
Title: Where Zen Is.
Date Written: November 11, 2009.
Copyright © 2009. All rights reserved.
{Line 1: Johnnny, Line 2: Kit, and so on and so forth.}

Title: Where Zen Is.

Take me to the beach
Where Zen is within reach
Everything is here
Which leaves nothing to fear
Write a paragraph, then a book
Tuck it into a secret nook.

An Add-On Poem by Kit & Johnnny.
Title: Where Zen Is.
Date Written: November 11, 2009.
Copyright © 2009. All rights reserved.
{Line 1: Johnnny, Line 2: Kit, and so on and so forth.}

Space Elevator

It's been called the Beanstalk, Space Bridge, Sky Hook, Space Lift, Orbital Tower, Space Ladder, Orbital Elevator, but I like Space Elevator.

At the recent Space Elevator Games in the Mojave Desert, competitors have been experimenting with bold new technologies to bring this idea from Science Fiction to reality. Just imagine, no more space shuttles having to blast off in order to gain access to orbital space. Vehicles would be power-beamed up a cable anchored in space. I would not want to be stuck in the Space Elevator on the 4,000th floor in case of a technical malfunction, but I'm sure the view would be fantastic.

Olive Oil

Just like Popeye, we love Olive Oil.

ChiliTown

Tonight, Kit made a batch of chili!

This will be my department's entry into my company's chili contest luncheon for United Way fundraising.

Kit stirs the pot full of secret ingredients. However, for this special occasion, the official ingredients list will be disclosed (without amounts, of course):

London Broil steak, diced tomatoes, onion, green pepper, garlic, beef broth, kidney beans, oregano, paprika, and a pat o' butter.

The final ten ingredients all start with the letter "C":

Chili beans, Coriander, Cumin, Cinnamon, Cayenne pepper, Cholula hot sauce, Chili powder, Chocolate, Corona, and a home-grown poblano Chili.

Thanks for the chili, Kit!

Study In Contrasts

Halloweekend

Happy Halloween Weekend everybody! This is how I looked tonight when Trick-or-Treaters door-belled for candy. Bonus: we get an extra hour of sleep tonight. G0od Evening.

Your Vehicle Was Toad

My workplace recently had to start enforcing towing un-permitted vehicles from the parking lot. We've heard of a few cars that were toad. Hopefully, my car will never get toad. Apparently, it's quite the hassle getting them back, after being taken over by big government.

Preparation A For Asteroids

When comparing worst-case scenarios, we often think of the ultimate worst-case scenario as being that the universe blows up. Earth getting hit by a giant meteor or asteroid would probably be a close second.

I was certainly quite relieved earlier this week to hear that NASA lowered Earth's chances of getting hit by an 885-foot asteroid. Newly discovered in 2004, 99942 Apophis (original name was 2004 MN4) seemed to have a chance of hitting Earth (or the Moon) in 2029. Then again in April of 2036, scientists had calculated a 1 in 45,000 chance that Apophis could strike Earth. However, luckily for us, that threat has now been lowered to a 1 in 250,000 chance. Some day down the road, we're all going to be hearing about the Torino Impact Hazard Scale. Level 1 would indicate a very small chance of the worst-case scenario. If they start talking about the Level 4 threat level, we all might as well start partying like there's no tomorrow. In the meantime, let's send out some space probes that will put tracking devices on these annoying asteroids.