Now that's a moth!

I was out in the garage yesterday and found this large, attractive moth resting on the window blinds. According to my handy NWF Field Guide to Insect and Spiders of North America, this is a male Polyphemus Moth. It must be a young one, because it says they can have a wingspan up to 6". After I took these pictures, I let it go and it wasted no time getting as far away from me as possible, high in a nearby tree. In its little moth brain, I'm pretty sure it thought I was going to eat it at any moment. And I almost did. It looked delicious! Yum.

I caught a Imperial Moth several years ago that was about this same size, and it was a brute! It was all I could do to hold on to it... a very powerful critter.

I hope he likes Classic Rock

Our dog Gabriel doesn't like certain noises. Thunder, trains in the distance, fireworks, etc. And I'm sure it doesn't help that he recently lost his life-long buddy, Zeke. The world he has known for the last 10 years has changed forever. And though his doggie life seems to have settled down into a routine once again, things just aren't quite the same anymore... for all of us.
Thunderstorms came rolling into southwest Missouri last night as we were getting ready for bed. All of them were far from Springfield at the time, and we could barely hear the thunder from them. But Gabriel certainly could. And he didn't like it. The barking started, and I scolded him from the top of the stairs and told him to go to bed. It seemed to work... for a while.

approximately 11:10pm
Bark bark bark bark bark bark bark barkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbark....
I get out of bed, go downstairs, open the door and say in a stern voice "Gabriel, NO! Go to bed" So he slinks into his doghouse in the garage and I'm thinking
Hmmmmm... seems to have worked. He stopped. Wonderful. Now maybe I can get back to sleep.

11:35pm
barkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbark... Oh good grief!...
Get out of bed, go downstairs, open the door and say "Gabriel, NO! Go to bed" then I shoo him into the garage and shut the door after saying good night (and please be quiet!) That should do the trick.

11:48pm
barkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbark....
Get out of bed, go downstairs, go out to the garage and scold Gabriel briskly "that's enough! Go to bed. He slinks back into the doghouse and I grumble as I slam the garage door.

12:05am
bark... bark... bark... bark... barkbarkbarkbarkbark
In a huff I gingerly storm down the stairs in the dark again, and swing open the garage door and let the dog know, in no uncertain terms that he is going to "SHUT UP! and go to bed!" Nope, not gonna happen. OK, now what? As I'm looking at him with bewildered wonder, it became apparent that the poor guy was just beside himself. Regardless of anything I might feel about the situation. We needed a new plan. This was not working. Short of just letting him in the house, only to have him want to go outside 20 minutes later, I started to ponder the situation. Then it dawned on me. He needs something to distract him... something to break up the rumbling outside that has him so worked up. So I plugged in the radio and turned it on low. I gave him a pat on the head and said good night and closed the garage door. As I climbed into bed at around 12:15 I said to Pam... "I hope he likes classic rock". Not another bark came from that boy the rest of the night, and we finally fell off to sleep as a gentle rain set in.

Duke

From beginning to end, this is about as close as you can get to Genesis perfection. What a great album.

Happy Father's Day dad

Patricia with her grandpa Thompson... my dad, Harold Leonard. He's been gone more than 20 years.

Zeke... goodbye baby.

"Not the least hard thing to bear when they go from us, these quiet friends, is that they carry away with them so many years of our lives. Yet, if they find warmth therein, who would begrudge them those years that they have so guarded? And whatever they take, be sure they have deserved." John Galsworthy

"Remember dad... he lived the doggie dream." Patricia Thompson Winters

"I do wish I could have hugged that big ol' neck one more time, though. Sweet boy." Patricia Thompson Winters

Gabriel and Zeke out in the back yard, enjoying the nice weather. Spring 2011

Zeke, in the fall of 2010. It appears that he was reflecting on a life well lived. But more than likely, he was probably thinking "I'm hungry. You know... if they really loved me, they would bring my supper to me out here, so I wouldn't have to get up and go all the way to the garage".

Zeke... Spring 1998. As Patricia used to say, what a handsome boy you are!

March, 1999. Playing in the early Spring snow out in the front yard.

Gabriel, Zeke and Pam. March 22, 2008. Zeke had had some minor surgery just a couple of days before... that's why he was wearing the t-shirt. He liked it.

Summer, 2000

we will miss you always.

Join In For Joplin

This evening, our band Sock Monkey will take part in a benefit event sponsored by Bass ProShops and KY3, to raise funds for the recovery effort in Joplin. On Sunday, May 22nd a EF5 tornado ripped through that city, killing over 130 people and destroying or damaging some 8000 homes and other structures.

This event is located at the Bass ProShops complex in Springfield, and is shaping up to be spectacular! Several local bands (including Sock Monkey!) will be performing throughout the day. They have managed to get a number of well-known Nascar drivers to stop by and help out, as well. As the evening settles in, several big name country performers, including Jo Dee Messina, John Anderson and Tracy Lawrence are set to hit the stage, starting at 7:00!

We will be playing for about an hour and a half, starting at 5:00pm. We are excited and honored to be a part of this important benefit.

Happy Birthday Charlie....

Hard to believe, but Charlie Watts of the Rolling Stones turned 70 today. Happy Birthday Charlie! Always a cool dude in my book.

Holy Smokes!... Sock Monkey is loose in the city!....

Tonight it's Three20s from 8:00 to midnight, and tomorrow we play The Big Room at Cartoon's Oyster Bar & Grill. Two great venues in the city of Springfield, and Sock Monkey will be there for all of the Cinco de Mayo festivities!

Anticipation...

Matt and Rus during set-up for the Sock Monkey gig this past Saturday at the Irish FunFest, here in Springfield. We got a few sprinkles early on, and it was a bit cool, but the weather ended up being just fine.
I like this picture... it just seems to have an energy to it. Potential, I guess you could call it. It was one of those rare nights when everything (pretty much) went off without a hitch. The stage felt good, the sound was rockin' and the band was in rare form. It ended up being a good night of rock & roll... and you really can't ask for much more. That's the way it's supposed to be.

Wow!... the sun came out today!

The Finley was down quite a bit from just 24 hours ago. I actually walked about 100 feet down the paved trail along the river today, but then I got to a place where the river swallowed it up and I couldn't go any further. And where I could walk, the Finley was right up to the edge, still rolling fast downstream.

Rain...rain...rain

The walkway below the Ozark Community Rec. Center, leading down to the trails along the river, where I usually go walking at lunch. The edge of the river is normally located about 20 or 30 feet beyond the trees in the middle of the picture, above.

The old Jeep dealership parking lot in Ozark, the above photo was taken today and the one below was taken in 2009.

I left for Ozark this morning fully expecting that the Finley would be in flood stage, because of the seemingly non-stop rain we have been getting these past few days. And it certainly is.

The last time it did this was in the fall of 2009. A good place to gauge the height of the river is at the river crossing on 14 here in Ozark. There is a large parking lot on the west side of the bridge where The Heritage Jeep dealership used to be, with two buildings... a used car hut, and the main sales and service building. When the river is high the water gets to the used car hut, like it did in 2009. When the water is really high, it gets to the main building. It's at the main building now, and there is no sign that the rain is going to let up (at least in the next 24 hours, or so). If it keeps up the way it's going, we could see some real record-breaking flooding here in southwest Missouri. It's even worse to our south and east. It is interesting to see, but I hope everyone stays safe.

Happy Earth Day!...

Little blue marble... just a speck in the universe. Our little blue lifeboat, floating on the endless ocean. You were here long before we existed, and you'll still be here long after we are gone. That is an oddly comforting fact. And you know... if we keep treating the Earth the way we have been, we probably won't be around for much longer, anyway. So... Happy Earth Day!

Finally!...

My thoughts and ruminations (for what they are worth) on the Elton John concert the other night. See below.
The last couple of weeks have been very busy, so I took these past couple of days to slow down a bit. I've got some other things to write about, but that may not come till later in the week.

Elton John last night!

Last night at the JQH Arena, here in little ol' Springfield, Missouri, Elton John and his band played for close to three hours to a sold out crowd. That guy has had a lot of hit songs over the years. It was a very good show, and a fun night! I've never been a huge Elton John fan, but I like several of his songs. This was pretty much a once in a lifetime chance to see a living legend in popular music. Not something I could easily pass up. The show was well worth the hours I spent in the ticket line at JQH, the morning they went on sale. I don't mind doing stuff like that, and I love going to concerts. We had some great seats, with a grand view of everything going on... not only on stage, but pretty much all across the arena. It's been a couple of years since we've been to a big concert, and one of the most peculiar moments of the show happened when the house lights went down. As the first notes of Funeral For a Friend filled the darkened auditorium and the crowd erupted in cheers, the only thing you could see were hundreds of little cell phone lights in motion all across the arena. My first thought was that they looked like lightening bugs out in a field. It was actually pretty neat looking.

Now, obviously Elton John is a piano player, but I have to admit that his playing surprised me... he's very good, and very versitile; from honkey tonk, to blues, classical and straight-up rock & roll. He still has some fire in him as a performer, that's for sure. His voice is a little heavier than it used to be, and he can't hit the high notes like he used to, but that really didn't detract from the performance. The percussionist sang several of the falsetto parts, and there were four stellar backup singers that came onstage for certain songs... mainly on his new material.

The band was excellent. It was good to see Nigel Olssen and guitarist Davey Johnstone still playing with Elton. Those two have been with him (off & on) since the early 70s. Nigel is a unique drummer, and he really looks like he is enjoying himself up there. Heck... why wouldn't he!?

The night began, as I said earlier, with Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding, and ended with Crocodile Rock. He came back, spent a few minutes signing autographs at the front of the stage (pretty cool) and then closed the night with Your Song for the encore. During the course of the evening they played (these are just the ones I can remember, in no particular order) The Bitch Is Back, Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me, Someone Saved My Life Tonight, I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues, Daniel, Take Me To The Pilot, Madman Across The Water, Levon, Tiny Dancer, Rocket Man, Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting, Candle In The Wind, Goodbye Yellowbrick Road, and Bennie And The Jets... I know I must be leaving some out. Plus probably a half dozen from his latest album. Some of the new ones were pretty good. It was a very enjoyable evening with my wonderful wife Pam... Pam's sister Debbie and her husband Tracey, and our good friend Susan and her fiance' David.

On the news, they were saying that at the end of the concert, a man fell almost 20 feet from the upper level seats down to the concrete floor! This happened in section OO, which was right next to where we were. We never heard or saw a thing. Very odd. The guy is in the hospital recovering.

the boys...

On a warm Spring day... not long ago. That's Gabriel, the goofy one... and Zeke, the old man. Zeke is fading from our lives. It won't be long before we have to say goodby to him, after almost 14 years. He's a good boy.

Cody's South... tonight!

Sock Monkey will be rockin' it up at Cody's South this evening, starting at around 8:30. Great food and fun music. I really can't think of a better way to spend a Friday night in Springding! I know I will be there.

Scenes of early Springtime on the Finley

Wake Robin and May Apple on the floodplain.

Grapevines. This time of year you can cut one of these and the sap will flow like a garden hose.

The Finley River in Christian County, at Ozark, along the Bluff Springs Trail

While at work these past few months, I have been coming out to the Finley to walk on my lunch hour. These trails are located south of the Recreational Center in Ozark. It's a welcome break from sitting at a computer all morning. This gravel bar has called my name many times, and almost convinced me just as often that all I really needed to do that day was linger there at the water's edge a little bit longer, and look for neat rocks, listen to the river flowing by, and enjoy the sounds of the crows in a nearby sycamore tree. I usually wait till the last possible moment, then head back to the car. Nature does not play fair!

smile

Sometimes you just get tired of things rattling around in your brain. War, the economy, layoffs & foreclosures, earthquakes & devastation, will Lindsay Lohan have to go back to jail??!!....

and then a little thing like this comes along. Just a funny little thing.

I was talking with a friend at work this morning, and she kept looking down at her coffee cup. She finally motioned me over and said "look at this". This is what was drawing her attention away from the riveting conversation we were having.

You see these kinds of pictures on TV and on the web occasionally, and I just figured they are either Photo-shopped or one in a million. I guess not. I thought it was kinda cool!

Yes, I know... trivial, but sometimes when you are in the middle of writing the narrative for an environmental impact report, it's the little things that really matter. ;) Hmmmmm maybe that cup of coffee knows something we don't. Well... OK, I guess I better get back to that environmental report. Break's over!

venn diagram

excuse me... um, we want your oil, so we're going to have to kill you now.

Welp folks... we're at it again.
They call it Operation Odyssey Dawn. You know it's straight-up when they give it some cool sounding name. The headlines read: U.S. Launches Military Strikes in Libya. Doesn't really surprise me nearly as much as it simply makes me sad. Can't we ... just once... keep our damn American nose out of the business of others. And it seems that the people of the United States are powerless... we have no say in this, apparently. It just makes me grind my teeth.

I understand that the U.S. has had a serious, long-standing beef with Gaddafi, but here's a thought. Call me crazy, but how 'bout we wrap up those other two wars (dang... I almost forgot about those!) we are involved in, before we start another one. Oh I know... this one isn't a war... it's just a little "military action". Just doing our part to help out. Right. Whatever you want to call it. Oh yea, they're calling it Operation Odyssey Dawn... that's right.

You know, when I started this blog, I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't get tangled in politics here. It just wears me down, and frankly serves no positive purpose in the long run... except to provide me a place to vent. I'm thankful for the current administration, although I have been far from satisfied with Obama's performance on many issues. Yet, these past couple of years my taste for any serious political debate has faded into the Texas skyline . Frankly, I was just sick & tired of it after the eight years we spent under the G.W. Bush administration. So it really hasn't been much of an effort to leave political rants out of this space. But sometimes I see things that just make me so frustrated, that I feel the need to at least say something about it. This is one of those rare moments. And it is also another time when I am wondering... what is Obama doing!? ugh! enough.

wow... what a week.

No writing this past week. But I promise I will get to it shortly... been busy, that's all. I've got a lot of things bouncing around in my mind, and I know there's a lot to talk about, but I don't know if I'm ready to sit down quite yet and churn it out. Maybe pictures would be good. Simple. Hopefully this evening.

It's about that time...

Even though the temperature got down into the mid 20s last night; the sweet, distant sound of spring peepers and wester chorus frogs... and these little darlings that popped up in our back yard a few days ago, let us know that Springtime is coming. Nice. Winter is far from done with us, but at least I know that it has been handed it's walking papers. You've got about 30 days, Old Man Winter.

Watch out Pepe'

When I got to work this morning and opened the front door I was greeted by a very familiar scent... an odor, some might say. It was the unmistakable essence of skunk... not outside, but inside the office! It wasn't strong enough for me to suspect that Pepe' Le Pew had taken a short-cut through our end of the building last night, but it was pretty clear that he had been close. Probably trolling for that petite femme skunk (or poor little black kitty that accidently walked under a freshly painted fence... it happens) that he noticed earlier in the evening, behind our office.

"Hellllooooo babeee... Yoooo hoooo... come now my sweet, do not hide from zeee love, do no run away, zeee night it is young."

Spring is in the air, and the skunks are thick. Anytime it gets above freezing around here this time of year, the skunks get that ol' feelin'. We catch a whiff of them around the house almost every night, and we can always count on Gabriel to let loose with a crazed barrage of barking if one gets too close. Thanks buddy... you saved us again. Last night when I was taking the trash out, I opened the front door cautiously and rattled the trash bag ahead of me, just in case one of them happened to be lurking in the bushs. Thankfully there weren't any. This time.

But sadly, the drive to find that darling femme skunk must also make them oblivious to cars. On my drive home from work this afternoon, along Highway 65 (between Ozark and Springfield) I counted at least 10 skunks on the side of the road. After passing the second one, I closed my vents and put the air on re-circulate. They have a lot of character, even in death.

So here's to you Pepe'... have fun, but let's be careful out there.

The blizzard of 2011

Hmmmm... no, not the Dairy Queen kind of Blizzard...

This is all that's left in our front yard from The Great Blizzard of 2011 (that's what we are calling it now, by the way. It was a hefty snowstorm, but I'm pretty sure that the folks living in northern Minnesota or upstate New York would get a good chuckle out of that description).

A prior engagement?....

Yesterday, along with 14 other honored recipients, President Obama presented former President George H.W. Bush the Medal of Freedom at a ceremony in the East Room of the White House. Those set to receive the Medal this year were notified in November of 2010... November of 2010. According to news reports son George W. Bush could not attend the ceremony, due to a prior engagement. You know, maybe it's just me, but if I had an 86 year old father who was receiving the Medal of Freedom, I think I might just rearrange my schedule to fit it in. But then again, what do I know...
"Oh dang, daddy... I've got a dentist appointment that morning. Sorry 'bout that. I'll catch you next time, I promise."

More snow... seriously. Enough already.

This isn't northern Iowa.
Here's a shot of the MoDOT Road Conditions Map, taken at 9:00 this morning. The purple roads are covered with snow, and the blue roads are partly covered. I'm sitting here at my computer at work (on break... don't worry) watching it come down. It's fairly fine, light snow, but it does add up after a while. I would guess we have a little over an inch... inch & a half maybe, here in Ozark. It started early this morning, pre-dawn and is supposed to continue most of the day, with an eventual total of anywhere from 2 to 64 inches. No wait... it says 4 inches. The way it looks now, I would be surprised if we get 4 inches. But then again, I kinda scoffed at the "blizzard" warnings we were getting last week. And that didn't turn out so good (ha). Oh well... not much we can do about it. YEA!!!! more snow! That's the spirit. Ugh. At this rate, Pam may not get out of school till June. ;) Oh... and just for an added kick, it's 10 degrees out there. 10.