it's been a few days

The fireworks are safely deposited in my bedroom closet. The Mirror Lake highway was open but all the trails and campsites higher up were still blocked with snow. The Provo River Falls were spectacular. I will be likely going into the Naturalist Basin on July 22/23 before the holiday. Photos will be posted in abundance

tomorrow's plans

Aside form a very quick visit to work to check on things, I've the entire day. It appears that illegal fireworks are in store. I'll be leaving Evanston Wyoming via the back door. That way I can avoid the Utah Highway Patrol. Heading into the 4th of July weekend, 'Johnny Law' will be out in force looking for youngsters bringing in booze, fireworks, and porn.

The Mirror Lake highway is opened, but I will be scoping out the route to Naturalist's Basin and perhaps taking a quick hike to Fehr Lake. Naturally, I'll check out fishing conditions also. Now it's time to pick some greens for my little lapines.

the mountain

My oldest son wants to climb an 11,000 footer near our home. It is not one of the more noted peaks in our area, but that means it is one of the least climbed.

We lacked the time yesterday to make it to the top, so I agreed to take him most of the way up. There is a trail that goes to a ridge line that you follow up for the last mile. It is a short trail (less than 4 miles) but steep (a 4,000 ft elevation gain). We almost made it to the ridge but were turned back by snow 'chutes' that block the trail and were too dangerous to cross. If you slip on the chutes you have a 500 foot slide down a 45 degree slope of mixed boulders and snow. We prefer to remain in the land of the living.

Moose are a common sight in the drainage we were in, as are bears. Fortunately we saw neither at close range. There was plenty of tracks in the retreating snow and the mud though. Last year my youngest son and I saw two bull moose and closed within about 50 meters. That's as close as I dared.

We saw some people nearer the trailhead who had lost their dog. I assured them their dog wouldn't remain lost...... since the bears will find it. Last year a kid was killed by a bear about 5 miles from where we were. Still, I think they thought I was joking.

the guinea pig

My son had a guinea pig for 7 years. It had defied all actuarial tables by living as long as it did. The vet was astounded during a recent visit.

My son would always speak softly to his piggy and take him out and play with him every day. The piggy always enjoyed treats like wheat grass and banana chips. But when my son came home today and pet his piggy......he had already died.

So very sad.

the baby birdy

The kids brought home a small bird yesterday. Momma bird was nowhere to be found and a cat was seen closing in. My own cats regularly dine on a mixed menu of wild canaries and starlings. They are especially fond of the baby starlings that fall out of the eaves of my neighbors garage.

This little guy's marking looked like a baby duckling, but the beak and passerine feet clearly indicated we had something else. We started 'googling' and found out we had a baby quail on our hands.

This morning had us making a 100 mile round trip and a fifty dollar donation to send our little guy to the bird rescue. He was introduced to his new covey of fuzzy little buddies and we said our goodbyes.

Here he is!

Favorites

Some of the questions asked when I was contructing my profile were for my favorite this and favorite that.

Things like family, work, and religion are central to my life. So saying I love these things is obvious. Passion is a word I use for things that I really dig for no good reason. So what am I passionate about?

I love buffets! I am a gourmand. Most of the folks I know think I'm a gourmet. Which proves that most of the folks I know haven't the slightest clue what either is.

I love wargaming! I am not talking about the nauseating litany of 'shooter' video games out there. I'm not referring to paintballing. My game has a large map of the theater of operations, hundreds of counters representing the forces of various countries, and a computer that keeps track of the books.

I love natural hot springs! What could be better than a hike and a soak? Smelling like rotten eggs that's what.

I love dwarf bunnies! We have four of them.

I love muffeleta sandwiches, paella, and L and L Hawaiian barbecue!

I love growing vegetables and fruit! I generally dislike flowers since I cannot eat them.

I love popping zits!

I love reading and listening to the news! I'm a news junkie.


Now before I nod off to sleep, I'll try to deal with some of the other favorites I mentioned being part of the profile building process.

Movies: Some I enjoy because they were simply fantastic movies. Some are guilty pleasures. But if and of these movies are on I will always stop and watch. Casablanca.....One or two, but not three.....Full Metal Jacket.....Big Trouble in Little China.....Something about Mary.....Apocalypse Now......anything with Salma Hayek in it (sound turned off).

Books: The Glass Bead Game, The Tao te Ching, Parliament of Whores, The Mother Tongue

Music: This could easily turn into a rant. People try to portray themselves as cool in their musical choices. I have a decided bent towards classical music since that is the genre that I have been able to perform. One measure of how much we like a particular artist would be the number of songs that we know by heart. I'm not talking about being able to recognize a melody, or sing the chorus, but knowing every word and nuance. By that standard my favorite musicians are Beethoven, Frank Zappa, k.d. lang, Hank Williams, David Allen Coe, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, Asleep at the Wheel, Chris Ledoux, and (I'm gonna to Hell when I die for this) ABBA. One could presume that I am a country music fan. But everything I know is pre-Garth Brooks who single-handedly destroyed country music. If I were emperor, Garth Brooks would be the first to thrown in the stocks. I'd leave Tim Mcgraw only because he married so very, very well.

Greetings

The name of this blog came to me after watching Iron Man a few weeks back. It shouldn't be too tangential an association to figure out just how the 'abiding' portion came about. As for the pharmacist part, that's considerably easier. I'm a pharmacist.

So why should anybody bother to view the blog of a pharmacist. After all, we are people that are too boring to be actuaries. Honestly, I wouldn't read it.

I do see, and sometimes do, screwy things on a daily basis. I will share these blessed events here. Whether this is a catharsis, a confession, or narcissistic blather I will leave it to you ..... the reader.