Can't recall the source, but I read a novel that opened ironically with something like "to read a book critically you first have to stab it in the heart and flay it" and yeah, lack of appreciation and love does not make you a better critic.
Watercolor painting of the headwaters of the Amargosa River. Deep blue pool, surrounded by reeds, against a desert landscape. Water tower atop hill, reflected in the water
Had a great long chat with the steward about projects, $$$ development, town attractions, etc etc. We Have Ideas based off our rural Oregon experiences. Pretty sure we will be invited back anyway. Gave him a painting.
Got a great response from the UNLV map librarian with some research suggestions. And had the rancher over for chips & salsa. She says we can use her side by side, can fix fence, can monitor her cattle. I researched a local place name & gave her the info.
We are Rancher Approved.
O Canada Wot The Fuck
Smol furry cow cat, much abused.
But at the Visitors Center, a prominent sign asks visitors to identify “any signs or other information that are negative about either past or living Americans or that fail to emphasize the beauty, grandeur, and abundance of landscapes and other natural features”.
Fuck Louise Grantham.
Last year we learned about Louise Grantham, a lesbian who lived openly in Death Valley, with a swimming pool.
However, she also stole the land she mined, and its water, from an Indigenous man who had JUST gotten legal title to his ancestral place.
NPS doesn't use her name on the site. Yay.
All Hail Our Glorious Wombat
I love you so much.
My good friend Eugenides the cat (and his caretaker, my good friend Allie) could use some help with vet bills. I know things are tight for everyone, but if you‘ve got something to spare, please consider helping my friends out: gofund.me/3594611e2
Thank you!
<snort> my ancestors ran from there centuries ago
Doing local research in Nevada. Turns out the county did oral histories in preparation for the possible Yucca Mountain nuclear dump site, which "might impact local residents."
Turns out Yucca Mtn has a lot of INTERNAL water flow, so they basically need umbrellas to shield the containers from rust.
"The admin had not planned for" ANY LIKELY OUTCOME NOW, HAD THEY?
How can anyone be surprised by the outcome of any Trump "policy"?
MUTTER
Tonight I did dishes. OH usually cooks and cleans, but sometimes I have spoons enough to help
He taught the kids Dishes 2.0. Yes, plates & silverware & glasses in the dishwasher. But you are Not Done.
Pots & pans, stove & counters, scrubbed. Dishes & cookware PUT AWAY.
We need more 2.0 in life.
I respect your priorities, Seth.
I mean, we have to set boundaries SOMEWHERE.
NO NO NO YOU DON’T
GUYS LET ME PLEASE SPREAD THE GOSPEL OF FREE TAX USA
federal is free, state is $16, handles even my chaotic freelancer taxes just fine, same step-by-step “designed for normies” kind of interface as TurboTax but NOT EVIL
tell everyone you know
www.freetaxusa.com
You are Blessed, is the thing.
Funny how they never say Europe should be the White homeland. Funny how colonization always creeps in.
I move all curling be done seated from now on. This Canadian did NOT push the rock illegally.
Simply perfect.
Trying the General Land Office records for Nevada, usually a good source for homestead claims. It's taking FOREVER to load the db on the Hughes network here. Bah.
Sent an email to the UNLV map librarian. Maps & Gov Docs librarians have SO MUCH cool stuff. Fingers crossed.
There were a number of local newspapers, which arose & folded mostly as quickly as the mining towns they served. Most not digitized, or accessible only to NV govt or card holders. Gonna hit the public library, then Reno or LV collections. Not much info online.
Doing research on our current ranch. Dye Creek (CA) was a Spanish land grant. Beatty (NV) was first ranched in late 1870s. Shortens written history a good bit, to be in a tough-to-live-in corner of the US.
Southern Paiutes lived here long before that, of course.
Feral burro, with classic teacup white muzzle and cross striped on its back. Beautiful. Also limping on that near left forefoot. They wreak havoc with restoration, being extremely adaptable. But so pretty.
View from kitchen, horizon slightly tipped, sorry. Broad landscape with golden brush at center, hills in background, and a single tree. Big blue sky, raking white clouds.
View of a non-saline "wet meadow" which is rare here in southern Nevada. In foreground is a flat, naturally paved hillock. Beyond the meadow are hills and mountains beyond. This meadow has 15 feet of soil, dating back 4,000 years. From when an earthquake moved the Amargosa River, probably.
Getting sorted into the bunkhouse. I think this is our fourth cattle ranch conservation site. Cattle peering in the windows. OH fixing doors & plumbing & lights, plotting coat rack, hat rack, & boot mat, chasing out mice. Making lists.
Scientists will be arriving soon, as will the cattle owner.
What if it turns out you had moral duties to your fellow man, even before social/political institutions developed to instantiate them
We often had hummingbirds inspect us at our camp, but not a lot of insects. Interesting to think about such unsynchronized waves! And how fierce DV winds alter pollination.
There were LOTS more plants emerging from the ground.
A big high-energy electric line is being through the Amargosa headwaters preserve.
Because data centers. Also, "Nevada's not big on solar energy."
I would like to kick someone. Various someones.
Vast quantities of them, at present.
Here in Eugene, the hospital that ripped out the sole downtown emergency room is now contracting with a company in ATLANTA to get its ER docs. Dumping the local docs org, which was founded at the request of hospital. Efficiency, sure.
My basic rubric:
"Can the program say "no" to a request?" (courtesy of you, months ago)
"Can the program a) comprehend harm caused by its responses, and b) alter its behavior to avoid causing harm from what it's "learned"?"
I come to this from writing fiction...and watching people.
Anyway. Groceries restocked. Nice lunch of mojarro and shrimp ceviche and horchata. Melon juice for the drive. Time to get back to the ranch.
WinCo was full of Black and Hispanic families. So while their buildings always make me ill, I got to watch lots of healthy family dynamics. And lovely children.
Oregon is very white. Historically, very intentionally. Stupid. And diminishing.
