Rain Rain Go Away

Posted on April 1, 2014April 1, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Or maybe not! What crazy weather! It’s been raining for two days and rivers are overflowing and streets in many towns are flooding. I went out to run errands during a lull. I’m glad I took my winter coat. I thought it would be warmer since it was rain but while I was out it changed to sleet and freezing rain and then finally to snow..again! I think I’d rather have the rain than the snow.

RT 18 New Bedford Floods

I drove around a bit with my camera looking for something to photograph but there’s nothing sprouting yet. It’s just too cold. Just browns and grays…no color yet. 🙁 Thankfully the rivers and streams in Taunton (and there are many) are high but not overflowing the banks. A few years ago the main street , RT 44, was underwater for a week!

2010 Flood RT 44 Raynham/Taunton Line

Anyway I came home empty handed. This Project 365 is really getting tough thanks to the nasty winter that never ends. I actually came home to warm up but once inside I was not going back out so here we go with another cat picture.

Maybe I should have done 365 cat pictures?

Nat Geo Wild

Posted on March 31, 2014March 31, 2014 by Dusty Roads

There’s a television station/ channel called Nat Geo Wild. I hate and love it at the same time. Does your cable provider supply it in your area? To me it’s the new Animal Planet. I remember when Animal Planet launched. It was the new kid on the block and everyone wanted it. If it wasn’t available in your area you lobbied your cable provider to carry it. Now it’s a staple in most cable lineups.

Nat Geo Wild is a joint venture of Fox Cable network and National Geographic. It first launched in Asia, Hong Kong actually in January of 2006. It slowly worked it’s way to toward the New World, United Kingdom, Turkey, Ireland, Romania, India, Vietnam, and Poland.

The channel finally launched in Latin America on November 1, 2009. It didn’t make it to the United States until 2010 when it arrived in High Definition Glory, a true member of the National Geographic Family, dedicated to animal related programming with National Geographic’s signature quality photography.

I love this channel. I love the animals, the stories and the amazing vistas from Canyonlands to Safaris in Africa.

So why do I hate the channel? I hate it because it is so real, especially in HD on a large screen TV. The locales and adventures call to my heart. I want to be in that sub at 500 ft. under the sea. I want to be on the boat off Maui watching the humpbacks breach in the azure water. I want to be scuba diving the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

I want to climb aboard an airboat in the Everglades and kayak under the glaciers of Alaska. Maybe I’ll skip Antarctica but I’m not adverse to searching for komodo dragons on Indonesian Islands or visiting Galapagos.

It’s very possible that I can do some, if not all of these adventures… if I win the lottery. National Geographic offers vacations with their guides and photographers but like all things National Geographic, done to the max and with the price tag to match. They even have a “mentor” series where you travel to a location for training with their award winning photographers. Again $$$$.

So I dream on and torture myself with wishes. I take my little vacations and scratch the surface of these amazing locations. I enjoy my vacations but there’s a slight feeling that there should be more.

I watch Nat Geo Wild to see what I’m missing and keep my wanderlust fueled for my next adventure, and I keep dreaming. 🙂

Horses

Posted on March 30, 2014March 30, 2014 by Dusty Roads

I reblogged the latest in the Connecticut Vicious Horse Case. I posted about it last fall after I heard talks about it at Equine Affaire.

Conn Court: Are Horses Vicious? is well written and I couldn’t have made the points any better. Please take a moment to read and share.

This is truly a case where man is trying to impose his standards on an animal. Common sense has fled. Whether an animal is inherently vicious or not, we need to respect their character and take precautions. Even big , cuddly creatures can inadvertently cause injury.

The case began in 2006 when a boy tried to pet a horse named Scuppy at a Milford farm. The animal stuck his neck out from behind a fence and bit the child on his right cheek, ‘‘removing a large chunk of it,’’ according to court papers.

What I find interesting is that no one is blaming the parents for letting the child approach the strange horse. There were signs saying “Do Not Pet” etc.

This litigious society that we live in today really upsets me. No one accepts responsibility for their own actions. It’s always someone else’s fault. Shame on us. 🙁

Conn Court: Are Horses Vicious?

Posted on March 29, 2014March 29, 2014 by Dusty Roads

A Little bit more about Vegas

Posted on March 29, 2014March 29, 2014 by Dusty Roads

You know how I mentioned that once you pick a destination it seems that’s all you hear about? Well as predicted I’m tripping over Tennessee but also Las Vegas. Facebook is a wonderful thing for keeping up with people and what did I see today? A post from a friend from the Bellagio. He’s in Vegas now and posted pictures of the floral arrangements in the lobby.

I asked if he was staying there and he said no, at the Flamingo! So of course I mentioned the Wildlife Habitat. I hope he stops in there and posts some comments or pictures.

Speaking of Vegas I think we’re coming to the end of the Free list. One last Free attraction that I found is the Volcano at the Mirage, nightly shows from 7 – 11 pm, all free.

I hope we have time to take an break from the fire shows and lights and get outside the city. Believe it or not, Las Vegas is within a few hours drive of some of the most uniquely beautiful state and national parks in the United States.

Nevada’s Great Basin National Park lies near Las Vegas. It includes the limestone Lehman Caves, the Wheeler Peak glacier, and Lexington Arch, a natural limestone arch more than six stories tall.

Valley of Fire is Nevada’s oldest and largest state park, dedicated in 1935. Ancient trees and early man are represented throughout the park by areas of petrified wood and 3,000 year-old Indian petroglyphs.

A National Historic Landmark, Hoover Dam is the highest concrete dam in the Western Hemisphere, standing at more than 725 feet above the Colorado River. Attracting more than a million visitors a year, Hoover Dam is located in Black Canyon, just minutes outside of Las Vegas.

There are several animal and bird sanctuaries and Desert National Wildlife Range. My reading about Desert National Wildlife Range or Desert NWR make me think this might be a good place to skip on this trip. It sounds rugged and many of the roads can become unpassable or require 4 wheel drive. But if we get bored there’s always the Grand Canyon. There are a number of tours to the Grand Canyon that depart from Las Vegas and even though I’ve seen it twice it would still be worth another visit.

I think it’s going to be a great trip.