Christine May 28th, 2008
I’ve been down with a real, knock-down, drag out bout of seasonal allergies which I think now has morphed into something else. Everything around here is in bloom. My brain has been lost in a great cloud of tissue dust. It’s the worse cold I’ve ever had. Of course, every cold I get is the worst – while I’m having it. And, women really suffer with these things so much more than do men. We experience discomfort so much more intensely. Contrary to what this entry from the Urban Dictionary states. All joking aside (oh yes, the above paragraph was in jest) I am a bit behind right now even though I have attempted to continue in my daily functions. (Dang, where is my hankie? Remember how your grandmother used to put her hankie up her sleeve because many of the dresses she wore didn’t have pockets? I do not, repeat, do not DO that.)
Today is a bit better so here are a couple cool things: If you are not following this already then please check out NASA’s saga of Phoenix landing on Mars. I have no idea how much the MSM is updating this amazing voyage, since we don’t get any TV whatsoever. (Our valley is so hard to get any kind of reception in, including cell service and radio stations.) Anyway, I think it is really fantastic when they come out with photos such as these. Inhabit this, they say? Wow, that seems rather optimistic. Shouldn’t we work on making things better on this planet first? Still, I find these Mars missions very exciting and the photos are always superb.
Further, I have posted quite a few photos which we have taken near or at the National Bison Range over the past 2 years. Here is a recent photo. The Bison Range is only just a skip down the road and over the hill. On May 23 it marked and is celebrating 100 years since Teddy Roosevelt penned the reserve into existence. The original herd of 40 animals was moved onto the range in 1909 from a private herd raised and owned by Alicia Conrad. Some of that herd actually originated from a local family here in the valley.
“Charles Conrad’s widow, Alicia, had managed to keep her husband’s herd going despite his death in 1902, at the age of 52. She agreed to sell 34 bison to the American Bison Society, which would stock the new wildlife refuge.”
“The largest mammal native to the North American continent, an estimated 40 million of them roamed in massive herds of thousands between Mexico and central Canada when our nation was founded. While an estimated 40 million once roamed North America, over-harvesting drove the bison to near-extinction by 1900.”
Now the NBR keeps the herd around 350-400 animals and they are culled each Fall during the annual round-up. Both of our boys have attended those events as day trips from the school and they have always remarked at how large the older bulls are! Massive. Other herds remain all over the US and in Canada too, some herds much larger than on the preserve and some of these are commercial herds selling bison meat as a leaner, healthier alternative to beef. Most of the local area restaurants serve Bison Burgers, although I don’t care much for them– that’s just eating a little too close to home on the Bison Range.
