Ouzel ain't a word and I ain't gonna use it...

Water ouzel, or American dipper, a bird that "flies" under whitewater.

I went rafting the Green River and mentioned that I thought Dippers were also known as Water Ouzels...even the ornithologist who was with us had never heard that name...today, I found evidence on the net that Ouzel is a word, and another name for water dippers... :)

More random pictures from this month...

Airplanes from my sister's openhouse...

This is how you would travel if you wanted something convenient that could go almost anywhere...

This is how you travel in style...the inside was spectacular as well...

Open house...

I went to my sister and brother-in-law's open house for their flying business. It was pretty fun. I saw them for the first time in over 2 months and even got to go flying with my 2 little girls. I think M****** was the sickest from the turbulence, I was second sickest, and A***** came in third. :) Luckily, none of us vomited in the plane.

I missed my chance to walk...

No, based on the title of this blog, I am not a quadrapelegic that couldn't get stem cell treatment in the USA, thereby not being able to walk...but I did forget to order my cap and gown and did not get to walk in the convocation exercises today. I dropped by the Marriot Center and saw two other Psychology Ph.D. students that were walking, but I didn't get to join them. I kind of felt bad for being a slacker and not ordering my cap and gown because I went through 6 1/2 years of hell to get that degree...and the most exciting thing that happened related to getting the degree was receiving it in the mail... :) (To be fair, when I graduated my parents sent some money, my grandmother sent some money, and I think my wife took me out to dinner...but it seems like something like graduating with a PhD should end in some type of pomp and ceremony).

A visual smorgasbord for the month...

Hurricane Mesa and White Clouds









Prickly Pear Cactus and Blossoms

Pheasant near my home

More clouds near Laverkin Utah

Honeysuckle Flowers in

Toquerville, UT

Brook Trout at Cabelas

Bleeding hearts in my yard

Old Barn in Meadow, UT

American Avocet in Spanish Fork, UT

Cement Truck

Old Cement Truck in Virgin, Utah

Fly away home...

Anyone else feel like running away from home so they no longer have to deal with bratty, disrespectful, ungrateful, entitled, lying teenagers? If so, let's go in together to find a place to share the rent...

Photos from near where I work...Horses/Birds

Damn Psycho Intern....

I stopped in my home town the other day to visit my older brother. He apparently destroyed his pathfinder the other day when he tried to drive it after damaging his plastic engine fan. It is pretty amazing how much damage 1/2 inch plastic can do at 3,000 RPMs. It shredded his radiator, broke his brand new battery, and dented his hood pretty badly. My brother has more car problems and accidents than anyone else I know.

Anyway, his pathfinder was in the shop of his friend M.E. ME's father was also there, whom I used to visit for a church calling. My brother asked if he remembered me, and he affirmed that he did. Then ME loudly stated, "How could I forget you. That's all I heard working at the Conoco after you, 'Why can't you be more like PsychoIntern?'" This reminded me of FliesWithoutWings post about his job evaluation, and how he met or exceeded company expectations because he didn't cause problems and never had to be baby-sat. All I ever did at the Conoco was what was expected--pump gas in full-service/wash windows/check oil levels, clean the bays every night, sweep and mop the office, and clean the bathrooms nightly...I mean, how hard can it be to do the minimum?

Also, my brother informed me that I was the only employee at the Conoco who never ripped off the boss from the till (we always paid ourselves and kept track of our own hours and pay). I guess it was normal for the employees to pay themselves an extra $20 a day, or whatever they thought they deserved for their work above and beyond the agreed upon salary.

It's pretty sad that I gained 'the-best-employee'-that-ever-worked-at-the-Conoco status (at least in my old boss's mind) merely for doing my job and not stealing...

Nice view from back here...

WARNING: THIS BLOG IS NOT FOR THE SENSITIVE

My co-workers and I saw another tattoo today that was somewhat shocking. It was two well-endowed naked women down both sides of the man's back. We were trying to comprehend why someone would get tattoos of naked women on his back and the only thing we could come up with is that maybe it works the same as Viagra for non-homosexual prison inmates who still want to engage in real-sex-not -masturbation. Hopefully, you did not ignore the warning above if this sicks you out...

Late night plans...

Since when is it a good idea to invite your boyfriend over to the house at 11:45 PM when you think your dad went to sleep because he has to work at 6:00 AM?

Antique things...

I love to photograph antique items...I think there is a certain beauty about things that are from times past. I especially love old barns, old trucks, old cars, old typewriters, etc.

Thanksgiving Point

I am not sure what kind of flower this is, but it was taken at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, Utah...I think they have some beautiful gardens there, but am slightly disappointed by the high degree of commercialism that runs the place. It seems that when the founders built Thanksgiving Point, they had a vision that it would be a place that would help people reflect on the many gifts that God has provided. I guess you can reflect on those gifts...for a price. You even have to buy a photographer's license to photograph in their gardens. However, I do think that they only charge professional wedding/portrait photographers for the use of the grounds.

Joshua Trees are a Part of Our Heritage

My mother once saw a joshua tree at sunset near St. George, Utah, and thought to herself that she wished she could have lived there so that joshua trees were a part of her heritage. Our ancestors lived in southern Utah, we lived just 90 minutes north of St. George, and our relatives live approximately 60 minutes from St. George. I was thinking on the drive home that really, joshua trees are a part of our family's heritage.

St. George Temple...edited with Picassa Free Software

Here is a picture of the St. George Temple at sunset...

More pictures from this week and last

Here is a picture taken just past the mouth of Cedar Canyon on the way to Cedar Breaks National Monument...

Prom...

I can't believe that I have a child at the prom already...who would have thought when I was at my prom, that I had a little baby somewhere back East that would be at her prom 17 years later...crazy..

Tattoos

I was looking through booking photos from the local jail the other day because one of my old co-workers was recently arrested on drug charges and I wanted to see for myself if it were true. I ran across a photo of a man who is bald, and has ram horns (like the Colorado State University football helmets) tattooed on his head. Who does that? It reminded me of another guy I knew when I worked at the jail. He had tattooed a huge black widow spider across his entire skull. Then he grew his hair out. Unfortuneately, he started going bald, and there was the spider again. Another guy I knew, had tons of white supremacy/Nazi tattoos all over his body, then on his neck was a color tattoo of two emperor penguins kissing. That was the tattoo that was visible to the public, but the scary tattoos were hidden from sight. Even worse, are the Hispanic tattoos that are green, poorly drawn, and cover the body in random/non-matching ways. Search Native Minnow's blog for a link to crappy tattoo.com or whatever link he had. You will laugh your head off...

Cora Died

My wife called me in Laverkin yesterday and was extremely upset because our big dog was in our room, tightened up like she was having a seizure, opened her eyes extremely wide, let out a wail/howl and died. She was a good dog. The vet thinks that she might have had a heart attack or stroke. So, now we are back down to two dogs in our household and are no longer breaking the city ordinance. They teenagers have been crying about her, but the younger ones seem to be taking it okay.

Photos from Today and Yesterday

Tulips from Thanksgiving Point

Tulips from Thanksgiving Point

Tulips from Thanksgiving Point

Old Growth Forest Up Cedar Canyon

Old Chevy Car in American Fork

Just Below Cedar Breaks