Snorkel Horse!

The recent flooding in the Midwest brought memories

of the 500 year flood

that hit our area a few years ago.

Twenty-one people came to sandbag our house

from the torrential rains.

We were safe.

After it was over we had the mud and muck to clean up.

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Finally I had to do something that would make me smile!

Although I'm not sure that my horse thought it was so funny!

.

I bet Martha Stewart doesn't vacuum her trees!

This could be carrying "house cleaning" a bit too far!

But a steady stream of box elder bugs was heading up the tree...

and across the fence panels...

You see it's an ongoing competition out here with the little critters.

They can massively cover the south side of the house.

I've tried soapy sprays but they didn't seem to do the job.

So far, the best results have come from using a "wet vac"...

a vacuum that has water inside with a bit of liquid soap.

And you suck up the little fellows and dispatch them.

.

Yup... I think Martha Stewart would be proud!

Morning "Light Show"!

While going about my job while listening

to Talk Show Host, Ian Punnett, read the poem he had written

relating to the death of his father…

my eyes were drawn to a spectacular view of the sky…

and my heart was touched…
and I wrote:

As I stepped outside this morning...
I was overwhelmed by the sky being lit up in a vibrant red
while you read your poem about “stepping into the light...”
and then the clouds became iridescent pearl white in their glow...
and as you finished reading your poem...
I noticed the clouds had covered the sky in gray...
but they said softly, we are good too.
And the light still shines...
through us...
and through you.

Thanks for your poem, Ian.


Ian’s song – read on the air – August 23, 2007
'Step into the Light'
--a country song written by Ian Punnett

You said you were happy in the background
You never minded the sideline
For every basket, run and touchdown
You just loved to see me shine
But my playing days are long over
Except for playing the guitar
As I'm sitting here on your covers
I am "me" cause of who "you" are

(bridge)

Is it dark there where you're sleepin'?
The nurse says I'd might as well just go
But your heart is more than this thing beepin'
And I wanted you to know......

(chorus)

It's time to step into the light, Dad
You fought the good fight, Dad
Time to embrace your victory
Just step into the light, Dad
I promise I'll do right, Dad
Please don't stay here just for me
Step into the light, Dad
It's not good-bye, just "Night, Dad"
Your workday's at its end
So step into the light, Dad
Let your angel wings take flight, Dad
We will always be best friends....

(second verse)

You said you were happy in the shadows
I'd see you standing in the wing
Give a proud elbow to some strange fellow
Just before I'd start to sing
And I know you said, "Don't bother"
You said, "Son, just act your age!"
When I'd ask the crowd, "Who else loves their father?"
Because you wouldn't come on stage

(bridge)

It is dark there where you're sleepin'?
The nurse says you're not feeling any pain
But life is more than this thing beepin'
So, I'll sing it once again....

(chorus)

It's time to step into the light, Dad
You fought the good fight, Dad
Time to embrace your victory
Just step into the light, Dad
I promise I'll do right, Dad
Please don't stay here just for me
Step into the light, Dad
It's not good-bye, just "Night, Dad"
Your workday's at it's end
So step into the light, Dad
Let your angel wings take flight, Dad
We will always be best friends......

***

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CSI: crime scene investigation techniques

A bloody knife lay on the counter… a baggy with marijuana and empty liquor bottles were strewn on the floor.
The mock crime scene was organized by Cannon Falls Assistant Police Chief, Rich Wisniewski for a program sponsored by Triad, local citizens interested in learning about local law enforcement.
The popularity of television programs like CSI: Crime Scene Investigation shows the interest of the public in the investigative techniques used by modern law enforcement. Of course on TV it's all done within a 60 minute time period! The downside to this perception is that “real life” police may have to work under other conditions.
Cannon Falls Police Officers Scott Mattingly and David Timm along with Goodhue County Investigator Glen Barringer explained the process and how it can be handled at last Tuesday’s meeting of Triad - Cannon Falls Area Law Enforcement Partnership at the Shepherd’s Center.

Although local law enforcement might not have some of the fancier equipment shown on TV, they have many methods to use. Timm and Mattingly walked through a mock crime scene they had set up in the craft room of the Stone House apartment complex to show their expertise.
The perimeter of the crime scene actually starts at the outside door and could include access and/or escape routes and a vehicle.

Timm handles the photography angle. He starts taking pictures as they enter the building and head for the room where the “crime” took place so anyone can follow it by looking at the pictures. Timm explained that he will “shoot the heck out of the scene!”
You make note of what is present, like whether the lights are on or off, are the windows open or closed, etc. and what might be missing that would be normally there.
You check if there is damage to the door as you enter. Look for evidence and put numbered markers by each one to more easily identify them later. They have small rulers to place in the photo for size definition. Some have adhesive on the back so you can stick them on a wall next to a bullet hole, etc.

Mattingly pointed out a knife with possible blood on it. This could mean someone might have been wounded. Timm gets pictures of it first and then it’s moved.
Mattingly also pointed out the empty bottles that may produce fingerprints. They pointed out that it is difficult to get good ones since they are usually smeared or just partial prints.
Also, there was a baggie with possible marijuana inside.
The meticulous investigation techniques continued as the officers also covered questions from the approximately 20 observers.

Triad, Cannon Falls Area Citizens and Law Enforcement Partnership meets the second Tuesday of the month at the Shepherd's Center. The public is welcome.
For more information contact Cannon Falls Assistant Police Chief, Rich Wisniewski at 263-2278 or Goodhue County Deputy, Thomas Wolner at tom.wolner@co.goodhue.mn.us.

Choo! Choo! once again...

There she is...

a train is using the tracks again

after a few years of vacancy.

Highway 52 between Randolph and Cannon Falls.

Question for the day...

why do we call a train a "she"?

What gender do we call the caboose?

(Sorry, that's two questions!)

Whoops! More rain came and the river kept rising but now it's going back into its banks... .

River going down...

but it's still raining...

radar says it's going to keep on coming...

it was almost up to the center tree...

but this looks good to me!

Go figure!

It's still rising... but the rain has stopped.

The river has crept closer

to the warning bushes

that signal its rising.

The rain has stopped here...

and the radar looks clear.

But whatever is going on upstream

affects us.

This is one way we learn

that what happens to you

can affect us!

Nature teaching us again!

Whoa, Mama! The river's rising!

7 a.m.

The Little Cannon River...

usually about 2-3 feet deep at this point

has swelled over 6 foot banks

to climb up the incline towards our home.

Patio and wall were built after the 1998 flood -

which was considered a "500 year flood".

Nothing had come closer than the tree in the center

for the 25 years before that surprise.

This news will wake you up!

Morning comes quietly in the valley with flickers of light on the horizon alerting the animals that their feed is coming. Or they can whinny to wake up their owner.
I can also go to the Internet and see what has been going on overnight in the world. One fascinating website maps out the latest "terrorist acts and suspicious events". Try http://www.globalincidentmap.com.
It’s updated every 300 seconds. So if something awful happens thousands of miles away I can know about it. You can forget about needing a cup of coffee to wake you up!
By just clicking on a spot on the map you are connected to an aerial photo of the land and a newspaper article on the subject.

On a recent day, the FBI was investigating an explosion in Colorado; a bomb squad in Nebraska was investigating a pipe bomb; an army explosive device was found in a car in Georgia... etc.
Some of these are probably not terrorist related. The collapse of the Highway 35 bridge in Minnesota was included on the map and that’s not presently being considered in this category.
The active area that morning was Pakistan and India. “Bomb explodes at a bus station in northwest Pakistan” and “Suspected Islamic militants decapitated an Afghan man after accusing him of spying for the United States…” etc.
What about Europe? “French authorities stepped up security on trains in eastern France…” and England, “theft of a computer database containing thousands of top-secret mobile phone records from terrorism and organized crime investigations.” Northern Ireland… police were bombed after they discovered “a sizeable stash of apparently home-made explosives".

Back in the 1960’s I heard the Kingston Trio give their rendition of a song that has fascinated and/or haunted me ever since. Through the years since I would chuckle as I remembered some of the words as still being appropriate. And the line in captals was a favorite of mine when I was especially crabby!

Has anything changed much? Sing along: (Merry Minuet written by Sheldon Harnick.)

They're rioting in Africa

They're starving in Spain

There's hurricanes in Florida

And Texas needs rain

The whole world is festering

with unhappy souls

The French hate the Germans,

the Germans hate the Poles

Italians hate Yugoslavs,

South Africans hate the Dutch
AND I DON’T LIKE ANYBODY VERY MUCH.

They're rioting in Africa

There's strife in Iran

What nature doesn't do to us

Will be done by our fellow Man

If you remember, the song ends with everyone getting blown up. That part of the song I don’t sing… even when I’m crabby.

I’m hoping we can write a nicer ending.

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CSI - Crime Scene Investigation: Cannon Falls - How is it done here?

The popularity of television programs like CSI: Crime Scene Investigation shows the interest of the public in the investigative techniques used by modern law enforcement. Of course on TV it's all done within a 60 minute time period! The downside to this perception is that “real life” police may have to work under other conditions.

Cannon Falls Police Officers along with a Goodhue County Investigator will set up a mock crime scene to show how it can be handled.

In practical experience, local law enforcement may not have the tools listed on the CSI website like a “Crimescope” (portable high-intensity light in a range of illumination wavelengths... to detect and identify a wide variety of forensic specimens.) or a portable forensic laser system (to locate trace, evidence including fingerprints, fibers, body fluids, bone chips, narcotics residue, etc.) or a laser microdissection scope (used for contamination-free isolation, extraction and precise molecular analysis of single or multiple cells, usually frozen or embedded in paraffin).

But there are methods of investigation that can be used. According to Crime Scene Response Guidelines (http://www.crime-scene-investigator.net/) in documenting crime scenes you check for details like the lighting (on or off), whether the drapes are open or closed, or the furniture moved by medical teams.

It’s also important to note what should be present but is not – for example a victim’s wallet. Also, what appears to be out of place – like a ski mask during the summer. And what is the full extent of the crime scene? Not just the area involved but access/escape routes and a vehicle.

What is evidence? Anything that can be used to connect the victim to a suspect. The Guidelines site explains: “Using the "shopping list" approach (collecting all bloodstains, hairs, or shoeprints) will probably not result in recognizing the best evidence. For example, collecting bloodstains under a victim's body or shoeprints from emergency personnel will rarely answer important questions. Conversely, a single matchstick (not usually mentioned as physical evidence) recovered on the floor near a victim's body can be excellent physical evidence since it can be directly tied to a matchbook found in a suspect's pocket.

"Since a weapon or burglar tool is easily recognized as significant physical evidence, it is frequently destroyed by the perpetrator. Sometimes the only remaining evidence is microscopic evidence consisting of hairs, fibers, or other small traces the assailant unknowingly leaves behind or takes with him.”

For more information contact Cannon Falls Assistant Police Chief, Rich Wisniewski at 263-2278, rwisniewski@cfalls.net; Goodhue County Deputy, Thomas Wolner at tom.wolner@co.goodhue.mn.us or Paul and Rosie Schluter at spiritsonghorses@yahoo.com.
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A Maze is A-Mazing is amazing!

Horses and kids and a maze...

everyone learns control and balance and giving the correct signals.

But they can't help but making it a competition!

"I'm going to beat you... no you're not!"

And then someone comes and changes the maze!

And now we're playing "Musical Squares"...

As you work your horse around the arena

you notice that there is one less square than there are horses.

When the music stops you have to get your horse to stand in a square.

Sometimes two people want the same square!

This is where you have to be courteous and patient...

the music will start again

and we all know it is a game to help us work with our horses.

Kids and horses... Amazing!

It's been hot and dry and so...

What better place to cool off than in the little river running through...

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and a break for grandma ...

as the little river does the moving!

Ahhhh.....