Lovely, sunny afternoon here, if a trifle chilly. I think April has taken a powder and sent March to fill in.
Bill, thanks for the link. I am now signed up as a supporting member of Lone Star Con3.
Also, I now understand about container ships and see my error, as well as that of the reporter. Wonder if there are any freighters anymore. I remember seeing a show on the Discovery Channel donkey's years ago, when I used to watch a lot of television, about how European ports were being converted to handle the new container vessels. IIRC the idear was that these vessels were more efficient and required less manpower dockside to load and unload than old fashioned freighters. But of course, I didn't remember this till after reading your comment.
I believe there are still thing like bulk grain carriers. Although, like oil tankers, that's a special category. Whether there are still ships with an undifferentiated cargo hold I couldn't say.
Full day here. Began with VT*Grand warning us it was morning. We enjoyed time with her all morning, including Grandad helping her learn to ride a bike unaided! Then we had the annual neighbourhood Association meeting. As some of you may recall, we've had some terrible experiences in the past. This meeting, however, showed promise of better rapport! The last two difficult members are selling and moving within a month! The new folks seem really nice..even...intelligent! wOOt! From there we went on to a friend's gallery opening, showing her oil paintings. Stunning impressionist landscapes! Then we went to purchase a very small rider mower for Mah*Sweetie, as his birthday is next Monday. It's a loooong story, but the one we ordered from Sears two weeks ago and waited an extra week to have delivered...well, they brought it yesterday and it was the wrong mower...! Layers of incompetency in this deal, so we cancelled that and found the S.A.M.E. mower with a different brand name for $200 less! It's coming Friday.
Doozy of a morning--cut into my beauty sleep, it did. ER busy, med-surg ward busier than usual, lab computer system down for nearly four hours. Caught up around 6:00 AM. To bed at 10:00 PM tonight.
The place where I saw the ibis on Saturday morning seems to be a "natural" or maybe organic farm/ranch. I think I told of the chicken house built onto a truck trailer, so it could be moved to whatever pasture they were to feed from, with a tailgate that acted as a gangway; after the went on board for the night it could be closed up to protect from predators, and moved to the next pasture. The cattle seem to be much more nicely cared for than in the common factory-type dairies; they graze and laze in the grass as they wish, and return to the barn to be milked. Today I saw them grazing in a field of alfalfa; on the factory farms the ranchers were mowing the alfalfa to make silage to feed to their cattle in their closely confined muddy corrals. No ibis this afternoon, but there was a pair of mallards.
On the way home this afternoon I passed a ranch that has a small herd of buffalo; the big (heavily) fenced field where the buffalo normally roam had been plowed, apparently in preparation for planting new grass; the buffalo were in a smallish (for them) corral with a mound in the middle (maybe scraped up manure?). On top of the mound was the alpha male buffalo, watching over his subjects. In a similar corral next to them was a herd of cattle--some particular unusual breed, with moderate horns--and the alpha bull was also standing on top of the mound, watching over his subjects. I don't know how closely related buffalo and cattle are, but the identical behavior was quite striking. And thinking of striking, the clock just struck ten, and off to bed I go.
You are, at heart, something of a poet, Alan. Consider making a collection of your observations as you go to and from work, or simply are out and about. These notes of yours nurture the contemplative soul.
Howard has everything that's needed. And then some!
ReplyDeleteHe's got the power!
DeleteLovely, sunny afternoon here, if a trifle chilly. I think April has taken a powder and sent March to fill in.
ReplyDeleteBill, thanks for the link. I am now signed up as a supporting member of Lone Star Con3.
Also, I now understand about container ships and see my error, as well as that of the reporter. Wonder if there are any freighters anymore. I remember seeing a show on the Discovery Channel donkey's years ago, when I used to watch a lot of television, about how European ports were being converted to handle the new container vessels. IIRC the idear was that these vessels were more efficient and required less manpower dockside to load and unload than old fashioned freighters. But of course, I didn't remember this till after reading your comment.
I believe there are still thing like bulk grain carriers. Although, like oil tankers, that's a special category. Whether there are still ships with an undifferentiated cargo hold I couldn't say.
DeleteFull day here. Began with VT*Grand warning us it was morning. We enjoyed time with her all morning, including Grandad helping her learn to ride a bike unaided! Then we had the annual neighbourhood Association meeting. As some of you may recall, we've had some terrible experiences in the past. This meeting, however, showed promise of better rapport! The last two difficult members are selling and moving within a month! The new folks seem really nice..even...intelligent! wOOt! From there we went on to a friend's gallery opening, showing her oil paintings. Stunning impressionist landscapes! Then we went to purchase a very small rider mower for Mah*Sweetie, as his birthday is next Monday. It's a loooong story, but the one we ordered from Sears two weeks ago and waited an extra week to have delivered...well, they brought it yesterday and it was the wrong mower...! Layers of incompetency in this deal, so we cancelled that and found the S.A.M.E. mower with a different brand name for $200 less! It's coming Friday.
ReplyDeleteAll in all a busy but good day!
And the sun shone the whole time!!
ReplyDeleteDoozy of a morning--cut into my beauty sleep, it did. ER busy, med-surg ward busier than usual, lab computer system down for nearly four hours. Caught up around 6:00 AM. To bed at 10:00 PM tonight.
ReplyDeleteThe place where I saw the ibis on Saturday morning seems to be a "natural" or maybe organic farm/ranch. I think I told of the chicken house built onto a truck trailer, so it could be moved to whatever pasture they were to feed from, with a tailgate that acted as a gangway; after the went on board for the night it could be closed up to protect from predators, and moved to the next pasture. The cattle seem to be much more nicely cared for than in the common factory-type dairies; they graze and laze in the grass as they wish, and return to the barn to be milked. Today I saw them grazing in a field of alfalfa; on the factory farms the ranchers were mowing the alfalfa to make silage to feed to their cattle in their closely confined muddy corrals. No ibis this afternoon, but there was a pair of mallards.
On the way home this afternoon I passed a ranch that has a small herd of buffalo; the big (heavily) fenced field where the buffalo normally roam had been plowed, apparently in preparation for planting new grass; the buffalo were in a smallish (for them) corral with a mound in the middle (maybe scraped up manure?). On top of the mound was the alpha male buffalo, watching over his subjects. In a similar corral next to them was a herd of cattle--some particular unusual breed, with moderate horns--and the alpha bull was also standing on top of the mound, watching over his subjects. I don't know how closely related buffalo and cattle are, but the identical behavior was quite striking. And thinking of striking, the clock just struck ten, and off to bed I go.
--Alan
You are, at heart, something of a poet, Alan. Consider making a collection of your observations as you go
ReplyDeleteto and from work, or simply are out and about. These notes of yours nurture the contemplative soul.