Young Jedi is Growing Up

The padawan pictured here----it seems not so long ago, in a galaxy not so far way....is turning 16 today and his father is coming home to celebrate!!! Happy Birthday Young Jedi !!!!!

Women's Work :)

Not much difference in the 30 years in between the photos---apple didn't roll far from the tree....

Snook Country

Sunset at Blind Pass, Sanibel Island, Florida. The snook fishing is of secondary importance and is as good excuse as any to kick back and enjoy the sun melting into the warm waters of the gulf.

Residential Service

Back in the day, (like 20 years ago) I actually got paid for playing in the dirt and putting things together. In this case it is a residential electrical service in Geneva, Florida for a newlywed couple beginning a journey together. The little woman wanted to help so I gave her a shovel....and she didn't bat a pretty eyelash.

Different Value System

Coming home for lunch one day this past week, the part of the backyard that I had let grow up with plants indigenous to the area (and to be truthful they had done really well with a daily watering as seen by by numerous posted flower pictures) was devastated by a recented graduated high schooler with an industrial string trimmer. The maintenance department is putting new skirting around my trailer and they truly thought they were helping me out by having one of the "grunts" trim the backyard for me. Good guys all, just a different set of values on what is important.

Biggest Visitor at the Picnic

At this year's 4th of July company picnic, one of the big haul trucks were selected and spiffed up as usual for the event. Unfortunately, it was not this one. About a week before the picnic, the truck that had been getting the special TLC for the picnic lost a universal joint in a bad way and caught fire. There is a fire suppression system on all vehicles and while this worked very well, the truck was unable to make the trip. The runner-up was quickly cleaned up and "lipstick on a pig" applied. I'm sure most of the paint had dried by the time the truck received visitors :)

Technicolor Lightning Storm

In this badly merged photo, it shows the storm on the east side of the valley at the same time as that of the aforementioned and photographed sunset. Big difference in viewpoints :) Note the faint wisp of rainbow that followed the storm into the mountains.

Red sky at night....

This sunset, while among the best so far this year in my opinion, was the result of the most intense lightning storm of the season on the east side of the valley just grazing the mine as the storm topped the mountains. The morning sky was very red that day and I had actually thought about the old sailor's adage concerning red skys and their effect when combined with sunrises or sunsets. (tomorrow...the Storm)

40th Anniversary of Apollo 11

Talk about a captive audience! Growing up an hour from the Nasa moonshots has an effect on young boys. I show my colors here in a backyard photo holding an Estes Camroc (note the awesome two-stage capability!) a few years after the first moon landing. Here's hoping Nasa can keep it together for the next few decades to inspire generations to come with a bootprint on Mars.

Life is a bowl of cherries?

I would have to rate cherries pretty high on my favorites list (PBJ lovers rejoice!) but I never saw cherries like these back in the deep south. The variety is called Ranier and they actually taste pretty good but it does take a bit to get use to, at least on the first few.

Christmas Comes Early This Year

A suprise package from the "little woman" arrived via the USPS (who else) and contained many months supply of my favorite non-alcoholic beverage. Cheers!!

Crack Control

Not very often a crack forms in an area of the pit where they weren't suppose to. This one opened up on a main haul road and all traffic was stopped from using the road. Telemetry was set up to monitor the crack in fractions of inches while a new mine plan was formed to take advantage of the opportunity.

Bald Mountain(s)

When I first arrived 112 days ago, the mountain in the middle and the one on the far right had plenty of snow cover. The last of the snow disappeared this week as the temperatures in the valley settle into the 90s during the day and the rains subsided. Never fear though, Mt. Jefferson on the east side of the valley has a few more spots of the cold stuff and may hold out for the summer.

Late Bloomer

This flower (and a few buddies) came to life later than all the others types but has proved worth the wait.

Mining Humor Part II

I'll bet on the rock-lickers over the tree-huggers (or the duck squeezers per local affection). Maybe we need to put a few of these guys in charge of NASA to find out what kind of cheese the Moon is really made of....

Wagging the Dog

Pulled weekend duty this past weekend and, while relatively uneventful, had a small fender bender in the mine pit. One of the Komatsu loaders mentioned in a previous entry for their chained tires was impacted by a Ford F-250 on said chained tires. Score is a knockout for the Komatsu of course---didn't even flinch as the Ford rolled into it.

Mining Humor

Like most places I've worked over the years, the miners here are a very proud bunch of folks. Maybe a tad more independent than most, but essentially enjoy their work like everyone else. However, Greenpeace and Sierra Club members are defintely not on their Christmas card list :)

Almost that Time of Year

A few of you might remember the collage I made last year showing the various steps in the proper preparation of chicken wings for a football game. With preseason just a few weeks away, I'm posting the collage in anticipation of another great year for the Gators and Dolphins---not that I'm superstitious or anything :)

Chain Mail

Some of the tires get VERY expensive (actually they all are very expensive but some even more than others). These tires go on large Komatsu loaders in the pit and have a protective chain on the tires to help prevent cuts and punctures. The rusty chain is a used tire with a really worn down chain and the two greenish ones have a protective coating still on the chain itself.

All Eyes Watching the Sky

More family members in the air recently and this time from different parts of the country. One from the high country and one from sunny Florida but both converging in the "Home of the Blues" within minutes of one another. Modern travel has made the world we know very small as the wagon wheel ruts and pony express stops out here in the west will silently testify.

Happy Birthday Brother!!

Pretty much always running together through thick and thin when growing up even when mom and grandma made us Village People outfits to wear. Here's to you having a great day today for your birthday!!!! Be good, brother.

Rock Washer

Here a better example of the SAG mill mentioned in earlier posts. This video shows the discharge side of the mill with a 1x2 inch primary screen and spray washers. These rocks are put through the mill again until what is left of them falls through the screen. Note that occasionally a steel ball comes sliding by---this is caused by a broken discharge grate that is being repaired tomorrow.

Barbie Pink

Just a little water and these hollyhocks popped up over the past month. I'll look at transplanting a few of them later in the summer. There are a few of a more of a hot pink variety mixed into the bunch that are probably recessive genes showing through.

Tread Separation

Hard to tell which came first, the obvious blow-out or the tread peeling away. These haul truck tires have been known to damage equipment when they fail catastrophically with the last one I heard blowing out one of the windows of a nearby dozer.