Snow Squall at Mont Alto

After a day and a half of snow, ice, and rain the storm had one last snow squall to throw at us. The flakes were huge clumps. Fortunately, it didn't last long and the storm was over.

Walking the Dog

P1020897
Originally uploaded by P_Linehan.

Even a gray Saturday is a good time to walk the dog. The Cumberland Valley Rails to Trails is great. There was almost no one one there yesterday morning. We started at the parking lot at Shippensburg Township Park and continued north about a mile and a half before returning. Beans things it's great, even if I won't let him capture any squirrels.

But you really need to bring a bag along, for everyone's convenience!


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Woodpile

Growing up I spent many hours cutting and stacking firewood. After the energy crisis hit in 1973, my father decided we needed to heat with wood and brought home pallets for us to break up. What a job? We never made anything like this one, though.



"The Tree"

War and Peace and the Iraq War

While reading the new translation of War and Peace I started to notice parallels between Napoleon's invasion of Russia the the American war in Iraq. Tolstoy contended that great man don't make history. Instead all the people, no matter what their status, fate, and even God make history.

He says that once all the French army and the other European nations' armies amassed, Napoleon couldn't control them. They advanced to Moscow, even though it led to their undoing. Rational thought would have shown them that they couldn't prevail in the long run.

After the first Iraq war, the US was locked in an increasingly more tense struggle with Iraq. the Air Force enforced the no fly zone for at least ten years. Over the years the desire to attack Iraq became harder and harder to resist. The Iraqi government didn't do much to defuse the situation. But would anything save the death of Saddam Hussein have been acceptable?

After the 9/11 attack the pressure to attack Iraq became irresistible. When you have the world's biggest military and the need for vengeance, it's hard to stop. Certainly the president and his inner circle should have been more prudent. We have learned since then that there were enough people who knew what the likely outcome would be. It just got too hard to say no.

Favorite Thanksgiving Picture

No need to say more.


click to enlarge

Paddle harder before we sink.

Paddle harder before we sink.
Originally uploaded by P_Linehan.

This is my entry for this week's Photo Friday Challenge: Travel. I really like how they choose the themes for the challenges. They are interesting, but generic enough to be open for a lot of interpretation. It makes it more fun.

In this picture, they made it back in time and didn't go under. The Cardboard Canoe Race is a fun event put on by the School of Forest Resources at Penn State in the fall at the Stone Valley Recreation Area. This is the first time that a Mont Alto contingent competed. We will have to do it again next year!

Portland Oregon Area

I'm leaving for the airport in about an hour. We had time yesterday to take a quick car ride up the Columbia River and around Mount Hood then back to Portland. The top picture is the approach to Mount Hood from the North after climbing out of the gorge. The mountain is totally unexpected. It is all alone. It must have been an impressive volcano when erupting.
There are so many waterfalls along the Oregon side of the Columbia. This is a smaller one, Bridal Veil. You have to hike along a winding hill to reach it. The trail circles around, crosses a bridge and then you see it. It's really worth seeing.

Some day I hope to have time to come back and hike some of the trails. There is so much more to see.