CATCH-UP BLOG.

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Life has taken some dizzying, and significant changes in my life. I tend to juggle too many projects and responsibilities which keeps me busier than I like. (Self imposed, doncha know.) I’ve been diagnosed with a serious disease and now have to attend more and more doctor’s appointment.

I’m still collecting quotes for those future blogs and enjoy them. They are stacking up, along with unmade quilts and art projects.

I’m a noted Treehugger and this morning, I couldn’t resist re-posting this message that I wish to share with anyone who will pay attention:

It has been one month since Kenya enacted the world’s strictest ban on plastic bags. It took ten years and three attempts to pass the legislation, but as of August 28, people could be punished for carrying, manufacturing and importing plastic bags. Fines range from $19,000 to $38,000, with possible four-year jail terms. All travelers are required to leave their plastic bags at the airport and residents are encouraged to drop off old bags at local grocery stores for collection.

The ban is highly ambitious for a country that used to hand out 100 million plastic bags a year. But as pollution piled up, officials realized something more drastic needed to be done. Plastic bags litter every Kenyan roadway, clog sewers and streams, and damage soil and water sources. Even animals eat them.

“In Nairobi’s slaughterhouses, some cows destined for human consumption had 20 bags removed from their stomachs. ‘This is something we didn’t get 10 years ago but now it’s almost on a daily basis,’ said county vet Mbuthi Kinyanjui as he watched men in bloodied white uniforms scoop sodden plastic bags from the stomachs of cow carcasses.”

There are many reasons to ban plastic bags even though some people hate it. The inability of plastic bags to decompose, affecting soil quality. In some areas, plastic bags block sewers and prevent proper water drainage. They bugger sewage plants.
They damage ecosystems. Many animals and especially sea turtles and other underwater creatures eat them thinking they are jelly fish and die from it.
Plastic bags endanger human health when used for packaging food in particular hot food, baby pouches and cooking pouches.
They release poisonous gas when burned affecting the open air if burned in large numbers as some cities do to get rid of the shear volume of the plastic packaging and disposable bags. Well, I’m done with my rant. Please help enact a stricter ban on plastics. In California, every city and store can choose whether to do it or not. It is voluntary.  Our local SaveMart has given up plastic,  but I still see people buying groceries with shopping carts heaped full with a few items in each bag coming out of Walmart, Kohls,Big Lots, Big 5, Ace Hardware, and just about every other store in the county. Have a heart. Do your part.

 

 

 

ARCHIVE DAY

My volunteer day with the Alameda County Sheriff’s Archive is today. I leave too early for a lengthy blog, so I’ll get back to Turkey in earnest tomorrow. Above is the beautiful writing in a manuscript from the Aramada Hotel, Istanbul.

An old Roman aqueduct. Usla said, “those people are not supposed to be up there.”

Usla teasing us about his new car. (Not his, it belongs to the owner of the hotel.)

The Armada has turtles in the lobby. Reminds me of the Peabody Ducks.

And, of course, tulips everywhere. I DID tell you that tulips originated in Turkey, right? They were taken to Amsterdam many years ago.

And, thank you Virginia for answering my question about a (correct spelling) caliph, a religious leader.

SWAMP WALK

I know yesterday was Valentines Day, but it doesn’t seem to resonate when you are parked next to a swamp.

On the 13th, we did some cleaning, and packing stuff away. Our bedroom windows were hung with beads from Mardi Gras 2010, New Orleans. Some of them had become faded and the curtains needed washing.

So, we said our last goodbye to Mardi Gras by taking most of the old beads to the park laundry  for anyone to take if they like. That is a common practice in parks we live in. The new beads aren’t as colorful as those we had, but, we had way too many, anyway.

Jim worked on a leak in the Bronco’s sun window and we got ready to leave. Late in the afternoon, we went for  swamp walk. The late sun makes shadows on the swamp weeds.

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It is so beautiful in this swamp, with reflections in the water.

Everywhere you aim, is beauty. You can’t take a bad picture here.

Of course, lurking under all this beauty are alligators. We talked to a woman who saw four of them.  Her family is camped right next to the swamp.

I was quite content to spot turtles balancing on a half sunken log. These were a long distance away.

Look at the size of his powerful hind feet.

An uncrossable bridge if you don’t want wet shoes. We went around to the other side where it was just as wet.

A tree with knobby growths covering it.

Probably not healthy for the tree, but certainly interesting.

These small metal boats are used by the rangers. We saw a fisherman on the river using this type of boat for fishing, as well. He said he likes to fish, but only uses barb less hooks and releases everything he catches.

More turtles. A bit closer to the camera.Stretching to catch those last rays.

It’s cold,and we’ve had more cold and foggy days than sunny ones.

Jim spotted something moving in the water. We watched this turtle munching weeds just popping up and down in the water.

I spotted a snake. He is so fat, I thought at first it was a piece of rubber someone had thrown in the swamp. But the lens proved it to be a big black snake.

I didn’t have my glasses on, but I showed the picture to the local fisherman we talked to and he said it is a water moccasin. A very poisonous snake.

I know I’m going overboard here on the turtles, but they are so darned cute. A little turtle confab on a log. The one has green moss growing on his shell. Sitting in the sun with their reflections in the water. Nice.

Lake Charles, Louisiana – Day 9

The motorhome is parked at the 1,086 acre Sam Houston Jones State Park about 12 miles north of the city. We have been here enjoying Mardi Gras which ended Tuesday. We will move along later this morning.

Yesterday we rested from our Mardi Gras exoeriences…fun but tiring. Among the things we did was take a nice walk alongside a small Cypress Swamp directly across the road from where we are parked. You can read about this park by clicking this Wikipedia link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Houston_Jones_State_Park

Here are some photos that I  took…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

Despite several signs telling us not to feed the Alligators…we saw none.

Enjoying a Louisiana Swamp is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of Louisiana. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2013
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

OTTER CREEK ON THE BLUE RIDGE

From Mary’s desk:

After a peaceful night at a Moose Club in Vinton, a small town near Roanoke, VA. we got back on the parkway. A morning haze covered  the peaceful mountain, heavy with leafy trees.

As we rose in elevation the trees changed to more stunted growth; trees are yet to gain full leaf, here. The forecast was for rain, but the day was mostly overcast as we drove along.

Many vistas. So far in the Blue Ridge we have seen deer, turkeys aplenty, squirrels, many birds and butterflies which seem to drift in front of the motor home. Two turtles in the road where we hoped other motorists would miss them as we did. This area backs up to Jefferson National Forest with treed hillsides as far as the eye can see.
The first wild rhododendrons in bloom, not that my through-the-window pictures do them justice. Rocks vary the landscape.

Another beautiful stone bridge, of many.

The park design was deliberately zig-zagged to take advantage of the view, always the views were the foremost consideration. As below, the James River.

At Otter Lake we realized we were at the lowest elevation on the parkway at 649 feet. We stopped to have a bit of lunch and play. Rock climbing and photographing the little plants and flowers about the creek. Noticing a beaver chewed tree.

At Otter Creek Camp Ground, which was unexpectedly open, we found a drive through spot right along the burbling Otter Creek.

We explored, walked, read a bit. No sooner finished, Jim brought in the chairs and boom. The thunder commenced and a heavy downpour enveloped us as we sat safe inside with our dinner cooking on the stove. (Glad we were not in a tent.)
Finally the rain ceased. Neighbors Frank and Diane Wilson came by to chat. They were driving in the downpour and got caught about a quarter mile before the campground by a downed tree. A new ranger, without a chainsaw had just come from a class on learning to use a chainsaw. We had a laugh over that. The tree was cut with a handsaw, with the help of travelers, and all turned out well.