Preparing for what i know... or may not.

temptation of spring in the valley...                                          March 13 2013 

During my morning surfing of the web, mainly email and news items, i came across an article about Megan Brown, the lady who founded/started Sweet Tooth Fairy, cup cake shops. Her advice for starting a business or big endeavor... "the most important thing is to seek for stillness. Listen to yourself in a place with no clutter, no distractions, listen (to the Spirit) no matter what!"

The temptation of the upcoming spring is upon us here in Panguitch, it starts with the tourist's passing through town, and they always get here before the warm weather, because this is the southwest and its suppose to be warm here!? First signs, increase in auto traffic, then if ya talk to the grocery store folks, the waves of traveler's in the store, and stage three, which is not quite here yet, is the increased foot traffic about the downtown area. But we here in this high mountain valley always have weather surprises for these unsuspecting traveler's. The visitor request i enjoy the most is... " is there someplace we can purchase a sweatshirt or coat?... we thought it was suppose to be warm here". My heck folks it can snow here in June!!  But i must say... i do love the early spring... tan fields, grey bare trees, and the two tone gray mountains of the Sevier Plateau against the cerulean blue sky with a few white grey clouds passing through.

Winter wooden box project...                                            2013

As i prepare for the Red Canyon season and my return to work the fact that i live here and look for the signs of the changing seasons and the many thousands of traveler's that pass through here never knowing what to expect, except that it be "warm", is all the more reason for me to be prepared for them along with the weather i know can and will come upon us. Back to wooden box's for the visitor center for recycling, lost and not yet found and to display animal artifacts collected during the off season. During the construction of the new trail, entrance, and restroom facilities at red canyon late last year i came up with some more display ideas for this season that needed work during the off season. Soil and rock samples for a geology display, along with coordinating and getting ready to hang three wonder-filled artist's painting exhibits during this season, all to reflect the nature of red canyon and the Dixie National Forest.

2Nephi 12:1-3

My personal journal...                            entry March,13 2013

As i coordinate the volunteer's that work at the visitor center along with some seasonal Forest Service help, i must be personally prepared, and the two things that are most important to me are my scriptures and my personal journal along with a visitor center daily event log/journal that i keep. First i try to read my scriptures each morning as i start the day and before going to work, so that i may stop and listen to what the Spirit has to say to me, plus the scriptures put me in the right frame of mind for a day of helping the volunteer's and visitor's. Along that same note i always have a copy of the Book of Mormon in my brief case. Second i always have my journal along for the day, with my camera, to always keep/make a record of the days events, by writing, drawing, "light drawings" and paper collages, along with the weather and personal insights that come throughout the day. I try to make entries during the the day as it progresses so that i don't have to remember/recap the day at home after work.  Third the visitor center log/journal is just a bunch "one liners", similar to a Japanese "haiku" of the days happenings, characters and events. I work with the journals this way to keep my mind free of those thoughts "oh i will never forget that...", if i write it down i can forget it, because there is so much information that goes through my mind/head everyday talking with visitors it's hard to keep track of it all, and this way by writing and making camera images i do keep a record.

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Thanks for stopping by...  Cheers. 

Week #8 & March Newsletter...

Well after the earlier post of today i could not stop thinking... i may have wax in my ears... that's what the junk mail from the post office informed me of today... this sequester thing has been bothering me... it's defined as: to isolate or hide away. Which i am sure is happening... but from the more romantic point of view i prefer  "seaquester"... sea: meaning expanse of salt water that covers most of earth's surface... and quester: a long arduous search for something... an expedition.

But to more pressing matters... Week #8 of the 52 week suggestion to preparedness... welcome if you just came to this site. Food storage and the extra item each week are pretty straight forward, we all need to get wheat and beans for the long haul. The 72hour kit information is where it gets interesting... What do you want to eat for three days while away from home under a most likely stressful episode?? I have been sampling  freeze-dried meals and have not been overly impressed. Mostly bland and taste-less and if you or the family members are picky eaters and like your food choices to be separated  on the plate well then good luck because most of what's out there is of the casserole variety... all mixed together, and you need a stove to boil water to reconstitute most of it to make it eatable... extra water over and above drinking plus pots, stove and fuel. Maybe MRE's would work for this three day adventure, eat cold or warm with some options for sides and snacks, short shelf life, up to 130 months, ten years, if stored at 60 degrees or below, not frozen though. Take them on camping trips and outings to test them to find family favorites and keep them rotated, assuming you get out and camp more then once every ten years!
Well for the March newsletter... water water water, the best bet here might be a swimming pool with a cover and filter all the water you take out for consumption... no diapers or peeing in the pool though! The sheer volume of storing water is staggering to think of, then along with draining for rotation... each family will need a water master. Store as much as you can in large containers, also some smaller containers, five gallon or less, for grab and go emergencies, and filter all drinking and cooking water through a good three stage backpackers filter, this way you do not have to deal with rotation issues, remember we are storing treated city water to start with. Keep your stored water in a cool dry place, off the concrete floor, tightly sealed till use, and out of direct sun light. Stored this way its storage life is indefinite, and store someplace where it will not freeze.
The food storage issue just keeps nagging at me ... this idea of an "active pantry" keeps coming back to mind... a good active three month supply of food always rotating based on our daily family menus, along of course with the long term "raw" from scratch food storage items. If you are on the computer reading this go to http://preparedldsfamily.blogspot.com this is a very well done and thought-out site. Take some time to explore, at the green menu bar at the top click "start here" read then go to "food storage week-by-week" a great resource. If you are way behind on the years supply, as we are this three month idea is a great start/goal to work towards and expand upon. This food storage is a process that takes time... it can be done in one shot but if your like me and my budget it's not happening!!
Besides i don't like getting my food storage all from the same place and hope it lasts till i have to use it and  then hit the "menu fatigue" wall early into it. Variety and options are the name of this endeavor and it takes careful planning not throwing a-lot of  money at it to feel good and going into any kind of debt that can't be paid off in one month. 
Please post comments to help us help you and we will keep offering ideas, insights and suggestions... i try to work on the k.i.s.s. principal as often as possible cause no one needs to reinvent what's already out there. Cheers.

Of seaquester and wooden box's...

 " There is so much incivility in the world today... I like the idea of our words being clear as a sunny sky and full of grace." Pres. Dieter Uchtdorf

Some days we need to spend more time sharpening the pencil then writing or coloring with it, more shavings and sawdust on the floor then marks on the paper.
Sit at the work table and work with my hands, cut, punch, and sew leather pouches for the buttons i got from a friend a month ago, because of what use is a button if it don't have work?? But these are not your run of the mill five&dime store buttons. Then the dog wants to go out to smell the morning air & world and take care of business. This gives me a chance to throw rocks at the neighbor's cats that come to moan and eat my cats food, hay folks curb your cats! Then it's off to the local sawmill, not a lumber yard, to obtain some 1"x10"x12' S1S2E E.S. boards to build wooden box's, another of those hands on make a lot of sawdust/shavings on the floor projects. The thing about making things/stuff is that at the end of the day you can look back and see what you made/did that day. These kinds of projects allow me to keep my hands busy and allow my mind/soul to wander, ponder, and think of my morning readings first and then of the events of the day. Its like the Greeks "walking and talking" at the same time and is much more productive then just sitting and thinking. But be careful what you load in your mind first thing in the morning because that will dominate your thoughts for the day... That said, start with the scriptures then you can weight all the rest of the days thoughts, and ideas with truth. Keep a prayer in your heART all day.  Smile.  And be of good cheer.

Oh ya... this seaquester thing, hope for the best and prepare for the worst-case scenario...
take up a notch in your belt, pray and be ready for what's going to come at ya...    CHeers!!
     

Ben Behunin's ceramic buttons... my leather pouch's

Two of three S1S2E E. S. wooden box's

If "Hell" comes your way... move through it...

The downstairs bedroom flooded from a broken water pipe... discovered while washing the winter road grime off the car... i have no water pressure?? oh that's because its filling the bedroom with water!!
That was on a Saturday evening... and no one works weekends or holidays any more so no insurance adjuster or disaster services till Tuesday... we got most of the water sucked up out of the carpet and from out of the ceiling with a wet/dry vacuum... most of the loss came to house structure, carpet, walls, ceiling, the ceiling light fixture acted as a great drain for the water, but no personal belongings were lost or damaged... ?lesson learned? do not leave your garden hose connected to the outside hose bib during the winter months of no use, frozen water from the hose does not allow the water to drain the freeze free hose bib... thus freezing in the pipe and this splits the pipe, it does not leak at this point till you wash the car off.  Remove hose's from outside bibs and drain, roll up and store till needed. No use taking a trip through Hell unless you want too... just remember don't stay any longer then you have too, keep moving through. Couple of more stories go along with this but those are for another day... Keep close tabs of those insurance policies, know where they are at, and make copies to take with you in case of an emergency evacuation.

Next stop on the road of an unsuspecting life, the ER at the local hospital, my reoccurring leg infection erupted again... give up blood, tests, and anti-bodies to take... go home come back to the clinic tomorrow if you don't feel better. I don't feel better so back i go... turns into an all day deal more tests, a couple of "vampires"and in the end all tests clear and a stumped doctor...?? Lots of hanging out with needles, IV's and tubes hanging out with me, the doctor on the phone... "go home and get your wife and go to St. George this afternoon, no side trips, straight to the hospital... and don't you drive!" and here is some O2 for the trip... does this mean high and fast???  Long story short, three hours to get through their ER and be admitted... send myWife home because a winter snow storm is coming and all she will do here is wait... wait... wait... which i can do by myself, and i don't feel life threatened by this incident and besides the bedroom is a wreck and the insurance disaster people are coming and lets not slow that process... Something like divide and overcome...
Do you know that you can be admitted to a hospital and "not be a sick person" and they have 24 hours for a doctor to see you??? Wait finally to a room at 2305 hrs. lots of who, what, where, and lots of "vampires"swarming about you, more IV's and you can't wear your own clothes so they have easy access to your "parts". A PA first then tests... full heART work up and an echo this and that, then "major" antibodies into my system to stop the infection from going up my leg, then a real doctor, so they have time to figure out how this got started... If you want to sleep at night or any time in a hospital... ask for ear plugs... the place is noisy, not just people but the mechanical systems in the building are noisy... and if they want to do something to you or talk they will get your attention. Long story short again... two and a half days later i was back home... yes they figured it out and it was so stunningly simple it brought tears to my eyes... another story, yes another day. There are only two things you must remember before they will do anything to you... "what's your name and date of birth??"
 Did you see this coming... no i did not... be prepared... have your insurance cards, if you take more then an aspirin make a list to give them so you don't have to remember it every time they ask, and they will ask more then three times per shift, remember: new shift new people new questions that you already answered, and just cause its in their computer does not mean the Nurse or CNA on the floor has it. We most likely need a going to the hospital emergency kit of sorts, especially if you have long term health/medical issues. The stress of being there is hard enough... then if you don't have your "own" comfort items, brush, tooth and hair, don't forget a good book... i did, but i had my brief case which always has my scriptures, a journal, day planner, colored pencils, pens, and my camera along with the medical paper work i take to the doctors office. I hate having to remember all that has happened to me, write things down and put them out of your mind, just know where to find the answer when they ask.
??Lesson learned...?? The best way to take the sting and stress out of days like these is to read, study, and ponder the scriptures each day every day and then pray and listen. Psalms 46:10. We need this spiritual alone time each day no matter where we are at. Believe me a hospital is a place where you have time... the question that came to me while there was... "? i wonder... do you ever really become a doctor if all you do is practice...?" and there is a lot of practicing going on down at Dixie Regional Medical Center... the window views are not so great... unless you like storm clouds, but it was nice having the East facing window.

 
We, in most cases, cannot control what comes our way... all we can do is be as prepared as possible both spiritually and temporally, put our trust in the Lord, and take it one day at a time. Do not put your trust in the arm of flesh.         Be of good cheer.
Cheers

All heARTs day... thoughts.

For me i have to write one thing... so i can clear my head, or as i call it my RAM, such is the case from yesterdays post to todays. But first things first... as i was going to school, late this morning, to visit a teacher whom i work with during my winters off, i came across this sidewalk scene that reminded me of my shy days of youth... did you not hate it when you took your all your heARTs love to school and found it tossed aside and unwanted??!

SAY YES...                                                                            February 14, 2013

It has taken me since elementary school to get over these kinds of events... now i just choose not to be offended by them... period. 
Now... some small critter, cat or dog will come along and eat these sweets and get a belly ache or... it will rain today and wash it all away.
Happy all heARTs Day !!! (-:






Ya know i never did get around yesterday to say anything about what Ben Behunin said to that group of quilter's... he spoke a bit of the three Isaac books, and a few comments about Borrowing Fire and funeral crashing... but then he came to what i thought was the heART of the matter. Ben spoke of the creative process that we all have in our lives, weather or not we know it or recognize it as such. Ben is a potter, he makes "mud pies" i believe he said, the group he was talking to makes quilts. All of us in one form or another "makes"/does something, and there is a point in/during that physical "making" process where we can do what we do pretty much out of habit without much close attention...  At this point the mind starts to wander and go where it wants or thinks about other issues we may be having. Ben said this is an important time, we need to turn off the "World" noise... radio, TV, and our own personal issues etc. and be quite and listen... this is when we can hear what God has to say to us... but we must listen because its not in most cases a loud voice... its quite and still. Ben said one of  his most favorite scripture's was 2Timothy1:7 " For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power,...". This, he said, has helped him to be a potter and now also a writer... This advice i believe can help each of us, so make and take some time every day to be still/silent and alone to listen, ponder, and meditate...  turn off the world for awhile.   Wonder filled books Ben has written on many levels... Thanks Ben.

On a lighter last note the Gem theater in Panguitch is re-opening... movies and handmade ice cream and who does not scream for ice cream... Happy heARTs day !!
I went in earlier today to purchase movie tickets for the 6:00 showing with my sweetheART, and got to chat with the new owner for a moment, who stated that they will be open six days per week year round... hooray!! So come support the new movie house. The ice cream in the case was just looking great, sorry i got no picture.

Cheers to the day... 

Getting ready for some things...

Well time flies when i have fun... tomorrow is all hearts day... mine has two stints in it and an ICD pacer in my chest. Better/longer living through technology and chemistry...

Wow all the way back to the week of 6 Feb... some times its hard to remember what even went on... i will be back to work in red canyon in a bit less then a month, the rush to line up volunteers for the season goes on. Because i am now in a non-pay status with the Forest Service my gov. email account has been disabled until i return to work... this makes it a bit harder to get the volunteer work done. This will be my tenth year in the canyon running the visitor center for the Forest Service. We have a facelift to the front of the center with restrooms and a new approach to the building along with a red path out to the Podunk guard station and Pink Ledges trailhead. Come visit, we open Easter weekend, Friday- Monday during the month of April and then seven days a week starting April 30 from 9-6 each day.

This past weekend i had the good fortune to attend a quilter's retreat , as a crasher, to visit with a good friend of mine, Ben Behunin, a very talented and master "mud slinger", a Potter, a profession i never quite mastered in an earlier life. Ben has also become of late a writer of books, five so far, something about visitors in his studio talking to him and telling him stories and not leaving him alone until he writes...  The retreat for Ben was to talk to/with a group of quilters about his creative process and also to sell some pottery and books on the side. My part of going for a few hours was to hear him speak, visit, he lives in Salt Lake City the retreat was in Bryce Canyon City, and it gave me an opportunity to feel of his rich spirit. His first three books, a trilogy, about an old village potter who passes and leaves his shop/studio to a just graduated pottery student and the lessons he learns from the old potter through his journals and the village residents that he meets and talks with. A very simple outline here but all three books  are a great read about life and lessons learned, great stories as well. 

    First book:  Mar 2009 Remembering Isaac The Wise and Joyful Potter of Niederbipp... Second book: Nov 2009  Discovering Isaac The Beloved Potter of Niederbipp...                                Third book:  Sept 2010 Becoming Isaac The Next Potter of Niederbipp...

Ben's newest book, Dec 2012, Borrowing Fire Rewriting the Eulogy for a Boy Named Wolf.

This book is different then the Isaac three, about a funeral crasher, with all the great insights and lessons of the other three books, and Ben does all his own research for these books! Just a note these books are not just "word" books but have images and drawings which always makes a book much more interesting for me, because i always look at the pictures before i read the book, that creates interest for me, a "snapshot maker".

You can get all the books online at Amazon... just enter authors name and title in search. 

They are a great read for both you and your children, read it with or too the younger ones!

I know that Ben test reads the books on/with his two children.

For those who have come to this blog for the preparedness information... these books would be great for your 72 hour emergency kits along with the scriptures of course. This past week i have finally got our water storage together both for long term and emergency grab and go... not a years worth but non the less a start. We have one 55 gal. drum plus two 15 gal. drums and two 6 gal. grab and go containers, total 97 gals. enough for two people for a little less then three and half weeks. It is also a good idea to pick up cases, 24 count, of bottled water when you find then on sale, for your grab and go needs. Along with the barrels we got a safe drinking water hose to fill the barrels with Panguitch city water, store barrels in a cool dry mostly dark place off the bare concrete floor. A siphon hose to get the water out. We have also got a backpacker water filter system, Katadin Vario Microfilter water filtration system along with one each of its three replaceable filters, to remove any and all water from our barrels. My though process behind this... if we filter all consumable water coming out of our barrels we will not have to be as concerned with draining and refilling the barrels. Secondly i have found that city water in Panguitch that sets for a while has a chemical taste to me and the filtration system will remove that taste. The filtration system can also be used to obtain drinkable water from lakes, rivers, streams and ponds... one tool multi-use.

Last but not least for this session... We also obtained a Volcano collapsible grill/stove with propane attachment. This takes care of emergency cooking needs and gives you three fuel options, wood, charcoal briquettes, or propane. Next step for us... locate a couple of propane tanks to fill and store, outside the house or garage, and a small supply of wood and charcoal briquettes. We found this stove on sale, much cheaper then retail price, on a recent trip to St. George a week or so ago, so keep your eyes open and have your needs list with you on your trips out of town. 

Not all of the items i  have talked about here can be taken with you if you must leave in an emergency on foot, but if we can take a car or truck, plan and choose carefully what and how much to take with you, there a lots of variables and scenarios that can influence these decisions, and we will address some of them in coming newsletters and this blog.

Well so much for this round, come back if you found something of interest, i will try to keep it relevant to life here in Panguitch in particular and the world outside in general.

Talk with you next time... Cheers

         

...along Hwy 89, Roller Mill Hill east of Panguitch, Utah                                           January 30, 2013

 

A day in the light... the point of light...

Panguitch Valley evening "good" light.                          2013

 There is the "good" light and the there is the every day all day light. Working the front desk at a visitor center in the middle of one, if not, the most stunning landscapes in southern Utah outside of a national park, one question...
"where is the best place to get good photos??"
Well sir how much time do you have...
I have spent almost ten years making photo, light drawings, graphs in this country and a day trip for photos is hardly enough time. One might get a whole bunch of "snapshots" which is what most of us take/make. A couple of days might get you something... good, maybe.

Panguitch Valley mid morning clear light.                      2013

The thing i have come to observe over time is that the light is ever changing not only from day to day but from each moment to the next during that day... and of course this also varies from season to season. I think i can honestly say i have never seen the light the same twice...
I am not even sure i am a "photographer" but just a snapshot taker. i don't set around in a landscape waiting for the "right moment". This idea of living and working in the landscape each and every day for years is the advantage, watching the landscape change throughout the day, and always having the camera at hand. I have become an observer of everyday life, and weather conditions, the more extreme the better.

Panguitch Valley afternoon partly cloudy light.                                      2013

 Don't leave home without the camera... i work the idea of lots of images/snapshots and then sorting it all out at the end of the day. So many of the images/photos we see of the stunning places on earth you will never see them in person that way because "i just a few hours here to see it". So coming back to the question above... plan on a day or two to explore and find the place/places you like best, then go back and set up and wait, and hope the weather does not change in the mean time, but that's another op...

A lot of what image making comes down too for me is being there and if that moment in time looks "good" then i have to take/make the time to capture that moment, don't say as i have more times then i can remember... "i will stop and catch it on the way back or later". That moment is gone. 

Working the visitor center in a stunning spot, i have hundreds of images of the same place/view at different moments in time... some good and lots of not so good... ya just have got to spend time in the "place" and take/make a lot of images. Most of this is the right place at the right time, and that's a bit of what life is all about... so see it as it is while you are there. All the photo is for, is so you can remember the place and what is was like while/when you were there... or proof that you did it. Just remember a photo is like looking through a toilet paper tube... you don't capture what you really "saw" when you were there. "these photos just don't look or do the place justice". A camera is a "microscope" view of a landscape.

The above images are where i live, this is my everyday views, my work place is a ten mile commute just east of here in a place called Red Canyon on the Dixie National Forest. I will be back there in March when we open for the season. Come back here and visit for more images or stop in if your in the Southern Utah neighborhood... i do know a few places to go...  Cheers.