MAT Makeover With New Trip Planner

Quite randomly, I clicked onto the Omaha Metro Area Transit web site and was surprised to see a major enhancement to the bus service web site.
In addition to a new look and feel on the same old content is a brand new interactive trip planner. Gone are the days of looking at a digitized copy of the printed bus schedules trying to figure out where on the line your stop is, and here are the bright, new days of planning a trip online.
While there still seem to be a few kinks to work out, the planner tells me what I need to know. I can tell the system where I am, and where I want to go, and when I want to get there. The system will respond with step by step instructions of where to go, when to be there, and how long the trip will take. The trip info also details transfers and walking distance.
Even if you don't know exactly where you want to go, the system can help make suggestions for destinations like "Grocery" or "Train Station."
I've seen systems like this in other larger cities, so it's cool to see MAT rising to the challenge of transforming Omaha into a more accessible community though easy to use public transit.

Dry creek

Even though it rained (yay!) one whole inch (yay! yay!) the day before yesterday, the creek still looks like this... mostly rocks.

The ground was so dry that it sucked up all the excess water like a sponge. Nothing left over to trickle down into the creek. Fish, crawfish, snails, etc., survive only in places where the water pools.
One of the ponds is so low as to be practically non-existent. The Great Blue and Green Herons are constant visitors -- to them it's a treasure trove of little fish with nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. (And Red-shouldered hawks seem happy the creek is so low, since they seem to love crawfish dinners.)
The garden loved the rain. I can water and water and water with the hose, but it's just not the same as getting rain. The garden and I had been pretty miffed lately... it was getting on our last nerve to hear the thunder and see the many dark clouds, only to have it all pass by just out of reach. Day after day after day.
But now I have to go pull weeds, or rather, grass, before it gets too hot. Always trade-offs!
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Alabama's governor has asked everyone to pray for rain. I had to roll my eyes. Call me cynical, but I don't see him asking people to pray for our dysfunctional state constitution. (Or to end poverty, stop the pedophiles, achieve world peace, etc.) So why pray for rain?
Those three words (pray for rain, not our dysfunctional constitution) always make me think of Guadalcanal Diary.
Don't call for love
Don't ask for gold
our daily bread
or no more pain
pray for rain
Thinking about Guadalcanal Diary always makes me feel better. Highly recommended for washing the bad taste of politicians out of your mouth.
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Visit the Friday Ark for your weekly dose of crittery goodness.
And don't forget the fantastic latest edition of I and the Bird. (It's Frodo-licious!)

Return to the valley

For some reason it's been quite a while since I rode out through Currumbin Valley. Today I decided to do something about it. It was a reasonably pleasant morning, and once I escaped suburbia the rolling hills surrounding were about as green as one could possibly expect at this time of year. I was, however, slightly surprised at just how little water was coming over Cougal's Cascades at the western end of the valley. I'm hoping more rain falls before I visit Minyon Falls in the near future.



I also paid particular attention to slaughtering the climb up the ridge on Piggabeen Road. I could pay for it tomorrow, but sometimes one just has to make a statement. It was at the top of this ridge that I got an idea just how big the so-called "eco-village" being built at the eastern entrance to the valley is going to be. According to the "for sale" signs, it's going to stretch right up the northern side of the ridge. I suppose it promises to be a lesser evil than the stupidly ugly subdivisions they keep building in the Nerang and Robina areas if one actually believes the advertising. On the other hand, I'd prefer it wasn't built in an area where it might obscure the sweeping views from Piggabeen.



There also seemed to be a lot of idiots on the road this morning. One particular moron on the way home sped out of a bottleshop way too fast when I was passing, I think he actually accelerated when he saw me in a deliberate attempt to cause a crash (it wouldn't be the first time). I saw this particular moron late, but found enough of a sprint to get away from it. I can only hope this idiot wipes himself out of the human gene pool without taking anyone else with him.

Recovery day 1, again

Wakey Wakey Mr MacLeod. Feeling rather spaced shortly after coming round.
Yesterday I had my ankle surgery, which went quite well. Quote of the day from the surgeon was ‘articular surface intact’. Thank goodness for that. However, I did have a small flap of torn cartilage in the medial gutter of my ankle. It was very small and right on the edge of the cartilage, so it may not give me any trouble in the long term, or it might. We’ll have to see. I’m also still sore at the back of my ankle which couldn’t be properly seen but the surgeon’s opinion is that this is not a big deal and will settle. Again, we’ll just have to see. The large tibial bone spur which was creaking around in my ankle was chewed up and pulled out and I’m pretty sure that will help matters a lot!
I’ve got instructions to proceed to full weight bearing as pain allows. Obviously, 24 hours post operation I certainly don’t feel like putting my foot anywhere near a floor. On Monday I have to be in Wales for a big Gore-Tex event, but then I’ll just go home and work on my book for a week or two and then if everything feels ok, I will try to begin some gentle climbing. I do have a lingering worry about the back of my ankle. But there’s not much I can do except see how things pan out. I’m trying not to base my feelings on how it feels one day after being under the knife.
I do have a rehab plan in mind, but it’ll have to stay in my mind for a few more days until everything settles and I know exactly what the starting place is.
I feel lucky to the point of feeling guilty about having got away without more serious damage and disability. Much as I’m aware that we have a lot of power to get ourselves out of all manner of holes, there are some things that cannot be changed, and others have far more serious misfortune to deal with. What can you do except take the luck you’ve been given and run as far as you can with it?

Cascade River Waterfalls

Here are a couple of waterfall shots during our outing to Cascade River State Park earlier this week. We had a perfect day for exploring the river and looking for flowers. The sky was overcast which makes for ideal photography of waterfalls and flowers.

Lazy game cam

The game cam is triggered by heat, so when the air is warm there's not much action. These photos are from the last two months.

We thought this was a fox at first, but it's a reddish coyote instead. Here's how you tell the difference: Foxes have black "leggings" and ear tips, and white tips on their tails.¹

Other than bobcats, I think turkeys are my favorite game cam find. We get most pictures of them on dark cloudy days.

I love this photo of their tailfeathers! I'm always excited to find turkey feathers on the ground, but finding them still attached to the turkey is even better.

The weeds might be getting too tall for good critter pictures.

It looks like this deer has a tick in her ear.

The weeds are definitely getting too tall for good critter pictures.

Extreme close-up... the deer can evidently hear the trigger mechanism, and are more curious than you'd think.

Dang. The only spotted fawn game-cam picture ever, and he's already exited the frame.

Not-so-wild Deere and Bush Hog.
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¹You can look at the Red Fox wiki if you don't believe me.

Grandma's Letters

If our house was burning and I could rescue three things, this stack of letters would definitely be one of the three.
They were written to me by my maternal grandmother after I left home in 1973. They cover my college years, my marriage and move to California, our move to Georgia, and go through the birth of our second child in 1983.
Grandma was a letter writer. She kept in contact with all of her siblings, her daughter-in-law, her children who lived away, and her grandchildren. She also wrote a few friends, too.
My favorite memory of her is when I would walk into her house and see her sitting in her chair listening to the local radio station with pen and pad in hand writing to some lucky someone. She would smile sweetly, say hello, gaze out the window, and continue writing. It was enough for me to just be with her.
She was the most influential person in my life growing up. She showed me what a godly woman looked like. Her life was simple. She took care of her home and family. She took in strangers and helped out the sick and needy. That's why her letters are so precious to me. I want to be just like her.