Happy Birth Day from the North Rim

No fire works but plenty of water...

And drunken Mule Riders?

Dam River Trip

From Glen Canyon Dam to Lee's Ferry. No rapids to cool us off but plenty of rain on the first part of our trip. This is a nice section of river that is a short half day. You start your trip going through a 2 mile tunnel down to the river.

I am looking forward to seeing my boy Noah this weekend. If he is still at http://www.bestfriends.org/ I hope to put him on hold for a month untill I can take him home. Good Dog!

Noah

I wanted to get the word out about Noah. He is a white Lab, is a year and a half, and is such a nice dog. If I were allowed a dog he would be riding around in my truck. Go to http://www.bestfriends.org/ and check him out!

Deer Vs. Car

You took a good hit
Over the windshield and into the ditch
So glad I could stop and say goodbye
To lend you a hand
On your land
I didn’t want to hurt you
Or see the fear in your eyes
Your were a good deer
And now you are done
We had a couple of minutes
You waited for me to pass
Your last breath we share
Sorry the other guy didn’t care
I hope it didn't hurt too much
You did a good job on his car
It didn’t go far
I hope you feel better
There are other places to share
Beautiful skies everywhere
I dragged you into view
In hopes that nothing is lost
Don’t worry the car is dead too
It was a Volvo
Heading for San Diego

Imperial Morning

Texture (Thinking Aaron Siskind)

Whats Going Down?

On a trip to the Center of Creative Photography at the U of A I was able to request a viewing of any set of photographs from any Photographer within the archive. On this day I chose to see a series from Ansel Adams that were taken within the Grand Canyon. I am not sure how Ansel felt about working within GCNP as it really is not a place he is known to be in. We are all familiar with the grand images taken within his beloved Yosemite but the canyon photo's do exist.

I have personally felt that the canyon is Difficult to photograph. What do you like? Color or Black & White?

Take a trip to Tuscan. Visit the Center for Creative Photography! Make a reservation to see a collection for yourself. It is an amazing resource.

The pillows are fluffed, the water turned on, the ledges dusted, light bulbs changed, 300 new beds, windows cleaned, remodels complete, new carpet in the lodge, the floor in the sun room refinished, 200 water heaters lit, leaks fixed, chairs varnished, 200 employees on hand and we have a test run of the dinning room of the Grand Canyon Lodge on Thursday.

All of this equals 2 days and the North Rim is open!

Peace,

Matthew

Orphan Care

I wanted to get these posted because I think they are awesome.
Enjoy! Give us your Tired your Hungry your Sick your injured. Orphan Care season is in full stream. Lots of birds come in after storms that have been blown out of trees. Cat attacks are another. These birds have a chance at the hands of Faith full volunteers.

Finch...

Thrasher...
Dove...

To much to Explore

I broke my tripod cranking it down. All is well though, I called Maya and she is going to bring me two more. This is the back patio of the Grand Canyon Lodge. You can spit off the edge!


Cape Royal - Ansel Adams style


Flooded Meadow... You remember the meadows?

Here I am!

Dreamed a Dream

Good stuff from across the Pond...

I'll bet she goes all the way.

Check it out!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ut68Set-w0o&feature=bz301

By they way I would like to get into Video and am researching Cameras. Please email me your suggestions for my fist video camera. There has to be a Techie out there who can give some good incite.

Perhaps you would like to give me one for free!

Good Bye my Friend!

Above: Roby on the left. My 100th Skydive...
Below: Rob on the right.





Anger, frustration, lonliness, questions, and most of all a longing to say goodbye.

My dear friend you were a part of my life’s journey more than you know.

From the first meeting in 1987, docking with you in the skies, and the chemical experiences that consumed us in between. We grew with each other, fought with each other, and spent countless hours just having a realy good time! I miss you Rob! We all miss you! Anybody that knew Rob knows that he was no pussy. This guy would go to the end for you and more. I know because you did it for me buddy! This little punk will always remember you…

Blue skies my friend and save me a place!

Boulder Canyon, Superstition Wilderness

Time to go Joe!

Ok so this guy won the election by I dont know, Less than ten percent of the vote?

What is up Maricopa County? Do you like the abuse? Lets get this guy a pair of his own Pink Underwear...

Please, Please, oh Please, stop the abuse!!!





Anybody got a Pie?

Vote for Liberty Wildlife

Hey why not vote for a great non profit such as Liberty.

copy and paste the below address, click on Peoples Choice Awards, scroll down and find Liberty Wildlife, Click and Submit.

www.azpbs.org/bemore

You have now helped save an injured native Arizonan Bird.

I thank you, and so do the Birds!

Also here is a link to Liberty Wildlife. Check it out!

Peace,
Matthew

I Need Sushi

If you would like to buy me Sushi
Email me at mattsky04@yahoo.com.

I am a real good Sushi Partner!

Peace,

Matthew

Mmmmm Salmon!!

The Last Season

I am reading the "Last Season" at the moment. The story of seasonal Ranger Randy Morgenson and his life in the back country of Sequoia Kings Canyon N.P. Wow what an adventure and quite a story. Having spent time in the parks I am familiar with some of the areas that he spent time in and also recognize some of the Characters. This makes it all the much more entertaining.

The book strikes a mood in me and feelings that I suppress. Also feelings that I need to express.

So much is going on for me and I am living life today as my mother would put it (by my frugal ways). I have a great hope and faith which makes me a rich man. Some people can relate while others are oblivious.

New people have come into my life that have opened new doors and instilled a new thought process. This has made me think of society as a whole and what it is I can do for the greater good. People today, I feel, need each other more and more.

WOW that is really deep!

Enjoy the Photo's!

Peace,

Matt

Liberty Wildlife (Maya Will Tell You About It)

Located in Scottsdale is Liberty Wildlife. I will let Maya tell you about it!!!-Matt

Liberty Wildlife is a wildlife rehabilitation center out of Scottsdale, AZ. The mission is three-fold: rehabilitation, education, and research & conservation.

We take in sick, injured, and orphaned native Arizona wildlife. Whether avian, reptilian, amphibian, or mammalian: come one, come all. The ultimate goal is to rehabilitate the animals back to the wild. Red-Tailed Hawks, Desert Tortoises, Bullfrogs, and Coyotes all have a chance they might not have if they hadn't made it to our doors. We have a great success rate of somewhere around 50%!

Unfortunately, or fortunately (depending on how you look at it), not all the animals we are able to rehabilitate are rehabilitated to the point of release. In other words, they can become well but not well enough to make it on their own back in their wild environments. These animals are "rehabilitated non-releasables." Instead of being as nature intended, in the wild, they simply have a change in career. Some will become part of our foster program to raise the orphans that come in, and others, who show the propensity, will become part of our education program as wildlife ambassadors, showing the public how amazing they are and exactly why they warrant not only our awe, but also our protection.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, our R&C branch work with public works agencies to prevent any further injuries. Liberty's stance is that the best injury is the injury that never occurs. If R&C prevents just one Bald Eagle lead poisoning, or keeps just one family of Burrowing Owls from being paved over, or prevents just one Harris Hawk electrocution, their work is all worth it.

These are the first three birds that I learned to handle as a new member of the Education Team:
Trick is a Harris' Hawk who came to Liberty as a juvenile in 1999 with a disease called canker, which affects the inside of a bird's mouth. In her case, it spread into her eyes, diminishing her sight (a hawk's primary sense). Though treatment was able to kill the canker, her sight was permanently affected, and she wouldn't be able to hunt for herself in the wild.

Thick white bands across the ends of their tails and white rumps are sure field marks of this large, dark hawk.Possibly the most interesting Harris' Hawk behavior is their communal living. They live in family groups of up to seven in the breeding season and up to eighteen in the non-breeding season, but they will go a step further. They will actually hunt in family groups. Only one other hawk in the world, the Galapagos Hawk, lives in communally with their families, but they draw the line at hunting together. Here, you can see typical chocolate and rufous (red) Harris coloring and her orbital ridge, the "eyebrow" bone just above her eye to shield her species from the glare of the sun when they are soaring to find food.

Major threats to Harris' Hawks include electric shock, gunshot, being hit by cars and habitat loss. Cassie is a female American Kestrel who came to Liberty in 2002 with a broken right leg. Because she was still young, she was growing very rapidly, and her wrap needed to be changed every two to three days. Thus, she became habituated to human contact. Though her leg healed, it still gives her some problems, so she wouldn't be able to catch live prey in the wild.
Kestrels are one of the few raptor species that are sexually dimorphic in color and pattern. A sure sign she's a female, one can see the black striping all the way up a cinnamon tail. Her wings are the same cinnamon color. After her tail and wings, Cassie's streaky breast makes her femininity difficult to refute.

Males would have only one thick black stripe near the ends of their cinnamon tails and slate blue on their wings. Their breasts would be spotted, instead of streaked. As the smallest members of the Falcon family in North America (and the second smallest Falcon in the world), they have all the Falcon features. 1: a bird-heavy diet (though due to their size, they will also eat small rodents, small reptiles and insects). 2: toes which are pretty long relative to their body sizes thought to help when grasping through feather. 3: vertical black stripes under their eyes thought to deflect glare from the sun (called "malar stripes"). 4: a notch near the front of their beaks which help them dispatch prey quickly by severing spinal cords of their meals (called a "tomial tooth").

Major threats to American Kestrels are gunshot (when they are confused for doves during dove hunting season), Spring tree trimming and habitat loss. Twilight came to Liberty in 2002 as a juvenile with nothing physically wrong with her. A family's dog had decided the she needed protecting and brought her into its dog bed. The family found her, but because they didn't know where to take her, they took care of her as best they could (which was VERY WELL). They fed her all the right foods, and she grew up under their care for some time. Because they were who fed her and who she was socialized to at such a young age, she gained her identity from people, a process known as imprinting.

When a wild animal is imprinted, they cannot be released back into the wild, because they would seek out humans for food. That could be dangerous for them, putting them in all kinds of situations they don't belong. In the case of a larger bird, it might also be dangerous for us if, say, they landed on our heads (the highest perch, where a bird is most apt to land) in the process. Imprinted animals also would not know to seek out others of their species during breeding season, a time of year when it really takes two to survive due to the fierce competition for territory and food.
"Screech Owl" is actually a horrible misnomer, as they don't actually screech. As a matter of fact, their call is a beautiful sort of bouncing ball sound that starts out slow and gets faster as it continues.

Western Screech Owls are often hit by cars and face the same habitat loss that Kestrels face.

I hope I've given you more information than you had before you began reading this post. If we can continue to educate the public on the threats to these amazing animals and what we can do to prevent them, then we can keep more of these animals in the wild, where they belong, and fewer of them in permanent rehab situations or worse.-Maya

Desert Botanical Gardens

No this is not the same butterfly but just a few of a thousand or so that have been imported to the garden. For a few extra bucks you can walk amongst the little guys in all their splendor. you can look at the beauty of these monarks or feel sorry for them if you want. They are farm raised if that makes you feel better. Hey I just look at it as a photo op. You can have a copy of one if you like. Just do the old right click save thing.

A lot nicer of a posting anyhow. Sorry you had to look at Sheriff Joe's ugly mug for so long.

Hey you all have a Good day!

Peace

Solar Tubes

I have taken on some new interests and and curious if anyone has knowledge about Solar tubes as a means for lighting a room? A solar tube is a skylight of sorts and filters and diffracts light through a tube and into a room. My question is how much light is actually provided? the price tag for one of these guys is around $600.00 installed but the do it yourselfer such as myself could have one in for $250.00 or less.

I am interested as I have given my home the nickname of the "bomb shelter". A solid block home with very little natural lighting. I have done research and find good results but want to know more before I cut a hole in my roof/ceiling.

I have say a 7" space between ceiling and outer roof and am curious if this small space to run the tubing would add or take away from the light provided. Since we live in the desert do you think the natural light wold add heat to the room?

With such a small space I could just find the center of a joist and run a long drill bit straight through ceiling and roof to find center. (He He) Installation should be a breeze.

One cool thing I have heard after people install Solar Tubes is that they find themselves trying to turn off the lights when they leave a room. So my guess is you would not want one of these guys in your bedroom if you are trying to sleep in. I think it might be a good option for my living and dinning rooms.

Another question is how big of one does one need. They come in sizes like 10", 13" and bigger. The rooms are about 16'x14'.

What do you think?

Email me or just add a comment as an anonymous user.

Thanks guys you are the best.

Going Green,

Matt

mattsky04@yahoo.com