everybody to new mexico (the hippies are coming)

"A New Mexico Drug Policy Alliance proposal to erase criminal penalties for small-scale possession of marijuana is on the Thursday, Nov. 29, agenda for the Legislature’s interim Courts, Corrections and Justice Committee."

..."allow adults to possess up to an ounce of marijuana with no repercussions and impose civil fines for up to 8 ounces."

http://www.santafenewmexican.com/Local%20News/112812Pot

... and according to KOB 4 (tom joles), anything more than 8 ounces to infinity would be a misdemeanor with a max penalty of $1000.

three on the tree (well update)

i heard once that people survived the great depression by working together ... one family might score some meat, and invite the entire building to dinner ... while another family had the only functioning bathroom, so everybody would use the facilities there.

as you know, two weeks ago the well went dry ... today the rancher's brother loaned us a spare pickup truck and his water hauling trailer ... it can suck up 500 gallons of water in 5 minutes ... i can now haul water, myself ... and we can wait until spring to fix the well, if we must.

this also means that i can go cut wood ... the rancher left me his chainsaw the last time he was here ... and now i have a truck too ... it is a late model 4 wheel drive chevy, with a 3-speed manual column shifter ... that is another first for me ... i gave it a try, seems to be fine.

the rancher's wife says she learned to drive with three on the column ... she said if i show up tomorrow at their other residence, i can work in the yard to earn some gas money too.

so there you have it ... all the needs have been met ...
water, cows, wood, house, me.
thanks to the rancher, his wife, and the rancher's brother.
three on the tree.

new old-timer's phrase (new to me)

"going to see a cat about a dog" means going to take a piss ... hhahaha ... i'm pretty sure ... i need to verify.

whereas, to kill a dog means to take a shit. hahahhh.
who comes up with this stuff?!

fracking, dripping faucets, and pilot lights

we've all seen those videos where people light on fire the water coming from their kitchen faucet ... blamed on fracking ... well, now we are seeing homes blow-up in the midwest ... and i am wondering  ... are they dripping their faucets? do they have a gas appliance with a pilot light? ... and could the same fumes (methane) which are combustible in those videos accumulate in a home with a dripping faucet?


Methane:

• the main component of natural gas
• at room temperature and standard pressure, methane is a colorless, odorless gas.
• methane is not toxic; however, it is extremely flammable and may form explosive mixtures with air.
• as a gas it is flammable only over a narrow range of concentrations (5–15%) in air.
• methane gas explosions are responsible for many deadly mining disasters.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methane

CAN YOU DO THIS WITH YOUR TAP WATER?
http://youtu.be/U01EK76Sy4A

finding linny boyette

"that black guy in the today show audience."

i think it is hilarious ... it's like find waldo ... only it's linny ... he's probably been there longer than matt lauer.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Linny-Boyette-That-Black-Guy-in-the-Today-Show-Audience/186277367843

the cat preserve, a shared residence

it's twilight ... dusk ... and the cats are enjoying the ranch house yard, like they do every morning and evening ... playing chase, and tag ... doing ninja kicks ... and stalking each other. i have never seen cats this energetic before ... they literally play games ... mama cat will lead the troop to some spot in the yard, and everyone will play there ... maybe, climb a tree ... pick up a rock ... chase your brother ... whoa ... watch out ... her comes mom ...

they were here first ... they are tolerating my presence ... hahahah ... when i sleep in the back room, they are in the room next door, and there is no door between us ... they stay in their cat-pile on their cat bed, watching me go to bed ... just eyes in the dark ... (i use a flashlight) ... then they get up and have a bite to eat, or a drink ... i hear them in the dark ... all pitter-patter ... slurp slurp slurp ... crunch crunch ...

but i aim to win them over ...

yesterday for thanksgiving i gave them three scrambled, uncooked eggs ... just golden, sweet, gooyness ... and, of course, they loved it ...

i thought mama cat was going to lick the color off the plate.

well went dry

the well collapsed and/or went dry ... it is a very old, uncased well ... and most drilling operations will not touch an old, uncased well ... this one needs to be cased, and then deepened by another 100 ft ... the rancher thinks he has found somebody to do the job, but they cannot come out until next spring ...

for the past week, we've been hauling water for the cows, while trying to dig out the bottom of the well with these contraptions called bailers ... we were not successful ... [the rancher] thinks he will have to sell most, if not all, the livestock ... the rancher's brother is thinking about doing the same thing, but for more general reasons ... too old, too tired, too little rain ...

needless to say, all water at the ranch must now be hauled from the brother's well [X] miles down the road ... and be brought into the house by buckets ... tonight i bathed with water heated in a kettle on a wood burning stove  ...

i hope the rancher can work something out with his brother ... i told him i'd watch all the remaining critters he and his brother keep ... i really feel for him ... this is a terrible situation.

either way, a winter at the ranch without running water, will make this experience more extreme.