Range war: At the Tin Star Ranch

Not really as dramatic as all that,
"J. Noble Daggett" is on the case...

Things are coming to a head with our neighbor
and a boundary dispute we have had since shortly after we purchased the place in 1999.

In 1986 or so the prior owner fenced the entire alley
that seperated the properties.
In mid 1999, The city gave up the alley half to us, half to the neighbor.
We still have the whole alley fenced into our yard, and our garage is on a couple feet of it as well.
The realtor and mortgage lender smiled and nodded that all was in order at closing.

'Twern't so.

A handshake could have settled this 8 years ago, in fact it had, I thought.

The neighbor's boyfriend- now husband - told me about the boundary trouble and said they would trade title to the 8 foot strip for a new fence, as the old one might be a hazard to their toddler. We bought the fencing- $400 dollars worth on clearance. She blew up the deal, it was "MY LAND , NOT HIS!!!" , she exclaimed. The fencing sits , unused, a monument to the quality of unwritten agreements-they are only worth the paper they are written on..

"Lawyer Daggett" said the realtor and mortgage man did a sloppy job, but a mess like that was usually settled for a couple of hundred dollars, and that his office could arrange the paperwork when an agreement was reached.
"City Planner" told me the permit is proper for the garage- they won't order its demolition.
He further told me that boundary problems like this were commonly settled for a couple hundred dollars,

but our friend is thinking in the thousands.
Think again, friend.

Fence has been up for 20+ years, we have lived here 8+ years.

Had to involve the lawyer this week, now it may get expensive for us both.

This week she left a phone mail threat to move the fence,
don't know what she will do to the garage .
Well, I do know- she will do nothing,
or face tresspass charges according to our "Lawyer Daggett's" letter to her.

The prior owners of these properties should have cleaned this issue up.
We are stuck with their mess.
I am not entirely unsympathetic to her point of view,
but each of us bought our properties thinking
that the fence was the true boundary.
After all these years- it is,
and will soon be codified hopefully by sale-by
court order if necessary.

Hopefully we can reach an out of court settlement to make it so.
Prayers appreciated.
Thanks.

It looks like. . . like something out of Star Wars.

There was a plain old blue collection box stolen last week in our town.

These R2D2 boxes must be under armed guard.

They look pretty cool.

I'm such a geek.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

March 22, 2007
R2 Did Too
USPS/Star Wars promotion hits light speed

Jedi Knights, Imperial Storm Troopers and Princess Leia gather round their favorite droid.

Baltimore, MD, customer Joanne Covington knew there was something familiar about the R2-D2 wrap. "This mailbox is different. It looks like a computer . . . like something out of Star Wars," she said.

Alexis Gilbert joins two Storm Troopers at an R2-D2 collection box in San Diego. The Gilbert family heard about the collection boxes on the radio and, as huge fans, stopped by to take a photo and mail a letter — the first letter mailed the morning of the installation.

In Salt Lake City, the R2-D2 box is an eye-popping, customer-stopping experience.

Pointing, pausing and posing is how they get noisy in Boise.

Columbus District Acting Human Resources Specialist Kirby Leathers portrayed Lord Darth Vader outside the Columbus Statehouse during a promotion of the R2-D2 collection boxes.

Source: USPS News Link

Behind The Green Door

Ahhh, Spring.
Time to ponder the season's planting,
in the Lazy Half S Ranch's spacious 15 x 35 foot garden .

Still too wet here to till, too cold for most seeds,
too early to plant , but not too soon to plan.

Tomatoes, Basil, Lettuce, of course.
Perhaps Green Beans - been 2 years without them.

At least the weeds are planted.

I came across an article about gardening in war time:
Planting Hope
Gardening in times of war. BY JANE GARMEY

It's about gardens and landscaping done by warriors and affected civilians
from WW1 onward. read the book:
Defiant Gardens by Kenneth Helpland

"Kenneth Helphand's fascination with what he now calls "defiant gardens" began with this undated World War I photograph of soldiers in the French trenches flanked by their planting beds. Notice the use of twigs as ornamental borders delineating each soldier's plot. Helphand had this picture on his bookshelf for several years before deciding to pursue the meaning of gardens in such extreme circumstances, beyond their obvious use for food."

An article with great pictures is here .
~~my wartime 'garden' ~~
During Desert Storm, we had an area between the hospital sections behind the OR where sink wastewater runoff caused grass to sprout.
An unintentional garden, yet the little patch of grass was the only green in the nearby landscape, and a welcome sight- so much so that we made a way to access the area from our OR section, sort of a 'Green Room'.
The seeds of our thread bare lawn were there,
they just needed the coaxing of our liquid largesse to come alive.

A foretaste of what we referred to as 'greenout' - the overwhelming greenscape of home when we came home in late June of 1991.

Sure, and ye know why the Irish ne'er took over the world...

From To The Point News -
A recommended news and commentary source
_______________________________________________________
"The Irish Genie"

Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Which calls for sharing with you once again
To The Point's favorite Irish joke.
~
An Irishman was walking along a beach in County Cork one
day and noticed an encrusted bottle washed up on the sand.
Wondering what might be inside he broke it off at the neck
and out popped an Irish Genie.

"Oh, me man, I hah been in tha bottle for a hundred years,
and you be settin' me free!" he exclaimed.
"For that, I'll be givin' you two wishes!"

"Two wishes? Anything I want?" the man asked incredulously.

"Anythin' - just name it," the genie replied.

"Well, what I'll be wantin'," said the man, "is a glass of good Irish ale
- but a very special glass, so that no matter how much I drink
it will always be full of good Irish ale."

Poof! There it was in his hand. The Irishman drank and drank and drank,
and twenty minutes later, he hadn't made a dent.
The glass was still overflowing with wonderful Irish ale.

But by now the genie was getting impatient.

"Listen me man" he announced. "I'm grateful for you settin' me free,
but I was in that bottle for a long time and I've things to do.
So you'll be makin' your second wish now."

The Irishman thought for a moment, looked at the glass in his hand,
and declared, "You know, I think I'll have another one of these!"
_____________________________________________

...Sure, and now ye know why the Irish
ne'er took over the world...
Also ,
Check out my reminiscences from
St Patrick's Day in Saudi Arabia .

Yahoo! St. Patrick's Day Greetings

This just looks WRONG.....

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Off Off Off Off Off Off

Need a remote like this ?

What do you call the kid positioned
near the TV to change channels??
---Amish remote control. :-)

If you grew up in the 60's and '70s
you probably WERE that kid.

I like the gadgets, but I don't carry a cell phone, yet.
My wife does, and that's enough expense.
The cell phone, broadband internet, and Cable TV
costs about $150 a month.
Cheaper than a lot of folks spend on them , I suppose.

Necessities?
They are increasingly seen as necessary these days.
Long past delighting in the utility and convenience of cell phones,
many of their owners rely on them as status symbols.
I was talking to a young 20-something guy at the Cricket cell phone store Sunday. Even he shakes his head at the money people drop on ringtones and screensaver pix for their phones.

I don't need Fergielicious , photography, or Family Guy wallpaper.
Just want to make a phone call occasionally.

There are still a few pay phones around for me.

I wonder if the kids think I'm Amish??

Some day I'll figure out how to blog trackbacks, until then,
Hat tip to Angel at : http://www.womanhonorthyself.com/?p=2769
Always fine reading there.

Green Meat??

Brit Hume:

"Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Diet Change Beats Car Switch

The folks at PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, are calling out Al Gore, saying if he really wants to fight global warming, he should become a vegetarian.

PETA has sent Gore a letter saying giving up meat is the quickest and most effective way to combat climate change because the meat industry is one of the most significant sources of environmental damage.

PETA claims, "raising animals for food generates more greenhouse gases than all the cars and trucks in the world combined." And, it says, researchers have determined that switching to a vegan diet is more effective against global warming than switching from a standard American car to a Toyota Prius hybrid.

Glenn Beck had a blast with this story today.
If you believe so strongly in man made global warming that you advocate an end to internal combustion engines (well , not YOURS, of course, just other peoples cars and SUV's). Then you must skip the Sierra Club's BBQ , and subsist on soy to lower your "Carbon Footprint"
Glenn is looking for photos of self-righteous "green" celebrities eating meat.

Found one!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cnn Archives MUST have video of this: Al Gore grilling burgers !
photo at: http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/9807/02/barbeque/
July 2, 1998

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Al Gore came well prepared for this "grilling" before reporters. He carried a spatula and meat thermometer. Then he flipped a few burgers Thursday while reminding people to cook meat carefully at their Independence Day barbecues.

"Don't let avoidable foodborne illness endanger life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," Gore said, paraphrasing the Declaration of Independence.....

.......Guided by Bessie Berry, head of the toll-free Meat and Poultry Hotline, Gore and Glickman used a pair of thermometers to check the "doneness" of thick burgers, bulging sausages, chicken breasts and pork chops. Afterward, they served platters of burgers in buns to four tables of diners.
The meat-rich meal was served two hours after the government released an update of its Healthy Eating Index that showed only 12 percent of Americans had a diet that could be considered good. Most Americans need to eat more fruits, vegetables and milk and to consume less meat and sodium.

Aware of the frequent recommendations to eat less meat, Gore replied to a question about nutrition:

"You didn't see the asterisk. The Fourth of July being a time to grill out."

"Grill out and chill out," he concluded to whoops from the hand-selected audience of government and meat industry officials. Safe Summer Grilling
Also:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/topics/gb.htm
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Image%20Directory/gore2.jpg
Caption: (L to R) Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman, Meat and Poultry Hotline Manager Bessie Berry, and Vice President Al Gore presented tips to promote safe handling and grilling of meat and poultry during the summer.

Well, I'm not as dumb as I look...

... but then , who is?
Try this little test:

You Are a Smart American

You know a lot about US history, and you're opinions are probably well informed. Congratulations on bucking stereotypes. Now go show some foreigners how smart Americans can be.

Are You a Dumb American?

A True American Hero By Joseph L. Galloway

I came across this story read it at the link below,
and check out the great reporting at Michael Yon Online Magazine
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A True American Hero
By Joseph L. Galloway

McClatchy Newspapers

In a few days - 41 years after the events of a long-ago November - a white-haired retired guy named Bruce Crandall will receive the nation’s highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor, from President George W. Bush.

He’s always been a hero to the men of the 1st Battalion 7th U.S. Cavalry who counted on Crandall and his wingman, Ed (Too Tall to Fly) Freeman, when the chips were down in a fire-swept clearing called Landing Zone X-Ray in the remote Ia Drang Valley in Vietnam’s Central Highlands....

Do read the rest of this at: Michael Yon Online Magazine: