Horton Deakins's Blog, page 18

Can anyone identify the species of this baby bird?

Baby bird on windshield wiper

I didn’t spot this baby bird until I had already started the truck’s engine.  He (or she) let me get just as close as I wanted, until I tried to get it to jump to my finger.  Then she leapt into the air, flapping her wings eratically and violently, and an updraft carried her up and over the building in front of my truck.  I don’t know what kind of bird it is, but I have (sort of) ruled out goldfinch and meadowlark.  Still, I can’t explain the yellow feathers (down?) on its undersides.

OK, I think I lost my mind for a moment

My previous blog post was the first time I had tried that through goodreads. For some reason, I was thinking it would push through to my other blog from which it pulls (wow, did you see how I avoided ending that sentence with a preposition? Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk.).

Bottom line, there is no big arrow to click. If there were such an arrow, it would take you to my site, http://www.hortondeakins.com , where you could then click the goodreads button. Since you are already on goodreads, however, you need not do that ... but please do ....

Check out my book giveaway on goodreads

I'm GIVING AWAY (yes, kids, that means "absolutely free") three copies of my time travel adventure, Time Pullers, on the goodreads site.

The easiest way to find where you can register for the drawing is to click the big arrow on this blog, and that will take you to my website. Click the goodreads link at the bottom of the page, and then sign up. That's all there is to it!

Alternatively, you can go to http://www.goodreads.com and search for giveaways.

Thanks for participating!

Come on, Thunder!

Here’s hoping the Thunder pulls off a win tonight!

Hope to see you at SoonerCon this Weekend

Check out my new trailer. I used the same music, but I changed several of the instruments to vocal sounds, and I made several other minor changes.

If you need something to take your mind off the Thunder’s Thursday loss to the Miami Humidity, then come to the Sheraton in downtown Oklahoma City and enjoy the SoonerCon Sci-Fi convention.

Walking to the waterfall

Here’s a few more pics of my overnight hike to the waterfall in northern Japan.

The woods

This gives you an idea of how thick the woods were.  The area got its fair share of rain (and snow).  What I didn’t see were the thorns that are so prevalent in the woods of Oklahoma.

 

Moss only on the north side?

I don’t think you could tell directions by which side the moss was growing on–it was all over the tree!

Liquid libation

Time for a refreshing drink. The guy on the left managed to pack in some beer.  I think that’s my pack in the center.  I actually brought a portable TV, but it wouldn’t pick up a signal.

 

Heavy load

This gives you an idea of how much you have to carry for an overnight trip–especially if you want to have your beer.  Note how straight he’s standing.

Little dam in the woods?

This looked like a dam and spillway on the river.  I suppose it was necessary flood control, but it seemed so out-of-place.  I wonder how they got all the concrete to the site.

 

Another bridge

At first glance, I thought this was another suspension bridge, but it merely has wire railing.  All the support comes from the bottom.

Old growth--no longer growing

This tree had seen better days.

View from the top

It wasn’t all low valleys.  Here’s where we reached the top.  I think this was shortly before we made camp.

The grail

This is what we came for.  That, and just the chance to get away from the daily drudgery.

Kilroy was here

If you think grafitti is only an American phenomenon, think again.

Our camp

This was a nice place to camp, but it wasn’t my first choice.  Back up the trail a bit there was a meadow that was absolutely covered with wild strawberries.  The berries were no more than a quarter of an inch tall, but they were the sweetest strawberries I have ever eaten.  I had never seen wild strawberries before.  I could have eaten them for an hour, but I was overruled, and the party moved on to this camp site.

I hope you enjoyed reliving this experience with me.

 

The head of the trail

Just arrived at head of waterfall trail

Here I am (on the left–the one without the Zorro mask) with a few friends, ready to hit the trail to the waterfall in northern Japan.  This was an overnight hike–note all the equipment in the bed of the truck.

I do have the first names of my companions, but I won’t be sharing those here.  I can’t remember their last names to save my life, even though that’s what I called the by when I was around them, and after so much time, I can’t even match the first names with the faces.

 

Loaded up and ready to go

Here I am with full pack and a walking cane I bought in a local shop.  Apparently, the cane was a bit short for me, as I appear to be hunched over just a skosh (chotto sukoshii).  I opted for the long pants, rather than the shorts and gaiters, even having spent five years in Denver, since I had spent most of my life in tick-laden Oklahoma.  I see I was sporting my mountain hiking boots, however.  My Atlantic City sweatshirt completes the ensemble.

 

Downstream from the falls

We followed this stream–more or less–until we reached the waterfall.  Most of the time, though, we could neither see nor hear the water.

The way was wide

The start of the trail was wide enough for a small automobile.  I think some sort of maintenance vehicles used the road.

 

Cliffside seeping water and moss

One of the scenic sights along the way.

The stream is getting rockier

Things are beginning to look a bit wilder at this point on the trek.

TIme for a break

We took a break before crossing this suspension bridge.  The trail became a bit more rustic and narrower from here on.

I’ll show more of my trip on another day.

 

Remembering those who served

I once read a great book about marine pilot’s life in World War II: Flights of Passage, by Samuel Hines.  The pilot wasn’t the world’s greatest aviator, and he wasn’t in the fighting for a much of the war.  But the story was meaningful and poignant.  The author, who was the pilot himself, told the story as he saw it–he could do no other.

As reviewers have pointed out, he damaged some planes and cost the taxpayers money, but I think focusing on those things misses the point of the memoir.  In the book, we are introduced to both the author’s attitudes and those of his friends, his fellow pilots.  These men were no saints, as was evident in the language they used in the songs they sang, but there was a war on, and they all knew they could all too easily and quickly be put into situations that could take their lives.

The book is a short read, and it is well worth the time.  You will find yourself laughing at the antics and crying with the tragedies.  I think this book should be required reading for college freshmen.

Be smart — and secure — with facebook

Here’s a link to a handy-dandy security cheat-sheet for facebook.  Following these hints is the best way to secure your facebook account, short of one thing — closing it.

A good way to get hypothermia …

… is to ride on a whale-watching vessel on Monterey Bay in the middle of Winter.  Even faster if you do the Titanic trick and go overboard.

Check out this short video I took trying to shoot (video and stills) grey whales.  I don’t know about the whales, but I sure froze my own tail off!  The boat had a main deck and a deck above that, and the swells were big enough to swallow the whole boat.