Up, Up and Away

The Delta IV Heavy Rocket was launched yesterday. We didn't hear a thing but saw the trail in the sky about four minutes into the flight. Vandenberg Air Force Base is about 50 miles south of us and we had thought the noise would remind us to look for it just after 1 PM.

Back in the 60's when they first started launching Atlas rockets from Vandenberg, Hubby was in The Air Force and was one of the photographers on site to record it. The whole world stopped and was glued to the TV. It was a major news event! Hours and hours of pre-launch programing went on. They filmed the Command Center and we could listen to all the conversations and then the count down... 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1... we have lift off!

Now we are lucky if they interrupt the day time soaps for a minute or so.

It still sends shivers up my spine and is an awesome sight!

P.S.         January 23
While I was working in the Butterfly trailer yesterday, I talked with a young man from Vandenberg AFB who worked on this rocket. I asked him why it was so quiet. His response was that they have engineered them that way unlike the Atlas and Titans.

My Life Trail

We leave a trail... where ever we go, whether it is by words, actions or actual foot prints. We seldom realize the real impact we have on those we interact with day to day. We can make or break someones day with just a few words. Even not saying a kind word when we could have makes an impact.

I want to leave a happier trail behind me.

Gophers on the March

It feels like the Gophers are taking over the world. Their hills are all across the field. I will set a trap although it seems useless when there are so many. I would love to have a map of their under-ground runs. I wonder how smart they are about connecting these mounds or are they all independent. I'm sure they are making babies and setting up nurseries down in their dark world.

Come on guys... give us above-ground dwellers a break!

End of Day at Pismo

We were down at the Pismo Pier as the sun was setting. It was warm, balmy even for a January afternoon. It was beautiful... just beautiful.

It's Blooming Mushrooms

We drove down to the Nature Center in the Oceano Campground today and saw this crop of mushrooms.

I'm sure all the moisture we have had helps these guys grow.

There sure were a bouquet of them growing out of a root of a tree.

How Tall Are They Now

Each holiday that we are together we gather the kids and measure them on our "Wall of Height" in the hallway. If we ever move, I think we will have to cut that piece of drywall out and take it with us. We have been doing this for years. It appears that all the grandkids will be close to 6 feet or over. One of them grew 5 inches this last year!

Let Them Eat Cake

Over the holidays our middle Grandson and I made chocolate cake. Our once a year chocolate delight! Yummmmm.