Good morning to all: 20-degrees on the plus side of zero today, with clear skies. Mountains are quite majestic in appearance with the snow cascading down their hillsides. The spruce are currently almost all uncovered, adding a lot of green the mountain sides. When a good dumping of snow occurs, then everything is simply white, until the winds arrive and off comes the snow from the trees.
We have cottonwood, spruce and hemlock trees mostly, with a whole lot of alder tossed in. On the property we struggle with the alder, its like a weed. Have to hack it down every summer, along with all the roots of the other trees producing new trees. If I left the property alone for two years, you wouldn't be able to see the house as the overgrowth would be blocking the view. Lawnmower helps but last summer I was out with hedge clippers. Price we pay for living in such beautiful country.
Book report: "Stronghold" my 2nd book in the Badge and the Cross series, based on actual cases and spiritual warfare we waged in Skagway in the early 80s, is on hold for a while. At least three chapters I had completed when I first wrote it have weirdly vanished and both my discs I stored the story on have both disappeared. I have the CD cases and no discs. Weird huh? So I am moving to another writing project for now.
Here's some news reports you might want to look up, if you're interested. U.S. Border Patrol reports illegal border crossings into El Paso, Texas "are skyrocketing". - Supreme Court in Louisiana "nixes" pro-life reform.- Virginia delegate who proposed abortion at birth has introduced a bill to prevent the spraying of Gypsy Moths...seems she thinks moths are more important than babies. - North Dakota House passes 2 pro-life bills.- Vermont's abortion bill said to be more extreme than New York's. - 22 trillion in National Debt now causing interest payments to rise to 371 Billion dollars. Congress Budget Office estimates another 12 trillion over next 10-years.- LGBTQ hate crimes up 54% in 2018 in Israel.- Unrest again breaks out along the Gaza Strip. - A New report has confirmed that Finnish soldiers "took part in Jewish massacres during Holocaust. - Jewish cemetery desecrated in Manchester, England. - Berlin, Germany is becoming Europe's antisemitism capitol. - US slams Germany for refusal to extradite Turkish terrorist. - California governor to pull his national guard off border with Mexico.
I was also reviewing this story about one of our new federal politicians being concerned about a freshman delegate and her wearing of a Hijab. She is a Muslim, elected into office by her state citizens. But in congress, there is a policy no headgear is allowed in chambers. This is an old policy, possibly 150 years old, and brought about because the Americans did not want to be like the British. But, as far as a religious or non-religious head scarf. Now all the films I've seen of the British Parliament in modern times I have yet to see headgear being worn. Yes, historically some did wear hats and some really ugly wigs. However, I believe the news people are trying too hard on a slow news day. Headscarves are not hats and can be quite attractive. Muslim women are required to wear them and she seems to be proud of her religion and shows her respect for the people who elected her. Now, I am a staunch believer in Freedom of Religion as it is specified in our Constitution. But, I am also one of those who despise terrorists and that's eco-terrorists to the religious ones. Whether or not they are Muslim, Catholic IRA soldiers, anti-semetic Christians and even the Mormon freedom fighters who caused the Meadowlands Massacre in the 1800s. Terrorists are simply that, no matter what their background is. I knew quite a few Buddhists overseas and found them to be a very warm people, but the war caused several Buddhist monks to become extremely violent. Hundreds of Buddhist monks have taken up arms to recently make war with the Muslims attempting to take over the land. Then you of course have our brave English, french and German crusaders who murdered women and children in the war for Jerusalem- they would be considered early terrorists if you get right down to it. Jesus Christ teaches us to love, to love our enemies and our fellow man. But religion, His own religion, put him to death.History is filled with such acts, back to the time of Cain and Abel. Criminal acts, such as the holocaust and crusades, in the name of a particular religion are acts of terrorism. And now once again, we are seeing the rise in Antisemitism spreading across Europe. I for one believe this is simply part of the spiritual enemy's end game. He knows his days are numbered, but until the Lord's return he is going to cause as much hatred amongst humanity as he can. Surprisingly, so many Christians give way to his assaults, becoming bitter towards others because they believe differently. Sadly, we haven't seen nothing yet, as this world and its people worsen and another war looms in the near future.
Mona and I are sure looking forward to Spring, seems that the winters grow longer the older you become. Every once in awhile I just have to escape the house and take a ride into Seward or Soldotna. But once back home I'm glad to be here, also. But, it is nice to see other people, grab another armload of books from the library as both Mona and I are avid readers, and choose the latest junk food items I keep handy in my attempt to keep from losing more weight. Boy, what an excuse to eat junk food. But, as to spring, we have a lot of project ahead to make our property look less like one giant yard sale. Hope to get our barn built this summer and a new garden planted. Not sure how large to go with the barn, but at a minimum it will be the size of a two-car garage. My breakfast just arrived, so I will take a short break. Yes, I have delivery service as Canaan takes care of me and the federal government, for some reason, pays her a bit of money.
We hope to put in a large Toyo furnace in the house this summer and get rid of the old beast of a furnace we haven't used in about 10-years. We've burned wood since then, but it is getting tougher for us to lay claim to wood. Last year we were down to three armloads before we were able to get a new supply. Oh, will use wood still but as a back-up heating source. probably keeping 2-3 cords stacked up outback. John Alex, has been on top of things this winter, keeping all the logs we had stacked up whittled down to chunks to fit the big wood stove. Nearly every day he is out there chainsawing and driving a maul through the bigger pieces. He's been a true blessing for us old people.
Susan, showed up yesterday and presented me with a new police statue for my collection. a kneeling police officer talking with his police dog. This brought back so many memories of when I worked K-9 at Edwards AFB. "Cher" was my dog, who I received when she was 11-months old back in 1975. Known as a Bio-sensor German Shepherd... an Department of Defense science project that last for 10-years. Cher was the 10th generation into this program. She had coyote like ears, yellow eyes and long snout, and weighed exactly 70 lbs. They had bred hip displacier out of these test tube dogs, increased their night vision, sense of smell and biting strength. She could climb over a 8 foot fence and shred a training arm sleeve in no time. The guys really disliked catching Cher in training because of her aggressive nature and her strong biting technique. But off command she was such a gentle animal. We went through two academies together, basic K-9 course to make her a patrol dog, me a handler and then Narcotic training and boy, she could smell out the drugs. She graduated top of her class in Narcotic training, I was just along for the ride. We developed quite a friendship and she repaid me by saving my hide during a drug raid. A soldier from the Army had been hiding in his wall locker, and while I was distracted, checking out the drugs Cher had just found in his footlocker, he tried to sneak up behind me with a metal pipe in his hand. Cher took him down at the right knee bone and he went to prison with a permanent limp. She was great around kids, where we put on demonstrations all around Southern California. I would say by far, she was the most intelligent dog I have ever known and this statue brought back those memories... again. We were the first patrol/Narcotic canine unit to hit Edwards AFB and every day we were involved in drug raids, hitting the barracks, search hangers, and searching vehicles. We made hundreds of drug busts while we were together. Strangely, the Department of Defense discontinued the Bio-sensor K-9 program after Cher's generation, saying it had become too expensive. Nearly all K-9 dogs for the military come in from donated dogs. Occasionally an animals or animals are purchased from various kennels. I do miss her, she was a fine friend and an extremely loyal dog.
Well, time to go and hit the writing. I do appreciate those of you who read my journals and thank you for your time. God bless you all. BILL
Book report: "Stronghold" my 2nd book in the Badge and the Cross series, based on actual cases and spiritual warfare we waged in Skagway in the early 80s, is on hold for a while. At least three chapters I had completed when I first wrote it have weirdly vanished and both my discs I stored the story on have both disappeared. I have the CD cases and no discs. Weird huh? So I am moving to another writing project for now.
Here's some news reports you might want to look up, if you're interested. U.S. Border Patrol reports illegal border crossings into El Paso, Texas "are skyrocketing". - Supreme Court in Louisiana "nixes" pro-life reform.- Virginia delegate who proposed abortion at birth has introduced a bill to prevent the spraying of Gypsy Moths...seems she thinks moths are more important than babies. - North Dakota House passes 2 pro-life bills.- Vermont's abortion bill said to be more extreme than New York's. - 22 trillion in National Debt now causing interest payments to rise to 371 Billion dollars. Congress Budget Office estimates another 12 trillion over next 10-years.- LGBTQ hate crimes up 54% in 2018 in Israel.- Unrest again breaks out along the Gaza Strip. - A New report has confirmed that Finnish soldiers "took part in Jewish massacres during Holocaust. - Jewish cemetery desecrated in Manchester, England. - Berlin, Germany is becoming Europe's antisemitism capitol. - US slams Germany for refusal to extradite Turkish terrorist. - California governor to pull his national guard off border with Mexico.
I was also reviewing this story about one of our new federal politicians being concerned about a freshman delegate and her wearing of a Hijab. She is a Muslim, elected into office by her state citizens. But in congress, there is a policy no headgear is allowed in chambers. This is an old policy, possibly 150 years old, and brought about because the Americans did not want to be like the British. But, as far as a religious or non-religious head scarf. Now all the films I've seen of the British Parliament in modern times I have yet to see headgear being worn. Yes, historically some did wear hats and some really ugly wigs. However, I believe the news people are trying too hard on a slow news day. Headscarves are not hats and can be quite attractive. Muslim women are required to wear them and she seems to be proud of her religion and shows her respect for the people who elected her. Now, I am a staunch believer in Freedom of Religion as it is specified in our Constitution. But, I am also one of those who despise terrorists and that's eco-terrorists to the religious ones. Whether or not they are Muslim, Catholic IRA soldiers, anti-semetic Christians and even the Mormon freedom fighters who caused the Meadowlands Massacre in the 1800s. Terrorists are simply that, no matter what their background is. I knew quite a few Buddhists overseas and found them to be a very warm people, but the war caused several Buddhist monks to become extremely violent. Hundreds of Buddhist monks have taken up arms to recently make war with the Muslims attempting to take over the land. Then you of course have our brave English, french and German crusaders who murdered women and children in the war for Jerusalem- they would be considered early terrorists if you get right down to it. Jesus Christ teaches us to love, to love our enemies and our fellow man. But religion, His own religion, put him to death.History is filled with such acts, back to the time of Cain and Abel. Criminal acts, such as the holocaust and crusades, in the name of a particular religion are acts of terrorism. And now once again, we are seeing the rise in Antisemitism spreading across Europe. I for one believe this is simply part of the spiritual enemy's end game. He knows his days are numbered, but until the Lord's return he is going to cause as much hatred amongst humanity as he can. Surprisingly, so many Christians give way to his assaults, becoming bitter towards others because they believe differently. Sadly, we haven't seen nothing yet, as this world and its people worsen and another war looms in the near future.
Mona and I are sure looking forward to Spring, seems that the winters grow longer the older you become. Every once in awhile I just have to escape the house and take a ride into Seward or Soldotna. But once back home I'm glad to be here, also. But, it is nice to see other people, grab another armload of books from the library as both Mona and I are avid readers, and choose the latest junk food items I keep handy in my attempt to keep from losing more weight. Boy, what an excuse to eat junk food. But, as to spring, we have a lot of project ahead to make our property look less like one giant yard sale. Hope to get our barn built this summer and a new garden planted. Not sure how large to go with the barn, but at a minimum it will be the size of a two-car garage. My breakfast just arrived, so I will take a short break. Yes, I have delivery service as Canaan takes care of me and the federal government, for some reason, pays her a bit of money.
We hope to put in a large Toyo furnace in the house this summer and get rid of the old beast of a furnace we haven't used in about 10-years. We've burned wood since then, but it is getting tougher for us to lay claim to wood. Last year we were down to three armloads before we were able to get a new supply. Oh, will use wood still but as a back-up heating source. probably keeping 2-3 cords stacked up outback. John Alex, has been on top of things this winter, keeping all the logs we had stacked up whittled down to chunks to fit the big wood stove. Nearly every day he is out there chainsawing and driving a maul through the bigger pieces. He's been a true blessing for us old people.
Susan, showed up yesterday and presented me with a new police statue for my collection. a kneeling police officer talking with his police dog. This brought back so many memories of when I worked K-9 at Edwards AFB. "Cher" was my dog, who I received when she was 11-months old back in 1975. Known as a Bio-sensor German Shepherd... an Department of Defense science project that last for 10-years. Cher was the 10th generation into this program. She had coyote like ears, yellow eyes and long snout, and weighed exactly 70 lbs. They had bred hip displacier out of these test tube dogs, increased their night vision, sense of smell and biting strength. She could climb over a 8 foot fence and shred a training arm sleeve in no time. The guys really disliked catching Cher in training because of her aggressive nature and her strong biting technique. But off command she was such a gentle animal. We went through two academies together, basic K-9 course to make her a patrol dog, me a handler and then Narcotic training and boy, she could smell out the drugs. She graduated top of her class in Narcotic training, I was just along for the ride. We developed quite a friendship and she repaid me by saving my hide during a drug raid. A soldier from the Army had been hiding in his wall locker, and while I was distracted, checking out the drugs Cher had just found in his footlocker, he tried to sneak up behind me with a metal pipe in his hand. Cher took him down at the right knee bone and he went to prison with a permanent limp. She was great around kids, where we put on demonstrations all around Southern California. I would say by far, she was the most intelligent dog I have ever known and this statue brought back those memories... again. We were the first patrol/Narcotic canine unit to hit Edwards AFB and every day we were involved in drug raids, hitting the barracks, search hangers, and searching vehicles. We made hundreds of drug busts while we were together. Strangely, the Department of Defense discontinued the Bio-sensor K-9 program after Cher's generation, saying it had become too expensive. Nearly all K-9 dogs for the military come in from donated dogs. Occasionally an animals or animals are purchased from various kennels. I do miss her, she was a fine friend and an extremely loyal dog.
Well, time to go and hit the writing. I do appreciate those of you who read my journals and thank you for your time. God bless you all. BILL
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