rickety – Page 19

Give Your Tree A New Look

September 26, 2010 by rickety 7 Comments

Steven visited yesterday evening and with his brothers gave my tree a new look. Above are before and after photographs. The women were safely occupied with General Relief Society Meeting so we wouldn’t be disturbed for two hours. Fir sprucing up my conifer I wood need tree handsaws and three sons.

Aurora said it would be OK to prune the tree just a little

Steven said that if we do it wrong it will grow back in ten or twenty years anyway

Paul didn't say anything

Jake said you all will need a drink

I said this will look really different

The tree said this is not a good thing

The Visiting Teachers will probably say they have some shade while they wait for Jill to get home

Paul still didn't say anything

Collateral damage

Too bad this is not covered under lawn care

Later in the evening we began to drag

Mission accomplished

I had a request to post any videos I had of this project. I will publish them in a few hours. Jill walked past the tree in the dark four times last night to help load Steven’s car. She didn’t notice that we had given the tree a new look. This morning while Jake and I were watching the tree videos she heard “Tree” and “Chop” in the same sentence. Jill went outside and saw the results of our efforts.

Jill said she was astonished by our work.

Patsy’s Mine Hike: Part 2

September 26, 2010 by rickety 7 Comments

Melissa by Patsy's Mine entrance

On Friday we hiked to Patsy’s Mine in the mountains above Farmington. The trail to the mine is marked and we had no difficulty in finding the entrance. The mine does not go very far and most of the time you can stand upright, though in places one has to stoop. I found out how hard the rock is when I banged my head against it.

Melissa found the bat first. We wondered if it was rabid

There was a bat about 20 feet into the cave. We wondered if it was rabid. It must have been, to want to go hang from the roof of an old mine. Apparently exposure to rabid bats increases with the migration season. This year, four elementary-aged Davis County students have been exposed to a bat that could not be tested. Whenever bats aren’t able to be recovered or are too decomposed for testing, it is not known if they carried rabies. Therefore, to err on the side of caution the children are treated with post-exposure vaccine because the disease is virtually 100 percent fatal.

Melissa, Susan, and Jill with the mine entrance in the background

I walked past the bat and caused it to fly out of the cave past the girls which provoked an appropriate round of screaming. Further into the cave we could hear a faint rumbling sound. We thought maybe it was the freeway traffic or the train. We were a long way from the valley though.

The last time Jill and Susan visited the mine, they navigated by the light from their digital cameras. This time they were more prepared.

There is graffiti on the walls of the mine that in 2,000 years will have archeologists wondering what manner of intelligent life wrote it. They will be figuring that out for a long time.

The right fork is basically just a big puddle

The main tunnel is straight with a fork at the end. The right fork ends in a few paces and the only thing of interest is a rusty rail. The left fork does not go much further before ending. Off of the left tunnel is a small space where you can clamber through and stand upright. Nothing to get excited about.

The left fork soon comes to a dead end

According to the deep thinking and creative Chanelle (her blog no longer accessible), there is an old steam engine that has become hidden from the main trail with years of plant growth. If we had known this beforehand we would have searched for awhile to see if we could find it. According to Chanelle, copper is the most available mineral in the mountain. Shes writes that “…even though there are large quantities of it, the quality is lacking. Because of this, the mines in this area were abandoned and closed up.”

There is an opening in the left fork that goes nowhere

Patsy's Mine entrance. That's it for the tour

Jill says she enjoyed this mine and that she wouldn't mind finding another to explore

Patsy’s Mine Hike: Part 1

September 25, 2010 by rickety Leave a Comment

Melissa, Jill, Susan, and Rick at the entrance to Patsy's Mine

Yesterday we went to Patsy’s Mine above Farmington. It can be a pleasant hike — if you don’t get lost in the undergrowth, don’t have a heart attack on the steep rise, and don’t bang your head on the mine roof.

Getting to Patsy’s Mine

The trailhead begins at a rusty green gate on 1st. North and as far east as you can go in Farmington. At about 50 yards along the trail take the right fork. You rise steeply to eventually meet a dirt road. Cross the road and continue on the trail. After that follow the signs. The mine entrance is just south of and a little below the flag.

Taking a short cut following the 4 wheel drive tracks. Not recommended as we lost the trail

We took a wrong turn and followed 4 wheel drive tracks. When the tracks ended we had to work our way through the undergrowth and back on to the trail. The trail was steep in places but fortunately the old folks didn’t have a heart attack. I did drink more water than usual even though it wasn’t as hot a day as some other hikes. On the return trip we kept to the trail to give us an easy descent.

Susan finding a way around the undergrowth

Jill looking to find the trail. Must be somewhere up there

We eventually got back on the trail.

Me by the mine sign

In the next post I will have some photographs of inside the mine. Not much as mines or photographs go but it is fun to have something different at the end of a hike other than the view. And yes I did bang my head on the mine roof — don’t you do that.

Susan by the mine entrance

View of Farmington from the mine entrance

Paulelbel’s Canon

September 23, 2010 by rickety 6 Comments

Below is a one minute video of someone many of us know who is teaching himself piano. Can you guess who it is? The identity of the musician is revealed at the end of the video. The title to this post also gives you a clue. The arrangement was purchased for $1 from the Jon Schmidt website.

Pachelbel’s Canon, also known as Canon in D major, is the most famous piece of music by German Baroque composer Johann Pachelbel. It was originally scored for three violins and basso continuo and paired with a gigue in the same key. Like most other works by Pachelbel and other pre-1700 composers, the Canon remained forgotten for centuries and was rediscovered only in the 20th century.

Several decades after it was first published in 1919, the piece became extremely popular, and today it is frequently played at weddings and included on classical music compilations, along with other famous Baroque pieces such as Air on the G String by Johann Sebastian Bach. (Wikipedia)

Missionary Dan Email #24 from Vancouver, Washington

September 21, 2010 by rickety Leave a Comment

So after talking to President, I decided to accept his invitation to extend my mission for 30 days. President Greer asked me probably about 3 to 4 weeks ago if my Mom would be upset if I extended. I said she probably would be, but at the same time she’d be fine. So I thought about it for a week or two and I thought that the Lord would be pleased with whatever decision I made.

Then I sent an email to Mom that I might be extending and for my birthday present she should let me. I also thought that more time in the mission field would be a privilege. Either option sounded great to me, but I decided that I’d be happier with staying here a month longer than going home.

So I called President Greer last week and made my decision. He said the reason he asked me is because he’d like for me to train another missionary, and it is better for the new missionary to be with his trainer past 6 weeks. So I am happy to say that I’ll be coming home on December 15. The other details I have no idea. I’m sure President is figuring out the fine details.That’s the best part of missionary work, it’ll all work out eventually. I sent a letter home saying all this, it must not have made it there.

My birthday was great. The presents came right on time (on my birthday) and the hard drive is the best! Thanks everyone. I sent a neat video of using the toy cars and Smarties that I got. I’ve spent awhile putting all my pictures on this hard drive. I think it’s just about done.

This week was a good work week. We had a few exchanges with the other missionaries. It has been fun. My knees are getting tired from all the biking. Since we live a mile and a half outside of our area we put a lot of miles on our bikes. We figure about 20 miles a day. My bike is holding up great too. Well… kind of… for being a free bike it works great.

A follow up on the Relief Society versus Priesthood presentation. I forgot to mention we accomplished the same thing in both presentations. The only difference was in Priesthood it took 30 seconds, in Relief Society it took 13 minutes. :)

All the activities everyone is doing looks like lots of fun. Thanks for your continued support!

Love, Elder Willoughby

Elder Daniel Willoughby is serving in the Washington Kennewick Mission. If you want to communicate with Daniel, write in the comments or use one of these addresses.

Deuel Creek North and South and Centerville Canyon

September 18, 2010 by rickety 2 Comments

View of Centerville from Centerville Canyon

On Friday Susan, Melissa, Jill and I took a pleasant hike up Centerville Canyon. We parked the car on the dirt road by the Deuel Creek North trailhead and ended up walking to the Deuel Creek South trailhead. So we began by following the south trail for about one mile to the junction of the north trail where on our way back we would descend on the north side of the creek.

Click on the images to enlarge and be sure to view the videos.

Jill is as sure-footed as a mountain goat with her new walking stick

In places the trail is not maintained well. However, I think it adds to the enjoyment to have the possibility of falling off a cliff or two. If you make it to the first stream crossing, there are now eleven log footbridges at key crossings. The Centerville Hiker even put metal mesh on the wood to prevent slipping.

Jill, Susan, and Melissa. Notice the metal mesh on the logs

From the junction we continued up the canyon for some distance. On the south side of the creek there is shade and the melodic sound of gently flowing water. Susan and Melissa found a geocache and signed the enclosed book.

Give said the little stream as it hurried down the hill

Turn right at the 589th tree, remove the grey colored rocks, and you will find the geocache

For directions you could follow the flag flying atop of the mountain. Does anyone know who placed it there?

I wonder who unfurled this banner high on the mountain top?

The hike turns into the adult equivalent of the toddler that gets to run around at the park and play on the swing. That’s because there is a long rope swing hanging from a tall tree along the trail. After some of our party tried the swing we turned around and retraced our steps to the previously mentioned junction.

Give Melissa enough rope and she will swing high into the trees

Jill likes to hang around in the trees

On the north side of the creek Susan and Melissa searched among the rocks for another geocache. I don’t know if they found it because Jill and I went on ahead. The afternoon was getting hot and there was no shade except under our hats.

Melissa looking for another geocache

Melissa and Susan following our path back to the trailhead

Adelaide’s Birthday

September 15, 2010 by rickety 2 Comments

This month was Adelaide’s birthday and we celebrated by eating at her parents house. There was a lot of gifts and a few pseudo-presents for Adelaide. For example, Steven gave her a pile of beef jerky. Now really, do we all think that Adelaide wolfs down that much jerky? :)

The signed copy of the book, It’s In The Bag, was from me. Here are a few birthday photographs, click on the images to enlarge. Incidentally, Adelaide has a new hair style. She had a deadline of her birthday to get it cut.

Missionary Dan Email #23 from Vancouver, Washington

September 14, 2010 by rickety Leave a Comment

Stephanie and Crystal were baptized. The Spirit was really strong and was a great experience for them. Elder Hardy said it was “Super duper cool” to baptize Stephanie. It was his first time baptizing someone. Stephanie couldn’t stop smiling at church and it was great that I was able to confirm her. Stephanie’s mom who isn’t active in the church but a member said it was the best decision she ever made and was really proud of her.

We used the opportunity to get the members excited about missionary work. We gave a short presentation in Priesthood Meeting before everyone separated to their classes and asked “What are some of the reasons we do missionary work?” After a long silence one high priest raised his hand and said, “Because we have to.” Then I asked “What stops us from doing missionary work?” and there was a lot more responsive answers.

We did a similar presentation in Relief Society. After asking “What are some of the reasons we do missionary work?” five to six sisters raised their hands and gave awesome answers. They continued to discuss missionary work and reasons they don’t do it. It was an interesting experience. I’ll not comment further on the situation.

There has been many awesome experiences here and they continue to come. We are doing our best. I really enjoyed all the birthday emails. The letters have started to come again too. I noticed that the Ward’s letter had the wrong address, but it still made it to me. My address is 13608 NE 72nd St B14. The mistake was the “3” was a “2”. Thanks again for the great birthday cards. They were funny and the pictures are awesome.

I’ve been thinking about extending my mission for 30 days [after being asked by President Greer] and at the same time thinking about not extending. So I’m going to call President Greer today and make a decision. Next week I’ll let the family know. The President is allowed to extend any missionary for 30 days without Seventy approval. Any longer after that requires their permission and it’s difficult to receive it. The President is curious to see what I’ll do.

Love, Elder Willoughby

Elder Daniel Willoughby is serving in the Washington Kennewick Mission. If you want to communicate with Daniel, write in the comments or use one of these addresses.
Rickety signature.

Getting to Patsy’s Mine

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