tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82744636969665275102024-02-21T02:10:54.292-06:00treehouse partytreehouse party.................http://www.blogger.com/profile/16871912058680187318noreply@blogger.comBlogger116125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8274463696966527510.post-59735742723763186042010-06-11T12:41:00.004-05:002010-06-11T12:46:56.928-05:00minneapolis, one step closer to canada<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIrUwx_xI-SlAa-brwMY4T-zor_TQ0NtwHUZvPBzFcBzXIyc4waw7Hr79gp7qPmvq7sOlBi71tewRXn4QOXJpDahatIA2RH0ZuxJOuuaeaiODn1g6lZ2Ul0UrhEQYjGASYd0xf5VhOLSZD/s1600/nice+ride+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIrUwx_xI-SlAa-brwMY4T-zor_TQ0NtwHUZvPBzFcBzXIyc4waw7Hr79gp7qPmvq7sOlBi71tewRXn4QOXJpDahatIA2RH0ZuxJOuuaeaiODn1g6lZ2Ul0UrhEQYjGASYd0xf5VhOLSZD/s320/nice+ride+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481573257794273298" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The <a href="http://www.niceridemn.org/">Nice Ride Minnesota</a> bike-sharing program, based on Montreal's <a href="http://www.bixi.com/home">BIXI</a> bike-sharing program, debuted in Minneapolis earlier this week. The system allows users to take a bike from any kiosk with the swipe of a card and return it to any kiosk by simply pushing it into a dock, which locks automatically. A subscription is required to use a bike and the first 30 minutes are free. The bikes are designed to be ridden by people wearing regular clothes and include full fenders, lights, and a cargo rack. They are perfect transportation option for short trips short trips in the city, such as across downtown for an appointment or a quick trip to the store, which in turn reduces pollution and congestion<br /><br />The BIXI system is a high tech bike-sharing service. According to Nice Ride, "Advanced bike-share systems have been operating in cities like Paris and Barcelona for several years now. The engineers at BIXI learned from the successes in these cities and built a bike share system that is elegant, rugged, and simple to use. Time Magazine recognized BIXI as one of the top inventions of 2008, right behind the Mars Rover."<br /><br />The bike-sharing system is a perfect fit for Minneapolis which was recently named the most bike-friendly city in the U.S. by Bicycling magazine. Making this honor even better, Minneapolis unseated Portland, Oregon, a city that held the title for many years. Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, a bicycling advocate, said the program will have multiple benefits, including improving users’ health, helping the environment and increasing drivers’ awareness of bicyclists on the roads.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgquZrBMDuSZ4HZOtvndBN0h2U9VMuuVRAVturN_nfu2bg5Z0i4B5bauzRtO4EfK-F6ZSXZgLnGqvRDZDQ6QfWGuv5xh64Ola5SFZswKG63C9EKdjRYLjXJC3yhDtaVgJuhO3_sOmyw3je3/s1600/nice+ride+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 178px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgquZrBMDuSZ4HZOtvndBN0h2U9VMuuVRAVturN_nfu2bg5Z0i4B5bauzRtO4EfK-F6ZSXZgLnGqvRDZDQ6QfWGuv5xh64Ola5SFZswKG63C9EKdjRYLjXJC3yhDtaVgJuhO3_sOmyw3je3/s320/nice+ride+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481573404692506866" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Solar-powered kiosk</span></span><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz0ivF0_bTWXGN7tYAxlKUZ_hCGUp7O3DUo84_KE1eh4Fz0HgV1k4XrxGOLYsci_N40HfPj1d-iT5RYffB-9YL7B4f4xSU0GOG6oPScXtbLeeEta20Q9kbQzBiw7zgmnkBLbaNMr4lX1TH/s1600/bixi.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 262px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz0ivF0_bTWXGN7tYAxlKUZ_hCGUp7O3DUo84_KE1eh4Fz0HgV1k4XrxGOLYsci_N40HfPj1d-iT5RYffB-9YL7B4f4xSU0GOG6oPScXtbLeeEta20Q9kbQzBiw7zgmnkBLbaNMr4lX1TH/s400/bixi.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481573096343114914" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">BIXI announces its little "little brothers" </span><br /><a href="http://www.bixi.com/news/full/the_first_bixi_unveiling_U-S_city/"><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">http://www.bixi.com/news/full/the_first_bixi_unveiling_U-S_city/</span></a></span><br /></div>treehouse party.................http://www.blogger.com/profile/16871912058680187318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8274463696966527510.post-52372598813935311182010-06-04T15:07:00.001-05:002010-06-04T15:08:18.401-05:00so many things on my mind, so little time to blogI've been writing this blog for three years and it's a lot more work than I had anticipated. I have great ideas that are churning in my head about things to blog about but very little time to sit in front of a computer and post. Intentionally, much of my free time is spent outside away from a computer. Essentially I've become a slacker blogger. I've mulched over the idea quitting this blog, but still have some good stuff to share and post. treehouse party.................http://www.blogger.com/profile/16871912058680187318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8274463696966527510.post-22655821444153625382010-02-14T18:39:00.002-06:002010-02-14T18:43:06.698-06:00anti-war valentine's day<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWxxfpujfdJnovgvo_VmtdUVtdWdQMelnZMhvbF-b3eO6lGYscLctTcp7Kyxsd4cthSkdfDhVuCj3EByIpz4VvQD9F3W1akZHZxWzeZen_zG_053mNqBPI19x24dT9kuq8guyTePCk6h_d/s1600-h/lover+poster.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 281px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWxxfpujfdJnovgvo_VmtdUVtdWdQMelnZMhvbF-b3eO6lGYscLctTcp7Kyxsd4cthSkdfDhVuCj3EByIpz4VvQD9F3W1akZHZxWzeZen_zG_053mNqBPI19x24dT9kuq8guyTePCk6h_d/s400/lover+poster.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438264286424853570" /></a><br />My cheesy Valentine's Day poster.treehouse party.................http://www.blogger.com/profile/16871912058680187318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8274463696966527510.post-42832222300515816072010-01-13T17:49:00.011-06:002010-01-14T12:22:10.865-06:00icy luminaries<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgNs3VB1uGtGmbfBkmTsGDukuvyvnJcMLCi4Nml41Bq3bBmAwkxWfSLBEbNfkAKS1B5AFwEyGJ3ebHhuAL44XoNBCUYtw8ytDWR-s1DbZTCe_eWgdMmYMRoL2q3dgCezVHvcvgLjg-4Ckm/s1600-h/candels+in+ice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgNs3VB1uGtGmbfBkmTsGDukuvyvnJcMLCi4Nml41Bq3bBmAwkxWfSLBEbNfkAKS1B5AFwEyGJ3ebHhuAL44XoNBCUYtw8ytDWR-s1DbZTCe_eWgdMmYMRoL2q3dgCezVHvcvgLjg-4Ckm/s320/candels+in+ice.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><br />
In this dark cold time of the year ice luminaries make the outdoors look beautiful. I was inspired to make these luminaries by the New Year's Eve candlelight walk at Fort Snelling State Park.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdpH-TvnFi1OBX8r24nkWM4nfM1EdJ-7zMGL7CaHrlXKByvtiK7cCIA_EcCQQPBbSLZYjIQf7Yg4jYJn-CKZA-tnqySv3EG0B6SeCxWGSWPHTALOsA5CmaC-ZsV8Yy5yWQozQqH4QGkb8W/s1600-h/candle+photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdpH-TvnFi1OBX8r24nkWM4nfM1EdJ-7zMGL7CaHrlXKByvtiK7cCIA_EcCQQPBbSLZYjIQf7Yg4jYJn-CKZA-tnqySv3EG0B6SeCxWGSWPHTALOsA5CmaC-ZsV8Yy5yWQozQqH4QGkb8W/s320/candle+photo.jpg" /></a><br />
</div>How to make <br />
1. Get two containers for the ice mold. One should be a smaller size to use for the inside of the mold. <br />
2. Use the bigger container first. Fill up about two inches with water and let it freeze.<br />
3. After the bottom freezes put the smaller mold in. Put stones in the smaller mold to hold it in place. Allow enough space for ice to freeze around it. If the smaller mold doesn't stay in place, put a little water the bottom of it and let it freeze to the base. <br />
4. Add water to the mold. If you want you can put berries in the mold or other things you like. <br />
5. Wait for the mold to freeze. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmCsZqO-hlPKM4YlzJJSzI4Dz26MSpPdJogLtsE2zFy3AO7vFytov5YnOHZy9ZkoioAXGISO1PxObOMJwL_Hg_xvx-JIFW4fbNexP4-H4URQBxlYycYHBnZm-RUUt6d4i9HnBEQvotjDyO/s1600-h/candle+materials.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmCsZqO-hlPKM4YlzJJSzI4Dz26MSpPdJogLtsE2zFy3AO7vFytov5YnOHZy9ZkoioAXGISO1PxObOMJwL_Hg_xvx-JIFW4fbNexP4-H4URQBxlYycYHBnZm-RUUt6d4i9HnBEQvotjDyO/s320/candle+materials.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #666666;">Containers for the ice mold (left) a frozen ice mold (right) <br />
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</span></span><br />
</div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #666666;"> </span></span>6. After it's frozen, bring the container inside (or to a warmer place) to thaw. To speed up the process I took out the stones from the smaller mold and used boiling water to thaw the inner mold. After the inner mold is removed the outer side of the outer container will melt.treehouse party.................http://www.blogger.com/profile/16871912058680187318noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8274463696966527510.post-31363922962424954342010-01-11T12:28:00.003-06:002010-01-11T12:30:30.310-06:00happy 2010!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS6gBbub1sRUmPdDwqsfExnYgFPPafwdp0DMIIIVp09ZbJFhDSbNuTSgcljdUxRSbYwrjopTI9xOO2Ja0F-r5JSIVpqzsqcAeGh2TbvaNtSArgIX3c-U36C8zzSGR_Juqdw6HEjvRBN034/s1600-h/jan+blog1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 282px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS6gBbub1sRUmPdDwqsfExnYgFPPafwdp0DMIIIVp09ZbJFhDSbNuTSgcljdUxRSbYwrjopTI9xOO2Ja0F-r5JSIVpqzsqcAeGh2TbvaNtSArgIX3c-U36C8zzSGR_Juqdw6HEjvRBN034/s400/jan+blog1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425551096820137346" border="0" /></a>I would like to start 2010 with a pledge to the earth. Come on and say it with me.<span style="font-style: italic;"> "</span><span>I pledge allegiance to the earth and all the life which it supports. One planet in our care, irreplaceable, with sustenance and respect for all.</span><span style="font-style: italic;">"</span><br /><br />Let's love mother earth and each other in 2010.treehouse party.................http://www.blogger.com/profile/16871912058680187318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8274463696966527510.post-76748463589330001812009-10-07T21:08:00.005-05:002009-10-07T21:17:16.633-05:00the cicadas took over<div style="text-align: left;">The cicadas were abundant in the garden this summer, from late July to the middle of September. A few photos of adult "Dog Day" cicadas.<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir3y5haBF4BVHDEBx-adi-C4IVKP6HvSp2jO3iR6gr6usXUPfjerjNruFJlHdyXdhibbfLv8x6nO7rUQjHyOpGkBGjfDaxao02kmzu9LVQoJGLhmLe2W6EeL1ZC4oMtI7XrZfzX_qDthFY/s1600-h/cicada+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 225px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir3y5haBF4BVHDEBx-adi-C4IVKP6HvSp2jO3iR6gr6usXUPfjerjNruFJlHdyXdhibbfLv8x6nO7rUQjHyOpGkBGjfDaxao02kmzu9LVQoJGLhmLe2W6EeL1ZC4oMtI7XrZfzX_qDthFY/s400/cicada+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390045606836853202" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBlZHkP7dA0mCHiL0vQi40Uns56xa1G74Lgf9GKQ1S7AMfBe6kkRmceds0lxkcqXr8ubafBT47FwXui-eecQNi8XTpZkKjXtGq8h8Yqo5xOaV5iRADtfp4hft7ewqGwgMeXTwv5Eb5ZYN3/s1600-h/cicada+3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 182px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBlZHkP7dA0mCHiL0vQi40Uns56xa1G74Lgf9GKQ1S7AMfBe6kkRmceds0lxkcqXr8ubafBT47FwXui-eecQNi8XTpZkKjXtGq8h8Yqo5xOaV5iRADtfp4hft7ewqGwgMeXTwv5Eb5ZYN3/s400/cicada+3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390045733417688034" border="0" /></a>(photos from mid-September 2009)<br /></div>treehouse party.................http://www.blogger.com/profile/16871912058680187318noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8274463696966527510.post-35617768157257702672009-08-13T23:03:00.010-05:002009-09-17T19:53:53.534-05:00dog-day cicada emergesThis summer I watched an annual or "Dog-day" cicada transform from a nymph to an adult. The entire process took about an hour and a half. <br /><br />Folklore says that, "When you hear the first song of the dog-day cicadas, the first frost is just six weeks away."<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlY9W4jFEgx1VsFC7hokbFwFtzlxBi7V_H5iwvgBhqLeShUK6QxdWSg4IxU9_drm5BfrOQQY3EQSpY-3nvzoLaqFFOXwy4Jl2eXj3rl7l5_iiDls5dsJZfe1aW0PNzOgNnZ2Yz_U2W7lah/s1600-h/cicada_2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 363px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlY9W4jFEgx1VsFC7hokbFwFtzlxBi7V_H5iwvgBhqLeShUK6QxdWSg4IxU9_drm5BfrOQQY3EQSpY-3nvzoLaqFFOXwy4Jl2eXj3rl7l5_iiDls5dsJZfe1aW0PNzOgNnZ2Yz_U2W7lah/s400/cicada_2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369665526025096658" border="0" /></a>Emerging from its nymphal skin<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLgY7un8LoyPbKra931NIEI9lbJEyuDzhsBfCyZfJA4JtPj68WnHJs146HW4aMTot4LIfk29WUaRR5eAhQsx4ZhP2mjYu2X5GuMGvv3qPM0CeOIFHVrd3xjdLAEVDZ92rYB4CVrH7hX6NP/s1600-h/cicada_3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 319px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLgY7un8LoyPbKra931NIEI9lbJEyuDzhsBfCyZfJA4JtPj68WnHJs146HW4aMTot4LIfk29WUaRR5eAhQsx4ZhP2mjYu2X5GuMGvv3qPM0CeOIFHVrd3xjdLAEVDZ92rYB4CVrH7hX6NP/s400/cicada_3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369665676248868066" border="0" /></a>Stretching out its wings.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcamWlcOE1azLTzD_ZRv3jNFEMvd7EnzwiXYu-rER34bdPSYuK4XXa-CFo7FFNVbBZ8piTnVQLkmXPvjqV3FLtBnoS5WJZYIhkZgSYsEQ2NOeWVTFpvFoORapkNVoA72xsb5ds9tDP76xk/s1600-h/cicada_4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 374px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcamWlcOE1azLTzD_ZRv3jNFEMvd7EnzwiXYu-rER34bdPSYuK4XXa-CFo7FFNVbBZ8piTnVQLkmXPvjqV3FLtBnoS5WJZYIhkZgSYsEQ2NOeWVTFpvFoORapkNVoA72xsb5ds9tDP76xk/s400/cicada_4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369665684639175602" border="0" /></a>Resting on its nymphal skeleton. Stretching out its wings a little more.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR2DiPm0v0bN5X5HmbSgYgJPYil_mzVoWU4QakDQojwKqdzvOHOwPXt-p_OyUvMpT2kvDuT1rlxAogjYt33aQfDhGarY2u3fdjNn7kXgXFOSFWpkClAWeUtgZLW-Ghpt7aP4N7bUk4Tf3U/s1600-h/cicada_5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 337px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR2DiPm0v0bN5X5HmbSgYgJPYil_mzVoWU4QakDQojwKqdzvOHOwPXt-p_OyUvMpT2kvDuT1rlxAogjYt33aQfDhGarY2u3fdjNn7kXgXFOSFWpkClAWeUtgZLW-Ghpt7aP4N7bUk4Tf3U/s400/cicada_5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369665693810880146" border="0" /></a>Its wings are almost all the way extended.<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMYdRnHX4jO1gtxTKOzYJhPaBEie_PaTyxGVTpnSPchkFiipQn6gZAf9sU608fzsofb1Gr_D1Xy2EkLtZWUvqv9gV8ArnbB6FDW85XeJS1xlAei6tBQ05UNvPDxKoxZkJ1JKatkOyWFRrl/s1600-h/cicada_18.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 307px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMYdRnHX4jO1gtxTKOzYJhPaBEie_PaTyxGVTpnSPchkFiipQn6gZAf9sU608fzsofb1Gr_D1Xy2EkLtZWUvqv9gV8ArnbB6FDW85XeJS1xlAei6tBQ05UNvPDxKoxZkJ1JKatkOyWFRrl/s400/cicada_18.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369666455890930002" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxlbrvnaJ3La9sCfRH-ZEmTkhyphenhyphenw3-mKIkoQm6On_6LZ3PdlLLtuD633eHw15lv-B6EcbsoV1HY7WqDhJnsdUHUqy74_AtMyrowiUGaKPBhKoXYnjPkieZOPowpq70lKNY_vS6alHbcMGuA/s1600-h/cicada_6.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 330px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxlbrvnaJ3La9sCfRH-ZEmTkhyphenhyphenw3-mKIkoQm6On_6LZ3PdlLLtuD633eHw15lv-B6EcbsoV1HY7WqDhJnsdUHUqy74_AtMyrowiUGaKPBhKoXYnjPkieZOPowpq70lKNY_vS6alHbcMGuA/s400/cicada_6.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369666447307311970" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeaB4FIbPRZk0BQ2igYOolkvq80vlFB6u5CdNoZmVY9GlEy_EtdOTX3Ij1qsm9eraBuCf6rmbfNjP8zvO5Khfrf68rhsMdPWWADTEUiolwHvn8bS5vfMMnl8Z3mytIs0Ph6wsLHiJ5Pdvf/s1600-h/cicada_last.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeaB4FIbPRZk0BQ2igYOolkvq80vlFB6u5CdNoZmVY9GlEy_EtdOTX3Ij1qsm9eraBuCf6rmbfNjP8zvO5Khfrf68rhsMdPWWADTEUiolwHvn8bS5vfMMnl8Z3mytIs0Ph6wsLHiJ5Pdvf/s400/cicada_last.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369666467783467682" border="0" /></a>Its wings are almost dry and ready to go. Soon after this cicada flew off.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">A description of the "Dog-day" cicada from the <a href="http://www.uky.edu/Ag/CritterFiles/casefile/insects/homoptera/cicadas/cicada.html">University of Kentucky</a>.<br /><br />"Cicada nymphs develop underground, feeding on root sap of various trees and shrubs. The nymphs are generally pale brown, rather hunch-backed, and have stout forelegs they use to dig through soil. The life history of species found in Colorado is poorly understood. Development likely takes between two to five years to complete.<br /><br />Cicadas go through a simple metamorphosis with egg, nymph, and adult stages. After emerging from the ground during summer months, cicadas quickly mate and the females insert eggs into small twigs on living trees using a knife-like ovipositor (egg laying structure). When nymphs hatch from the eggs, they burrow into the soil where they feed underground on the juices of plant roots. During growth and development, the nymphs shed their skins several times as they get larger. After several years (1-3 years for most annual cicada species and 13 or 17 years for many of the periodical cicada species) the nymphs emerge from the soil, climb onto tree trunks, then shed their skins a final time to become winged adults. Adult cicadas produce hitch-pitched, droning noises. These courtship songs help male and female cicadas find one another, and each species has its own distinct song."<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div>treehouse party.................http://www.blogger.com/profile/16871912058680187318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8274463696966527510.post-26543989302962699322009-08-10T01:02:00.003-05:002009-08-10T01:04:31.906-05:00long vacationIt's been a long vacation from blogging. I've been busy gardening, bird watching, and just being alive. Best of all, I got married to my love.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2y5dTmraT-WH5dPQInyxPTKiiF70m2DNHwx3oxttdtOW7214j7BbualhRPy8fcb93IJaAcCNsKyB_380qvlUBvHG_IB4TsAz_TVG_VdMT2kzR3ZNhAHS_yJ-qIh-wq4XViPlWH4raJ_MP/s1600-h/6420_1176560807455_1031152338_30529289_5513644_n-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 317px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2y5dTmraT-WH5dPQInyxPTKiiF70m2DNHwx3oxttdtOW7214j7BbualhRPy8fcb93IJaAcCNsKyB_380qvlUBvHG_IB4TsAz_TVG_VdMT2kzR3ZNhAHS_yJ-qIh-wq4XViPlWH4raJ_MP/s400/6420_1176560807455_1031152338_30529289_5513644_n-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368211719444192482" border="0" /></a>treehouse party.................http://www.blogger.com/profile/16871912058680187318noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8274463696966527510.post-83848448424853607492009-03-26T21:44:00.022-05:002009-03-31T18:59:40.442-05:00watch out squirrels<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidFeldbqdWUnPpmWyaFILevpssvxLHOsJNRqZRfnexRI2LYjpV632yyRA0ZGEj-jpJ-8sHLLIUDNixViZp_dBXHqHmiYLNP3x7dcM1yeU9g9Hz4QprxKIP30rUIE6gymCEEWmt8aDiiI1C/s1600-h/hawk_9.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidFeldbqdWUnPpmWyaFILevpssvxLHOsJNRqZRfnexRI2LYjpV632yyRA0ZGEj-jpJ-8sHLLIUDNixViZp_dBXHqHmiYLNP3x7dcM1yeU9g9Hz4QprxKIP30rUIE6gymCEEWmt8aDiiI1C/s320/hawk_9.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317693794499495666" border="0" /></a>Beware squirrels there's a new sheriff in town, the Red-tailed Hawk. Last week a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk stopped in an elm tree in the backyard for a gray squirrel meal. This was the first time we saw a Red-tailed Hawk in the yard and we had a front row seat to the carnage. The hawk vigorously pulled apart the squirrel and ate. After a while, crows swarmed in and mobbed it. Eventually the hawk had enough of being harassed and flew off with the squirrel in its talons.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH90pKqag2ElitHmMf19T_GnrHdOS1LyzMKeuxp2eGwpGOidZaMgkXp2AJR6PyWTtcLIUqsI59xP-i-B4P7fFPMPCIsk07mQTuNf7xeQvgY1QblaE8bs6UqtMVYGOJ0vIHj0xjvClMqXYN/s1600-h/hawk_2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 312px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH90pKqag2ElitHmMf19T_GnrHdOS1LyzMKeuxp2eGwpGOidZaMgkXp2AJR6PyWTtcLIUqsI59xP-i-B4P7fFPMPCIsk07mQTuNf7xeQvgY1QblaE8bs6UqtMVYGOJ0vIHj0xjvClMqXYN/s320/hawk_2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317693239671585682" border="0" /></a>A juvenile Red-tailed Hawk with its prey.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmdjWf78reTA4qR9xgfRKWiZKK15zOb3vKbgecKrCYOfY1DuGp7d36HIQRyyFZS0dO5bKzg7shKZih45nHgy2ciZ_vHVJHRgL7UJORxlBb_cUKm5wipwqgKACC0ULyVv7EK5FDnuj19tLT/s1600-h/redtailedhawk+3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 182px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmdjWf78reTA4qR9xgfRKWiZKK15zOb3vKbgecKrCYOfY1DuGp7d36HIQRyyFZS0dO5bKzg7shKZih45nHgy2ciZ_vHVJHRgL7UJORxlBb_cUKm5wipwqgKACC0ULyVv7EK5FDnuj19tLT/s400/redtailedhawk+3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319498188520979618" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidUOMHJPAlHhyphenhyphenTloeyjJ1ARlklrxSm7I0Mpv_aK4TtaYj2Jx9qo4S1RNoRoRFJh4fasYxChXcTJb2-es94V5rDmK4AgfdeuiJKm1yB1G2cLvT1xCXxzPLkFRbXm9fX-isNgqtdLtnZ-Zdo/s1600-h/red+tailed+hawk+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidUOMHJPAlHhyphenhyphenTloeyjJ1ARlklrxSm7I0Mpv_aK4TtaYj2Jx9qo4S1RNoRoRFJh4fasYxChXcTJb2-es94V5rDmK4AgfdeuiJKm1yB1G2cLvT1xCXxzPLkFRbXm9fX-isNgqtdLtnZ-Zdo/s400/red+tailed+hawk+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319493499225905010" border="0" /></a><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3EbL_Ip3t8QLmXkc7ialb1hqLaOAFBRwsYkNj-mU65DSxcjwe85R8HauUnwbmnnISr0yP56cTmEl9XRsCVfjsRoR12dmKU7heNK5vt1QT24LCiP7rbdmdSH3_clzKn8YSAJsuq9WMHyEx/s1600-h/hawk_5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 275px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3EbL_Ip3t8QLmXkc7ialb1hqLaOAFBRwsYkNj-mU65DSxcjwe85R8HauUnwbmnnISr0yP56cTmEl9XRsCVfjsRoR12dmKU7heNK5vt1QT24LCiP7rbdmdSH3_clzKn8YSAJsuq9WMHyEx/s320/hawk_5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317693543731025122" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkbhcvRH_-FkCFcOXF8A_RGIfo8ltT4-F82kvaOWBVaQMXYdlcxbQ1eQnvJrvnMt_9gAMSIvwEP1qAdhGORF21iVwmsz540j_H315Sk1EAwfqie4K064FGl7f1oB89yEah4r99g5Zi0YsP/s1600-h/hawk_4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkbhcvRH_-FkCFcOXF8A_RGIfo8ltT4-F82kvaOWBVaQMXYdlcxbQ1eQnvJrvnMt_9gAMSIvwEP1qAdhGORF21iVwmsz540j_H315Sk1EAwfqie4K064FGl7f1oB89yEah4r99g5Zi0YsP/s320/hawk_4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317693361499191826" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbiYS2pW9QcW1Q_I61IKDp9N-6rrHHqEvRas_KvhcdkgdT9MVx59DpUwp4oMlz-imz4jXBQYl6HJMfuMr6in0703NE73h56WKjYHfT4Z8ywaZ7pa-r4n5ScPfx5xFqY31UuPu0BJ7DdQGX/s1600-h/hawk_with+crow.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 294px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbiYS2pW9QcW1Q_I61IKDp9N-6rrHHqEvRas_KvhcdkgdT9MVx59DpUwp4oMlz-imz4jXBQYl6HJMfuMr6in0703NE73h56WKjYHfT4Z8ywaZ7pa-r4n5ScPfx5xFqY31UuPu0BJ7DdQGX/s320/hawk_with+crow.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317693792115007842" border="0" /></a>Crows harassing the hawk<br /></div>treehouse party.................http://www.blogger.com/profile/16871912058680187318noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8274463696966527510.post-682365899262839932009-03-11T20:58:00.004-05:002009-03-11T21:10:18.516-05:00i'm a bad consumerI haven't written anything for a while because I've been sucked into posting on Facebook and spending a lot of time watching videos online at <a href="http://www.filmsforaction.org/">Films for action</a>. My favorite film so far is "The Good Consumer" because I'm a bad consumer. This video pretty much sums up how I feel about shopping.<br /><br /><br /><object height="295" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/A_ut93YYZu8&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/A_ut93YYZu8&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="295" width="400"></embed></object>treehouse party.................http://www.blogger.com/profile/16871912058680187318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8274463696966527510.post-9010593859407567762009-03-02T19:18:00.002-06:002009-03-02T19:21:00.226-06:00happy birthday dr. seuss!"I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees. I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues." - The Lorax<br /><br /><embed id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=6650219631867189375&hl=en&fs=true" style="width: 400px; height: 326px;" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed>treehouse party.................http://www.blogger.com/profile/16871912058680187318noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8274463696966527510.post-30576699684206748702009-02-08T16:07:00.000-06:002009-02-08T16:08:21.008-06:00university of rochester students in solidarity with people of gazaIndymedia Rochester, NY, reported, "<a href="http://rochester.indymedia.org/feature/display/19887/index.php">UR-SDS Occupies University of Rochester in Solidarity with People of Gaza</a>"<br /><br />"Students from the University of Rochester and members of the local Rochester community will be occupying the atrium of Goergen Hall on the River Campus of the University of Rochester (275 Hutchinson Road) today for peace and in solidarity with the people Gaza and in opposition to U.S. support for the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories and the recent atrocities in Gaza. The action, organized by U of R Students for a Democratic Society (UR-SDS), will begin on the afternoon of Friday, February 6 and will last until the University of Rochester administration meets the demands.<br /><br />The student occupation will feature a number of informational and peaceful consciousness raising events such as public talks, teach-ins, and sit-ins. The action was inspired by a wave of student occupations that occurred in 16 universities in England (1, 2) following the Israeli assault on Gaza."treehouse party.................http://www.blogger.com/profile/16871912058680187318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8274463696966527510.post-16467934328182960842009-02-02T19:06:00.005-06:002009-02-02T19:19:23.555-06:00no groundhog, just an opossumHappy Groundhog day! The all powerful <a href="http://www.groundhog.org/">Punxsutawney Phil</a> saw his shadow today, which means winter continues for six more weeks. In Minnesota that could mean a lot longer, groundhog or not.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLm21O3pZ7OSNaFtOl4cOY5Hg_uycrED_tzj2J923dRC8JwFC44GswyqMwEiOGKjSKGhuj7ZyPlyFWshnNxsEB5EkY54JLyH2Zfjr6rJfxO79xmLvEvp0l6GqeGwvexZ4Z9IwOM4ji7LLl/s1600-h/groundhog-thumb-500x402.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 161px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLm21O3pZ7OSNaFtOl4cOY5Hg_uycrED_tzj2J923dRC8JwFC44GswyqMwEiOGKjSKGhuj7ZyPlyFWshnNxsEB5EkY54JLyH2Zfjr6rJfxO79xmLvEvp0l6GqeGwvexZ4Z9IwOM4ji7LLl/s200/groundhog-thumb-500x402.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5298371758548498754" border="0" /></a> <span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);font-size:85%;" >Punxsutawney Phil, February 2, 2009</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);font-size:78%;" >Photo from groundhog.org.</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><br />I feel sorry for Punxsutawney Phil, who was awakened from hibernation. It's like when your alarm clock goes off early and you realize that you have a half hour of sleep left. Poor Phil is thinking screw you, "let me sleep. I see my shadow now let me go the f--k back to bed." I empathize, I like hibernating in winter too.<br /><br />In the northland, groundhogs (or woodchucks) are still hibernating. Or they should be. It's still bleeping cold here. Last weekend there were no groundhog appearances, but there was a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Opossum">Virginia Opossum</a> foraging in the backyard. It's North America's only marsupial. Kind of cute.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN2iDP2BqL2vg1F3IQ6hUrHgIKlV1bPxok3je8Ev4BcbDDRXpj8w5RQFpBXT7v6idyKM21sxY0LSB7nSomEOGy6V0be5FeDqLU1vCEIbaSjjtFXoUMByegoWbWnRS8g15JBEUxivYck5wz/s1600-h/possum_1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 301px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN2iDP2BqL2vg1F3IQ6hUrHgIKlV1bPxok3je8Ev4BcbDDRXpj8w5RQFpBXT7v6idyKM21sxY0LSB7nSomEOGy6V0be5FeDqLU1vCEIbaSjjtFXoUMByegoWbWnRS8g15JBEUxivYck5wz/s320/possum_1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5298371325071289490" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);font-size:85%;" >Virgina Opossum, in backyard</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><br /></span> </span></div>treehouse party.................http://www.blogger.com/profile/16871912058680187318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8274463696966527510.post-40648253812723473482009-01-25T12:54:00.011-06:002009-01-27T12:28:15.830-06:00relive protesting the rnc without the pepper-spray<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7UP9tA9SKbRRzQajfmRn-bAZ4lJbWCVWNXYT0ZmjVUPbL5r-W2NiM2Ufe3Nwu7mjfFOgwZdvhIySHyj1I0AoSRNihT_eaQ_09sBi0dwlUbmsbPZQc32MNV7eULfMGThhwR7uWxuXQpnZM/s1600-h/Grndnoise-cover72dpi.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 225px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7UP9tA9SKbRRzQajfmRn-bAZ4lJbWCVWNXYT0ZmjVUPbL5r-W2NiM2Ufe3Nwu7mjfFOgwZdvhIySHyj1I0AoSRNihT_eaQ_09sBi0dwlUbmsbPZQc32MNV7eULfMGThhwR7uWxuXQpnZM/s320/Grndnoise-cover72dpi.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295307609749749650" border="0" /></a><br />Two new films document the protests at the 2008 Republican National Convention in Saint Paul, Minnesota, "Ground Noise & Static and Terrorizing Dissent." Both are available online. You can relive protesting at the RNC without getting pepper-sprayed.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.terrorizingdissent.org/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Terrorizing Dissent</span></a> - Election Cut is an exposé of events at the RNC. "Featuring first-person accounts and footage from more than forty cameras on the streets, 'Terrorizing Dissent' focuses on the story of dissent suppressed. People charged with "conspiracy to riot in furtherance of terrorism" speak out against the government's campaign to manipulate media coverage and label civil disobedience and community organizing as terrorism."<br /><br /><a href="http://www.peppersprayproductions.org/Ground_Noise%26Static.htm"><span style="font-style: italic;">Ground Noise & Static</span></a> is a video report on the protests that occurred in connection with the 2008 Democrat and Republican National Conventions. From the filmmakers, "Ground Noise & Static is a manifesto. We went to Denver and St. Paul to take the pulse of the movement. Corporate media would cover the platitudes and posturing of the politicians, we were interested in something else, a story hidden in plain sight, captured in the now-classic street chant, 'This is what democracy looks like.' Ground Noise & Static is a joint effort of Franklin López of subMedia and PepperSpray Productions. It is the direct result of a wonderful collaboration with many indymedia-style activists and journalists who all pitched in for the common good and success of their various efforts to tell their 'Unconventional' stories."<br /><br /><object height="295" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/t5eDQKaKLYE&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></object><div style="text-align: center;"><object height="295" width="480"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/t5eDQKaKLYE&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="295" width="400"></embed></object><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Terrorizing Dissent</span> RNC08 Election Cut Trailer</span><br /></div>treehouse party.................http://www.blogger.com/profile/16871912058680187318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8274463696966527510.post-8133399202052732132009-01-23T22:38:00.001-06:002009-01-23T22:39:54.587-06:00economic craptastic crisisAlterNet has posted a special "<a href="http://www.alternet.org/wire/economyincrisis">Economy in Crisis</a>" section to its website. It's official, we're all in the shitter together. We are all knee-deep in an economic craptastic crisis. Oh crap.<br /><br />Anyone have a shovel? Any ideas on a sustainable economic plan?treehouse party.................http://www.blogger.com/profile/16871912058680187318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8274463696966527510.post-80313610670700465602009-01-22T21:26:00.027-06:002009-01-27T12:29:34.626-06:00my voice for choice, blog for choice day<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJHws_qtLMmbLAsrlLOHV7DXdRnl0tg2VN8Uew8ydHiPJ9YHk53-T_yZ_a3cLj7IANoZi-u5IIaUhh6EdM465HfzCvBZVn2Xh5rIwUBKwXlR-uEMkd4l4URSxiUAXwcdsuQbJtB8_8N482/s1600-h/choice+button.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 139px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJHws_qtLMmbLAsrlLOHV7DXdRnl0tg2VN8Uew8ydHiPJ9YHk53-T_yZ_a3cLj7IANoZi-u5IIaUhh6EdM465HfzCvBZVn2Xh5rIwUBKwXlR-uEMkd4l4URSxiUAXwcdsuQbJtB8_8N482/s320/choice+button.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294370649485667746" border="0" /></a></div>I believe that all women have the right to control their fertility. They have the right to safe contraceptives and access to a safe and legal abortion. The reasons for having an abortion are many and complex. Abortion is a complicated issue. The religious right has added to that by demonizing reproductive rights. Abortion has been polarized as "pro-choice or pro-Life." I prefer the term anti-choice to pro-life, and they have described the pro-choice side as "pro-abortion," which is absurd.<br /><br />I feel that the "pro life" movement is hoax. It is a blatant attempt to control women. After all, a patriarchy that can't control women isn't a patriarchy. If you don't want women to have abortions, then make the world a better place to raise children. Support health care for all (or at least for children). Support pre-school education, K-12, and post-secondary education. Ensure that all children are properly housed and fed.<br /><br />Women are not subservient to men. We have control over our bodies. We can choose when to have sex and when to have children, period. Being pregnant does not mean forced motherhood. It's a fetus, not a baby. Abortion has always been and will always be. For thousands of years, women have worked to control their fertility. Before the 19th century abortion wasn't considered a sin. "Until the early part of the century, there were no laws against abortions done in the first few months of pregnancy. Prior to the 19th century, Protestants and Catholics held abortion permissible until the 'quickening' the moment the fetus was believed to gain life." (From "<a href="http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1982/6/82.06.03.x.html">The History of Birth Control</a>" by Kathleen London) So why the change now? Did things change during the Women's Rights Movement? Do women have "too much freedom" and does their sexuality need to be "reigned in?"<br /><br />I believe that women around the world will never be equal without reproductive freedom. The patriarchal religious right has an overzealous cult-like worship of the fetus. With this belief, they have attacked abortion and birth control. They have tried to mandate abstinence-only sex education. It doesn't work, just ask Sarah Palin. Real equality, gender equality, means reproductive freedom. Women are the ones who have to "bear the burden of carrying a child," we are in control of our own fertility, not men.<br /><br />Today is the 36th anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion. Today and everyday, support the freedom of choice. Thank you to all the bloggers that <a href="http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/choice-action-center/bfc08-home.html">blogged for choice today</a>.<br /><br />Some choice links<br /><a href="http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1982/6/82.06.03.x.html">The History of Birth Control</a><br /><a href="http://reproductiverights.org/en/press-room/a-new-era-for-reproductive-right">Could this be a "new era for reproductive rights?" </a><br /><a href="http://www.hopeclinic.com/AbortionHistory.htm">History of abortion</a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_abortion">Wikipedia history of abortion</a><br /><a href="http://www.catholicsforchoice.org/Roev.Wade.asp">Catholics for Choice Statement on the Anniversary of Roe v. Wade</a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">SUPPORT CHOICE and reproductive freedom</span><br />1. Donate to pro-choice organizations<br />2. Voice your support for choice by blogging, writing letters to the editor, writing your local and congressional legislators, and talk to your friends<br />3. Support women around the world in their fight for gender equality and reproductive rights<br />4. Stay informed about reproductive freedom issues<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSnwsys2kVSUvUegfg2Oei6Lh4MaATpGYtwad0BwgGMYYXW2W71G744AjLatO1WVNNf-s0plZ3TOyhJqmJ_hrw88885Oj-U8RmVD5Ogh60fEE5yssaLDVUcu7de8JFxI1Ou7-cObWYVneh/s1600-h/VictorianPostcard.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSnwsys2kVSUvUegfg2Oei6Lh4MaATpGYtwad0BwgGMYYXW2W71G744AjLatO1WVNNf-s0plZ3TOyhJqmJ_hrw88885Oj-U8RmVD5Ogh60fEE5yssaLDVUcu7de8JFxI1Ou7-cObWYVneh/s320/VictorianPostcard.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295016236965612930" border="0" /></a>treehouse party.................http://www.blogger.com/profile/16871912058680187318noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8274463696966527510.post-9829483940051715572009-01-17T18:31:00.004-06:002009-01-17T18:47:12.718-06:00can't america hear Gaza's cries? more than 400 children have diedAl Jezeera reported, "Ehud Olmert, Israel's prime minister, has announced a unilateral truce in the Gaza Strip." This will stop a 22-day offensive on the people of Gaza. More than 1,200 Palestinians are dead, more than 400 of them children. Lets repeat that again, 400 CHILDREN have died because of Israel's war on Gaza. Olmert said, "We have reached all the goals of the war, and beyond." How can killing more than 400 children be a goal?<br /><br />Before the ceasefire a Palestinian doctor, from Gaza, working in Israel learned that three of his daughters were killed in an Israeli attack. Al Jazeera's Roza Ibragimova reported on the doctor's tragedy caught on Israeli TV. "Palestinian doctor Ezzeldeen Abu al-Aish was giving Israel's Channel 10 his daily account from inside the war zone in Gaza when three of his daughters were killed in an Israeli attack. In his report, he called for help as his house was attacked." (Caution, this video is really difficult to watch, but necessary to understand.)<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/8UxJWdCwOpc&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/8UxJWdCwOpc&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />I can't begin to understand the pain this man has endured. And for what? So Israel can feel "safe" by having bombed Gaza into submission? So the people in Gaza are completely without hope? I hope the world will investigate Israel's actions for war crimes. I believe they have committed a great atrocity by killing so many innocent people and children.<br /><br /><a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/01/200911718127624660.html">Olmert announces Gaza ceasefire</a>treehouse party.................http://www.blogger.com/profile/16871912058680187318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8274463696966527510.post-74222733477804018262009-01-13T15:15:00.011-06:002009-01-27T12:30:58.125-06:00could we have a "do-over" on the mn senate election?I'm disappointed with Democratic Senatorial candidate Al Franken. He and Senator Norm Coleman spoke at a pro-Israel rally at the Sabes Jewish Community Center in St. Louis Park on Jan. 11. They both endorsed Israel's war on Gaza. Congressional Representative Michele Bachmann also spoke at the event. Remember her? She went on Hardball with Chris Matthews and said that the media should investigate Congress for anti-American views. Other speakers included, U.S. Representative John Kline, megachurch preacher Rev. Mac Hammond, and former U.S. Senator Mark Dayton.<br /><br />I regret voting for Franken. Before the primary I supported Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer, and I wish he would have won the DFL primary and the general election. We need congressional leadership that understands the world, someone with a deeper cultural understanding. We need more leaders like U.S. Representative Keith Ellison, who is my representative. Representative Ellison understands the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. He gets it.<br /><br />Watch the video of an interview with Representative Ellison on Al Jazeera.<br /><br /><object height="295" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/HWb2rnOJBOA&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/HWb2rnOJBOA&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="295" width="400"></embed></object>treehouse party.................http://www.blogger.com/profile/16871912058680187318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8274463696966527510.post-14789572625345100222009-01-11T22:32:00.006-06:002009-01-12T08:25:50.022-06:00top 10 humanitarian crises of 2008<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVN35VVM0Um9-3hXqfIxol17k0e3wmYx0giQaMRoum9mgVvyJBXJImxyOrjJvXAcNUXtbEcI4uqszXXciiL8ixhNNToX5IVapOGb8aANfLrOLOXsN46nLUUGkGLeTPGJBsV4L4TXqZvlWa/s1600-h/zimbabwe.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVN35VVM0Um9-3hXqfIxol17k0e3wmYx0giQaMRoum9mgVvyJBXJImxyOrjJvXAcNUXtbEcI4uqszXXciiL8ixhNNToX5IVapOGb8aANfLrOLOXsN46nLUUGkGLeTPGJBsV4L4TXqZvlWa/s320/zimbabwe.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290260820682460242" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">"Health Crisis Sweeps Zimbabwe as Violence and Economic Collapse Spread," </span><a style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" href="http://doctorswithoutborders.org/publications/topten/">Doctors Without Borders </a></span><br /></div><br />Doctors Without Boarders released their "<a href="http://doctorswithoutborders.org/publications/topten/">Top 10 Humanitarian Crises of 2008.</a>"treehouse party.................http://www.blogger.com/profile/16871912058680187318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8274463696966527510.post-81485626559871282272009-01-06T19:09:00.042-06:002009-01-13T12:31:14.097-06:00no safe place in gaza<div style="text-align: center; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><span><span style="font-style: italic;">"At Least 697 Palestinians have died in Gaza since Israel began its assault on December 27, and that number continues to climb. About 3,085 people have been wounded."<br />- Al Jazerra</span></span>, January 7, 2009<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnNjVyESDF7-_eEaWqItO2KmazKvDLwsYjBzWnw_S0tc1Y90DKNlWt_r55VNAUR7xwVLg0ALC_E1CSOqeEkdTe0f-5HslVPqrBz3fy8BbXUqFJDML58Phr0bOJ-POUgm22jN0VAT0qUI7_/s1600-h/gaza+pal+center+for+hr.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 211px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnNjVyESDF7-_eEaWqItO2KmazKvDLwsYjBzWnw_S0tc1Y90DKNlWt_r55VNAUR7xwVLg0ALC_E1CSOqeEkdTe0f-5HslVPqrBz3fy8BbXUqFJDML58Phr0bOJ-POUgm22jN0VAT0qUI7_/s320/gaza+pal+center+for+hr.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288738909402613650" border="0" /></a>Photo from the <a href="http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/PressR/English/2008/photos_de-08.html">Palestinian Centre for Human Rights</a>. "<span style="font-style: italic;">Photos from the Gaza Stip, Dec. 2008- Jan. 2009</span>", January 7, 2009.<br /></div><span><br />I am no expert on the Palestine-Israel conflict, but I do know that the U.S. media is not accurately or adequately covering the story. Israel's war on Gaza is disproportionately and collectively punishing Gaza.<br /><br />I received the following article from a friend in the peace movement. I am posting this in its entirety because it's an account of the crisis from Gaza and it's a view that people in the U.S. probably won't hear about.<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span><blockquote style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Gaza Massacres; The Time is Now by Anna Balzer. Jan. 3, 2009</span><br />Please, everyone, stop what you're doing. This is not just any report from Palestine, but the worst in my lifetime, the worst in 40 years. At this moment, Israel is raining bombs down on Gaza, an enclosed tiny area that is home to 1.5 million men, women, and children, most of them innocent civilians. This space is tightly sealed by Israel, which constantly denies Gazans electricity, food, medicine, and the ability to leave. Gaza is one big prison being bombed from above. The death toll is up to 428 in the past 7 days. That's more than the number of Israelis killed in the last 7 years. This is what I would call a massacre.<br /><br />Yes, more Palestinians killed in 7 days than Israelis in 7 years, and yet no comments from President Bush or President-elect Obama. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice places blame solely on Hamas for holding Gazans "hostage," as if Israel's actions were beyond judgment. Would Rice ever respond to a Palestinian attack on Israelis by blaming the Israeli government for holding its citizens hostage with their army's violence?<br /><br />I am writing you from Jordan. I arrived the day after the attacks began. The day before they began, my friend and colleague Hannah had asked me to deliver a book of poetry to her friend Summer in Gaza, hoping I'd manage to make it on a Free Gaza boat. Since then, these boats bringing unarmed witnesses to Gaza (www.freegaza.org) have been attacked in international waters, and Summer's house has been blown to pieces, her brother almost died under the rubble, and her father desperately needs an operation but the hospitals are overflowing. In every home or shop I enter in Jordan, people are huddled watching the stories unfold: a family killed in their home, a university destroyed, a pharmacy blown to pieces, countless bloody babies screaming or worse, silent.<br /><br />I wonder if people in the US are also seeing the bodies and faces or, as I fear, only some rubble and angry Gazans. The day after attacks began, Israel's largest newspaper Yediot Aharonot covered almost the entire front page with the words, "500,000 Israelis Under Attack!" In smaller font, one could learn that in addition to 1 Israeli, 225 Palestinians had also been killed. It was surreal. Consider where you are getting your news, and what is not being told to you.<br /><br />For example, the stated purpose of the attack is to drive out Hamas, i.e. to kill anyone in Hamas and scare the rest into turning against Hamas. Not only does this tactic not work (brutality fosters violence), but it clearly fits the definition of terrorism: unlawful violence intended to frighten or coerce a people or government in order to achieve a political or ideological agenda. Israel is operating as a terrorist state in the true sense of the word.<br /><br />Hamas is also a terrorist organization by this definition, so it would be easy to simplify the conflict as "an endless cycle of violence" were there no historical context. But there is a context, and there are alternatives: Let us remember that Hamas was elected after an intentional shift away from violence towards a mainstream political agenda. Hamas stopped its attacks and began offering the Palestinian people an alternative to the corruption of Fatah. Hamas was democratically elected and immediately strangled by a US-led boycott, preventing the government from functioning. Hamas continued to hold to its one-sided ceasefire (totaling almost 2 years), meanwhile the US and Israel began to train and arm the opposition government, Fatah, which they preferred. In response to plans for a coup in Gaza (anti-democratic takeover by the US-supported opposition government), Hamas secured its control (again, democratically-elected whether or not we like them) over Gaza, and continues to offer Israel an indefinite ceasefire - no more violent attacks, period - if Israel simply complies with international law. The Arab League (comprised of 22 Arab nation members) has offered the same. These offers are dismissed by Israel and silenced in the US media. Israel says it has tried everything else, but it has not tried the most obvious: complying with international law and accepting repeated offers for a peaceful resolution.<br /><br />As events unfold in Gaza neither the media nor the people are silent here in Jordan, where people refuse to go on as if nothing were happening to their brothers and sisters (sometimes literally - more than 60% of Jordan's population is Palestinian refugees). Just one day after attacks began, the king of Jordan gave blood to send to Gaza and inspired hundreds of others to do the same (meanwhile President Bush was on vacation in Texas). Spontaneous demonstrations have erupted at least twice here in the capitol today, and thousands are protesting in various major cities around the Middle East and around the world.<br /><br />Please, wherever you are, do something. Write a letter to the editor. Get a large group to inundate your congressperson at once. Protest! There are demonstrations being organized around the US. If there isn't one happening near you, then do what I would do: buy a poster-board and large marker and write something on it ("Gazans Are People Too," "Massacre in Gaza: Silence is Complicity," "Our Weapons Are Killing Palestinian Children," or anything you can think of). Go outside and stand on a busy corner with it.<br /><br />Force others to confront the reality. Talk to people, invite them to join you. People around the world are empowered enough to take to the streets; we have no excuse not to. The time is now."<br /></span></blockquote></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">What you can do to help Gaza:</span></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">* Sign the Council on Islamic Relations (CAIR)'s Gaza Peace and Justice Petition</span> (<a href="http://petition.cair.com/">click here</a>)<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">* Send an e-mail to President-elect Obama. Go to </span><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" href="http://change.gov/">change.gov</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">. Make "Gaza"</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> the subject.</span> (<a href="http://change.gov/">click here</a>)<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">* Make a donation to</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Islamic Relief USA.</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><span>(<a href="http://www.irw.org/">click here</a>) or the American Near East Refugee Aid (<a href="http://www.anera.org/">click here</a>)</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />Learn about the ongoing siege in Gaza:<br /></span><span><a href="http://www.freegaza.org/">Free Gaza</a></span><a href="http://www.freegaza.org/"><span style="display: block;" id="formatbar_Buttons"><span class="on down" style="display: block;" id="formatbar_CreateLink" title="Link" onmouseover="ButtonHoverOn(this);" onmouseout="ButtonHoverOff(this);" onmouseup="" onmousedown="CheckFormatting(event);FormatbarButton('richeditorframe', this, 8);ButtonMouseDown(this);"></span></span></a><span><a href="http://gazasiege.org/">Gaza Siege</a><br /></span><a href="http://www.adc.org/">American-Arab Anti Discrimination Committee</a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read these articles: </span><br /><a href="http://www.startribune.com/yourvoices/37129324.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUdcOy9cP3DieyckcUsI">Beyond The Hurricane of Propaganda</a><br /><a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/cloughley01052009.html">Israel is Immune From Criticism</a><br /><a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/war_on_gaza/2009/01/20091585448204690.html">In the U.S. Gaza is a Different War</a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />News:<br /></span><span><a href="http://twitter.com/AJGaza">Al-Jazeera's Gaza Twitter page</a></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><a href="http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/"><span>Palestine Monitor</span></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><span><a href="http://www.freegaza.org/index.php?language=EN&module=latest_news">Free Gaza news</a><br /><a href="http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php">Ma'an News Agency</a><br /><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gaza">guardian.co.uk gaza</a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Blogs about Gaza:</span><br /><a href="http://tabulagaza.blogspot.com/">Tabula Gaza<br /></a><a href="http://a-mother-from-gaza.blogspot.com/">A Mother From Gaza</a><br /><a href="http://annies-letters.blogspot.com/">annie's letters</a><br /><a href="http://angryarab.blogspot.com/">The Angry Arab News Service</a><br /><a href="http://jewssansfrontieres.blogspot.com/">Jews San Frontieres</a><br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Links on Palestine: </span><br /><a href="http://www.stopthewall.org/">http://www.stopthewall.org/</a><a href="http://www.ifamericansknew.org/history/maps.html"><br />If America Only Knew</a><br /><a href="http://www.startribune.com/yourvoices/37129324.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUdcOy9cP3DieyckcUsI">Beyond The Hurricane of Propaganda</a><br /><a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6604775898578139565">Peace in the Promised Land (video)</a><a href="http://www.allaboutpalestine.com/origin_of_conflict.html#top"><br />Origins of the Palestine-Israel conflict</a><br /><a href="http://www.passia.org/palestine_facts/MAPS/Landownership.html">Palestine maps</a><br /><a href="http://www.kinghussein.gov.jo/his_palestine.html">The Tragedy of Palestine</a><span><br /></span><a href="http://coalitionforpalestinianrights.wordpress.com/"><span>Coalition for Palestinian rights </span></a><br /><a href="http://www.pchrgaza.org/"> Palestinian Centre for Human Rights</a><br /><a href="http://palestinethinktank.com/">Palestine Think Tank</a>treehouse party.................http://www.blogger.com/profile/16871912058680187318noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8274463696966527510.post-74865917282373581552008-12-21T19:28:00.002-06:002008-12-21T19:29:02.253-06:00happy winter solstice<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUuhOUml8niJRHcIKJgdRfkBP3ZFa6GcXetiGjCIPJNhUXNZf225XP5WeZLVQVLgGN4v_iOOvyAjtE5-ZToYfben69pT3DBptwWwgipAlhDXhgs7v-RHTpXwOKgCU9N7hOWXD_d9H4Favk/s1600-h/2164115371_c57a55a402.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUuhOUml8niJRHcIKJgdRfkBP3ZFa6GcXetiGjCIPJNhUXNZf225XP5WeZLVQVLgGN4v_iOOvyAjtE5-ZToYfben69pT3DBptwWwgipAlhDXhgs7v-RHTpXwOKgCU9N7hOWXD_d9H4Favk/s320/2164115371_c57a55a402.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282420380676794338" border="0" /></a>treehouse party.................http://www.blogger.com/profile/16871912058680187318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8274463696966527510.post-58796929510301923832008-12-01T21:39:00.020-06:002008-12-03T21:24:37.184-06:00make a winter window box<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX_Pf_pYPrhHHXLvPKs6mRvvXLDQ30s1IFqvP8_iYqQvNguyj9M-mmGSATexyFSC5EWjwaVr4rK4D2NE7MVYImDq6-ewJneK9cQiaByoiBaq_m86fAbxmRQEvRCuKyj0DXFe2nf6-2ClRB/s1600-h/IMG_6638.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 233px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX_Pf_pYPrhHHXLvPKs6mRvvXLDQ30s1IFqvP8_iYqQvNguyj9M-mmGSATexyFSC5EWjwaVr4rK4D2NE7MVYImDq6-ewJneK9cQiaByoiBaq_m86fAbxmRQEvRCuKyj0DXFe2nf6-2ClRB/s320/IMG_6638.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275364215495989570" border="0" /></a>Summer has passed but it doesn't mean that your window boxes need to be empty. You can use a window box or plant container to make a winter arrangement. Use evergreens and dried flowers that are left over from the garden. If you have evergreens in your yard wait to prune until the late fall or winter and use the cuttings in your arrangement. If you don't have access to evergreens, you can buy evergreens at a garden center. I was able to buy discarded evergreen branches from Christmas trees for sale from the local garden center for under two dollars. A commonly used item in winter arrangements is spruce tops, which are expensive and sometimes hard to find. I've seen spruce tops priced at $2.99 each for a bundle for $20 to $30. If you are on a budget this can be expensive. You could easily spend a lot of money using spruce tops.<br /><br />For my winter arrangements I purchased four spruce tops for about $12. I also picked up discarded evergreens at the local garden center for two dollars, purchased a beautiful winter green bundle, and used materials from the yard or garden. I pruned dogwood from my parents backyard. If you buy dogwood it's about $10 for a small bundle. If you don't have access to dogwood try any hardwood branch clippings. Or use dried flowers or other materials you find interesting. This is your design. It doesn't have to look like something from a magazine.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcnldtcZEF8N-fKOZkUFtmvmf84wOlO5PFHV2j8jFtzg2tqX1Zot7S_zX33hFgJUK31LS2rB7ZlRlTiQRdYb2kuliUFyA6S7rhd0AVp_FoyBVXaiEGYxMyU5BuoU9c1GkIDqUBz14CLoC3/s1600-h/IMG_6623_1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 212px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcnldtcZEF8N-fKOZkUFtmvmf84wOlO5PFHV2j8jFtzg2tqX1Zot7S_zX33hFgJUK31LS2rB7ZlRlTiQRdYb2kuliUFyA6S7rhd0AVp_FoyBVXaiEGYxMyU5BuoU9c1GkIDqUBz14CLoC3/s320/IMG_6623_1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275364205083875394" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5K4RIrD67e-03XM5GGilhHh_tELht2skHpY2wBcZl6Nglmdl-BMXCsFIE2KIBWJDjoXWjHPkK17cBcj3Gr7mBYOE4xbkG7_ftqrk6LvQpL0P02-FgwzOAngp0IeA4p3hXsvzHsWUQTU2D/s1600-h/winter+flower+pot.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 186px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5K4RIrD67e-03XM5GGilhHh_tELht2skHpY2wBcZl6Nglmdl-BMXCsFIE2KIBWJDjoXWjHPkK17cBcj3Gr7mBYOE4xbkG7_ftqrk6LvQpL0P02-FgwzOAngp0IeA4p3hXsvzHsWUQTU2D/s320/winter+flower+pot.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275363694387788738" border="0" /></a>This is a "functional" arrangement. I used dried flowers from the garden and oak branches discarded from my neighbor. Last year I made an arrangement like this. I used flower heads from purple cone flowers, heath aster, false sunflower, back eyed susan, and hyssop. The dried plants self seeded and in the spring the flowers spread. Throughout the winter birds feed from the seed heads. It may not be the most beautiful arrangement but it works to spread flowers in the garden.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyyNWUvx-5NibcPpzYekZB2KI50g8R-Lfgntq6mjrsrDuSuOwDacD-6YYsDGsqc7w-tI4moIl5w0-WRmqdP9T2i4SWjrBVojoXGj_VSq57BdPZdcrACigTF8rCPou4PyRTFoJqLxfpjOLd/s1600-h/containers+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 226px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyyNWUvx-5NibcPpzYekZB2KI50g8R-Lfgntq6mjrsrDuSuOwDacD-6YYsDGsqc7w-tI4moIl5w0-WRmqdP9T2i4SWjrBVojoXGj_VSq57BdPZdcrACigTF8rCPou4PyRTFoJqLxfpjOLd/s320/containers+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275362851403644610" border="0" /></a>The container on the left has a spruce top, white cedar, white pine, spruce, and oak branches. The container on the left has dogwood, white cedar, white pine, oak branches, and eucalyptus. To make this, put the dogwood in the center in a bundle. The placed in white pine and draped it over the edge. Then I used white cedar to break up the white pine. Then I added a sprig of eucalyptus and filled it in with oak branches for some added color.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2YYneXiU3Luy956i6JldvMsSmRBI0USi2lukmN2SYF3YnOPrLgZZvyYIflpPsnUlpXPsQp67lBadnYve5vweEOhcE4-viGE6EKzGXo7d9pc4GTl8HCs4z9FEswug83T4mGDO_nzkavx1P/s1600-h/materials.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 144px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2YYneXiU3Luy956i6JldvMsSmRBI0USi2lukmN2SYF3YnOPrLgZZvyYIflpPsnUlpXPsQp67lBadnYve5vweEOhcE4-viGE6EKzGXo7d9pc4GTl8HCs4z9FEswug83T4mGDO_nzkavx1P/s320/materials.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275034355905725842" border="0" /></a>Materials used: blue spruce, white cedar, dogwood, spruce tops, and white pine<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Possible materials:<br />* Spruce tops, blue spruce branches, white cedar branches, white pine, and evergreen branches<br />* Evergreen branches<br />* Dogwood branches or small tree branches (lengths of 5' and under)<br />* Dried flowers<br />* Window box or container. Use containers from summer plants. Next spring add the soil to a compost or garden soil.<br />* Anything you find interesting, pine cones, wheel spokes, found objects, etc.<br /><br />Instructions<br />* Use a container that already has soil in it. You can use containers from a garden. It's better if you can do this before the soil in the container is frozen. If it's frozen, bring the container indoors or to a warm place to soften the soil.<br />* Put dogwood, twigs, or tall items in the center. Dig a small hole in the soil to place twigs or dogwood. Use can use wire to bind the twigs together and place in the hole.<br />* Put evergreen branches in to the edges of the container.<br />* Fill in the rest of the container with evergreens and other materials.<br /></div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE_mqbIf6686ZA7fwDc0ugsAHSko_65BbYGiAjg_J4M2Z5kwYI_jJYqqodjFKPzPIMWpmnrYmn0RqzK0fi0UpBJZYUVZjJ4O0J0ob5ip0-AYOgzIWr3wi64qCKq3rbKLyn3qPyLMIGZya-/s1600-h/materials+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 166px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE_mqbIf6686ZA7fwDc0ugsAHSko_65BbYGiAjg_J4M2Z5kwYI_jJYqqodjFKPzPIMWpmnrYmn0RqzK0fi0UpBJZYUVZjJ4O0J0ob5ip0-AYOgzIWr3wi64qCKq3rbKLyn3qPyLMIGZya-/s320/materials+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275361298285442626" border="0" /></a>An evergreen bundle from <a href="http://www.motherearthgarden.com/">Mother Earth Garden</a> (left)<br />White pine and dogwood (right)<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9KEDL9qE5dyNK1_0kGqdrryDbuMki_yeApzRWJ3BQ7wFTqUHF_md9SCQaJH7K7jDus7slepoDZYo4ot0cQu3VAGKsMg84zthqja7OKAhrGP13Bl9Cb_JSeEtrQ3p-KtqWhGkgoWQKwTfU/s1600-h/IMG_6557.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 249px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9KEDL9qE5dyNK1_0kGqdrryDbuMki_yeApzRWJ3BQ7wFTqUHF_md9SCQaJH7K7jDus7slepoDZYo4ot0cQu3VAGKsMg84zthqja7OKAhrGP13Bl9Cb_JSeEtrQ3p-KtqWhGkgoWQKwTfU/s320/IMG_6557.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275032787426419954" border="0" /></a>Benny inspecting the materials<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtTx3YV4MesKf-_qd8OoPzKm6VdZQkSuyzy3in4MsNOT5v9ste2QJQKaez4qEwF0fbbGtIqf90IYHzWeFWr2XKumBjgHHP9Mr_w2rSttSB1HAHS9Zq-0k2MLldIa68wVKwWdNCq8ggRhcF/s1600-h/Untitled+Image+5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 222px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtTx3YV4MesKf-_qd8OoPzKm6VdZQkSuyzy3in4MsNOT5v9ste2QJQKaez4qEwF0fbbGtIqf90IYHzWeFWr2XKumBjgHHP9Mr_w2rSttSB1HAHS9Zq-0k2MLldIa68wVKwWdNCq8ggRhcF/s320/Untitled+Image+5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275361987205011330" border="0" /></a>Two finished winter arrangements<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Some how to resources and ideas:<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/homegarden/34019129.html?elr=">Inside Out: A winter window box, Star Tribune</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.cottageliving.com/cottage/gardens/article/0,21135,1536124,00.html">Winter window boxes, Cottage Living</a><br /><br /><a href="http://ezinearticles.com/?Winter-Window-Box-Ideas---Holiday-Decorating&id=1675932">Winter Window Box Ideas, ezine articles</a><br /><br /></div><br /></div><br /></div>treehouse party.................http://www.blogger.com/profile/16871912058680187318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8274463696966527510.post-10861894588814207992008-11-24T21:09:00.015-06:002008-11-25T12:30:21.955-06:00i spy a pine siskin<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp_mZyegWqQUmnm3EFz_DF7Tcn2e0kBUu4Vk09NIFD3pmvSz0l_xU3L4n2yFgNu316mZv8h2h49EelH22JyU4ahylS8ZfkdKX47g__JJv0CWrWKtS1gZdFV_xYY_KwnOg7nUqD6JpI_hyphenhyphenE/s1600-h/image.aspx.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 160px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp_mZyegWqQUmnm3EFz_DF7Tcn2e0kBUu4Vk09NIFD3pmvSz0l_xU3L4n2yFgNu316mZv8h2h49EelH22JyU4ahylS8ZfkdKX47g__JJv0CWrWKtS1gZdFV_xYY_KwnOg7nUqD6JpI_hyphenhyphenE/s200/image.aspx.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272430791970887602" border="0" /></a>There have been <a href="http://bnwilson.com/2008/11/23/pine-siskin-irruption/">reports</a> of a Pine Siskin irruption in the Twin Cities. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_Siskin">Pine Siskins</a> are small finches. "Adults are brown on the upperparts and pale on the underparts, with heavy streaking throughout. They have a short forked tail. They have yellow patches in their wings and tail, not always visible; otherwise, it appears to be a very small streaked sparrow." Their breeding grounds are in Canada, Alaska, and the northern parts of the U.S. They migrate southward in winter.<br /><br />Pine Siskins have recently been reported in Minnesota. A little over a week ago, I saw a flock a of 15 to 20 feeding on white cedar cones in our yard. I've waited years to see these "winter" finches. Every winter in Minnesota there have been reports of siskins and red polls and this is a first time sighting for me.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgejq08TLyG5GxOeEw1A5Fy7JlDXNnNJDHVIdQYG0H0s0PnpyAouSL1ysQwDsDQLFizzKcBSmokkAVv_OvT3MZAtPP3QtiWm8Oowo1cKSsegW9s7KedK5GQXd-Bxb0r6Nf3Ja5JnfkMmRNf/s1600-h/pine+siskin_3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 306px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgejq08TLyG5GxOeEw1A5Fy7JlDXNnNJDHVIdQYG0H0s0PnpyAouSL1ysQwDsDQLFizzKcBSmokkAVv_OvT3MZAtPP3QtiWm8Oowo1cKSsegW9s7KedK5GQXd-Bxb0r6Nf3Ja5JnfkMmRNf/s320/pine+siskin_3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272430523565791010" border="0" /></a>A Pine Siskin feeding at the top of the tree.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLVLypefLR3XzCXBqaHcrbWRzR2omMZ5FRLq9u_rKrBXh7YId9dDKab0Nyfg5RZ-pdx6YQD1z70CH4ZLjIZrzcx-QLbsbw5M1U_3a62lyjpiN5jv2KPgHT463zJr0AfygRvbFn-ysizRoq/s1600-h/pine+siskin_2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 318px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLVLypefLR3XzCXBqaHcrbWRzR2omMZ5FRLq9u_rKrBXh7YId9dDKab0Nyfg5RZ-pdx6YQD1z70CH4ZLjIZrzcx-QLbsbw5M1U_3a62lyjpiN5jv2KPgHT463zJr0AfygRvbFn-ysizRoq/s320/pine+siskin_2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272430439889184146" border="0" /></a>A Pine Siskin, in the center of the photo, feeding.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzE-QozlsyrUiduKqDaFet8J8XZeH3QD8YbNYwYVYHPyTLN6jhB0oWyN2zckA50w1XfbGMtcW3-s8ByJj4-x-nvBuSD9R4KAMLxA-X0JbsyzJdRu7DxHjtkefoQPKPW_teMHTJsVlCIlBL/s1600-h/pine+siskin_1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 238px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzE-QozlsyrUiduKqDaFet8J8XZeH3QD8YbNYwYVYHPyTLN6jhB0oWyN2zckA50w1XfbGMtcW3-s8ByJj4-x-nvBuSD9R4KAMLxA-X0JbsyzJdRu7DxHjtkefoQPKPW_teMHTJsVlCIlBL/s320/pine+siskin_1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272430319970500658" border="0" /></a>It's difficult to see in the photo but there are four Pine Siskins in the tree.<br /><br /><br /></div>treehouse party.................http://www.blogger.com/profile/16871912058680187318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8274463696966527510.post-64462103359325730182008-11-21T19:44:00.009-06:002008-11-21T20:09:08.195-06:00a bitter sweet electionOn the sweet side we can say "President-elect Obama." On the other "bitter pill" side, California passed Proposition 8, social conservatives <a href="http://dumpbachmann.blogspot.com/">Michele Bachmann</a> and Erik Paulsen were elected to congress in Minnesota, and the Franken Coleman race for a senate is still undecided. The election recount for that race started yesterday.<br /><br />Obama supporters were elated that Obama won the election. People danced and partied in the streets of Minneapolis and all over the country. After election night, reality slapped us in the face. Proposition eight passed in California. Of all the states, I never thought California would pass a constitutional amendment that declared that marriage can only be between a man an a woman. It happened. And now people are rightly protesting the vote. Conservatives have deemed this as "anarchy." Where have we heard this before?<br /><br />As for Minnesota politics, how did this happen? How did Bachmann get re-elected after her anti-american diatribe on MSNCB? Did the DFL choose the wrong candidates? Is the DFL primary process dysfunctional? I am baffled at how Bachmann and Paulsen got elected. Other than their district's are in "conservativeville" outside the Twin Cities proper. In Bachmann's pre-election appearance on MSNBC's show "Hardball," she accused Obama and several liberal, leftists, as "anti-American." She said the news media should investigate this, "Are they pro-America or anti-America?" After seeing this I was waiting for that knock on my door, to be taken away for questioning about my "anti-American" views. Obama will be president, but Minnesota is still stuck with Michele Bachmann for two years. At least it's not six years.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Links:</span><br /><a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1400/t/900/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=1746">Sign the petition against Prop 8</a><br /><br />Doug Grow over at Minn Post wrote an excellent article on how the Minnesota DFL screwed up some key elections in Minnesota. Read it, <a href="http://www.minnpost.com/stories/2008/11/06/4416/dfl_knows_it_blew_a_big_opportunity_tuesday_when_voters_jilted_the_partys_expensive_suitors">click here</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.noonprop8.com/">Vote NO on Prop 8</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.utne.com/2008-11-05/Politics/After-Obama-Victory-Dancing-in-the-Streets.aspx?blogid=30">After Obama Victory, Dancing in the Streets</a> (Minneapolis)<br /><br /><a href="http://minnesotaindependent.com/16468/mnindy-video-obama-win-prompts-nighttime-dance-party-in-the-streets-of-minneapolis">MnIndy Video: Obama win prompts nighttime dance-party in the streets of Minneapolis</a>treehouse party.................http://www.blogger.com/profile/16871912058680187318noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8274463696966527510.post-71925641763184271752008-10-30T12:36:00.004-05:002008-10-30T19:13:28.248-05:00vote obamaTreehouse party has endorsed <a href="http://www.barackobama.com/">Barack Obama</a> for president. If you are concerned about your taxes, check out the <a href="http://taxcut.barackobama.com/">Obama-Biden Tax Calculator</a> and see how you will do financially under each administration.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_J8QfqiVmBu_a4uzkj_IqemHPo5LKC0iS6iwtAFEVE3rryI_3BfmO6YO0pG_mv0cIE0wgNCTYFiJfA9l8ze1OivIcOICeKsZ9tRIS_rOpIWzDf_ycgHOVLbq6bH5vriu77tubWJg_lJzn/s1600-h/barack-is-hope.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_J8QfqiVmBu_a4uzkj_IqemHPo5LKC0iS6iwtAFEVE3rryI_3BfmO6YO0pG_mv0cIE0wgNCTYFiJfA9l8ze1OivIcOICeKsZ9tRIS_rOpIWzDf_ycgHOVLbq6bH5vriu77tubWJg_lJzn/s320/barack-is-hope.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263002718830579266" border="0" /></a><br />If you are a resident of the Twin Cities (Minnesota) then check out the <a href="http://www.theballot.org/attachments/0000/1279/">Twin Cities voter cheat sheet</a>.treehouse party.................http://www.blogger.com/profile/16871912058680187318noreply@blogger.com0