Dancing with Frogs – Pondering Life in General

September 20, 2014 by Sandy Jones

As we sat by the pond this morning marveling about how much water the pond is finally holding, I hopped inside to grab the camera.

Surprisingly enough, the frog stood still just long enough to let me get 6 great shots of him! I think this one just may be one of my masterpieces! Every time that you walk up to the pond, they all jump in! They are amazingly camouflaged with their heads green and the back part brown so that they appear to be leaves floating in the water. This is because if they don’t, the hawks will swoop down and snatch them from the “drink”!! They all sing at night. It is truly magnificent.

Pond Frog

Pond dynamics are wonderful! For 2 years we have been trying to keep water in the pond…you will remember The Pond Saga and associated video where our 6 year old grandson’s pond actually held water…how humiliating!

This month we are trying again to get the pond to hold water. We added several bags of clay and for the “piece-de-resistance” added 3 bags of concrete mix. Seems to have worked…for now. They say we need to add bentonite and that will be the next step.

We are eternal optomists!

Frog eating fly

A Hero – A passing thought

September 20, 2014 by Patrick Jones

As I stood in the hall of the Bourbon Missouri Elementary School, I noticed papers taped to the wall.

Outside of Ms. Harmon’s first grade class were all the papers of who their hero’s were.

On first thought, one might think that at the age of six or seven they would name a favorite Super Hero. You know, Batman, Superman, or even Spiderman but not so. Not one of the aforementioned characters were to be seen.

One student wrote that her hero was her father because he brought home a deer to eat.

Another wrote how their hero was a doctor who saved their life after the helicopter flight to the hospital.

Still yet, one wrote how his mother saved him from electricity.

No Super Hero’s at all. Each here was a person that the students interacted with each day.

At a first graders age, they understand who true hero’s are to them.

Remarkable.

The Hot Zone by Richard Preston – An Insight into the Terrifying History of the Ebola virus

September 18, 2014 by Sandy Jones

We watch the news daily about the horrifying effects of the current outbreak of the Ebola virus. It breaks my heart to see the happenings around the world in response to the outbreak. On the other hand, it gives me joy to see the art of science in action saving lives with new research. My training and expertise within the medical field makes me shudder to watch and read the CNN clip today about selling the blood of survivors on the black market. I cannot even explain to you the ramifications of this practice and what it could mean to the world. Pat and I have both read “The Hot Zone” by Richard Preston and highly recommend it to everyone to get a glimpse of the terror this virus could bring to the world. We both HIGHLY recommend this book. I read the book in one day and could not put it down, it was that moving. I am attaching the book picture that you can click on to take you to the Amazon Kindle location. My hope is that in some way this can be a wake up call for everyone on how this could be just the tip of the iceberg at this stage of the outbreak. May God Bless and keep you safe…Sandy Jones