There is not much going on today in Lakeway, so I thought we would have you all over to tour the garden. We are being catered by Pecan Square Cafe of Clarksville. Our entertainment is Shania Twain.
Out of coffee beans was the message on the machine. Time to switch from Columbian to French Roast. Filling the reservoir brought a tweak of excitement in anticipation of a new dark roast flavor. Sure enough, when the process is activated, the machine seems to be in a similar frame of mind. No hesitation, and within seconds, the 10 ounces of life-saving Elixer was delivered into the cup.
With a shaking hand, the cup reaches the mouth for the first sip of the unique blend. Slowly the brain picks up the cues of deep taste, aroma, and mind-altering chemical rush. Yes, indeed, this is heaven on Earth.
Sitting with the coffee and laptop and just starting to go through the day’s mail, there was a crash sound that seems like what a falling bus would sound like if it landed in the backyard. Why that sound is familiar is a piece of irony and a story for another time.
Getting up from my comfort and hazarding a look into the backyard, there was no surprise in seeing a big yellow iron bus buried up to the hubcaps in the turf. A sigh escaped my lips since it appears that an investigation would be necessary. “First finish the coffee” was an order from the brain department. A second or two after returning to my seat, the doorbell rings.
What the hell good is it to put a sign on the doorbell not to ring it when every Tom, Dick, and Harry ignores the sign? Theseare the thoughts as I pull Twiggy and Lucy from the ceiling. The front door requires a disarming procedure which takes a few minutes. The door finally gives way, and a stranger asks. “Have you seen a bus anywhere around here?”
“Elmer Fudd?” The question shoots out of my mouth before the brain can catch it. The answer is a surprise. The character declines to admit he is Elmer Fudd but hands me an envelope and tips his hunting hat. “That Waskely Wabbit took my bus, and if you see it or him, tell him he is on the menu for tonight.”
Rather than get involved, I thanked Elmer for the envelope and slowly shut the door. The bus will have to wait while the envelope receives full attention. No surprise, it is from Linda Hill with a message inside. The message reads. Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “iron(y).” Use “iron,” use “irony,” or use both. Use them any way you’d like. Bonus points if you use both. Have fun!
If you would like to have fun, just go to Linda’s blog and read how. Here is the link.
The Krejci dump before and after in Cuyahoga Valley – Chris Davis / National Park Service
When President Gerald Ford signed a bill creating the Cuyahoga National Recreation Area in Ohio in 1974, the site’s boundaries deliberately included a well-known local garbage dump, assuming it could be easily cleaned.
When the National Park Service (NPS) discovered a nearly-unmanageable chemical wasteland where even the water and soil were flammable, a decades-long cleanup effort converted it, at the polluters’ expense no less, into a vibrant marsh ecosystem with some of the highest biodiversity in the region.
“This was a toxic wasteland only a few decades ago. To find this diversity of species there today is remarkable,” said Ecologist for Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Chris Davis.
The story begins when the Krejci (krech-ee) family opened up a dump along a river between Akron and Cleveland in 1940. Before municipal waste management, people were responsible for their own waste disposal, and Krejci innocently offered them an out-of-the-way place to do it.
As the years went by, the 200-acre site, with 50 acres meant for landfilling, began accepting heavier and heavier waste until many of the Rust Belt’s biggest manufacturers began relying on Krejci for disposal of their most harmful chemicals.
Getting stuck with the bill
As the years passed, the Cuyahoga area became a National Recreation Area and eventually a national park—the only one in the Rust Belt states. However, visitors began getting sick, and when NPS members finally got wind of the severity of the situation at the dump, a 25-year cleanup process began.
NPS needed a lot of cash to lead the cleanup, so they nominated Shawn Mulligan, a former Assistant Attorney General for Colorado, as an attorney representing the NPS. Mulligan would pursue companies like Chevron, Ford, Federal Metal Co., and Chrysler for almost $50 million in damages to pay for the cleanup.
The case dragged on, and few of the EPA legal staff believed it would yield a positive result for them. Eventually, as the NPS reported in a 2016 magazine issue, Ford quietly took the NPS legal team aside and decided on a solution: let the Motor City mechanics pay for and organize the whole cleanup.
The cleanup begins
With offices and resources close at hand, Ford hired contractors to begin excavating the contaminated soils. Still, every inch further dug revealed more sludge—and even more dangerous carcinogens like polychlorinated biphenyls or polyaromatic hydrocarbons.
The rusted cars and barrels, the tires, and all the other waste and discarded machinery were cleared out from 2002 to 2012, along with 400,000 tons of contaminated dirt—equivalent to 20 feet of topsoil.
Once no more barrels were found sticking out of the ground, and soil samples were clear of containments, the ground was contoured to match the surrounding ecosystem, and several wetlands were built up on the 50-acre dumping site.
Krejci dump today
Today, indigenous plants have been restored, and natural wetlands and all the plant and animal species they support are thriving.
Park visitors who experience the full-summer landscape find themselves soaking up the vista of native wildflowers and grasses as they watch turtles sun themselves on floating logs and listen to the birds sing.
Ford has been involved the whole way, paying its debt to society to a tune of $29 million and ensuring that the grasses and vegetation grow undisturbed and that soil erosion is prevented.
“[The Krejci site] is now as clean as any natural area in the park,” Dickerson says. That’s something remarkable, considering what it was in 1985.”
“You can categorize wetlands, and these are right up there with a three and a four (the top rating for wetlands). They can sustain high levels of benthic communities and critters, and turtles. They can sustain life here. It’s a vibrant resource for them.”
The Good news here is when like-minded people tackle a problem, there can be a positive solution. Today’s JohnKu discusses dedication. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
In Keith’s words. “Using this photo (below) as inspiration, write a short story, flash fiction, scene, poem; anything, really; even just a caption for the photograph. Either put it (or a link to it) in a comment or email it to me at keithchanning@gmail.com before 6pm on Sunday (if you aren’t sure what the time is where I live, this link will tell you). If you post it on your own blog or site, a link to this page would be appreciated, but please do also mention it in a comment here.
Go on. You know you want to. Let your creativity and imagination soar. I shall display the entries next time.”
Here is the flag at half staff at the Lakeway city hall in memory of those who were senselessly murdered in Uvalde this week. Rather than a bus trip, we should all think about those who lost their lives. Comments are closed.
Staring at the coffee machine does little to hasten the machinations. Instead, it takes its sweet time and is not responsive to any attempt to intimidate a quicker cup. Then, finally, the black liquid begins to pour from the spout, followed by a creamy foam. The aroma hits the olfactories and stuns the central nervous system’s addictive sensuality.
“Drink it,” screams the pain-addled brain. Thinking that is a good idea, the cup moves jerkingly to the lips. The sip and sigh combo broadcast to the body a message to hold on for a few seconds more. At last, the warmth spreads from the stomach to all sensory points. The body politic is in rapture over the calming effects of caffeine.
At last, there is the notice of a trail of corn kernels leading across the backyard to a box-like contraption supported by a stick. Leaving the protection of the house, an investigation shows someone has set a trap. The stick is tied to a string that meanders off and under the gate. Most certainly, this situation will begin a trial of some magnitude.
It wasn’t long until a roadrunner arrived on the scene, picking up and eating the corn. A quick beep beep sound caused me to jump out of the way. The roadrunner didn’t seem to be worried about the box trap and went about eating all the corn inside. The string goes taut, and the roadrunner jumps out of the way as the stick flies toward the gate.
A quick beep beep, and the roadrunner disappears around the corner. An envelope from Linda Hill on the turf is obviously dropped by the bird. Inside is a message which reads:
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “trail/trial.” Use one, use both, use them any way you’d like. Bonus points if you use both. Have fun!
Right now, animal shelters all across our beautiful country are experiencing a crisis. There are continuously more strays and surrenders in need of care than they have room to comfortably accommodate. There are simply more dogs than adopters.
So when some first graders found out that the current lack of space was affecting their local Texas shelter, they did what came naturally to lend a helping hand – they broke out their crayons!
Facebook photo – Austin Animal Shelter
Smile-inducing sweetness is practically second nature to a child. So when the Austin Animal Center made it known to the public that they desperately needed help making space in their shelter, long-time dog lover, volunteer foster mom, and first-grade teacher, Dr. Victoria Zolli, felt inspired to share this with her students. Naturally, they were all extremely excited to help.
Facebook photo – Austin Animal Shelter
So, drawing inspiration from a teacher she heard about on the radio, Dr. Zolli helped her class create kennel cards to entice prospective dog parents to adopt or foster one of their long-stay pooches.
Her creative class wrote from the perspective of the dogs, and using their newly acquired persuasive writing skills, they combined characteristics from the pictures and short bios provided by the shelter.
Facebook photo – Austin Animal Shelter
The kennel cards turned out to be colorfully eye-catching, and the kids’ clever, candid writing was incredibly enticing. Hung above the kennels of the adoptable dog they described, the cards have delighted everyone lucky enough to lay their eyes upon them.
Their amusing childhood candor, combined with the apparent love shown for these sweet pups, made for an extremely endearing endeavor.
Facebook photo – Austin Animal Shelter
It would be incredibly hard to walk away from a kennel with one of these cards above it without giving the pup a second look or even a meet and greet – which is exactly what these students, and their teacher, had in mind.
Sometimes, the dogs that have languished in shelters the longest can find their forever homes after spending some time in the spotlight. These pups have been overlooked long enough. The adorable kennel cards are giving them the attention they so rightfully deserve, which increases the odds that they will finally find forever homes!
Facebook photo – Austin Animal Shelter
Great job, first graders from Chaparral Star Academy, and thanks for caring so much about the fantastic dogs waiting to be adopted at your local shelter.
The good news here is that children were able to relate to those animals who need a forever home which had to have enriched their perspectives on life. Today’s JohnKu talks about life perspectives. I hope you have a lovely weekend.
“Using this photo (below) as inspiration, write a short story, flash fiction, scene, poem; anything, really; even just a caption for the photograph. Either put it (or a link to it) in a comment or email it to me at keithchanning@gmail.com before 6pm on Sunday (if you aren’t sure what the time is where I live, this link will tell you). If you post it on your own blog or site, a link to this page would be appreciated, but please do also mention it in a comment here.
Go on. You know you want to. Let your creativity and imagination soar. I shall display the entries next time.”
