Photo Caption Contest Runoff--We Have a Winner

It was a really close race, but Dessert Survivor won the photo caption contest by one vote with his entry: "Calm down, Alice. We are not lost. See, there is the sign for the Wisconsin Historical Overlook Area." Congratulations! You'll be receiving the $25 gift certificate to Olive Garden. I hope you take your lovely wife with you when you go!

Thanks to everyone who entered, voted, and commented! It was fun doing it a little differently this time. The poll is below if you want to see the results. Stay tuned for more contests!

Thanks for entering Tuesday's Photo Caption Contest! It's been fun reading your entries. My husband helped me narrow the entries down but I'm having trouble making up my mind. So I need your help! Vote for your favorite:

Federal Land and Population Change

If I had to pick a different profession, I might choose geographer. I love looking at maps, and it is amazing how much they can tell us. Take the map above, for instance. I've seen it in two different places (including this one) in the last two weeks, and I think it's one of the coolest maps around and just had to share it with you. The map shows how much of each state is owned by the federal government. (To see a larger version of the map, just click on it.)

I used to think that Alaska had the most federally-owned land, but it doesn't, it's in second place. The top five states are:

1. Nevada - 84.5%

2. Alaska - 69.1%

3. Utah - 57.4%

4. Oregon - 53.1%

5. Idaho - 50.1%

Did you notice that all those numbers are over 50 percent? The government manages more than half the land in each of those states! The federal government is caretaker for nearly one-third of the land in the entire U.S. The land is managed in a number of different ways, although I found it amazingly hard to find info on the internet about amounts of land that different agencies manage. Here are some statistics from my trusty America's Federal Lands insert in the National Geographic Magazine from 1982. I've had it up on my wall for years. 

The Department of Interior manages about 70 percent of federal land, with the Bureau of Land Management responsible for over 40 percent, and the Fish and Wildlife Service,  National Park Service, and Bureau of Indian Affairs each managing about 10 percent. The Department of Agriculture oversees about 25 percent of public lands via the U.S. Forest Service. And finally, the Department of Defense holds the reins for about three percent of federal lands, while the remainder is an unspecified 'other'. 

The map above also makes it obvious that the bulk of the federally owned land is in the western United States. Considering the pattern of settlement in the U.S., this makes sense. Now something that doesn't make quite so much sense, at least in the terms of where private land is available: where the population is growing in the U.S. The map below (found at this website) shows which states are growing the most in darker shades of blue (again, click on the map to see it larger).

The number one state for population growth between 1990 and 2005? Why Nevada is number 1 again!

Here are the top five states gaining population:

1. Nevada - 101%

2. Arizona -62%

3. Utah -43%

4. Idaho -42%

5. Colorado -42%

Three states are in both lists, Nevada, Utah, and Idaho. Why are people moving to states that have so little private land? Perhaps those large swaths of public land are part of the appeal--plenty of space to go and play. Maybe North Dakota, the only state with a negative growth rate, just needs to make more of its land revert to federal management and they will see large population growth. Okay, that's not likely to happen anytime soon, but perhaps Nevada can find some other ways to be number one.

Leaf Piles

Don't forget the photo caption contest below--entries due by Thursday 6 p.m. PDT.

As you can see from the above photo, our yard is full of leaves. And it also contains a little boy trying to mount his puppy. But we'll ignore that for the moment. We have trees all around the yard. The catalpas lost their leaves first, then the elms and silver poplars. The Lombardy poplars and apricot trees still have some leaves hanging on.

I raked lots of big piles of leaves. There's something a little odd about this one--can you tell?

Desert Boy has discovered he loves to be covered up with leaves. He just laughs and laughs.

Here he is emerging.

And now he's free!

After I rake the piles, I put them in the back of the truck and drive down to the meadow, where I dump them in a pile for the deer and cows to eat.

It looks like a fun pile to jump into, doesn't it? So I did, and landed on a sharp stick. Somehow leaf piles are always a lot more fun as a kid.

Photo Caption Contest-November

It's that time again, time to see how creative you are and to try your luck for a fun prize. Today's photo shows an interesting sign. It's just begging for a caption. Search your brain for an innovative answer, then post it in the comments below by Thursday, 6 p.m. Pacific time. Winner will be announced on Friday. One entry per person, leave your name or initials so I know who you are.

And the prize? It's the best one yet, a $25 gift card to The Olive Garden. Oh my gosh, The Olive Garden is one of my all-time favorite restaurants. If you haven't eaten there, you should try it. And if you have eaten there, it's time to go back, especially now that we're entering the busy holidays and you don't have time to cook for yourself. I'd use it myself, but it's three hours to our nearest Olive Garden, and I don't have time to go right now. 

So put on your thinking cap and give it a try! And if you have any photos of interesting signs, you can email them to me at desertsurvivor@live.com and I'll try to have a post about fun signs in the near future. 

Desert Destination: Wild Horse Roundup

My husband told me that there was a wild horse roundup going on in a nearby mountain range,  so yesterday we took a little drive to see what was going on. What can I say, I'm a sucker for photographic opportunities.

As mentioned in a previous post, "wild horse" is a loosely used term. These horses are descendants of horses that escaped domestication, so technically they are feral horses, but the term wild horses is usually the one used. Wild horses are found throughout the western United States. While researching them, I was surprised by just how many there are. Many are found on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land, and the BLM has an extensive Wild Horse and Burro Program to manage them.

 
The BLM has designated 270 Herd Management Areas (HMA) in ten western states. Click on the map above to see a larger version. Each HMA has different objectives about type of horse to be managed for and size of the herd. These HMAs support approximately 33,000 wild horses and burros (BLM Fact Sheet). According to the BLM, this is 5,700 more wild horses and burros than can coexist with the other uses on those public lands, including grazing by native species like elk and deer. 

According to the BLM specialist I talked to, the wild horse populations often increase about 25% each year--so in about four years the herd can double in size. About every two to four years, the BLM or a contractor goes out to do a roundup to decrease the herd size. Without these roundups, the wild horses would simply overpopulate an area and there wouldn't be enough feed. The roundups bring wild horses to town so that they can be adopted.

Roundups are rather complicated, expensive operations. A holding corral needs to be set up so that the horses that have been captured have a safe place to stay until trucks come to take them away. A helicopter is often used to do the roundup. It places metal gates in a semi-circle, then adds wings to the semicircle, making a wide chute so that the horses will run down the chute and then be trapped in the semicircle. As the helicopter starts moving the wild horses towards the chute, a couple domestic horses will lead the way, and wild horses will follow them in. The gates are closed, and the wild horses are loaded onto trailers and taken to the holding corral, where they are separated by sex.

These are some of the extra gates that can be used for the corral that the helicopter sets up. The cost for managing the BLM wild horse and burro project in fiscal year 2007 was more than $38 million (BLM fact sheet).

Here are some of the beautiful horses that have been captured. They are part of the Sulphur Herd Management Area, and apparently have quite a bit of Spanish blood in them. This makes them highly desired by some buyers, partly because only three wild herds have this characteristic. This Spanish blood is traced back to horses that the first Spanish explorers brought with them in the 1500s.

The horses in this herd come in a variety of colors, from dun, buckskin, grulla, bay, black, sorrel, palomino, and various roans (blue, strawberry, red).

Other characteristics include ears that curve in like a bird's beak, a dorsal stripe, bi-colored mane and tail, tiger-striped legs, and occasional chest barring (BLM info sheet).

This foal started drinking off any mare that would let her. Many of the mares and foals had paired up after an evening in the holding corral, but a couple still were wandering about.

Here's the hay truck to keep the horses well fed. By yesterday morning they had gathered more than 200 wild horses. The desired herd size is 135-180, so clearly the population is far above what it should be. The BLM specialist estimated that more than 500 might be in the HMA.

The horses will be taken to an adoption facility, where they will be checked out by a veterinarian, given vaccinations, dewormed, and have a blood sample taken. Some of the horses will be chosen to be returned to the herd to maintain the genetic characteristics that are deemed desirable. The others will be prepared for adoption, which will occur about a month after they've been captured.

According to the BLM specialist, only about 50-60% of the young horses will be adopted at the first facility. The ones that are left will be shipped further east, and eventually most of the horses from this herd are adopted. Extra horses from other herds are often not so fortunate.

Thinking about the number of horses in just this one herd management area roundup multiplied by the numerous herd management areas boggles my mind. There are a lot of horses up for adoption every year, and the number won't slow down any time soon. The number of people adopting horses has decreased for a number of reasons: higher fuel and feed costs, urban sprawl, and many horse lovers already have as many horses as they can afford. 

What happens to the left over horses? Some are offered for sale, while others are taken to BLM long-term holding facilities, where our tax dollars go to pay for these horses to graze on public lands until they die, usually 10 to 25 years after they are placed there. So many horses are being taken to these areas that the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program has the majority of its budget going to these holding facilities, which means less money going for the roundups and adoptions. If wild horses aren't rounded up, major ecological damage will result, with water holes trampled, insufficient feed for native animals, and excessive erosion. Nevertheless, the 1971 Wild Horse and Burro Act puts many limitations on what can be done with wild horses. This is a situation that needs some more attention and creative answers. 

Desert Boy's Fashion Statement

Desert Boy is getting old enough so that he likes to make some of his own decisions. While I was putting clothes away yesterday, he found some clothes he wanted to put on---his airplane pajamas and winter boots. He was very happy when I dressed him in this stunning attire.

Until he got distracted by a book. He loves books. Fortunately he usually doesn't take too many books off the bookshelf at the same time. We're still working on the concept of putting books back on the bookshelf.

Desert Boy is trying a James Bond getaway move. Apparently the boots give him some extra power and agility. 

But then he reconsiders and decides the best way to get what he want is to strut his stuff unabashedly. Go Desert Boy, you're ready for the runway. (pun definitely intended)

p.s. Be sure to check back on Tuesday for a caption contest with a great prize. And tomorrow is a fun desert destination.

School Auction

Every autumn the local schools hold a Harvest Festival with an auction as a fundraiser. People donate all sorts of different things, so the first thing you have to do when arriving at the school hall is cruise the tables of goodies to decide what you're going to bid on. There was quite an array this year, ranging from kids' toys to baked goods to original artwork to a crock pot and deer antler fireplace tools.

Before the bidding begins, everyone partakes of a potluck. I forgot to take a picture of the wonderful array of food, probably because I was the first one in line for the food. I really was. My excuse was that I wanted to get food quickly for Desert Boy so he would eat and behave. The reality was he only would eat desserts and he wanted to run around with the other kids.

Here are a couple nice ladies enjoying the delicious food. I just have to include their picture so if they look at the blog they can yell at me.

I was the only one taking pictures, so the kids had fun making faces for me and then wanting to see how the picture turned out. The wonder of digital cameras.

An original way to wear a headband.

Making crazy faces.

And then the auction began. I love bidding, it's so fun trying to figure out how high the other person or people are willing to bid. And because the money is all going to a good cause, it's okay to bid a little higher than you might otherwise. Apparently a lot of other people like to bid, too, because we had some fun little competitions.

My husband followed Desert Boy around as he tried to ransack the place, allowing me to bid on whatever I wanted. And I saw something that looked really neat, made right here in our valley, and I won the bid.

Here it is, a horseshoe lamp. The horseshoes are even from a couple local horses, so their memories will be preserved. It was a good night, and hopefully the funds raised will help the schools get all the supplies they need.

Just wondering, what's your favorite object you've bought at an auction?

The Old, Abandoned Trail

One day while I was tromping through the woods, I came across this sign, "Trail not maintained for public use." Hmmm, what did that mean?  I figured that there was something important enough for someone to have built a trail there in the first place, even if no one was using it now.

So I did what anyone else would do and kept going.

Actually Henry took the lead, clearing the trail and ensuring my safety. Okay, probably not, but at least he was getting some exercise. 

The trail was really an old road, wide and easy to follow. My curiosity grew. A road meant that there might be something important ahead.

And then I saw this log off to the side of the old road, a rough-cut old log. It reminded me of a Lincoln log like the ones I used to play with in my grandma's basement. After we got done making all sorts of neat houses, we had fun catapulting the little lincoln logs all across the basement. She's probably still finding them in the corners.

On the other side of the old road was an honest to goodness Lincoln log cabin. The ends of the logs were notched so they would fit together. It was extremely cool. As you can see by the tree growing in the cabin, the roof fell in a really long time ago.

The scenery was nice, but why did someone build a home here? The answer was just a little further up the road. A big pile of dirt, a tailings pile, alerted me to a nearby mine. It turns out that they used to mine silver up this canyon. I'm always amazed at the really remote places people lived in the old days. Today modern vehicles shorten distances, but it still took nearly an hour to get to where I started hiking. In the old days, it would easily have been at least half a day in a wagon. These people were tough, not being able to pop into a convenience store to get some milk or eggs or ice cream when they ran out.

Seeing the old cabin made me appreciate what I usually take for granted. Maybe it's good to take the road less traveled every once in awhile.

Hot Tamales

Yesterday I heard a knock on the door in the evening. I opened it to find a friend seeing if I wanted any tamales. She had just made them and they were still hot. Of course I said YES! Tamales are one of my favorite foods. I developed a taste for them when I lived in New Mexico and a lady brought them to work everyday to sell. I ate so many tamales that summer that I think my Spanish improved just from ingesting Mexican food. I never got tired of them. In fact, long stretches often go by that I find myself tamale-less, and those are sad days. A good tamale just makes the day go better.

I peel back the warm corn husk to find the inviting corn meal inside. The smell is fabulous, my taste buds are salivating (if taste buds salivate), and I can't wait to devour the tamale.

Except I have some competition. Desert Boy loves tamales too, and he can eat an entire tamale by himself. I don't think a 23.5 pound toddler should be able to eat a whole tamale. He should leave at least half for me.

Fortunately I bought two dozen, so we have enough to get us through a couple days. Yum. I'm in tamale heaven.

Prescribed Fire

Yesterday this was the sight when I looked up at the mountain--lots of smoke rising into the air. If it seems a little late in the season to have a wildfire you're right, most of the wildland fires here occur from July through September, during monsoon season when we have a lot of dry lightning. This smoke is from a prescribed fire. Firefighters lit piles of slash on fire to reduce the fuel load in the woods. 

The idea of a prescribed fire is that the amount of fuel can be reduced safely, so that when a wildland fire occurs, it won't burn as hot and will be more controllable. Wildland fires used to occur a lot more often than they do now, probably because whenever we see smoke we (that's a societal we), tend to panic and want to make the smoke stop. As a result, in a lot of places throughout the West, the fuel load is so high that when a fire starts, it becomes a raging inferno and costs hundreds of thousands (or even millions) of dollars to put out. Spending a little more money setting prescribed fires in strategic locations will result in saving a lot of money trying to extinguish out-of-control fires.

Seeing the smoke up on the mountain brought back some memories for me.

Here's a different prescribed fire up on the mountain a few years ago. The firefighter (me) is wearing Nomex (flame retardant) pants and shirt, leather gloves, safety helmet, and leather boots. I'm carrying a drip torch, which allows fuel to be spread at a steady rate. 

Here's a safety meeting at the fire. Safety is of utmost concern at every fire. In order to have a prescribed fire, weather conditions have to be just right, enough fire-trained personnel have to be present including a burn boss (a person who has had additional training in setting and managing fires), and the paperwork all has to be signed.

Winter is a great time to have a prescribed fire, because the snow keeps the fire from spreading too far. The goal of this prescribed fire was to burn slash piles. The forest had been thinned a couple years earlier, and the wood stacked into large piles to dry out.

Having several piles rather than one enormous one helps keep the fire more controlled.

Nonetheless, there can be a little extra excitement from time to time, like this live tree catching on fire from the slash pile next to it. Not to worry, a firefighter is keeping a close eye on it.

Probably the best thing about being a firefighter is that you get to be close to fire and see the beauty of it. The colors are amazing, the heat is intense, and the smell takes you back to many evenings spent around the campfire.

Eventually the fire reduces the piles of wood to piles of ash surrounded by slightly melted snow. The next summer, the gaps in the forest will help slow or stop a wildland fire if it happens to occur there. If you're interested in learning more about wildland fire, check out the National Interagency Fire Center website.