Rivenrock Gardens Cactus Blog

~Neil Young~
‘Cortez the Killer’

He came dancing across the water
With his galleons and guns
Looking for the new world
In that palace in the sun.On the shore lay montezuma
With his coca leaves and pearls
In his halls he often wondered
With the secrets of the worlds.

And his subjects gathered round him
Like the leaves around a tree
In their clothes of many colors
For the angry gods to see.

And the women all were beautiful
And the men stood straight and strong
They offered life in sacrifice
So that others could go on.

Hate was just a legend
And war was never known
The people worked together
And they lifted many stones.

They carried them to the flatlands
And they died along the way
But they built up with their bare hands
What we still cant do today.

And I know shes living there
And she loves me to this day
I still cant remember when
Or how I lost my way.

He came dancing across the water
Cortez, Cortez
What a killer.

 

Here are some photos I took while in DC a half dozen years ago.

  This first one is a sideways view of ‘The Wall’, the dark polished granite reflecting the trees and lights of the National Mall, as well as the odd reflection from the Washington Memorial.

‘More than a Name on a Wall’
~Statler Bothers~

I saw her from a distance
As she walked up to the wall
in her hand she held some flowers
as her tears began to fall
and she took out pen and paper
as to trace her memories
and she looked up to heaven
and the words she said were these…She said Lord my boy was special,
and he meant so much to me
and Oh I’d love to see him
just one more time you see
All I have are the memories
and the moments to recall

So Lord could you tell him,
He’s more than a name on a wall..

She said he really missed the family
and being home on Christmas day
and he died for God and Country
in a place so far away

I remember just a little boy
playing war since he was three
But Lord this time I know,
He’s not coming home to me

And she said Lord my boy was special,
and he meant so much to me
and Oh I’d love to see him
But I know it just can’t be
So I thank you for my memories
and the moments to recall

But Lord could you tell him,
He’s more than a name on a wall..

Lord could you tell him,
He’s more than a name on a wall..

 

Lincoln Memorial Washington DC

 

Korean war veterans memorial

 

Marine Memorial

Washington Monument

 

Prop 2 is a California Proposition that is designed to ensure more humane treatment of farm animals.

We went to the website www.humanecalifornia.org and got the following ten reasons why Prop 2 is a good idea.

1)  All animals deserve humane treatment, including those raised for food.

It is cruel and inhumane to confine veal calves, breeding pigs, and egg-laying hens in tiny cages barely larger than their bodies. Calves are tethered by the neck and can barely move, pigs in severe confinement bite the metal bars of their crates, and hens are crammed together so tightly they cannot extend their wings. It is simply wrong.

2)  Animals built to move should be able to move.

These animals have legs and wings for a reason. Laying hens crammed into cages cannot engage in basic behaviors such as nesting, dust-bathing, or perching.

The Humane Society of the United States, the California Veterinary Medical Association, the State HumaneAssociation of California, and the ASPCA support Prop 2.

3)   There are viable, affordable alternatives to cages and crates, so it is unnecessary to subject animals to such inhumane treatment.

For example, the European Union has approved phase-outs for barren cages and crates, and farmers there will be supplying the 500 million people in the 27 member nations.

4)  Prop 2 effectively prevents new, destructive industrialized factory farms from moving to California.

Prop 2 will establish California farmers and consumers as national leaders in animal welfare.

5)  Prop 2 improves our health and food safety.

Cramming tens of thousands of animals into tiny cages fosters the spread of animal diseases. That’s why the Center for Food Safety, Consumer Federation of America , and Center for Science and the Public Interest, and California Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell back Prop 2.

6)  Prop 2 supports California’s family farmers.

California family farmers support Proposition 2 because they believe food quality and safety are enhanced by better farming practices.

7)  Major retailers, including Burger King, Wolfgang Puck, and Safeway are increasingly demanding more humanely produced animal products.

The market is drying up for veal, pork, and eggs produced through the most inhumane confinement

8)  Prop 2 protects our air and water resources and safeguards the environment.

The  American Public Health Association  has called for a moratorium on new factory farms because of the well documented human health hazards. Factory farms often spread waste on the ground untreated — contaminating our waterways, lakes, groundwater, soil, and air.  Sierra Club-California, California Clean Water Action, and Defenders of Wildlife support Prop 2.

9)   The esteemed Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production urged a phase out cages and crates at stake with Prop 2.

After two and a half years of study, this commission, led by a former Kansas governor and including former U.S. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman, opposes the continuation of these

intensive confinement practices.

10)  Prop 2 is supported by an incredible coalition of diverse individuals, organizations, and interests.

In addition to the groups named above, the National Catholic Rural Life Conference and Episcopal and Methodist bishops, Presbyterian and other congregational leaders; the California Democratic Party, leading elected officials including US Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, Mayors Antonio Villaraigosa (L.A.), Gavin Newsom (San Francisco), and Heather Fargo (Sacramento) back Prop 2.

Visit YESonProp2.com for a complete listing of Prop 2’s endorsers.

“Should one point out that from ancient times a decline in courage has been considered the beginning of the end?”

— Alexander Solzhenitsyn

“Nowadays we don’t think much of a man’s love for an animal; we laugh at people who are attached to cats. But if we stop loving animals, aren’t we bound to stop loving humans too?”

~ Alexander Solzhenitsyn~ from the book ’Cancer Ward’

~Jim Reeves~
‘My Cathedral’

My cathedral has a ceiling of blue
My cathedral ‘neath the sky
Where I may lift up my eyes unto the hills
And hear music from a stream rippling by.

My cathedral has an alter of flowers
Their fragrant incense fills the air
In my cathedral I am closer to Him
Than I could be anywhere.

For here I pray
In a place so grand
The carpet I kneel on
Was made by His own hand.

My cathedral has candles lighted by the stars
And mighty pillars of trees
No other cathedral is so beautiful
For God made my cathedral for me…

Genesis 20:25 
‘If you make an altar of stone for Me,
you shall not build it of cut stones,
for if you wield your tool on it, you will profane it.

A doe and fawn have been hanging around our house. This happens almost every year, one generation after another… the deer see our home as something of a safe place… and they get water from us.
    Notice the fawn seems to have a growth on its lower neck, I’d not noticed it until compiling the video. A week after this video was taken, two coyotes attacked the doe before our chihuahuas chased them off (dang, wish I’d caught that on video), she now has a hurt hanging and swollen lower lip.. but the baby is still alive.

   There are instances of animals helping individuals of another species… dolphins pushing drowning sailors to the surface, wolves raising human children etc. We can attribute these responses to instinct… the drowning sailor resembles a helpless newborn dolphin, and the females will instinctively push it to the surface to get it’s first gasp of air after birth… the wolves… who knows, maybe it’s the female of the species finding an abandoned human, and perhaps some ancient breeding from human-acclimated ancestors triggers a maternal instinct in the female wolf.

   But humans seem to be the only species that actively reaches out to rescue other species in need. Granted much of this is a response to our own excesses as a species in the rape and pillage of our own planet… but still there is such a huge cadre of individuals around the world working tirelessly to help animals in need, displaced by human activity, or abandoned by their own people who used to care for them.  Here is a short list of groups actively engaged in turtle/tortoise rescue and care.

www.tortoise.com
Helping turtles and tortoise around the world since 1990, they have saved and placed over three thousand (3,000!) tortoises and turtles!

www.swhs.org 

Southwest Herpetologists Society. These folks promote adoption of abandoned reptiles in the Southern California area and through the Great Desert Southwest.

www.tortoise.org  

A Society Dedicated to Turtle & Tortoise Preservation, Conservation and Education Since 1964…Promoting and Facilitating the Care, Rescue and Adoption of Native and Nonnative Species

www.turtlehomes.org  

Turtle Homes Rescue, Inc. is a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to the safety and welfare of turtles and tortoises worldwide. Turtle Homes is run by volunteers operating from all regions of the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

www.turtlebunker.com 

AKA ‘Felice’s World of Turtles’…  Felice founded the Sacramento Turtle and Tortoise Club in April of 1981 and the club has approximately 950 members. The dues are only $2.00 a year because it is important to Felice for everyone who wishes, to receive the newsletter and have a sense of belonging to a club devoted to turtles and tortoises.

www.sdturtle.org 

the purpose of the San Diego Turtle and Tortoise Society is to acquaint the general public with the proper care of turtles and tortoises. Detailed care sheets and medical sheets on various species of turtles and tortoises are written by members of the society and distributed throughout the United States and other countries. The lives of many thousands of turtles and tortoises have been improved due to these informative sheets.

www.tortoisetrust.org 

The TORTOISE TRUST is the world’s largest tortoise and turtle organization, with members in more than 26 countries. For almost 20 years the Tortoise Trust has consistently developed new methods of husbandry, and has actively campaigned for the conservation and protection of tortoises and turtles around the world.

www.nytts.org 

The New York Turtle and Tortoise Society, Inc., is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to the conservation, preservation of habitat, and the promotion of proper husbandry and captive propagation of turtles and tortoises.  The Society emphasizes the education of its members and the public in all areas relevant to the appreciation of these unique animals.

www.indianaturtlecare.com 

Indiana Turtle Care, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, dedicated to the conservation, rehabilitation, education and rescue of turtles and tortoises.

In October 2002 we went to the third annual didgeridoo festival in Joshua Tree California.
The Didgeridoo is one of the oldest musical instruments on Earth.
I am just a novice didge player, and was quite impressed with the high quality and talent at this musical festival.
For the official Joshua Tree Didgeridoo Festival you can go to Joshua Tree Didgeridoo Festival
And to go direct to their really cool photo scrapbook for 2002 go to Joshua Tree Didgeridoo Festival 2002 photo scrapbook

HYPNOTIZED
~Written by Bob Welch~

It’s the same kind of story
That seems to come down from long ago.
Two friends having coffee together
When something flies by their window
It might be out on that lawn
Which is wide,
at least half of a playing field
Because there’s no explaining
what your imagination
Can make you see and feel

Seems like a dream
They got me hypnotized

Now it’s not a meaningless question
To ask if they’ve been and gone
I remember a talk about North Carolina
and a strange, strange pond
You see the sides were like glass
In the thick of a forest without a road
And if any man’s ever made that land
Then I think it would’ve showed

Seems like a dream They got me hypnotized

They say there’s a place down in Mexico
Where a man can fly over mountains and hills
And he don’t need an airplane or some kind of engine
And he never will

Now you know it’s a meaningless question
To ask if those stories are right
‘Cause what matters most
is the feeling You get when you’re hypnotized

Seems like a dream They got me hypnotized
Copyright © 1995-2002,
Martin and Lisa Adelson All Rights Reserved.

This song seemed to fit the mood I
felt during my weekend in the desert.
The melodic sounds of Native American flute
filled the Air, and the incessant
drumming all night and through the day was
filling the land with a surreal urgency.
The nights were spectacular,
and I felt as if I had been
transported to a time long ago.

It was a thrill to walk a ways out into the desert alone, the full moon shining down bringing the entire valley into a soft glow…. across the large campsite, a dozen small fires glowed, and from each glowing nook came the sounds of drums and didges… dozens at a time all together in some huge discordant rhythm. Primal, elemental….very natural… very human…. strangely animal…. vaguely Manimal.

A photograph of Joshua trees in the High Desert of California.
In the desert the evenings can often be so beautiful.
The dry air has no water vapor to shield the view of the evening sun glancing off the atmospheric dust.
The colorful evening displays can make for great sunsets!

  A special treat was the fire dancers who entertained the crowd with an exciting display of athletic and artistic ability with their thrilling twirling of flame tipped chains, batons, and fire swallowing.

Playing the Didge’

Here is the reason for the Didgeridoo festival. Playing the Didge!

Here is the tent where LA Outback sold their didges, tapes and CD’s as well as Australian arts and crafts works.

Everyone had a great time at this didgeridoo festival.
The crowd was well behaved, no fights or conflicts were seen.
People picked up the trash and kept the area clean and safe. It was a good safe family oriented weekend.
There were a half dozen bands that played on an illuminated bandstand in a large tent.
Many of these bands were very large, world known bands playing at this small intimate gathering in a very friendly atmosphere.

Here are just a few of the great bands and performers that highlighted the festivities this year,
and there were many more great people to keep the action lively, and the spirits running at a natural high level.
Lewis Burns
Brother
Rob Thomas of Inlakesh
David Blonsky
Pangaea

   It’s pretty ragged, and wore down…
but it’s still getting some flies now and then.
But I think the spider’s gone now.

Johnny Cash
“Ragged Old Flag”

I walked through a county courthouse square
On a park bench, an old man was sittin’ there.
I said, “Your old court house is kinda run down,
He said, “Naw, it’ll do for our little town”.
I said, “Your old flag pole is leaned a little bit,
And that’s a ragged old flag you got hangin’ on it”.
He said, “Have a seat”, and I sat down,
“Is this the first time you’ve been to our little town”
I said, “I think it is”
He said “I don’t like to brag, but we’re kinda proud of
That Ragged Old Flag

“You see, we got a little hole in that flag there,
When Washington took it across the Delaware.
and It got powder burned the night Francis Scott Key sat watching it,
writing “Say Can You See”
It got a rip in New Orleans, with Packingham & Jackson
tugging at its seams.
and It almost fell at the Alamo
beside the Texas flag,
But she waved on though.
She got cut with a sword at Chancellorsville,
And she got cut again at Shiloh Hill.
There was Robert E. Lee and Beauregard and Bragg,
And the south wind blew hard on
That Ragged Old Flag

“On Flanders Field in World War I,
She got a big hole from a Bertha Gun,
She turned blood red in World War II
She hung limp, and low, a time or two,
She was in Korea, Vietnam, She went where she was sent
by her Uncle Sam.

She waved from our ships upon the briny foam
and now they’ve about quit wavin’ back here at home
in her own good land here She’s been abused,
She’s been burned, dishonored, denied an’ refused,
And the government for which she stands
Has been scandalized throughout out the land.
And she’s getting thread bare, and she’s wearin’ thin,
But she’s in good shape, for the shape she’s in.
Cause she’s been through the fire before
and i believe she can take a whole lot more.

“So we raise her up every morning
And we bring her down slow every night,
We don’t let her touch the ground,
And we fold her up right.
On second thought
I “do” like to brag
Cause I’m mighty proud of
That Ragged Old Flag”

  It is really great when people will go that extra bit to help a person or animal in need.

   American Tortoise Rescue (ATR) is looking for homes with ponds throughout the US for turtles that need to be rehomed as ATR never puts turtles in tanks.  They come from confiscations, people no longer want them, relocations and foreclosures.  Turtles get along with Koi and eat the same food, so don’t worry if you have Koi. 

   Ponds must be protected from raccoons.

 If you have a pond, let Susan know at susan@tortoise.com.