STS-116
Discovery Launch

We were able to watch the first nighttime launch of the space shuttle in the last 4 years from the driveway in front of the house Saturday night.

Our little digital camera does not capture the light very well. But you can see a little bit of light behind the peak of the roof of our house. In reality this was very bright. At this point, the space shuttle was still on the launch pad just lighting up the engines.

Here the shuttle is visible above the roofline of the house. This photo is pretty close to what we were able to see. We can not see a lot of detail at 40 miles distance, but it is still an impressive sight.

At this point, the smaller thrusters are separating from the main booster and the shuttle. We were very impressed that we could see this. The last day launch we watched didn't allow us to see this phase of the flight.

The shuttle has to travel over 1700 miles an hour during launch to break the gravitational puoo fo the earth. At this point the shuttle is 70 miles away from the launch pad and traveling at over 770 miles per hour. I can't remember the altitude that was announced.

We just keep on pinching ourselves that we live here. Stacy and I never thought we would be able to see a shuttle launch except on TV. We hope to get a little closer and watch the next one from the beach. Our favorite beach puts us only 20 miles from the launch pad to the north.

A Visit From Miss Karen

We were lucky enough to be able to spend some time with Karen while she was visiting her friend in Melbourne. Alayna enjoyed spending the day with Miss Karen (Not understanding what an Aunt is and preferring to call her "Miss" like she calls all of Mom and Dad's friends.) feeding the birds and turtles and driving around the Ranch.

Karen and Alayna by the Inter-Coastal Waters

Karen and Alayna

Alayna and Paul with a turtle we found in the middle of the road on "The Ranch"

The Jensen Family Alligator Wrestlers

Cutlery

I've been bit by another hobby bug. I was given a knife making kit as a gift. I didn't make the blade, but I built and shaped the handle as well as sewed the sheath. The knife is very simple and the sheath is even more simple, but I enjoyed myself so much that I hope to move on to something more complex.

The knife is somewhat modeled after the Finnish Puukko style of knife. The blade is a traditional Puukko size and style and is made from Swedish steel. The handle is made from two different woods found in the desert in Arizona. I shaped the blade in a modified traditional style using a coping saw, rasp, dremel tool, sand paper, and tung oil.

The sheath is a cross between a western style and a scandinavian style. It is very simple, just a fold down the middle and some leather stitching. I didn't have any leather conditioner, stamps, or dye, so it will probably stay very simple. I just wish the kit came with a belt loop, but I don't know wear I would where such a thing anyway.

Wekiva Springs Hike Trip Report

I have finally been able to get some time away from work and do some hiking in Florida. It was not very long and it was not an exotic location, but it was satisfying and now I've been exposed to the Florida terrain and "wilderness".

I hiked a 13 mile loop trail located at the Wekiva Springs State Park. The park is located in the middle of the City of Altamonte Springs. It is fairly close to the highway, about a 20 minute drive from my house, but is large enough to keep most of the city noise at bay. There are a few places where the trail comes close to main roads and cars or sirens can be heard easily, but I was not able to see them due to the thick trees and brush.

The terrain of the trail is FLAT. Although the trail boasts "sand hills", I was unable to find elevation changes over a few feet at a time. The trail winds through very dense brush, open plains of low growth palm bushes, and one area that almost had a meadow like appearance. I'm still new to Florida and can not identify the trees and plants I passed, but I'll work on it as I become more comfortable hiking through this jungle.

It's hard to see in this picture, but on the trunk of the tree, just above the level of the palm bushes, is a "white blaze". The eastern half of the country uses the blaze system to mark trails. This park paints a small rectangle on the trees to denote where the trail winds. There are four or five trails in this park and each trail uses a different color to mark the trail. The system is easy to follow until the trees are blown over by high winds and the trail hasn't been used in so long that it is hard to follow in the ground. Between keeping one eye on the ground trying to avoid stumps and rocks on the ground and keeping the other eye on the trees looking for marks, I can understand how a hiker not paying attention can become easily lost.

All in all, the hike was enjoyable. Next time I will take a set of swim trunks and a towel so I can jump into the natural spring at the end of the trail head to cool off. Even though the temperature was a cool 92 degrees, I lost a lot of water weight in sweat. In fact, every item in my hip pack was thoroughly soaked. I learned that even though my camera is water resistant, the lens gets fogged up from being near my sweaty self. I will have to zip loc bag it next time and see if I can get some less fuzzy pictures next time.

Not Quite A Notch

The snakes around here are getting awfully gutsy. Stacy recently found one in the guest bathroom. I was driving home from a job in Tallahassee and was about an hour away from home when she called. She seemed pretty calm for having a snake in her bathroom.

Stacy closed the door, stuffed a towel in the crack, and waited for me to come home. When I got home, Stacy reported that the snake was curled up in a corner and wasn't really moving. Alayna had decided that, "She was scared". Apparently, this particular snake is a girl. I entered the room and noticed a 12" long snake curled up in the corner. Stacy has the camera and is taking pictures. The snake seems pretty calm at this point.

Stacy told me that she had looked on the internet and found our new house guest. She is a Blue Stripe Garter snake. Normally found in Florida around residences and water sources, eating small bugs and supposedly harmless. I guess I was supposed to start feeling warm and fuzzy about this snake. But when I tried to get her to crawl into a plastic bag, she started attacking. Luckily, I was able to persuade her to enter the bag without any party being harmed.

I took her outside and released her by the pond down the street. She slithered off without even looking back. Not even a thank you for not chopping my head off. Ungrateful snake!

You can kind of see the triangle shaped head.

We Felt It

There was an earthquake this morning off the coast of Florida in the Gulf of Mexico. Stacy and I were sitting in the front room and both felt the ground move underneath us. The movement lasted about 15 seconds and was gentle. No damage to our home or any reports of damage throughout the rest of the state.

After experiencing the San Francisco earthquake, 7.1 on the Richter scale, this 6.0 was a gentle rock of the boat.

The Family Portrait

Stacy has wanted a family portrait for quite some time. I haven't wanted to dress up, drive to a studio, pose, and pay for the privilege. Stacy wanted to capture our family as it is now before any new additions come along. I didn't want to pay for a sitting fee and be pressured to buy an expensive package of photos that will sit in a box somewhere. Stacy wanted to make sure we have pictures of Alayna at this stage of her life. When it comes right down to it, I didn't want to pay to have pictures taken. I could do it myself for much cheaper and they would probably be cuter too. Never mind that I forget my camera every time we take Alayna out of the house, and I don't always have the time or patience to take a cute picture of Alayna.

So Stacy contacted Sears, set an appointment, and threatened me with suspension of any and all happiness if I were not able to meet this obligation.

A week before the pictures are to be taken, we went to the beach. Alayna and I came home with sunburns. I received a scolding for possibly sabotaging the family portrait while receiving a mandatory Aloe Vera rub down. It didn't quite soothe.

When I was young, the family portrait was a big production. It was usually done in the cooler months. My brother and I had to wear sweaters and ties. Despite the shirts bing long sleeved and having collars, those sweaters itched right through the shirt and into the skin. The sweaters are how I know the pictures were taken in the cooler months.

But I think my sisters had it worse. Five girls of various age and development trying to prepare for the picture. They didn't want to take the picture either. Their attitudes were just as poor as their bothers. But darned if they were going to be captured for all time not looking their best. Fights over the use of the shower and the precious amount of hot water were followed by tripped breakers as hair dryers and curling irons heated the home wiring up to a point just below combustion.

Now, with a smaller family, larger water heater, and fewer hair dryers, getting ready for the family portrait is not as laborious of a task. In fact Stacy and Alayna were ready and waiting for me to return from an emergency job I did on call. Quick shave, change of clothes, and we are on our way. Even the car drive is pleasant. Only nine miles. Fifteen minutes later, we are watching Dora the Explorer in the waiting area of the photo studio and five minutes after that, we are in the studio in front of a camera. I keep looking for problems, but see nothing but smiles.

All three of us wear Hawaiian shirts. We sit down on the floor in front of the backdrop and recline comfortably. We aren't posed with our heads and hands in awkward poses. We smile naturally, not stiff lipped and fake. We get instant feedback from the digital camera on a monitor that shows just how good we look. Confidence is building, Alayna is behaving, the photo previews are looking good, and we are all still smiling.

This is nothing like my previous experiences. And while the bill is large, it was less than I expected, and we weren't pressured to purchase more photos than we wanted. We walked out of the building with a proof sheet sowing off Alayna's cuteness and a resolution to do it again.

Another Notch In My Shovel

About two weeks ago, I was mowing the lawn for the first time in about six weeks. That's another story for another time. Before I mowed the lawn, I had trimmed the edges and pruned the bushes. While I was pruning the bushes I had to place my body right up against them, with my feet occasionally in the bushes where I could not see them. Whenever I can't see my feet in Florida, I get nervous about snakes.

My sister Karen has told me lots of horror stories about Florida snakes. And even though I do not live anywhere near the rural area she lived in, I still feel a certain trepidation when I get near my bushes.

My bushes are alive. Every time I walk by my bushes, they move and rattle. 99% of the time, these movements and noise are created by the ever present lizards around the house. But I have seen snakes in my bushes, and I have chased snakes out of my bushes, and I have chased snakes into my bushes that I was unable to get out of my bushes. So, I get a little nervous about snakes in my bushes.

Not too long ago, at work, I was asked to move a snake away from the front of our office building. I was given the assignment because I have the shovel, and my boss, who would probably just grab it by the head and squeeze it, was nowhere to be found. So I decided I could move this snake from the bushes in front of our office with my shovel. But this snake didn't want to be moved. This snake wanted to bite me. It attacked, reared up, attacked again, coiled, attacked, etc. Not a happy snake. So instead of moving it, I killed it. That was the first notch on my shovel.

I think my snake hunter instinct is in my blood. My Father and his Father helped a large number of serpents leave this world. My Grandfathers journal is riddled with stories of heroism, saving siblings, and assorted relatives from rattlesnakes at the very moment before a deadly strike. But the adventure in front of my office just didn't leave me feeling as heroic as I felt I could have. For some reason, clearing the corporate smoking area of danger from an 18" snake just didn't do it for me.

But, back at home, in my own grass, by my own bushes. . .

I saw the snake leave the bushes and start slithering through the grass, heading for the next set of bushes. This snake was about a foot long. Not the biggest I've seen around the house, but it was a three colored ring banded snake. I know that depending on the pattern of rings, the snake could have been poisonous or non-, but I wasn't about to try and figure that out. I ran to the shed, got my trusty shovel, and ran back. This part of the operation has saved a number of snakes lives in my yard. They usually get away while I look for an instrument of destruction. This snake would not be so lucky. He didn't move fast enough. I had saved my small kingdom from the dangers of this particular snake. I reigned over a peaceful kingdom once again.

I layed the carcass out on the driveway while I finished mowing the lawn. I wanted to take a look at it and try to identify what kind of snake it was. I remember it had a black head, and then I forget whether it was yellow or red bands next. But when I went back to look, it was gone. I know it didn't heal and slither away. Apparently a bird swooped down and rid my driveway of my prize. I would not be able to prove my valiance to my queen and boast of my quest while my lady swooned.

I'll just have to put another notch in my shovel.

Labor Day Fantasies

The Jensen family went to the beach today to celebrate Labor Day. While we were sitting on the sand enjoying the weather, sun, and water, Stacy asked me if this was something I have always dreamed about. She was right. I've always wanted to be able to spend time with my family at the beach. Alayna is old enough to really enjoy her time at the beach, and Stacy is even learning to have fun in the sun.

Alayna loves to chase the birds on the beach. She has not seen the movie The Birds yet, so she is not aware of how vengeful these animals can be. She hasn't caught one yet, but she tends to run pretty far down the beach. Mom has to keep a sharp eye on her. Her bravery is also extending to the edge of the water. She likes to run down to the waters edge and wash her hands in the ocean when they get sandy.

Stacy has gained an appreciation for the beach and the water that she never expected to have. She has always burned easily and been reticent to join the animals in the water. She also has a thing about being sandy. But when the weather is good, she and Alayna are at the beach weekly with a group of moms and children. After some mishaps, Stacy has overcome the sunburn and transcended to tan lines. I'm still not going to state that she is tan, but she has definite tan lines on her back from her swimsuit straps.

So there I am, laying on the beach with the sun on my back, feeling pretty good, thinking about these things and how fortunate we are to live in the place we do. I don't get to go to the beach as often as Stacy and Alayna, but I get to go more than I have ever been able to in the past. The water is warm and nice to swim in despite the fact that our beach is the shark bite capitol of the world.

The drive home takes about an hour and Alayna falls asleep in her car seat, tired from all the running and sun. Showers get the last of the sand and salt rinsed off of sun soaked bodies. Stacy, with her newfound confidence in the sun was quick to point out that I was the only one to come home with a sunburn. I guess that means I need to spend more time in the sun.