tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42249341558333604042011-11-27T16:19:07.726-07:00Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17904665647066946957noreply@blogger.comBlogger771100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-90733214289202574102011-04-23T08:04:00.001-06:002011-04-23T08:07:07.111-06:00

Originally posted March 21, 2008.  With Easter upon us I decided to repost. When I was young, one of our observances for Easter was to plan a hike for the Saturday before.  We would pack a lunch and head out on foot to hike to a little cave on Little Mountain (NE of town), or if we were really lucky a parent would take us a little closer to the mountain via car. We would hike up to the top of

Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17904665647066946957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-18439424448303177352011-04-08T14:23:00.001-06:002011-04-08T14:23:13.108-06:00

My dad grew up with chickens. Raising laying hens and processing the eggs was a major part of the economy of his family. For a short time he continued that heritage on a smaller scale with his children. I remember having a coop full of chickens – nowhere near the number my dad attended to when he was growing up, but plenty of them. Caring for the chickens, collecting and processing the eggs and

Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17904665647066946957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-79799248397731221992011-03-08T08:28:00.000-07:002011-03-08T12:04:24.305-07:00

I am socially backwards.  Really, I am.  I do not always do well in spontaneous situations where I come in contact with people and need to interact.  Even with people I already know well I sometimes struggle. It could be spontaneous communication over a distance, as in a telephone conversation, but usually it’s the face to face situations where in my phobia lies. Do I present my thoughts and

Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17904665647066946957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-65237207255841539742011-03-03T20:53:00.001-07:002011-03-03T20:53:14.881-07:00

I have tried, honestly, to come up with something I want to write about.  I have failed.  Unless you count the comments about a photo that I recently posted on my photography blog. Anyway, I have looked at many a blog in the past few days and I feel like I am outside looking in, when I really want to be in, writing things.  Things I am thinking about and things I am feeling.

Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17904665647066946957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-26142807321439054932011-02-22T15:25:00.001-07:002011-02-22T15:46:19.927-07:00

Basketball is a big part of life for my Father in Law. He played as a youth and into his adult years in the golden era of church ball.  He has coached youth in that organization.  He is an alumnus of USU and enjoyed watching the legends of USU while he attended school. He follows the Jazz - used to buy into a season ticket package with his brothers, now he watches on TV.  He still follows his

Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17904665647066946957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-44604979113176936582011-02-11T22:16:00.001-07:002011-02-11T22:19:59.957-07:00

No matter what we do. May 19, 2010 was the date of my previous post on this blog.  I have other blogs that I post to, but my sounding board has been silent. I have had lots to say, but just not here.  I am having one of those moments of reflection and here I am.  That is all for now. More posts will be coming, soon.  In the mean time ….

Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17904665647066946957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-9066832458603543282010-05-19T19:17:00.001-06:002010-05-19T19:26:11.933-06:00

I have heard many times the story of men and women who died or were lucky to escape death when the fire they were sent to extinguish overran them.  Part of our wildland firefighter training each year includes the lessons learned from recent or old fatalities or near misses to fire. I had never read anything from Maclean until this documentary of the Mann Gulch fire.  I enjoy his writing style,

Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17904665647066946957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-43844956779431285772010-05-03T21:13:00.001-06:002010-05-03T21:13:08.003-06:00

My daughter loves to play games.  We all do, but not as much as her.  Saturday and Sunday and again tonight she has wanted to play The Farming Game.  We used that as a family home evening activity.  It was a lot of fun. Except for the frustration …  I think this is a pretty good example of the struggle it can be to move through life, two steps forward and one step back.  Or in some cases in

Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17904665647066946957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-89898401425118540462010-04-28T21:46:00.001-06:002010-04-28T21:46:48.435-06:00

This photo was taken in front of our house Sunday night while we were working on a night sky assignment for school.  I used the top of my car and the self timer to get a steady shot.  Other than the breeze blown flag, it is one of the more focused night-time shots I have ever achieved. Tonight I was at the fire station for training and the setting sun painted the hills to the east of the

Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17904665647066946957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-35653675009748537542010-04-26T23:09:00.001-06:002010-04-26T23:13:36.131-06:00

I enjoy watching BYU television for many reasons.  There are devotional messages from various speakers covering various subjects. The Conference Reports are a favorite. On Sunday we can watch Music and the Spoken Word and a worship service of our Church. There are so many other programs with uplifting content. Since the first of the year some new programming has joined the broadcast schedule. My

Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17904665647066946957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-45905556783792558902010-04-17T20:48:00.001-06:002010-04-19T14:15:15.083-06:00

Open burning in Cache County kicked off on Tax Day this year. Let’s see, that’s two days ago officially. This year there is a 1 month window for anyone with ordinary combustibles like tree trimmings, overgrown yards, etc., to burn it up. As long as they call to see if the air quality allows burning that day, and receive a permit, they’re good to go. Agriculture burning has been going on for some

Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17904665647066946957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-80757765635905308942010-04-15T22:02:00.001-06:002010-04-15T22:02:26.366-06:00

KSL.com Story of Today's Earthquake in Northern Utah A U of U Seismologist was interviewed for Salt Lake’s Fox News at 9:00 (and no doubt the other stations) and he said we have a less than 10% chance that today’s earthquake in the wilds of Rich County was a pre-cursor to a bigger quake. That, of course, means it is about 90% certain that we won’t have a larger quake in the area. Well, I feel

Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17904665647066946957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-13537181423419052802010-04-14T23:10:00.002-06:002010-04-14T23:17:51.334-06:00

My wife’s Grandma passed away last November. She lived 45 minutes away from us in Bear River City. Having her close by was very nice, and our children were able to get to know her through holiday visits and other occasions. April holds the birthday of Grandma Burton and my wife’s mother, Grandma Burton’s daughter. It was a time of year when we gathered at Grandma Burton’s house to visit, and

Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17904665647066946957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-49219016788827755262010-04-14T16:06:00.001-06:002010-04-14T16:24:21.938-06:00

I love Napoleon Dynamite.  I must be from Cache Valley, or just mental. I worked with the mother of the writer/director for a time.  She was the owner of the black Llama, Tina. The bonus feature wedding scene is not to be missed, in my opinion. I don’t think Kip will be a recording star, but what a funny song. What is the link from obscurity, to the reason for this post? Technology: I remember

Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17904665647066946957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-80535898522310016322010-04-12T22:09:00.003-06:002010-04-14T23:15:26.891-06:00

Continuation of this post After leaving Salt Lake in 1855 to farm in Lehi, Utah, William and Mary settled there for a time, and two children were born. The second child was named William F. Rigby Jr. (my grandmother’s father). It was here that William entered into polygamy when he took a second wife, Lousia . After 2 years she left the family. In 1860 William travelled to Cache Valley to scout

Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17904665647066946957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-31601940797279453512010-04-12T16:59:00.001-06:002010-04-12T16:59:31.227-06:00

China Town NYC, 4/11/2010.  NYC’s Bravest battling a blaze. Firehouse.com

Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17904665647066946957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-38180016810670465212010-04-12T14:24:00.001-06:002010-04-12T22:28:50.425-06:00

I’m a kid at heart when it comes to fire.  Last weekend I was able to indulge that a bit.  Friday night I received a call from a farmer in town who had been burning a field.  It was dusk, and the fire was still active in a grassy area between fields - did I think it would be a problem if it burned into the night? Regulations call for all fires to be extinguished before nightfall, so it had to be

Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17904665647066946957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-49926327732049085902010-04-10T23:29:00.001-06:002010-04-12T11:57:59.439-06:00

This week we have watched a couple LDS themed movies.  Last Monday we watched The Home Teachers, tonight, The RM. I enjoy watching these videos, and our kids do too.  We laugh and laugh when we watch The Home Teachers.  The gnome, the mishap with the casket at the viewing, the car crash, etc..  Great stuff! But when it comes to the most quoted part of that movie, what do the kids always repeat?

Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17904665647066946957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-23783912660752156952010-04-09T14:54:00.008-06:002010-04-14T23:16:28.736-06:00

Earlier this week of an evening, I found the TV on KUED and a program called The Mormons was playing. I believe I have seen bits and pieces of it before, but only recognized the images, not the narratives and interviews. The first party of the Saints was making the trek westward when I joined the broadcast. As I watched I began to step back in time to stories from my family history, and I have

Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17904665647066946957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-41979219555353529722010-04-09T10:52:00.001-06:002010-04-14T16:27:09.695-06:00

I was driving myself to work this morning and as I usually do I was listening to the local news and information station on my vehicle radio. This radio station is part of the ABC news network, with frequent national news updates. This morning’s version included the latest from the tragedy in West Virginia.  The closest I can come to understanding that situation is what I know second hand from

Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17904665647066946957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-44355478072975114972010-04-06T23:37:00.001-06:002010-04-06T23:37:59.136-06:00

I am not anywhere near a pro at using the Photomatix software for HDR.  In fact, I am still using the evaluation version – although I am quickly becoming hooked on what it can do. I realize that a natural, raw image from the camera can be a thing of beauty.  I try time and time again to capture that just-right photo.  I often succeed, but sometimes I just can’t make it work. For post processing

Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17904665647066946957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-84442406486931964232010-04-05T23:34:00.001-06:002010-04-06T09:11:22.465-06:00

It’s a great time of the year, because it’s Spring Break in the Cache County School District!  Well, if you could call it spring …. The photo below was taken Friday April 2nd, the last day of school before spring break for our kids officially began.  Yep, new snow.  I was on the way to school with my daughter for Dads and Donuts and saw this: I pulled off the side of the road to take a photo

Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17904665647066946957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-74645782364421181072010-04-04T23:02:00.001-06:002010-04-04T23:31:52.129-06:00

I love to take pictures.  I dream of some day having a digital SLR to use to satisfy my quest for even better photos.  Then I’ll be a star ….  Okay, probably not, but I’ll have a nicer camera! I came across a photo blog called Stuck in Customs, where the author uses a processing technique that can create some amazing images.  I have tried to learn the technique with an evaluation version of the

Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17904665647066946957noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-15928020872579589612010-04-02T12:30:00.001-06:002010-04-02T16:41:22.866-06:00

A few times a year the elementary school our kids attend (past-tense for birthright boy) invites a parent to a before school program to read together.  They also invite athletes from Utah State University to the event. Mom’s and Muffins was earlier this year, today was Dads and Donuts.  I didn’t attend last year’s Dads and Donuts, and the theme Moms and Muffins automatically excludes me from an

Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17904665647066946957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-32591149009046948002010-03-31T23:59:00.001-06:002010-04-01T00:04:29.307-06:00

It’s finally here, and I’m flattered.  A day to celebrate me, April Fool’s Day!  No, not the other umpteen however many people who feel like I do, it’s my day!  Darn it…. I not that I’m big on practical jokes or pranks, but I won’t turn down the opportunity when given the chance.  It’s the odd, out of the ordinary way I view myself that makes me feel like a day with fool in its name is my day.

Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17904665647066946957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-38423592561273467272010-03-31T16:30:00.000-06:002010-03-31T22:48:08.846-06:00

Who doesn’t love the classic underdog story? In the face of crushing defeat we find our hero grasping at any chance to rise above. He joins an unlikely group of men in a foreign country, hoping to ride out the ridicule back home until the next big opportunity. The deck is stacked against his new companions, together they battle their way through difficulty not imagined. When given the chance to

Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17904665647066946957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-3346567651923372702010-03-30T16:43:00.001-06:002010-03-30T16:43:57.920-06:00

I don’t mind being scared from time to time, it keeps the adrenalin flowing. Sometimes I even seek it out. I don’t like bloody horror flicks, but I like to watch a movie with some creepy twists and turns. For example, when the aliens suck people off the face of the earth in The Forgotten, or when unexplained things happen in Dragonfly. The Others’ and Sixth Sense are among my favorites in that

Gregnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-84280872881032030512010-03-29T21:44:00.001-06:002010-03-29T22:11:46.528-06:00

From time to time I post to a Cache Valley Citizen Journalism site, Your Cache Valley. The following articles have been posted to that site, and have also ended up in the local newspaper, the Herald Journal: The Last Casualty, Remembered – March 18, 2010 Summer of the Potato Bugs  -September 9, 2008 Rivalry, Renewed – September 5, 2008 Times Change, but Some Things Stay the Same

Gregnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-61231685862797783312010-03-29T14:49:00.001-06:002010-03-29T17:06:57.911-06:00

I have finished my second reading of THE BROKER by John Grisham. I really enjoy Grisham’s ability to tell a story.  It had been quite awhile since my first reading of this novel, and I found the experience was as enjoyable as reading it the first time. I continue reading Grisham’s work because he can weave a story that pulls me in.  I am often at odds with the choices the characters make and

Gregnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-9906050201848647552010-03-26T00:29:00.001-06:002010-04-14T16:27:52.334-06:00

I am proud of myself!  I took some time and manipulated a theme to make it do what I wanted it to do.  I am hacker, hear me roar! Well, it’s a hollow victory, because in the first place I didn’t write the code for the template. I used a freeware theme. I didn’t design the base images.  I didn’t understand how to craft the lines of code that make it do what it is supposed to do. I did however

Gregnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-69733174297873287262010-03-25T21:16:00.002-06:002010-04-07T16:17:56.396-06:00

Aggieville - Tony Jones covers Utah State athletics for The Salt Lake Tribune. Cache County Fire District – The Bravest of Cache County, Utah. Jessica - The adventures of a tall semi-neurotic mom who can't say no and feels the need to vent. A lot. LDS Newsroom – The official Church resource for news media, opinion leaders, and the public. Newton Fire Department - News and information site

Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-63269795693943612362010-03-23T15:51:00.001-06:002010-03-24T11:46:19.445-06:00

Well, my engineered feeder-tromper-stopper failed after a few days.  I went out to feed Sunday morning and one side of the structure had been knocked away by a hungry heifer, with the offender stuck in a position that I knew would take some extrication work.  I must say that this will be the last year we feed animals on that side of the corral without a better system in place. Apologies for not

Gregnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-68028752254136413382010-03-20T20:22:00.001-06:002010-03-20T20:22:10.778-06:00

Today we had a scare.  A really big scare.  We needed to go to Tremonton to work on a school project for Justin.  He had been invited to a friends house, so we were to leave around 3:00 after picking him up there.  We had everything needed with us and we retrieved the boy and worked our way out of town. About 1 block from home we came across a cat that had been hit crossing the road.  It was

Gregnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-11533003185109170452010-03-18T12:33:00.001-06:002010-03-29T17:11:20.281-06:00

Photos courtesy Gordon Anderson with appreciation for permission to use in this post: Fire doesn’t strike in my home town very often, at least structure fires don’t.  When they do occur, it’s an event that is so in-frequent that it leaves a lasting memory.  I can remember a fire that I watched when I was very young.  I don’t have a crystal clear memory of it, but I remember my mom loading us in

Gregnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-22042802432016179092010-03-17T22:11:00.001-06:002010-03-17T22:14:25.868-06:00

This year we have housed a group of yearling heifers from my brother’s herd.  My brother has the remaining animals in his feedlot, enjoying the calving season that is coming to a close.  We’re just helping out with this group over the winter.  It’s been a fun time, but there are a few more with us this year and it has forced a feeding arrangement be made in one of the pens, that is not as

Gregnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-71189290937724822572010-02-23T14:25:00.001-07:002010-02-23T14:25:12.593-07:00

It’s been about 2 years to the day since I started this blog, the first one I put together.  It’s been about 17 months since I posted last. My how time flies!

Gregnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-88281744627058708742008-09-11T11:01:00.001-06:002010-02-20T01:02:09.936-07:00

Today I was going to put together a post that had photos of me from when I was a pup up to recent days. That was my plan, it being my birthday today. But this morning when I went out to the flagpole and lowered the flag to half staff, I have not thought about much else, besides the day the towers fell. Among the many who died, 343 of my brothers were killed at the World Trade Center. It just

Gregnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-16175393062856048762008-09-08T16:14:00.007-06:002008-09-08T17:04:23.096-06:00

A couple of years ago we reclaimed the ground under the wood pile in the backyard, and started planting a garden. It's a small 30 x 40 patch of ground that in my pre-teenage years was the location of our raspberry patch. We spent several weeks removing the old wood, we cut down some trees, and now we have a pretty nice garden spot. Over the years, dad used different parts of the backyard for

Gregnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-3865449713856846462008-09-05T16:07:00.001-06:002008-09-05T22:57:34.032-06:00

When I was just a boy, I remember my dad taking me to watch my brother play at Romney Stadium, USU. I don't remember the year for sure, but I would guess it was 1980 or 1981, or thereabouts. It was a beautiful fall day, about like this one I bet, and the big game had been the talk of the town for the last week. It was that year's renewal of the gridiron rivalry between Logan and Sky View, and I

Gregnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-1221100779527957942008-08-29T19:10:00.001-06:002008-08-29T19:41:13.496-06:00

January, 1929:  Fire was no stranger to the community, but an early morning fire in the Ward Meeting House was the last straw.   It was time to get serious about fire protection, in Newton, UT. My father's sister recalls a knock at the door in the early morning hours, as her dad was summoned to join the others battling the flames.  She bundled in a blanket and sat at the big picture window in

Gregnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-47784644213038149382008-07-22T19:17:00.001-06:002008-07-22T19:17:09.099-06:00

In the previous post I mentioned that the kids went down by themselves.  They did after 1 trip down to get them comfortable with the river.  This photo is from the first trip down while my son was riding with me.  This is also during the time when I was getting acclimated to the cold temperature of the water, and the grimace on our faces is directly related to that. In this photo my

Gregnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-1476924407045320652008-07-21T15:39:00.001-06:002008-07-21T15:39:09.554-06:00

We spent last Friday to Saturday at my wife's-side family reunion in Ogden Canyon. It's a really nice spot, on the way from Huntsville to Causey, Monte Cristo and points East. Her family has been camping there for a long time, over 30 years I think. The camping part of it is not a bit of fun for me, for various reasons.  The fun part is visiting with family members; maybe go swimming/fishing in

Gregnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-11424967237405254872008-07-14T15:03:00.001-06:002008-07-14T15:03:16.984-06:00

I don't imagine I have many dedicated readers, especially after a long, long, long time without a post. I have been upset over something and didn't feel like I could talk that much about it.  I obsess about such problems, so I didn't focus much time on other interesting things to write about either. The issue at hand is still an issue, but it's not monopolizing as much of my thought process as

Gregnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-65958845728879973302008-06-18T11:44:00.001-06:002008-06-22T16:55:49.461-06:00

I live in the middle of Newton, on Main Street. Right next to us is a hay field. A hay field on Main Street? It’s not that uncommon for rural Cache Valley. There are several areas inside the town limits where hay or grain is raised every year. They are becoming fewer as the years pass because of children growing up and wanting to build and live in Newton. The family owned ground inside the town

Gregnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-34605728115055154692008-06-02T11:39:00.001-06:002008-06-02T14:04:42.751-06:00

I am sick.  My lungs are full of crud, I have aches and pains, and I wish I was in a Nyquil induced coma right now. I began to get sick Thursday, sore throat.  I started using over the counter remedies because Saturday I was scheduled to be at the Logan High track for a session of government sponsored torture, otherwise known as the wildland red-card pack test. This is the physical fitness test

Gregnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-46145420796510696602008-05-28T15:56:00.001-06:002008-05-28T15:56:58.958-06:00

Background:  My family and my wife's family are cemetery visitors.  We have been and always will be, I think.  Personally, I can't imagine doing anything else on Memorial Day besides visiting graves of loved ones. For the last several years, and due to the fact that there are so many cemeteries for us to visit, we break it up. If we are going to visit the graves of my mother's family, we

Gregnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-10783926108325831782008-05-16T13:47:00.001-06:002010-05-10T20:23:16.197-06:00

Continued From Having been employed by a friend's family to help with chores at his family's dairy since I was old enough to do such things, I was asked if I wanted to join their Dairy 4-H group as well. I was excited to do that, because that meant I got to "adopt" one of the calves each spring and prepare it for the cattle shows over the summer.   I had seen my next oldest brother show calves

Gregnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-82299023077754109032008-05-15T11:29:00.001-06:002010-05-10T20:24:35.498-06:00

I grew up in a Mecca of agriculture.  If you lived in that community and were not involved in farming of some sort it was because you moved in or had decided not to continue what your father or grandfather began. I'll spend some time on the history of my dad's side as it relates to this topic, here:  My paternal grandfather came from Denmark when he was very young and my paternal grandmother

Gregnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-17945329956559475162008-05-14T09:32:00.001-06:002008-05-14T09:46:22.160-06:00

1.  I love to watch Ghost Hunters on Wednesday nights, and last Wednesday's programs were quite spooky.  I mean, watching (crazy) people walking around all night in an old abandoned building that is reported to be haunted, and then watch the analysis and see video footage of what appears to be paranormal activity - that's enough to make me check twice in the closet, under the bed, etc. 2. Last

Gregnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-36823494881786787542008-05-05T12:58:00.001-06:002008-05-05T13:06:09.581-06:00

It's Spring time in the Wasatch, and we have begun the season of gardening at our household.  It has not been as serene as it could have been, though. We inherited a tiller from my wife's grandmother.  We used it last year and it was wonderful.  It's old and showed signs of wear, so over the winter I took the handle off and stored it in the garage until my wife could transport it to her dad's

Gregnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-50987595700010019142008-04-24T09:57:00.001-06:002008-04-24T10:00:55.935-06:00

A Short time ago a co-worker IM'd me about a story he read on KSL's website. This is how he set it up: Hey, Huckabee is writing a "best seller" about his failed presidential bid. Of course the best seller part of that headline is this co-workers attempt at humor, the story didn't really include that perspective. I read that on my IM screen and I just started laughing out loud.  I have

Gregnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-81339020540951376282008-04-17T21:58:00.001-06:002008-04-17T22:03:43.389-06:00

On my way to work this morning I listened to a radio station originating from the region's largest city.  It is a 5AM - 7AM talk show format covering the local and national topics of the day. I'm going to preface the rest of my post by saying I'm nothing more than an occasional spectator in the arena of politics.  I have tried to be a bit more aware of the issues at hand during the current

Gregnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-19384172747028971592008-04-14T11:20:00.003-06:002008-04-17T13:38:04.711-06:00

There is local annual event of the same name as the title of this post, that was held in Wellsville at the American West Heritage Center last weekend. This post is not about that event, but it's about our very own baby animal days.As you may have read from an older post, we have been hosting a few of my brothers yearlings and a soon to be mommy cow.The soon to be part of that is no more.I went

Gregnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-44953578280567638202008-04-11T21:06:00.001-06:002008-04-11T21:13:55.120-06:00

I read recently on Firehouse.com that a firefighter in Missouri was caught in a flashover while working at a house fire and was burned quite severely. A flashover is the near simultaneous ignition of all combustible material in an enclosed area. Flashover occurs when the majority of surfaces in a space are heated to the point (known as fire point) at which they give off flammable gases that are

Gregnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-42674372170430831752008-04-11T16:37:00.004-06:002008-04-11T18:38:39.023-06:00

*****Another flash-from-the-past entry:When I was 12 years old I moved on to the official Boy Scout Troop in my small town. There were a lot of boys my age and we had known each other all through school and church activities, and we generally had a lot of fun.To make it even better, we had some really good leaders. We joked and played a lot, but we also got a lot of merit badges and other

Gregnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-22824369508114927982008-04-07T13:00:00.005-06:002008-04-07T13:17:34.044-06:00

***This is a description of a fire from history, back in 2005. It was a usual November evening. Folks everywhere were looking forward to the turkey feast that was coming up in about a week.   I was sitting in the front room winding down from the days events when I heard tones come across the open channel of my pager. I waited; one set, two sets, three sets (if it

Gregnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-59393575446014865472008-04-04T11:03:00.001-06:002008-04-04T11:03:00.747-06:00

This morning in Ohio, 2 firefighters were killed in a house fire. Read more in a Firehouse.com Article. The nation's firefighters will pause and reflect once again as we take in this sad news.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the fallen firefighters.

Gregnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-63556738408032287752008-03-31T11:16:00.001-06:002008-03-31T11:17:55.845-06:00

Have you ever been snubbed? Ever been overlooked for a task that you were capable of handling, and handling well? Ever initiate a conversation on the subject and had the person that overlooked you for the task explain why you were not invited to participate? Did that explanation make you feel better or feel worse? It made me extremely angry. Now, what am I going to do about it? I am

Gregnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-4923320091965469412008-03-28T22:13:00.001-06:002008-03-28T22:13:22.713-06:00

I am pulling out my hair over the layout of my blog.  Okay, not literally pulling my hair out, but it seems like it. I need a weekend break to think things over and see what direction I might take next week. Problem is that I look around at other blogs and see how cool they look, nice backgrounds, designs and layouts, then I try to figure something out that looks the way I want it to. I

Gregnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-76349681724189851802008-03-27T17:30:00.003-06:002008-03-27T17:36:27.815-06:00

I was anxiously awaiting the return of Confessions of a Pioneer Woman and was definitely glad to see just how nice the new site is.I picked up a valuable tip today, in the Photoshop section of the site.I've been dabbling in web design for many years, and I love to take photos, especially of firefighting subjects, but I haven't really spent the time necessary to learn the Photoshop Elements

Gregnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-71060333509832280952008-03-27T10:06:00.001-06:002008-03-27T10:06:59.423-06:00

Firefighting is a brotherhood. Today we mourn the loss of another firefighter in a line-of-duty incident that occurred in Los Angeles, yesterday, March 26th. From the LAFD Media and Public Relations Blog: Los Angeles Firefighter Killed in the Line of Duty Our hearts go out to the family and all across the nation fire companies will reflect on the loss of this firefighter.

Gregnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-40949129410015481632008-03-24T20:54:00.001-06:002008-03-24T22:54:07.695-06:00

Mainly because I'm not able to put together a real post, I'll just link to a couple of large fire incidents out of California for this entry. Both incidents are from the LA area of California and were found on my daily visit to Firehouse.com: Anaheim Tank Farm Blaze San Fernando Condominium Complex Let's all be careful out there!

Gregnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-75828065274157040782008-03-21T17:06:00.001-06:002011-04-23T08:03:14.501-06:00

Originally posted March 21, 2008.  With Easter upon us I decided to repost. When I was young, one of our observances for Easter was to plan a hike for the Saturday before.  We would pack a lunch and head out on foot to hike to a little cave on Little Mountain (NE of Newton), or if we were really lucky a parent would take us a little closer to the mountain via car. We would hike up to the top of

Gregnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-37639408824366630042008-03-20T14:30:00.001-06:002008-03-21T09:43:05.658-06:00

I found this joke in my email inbox and wanted to share, because it just made me laugh off a bit of the pain of the local Aggies close-but-no-cigar loss last night. I quote: "A little girl asked her mother, How did the human race appear? The mother answered, God made Adam and Eve and they had children and so mankind was  made. Two days later the girl asked her father the same question.

Gregnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-91224035059841184442008-03-18T22:50:00.001-06:002008-03-18T22:52:50.800-06:00

When I was younger a group of friends would gather on a Friday night at one of our houses and we would play games, well into the night. Board games were the most usual pass time during these sessions, often it was The Farming Game (yes, a real game, I still have it) but most of the time we would play Risk. This was back in the old days before all the different versions (Star Wars, etc.) came

Gregnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-39584353630062404442008-03-17T21:10:00.001-06:002008-03-17T21:13:19.529-06:00

At church yesterday I was having a reminiscent moment talking with a young man who had spoken in our worship service.  He had served his mission in California, the same mission I was called to 20 years ago.  We were talking about how the mission had changed it's boundaries since I was there, etc., when among the sound of conversation from us and many others in the chapel, I keyed into the too

Gregnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-34785641635190320222008-03-13T22:56:00.001-06:002008-03-13T22:56:41.626-06:00

I'm sitting here intending to describe thoughts and events of the last 4 days.  My hands are hovering over the keyboard waiting for that sweet recollection.  I'm still waiting ....  still waiting .... I honestly can't remember too much about what has happened until today.  Man, this is bad, but maybe it will come back to me. Today was good though, as far as I can remember ....  The Aggies won

Gregnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-8187485508756564562008-03-09T22:43:00.001-06:002008-03-09T22:45:11.282-06:00

I have been feeling sick since after the funeral Friday.  I have had an extremely painful sore throat.  I have had a headache most of the time.  No other troubling symptoms, but the throat has worried me a bit so I went into Instacare to have it checked. No strep!  Yeah!  But the sore throat is still a problem.  I decided to stay home from church today, except for an interview I had to attend

Gregnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-43798256819499456852008-03-07T23:34:00.001-07:002008-03-07T23:34:20.588-07:00

What a beautiful day.  A clear blue sky, and a chance to honor a person that made a difference. I would hope that everyone could be spoken of in that way -he/she made a difference. Today friends and family gathered together to honor and remember one person who was a strength to those around him. There were stories told that many hadn't heard before, and many others remembered their experiences

Gregnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-67579584350998875952008-03-06T15:54:00.002-07:002008-03-06T15:55:59.774-07:00

I might be complaining about the cold, but I guess it's not too bad here, compared to this photo.Taken in New York in the 70's after a fire, this engine company now has to figure out how to de-frost to get back to their house.There have been some really cold days and nights to be on a fire in Cache County, but luckily no vehicles were frozen up this bad.There was a moment of concern on a fire in

Gregnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-76091847416688630232008-03-05T22:33:00.001-07:002008-03-05T22:33:08.698-07:00

After work tonight I was able to be at the cemetery to help prepare for the digging of a grave and the arrival of family and friends for the graveside ceremony. For the time of year it is, there's still an amazing amount of snow on the ground.  With shovels and snow blowers it was pretty easy to find the hidden headstones and make enough room for the backhoe to get to the right plot. It's a

Gregnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-28968191467281867922008-03-05T16:03:00.001-07:002008-03-05T16:04:11.877-07:00

NEWTON, Utah — Darrell Victor Goodsell, 76, left this life on March 3, 2008, after a courageous battle with cancer, surrounded by his family in his home. He was born in Newton, May 21, 1931, to Alfred W. and Edna May Henriksen Goodsell. Darrell grew up in Newton and attended school there in a little two room schoolhouse. He later graduated from North Cache High School. He married his sweetheart,

Gregnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-69102311456935459362008-03-04T23:08:00.001-07:002008-03-04T23:11:09.718-07:00

Of Course this picture is not of the current situation, but it's the best I had of a cow and the backyard in the same photo, so I'll use this one. My brother raises Red Angus cattle.  This winter and last I have fed out some of the yearlings of the herd. This winter has been quite a challenge, simply because it's winter, nothing more than that.  The cows are quite well behaved, don't cause

Gregnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-64196649749069101232008-03-03T15:42:00.007-07:002008-03-03T15:58:23.516-07:00

Earlier this morning the pagers sounded for a medical in the community we protect.With sadness in our hearts we announce the passing of a retired Chief of Department.This long-time member, then long time Chief had retired before I joined the fire service in my home town, but his years of service carry on with his sons - one who is a member of a career department as well as a member of our

Gregnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-60561565861424554752008-03-02T00:02:00.000-07:002008-03-02T19:58:43.454-07:00

It's high time that the snow melted. Personally, I'm tired of it. I am tending part of my brother's yearling aged additions to his Red Angus herd this winter, and it's starting to get old with the weather related hardships. Thats not really what I intend to address in this post, however, so I'll move on.Notable traffic crashes are on my mind today. I'll tell you why this popped to the front of

Gregnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-67945195352410329622008-02-26T15:20:00.000-07:002008-03-02T20:06:03.890-07:00

In a lot of cases, firefighting is a generational disease. I can identify many members of our fire department and other local departments as second generation - or greater - carriers. On our department we have a fifth generation firefighter, and currently we have one father and son team.So it goes with me. My father was a member of the same department when I was younger. On my wall hangs a photo

Gregnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4224934155833360404.post-44901024810944778012008-02-25T09:43:00.001-07:002010-03-27T22:47:03.922-06:00

There are a lot of things that define us as a person - hopefully. Sometimes there is one main defining point. Imagine a room with several occupied chairs placed in a circle facing each other. One of the occupants stands up, all eyes focus: "Hi, my name is Greg. I'm a firefighter. I've been a firefighter for 17 years ......" 17 years. All of my post-21 years. Starting as a volunteer with my home

Gregnoreply@blogger.com0