They’ve got a bunch of cute concrete critters that are surrounded by cork padding so the kids are less likely to hurt themselves.
My favorite is this a cement frog you could set right next to your cement pond.
Playground
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Digital Life as Opposed to a Social Life
I’ve been spending too much time in front of a computer and find myself become more and more isolated from the outside world. — If you think this isn’t your problem consider how much time you spend on Facebook, Twitter or MySpace –there are some people left who still use MySpace; they must be very lonely– and how little time you spend talking to people in person.
Most people DM, IM, email or text me because they know that I live in front of a computer and they know that even if I’m away from my computer / phone a digital message will eventually be seen.
I’m just as bad, heck, I don’t even like to leave a message on someone’s voice mail so I text or email.
The advantage to all this is that you can email someone in the Ukraine and get a response for no additional fees, whereas a phone call is not only expensive, you have to jump through hoops and juggle time zones to make one and then if they don’t answer you try again later and jump through even more hoops.
The downside to all this digital communication is that, if you’re like me, you’ve known people for years that you couldn’t pick out of a one person lineup. And I betcha don’t know their real names either….
We were getting into the car the other evening when Tiffany asked me who one of my neighbors was, and I didn’t have a clue. I mean, we wave when we see each other so it’s not like we’re unaware of each other’s existence. But to put a name with a face? That’s not happening.
And while I admit to not being the most social animal in the world, and I really think I should get out and meet more of the people who live near me, they’re never outside either and I can’t think of any reason to knock on their door. I wouldn’t want to interrupt them in the middle of a Facebook friending marathon.
–Now if these people had twitter accounts I could follow them. 
Falling Lake Mead Water Level
My friends ask about the water level in Lake Mead and the best explanation I can give them is to show them this.
(click on a photo for a larger image.)
The lake has dropped almost 140 feet in the last few years, making the bathtub ring approximately the same height as a 14 story building.
And in spite of this rather obvious evidence, the powers-that-be in the Las Vegas valley continue to give permits for water wasters like golf courses and fountains, and they insist that you must plant trees and shrubs around any new or expanding commercial project. — I guess being in the middle of a drought, in the middle of the desert, doesn’t matter to a bunch of bureaucratic buffoons.
So there you have it folks. Pretty soon we will only be allowed to flush our toilets every other Tuesday, every home will have to be retrofitted with navy showers and we’ll probably all die of thirst anyway, but the valley will look green and cool while it happens.
– Every politician should be named Nero. –
Trucks
Wetlands Morning
I grabbed my camera and headed out to the wetlands this morning about 8am which is at least an hour too late. It’s headed for summer here in the Las Vegas Valley and by 8 it’s already 80° give it another month and it will be in the low 90s. So it’s best to get into the habit of getting out at sunrise.
Since there are no dogs allowed, the wildlife isn’t quite as skittish as it is in a lot of other places.
Almost as soon as I hit the trail I saw a couple of cottontails:
This little guy was sniffing leaves probably trying to decide which ones were sweetest.
This character was sitting on a rock just a little ways off the trail eating the new leaves off the reeds. He stopped just long enough to decide I wasn’t a threat then went right back to munching.
And because I chose a different route than usual I came came across a little pond with a viewing platform that I’d never seen before, which turned out to be really cool. Within a matter of minutes I had shots of a whole bunch of interesting critters.
This black Phoebe was using a rock in the middle of the pond as his hunting platform. He’d fly out grab a bug and settle back down on the rock to enjoy his snack.
There were the usual coots,
and a marsh hen. –Marsh hens tend to be much shier than coots but this one clearly wasn’t impressed by an audience.
I spotted three or four turtles.
These are sliders like you buy at the pet store that people think are so cute. That is, “cute,” right up until the kids get bored then if the turtles are lucky they wind up here.
There were also large carp swimming in water that is so murky that you can only see them if they are within an inch or so of the surface.
This is way they look when they’re on the surface.
I applied onOne software’s “Le Freq Show” HDR preset so you could see the fish more clearly. (It was an easy eighteen inches long.)
But my favorite sighting was this Least Bittern: I’ve been chasing the little blighters for years and this is the first half way decent shot I’ve managed to get.
If you just want to go for a walk or go bird watching, the trails are well maintained, some paved and some cinder, with no skateboards, bicycles or roller blades allowed.
And if your children are old enough to stand still for a few minutes and not make noise this would be a great place to show them the local wildlife. Just remember to bring hats for the sun, sunscreen for your nose and bottled water. –The water that’s there is treated but undrinkable.
One last thing, any time you have water in the desert you are going to have lots of bugs. –In fact I believe that the reason you don’t see more flycatchers is that by 8 o’clock they’ve eaten so many bugs they’re too fat to fly.
