Die Vergangenheit

Back in the old days there was a mountain man who liked to sniff flowers ("Peace - Love"). Times have changed. Who is this guy?

Waiting for Hurricane Danny

Well, we are at Bethany Beach for a week or two. Just missed Hurricane Bill, which flew by Saturday and Sunday last week. It was a non-event here at Sussex Shores - didn't flatten the beach or create any good wave conditions. Just smashing shore break that blows sand 30 feet in the air and will break the back or neck of anyone that tries to ride these death barrels.

Now w have near perfect calm - the quiet before the storm. Danny doesn't look to ne much right now, and may not make hurricane strength, despite the weather channel's hype. Looks like we'll get a nor'easter out of it on Friday and early Saturday, but again, it might blow by so fast that the beach won't flatten out. We need something to get the sand offshore and make a break that won't just bash on the shore. Stay tuned.....

Summer In Oregon

Hi! My name is Katarina and I am my grandpa's favorite grand daughter. I want to tell you about the crazy summer my grandpa has been having. He's been on the go and living in his camper for most of the time, either looking at rocks in Utah or climbing mountains in Oregon. He never slows down. He even rode a bicycle down the Oregon Coast for 250 miles, just to look at rocks. Silly grandpa! I finally got to see him when he took me swimming in the Alsea River. Don't I look cute in my sun hat? I'll probably always be the cutest grand daughter, because my Aunt Jackie will probably have another boy baby.

These are the guys that rode down the Oregon coast. One day they had really strong head winds and rain, but most of the time the weather was great and they all had a great ride.

So, this is a picture of Broken Top, a volcano near Sisters, Oregon. Grandpa couldn't stay up there too long because it started to thunder and lightning - pretty scary

This is a picture of my Uncle Josh before he left on his mission to Oklahoma. He went with grandpa to Utah to look at rocks with some oily geologists. They must be funny people to travel all that way just to look at rocks. I hope they take me down there one day, because I love rocks, too!

Lovely clays

Is this a message from the gods? XOXOXOXOX? I mean I love hairy illite and stuff, but I've never had these little beasties return my affection so clearly. It makes life so worthwhile to be loved!

Some mornings the view from my office window is just too nice to pass up. This morning is was like 28F outside and the snow from the previous day was down on the flanks of Mary's Peak. Even though it warmed up to about 60F during the afternoon, the morning was just perfect. Mary's Peak has many moods and we see them all from our vantage point on the farm. I wish I had a web cam dedicated to Mary's Peak attached to the side of my house. It would beat all the weather cams for this side of the valley.

Smecto-pectate

Everyone has heard of kaopectate, that helpful white kaolin clay product that you take to end the squirts, when all else fails. But have you ever heard of smectopectate, the related product made with Wyoming Bentonite. Smectite is a highly expansive clay that sorbs water into its structure and can swell up to 1000 times its dry volume. I tried this little known product for some mild indegestion and noticed one of its more interesting side effects, as shown in the photo. I'm glad I only took 1 tablespoon of the stuff, or I might not be here today. My son thought my agony was really funny. Kids! Moral of the story: Stick with kaolin-based anti-squirt products and avoid gut splitting problems associated with expansive clays.

The Art of Clays

Sometimes, when looking at things that are really small with a really good scanning electron microscope, you see things that remind you how beautiful and complex nature is, right down to the level of these tiny clay minerals. Whether it is "hairy illite" (you guess which one that is) or tiny remnants of solid hydrocarbon trapped in the "taco shell" of some grain-rimming iron-rich chlorite, it makes you pause and wonder who wrote the plan for these things. A lot of folks think oil just gushes from the ground and is easy to find and produce. So mnay of the rocks that contain oil have these darn clays plugging everything up that production of any fluid is very difficult. 90% of Americans don't have a clue how difficult it is to find and produce oil and gas. Just as long as it comes out a nozzel at the gas pump for a reasonable price, they don't want to know what it took to get there. Keep driving!