August 4, 2008
Got four baby chicks in the hen house. Cute little boogers. My neighbor, from down on the creek, Tom Augherton, came up last night and we went out to figure out how to protect them while I'm in Peru. I had to remove all the deep water dishes because the last chick drowned in one, but the hens kick straw in these shallow pans and they dry out in record time.

When Tom and I went out around dusk, the three mother hens were in a pile in the corner with the chicks underneath their skirts, as it were, to keep them warm (a website on caring for chicks claims they need to be at 85 degrees for the first three days to survive). While the hens were piled there, Spike the Rooster runs over, jumps on top of them, and starts humping the air. I knew what he was thinking: "Oh, Man, a four-way!"

Men are so gross and so predictable.

Worked all weekend on cloud paintings and TW assignments. Here's a nice little Ed Mell cloud painting study (above):

We're flying to LA tonight, then boarding a flight at 1:40 in the morning for San Salvador. Two days there, then on to Lima and T. Charles' town in Peru. Going to be gone for three weeks. May be spotty in here, although I'll post when I can.

Speaking of posting, AOL did a poll on email addiction and here are a couple stats:

• 62% of people check work email on the weekends
• 19% choose vacation spots with access to email
• 59% check email from the bathroom (up from 53% last year)

"Keep learning about the world. Use your mind to the hilt. Life passes quickly and, towards the end, gathers speed like a freight train running downhill. The more you know, the more you enrich yourself and others."
—Susan Trott