Clifton's blog

Goodrich Family Farm

2010-11-17T16:51:00.000-08:00

Found some prints of the farm from a few years ago. Scanned them to my computer files and will share with you now. Mom had the barn taken down this summer.

What is it?

2010-11-17T16:45:00.000-08:00

Found this fellow and some of his friends or relatives on our grapefruit tree. Discovered he is a Giant Swallowtail Butterfly.

Trip to Grandma's Farm

2010-08-07T15:06:00.000-07:00

Finishing cleaning up the trees
The trees with their bottoms off.
Burning most of the branches
Owl pellets the kids found and later took apart by hand
Nests, feathers, owl pellets and other treasures.

North Dakota State Flower - Wild Prairie Rose

Can you see the coyote? He's there.

Standing on rocks left from an Indian tepee.

Vanessa loved running grandma's trimmer.

Hauling some of the branches down to the junk pile in the pasture.

Trimming the evergreens.

Leyton loved cutting off dead branches and Savannah threw them on the trailer.

Sun N Fun Airshow Weekend

2010-04-20T19:54:00.001-07:00

Went to the Sun N Fun Fly In in Lakeland this weekend. The Thunderbirds performed and were great as always. They had to do a low level routine because of low ceilings, but it was awesome. I was especially impressed with the C-17. It took off in about 400 feet and landed in about the same amount of space. After it landed it went backwards for about 50 feet. When it got to the end of the runway, it backed into its parking space - incredible! It was a little rainy, so got some interesting pics with the rain and clouds off the wings and propellers, as you can see here.

Birding in Ft Desoto Park - St Petersburg

2010-04-13T18:34:00.001-07:00

Was able to get a few good shots of some real pretty birds this weekend. The Prothonotary Warbler was a first for me. What a cute and photogenic fellow.

Shuttle Launch - April 2010

2010-04-13T18:09:00.001-07:00

Early morning launch of Discovery. Takes about 10 minutes to get into space and not be able to see shuttle. The comet effect was thrilling to see. I heard the roar of the launch about 11 minutes after liftoff.

March 17 Montezuma & Sedona AZ

2010-04-07T18:17:00.000-07:00

On the way to the Grand Canyon, we visited Montezuma's Castle and Well. Both we pretty neat to see. After eating lunch at the 101 Omelet restaurant, we explored Sedona. The red rocks are amazingly beautiful. We drove north to Flagstaff and reached 7000 ft. Lots of snow from about 5000 feet and up still in the trees and places the sun doesn't hit for long. (If anyone wants to help identify the little gray bird below, please try, we're not sure).

March 20th - Phoenix

2010-04-05T17:33:00.001-07:00

Went to church with Leo and had a great lunch provided by Janet. Visited with Jason and his girls at lunch and then a quick trip to the airport. Saw my last new bird - pictured below.

March 19th - Phoenix AZ

2010-04-05T17:26:00.001-07:00

Friday morning walked the trails on the mountain close to Leo's. Took Tyson to the airport after exploring South Mountain Park in southern Phoenix. Found a couple more new birds to finish off Tyson's time in AZ.

March 18th - Grand Canyon AZ

2010-04-05T17:05:00.000-07:00

Got up early, before sunrise. Papa decided to sleep in - good decision. Temp was only 28 degrees and we weren't quite prepared for that. No gloves, was really the only problem, as we had layered up to be comfortable. Sunrise is a hard time to take good pictures, haven't gotten the hang of that yet. Went back to get papa and have breakfast. Had a good day exploring the park and found about 7 new birds for ourselves. Tyson has been really liking his Tilley hat and many people complimented him on his hat. The canyon sure is a big hole in the ground. Beautiful views around every new turn.

Tuesday March 16 Sierra Vista - Tombstone AZ

2010-04-04T18:01:00.001-07:00

Our day started with 40 degree weather at Benson. Naturally we went swimming in the outdoor pool - 82 degrees. Arrived at Sierra Vista and got lost on the army base trying to find a certain canyon. Finally found it and hiked up the side of a mountain. Found a few new birds here but not like we had hoped. Drove over to Tombstone after a late lunch and spent the afternoon browsing in the shops. Tyson visited with 'Wyatt Earp' about their show. Got some great sunset pictures at another state park north of Tucson along the interstate.

Monday March 15 Phoenix -Tucson

2010-04-04T17:45:00.000-07:00

Monday morning we left for southern Arizona. We started the day at the Gilbert Water Ranch in Gilbert (suburb of Phoenix). North of Tucson we visited Catalina State Park and had an excellent time hiking and birding.

Sunday March 14 - Glendale AZ

2010-04-04T08:31:00.000-07:00

Tyson met me in Phoenix for his spring break. We stayed at the Leo and Janet "Bed and Breakfast". We then spent most of the week birding Arizona from the south by Mexico to the north by the Grand Canyon. We had a wonderful time and the weather was great. Thanks again to Leo and Janet.

VW Beetle

2009-10-31T17:22:00.000-07:00

Pictures of Vonnie's new used car. 2008 VW New Beetle. This was her surprise birthday present, albeit a little late. Yellow is hard to find.

Horse Farm Bike Ride

2009-10-26T19:06:00.000-07:00

Beautiful Sunday morning bicycle ride in central Florida through horse country.

Sun N Fun Airshow Lakeland FL

2009-05-06T19:27:00.001-07:00

Christmas Vacation

2009-01-11T18:48:00.001-08:00

Brad with his new snowblower! Tyson taking Savannah out in -20 weather, lasted 5 minutes. Cousins before opening gifts.

Disney Trip

2008-12-03T19:13:00.000-08:00

Went to Disney the week of Thanksgiving. Had a great time. It was Savannah's first visit and she really enjoyed it. I especially was fascinated with Cinderella's castle. The lighting was just awesome. Needless to say, I took quite a few pictures of it because of all the different colors.

Random Shots

2008-11-15T19:33:00.000-08:00

The fruit stand down the street is a favorite place to walk to and then sit in their orange rocking chairs. Vanessa is happy to show off her new friend, Lucky.

Bucs game

2008-11-15T19:12:00.001-08:00

After lunch one day at work, an email came about free tickets to the next Tampa Bay Buccaneers football game. A couple of us from the office jumped in the car and raced over to get in line. There were already about 40 people in line. Picked up 6 tickets. It was a Sunday night game and we sat in the very last row up against the wall. Still could see very well though. It was also a tribute night for Mike Alstott #40. The crowd was also on edge because the Rays were playing the Red Sox in game 7 to see who would go to the World Series. Both Tampa teams won.

October

2008-11-15T18:35:00.000-08:00

Went birding near Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge but saw far more butterflies. Also saw a rather large black racer. He posed for a while then decided he'd seen enough of us and went back into the tall grass.

September

2008-11-15T17:56:00.000-08:00

Instead of a Twins/Rays game we went to the St
Pete Pier.

A new rocking chair for mom.
It's a folding model.

A rather large insect. I think some sort of mayfly.

2008-08-29T17:47:00.000-07:00

Went to the ASI Convention in Tampa. Tyson was part of an evangelistic series for Youth for Jesus. Met many people we knew from all over.

2008-08-27T19:43:00.000-07:00

These are some pictures of the 1941 Stearman Biplane that I won a ride in at Sun-N-Fun. Great fun! The pilot even let me fly the plane about half the time. Found out much later that he is the brother of Wade Boggs from baseball fame. Nice guy.

Jacksonville

2008-08-06T17:40:00.001-07:00

Mom and I went to Ponte Vedra Beach. This is the home of Sawgrass TPC. I had meetings there for work. It was raining when we went to the golf course, so didn't see famous island green #17.

Fireworks

2008-07-11T19:10:00.001-07:00

Highlands Hammock

2008-07-09T19:29:00.001-07:00

Tyson - Firecracker 5K

2008-07-09T12:15:00.000-07:00

Here's the results from the 5K Tyson ran on Friday morning, July 4, 2008. He finished 2nd in his age group and 4th overall.

7/9/2008 6:10:00 AM
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Firecracker 5k ResultsJuly 4 road race at Highlands Hammock State ParkJULY 4, 2008Highlands Hammock State Park - 14th Annual Firecracker 5K Run/WalkOverall Male - Eddie NeSmith 17:43Overall Female - Kim Price 22:25Male Master - Dave Quarles 18:50 (40-59)Female Master - Laura Griffin 23:00 (40-59)Male Grand Master - Rob Mason 23:43 (60+)Female Grand Master - Sandy Brosius (60+)Male Age Group Winners - Top Three Trophy, Medal & Medal(14 and under) Mitchell Edgar 28:07, Lorenzo Guro 28:09, Tyler Gonzalez 35:11; (15-19) Conner Bauer 18:00, Tyson Kahler 20:15, Alfredo Perez, Jr. 24:55; (20-24) Jeremy Kelly 27:44, Michael Kelly 29:24; (25-29) Trey Christy 20:37, Eric Zwayer 28:05, Nate Swearingen 42:58; (30-34) Josh Zahler 20:48, David Stephens 23:13, Kristopher Wenger 24:57; (35-39) Chris Doty 22:56 (His Birthday), Jim Waller 23:41, Ricky Hayes 24:42; (40-44) Tom Meade 22:31, Gary Fulton 25:24, Alfredo Perez 29:50; (45-49) Paul Nowell 22:03, James Broen 23:06, David Taylor 23:47: (50-54) Randy Sykes 20:18, Randy Grice 24:24; Virgil McInvale 24:56; (55-59) Thomas Lukas 21:48, Wesley Mercer 24:21, Kevin Roberts 44:24; (60-64) Will Strouse 24:42, John Schwartze 24:43, Richard Rucker 26:26; (65-69) Frank Wenger 29:30, C.T. Leighton 31:14; (70-74) Sam Starrett 26:18, Harold Smith 28:16, Bud Ennis 40:37, David Cutler 44:20; (75-79) Lee Pearson 59:11; (80+) Gene Nowell 44:45, W.H. Harwood, Jr. 52:08.Female Age Group Winners - Top Three Trophy, Medal & Medal(14 & Under) Amiaia Unanue 31:51, Katie Carol 32:09, Hannah Waller 33:24; (15-19) Amanda Kennedy 25:41, Ricki Albritton 27:04, Bethany Good 29:05, Whitney Lee 34:31; (20-24) Aime Barjas 46:40, Sandra Valdez 46:41, Ashley Snyder 57:49; (25-29) Ashley Cochrell 24:02, Corine Campbell, 25:39, Kathy Waters 26:22, Amy Zwayer 28:18; (30-34) Kim White 24:22, Holly Chamberlain 24:45, Jeanette Wallace 24:46; (35-39) Vicki Musselman 24:09, Evelyn Perez 25:59, Meredith Ritacco 32:30; (40-44) Jennifer Nanny-Glassburn 25:10, Colleen Ricketts 29:25, Val Klossner 36:16, Renee Kohl 33:06; (45-49) Suzy Dumont 28:10, Darlene Celentano 29:29, Janice Delesto 29:34; (50-54) Lessa Skipper 28:14, Marcia Percy 35:07, Gina Scheck 38:53; (55-59) Crystal Vanderpool 31:32, Elena Febre 32:58, Anita Wallace 37:56: (60-64) Judy Mercer 40:06, Pat Wacaster 43:25, Beverly Ennis 43:41; (65-69) Barb Spuledo 49:35, Maggie Wenger 50:17, Shirley Holloway 50:37; (70-74) Jan Coyle 47:15; (75-79) Linda Pearson 43:37.

On our own

2008-06-29T08:55:00.000-07:00

Well the girls are gone and it's just not the same without them. We rode about 60 miles today. I did 33 and Tyson did 27. I went an extra 6 to drop something off along the way. It was a great morning to ride, overcast and a slight breeze. We rode the route for the Sebring triathlon in two weeks.
Its been raining almost each day this past week, but the lakes are still way down. Its the lowest I've ever seen the lakes around here and many of the older folks say the same thing. So need a lot of rain to get them back up. The water restrictions are still on until September.

Tyson Triathlon

2008-06-22T19:52:00.001-07:00

Tyson Graduation

2008-05-30T18:27:00.001-07:00

Tyson Graduation Weekend

2008-05-30T16:16:00.000-07:00

We had a great weekend in Minnesota to see Tyson graduate from Maplewood Academy. We especially appreciated our sleeping and dining facilities. Thank you Vern and Sherri. It was great to see everyone again. The weather was most cooperative. Vonnie played organ on Friday night for the opening ceremonies. The lighting in the gym left something to be desired, but we did the best we could. Tyson sang in a quartet, as well as playing his trumpet for one of the hymns. He also had a special number for the evening program.

Flowers in the yard

2008-05-13T17:49:00.000-07:00

We have many flowering plants and bushes in our yard. The dew on the broombush was especially neat one morning.

Audio Books

2008-05-02T17:26:00.001-07:00

I've been listening to audio books as I travel to and from work lately. I have just finished listening to "John Adams". It was approximately 30 hours long. I really enjoyed the book. HBO has a mini series that they just aired in 7 parts. The small excerpts on the internet appear to do a nice job of presenting the book. I know the book is biased to Mr. Adams but he was the driving force behind the beginnings of our country. It was amazing what he went through but kept his resolve. The other thing I really noticed was the eloquence with which they conversed. I think we have become quite lazy in our speech. Good read, highly recommend.

Another book I have listened to is called "China Road". This I downloaded from the library and burned onto CD. It is about 10 hours of the interesting travels of an NPR reporter that lived in China. China is and will be a force to be reckoned with. They are growing into the industrial age at light speed. We must remember that China was the most advanced civilization in the world for a long time and they want to regain that role.

I have also listened to the audio version of "Memoirs of a Stock Operator". This is a book from 1923 and is still considered by many as one of the best books on the stock market. It was indeed an interesting book and not boring at all.

I'm also listening to Pocahontas by John Smith.

Last fall I listened to a book about Buffalo Bill Cody - the first American superstar. I really enjoyed this book as well. I could easily visualize many of the areas where he entertained and lived. It is so interesting to hear about history from the eyes of someone who lived in the era. It puts a nice twist on the happenings of the late 1800's and early 1900's. He was a friend to the native americans and employed hundreds of them during his shows. He would take as many as 100 with him to Europe for his shows there. In fact, I think he spent as much time in Europe as in America. The audiences were a little wealthier and more intrigued by the "wild west".

Vonnie also picked out a book about the Wright brothers for me. This went through their life stories. They were an eccentric pair along with their sister. The sister finally married when she was about 50. She moved with her new husband to Kansas City.

Rare birds

2008-04-24T20:08:00.000-07:00

There were 3 of these birds feeding near Ridge Career Center. They each have a couple of bands and a radio band.

New blog

2008-04-24T19:23:00.000-07:00

I decided to start my own blog. That way I can add pictures as I want.