I have never, ever purchased a cell phone or electronic device of any kind on its launch day before (I like to wait until all the kinks are worked out first), but this time, for some reason, I just HAD to have a BlackBerry® Storm. So I told my son, David, that it sure would be a great Christmas gift — even a great combined Christmas AND birthday gift, to which he replied, “grumble, grumble, OK fine”. LOL He’s such a good boy!

I pre-ordered it on Tuesday of last week, and was told by the very nice gal who manages the store that it probably would be mine on launch day, which was Friday. Well, I didn’t hear one word from Verizon all day Friday, so I finally called them around 4:00 that afternoon. The young man who works there answered the phone and I told him who I was, and that I was wondering if the Storm had arrived. He asked me to hold on for a sec and I could hear him talking to Ashley, asking her if I was going to get one of them, and bless her ever-lovin’ heart, she said yes. He said if I could get down there by 5:30 it would be mine. Well of course I was down there before 5:30! LOL Come to find out, twelve people had pre-ordered a Storm, but they had received only 3 of them on Friday. I thanked them profusely for letting me have one of them!

So far I’m really enjoying it. I’ve never had a BlackBerry® before, though, so I really have no frame of reference. It takes A LOT of getting used to, that’s for sure. It’s more of a computer that makes phone calls rather than a cell phone that does other things. My chief complaint right now is the accelerometer, which makes the screen switch to landscape mode from portrait when turned at an angle. Sometimes it is VERY slow and even freezes up and won’t switch at all. From everything I’ve read, however, I am led to believe that that will be fixed with soon-to-come updates. There was already an update on Sunday to the core OS, which I could tell helped.

All in all I’m falling in love with it and am having tons of fun. I’m sure I haven’t even scratched the surface of everything it can do, but all in good time, eh? After all, the fun is in the discovery, right?

Did you get a Storm? If so, what do you think?

Technorati Tags: RIM BlackBerry®, BlackBerry® Storm, Verizon Wireless

One of the cool things about living in Colorado, particularly in or near the Rocky Mountain foothills, is the unexpected pleasure of finding anything from a fox to a bear in your yard! That’s what happened to the students of Walt Clark Middle School in Loveland on Thursday when they were dismissed from school for the day. When they began leaving the building they were stopped in their tracks by a gorgeous herd of elk who had decided to camp out at the school. The producer of a local television show called “Living the Wildlife” happened to be nearby and shot the following video. Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: Colorado Wildlife, Loveland, Elk

I watched the best documentary on HBO this morning! I’m sure you’ve deduced by the post title that it was called Chimps: So Like Us, right? Oh my gosh, if it weren’t completely unethical and illegal I would SO have a chimpanzee live with me! They are so smart, and quite simply amazing! Their emotions are extremely similar to ours, if not exactly. They grieve, they celebrate, they hug, they kiss …. they’re incredible.

It’s only 30 minutes long, but so full of wonderful information and stunning video of the chimps in their natural habitat. But it was also quite sad during a part in which the plight of the Chimpanzee and its use in medical testing was discussed. It showed them being kept in these little cages, and they all looked so very sad. When they saw Jane, though, they actually reached through the bars just to touch her face. It was extremely moving. Oh yeah, I guess I forgot to mention that it’s about Jane Goodall and the Chimps she watches, watches over, cares for and loves. I think we all know who Jane is, don’t we? If not, please visit the web site for the Jane Goodall Institute. It is jam-packed with comprehensive information about everything Chimpanzee. Some of it will seriously make your jaw drop and you’ll catch yourself saying “Ohhhhh man, that’s amazing!”. Truly stunning.

If you’d like to watch the documentary, you can check out this HBO program schedule. It’s only on 3 more times this month, so set your TiVo!

Technorati Tags: Jane Goodall, Chimpanzees, Chimps: So Like Us

She was unmarried and 28 years old when she decided to build her own house. I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking that that’s not such a big deal these days, right? And I agree, it’s not. It was, however, a very big deal in 1908! That’s when Mary Anna Hradecky of Fleming, a town just up the road a piece (about 25 miles), received her homestead patent, No. 1722, issued by Theodore Roosevelt for the NE 1/4 of Section 32, range 9 and township 49. That homestead, with the homestead shack built by Mary’s hands, was the beginning of what is now a Colorado Centennial Farm known as the Wagon Wheel Ranch.

The designation certificate was presented to Mary’s grandson, Don Langdon, and his wife, BJ, at the Colorado State Fair in Pueblo on Aug 22.

“It still boggles my mind that as a woman 100 years ago, she could accomplish what she did,” Don said. I have to agree with him. Mary was most definitely a woman before her time!

Mary was the fifth child of Frank Jacob and Frances Anna Hradecky, who originally came to the United States from Moravia. She was born on Dec. 17, 1889 in Brainard, Neb. The family traveled to the Fleming area by emigrant railroad car when Mary was 10 years old. They brought with them their horses, cows, hogs, and household effects.

The property that Mary homesteaded was next to the property homesteaded by her parents and another parcel that was later homesteaded by her brother. Mr. Hradecky and seven of his children all homesteaded land, resulting in a total of 1,280 acres all joined together, located northwest of Fleming.

In 1910, two years after Mary homesteaded her land, she married Loron E. Davis and they set up housekeeping in the homestead shack Mary had built.

According to Don, she had saved about $400 in addition to contributing to her parents and family members. She owned 20 to 30 head of cattle.

A daughter, Anna Marie, was born to Mary and Loron in 1911, and another daughter, Lillian, was born in 1912.

In 1911, a new house was built of concrete blocks that were made from a form that Loron had purchased from the Sears, Roebuck and Company. They were 24’ x 8’ x 8’ and made of sand concrete. The house still stands today but has been unused since 1958. It never did have plumbing, Langdon said, but electric wiring was installed in 1949 or 1950. The chicken house was made of the same material and the wall and rafters are still there.

Also in 1912, Mary and Loron purchased her brother Joe’s land that joined her land on the south. That gave Mary a total of 320 acres.

The family raised cattle, hogs, chickens, wheat, corn and hay, as well as always having a large garden, Langdon said. And Mary was well-known for her cooking abilities.

Their youngest daughter, Lillian, died in 1938 at the age of 25. Upon the death of Mary and Loron, the land was passed on their daughter, Anna Hradecky Langdon, and upon her death, ownership was passed to her son, Donald.

Don placed a sign identifying the Colorado Centennial Farm just under the name sign at the entrance to Mary’s homestead. The recognition is an appropriate tribute to be given to a woman who, through hard work, self-determination and ability to recognize opportunity, has left a legacy for the generations during the past 100 years.

Mary Hradecky Davis built dreams and strength and commitment that will continue to be a part of the land and the owners of the Wagon Wheel Ranch, a Colorado Centennial Farm.

Source: My hometown paper, Sterling Journal-Advocate

Technorati Tags: homesteading, pioneers, Colorado Centennial Farms

The above header graphic is a photo taken at Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. I’ve been there only once in my life, but I remember it well. It is absolutely breathtaking! Here’s a little history:

It was August of 1859 when two surveyors started out from Denver City to begin a townsite, soon to be called Colorado City. While exploring nearby locations, they came upon a beautiful area of sandstone formations. M. S. Beach, who related this incident, suggested that it would be a “capital place for a beer garden” when the country grew up. His companion, Rufus Cable, a “young and poetic man”, exclaimed, “Beer Garden! Why it is a fit place for the Gods to assemble. We will call it the Garden of the Gods.” It has been so called ever since.

By the 1870’s, the railroads had forged their way west. In 1871, General William Jackson Palmer founded Colorado Springs while extending the lines of his Denver and Rio Grande Railroad. In 1879, General Palmer repeatedly urged his friend, Charles Elliott Perkins, the head of the Burlington Railroad, to establish a home in the Garden of the Gods and to build his railroad from Chicago to Colorado Springs. Although the Burlington never reached Colorado Springs directly, Perkins did purchase two-hundred and forty acres in the Garden of the Gods for a summer home in 1879. He later added to the property but never built on it, preferring to leave his wonderland in its natural state for the enjoyment of the public. Perkins died in 1907 before he made arrangements for the land to become a public park, although it had been open to the public for years. In 1909, Perkins’ children, knowing their father’s feeling for the Garden of the Gods, conveyed his four-hundred eighty acres to the City of Colorado Springs. It would be known forever as the Garden of the Gods “where it shall remain free to the public, where no intoxicating liquors shall be manufactured, sold, or dispensed, where no building or structure shall be erected except those necessary to properly care for, protect, and maintain the area as a public park.”

I know not a lot of people are interested in the history of places, but I’m not one of them. I find it utterly fascinating. I really love reading about how and by whom places were discovered, founded and built. Sometimes I wish I could go back and live during the pioneer days. Of course, I know I wouldn’t last long. I’m too much of a wuss. Those women worked hard! They put the women of today to shame! I admire everyone who lived back then so much. If it weren’t for them, none of us would have what we do today!

Technorati Tags: Colorado Springs, Garden of the Gods