Monday, September 17, 2012

GOLDEN LABS






Yellow Labrador Retrievers are one of America's favorite pets, and the above Lab is certainly our favorite pet.  A beautiful animal, full of love and charm, yet even in his playfullness he can strike a stately pose. The first registered Yellow Lab in America was signed up in 1929 by the American Kennel Club.  Several thousand if not millions of Yellow Labs have been registered since, but for our money the above AKC registered Lab is one in a million. 

Our dog is a British Labrador.  While we are not sure what the British designation means it apparently at least means a gorgeous dog with a wonderful disposition.  Not just man's best friend, but in the modern lingo, Man's Best Friend Forever (BFF).  This breed has a wonderful history and is one of America's favorite dogs for a reason.  So here is to the Yellow Lab, may fun and playfullness reign forever in the life of this wonderful animal.

Check out the history of the Labrador Retriever at http://www.lorkenfarms.com/labrador%20Retriever%20history.htm.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

HURRICANE ISAAC





In the 1948 Movie, Key Largo, there is an exchange concerning a hurricane:

Ralphie: Hey Curly, what all happens in a hurricane?
Curly: The wind blows so hard the ocean gets up on its hind legs and walks right across the land.

This week in New Orleans we were visited by Hurricane Issac.  It has an impressive satellite image but coming in it had a hard time gaining strength barely making it to a Category 1 storm.  But it still packed a punch with 80 mph winds.  It blew through the night of Tuesday August 28th and Wednesday August 29th.  Unfortunately, what was supposed to be a smaller storm turned into a terror for some when it stalled just after coming ashore, and whipped the coast with its winds for almost 24 hours -- getting up on its hind legs and walking right across the land. 
 
New Orleans fared well with its $15 billion dollars in improved levees.  Thank you America for those tax dollars, they came in handy for this storm.  The experts say that if we had the old levee system we would have had significant flooding in New Orleans.  But as it happens we had very little flooding within the levee system. 
 
Unfortunately, those who lived outside of the levee system though did not fare well with significantly high waters and thousands flooded.  Keep them in your prayers.