(AF) Oklahoma Earthquakes Continue

It happened again this afternoon ...... the loud, booming rumble, followed instantly by the ground shaking and vibrating under my feet. I was outside doing my daily feeding and watering when I heard the distinct rumble and had to stop to steady myself against the vibrating ground. It only lastd a few seconds, but there was no mistaking it. And my critters obviously noticed it, too. (Some of them got a little cross and yappy for a few moments at their dinner being disrupted.).  I haven't seen anything in the news about it, yet. And, as with most of them of late, it hasn't been registered yet on the Oklahoma Earthquake Information site.

We seem to still be having tremors - earthquakes - aftershocks on a daily basis, often times, many times a day. Strangely enough, there have been many that I was absolutely certain of, yet they have never been posted on the Oklahoma Earthquake site. I find that very odd, and have to wonder why.... The obvious conclusion (my opinion) would be that 'they' are trying to keep the magnitude of the number of tremors we are having from us. And if that is the case, it doesn't make sense. When we feel them, and then don't see them registered, all that does is even further kill our trust in our warning systems, weather people, and other authorities involved. 

Even more odd, the news media is picking up and reporting on quakes/tremors that also aren't reported on the Oklahoma Earthquake site.  You can see here that last Friday night (Dec. 2nd), two Earthquakes were recorded and reported by the news media (by numerous news stations), yet only ONE of them is registered on the Oklahoma Earthquake site (keep in mind the time frame is figured differently on there and it shows that it happened on 12/3. The size has also been upgraded since it was originally reported.). WHY??! That really doesn't make sense!!

On November 27th, Fox News.com reported, "6th Earthquake in 4 days recorded in Oklahoma." They key word here is, "RECORDED." They aren't all getting recorded! When absolute obvious tremors aren't recorded, it makes it look like 'they' are trying to hide something, but what? My guess would be the documentation of the number of them we are having, but that is just my guess. On the Oklahoma Earthquake site, I have seen lately that there are occasional days where no tremors were recorded. I don't think that is accurate. I don't think we have missed a day in a looooong time, now.AND, I have felt/heard them on some of those days.

Just two nights ago, Dave and I were up late gabbing on the phone when my critters started getting all riled up. They were driving me nuts! .... and making it very difficult to hold a conversation with Dave. Then, finally, I heard the now distinct thunderous rumble (no storms near), followed by my concrete floor vibrating under my feet. This happened 3 times over about 15 minutes or so, agitating my animals even more ..... then everything quieted down and they all settled down for the night. But nothing was ever seen in the news, nor on the Earthquake site about them. So, beginning tomorrow, I plan to get out a fresh, new notebook, pay MUCH CLOSER attention to what my critters are telling me about the Earthquakes (they seem to know much more about the Earthquakes than even the best educated geological person), and begin keeping my own record to look back on. I am sure it will make good reading for my grandkids and their kids in future years, not mention and interesting reference to compare to the Earthquake site.

If you are in Oklahoma (or anywhere else, for that matter) and experience - feel - hear even the slightest tremor, please leave a comment here and let us know about it. I am sure many will find your comments interesting. Maybe we will even consider adding a page on here of Oklahoma Citizen reported tremors.  Thank you for taking the time to read my post.

(AF) A Thanksgiving Circus - part 2

Okay, so dinner is finally nearing being ready, and none too soon. A few people had had the bright idea to bring in an array of booze, are using it for appetizers on empty tummies, and unplanned entertainment is about to begin if we don't eat soon. One or two are beginning to feel p-r-e-t-t-y good at this point. Nearly everyone is lending a hand, anxiously trying to get it all on the table. Even one of the young kids is busy away stuffing eggs and celery. The rest of the kids are doing their part sampling the pickles and olives to make sure they are fit for everyone to eat. But wait .... where is SIL?

She doesn't like her hubby's family, feels she is far too good to associate with any of us, and from the moment she had entered the house, she had parked herself in the most recessed corner of the couch, head tightly downward as she closed all of us out, thumbs flying non-stop as she focused on her cell phone (yes, she had kids she as suppose to be watching). And there she sat for the afternoon, never looking at any of us, never joining into any of our conversations, and never uttering a single word to any of us. This is normal for her, she rarely, if ever, speaks to any of us (us women, anyway). Even if they are staying there for a spell.... nope, not a word to us. 

Dinner is finally ready (3 pm), everyone races to the kitchen to mound up their plates .... except .... you guessed it ... SIL. She just continues to sit there, hunkered down in her corner of the couch, thumbs twiddling with her phone. Everyone is eating, talking, laughing, enjoying their food and good conversation (course, I could have stood to wear a pair of wadding boots for some of the topics, lol, but I chose to just shake my head a little, laugh to myself, and keep peace) ...... and SIL just continues on with her thumb twiddling, hilarious and sad at the same time.
Everyone finishes eating, continues conversations for awhile, finally has dessert .... but SIL.... no, no dessert, either. She is still twiddling. Her neck had to be getting sore by then from holding her head down so hard in her effort to shut all of us out.

Little did we know, but right after we started fixing our plates, we had another Earthquake (3.7). I guess that was to assist with shaking our food down in our tummies so we could eat more. We have been feeling those quakes that size, but everything was so chaotic, noisy, and attentions focused on finally eating, that no one noticed, nor heard, the Earthquake. We have been having a lot of small ones all month - some quakes, some aftershocks (and for months past), and we don't usually feel most of them, but that size is usually obvious. (Oklahoma's last 30 days of Earthquake activity)

So everyone is sitting around, hanging out, visiting, making an extra effort to get along, having coffee, tea, drinks, reading through the Black Friday ads, and nibbling on a few more bites of the foods we especially liked. Son 2 has to leave, and Mr. & Mrs. Neighbors and one of their kids finally arrives. Suddenly, SIL is standing, alert, energetic, AND found her voice! It was exactly what most of us expected, but how quickly she came to life was still mouth-dropping funny. Guess I better back up a little so you understand. For the past couple of years, Mr. & Mrs. Neighbor lived next door to Host before they moved to another house. Brother and SIL became the best of friends with Neighbors. And it didn't take us women long to realize that SIL has the hots for Mr. Neighbor. For the longest, each of us suspected it, but kept it to ourselves. Then one day someone mentioned it and the rest said, "Okay, so I'm not the only one that noticed that. It is totally obvious, isn't it!" She does everything she can to get close to him .... asking him to drop stuff off to her at work, having to step over to his house while wifey is at work to get something she "accidentally" left over there, repeatedly having him come over to 'help her' with something she just can't do on the computer, conveniently having to use the laptop on the couch where he has to sit close, instead of the desktop, wearing 'sexy' attire when he is going to be around (eewww), and the obvious list goes on, and on, and on. Poor Brother doesn't seem to have a clue .... yet. Mrs. Neighbor may have caught on because this time, she made sure she sat next to her husband and close, between SIL and Mr. Neighbor. And Mr. Neighbor (currently serving a deferred, felony sentence and stays sloshed much of his off-work time), seems to be totally oblivious to what is going on, which makes SIL work even harder at getting his attentions, which gets pretty entertaining at times.

Okay, so Mr. & Mrs. Neighbor just walked in, and SIL found her legs, energy and voice. Mrs. Neighbor stopped in the living room to say her hellos and visit a moment, while Mr. Neighbor went to the kitchen to deposit the dishes they had brought, SIL following closely behind to 'help' him. She eagerly began chatting with him and telling him how good this food and that food was and made a point to tell him which desserts she had made and brought. She grabbed the plates, handed him one, took herself one, then her energy obviously dropped as Mrs. Neighbor walked in and she handed her a plate. Mr. Neighbor asked, "Haven't you all eaten yet?" I couldn't resist, I spoke up and said, "All of us except her have eaten." He looked so darned puzzled! She hadn't even eaten with her own husband and kids, she had waited to eat with Mr. Neighbor! 

So everyone is eating, nibbling and chatting, but not quite all together. Half of us or so are trying to visit with everyone. SIL only visited with Brother and the Neighbors, and the Neighbors visited only with Brother, SIL, and Son 1, ignoring the rest of us. I think maybe they did say a couple of words at one point to Host. The air is chilling down, kids are wound up from desserts and over stimulation and keep running in and out and holding the door open to talk to each other, which is typical and expected of kids at this point. But that ended up letting little dogs run in. As three of them darted in and ran down the hallway to check out the excited giggles in the kids' room, Mr. Neighbor finally spoke to me. He glared at me and, words slurred from too much 'sauce', said, "Dogs stink!" I just shrugged my shoulders, smiled, and went on down the hall to make sure the kids weren't eating something the dogs would grab. Although I had been immediately catching the dogs and putting them back out, on that note, Cousin B and I decided it was time to let our Fur Balls stay in for a bit and take a nap in our laps. 

to be continued . . . . .

(AF) Recent Oklahoma Earthquakes

  Here in Oklahoma we are experiencing an avalanche of Earthquakes. Yes, Earthquakes! Oklahoma has always had a tiny one now and then ... less than 30 quakes a year. And they were all small enough that they were rarely ever felt by us humans. But over the past couple of years, the number of Earthquakes has drastically increased. In 2009 the number of quakes increased to just over 50. In 2010 that number soared to over 1000!!! And this year, in 2011, we are expected to easily top last year's count.

A very detectable Earthquake about a year ago left my house with some minor damage, mainly making it difficult for a full closure of my windows. I can close them and still lock them. But several of them now, once closed and latched, still leave a glimmer of air space, which seems to have grown with our current quakes. On one hand, that can be a good thing, as it allows for a constant supply of a little fresh air in the house and a place for toxins (such as from cleaners, wood stove, etc) to escape, but on the other hand, it's letting the cold air whip in and circulate all around me. I hate that, I don't like being cold air flowing around my arthritic legs.

So, what is causing this drastic increase in Earthquake activity here in Oklahoma? There are no concrete answers yet. No one seems to know. Some insist that they are coming from fracking. According to the Associated Press, there are 181 injection wells in the area where the majority of the quakes are coming from. But  the people in the fracking industry say that there is no way that fracking could cause the larger-sized earthquakes we are currently experiencing (larger than usual, including a record breaking quake on November 5, 2011 that gave my house a really good shaking).

We are now having what they are referring to as 'aftershocks' on a regular basis, anywhere from one to as many as a dozen each day. Most are too small for us humans to feel, but I certainly did feel the one last night. It wasn't very big, but there was no mistaking that odd, evil sounding rumble and the uneasiness of the floor under my feet. But I knew before I even heard it that it was coming. My cats told me.

Animals are very in tune to the Earth, much more so than we are. I do believe that we still possess that instinct, but as we evolve into 'lazy, I want it easy, I want it now, I want it yesterday, you do it for me' people, we no longer pay any attention to the natural world around us and instead put our total dependency on the weather forecasters and geologists to just report to us when something is coming, causing us to have sadly lost that instinct. I also have no doubt but that the chemicals in our diets, and chemicals that enter our bodies in other aspects of our life, hamper our connection with our Earth.

I am in awe at how my critters, especially my cats, know when one is coming, and I find myself paying much closer attention to them. I have even been letting one of my better behaved, house-friendly cats stay inside some just so I can observe her and know several hours in advance when a quake is coming. Before we have one, my goats get extra quiet and calm. They all hunker down next to structures, curled up in as near a fetal position as goats can, and seem to focus on a very meditative form of breathing. Even the ones that don't much care for each other will curl up together. They naturally, and instinctively know what to do. They feel it coming, and they prepare. They don't stand in a doorway or hide under a table or in their little houses, they make themselves as small, compacted and sturdy as possible as they hover up against sturdy structures, such as large trees, strong fences or strong buildings.

As the rumbles begin, at that point when you are wondering if it is quake or thunder, my dogs begin to throw frantic fits and bark profusely! It's more a barking of fear and confusion, that at something, but still very intent. They don't do that for thunder, just the Earthquake rumbles. I feel so stupid that I can't tell the difference yet. So I have been paying much closer attention as the critters tell me what is going on, and last night, I was able to tell myself that it was Earthquake rumblings and not thunder.

And then there are the cats, that seem to know faaaarrrr beyond any of the other critters on my little farm, when a quake is coming. My cats' abilities to detect the Earthquakes well in advance is amazing! And I now watch them closely. Sometimes even hours before one hits, my cats will act agitated, squall a pathetic squall, then burrow down in a soft cubby hole against something good and solid. In the event of a crisis, instead of us asking each other what to do, we should really pay much more attention to what our critters do, they know.

I have decided that I want to get back in tune with my own instincts as much as possible. I mean, I can already out-predict the weather man as to rain and storms when I pay attention to my arthritis, but with the increase of multiple elements in our atmosphere, and the always possibility of grids going down, I want to be in tune with my own instincts in as many ways as possible. And I figure the best way is to watch the animals' behaviors while paying extra close attention to what I am feeling, what is going on in my own body when they act up, in accordance with what comes weather wise/atmospheric directly afterwards, and watching for distinct patterns.

As for the increased Earthquakes and aftershocks in Oklahoma, no one appears to know what is causing them, but I think we need to hold on and get prepared for a bumpy ride, because I don't think they are going to stop any time soon, though I do wish they would. If you would like to see a glimpse of Oklahoma's Earthquake activity over the past month, check it out here. 
Thank you for taking the time to read my post.

(DF) UNEXPECTED COMPUTER DELAYS

On the farm, there is always something coming up to change one's plans without notice. It is always necessary to be able and willing to roll with whatever comes up and make the best of it, no matter how much it interferes with the flow. Yesterday provided just such an opportunity.

It was my full intent to work on some outside projects as soon as the much needed rain stopped, then to write another post after dark. Instead, as the rain let up, I left my computer alone for a few minutes and returned only to find that it had become infected with a nasty virus. Off to the computer shop I went to get it cleaned up.

A few hours and some cash later, (OUCH!), I made it home in time to feed the animals, eat a bite, enjoy the earthquake, (yes, I did say, earthquake and it WAS small enough to enjoy), and do a few things in the house. Honestly, there was time for a post, but I was too fried from dealing with the computer all day.

The good news is that my computer is now clean and updated, and better still, it didn't transfer anything to anyone else. After cleaning up some unused files and changing some settings, it is also faster. So even though it was a delay, expense and annoyance, there is still a bit of a bright spot, as usual, and with this morning's rain starting to let up, the work I intended for yesterday is still there waiting for me.