At Bosque Del Apache: (A bosque is a low lying area, not really a swamp, but when we use to have heavy rains and no levees, water would cover the area for a time. Nowadays we route what water we can spare and flood the area for the birds. Contract growers provide fields of grain as feed for the fowl and wildlife.) Ducks: 73,582, Canada geese 457, Light geese 41,126, Sandhill cranes 7,995, Golden Bald Eagle 5, American coot 828, Marsh and water birds 4, Shorebirds 5, Hawks and Owls 27. The following rare birds have been spotted, White tail kite, Hooded and Common Mergansers……I’ll keep you posted on the counts as the winter progresses….about 15 white wing dove sit on my fence or power lines each evening. I provide feed and fresh water for them and who ever else comes flying by…By the way, I do count them from the ground using the one, two, three method…It works with them…..error should be less than 1%, I hope….I’m not really a birdwatcher, but I do love to watch them…crazy huh?….

As you regular readers know I have spent a lot of time talking about the bird counters at the bird and wildlife refuge areas around the state. Specifically, about the counters of the birds and them being able to count those little suckers while they are at the sites. You know how they say, we have 14,262 snow geese, 27,341 sand hill cranes, etc, etc…..Well, this weekend I was driving down south of Belen on I-25 and there was a field of some type grain or grass along side the road….That field was filled with sand hill cranes….There ain’t no way I could count them little rascals, well, those big rascals, so I am asking you….How, I say how, do the counters pretend to count them….I can say there were probably more that fifty, could have been 100 or more….If I was a counter, I would count in flocks…One flock over yonder, another flock down there, that’s two flocks and so on….If one of you bird counters would leave me a comment I would greatly appreciate it….How do you get them to still still?   How do you know if you already counted one?…..If flock 1 joins flock 2, how do you know if you counted them in another field….You guys are really smart, that’s all I can say about that, real smart…..or guessimators….or liars…Pete

Been to the post office lately?…When I go it seems like everyone is going….the line is always there when I get there..The other morning, Sweetie says to me, “take this to the post office. If you go now there won’t be anyone there.”….I did…Wrong, the line stretched from the counter all the way back to the door…One clerk to serve 15 or 20 people and most of them with multiple packages. About three or four of them got out of line and left, not having time to wait I suppose…Then a clerk called out from the back, “those of you here to pick up mail or packages come to this door”, about four left the line for that. Still, four or five were left in front of me. This one guy must have had eight or ten packages. The lady right behind him had four or five packages….The lady right in front of me had a couple of pieces of mail and a sack. When the many packages guy got to the counter, another clerk showed up. A loud “Thank you Jesus” went up from the crowd, er, well, that was me…That got a few chuckles anyway. Finally, the lady in front of me got to the counter. She opened the sack and had many, repeat, many photo type envelopes inside that dang bag. They were still working with her when I got called by the other clerk. Behind me,  the line still stretched back to the door… Well, I made it, but it sure makes you want to stay away from the post office, don’t it? Makes you feel for the one clerk working and everyone waiting…No wonder postal clerks go “postal”…..

This week, Obama’s top lawyer will join the U. S. Chamber of Commerce in urging the Supreme Court to strike down an Arizona law that goes after employers who hire illegal workers. The administration also seeks to void a part of the states law that tells employers they must check the  federal government’s E-Verify data base to make sure their new hires are authorized to work in the United States. And we have already told the Arizona police department not to check drivers license for illegals…..I get so flustered with this crap….Why go to all the trouble down on the border of trying to keep the illegals out? Whats the purpose? The lawbreakers get through our only line of defense and then they are 1st class citizens, above the law, able to get welfare and social security?  Our Border Patrol people must feel like fools going through the motion of keeping illegals out, huh? Why bother? …. What the heck are we thinking?…Maybe I should rephase that, do we have anyone who can think? …I’m sorry folks but  we deserve to go broke….Pete

I am posting this picture of my Dad and Brother again. Dec. 7th is Sam’s birthday. He passed away Dec. 27, 2008.  I don’t have a later picture of him on my computer so this picture is all that is available. Anyway, I always have a perfect picture of him in my heart, so this is for you the reader anyway. I really miss visiting with my brother and going to Alabama to see him from time to time. Anyway, I just wanted to remember him and honor him on this his birthday….I still miss you, Sambo…. (a click on the picture will enlarge it.)

Jerry Pacheco wrote a very good article titled, “A New Kind of War Convulsing Mexico” in todays Business Outlook. In that article he states, “….the results of the Mexican Revolution are still a work in progress. In 2010, Mexico ranks as the 14th largest economy in the world and a major exporter of its products around the globe……Today, the country openly welcomes foreign companies, and the precious foreign investment and jobs they bring…. As to the further changes made in Mexico he also states, “As has been the case since the Mexican independence movement of 1810, every one-hundred years that passes brings turmoil to Mexico and 2010 is no exception. Rather than a war being fought for freedom, democracy and self-rule, the current drug wars are based in money and power…. And we can all agree with that…. Then Mr. Pacheco comes to the real meat of the problem…”While it can be argued that the Mexican economy has modernized since the revolution, two key factors which are critical in the success of any stable country have remained antiquated–functional and efficient educational and legal systems…A weak educational system has the effect of guaranteeing no chance for the improvement of the quality of life for millions of Mexicans.” …Well, said Mr. Pacheco, well said…..and America is paying for the lack of education and legal systems in Mexico today….One way we could help ourselves is to send thousands of peace corp volunteers into Mexico to teach the children, develop the middle class and help form an effective and ethical legal system….Our southern border will continue to be porous as long as there are only “the peons and the rich” in Mexico….Meanwhile, with our economy, the peons continue to steadily grow in  America….

Well you start getting old and looking up friends, especially old friends, you find out that you have out lived a lot of them…Then you get to talk to an old friend and it seems like you can take up right where you left off many years ago….Have you noticed that?…It’s sure nice to visit and talk about the good old days, meaning of course, the youthful life shared….I spoke to one old friend today, and while it was a sad occasion that prompted the call, as he had lost a brother, also a friend, it was so good to hear his voice again and to get caught up on the many years between our last visit…The last couple of years of high school, this guy was like a brother, seems like if you saw one of us you saw both of us…He was like family over at my house and I think I was kind of like family over at his house….I feel so badly that I have missed all these years in talking to him, but we just get to busy living, don’t we, hung up on work and family duties… all of that is important but looks like I could have made time somewhere in there…. it seemed like to me this morning the we both hated to have the other hang up the phone as we kept finding things to talk about….after promising not to wait so long next time we did hang up…..but let me tell you, this old soul was pleased as he had ever been in talking to a friend, an old friend, a best friend and today I have vowed to never let that much time pass between visits with all you guys that it has been my pleasure to call “friend” over the years…..You know what, I ain’t got that many left, and every one of you are special……Pete Hester

Goodbye TCU….It is a shame that the Mountain West could not be one of the money conferences, then I think we could have kept TCU around. However, this year you could have kicked butt in the Big East….Next year, well, I’m not so sure….You may come to regret this move, not only in football but basketball… I am sure you will make more money, but a year or two years down the road, what then?….well, come to think of it you had trouble holding your own in the Mountain West in basketball, the Big East will kick your butt there….Your girl players are pretty good..I just don’t see you fitting in very good there, football or basketball….Why should a fellow like me worry about it anyway, it’s all about money….The have’s have and the have not’s want…..so goes life….it still ain’t right….