In good writing, words become one with things.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

The people who influence us most are not those who buttonhole us and talk to us, but those who live their lives like the stars in heaven and the lilies in the field, perfectly simply and unaffectedly. Those are the lives that mould us. ~Oswald Chambers

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.

John Quincy Adams

Verse of the Day

“For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.”

Psalm 33:4-5

Mouse Bombs and Baby Biters

Old but interesting news... I saw this article about an interesting method for controlling a dangerous pest in Guam. A news broadcast about this is linked to the left.

Dead mice stuffed with the pain reliever were attractive bait....Each mouse was attached to two squares of cardboard and a streamer of green paper. The streamer could be dropped from a low-flying helicopter and would catch in the upper tree branches of the jungle.

Apparently, brown tree snakes (Boiga irregularis) are non-native snakes that are devastating to the wildlife in the area. They are also a danger to humans, as illustrated in the photo and in this abstract from the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene:

video

The brown tree snake, Boiga irregularis, is abundant on Guam and commonly invades human habitations.... Over 50% of the emergency room visits for snakebite involved children <4 years old. Records exist of 4 infants, 1, 2, 5, 10 months old, who displayed significant symptoms after being bitten, while sleeping, by snakes.

Wow. Hard to love snakes! And may it be a good lesson for us - people say "don't look a gift horse in the mouth", but I say: always look gift mice in the mouth (for tylenol)!

 
 

 

A Great End to January

Well it's hard to believe but we are already at the end of January of the new year.   How time flies when you're having fun!    We have had a great month at the Johnson household.

Friday, hah!

video

Well, it's Friday.

fun fun fun fun

It's What's for Dinner

Brendan gets home from work a little before 5:00 almost every week night.  After greeting the girls and I and giving him time to decompress for a few minutes, it's usually my goal to have dinner on the table between 5:30 and 6:00... So, if nothing goes wrong, here's the what the Johnson household will be having:

Faith in humanity?

Another story of a family surviving disaster, which always tugs my heartstrings. A family in a sightseeing plain crashed and were immediately rescued by various good samaritans. The father expresses his gratitude to the people who saved then, rightly so. My first thought when watching the video, however, is not a reaffirmation of humanity but of God's hand in our lives.

New Mexico is Stretching
Wed, 01/18/2012
Sarah Melissa Johnson
Mon, 02/14/2011
The Journey That Built Me
Mon, 10/04/2010
Aria 2011
Thu, 12/08/2011
Someone Once Said
Thu, 01/27/2011
Sweet
Fri, 07/10/2009