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What do firearms and this blessed holiday have in common? Well, for one, liberals don't like to talk about either. Christmas is coming. And for many Americans, that means opening gifts around the tree, big family dinners and Midnight Mass. No disrespect to Norman Rockwell - but Christmas always reminds me of shooting. Sure, I love seeing my family, gorging on the kind of food and drink that are usually impermissible during the other 11 months of the year and finding some fabulous little trinket under the tree. And every year I bring a batch of 'Cupp-cakes' to my local...

A White Christmas in Dallas. Never before in my 44 years. I have now seen everything. "Snow" (Irving Berlin, 1954) Snow It won't be long before we'll all be there with snow Snow I wanna wash my hands, my face and hair with snow Snow I long to clear a path, and lift a spade of snow Snow oh, to see a great big man entirely made of snow Snow where it's snowing all winter through That's where I want to be Snowball throwing, that's what I'll do How I'm longing to ski through the Snow Those glist'ning houses that...

This is a video of a half a million birds swarming over Sacramento California. I just want to know who estimated that there is a half a million. Are they sure there are not a million, or maybe only 100,000 instead? Well either way it is pretty cool, and reminds me of the movie by Alfred Hitchcock, "The Birds".Check out the video of the Birds over Sacrament here These following two paragraphs are from an article at "The Independent", and it is about the phenomenon called a murmuration; Winter must must be coming... because the starlings are flocking. Here are...

This guy is shooting a 50 CAL. Watch the dust when he fires. The target is a steel plate, 1000 yards away. You can hear the ping of the hit, and then the bullet comes back and hits the ground just in front of his position, then tumbles up hitting his earmuffs, knocking them off of his head. The footage is amazing. You can hear the bullet as it tumbles through the air on its course back toward the shooter. He's lucky it hit the dirt first. He is okay, and obviously very lucky. The bullet grazed his temple. What...

Check out this is a video of a half a million birds swarming over Sacramento California. After watching this I thought about a B movie I watched back in the late 70s called "Swarm". It was about a bunch of Americanized bees that wrecked havoc in Houston. Well the way these birds are flying over the city of Sacrament reminded me of the way the bees swarmed over Houston in the move the swarm. Check out the video of the Birds over Sacrament here

Last night, the models were all in pretty good agreement with taking this storm system from north-central Texas up through western Missouri and then into Minnesota which lead me in the direction of providing you the information in the latest post. Things may be on the change again. Not a huge surprise to me, though. As I had previously mentioned until the storm system really moves into the U.S. the upper air data would not be that great and that would influence the model outputs.

Merry Christmas, Pics, yes, it was still snowing. Should have used 800 speed, instead of 400 speed.  Below, the Rappahanock: George Washington's Mom's House: Below, the former Princes Anne Hotel,...Churchill stayed here: Below, they have come to spy!  Merry Christmas!   

This is a great video of a yellow Lab chasing down and catching a big fish. I showed this to my husband and he told me that there is no way our St Bernard would ba able to do it. Well, if you like dogs you are going to love this video. Check out this video of a yellow Lab catching a huge fish If you have a doggy ping list you need to notify your followers. They will will not be disappointed.

How Will It Impact Your Travel? Still watching the likely development of a BIG winter storm from the Southwestern US to the Heartland but details are still sketchy. To explain why I say this, I chose to provide you with another video blog post. I hope it helps clear some fuzziness up.

One of my favorite pastimes is fishing. Ever since I was a young boy growing up in Northern Minnesota, I have enjoyed the leisure sport of fishing. In the last 5 years I have taken up the sport of fly Fishing and found it to be even more enjoyable then fishing with a reel and worms. I have fished many rivers and in many states across this vast country, but I have never ventured outside of America to fish. I always thought that someday I might like to fish in Canada. Then after watching this video and seeing how they...

Now this is way cool. If this video doesn't make you smile and laugh, then your heart just ain't beating properly. Yellow lab chases down a huge salmon on a river, and catches it

Ok, now I have seen hunting dogs track down an animal, but this is the first time I have ever seen a dog catch a fish. And not just any fish, this dog is playing in the water, then he sees a salmon and chases it until he catches it. then he brings it to shore for his owner. Awesome must see video. Check out the yellow lab chasing down and catching a huge salmon

Landscapes can be a tough subject for any photographer. Black and white landscape photos can be particularly tricky to make interesting. This collection, however, manages to bridge that gap and create some astonishing images. If you would like to try your hand, then check out our list of tutorials at the end of the collection.

Earlier Friday afternoon, scientists funded by NOAA and the National Science Foundation released video of an underwater volcano eruption.  This eruption is the deepest erupting volcano ever discovered and recorded. The video of this eruption is more than awesome, it is spectacular.  In an area near Fiji, Tonga and Samoa, the West Mata volcano was discovered in May.  The volcano lies almost 4,000 feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean. The scientists say they found a type of lava they have never seen erupting from an active volcano before.  They also witnessed molten lava flowing across the deep-ocean seafloor...

Earlier today scientists funded by NOAA and the National Science Foundation released video of an underwater volcano eruption. This eruption is the deepest erupting volcano ever discovered and recorded. The video of this eruption is more than awesome, it is spectacular. In an area near Fiji, Tonga and Samoa, the West Mata volcano was discovered in May. The volcano lies almost 4,000 feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean. The scientists say they found a type of lava they have never seen erupting from an active volcano before. They also witnessed molten lava flowing across the deep-ocean seafloor for...

I like fishing just like anyone, but fishing on a frozen lake is not my idea of a good way to spend the afternoon. No sir, give me a fly rod and a nice river and I can fish all day long. Now these guys have found an interesting way to find out exactly where the fish in the lake are. I would not recommend it, but if you are from the extreme North, then I am sure you have either done it this way or at least contemplated it. Either way you really need to check out this video,...

Lot going on so did a video blog post today. Wish quality was better. Will give it a try again tomorrow but hopefully it helps get the ideas across.

Abe Kidd of Fort Worth has been fishing for as long as he can remember. But the 91-year-old retired banker never caught anything to compare with the whopper he and his wife hooked on a rod and reel one recent morning off a dock on Cedar Creek Lake. Kidd wasn’t sure what he had at the end of his line. "It was a dead hard pull," the fisherman said. "At first it didn’t move. I thought 'I either got a sure-enough fish or a turtle.’" As wife Ann, 92, and the couple’s son, Andy Kidd, looked on, Abe spent at...

One of my favorite pastimes is fishing. Ever since I was a young boy growing up in Northern Minnesota, I have enjoyed the leisure sport of fishing. In the last 5 years I have taken up the sport of fly Fishing and found it to be even more enjoyable then fishing with a reel and worms. I have fished many rivers and in many states across this vast country, but I have never ventured outside of America to fish. I always thought that someday I might like to fish in Canada. Then after watching this video and seeing how they...

Now THIS is refreshing! A youngster in school whose extracurricular activities include marksmanship. Rally round boys, we need to nurture all the gems we find!

Are you “Dreaming of a White Christmas”? Many of us each year dream of a white Christmas but we know it is just going to be a dream unless we head to the mountains or someplace else where we know snow will be. This year, though, many of us who normally have to just hold on to a dream of a white Christmas may actually get what we dream for as a present from Mother Nature. As I hinted to last week, the weather pattern setting up for Christmas week appears generally to be cold. Specifics were up in question...

Kerry: Next 12 Hours Are Critical December 16, 2009 William La Jeunesse Sen. John Kerry says the next 12 hours of the Copenhagen would be critical to the success of the conference. But he hoped differences would be resolved, since success at the conference here is critical to passage of climate control legislation in the U.S. next year. The Massachusetts senator also attempted to explain why climate legislation is such a tough sell in the U.S. Congress. “Ninety-seven percent of new emissions in the next 20 years will come from developing nations,” he said, adding that by 2020 China’s emissions...

But now I believe the comments to be authentic because they perfectly mirror the mentality that made my phone calls to the Senator’s office so memorable. CLICK LINK HERE The blather starts almost from sentence one, message one and continues through sentence last, message last.

If you haven't already signed up, there's still time to join the National Audubon Society's Christmas Bird Count. (Link provided in article.)

In a situation that most any conservatives can relate to, a stupid Reporter and his Guide catches an anaconda snake off guard. Well they decide to harass the snake and play with him for a few minutes before tossing him like garbage, away from the camp. Remind you of the way the drive-by media treats conservatives? Well, that's the first thing I thought of when I watched it. Anyway, after a little while the Guide hears the reporter screaming for help. So he rushes to where the Reporter is and finds him under attack from the angry anaconda that tracked...

These are the times that make men vomit. Have you seen the latest Gunowners Of America Alert? Mr. Milquetoast himself, Harry Reid, may pass some version of ObamaNationCare because NOT ONE Senate Republican has the brass to stand up and just say NO.....not one more lie....not one more penny... not one more day.... not one more usurpation. What possible power does this pantywaist Reid have over Senators like North Carolina's Richard Burr to silence him into submission? The State that gave the nation Jesse Helms (Senator NO), now has Richard Burr (Senator Go-Along-To-Get-Along).

An upper level storm system will be digging south-southeastward out of Colorado and into eastern Texas during the next 24-hours. You can see the storm system spinning on this water vapor image.

ClimateGate Investigations Ensue Bethany Stotts, December 1, 2009 Phil Jones—the director of the Climate Research Unit and persona extraordinaire at the epicenter of the ClimateGate scandal—announced today that he will be “stepping aside” until an independent review of his actions have been completed. From the University of East Anglia’s CRU (UEA) release: Professor Jones said: “What is most important is that CRU continues its world leading research with as little interruption and diversion as possible. After a good deal of consideration I have decided that the best way to achieve this is by stepping aside from the Director’s role during...

A one two punch storm system is organizing across SE New Mexico and will be tracking eastward over the next 24 hours. In addition, a second storm system will be dropping south through the Northern Plains. These two systems will be phasing, or coming together, on Wednesday and a powerful low pressure system will track from the southeast Texas coast to near Louisville, Kentucky by Wednesday evening. A sharp shot of cold air will sink rapidly southward behind this moisture rich system and likely rainfall will be changed over to accumulating snow.

“The conspiracy behind the Anthropogenic Global Warming myth (aka AGW; aka ManBearPig) has been suddenly, brutally and quite deliciously exposed after a hacker broke into the computers at the University of East Anglia’s Climate Research Unit (aka CRU) and released 61 megabytes of confidential files onto the internet. (Hat tip: Watts Up With That).”

In a speech before 1,500 of the world’s top climate scientists, Mojib Latif of the Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences at Kiel University, Germany warned that “the recent cooling trend should not be allowed to divert attention from our main purpose. Temperatures rise, temperatures fall, sometimes catastrophically. Amidst these fluctuations, though, it is imperative that funding for climate research be maintained.” “Many governments are looking for ways to reduce expenditures during the current recession,” Latif ominously observed. “Consequently, a perception that climatic dangers may be easing or that there may be plenty of time to respond to trends that take...

In a first-of-its-kind litigation, the Ecological Rights Foundation ("ERF") has alleged in a Complaint brought in federal district court in San Francisco that Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) is in violation of the Clean Water Act ("CWA") and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act ("RCRA"). ERF alleges that the treatment of PG&E's utility poles treated with pentachlorophenol ("penta"), a wood preservative, has resulted in contamination of groundwater and surface water throughout four counties in Northern California -- Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, and San Francisco, including San Francisco Bay. The suit implicates all of the estimated 300,000 utility poles that...

Greeting fellow freepers. I am looking for any advice you can offer as I plan a family vacation to southern Germany. Looking at the end of November or first part of December. Not a lot of time to plan so I am open to all your input

Fellow Freepers, I feel almost stupid posting this but I'm having an annoying back-and-forth with a liberal Facebook friend who "can't help but notice" all the OLD WHITE people at today's rally. Can anyone who was there share any shots of -- God help us -- non-white people?

The maples and other showy trees are done now. The weather has turned dour again and the maple leaves are falling fast. These are pictures taken (mostly) around town near the end of the high season. Most are maples, but there are other trees, including a cherry and a willow oak.

Halloween is upon us and many of the Little Punkins will be seeking the treasure of candy and goods Saturday evening. But will they be able to do so with just their costume and bag at hand or will they need coat/jacket and or rain gear?

A vigorous storm system moving through the center of the nation has delivered feet of snow to Colorado including the Denver metro area and is also delivering strong to severe storms across portions of SE Oklahoma/NE Texas/Western AR/Western LA. As of 2 PM CT, 3 tornado watches were in effect.

A powerful early winter season storm is spinning up across the 4-corners with a surface low across southeast Colorado. The surface system will gradually lift north-northeastward through Saturday while the upper level support will be slowly track eastward into the lower Mississippi Valley. What does this mean?

Crops such as Corn, Cotton and Soybeans Affected If it has seemed like it has been raining unusually often and by quite a bit, you are right. The months during harvest time (August/September/October) are traditionally the driest of year for most locations east of the Rockies, especially across the corn and cotton belts. This season, though, has been an exception. Here is a slide show that shows how the precipitation of these months has compared to normal.

Inconvenient Truths Allie Winegar Duzett, October 27, 2009 Ann McElhinney was not always a conservative; in fact, she was once quite liberal. She told the story of her conversion at Accuracy in Media’s 40th Anniversary Conference on October 23, 2009. McElhinney was a journalist called to cover a story about a Canadian mining company in Romania. “What was really bizarre about this,” McElhinney said, “was that the BBC, CNN, the New York Times covered this story of this evil mining company; evil Canadians were going to destroy Transylvania and bring nothing but bad things, and two heroic, wonderful women—two environmentalists…were...

Global Warming Cools Off Allie Winegar Duzett, October 27, 2009 No matter if the crisis is global warming or global cooling, the environmental left always provides the same answers to the world’s woes, Marc Morano of Climate Depot noted at Accuracy in Media’s 40th Anniversary Conference: more government control. In a panel on climate change, Morano stated, “Rainforest destruction, global cooling—whatever the eco-scare of the day is, they’ll… call for the same solutions, which inevitably involve more government control and a whole environmental-left wish list.” Morano pointed out that we are now in the middle of a cooling trend globally,...

We live on the western edge of the Ridge and Valley Province of the Appalachian Mountains, where the landscape is defined by long ridge mountains, with coves nestled in higher elevations and river valleys in the limestone and shale formations below. The Autumn turning of the leaves this year has been slow, giving us a long season of fall color. The images in this article are from the past week.

Signs are showing that November will be turning warmer than normal, at least for the first half of so of the month for the Eastern U.S. with the opposite being true for the West. However,

Globe Cools to Warming Allie Winegar Duzett, October 22, 2009 Ever since it came out in 2006, Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth has been something of a cult classic. Despite its numerous scientific mistakes and exaggerations, the movie has risen to must-see status, even being required viewing in many public schools. Phelim McAleer and Ann McElhinney teamed up earlier this year to create a rebuttal film, Not Evil, Just Wrong to discuss the scientific inaccuracies and the hidden agendas of Al Gore’s smash hit. Not Evil, Just Wrong points out some of the grossest scientific problems with An Inconvenient Truth;...

This week Earth will be passing through a debris field left behind by Halley’s Comet, the Orionids. Bill Cooke of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office says, “Flakes of comet dust hitting the atmosphere should give us dozens of meteors per hour. Since 2006, Orionids have been one of the showers of the year, with counts of 60 or more meteors per hour.”

It’s hard to be thinking about severe weather after the very cool weather many of us have been experiencing, especially where it has recently snowed. However, we are heading into another severe weather season that generally runs from late October through November. Now, this season is predominately found in the southern United States from Texas to Georgia.

A large trough is in place over the eastern U.S. and will remain so through this weekend allowing for it to be quite cold for this time of year. Temperatures will be averaging between 15 and 25 degrees below normal!

As you are aware, I released my initial winter outlook on September 1, 2009 (you can read the full post here) and I followed that up with some specific details for key locations with this post. On October 14, 2009, one of the nation’s largest private weather companies, AccuWeather, released their 2009-10 Winter Outlook (viewable by clicking provided link) and today, October 15, 2009, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released the official U.S. Government 2009-10 Winter Outlook. I would like to compare my forecast with the other two and to see if we are thinking in similar ways...

Rains have already soaked much of Northeast Texas and Arkansas and it now spreading into the MidSouth and heading towards the TN Valley as of 3 PM Tuesday. Over the past week, it has been cloudy and dreary with periods of rain, some of which has been heavy for much of the South from Northeast Texas-Northern Georgia. This area has seen an estimated 2”-6” of rainfall during this time with some isolated higher amounts. This has saturated the ground and unfortunately, more rain, some heavy, is on the way.

An early season cold spell across the Upper Midwest and northern Plains this past weekend and into the start of this week mixed with available moisture has set up for early season snow. Some of this snow has been quite heavy and has been record breaking. Here are some of those records: