Photo of the Week: Statue

 

In Memoriam: Kyle Albert Velasquez

From aColumbineSite:

Born May 5, 1982

16 years old

Neighbors and relatives say Kyle Velasquez enjoyed chores and family activities. They say he was a "gentle giant". A sophomore, he was six feet tall and 230 pounds when he died but those who knew him knew that he was a little boy at heart. Affectionate and sincere, he loved nothing more than helping his dad, Albert, out around the house: Putting up shelves, mowing the lawn, washing the car. Every day he would kiss his mom, Phyllis, on the cheek and tell her that he loved her. He dreamed of joining the Navy like his dad, or becoming a firefighter.

When Kyle was just a baby he suffered a stroke that left him mentally disabled and he also had severe asthma. As a "special needs" child, Kyle was often ignored, avoided, and teased while growing up -- he knew what it was like to be an outcast. Due to his disabilities, Kyle's parents had prepared to spend the rest of their lives with him. He would accompany his mother everywhere while she ran her errands. Kyle's last words to her were: "Goodbye. I love you, mom."

A shy teen, Kyle had only been attending Columbine for three months and was just beginning to come out of his shell when the massacre occurred. It was only a few weeks that he was staying at the school through lunch; a few weeks earlier and he would've been on his way home the day the shooting started. Kyle loved computers. He had been sitting at one of the computer tables in Columbine's library when the killers came in, perhaps too confused of frightened by the chaos and noise to hide himself. Dylan Klebold shot him in the back and the head. Kyle was the first victim to die in the library.

Kyle was buried with military honors in Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver, Colorado, since his father was a Navy veteran. His parents were given the flags from his coffin and the one that was flown at half-mast in Kyle's honor at the state Capitol.

Photo(s) of the Week: Iowa & Nebraska Tornadoes of April 26, 2024

 Credit where the author is known.

Elkhorn, Nebraska

Bennington-Blair, Nebraska

Bennington-Blair, Nebraska

Omaha, Nebraska

Omaha, Nebraska

Minden, Iowa

Harlan, Iowa

Harlan, Iowa

Harlan, Iowa

Harlan, Iowa - Adam Orgler

Harlan, Iowa - Adam Orgler

Mount Ayr, Iowa

Afton, Iowa

Photo of the Week: Pyramid

 

A Quarter-century

 

Photo of the Week: Mighty Steed

 

Prohibition Party Hopes to be on Pennsylvania Statewide Ballot for First Time Since 1954

 From Ballot Access News

Photo of the Week: Priest

 

Garden update: It's been awhile...

Because there isn't much garden work that can be done in Iowa in the middle of winter. The first sign of Spring came on February 1st when my daffodils began pushing up through the mulch. Some of them are now in full bloom.

The best of the group

Angle 2

This afternoon I went out and planted seeds for several cool season crops: radishes, carrots, peas, and onions. I also planted onion sets for the first time. Those are in a separate section so we'll see how they turn out. I'm also going to try my hand at: broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, and kale. I had no success with those last year so I'm starting them indoors this year.

For warm season crops I'm planning on corn and sweet potatoes. I've saved three ears of corn from last season and am hoping at least some of the kernels will be viable. I really liked the sweet potatoes I grew two years ago and this time I'm going to try creating slips to overwinter indoors.

For non-food plants I've saved two heads of bee balm and planted seeds from those in about ten jiffy pots and planted those out in the garden. I hope these work out because bee balm smells wonderful and is right up there with lilac in my opinion. I also sowed seeds from cup plant last fall to try and kickstart a 'native' garden.

The biggest news is I finally got around to planting my year-old apple sapling outside on Friday. It looks a little worse than last summer but it still has green leaves. It was quite windy today and still gets chilly at night so I put a tomato cage wrapped in cloth around it to protect it. Hope it survives but if it doesn't I've got about twenty seeds chilling in the fridge that I could try.

Better times last summer

Photo of the Week: Sea dog