Comrades in Arms

Memorial Day 2026

Judging from the graphic above, it seems as if our Nation has been in conflicts almost constantly since its establishment. I cannot begin to estimate the number of casualties and deaths resulting from those battles.

We thank the LORD for our freedom and security, none of which would be possible without the terrible losses suffered by those brave and gallant souls.

On this Memorial Day, as we commemorate those lost in the many battles over the years, may we contemplate their ultimate sacrifices and pray to the LORD for the safe keeping of their souls.

AI generated graphic by ChatGPT. Click to enlarge.

Potpourri Post

Last week I posted about a cactus flower and this week (am I doing weekly posts now?) I am going to ramble on about a few things going on. First of all, There is plenty going on in our lives these days, some quite boring things and some a little more attention getting. Let me elaborate a bit:

  • We continue to live in a peaceful, tranquil place which does little to generate exciting headlines.
  • There are some background issues (mainly healthwise) that take up a little bit of time to accommodate what with professional visits and other things to do with growing older.
  • Life goes on with the usual business of running a household (max kudos to Damsel) with our flock of dependents (2 dogs and numerous cottontails, squirrels, birds, etc.)
  • The yard and garden are looking good this spring, but there is always some little chore that pops up. If it’s a big chore, we have our Landscape crew deal with it.
  • There are the hobbies and other time-consuming activities to relieve some of the boredom and/or excitement that comes along.
  • Food and Dining are a major item in our lives; we’re both on special needs diets and almost exclusively prepare all of our meals at home.

First, here is a photo I took this morning of a squirrel and a peanut. Note that the animals we consider as “dependent” don’t really depend as it were; we just like to treat them now and then.

I used the Canon SL3 camera for the above photo. Part of the hobby thing mentioned above. Our main cameras (my 2 and Damsel’s Canon T6i) continue to provide us with entertainment and some good photos now and then. Click on the image to enlarge.

I recently upgraded my everyday carry from the one I have carried for years to a new, easier to rack semi-auto S&W M&P Shield 9mm EZ. The old muscles and ability to operate the old Glock were getting to be incompatible.

Tomorrow, we will be taking the dogs for their annual exams and immunization updates. We will renew the County licenses afterwards.

This week, I need to make time to get a haircut. Due to other commitments, I have fallen out of sync with my regular trim schedule.

On Tuesday, I have consecutive visits with the General Practitioner Doctor and the Ophthalmologist, neither of which is other than a regular visit for checkup. I also need to reschedule a checkup with the Nephrologist which I had to cancel due to a conflict.

So, we’re still here doing things that you might expect for “generians” (septi- and octo-) to encounter in our lives. We will continue in this regard as long as it takes.

FPC and SAF File Lawsuit on
 Post Office Carry Prohibition

The Firearms Policy Coalition and Second Amendment Foundation plus some individual plaintiffs have filed a lawsuit in the 5th Circuit Federal District Court regarding the prohibition of carrying a concealed firearm into or on the grounds of any US Post Office. They seek to have the court declare that such a prohibition is unconstitutional under previous Supreme Court Decisions. This is good news for us since we rent a PO Box at the local facility and it is a pain to have to disarm to merely stroll in and get our mail.

Cam Edwards at Bearing Arms reports on a previous ruling against the prohibition:

As FPC and SAF point out in their initial complaint, at least one other district court judge has already determined that making postal facilities “gun-free zones” violates the Constitution. In United States v. Ayala, a postal worker was indicted for possessing a handgun after he carried his concealed pistol inside a postal facility in Tampa. Emmanual Ayala has a valid Florida carry license, and says he had his pistol with him while hauling packages in a semi. Rather than leave the gun behind in his vehicle, Ayala kept it secured inside a fanny pack when he would enter postal facilities, but in September of 2022 he was stopped by postal inspection officials and was ultimately arrested by the Tampa police for bringing his gun into the facility.

In January of this year, however, U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle threw out the charges against Ayala, ruling that the government had not demonstrated a historical tradition of barring guns in postal facilities.

This issue will probably be kicking around in the courts over the course of a couple of years. Keep in mind that it is VERY IMPORTANT to get the anti gun Democrats out of the Whitehouse and congressional majorities or this may never be resolved. Support the SAF and FPC and, most of all, support pro-gun choices for elected office at any level of government.

Yes – we’re back to blogging about our rights as Americans more frequently, we hope.

Continue to pray and support those who need it.

Camping in Limon, CO

Stormy Skies

We traveled from Laramie, WY to Limon, CO today under mostly fair skies. However, after we arrived and set up camp, the sky to the west of us started to look threatening. Damsel took the photo above as the sun was showing through the stormy looking clouds towards the end of daylight. Luckily, the storms subsided as the evening went on and we are currently not expecting anything serious.

By far, the favorite part of our trip today was the opportunity to visit with DrJim, a long time friend, fellow blogger, Second Amendment enthusiast and Ham Radio buddy in Fort Collins, CO. Jim showed us his house, dog “Pebbles” and his numerous projects. We had a nice, albeit short visit before heading back out. Fort Collins looks like a very nice place to live. Damsel took the photo below just before we departed.

W7GD and KQ0EA

Click on either image to enlarge.

Tombstone Freedom Days June 28 & 29, 2019

I got a dispatch from the Arizona Citizens Defense League (AzCDL) announcing the third annual Tombstone Freedom Days. I am posting some of it here:

tombstone-freedom.jpg

The Third Annual Freedom Days celebration in Tombstone will be held on Friday and Saturday, June 28 & 29. A schedule of events for this two day celebration can be found at https://www.tombstonefreedomdays.com/.

This year’s events include a Celebrity Town Hall panel discussion at 7 PM, on Saturday, June 29 featuring:

  • Mark Walters of Armed American Radio
  • Baseball Legend Curt Schilling
  • Actress Morgan Brittany
  • Second Amendment journalist Dr. AWR Hawkins
  • Also on the agenda is Patrick Henry, co-author of the Bill of Rights, as portrayed by Lance Hurely.

Panel discussion tickets are now available for only $12 and can be purchased in advanced by calling (520) 226-5024. Seating is limited. Doors open at 6 PM. All proceeds benefit the Tombstone Lions Club.

Don’t delay, get your tickets today!

While at the celebration, stop by the AzCDL booth and visit with our volunteers.

Unfortunately, we’re tied up with a medical procedure that Friday and won’t be available to travel to Tombstone for the event.

New Glass for the Canon T6i and SL1 Cameras

Canon SL1 and EF-S 18-135 mm LensEarlier this month, Tam wrote about trying different glass to replace a zoom lens with not-so-great performance. That post gave us the idea that we too might benefit from lens upgrades for our two Canons – Damsel’s is an EOS Rebel T6i and mine (shown at right) is an EOS Rebel SL1 – both DSLR cameras.

Since the stock lens that came with both cameras was a zoom with a focal length range of 18 mm -55 mm, we decided in getting a better lens with the same starting focal length and stretching the maximum focal length out to 135 mm.

I took the above image of the SL1 with the EF-S 18-135 Lens attached with my little Kodak FZ152 Pocket Camera. Click on the image to enlarge.

Although we haven’t put the new optics through extensive evaluation, we see that the performance is pretty good. I went out this morning to get a few pictures to see how the performance was in general. The following two images of the RV and a hummingbird demonstrate the extreme wide and narrow focal length performance. Click on either image to enlarge.

18 mm zoom 135 mm zoom

As we put the new lenses into use we should get a feel for how the new optics performance will be. Just from today, I can generally see that the Image Stabilizer does an effective job of keeping the camera steady and I can’t readily detect a lot of chromatic aberration at maximum zoom.

We hope everyone had good St. Valentines and Presidents Days.