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Batting cage is up and works perfectly. Now hopefully the rain holds off!!

Next Years Quest....

I'm going to be a certified Warrior next year.....I'm going to do the Warrior Dash... I missed this years event. Anyone want to become a certified warrior with me? Let me know!

www.warriordash.com

Looks Fun!

Backyard Batting Cage...bring on the kids...

After watching the last tournament, I decided to do something about Macey's batting skills. I want her to do better with the bat. So, I'm taking it upon myself to build my own batting cage. Since she is a pitcher as well, it will have a dual purpose. She can pitch in it and also bat in it.

Now after some research I quickly determined that the money to buy one of these was quite steep. So I thought I could build one, if I could get the net. Turns out the net is the most expensive item and they range from 199, the cheapest price I found all the way up to 600 bucks for a net 12x12x55. Thats alot of money...wow!I thought about trying to get a fishing net or a custom net but again, the prices were outrageous.
So I did find one for 199, nothing else even came close. Its a little bigger than I needed but a little over hang isn't all bad. Plus I like that I can change the ends. It comes in three pieces.



I'm also going rig the garage so I can set this up in the garage for those rainy days. Obviously I won't be able to use the full 55 feet but three cars across will get me 30 feet at least.

Now this is basically the structure I'm going for:


I've ordered most of the parts. All I need to do is go to Menards and get the posts. 28, 3/4 inch tubing in 10 ft sections. Put this all together, drape the netting over the top and we should be looking at a pretty big eye sore in the back yard. :-)
I also picked up a pitching machine with 12 dozen balls and it looks something like this. Now this machine will pitch baseballs and softballs up to 60mph.


Now I know I have baseball playing boys behind us, and also next door to us. You think they will notice this thing sitting in my yard?

I'll post some pictures once it is all done and setup....

Oh yeah, I also got a home plate, an L fence to set the pitching machine behind, and a pitching target to hang in the tunnel to go above the plate so you have your strike zone you are pitching into.

Quite a project.....should be fun to play with!

It's been a long month...

What am I up to...or have I been up to...

I shot some graduation pictures for my Nephew Cody...


Then he came over for a shoot for his mom...pictures turned out pretty well....I thought...



The rest are on my site...

My newest project... a backyard batting/pitching cage...

OH YEAH!!!

12x12x55

More on this in the next post...

Sheriff Joe For President...

SHERIFF JOE IS AT IT AGAIN! You all remember Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona , who painted the jail cells pink and made the inmates wear pink prison garb. Well............ SHERIFF JOE IS AT IT AGAIN! Oh, there's MUCH more to know about Sheriff Joe! Maricopa County was spending approx. $18 million dollars a year on stray animals, like cats and dogs. Sheriff Joe offered to take the department over, and the County Supervisors said okay. The animal shelters are now all staffed and operated by prisoners. They feed and care for the strays. Every animal in his care is taken out and walked twice daily. He now has prisoners who are experts in animal nutrition and behavior. They give great classes for anyone who'd like to adopt an animal. He has literally taken stray dogs off the street, given them to the care of prisoners, and had them place in dog shows. The best part? His budget for the entire department is now under $3 million. Teresa and I adopted a Weimaraner from a Maricopa County shelter two years ago. He was neutered, and current on all shots, in great health, and even had a microchip inserted the day we got him. Cost us $78. The prisoners get the benefit of about $0..28 an hour for working, but most would work for free, just to be out of their cells for the day. Most of his budget is for utilities, building maintenance, etc. He pays the prisoners out of the fees collected for adopted animals.. I have long wondered when the rest of the country would take a look at the way he runs the jail system, and copy some of his ideas. He has a huge farm, donated to the county years ago, where inmates can work, and they grow most of their own fresh vegetables and food, doing all the work and harvesting by hand. He has a pretty good sized hog farm, which provides meat, and fertilizer. It fertilizes the Christmas tree nursery, where prisoners work, and you can buy a living Christmas tree for $6 - $8 for the Holidays, and plant it later... We have six trees in our yard from the Prison. Yup, he was reelected last year with 83% of the vote. Now he's in trouble with the ACLU again. He painted all his buses and vehicles with a mural, that has a special hotline phone number painted on it, where you can call and report suspected illegal aliens. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement wasn't doing enough in his eyes, so he had 40 deputies trained specifically for enforcing immigration laws, started up his hotline, and bought 4 new buses just for hauling folks back to the border. He's kind of a 'Git-R Dun' kind of Sheriff. TO THOSE OF YOU NOT FAMILIAR WITH JOE ARPAIO HE IS THE MARICOPA ARIZONA COUNTY SHERIFF AND HE KEEPS GETTING ELECTED OVER AND OVER THIS IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY: Sheriff Joe Arpaio (In Arizona ) who created the ' Tent City Jail': He has jail meals down to 40 cents a serving and charges the inmates for them. He stopped smoking and porno magazines in the jails. Took away their weights Cut off all but 'G' movies. He started chain gangs so the inmates could do free work on county and city projects. Then He Started Chain Gangs For Women So He Wouldn't Get Sued For Discrimination. He took away cable TV Until he found out there was A Federal Court Order that Required Cable TV For Jails So He Hooked Up The Cable TV Again Only Let In The Disney Channel And The Weather Channel. When asked why the weather channel He Replied, So They Will Know How Hot It's Gonna Be While They Are Working ON My Chain Gangs. He Cut Off Coffee Since It Has Zero Nutritional Value. When the inmates complained, he told them, 'This Isn't The Ritz/Carlton......If You Don't Like It, Don't Come Back.' More On The Arizona Sheriff: With Temperatures Being Even Hotter Than Usual In Phoenix (116 Degrees Just Set A New Record), the Associated Press Reports: About 2,000 Inmates Living In A Barbed-Wire-Surrounded Tent Encampment At The Maricopa County Jail Have Been Given Permission To Strip Down To Their Government-Issued Pink Boxer Shorts. On Wednesday, hundreds of men wearing boxers were either curled up on their bunk beds or chatted in the tents, which reached 138 Degrees Inside The Week Before. Many Were Also Swathed In Wet, Pink Towels As Sweat Collected On Their Chests And Dripped Down To Their PINK SOCKS. 'It Feels Like We Are In A Furnace,' Said James Zanzot, An Inmate Who Has Lived In The TENTS for 1 year. 'It's Inhumane.' Joe Arpaio, the tough-guy sheriff who created the tent city and long ago started making his prisoners wear pink, and eat bologna sandwiches, is not one bit sympathetic. He said Wednesday that he told all of the inmates: 'It's 120 Degrees In Iraq And Our Soldiers Are Living In Tents Too, And They Have To Wear Full Battle Gear, But They Didn't Commit Any Crimes,So Shut Your Mouths!' Way To Go, Sheriff! Maybe if all prisons were like this one there would be a lot less crime and/or repeat offenders. Criminals should be punished for their crimes - not live in luxury until it's time for their parole, only to go out and commit another crime so they can get back in to live on taxpayers money and enjoy things taxpayers can't afford to have for themselves. If you agree, pass this on. If not, just delete it.

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Analiese at great grandmas!