We are leaving for Thailand today so I am restarting the blog. I will try to make it as interesting as possible but you get what you pay for!
It is getting COLD in New hampshire and we are looking forward to seeing everyone at Kids Ark Thailand and of course eating Thai food. We hope to visit some sponsored children, Bev is planning to teach knitting and I am hoping we can explore putting biosand water filters in some homes in the villages to make sure the water is clean.
This summer we have almost finished setting up Kids Ark USA as a 501c3 organization and that will allow people in the US to get a tax deduction when contributing.
Below are some fall pictures from the west and the east to get a feeling of the fall colors which were particularly good this year! (Do we say that every year?) Finally fun/funny pictures and video of a Trebuchet or Catapult.
Northern Arizona Fall pictures from my sister Duffie and Flagstaff, Arizona (West)
New Hampshire Fall pictures from New Hampshire around Hancock, New hampshire (East)
All about Catapults (trebuchet)
http://www.yankeesiege.com/
Each fall a garden store in a town near Hancock shows their catapult in action to attract customers. This ancient tool of war which used to heave rocks or buring bombs over castle walls now throws 10 lb ( 4 kg) pumpkins at a castle for fun not warfare! They also travel and compete with other crazy people in a national contest.
Here are some photographs of this huge toy and then a video below. It takes them a half an hour to wind up the weight before they can shoot it so it is not a rapid fire device! The counter weight is 12,000 pounds or 5500 kg and throws the pumpkin 2100 feet or 640 meters
Pictures:
Video of it working:
Since 2007, Tom and Beverly Westheimer have been going to Chiang Mai, Thailand for four months to escape NH winter. We met and lived in BKK in the 70s for 10 years. We volunteer with http://www.KidsArkFoundation.org, enjoy Thai smiles, warm weather and best of all ... Thai food.
