There are two related native species of redwood trees, the Coast Redwood and giant Sequoia, which share the designation of State Tree. Both date back to the dinosaur era and are known for their impressive statistics.
The Coast Redwood is the tallest tree in the world. They are 400 feet high, 100 feet wide and grow 2-10 feet a year. Weighing 1.4 million pounds, they live 2,000 years. Needing plenty of winter rain and summer coastal fog, they live best within 50 miles of the Pacific Ocean, from Oregon to Monterey, California.
The giant Sequoia are the largest trees by volume (52,508 cubic feet) in the world. They grow 300 feet high, weigh 2.7 million pounds and have a 40 foot trunk diameter and 31 inch thick bark. Sequoias need fire for their seeds to grow and live 3,000 years. They are found along a 250-mile stretch of the central western Sierra Nevada at 4,000-8,000 feet elevation.
Why does a Giant Sequia need fire? Without fire, conditions did not favor growth and survival of young sequoias. Before the arrival of European settlers in the mid-1800s, successful establishment of mature sequoias depended on fires intense enough to kill the tree canopy in small areas, allowing enough light for young sequoias to grow and thrive. Giant sequoias are a pioneer species—they are among the first to take root after a disturbance occurs. Another consequence of the lack of periodic fire is that burnable material, or fuel, accumulates. When trees and shrubs become more dense and logs, sticks, and fallen leaves or needles build up on the ground, higher severity fire is more likely to occur. When fire burns more often, it thins out younger trees, and reduces fuel on the ground.
Sew Colorful 
Good Morning All!
looks to be about 32* out there but hubby says rain today.
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Good Morning!
haven’t seen the redwoods, or sequoias. But I can imagine a tree trunk 100 wide! 😊
36* and cloudy. Windy from SE.
Paul’s memorial is today. First full day of Spring. Seems fitting. 👍
God bless, take care 🙏
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Good morning, Gina! Sad and happy memories today, I expect.
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Bittersweet.
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🤗😔🥰😘
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Hypocrite thru and thru!
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Last week, Monroe County Circuit Court Judge Jack Weaver ordered a special election in Frisco City after a lawsuit and recent arrests tied to voter fraud.
FOX10 News reported:
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Good morning! Gonna be a hot one again today. Starting out at 46, supposed to hit the 90’s, and still no sign of Wheezer.
Just The News: “Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk offered on Saturday to pay the salaries of TSA employees during the shutdown.
“I would like to offer to pay the salaries of TSA personnel during this funding impasse that is negatively affecting the lives of so many Americans at airports throughout the country,” Musk wrote on X.
By law, federal employees receive back pay after a government shutdown comes to an end. However, many TSA employees are reportedly calling out due to not receiving paychecks, resulting in long security lines at airports.”
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H/T Rodney – what a cool way to color Easter eggs!!!
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H/T Rodney
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Just The News: “Iran confirmed on Saturday that its Natanz nuclear facility was hit in an airstrike. The extent of the damage is unclear at this time.
Iran has fired missiles at the U.K.-U.S. Diego Garcia base in the Indian Ocean, the Associated Press reported on Saturday. Britain responded, calling the attack “reckless.” There haven’t been any reports of damage from the attack.”
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EXCERPT: “A California-born U.S. citizen whose mother is a Mexican national and is reportedly part of a drug and money laundering cartel herself, has now taken the helm of Mexico’s most dangerous cartel as the Supreme Court is set to consider a Trump administration challenge to the very birthright policy that granted him that citizenship.
Multiple reports indicate that the 41-year-old Juan Carlos Valencia González, a dual U.S. and Mexican citizen, took charge of the notorious “Jalisco New Generation” cartel (CJNG) in the aftermath of a Mexican special forces raid that took out the cartel’s former boss, El Mencho, last month.
The raid was the most direct action Mexican authorities have taken against the cartels in coordination with the United States, which, under President Donald Trump, ramped up pressure on the drug trafficking organizations after naming them designated foreign terrorist organizations.
U.S. intelligence helped locate past cartel kingpin in Mexico
As a result, the American administration has increased surveillance of the cartels and, at times, has threatened to take direct military action if Mexico didn’t step up. It was reportedly U.S. intelligence that provided Mexico with the location of El Mencho, precipitating the successful operation.
CJNG was shepherded to prominence by that former leader, Ruben Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho,” and grew into Mexico’s most powerful and well-equipped cartel. Based in Mexico’s coastal Jalisco state, the cartel’s network operates a global drug trafficking empire spanning from China to North Africa and has for years smuggled drugs into the United States.
But now, with El Mencho dead, and his biological son in an American prison for life, the cartel has turned to Valencia González, his stepson, to assume leadership of the sprawling enterprise. Valencia González’s American citizenship is likely to complicate the U.S. government’s efforts to gather intelligence but could also stand in the way of any future military strikes against him as head of CJNG.
“Exploiting U.S. birthright citizenship” author says
The ascension of a U.S. citizen to head of the designated terrorist organization also comes at the same time that the Supreme Court is considering a Trump administration challenge to U.S. birthright citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment, which, under the current interpretation, grants citizenship to most children born in the country–just like Valencia González…..”
https://justthenews.com/government/courts-law/us-citizen-takes-helm-mexicos-strongest-cartel-putting-birthright-citizenship
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Just The News: “A federal judge ruled Friday that the Pentagon’s recent changes to its press corps guidelines, which included banning reporters from soliciting tips for stories and requiring reporters to sign a pledge to protect sensitive information, were unconstitutional.
The Pentagon issued the new guidelines last year, which prompted outrage from multiple major media outlets, including the Washington Post, the New York Times, and even conservative outlets like the Washington Examiner and the Washington Times.
U.S. District Court Judge Paul Friedman dismissed portions of the Pentagon’s guidelines and ordered the Pentagon to restore the press passes of seven journalists for the New York Times, which brought the lawsuit challenging the guidelines.
The judge ruled that some of the guidelines, such as one that restricted where reporters are allowed to go inside the Pentagon without an escort, could remain, but the portion that barred reporters from “soliciting” classified or sensitive information from military personnel was dismissed.
Friedman wrote that while he recognizes the importance of protecting national security, war plans and U.S. troops, recent Trump administration actions make it critical that Americans have access to “information from a variety of perspectives,” per CBS News.
“In light of the country’s recent incursion into Venezuela and its ongoing war with Iran, it is more important than ever that the public have access to information from a variety of perspectives about what its government is doing,” he wrote. “So the public can support government policies, if it wants to support them; protest, if it wants to protest; and decide based on full, complete, and open information who they are going to vote for in the next election.”
He also ruled that the guidelines violate the First Amendment by engaging in viewpoint discrimination, because it seeks to silence critical speech and “weed out disfavored journalists.”
The Pentagon has not commented on the ruling.”
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Just The News: “Russian President Vladimir Putin this week reportedly offered to stop sharing targeting intelligence with Iran if the United States agreed to do the same in Ukraine. Reports of Russian targeting support for Iranian operations against U.S. targets surfaced early in the war. The U.S. has long provided Ukraine with intelligence throughout the war.
Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev reportedly made the offer to Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who rejected the plan, according to Politico, which cited “two people familiar” with the negotiations.
The offer comes as Iran continues to target U.S. facilities and critical infrastructure in the Persian Gulf. Their targeting of a Qatari oil facility this week in response for an Israeli attack on an Iranian one ultimatley led Trump to publicly repudiate the Israeli attack and deny knowledge of the operation.
He further promised to restrain Israel from targeting Iranian oil infrastructure if Iran ceased its own attacks on American allied oil production.”
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“CNN Continues Lying About Child In ‘Bunny Hat’ Who Was ‘Detained’ By ICE”
The Federalist, By: Eddie Scarry, March 20, 2026
ENTIRE ARTICLE: “Even as the White House naively attempts to placate Democrats by adopting a softer tone on deportations, the media are lying about immigration law enforcement as fiercely as ever.
CNN on Friday promoted an online streaming special centered on migrant children by referring back to 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, the Ecuadorian child temporarily allowed into the U.S. with his parents by the reckless Biden administration. An immigration judge recently denied Ramos’ family’s asylum claim, meaning they’re cleared for removal. That’s another way of saying the case has been adjudicated and it’s time for Liam to go home. But CNN anchor Sara Sidner instead chose to lie about the circumstances of that whole episode.
“Do you remember this image?” she said with a photo of Ramos on screen. “It became the haunting face of a Minneapolis immigration crackdown that left that community reeling. It shows 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos with his Spiderman backpack and bunny hat being detained by an ICE agent while his mom is feet away inside their home.”
CNN’s poor audience would be led to believe “Little Liam” (as he was referred to by another anchor later in the day) was playing in the crisp white snow when a fed snatched him from his unsuspecting parents, ready for immediate deportation, all while his helpless mother stood by crying. That’s not what happened.
In reality, immigration authorities were attempting to detain Liam’s father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, who was with his son outside their home. The father fled, leaving Liam alone, and when agents tried to unite him with his mother, who was inside, she refused to open the door, effectively leaving the child abandoned, according to the Department of Homeland Security. When the father, Adrian, was eventually captured, he requested that his son go with him to a detention facility, so he did.
It’s certainly not an ideal situation, and we can thank the last president and the entire Democrat Party for making it possible. They’re the ones who gave false hope to millions upon millions of destitute foreigners that if they made their way to the U.S., they would be allowed in and could stay. That was never their promise to make, and the 2024 election results were a reminder.
The Trump administration can keep trying to appease Democrats on immigration enforcement. The media will keep lying either way.”
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Yeah!!! Hope it comes to fruition!
Just The News: “A new poll of likely 2026 voters in Texas shows Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton leading Sen. John Cornyn in the race for U.S. Senate and James Talarico, a Democratic Texas state legislator, leading both GOP candidates.
The Impact Research poll shows Paxton leading Cornyn 53% to 37%. The results show Cornyn trailing Talarico by 2 points (43%-41%) and Paxton behind him by 1 (44%-43%).
President Trump has not made an endorsement yet as the runoff between Paxton and Cornyn approaches.”
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Oh, what I wouldn’t give for one of these….! Much better than the red one👆
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Just The News: “President Donald Trump on Saturday said he is prepared to deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to airports across the United States if congressional Democrats do not agree to pass a bill that ends the Department of Homeland Security shutdown.
In a social media post, Trump warned that ICE agents could be reassigned to handle airport security.
“If the Radical Left Democrats don’t immediately sign an agreement to let our Country, in particular, our Airports, be FREE and SAFE again, I will move our brilliant and patriotic ICE Agents to the Airports where they will do Security like no one has ever seen before, including the immediate arrest of all Illegal Immigrants who have come into our Country, with heavy emphasis on those from Somalia, who have totally destroyed, with the approval of a corrupt Governor, Attorney General, and Congresswoman, Ilhan Omar, the once Great State of Minnesota. I look forward to seeing ICE in action at our Airports,” Trump wrote.
The post came as lawmakers remain deadlocked over funding for DHS, including aviation security. The dispute has already strained airport security operations, resulting in long lines. The DHS shutdown began about 4 and a half weeks ago.”
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Just The News: “Former FBI director Robert Mueller has died, according to reports on Saturday. Mueller was special counsel for the Russia collusion investigation during the first Trump administration.”
“Robert Mueller, the former FBI director and special counsel who led the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, died on Friday, March 20, 2026, at the age of 81. Multiple news outlets, including MS NOW and WTOP, confirmed his death, citing two people familiar with the matter.
Cause of Death: The cause of death was not immediately disclosed, but it was reported that Mueller had been suffering from Parkinson’s disease for several years. His family confirmed the diagnosis in 2021, noting he had retired from legal practice and teaching by the end of 2022.”
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That’s a four pointer
Whoa!
Extraordinary Entrance
Heavy
The Vikings gather to invade
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Those tires mean business
The Hideout
Ready for the waves
Cloud Wave
Cheating Gravity
Sanyo Solar Ark: “The Solar Ark’s design was inspired by the vision of an ark embarking on a journey to the 21st century. This idea led to the Solar Ark’s size and overall symbolic shape of being an example of producing clean energy. In total, the construction area for the Solar Ark is 3294.48 m2 reinforced concrete was used for the base of the construction.
From one end to the other, the total length of the Solar Ark is 315 meters. The ark is 31.6 meters tall from the center of the structure. There are 5,046 solar panels in total. Twelve single-crystal silicon solar cell modules per unit were assembled on the ground, and 470 units were lifted up and attached to the main body of the Solar Ark.”
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BIRTH TOURISM: Chinese moms birth American babies in Northern Mariana Islands: There are around 1.5 million American babies being raised in China by Chinese parents.
The Post Millennial, Thomas Stevenson, Mar 20, 2026
ENTIRE ARTICLE: “Islands in the Pacific Ocean have turned from a tropical paradise into something of a maternity ward as pregnant Chinese women have traveled to the territory to have their babies automatically become US citizens when born.
The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), a US territory, has been flooded with “birthing tourists” since 2009, when former President Barack Obama allowed for a visa-waiver program for Chinese nationals. There are about 1,000 companies that offer birth tourism in the islands, other US territories, and on the US mainland, per the New York Post.
There are around 1.5 million American babies being raised in China by Chinese parents who traveled to the US or its territories in order to birth their children, according to analysts who spoke to the outlet. Republican lawmakers have demanded an accounting of how many people Chinese nationals have taken advantage of how the system has been laid out for birth citizenship.
“The concern is about these children born to Chinese parents — do the parents have connections to the Chinese Communist Party, which is an adversarial government to the US?” said Chris Chmielenski, who is the president of the nonprofit Immigration Accountability Project. “They know there is an industry out there that makes gobs of money to specialize in birth tourism but there is no report from the federal government telling you how many people have been born as a result of this,” he added.
A large portion of the children who were born back when Obama shifted the visa policy will be eligible to vote in upcoming elections. They will also be able to petition at age 21 to have parents and siblings obtain green cards to the US.
“It’s not just the voting aspect, it’s the chain migration laws,” said Chmielenski. “If their family could afford the prices charged for this birth tourism scheme, there’s a good chance they can afford a residence in the US. That raises concerns. Most wealthy Chinese nationals tend to have connections to the government there.”
Companies from China have capitalized on the opportunity, with expectant mothers being offered a getaway experience to have their child. “Create beautiful memories while having an American baby,” a homepage of the company website for Global Baby 8 says.
In a letter on March 9, a letter to Trump officials from Republican lawmakers raised the concern, and demanded that there be an accounting of how many Chinese nationals have come to the US for birthing tourism.
The letter demanded federal data about the problem and slammed the “absurd birthright citizenship policies and the resulting birth tourism industry,” saying it was “alarming.”
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Just The News: “Former President George W. Bush shared a public statement on Saturday in reaction to the death of former FBI Director Robert Mueller.
“Laura and I are deeply saddened by the loss of Robert Mueller. Bob dedicated his life to public service. As a Marine in Vietnam, he proved he was ready for tough assignments. He earned a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart before returning home to pursue law. In 2001, only one week into the job as the 6th Director of the F.B.I., Bob transitioned the agency mission to protecting the homeland after September 11,” Bush said in the statement.
“He led it effectively, helping prevent another terrorist attack on U.S. soil. Laura and I send our heartfelt sympathy to his wife of nearly 60 years, Ann, and the Mueller family,” the statement also read.”
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Definitely broke a record today – hit 98 on my thermometer! It’s dropped now to 97 and I did have to turn the A/C on briefly. Thankfully, it started right up and is working perfectly. My GS came up to pick up the bikes for the girls and reinstalled the mower battery – it was dead so he hooked up the battery cables to his truck and started it up. We left it on for 15 minutes but that apparently wasn’t long enough – when I tried to re-start the mower, I got the ratcheting sound of a too-weak battery (hopefully not the starter). I’ll get a trickle-charger – wouldn’t hurt to have one on-hand since I’ve needed one in the past more than once.
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Good night all! Hope you had a great day, Pat!
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