Curious behavior from Mr. Jay: he often sits on the big bare limb that's above his other favorite perch, the shepherd's crook which holds the feeder. Here he waits for me to toss peanuts for him and his wife and often I see him peering in at me while I'm on the couch. Recently, as I responded to his request, walking over to the peanut bowl which sits on top of the piano next to the slider, I saw a blur of motion as he swooped very close to the glass. Yesterday, this occurred again and as I grabbed the slider latch, I saw him fly by and whip up to an adjacent eavestrough. Our eyes met for a moment, then he flew back to the branch as I opened the slider. I tossed the peanuts and he gave his usual reply: one call "thanks" followed by two calls to the missus: "Honey! Peanuts!"
Samhain was an ancient Celtic festival that marked the end of summer and the beginning of the dark half of the year, or winter.Its core belief is that the veil between the physical world and the spirit world thins during this time, allowing spirits of the dead and supernatural beings to mingle with the living. It
was also considered the Celtic New Year, a time for reflection and
honoring ancestors while also warding off malevolent spirits.Celebrations begin on the evening of 31 October, since the Celtic day began and ended at sunset. Samhain is about halfway between the autumnal equinox and winter solstice. It is one of the four Gaelic seasonal festivals along withImbolc, Bealtaine, and Lughnasa.
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Folks seemed to be in a lively mood today, much like the fun-filled vibe people have related to me about the 2 No Kings events. Things have been so awful with this administration that people are eager to have a bit of shared communal joy.
Seen while out and about:
Grocery retailers allowed their employees, if they choose, to dress up for Halloween. At Meijer, the scan clerk who helped me was a rail-thin, 6 foot young black guy with short dreads, dressed in a white NASA jump suit complete with badges. "When's your flight?" I asked. He broke into a wide grin and answered "Tonight." I replied "Safe Journey." He gave me a knowing smile as he moved off to tend to another customer.
At the Kroger Pharmacy, most of the crew were dressed in ironic black—ha! As I waited in line, a middle-aged Mexican lady walked in wearing a calf-length white dress adorned with a pattern of large, brightly colored flowers. Her hair was done in an elaborate coif with a single flower nestled in. Definitely someone going to a Día de los Muertos, their multi-day cultural celebration to remember and honor deceased loved ones.
On campus, I saw a group of students on the sidewalk heading to a party or a bar. One young blonde girl's costume pointed back to old-school Dallas Cowboy cheerleader dress: white hip-hugger bell bottom pants, bare midriff with a white strapless swim top and a short half jacket. As it was barely 50° out with a brisk wind, I shivered for her. But then, the crew had probably fortified themselves with a few hi-octane cocktails before heading out.
In the stores, I saw females of all ages whose only costume was the addition of cat's ears on their heads. "Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and caldron bubble" immediately came to mind.
While I was waiting in the car in the Bessey Hall parking lot to pick up C, I watched a crow and an even bigger hawk get into an aerial dogfight. I believe the crow had encroached Hawky's airspace. Like so many human dogfights in the sky, the action was brief and fierce. The crow departed with a hard right turn and the hawk performed a couple of lazy circles to punctuate his victory before getting back to what he was doing before this grievous intrusion.
Tis odd—in the 15 years we have lived in this neighborhood, we have never had a trick or treater. Early days, there were few children living here. Then, there was a trend for kids to attend house gatherings due to rampant fears of abductions, poisoned treats. There are more children now but I didn't see anyone out and about last night.
Funny, the stress we are all under due to the bat-shit crazy things happening or threatened across the world. The Delta Twp warning siren went off while we gathered in the Great Room to watch the tube. I looked at C and headed to my office to go online to see if there was a national emergency. I got as far as the kitchen when I realized the siren was about. It was 6 pm. I went back and sat down, a bit sheepish, next to C and Buddy on the couch. "Trick or Treat is beginning" I murmured. "Oh yes," replied C. Buddy rolled over next to me for a belly-rub: "there, there, Dad." Good lad.
10-21-22: rain totaled another .75"! This has not deterred the pruners—they're latest target: the lily of the valley. The other day I looked out and those around one of the base of the cedars had the green leaf nipped off leaving a patch of stems:
10/23: a busy day at the Diner with many fur and feather friends stopping by. I noticed that we have a mating pair of chickadees who were dining together. A LongTail:
Mrs. Redbird, Sparrow and a Junco:
Our DHS was keeping an eye on things:
The slider deck covered in a variety of leaf and locust bean litter:
I had tossed out some peanuts out for the Jays and found some nice leaves:
Sun going down:
10/25:
31° this morning—frost on the pumpkins! Our first frost which is quite
late this year. The average first frost date is around 10/6 although
last year it came on 10/17. It really has been a odd weather year.
10/26: we've had two frosts and they have taken a toll on the coleus:
Mr. Maple out front is glorious as ever—here backlit as the sun is close to setting:
10/27: C returned to work and it went well!
10/28: another frosty morning. I saw this big girl on the slider while washing dishes:
In Michigan, praying mantises undergo a one-year cycle: adults mate in late summer/fall, lay eggs in a protective case called an ootheca, and die before winter. The ootheca, which can hold 50-200 eggs,
overwinters until spring when tiny, wingless nymphs hatch. The nymphs
grow and molt multiple times through the spring and summer, eventually
maturing into adults to repeat the cycle. Female mantises are larger and heavier than males. Despite their rep for sexual cannibalism, roughly 25% of males get their heads eaten after sex-the females recognize the need for nutrition and since the guy is there and smaller...C'mere honey, for a little luv bite.
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Hodgepodge for $200:
Lord Longfellow, whom C often refers to as "Stretch" after Stretch Cunningham, a character from All in the Family. Fun fact: the character was played by James Cromwell in one of his first TV roles as Archie's co-worker:
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I'm seeing ads on YT from Replika: Premium AI Companions 90% human-like! Have conversations that go deeper, brighter and lead to moments of revelation!
Wow. With a company name eerily and most likely purposely referencing "replicants", bio-engineered beings from the film Blade Runner. In the sequel, Blade Runner 2049, the blade runner is a replicant who hunts down rogue replicants. He has a holographic AI girlfriend Joi and there's a scene where human prostitutes bust his chops: "Oh, that's right, you don't like real girls."
~
Fun Vids:
Kelly Boesch AI A Very Unusual Town:
19th C fad: wealthy English farmers would commission paintings of weirdly oversized livestock:
Strange mushrooms:
Owls flying through soap bubbles for researchers trying to understand the aerodynamics of their flight:
Interesting pics featuring a lot of pareidolia:
One featured a unmixed can of paint that presented a "cat wave" pareidolia that made me think of the famous woodblock print by Japanese printmaker Hokusai:
FUBARland:
The Roach's destruction of the White House East Wing is a twofer: an act of petty projection against Melania—the East Wing served as the First Lady's domain for her and staff—well, she's never there so who cares?; and a chance to further his gilded era/Versailles lust for bigger, better, gaudier displays. It's been reported now, that what exists under the East Wing is the White House Nuke bunker that is being upgraded.
Curiously, Hitler did a similar thing with
The New Reich Chancellery:
This massive building, completed in 1939, was a separate and grander structure built next to the old one.It
was designed to embody the power of the Nazi regime and included
Hitler's office, a grand reception hall, a marble gallery, and a Füherbunker for air-raid protection. It was there in April 1945, where Adolf ate a bullet.
Speaking of bunkers, London Times Radio reported that there are rumblings that Vladdy is spending more time in his bunker.
I came across this vid examining the collapse of empires from the 17th C forward. Evidently there are seven stages and America is accelerating through them and currently at stage five. I tried to track down who is behind these posts from Economy Rewind without any luck. There are more in this series and I guess one can take them with a grain of salt while keeping the concept of historical deja vu in mind. Still, if accurate, this is quite sobering:
Reprise: T Bone Burnett's It's Not Too Late from 1992:
The wind turns like a dagger The rain falls like a hammer The sky has grown dark But it's not too late
The weather crashes down What's lost cannot be found The night is closing But it's not too late
It's not too late, it's not too late It's not too late, it's not too late The atmosphere is lethal But I will fear no evil
The ocean rolls like thunder The tempest pulls us under The dogs are howling But it's not too late
As broken structures rust False idols turn to dust All lies in ashes And it's not too late
It's not too late, it's not too late It's not too late, it's not too late The atmosphere is lethal But I will fear no evil
In the dark before the dawn The echo of the siren's song Dies away like a ghost As the day breaks
It's not too late, it's not too late It's not too late, it's not too late The atmosphere is lethal But I will fear no evil
We've had mild days and cool nights and quite a few foggy mornings which is typical of the season. Many sunny afternoons:
A LongTail enjoying the Buffet:
Nutkin having a sip:
Gnome Cyril catching some rays:
One day was pleasant enough to work outside after the Zap. I distributed the chopped leaves from Benny's grandson who mows his lawn with a grass catcher and deposits them in a designated spot. We done this for several years so Benny doesn't have to schlep the bagged leaves somewhere. I use them as mulch. I also put away for the season the deck chairs and table and the hammock.
10/17: The Gang of Five Turkey Bros. stopped by the Diner. Two nosed around while the rest headed West along the berm.
Mr. Redbird, Chickadee and Purple Finch having a bite:
The Blue Jay couple enjoy hunting for peanuts together. I'll toss out some nuts towards the Diner, usually in response from the Mr. requesting their addition to the Buffet. He call out to the Mrs. and she will fly up and they will swoop down together and grab one from the grass. Interestingly, they usually fly off in opposite directions. Often, Mr. returns first and will perch on top of the shepherd's crook and waits for her until she swings back to the grass. He'll then drop down and join her.
The afternoon was chill and overcast—GF Birch's leaves are beginning to turn:
Buddy doing what he does best—hanging out and grooming:
Early evening with a glowy sky and Benny's beautiful maple:
10/18: good rains are promised. Hopefully, they will hold off during the No Kings event at the Capitol late this afternoon. C and her friends will be attending. Early on, the Avians were busy at the Diner:
A few sprinkles:
Time for the Budster to come in:
Seen in the past couple of days at the Diner: the juncos have returned from their Canadian breeding grounds.
I came across this Tik Tok still of a turtle doing sun yoga:
Seen while out and about: a 1961 Plymouth Valiant: I haven't seen one of these in ages-it was the distinctive trunk that helped ID the vehicle:
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10/19-20-good rain! 2.33" at our house!
10/19-C slipped, fell and broke her shoulder while attending her book club! Fortunately, 2 retired physicians are part of the group and they drove her to Okemos ER while my good neighbor John drove me there. Poor sweetie!
10/20:
Retired!!! All done with the zap! Glad to be done and now, no distractions from caring for my Watergirl.
10/21: rain overnight brought another .33". This morning was sunny and windy. Mrs. Redbird having a bite:
DHS has a new outpost:
A LongTail taking on a locust bean-help yourself-there's plenty and tell your friends!
A surprise this morning that made my day—very late blooms on the cosmos:
The afternoon began sunny:
Halloween is coming soon:
Later in the afternoon, the weather became dramatic as waves of storms rolled across the state. Buddy and I watched live radar to track their path. 'Tis odd now, getting frequent storms after a Summer drought making for very changeable conditions during the course of a day. The first batch crept towards us, making the sky dark in the NW with the sun managing to illuminate yellow trees on the next street over:
Luckily, this group cruised by us to the North and we only got a few gusts of wind from the approaching outflow:
And the sun came out:
Our woodland gnomes:
LG having a bite:
Within a half hour, another system slid past us, this time coming up from the SW. We got only rain as the strength of the storms hit Lyons/Muir with hail and strong winds. As this group departed, we were treated to a full rainbow:
My Irish side welcomed this as a good sign. Ole curly tail slept through it all—he was a konked-out kitty —who has been puzzled about the change of routine with Mum not providing his daily laptime. Poor lad, hard to communicate the situation to him. Hopefully, he can sense something about her, probably the pain.
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Fun Vids:
Green lasers freak out geese. Green is the brightest color in the visible spectrum and geese perceive the beam as a tangible physical threat. Green lasers are now being used as a non-lethal deterrent when geese are pesky:
AI: When surrealist Dali visits Van Gogh and Monet's world:
Banksy's Street Art:
A doc about the Ophelia painting by John Everett Millais and the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood:
American neurosis on display in an ad for honey pistachios with the tagline of "the don't hold back snack" oy!:
Not like this guy is obese-perhaps has BDD (body dysmorphia disorder. Might become a MAGA fav as the bear ends up eating a book-probably Catcher in the Rye.
Man with super long golf driver club:
French bulldog Pavorotti jealous because his mum is talking to someone:
Flying fish: restocking a lake from the air:
Seattle magician card trick:
Animals enjoying humans making noise, sometimes joining in playing, sometimes just groovin' to the beat:
FUBARland:
NATIONAL SECURITY PRESIDENTIAL MEMORANDUM/NSPM-7
10/18/25: No Kings II: an estimated 7 million people across the country came together in the largest public mobilization in American history. Right on!
From Polish illustrator Pawel Kuczynski:
A hopeful message from Robert Reich:
On the other hand, currently there are two comets, Lemmon and Swan that are naked eye objects. Now, many cultures throughout history have associated such events as portents of disaster, war and death. Certainly a double event would scare the crap outta folks in the past. So much to choose from:
-Gaza/Ukraine wars.
-potential death of Roach, Putin, or Xi-any of which will be calamitas for nations/world.
-advent of the death of King Chuck III.
-collapse of democracy in America.
-martial law or civil war breaking out in America.
