FIVE SECOND STORIES (updated)

In the neighborhood: the mystery of Where in the World is MamaC? continues. She has not been seen in days but her presumed child seems to have taken her place.

Hard to sex-too young for nipples and can't see anything else. Odd hole in fur by her upper left neck. Wound? Is this why it came home? Did its Mum stay long enough for it to get settled in before heading to Carrier Creek to make her hibernation home? Stay tuned!

As she is part of Gen Beta, I am naming her Sophie, which according to the SSA, is the 5th ranked human girl names. 

10/16-17: Rainy, cold dreary day. We got about .9" with winds picking up towards the late afternoon with dropping temps. 

The Diner has been restored-I managed to install the new bird bath in-between showers:

A perfect day for the first fire of the season! 

And, since we're well into the Halloween season, I put out our magic black cat lantern:

Our estate warden, keeping an eye on things-this is Buddy's new title as DHS has been disgraced and he is more than security (certainly NOT a rent-a-cop):

He has a new trespasser to deal with: past couple of evenings, a new cat has appeared-again from the west. The first encounter was while we were watching the tube and we heard him let out a growl-he was by the slider and on the upper deck was a black and white kitty-back arched and hissing. C ran out and drove it away. Next late afternoon, we were gathered by the fireplace and I spotted it coming along the berm along the honeysuckle. I went out on the deck hollering and clapping. Yeah, pal-every time we see you, this is your reception. Gawd, just what we need-more combat, more wounds on our beloved warden. Update: early next morning, I was awakened 1am by a feline duet out front. Must have been a quick fight as there was only the single howl unlike the extended battles with TBK. Since then, again in early evening, we spotted BWK in the back 40 again so I went on the deck and hollered. It immediately ran to the West. The next day, Warden Longfellow went out to investigate:

The rain brought down a mix of leaves:

Johnny's burning bushes:

Morning of the 17th was frosty: 32° at the airport, 34° here. All my neighbor's roofs were white. While not a killing frost, I thought it was time to pull the annuals on the morning of the 18th from the East and Deck gardens:

Buddy catching some rays:

10/19: Curious weather pattern that we are having-loads of sunshine and dry for the next 10 days! The back 40:

Things are getting back to normal at the Diner. Mr. Red-bellied Woodpecker (RBW) has become a regular:

So far, the only avian who has used the new bath has been the chickadees, which is typical of them as they are quite bold and hardy. Others I am sure have been checking out the huge bath just to the East although dealing with the pool cover might be unsettling to some.

Our only Nutkin has taken a look:

Only Nutkin to have come back after GF lost his trunk. Some folks are sensitive to major changes in the landscape.

Update: a member of the BigTail clan checked out the bath:

 

Warden Longfellow taking his siesta on this lovely 69° day:

Our mating pair (presumably) of Juncos. They're rather flighty, getting used to a new neighborhood I reckon, so they have been difficult to photo.

From Elton John's Burn Down The Mission, a favorite line of his: Deep in the woods the squirrels are out today and that has certainly been true in the Back 40. A veteran short-tail who knows me, several Long-tail clan members and of course LG have been quite busy. 'Tis the season! This guy hung onto GF Birch with his back claws while eating a snack!

Buddy snoozing on my bed:

Mr. Maple out front:

Good crop of crabapples on Mrs. Krabappel:

 ~

Seen while out and about: with Saginaw Hwy. down to 2 lanes west of Waverly Rd., I've been cutting south to Michigan Ave via one of the side streets east of the old golf course. One of the homes had a front yard filled with 10 ft. skeletons and this:

9 ft. tall. C said that a member of her writer's group has a skeleton in their front yard, located in one of those tiny lots off Michigan Ave. on the Lansing east side like on Foster, Francis etal. They regularly change its apparel like putting on MSU shirts on a game day.

~ 

Fun Facts: Lake Erie, the smallest of the Great Lakes, holds only 2% of water in the entire system. Yet because of its shallowness (average of 60 feet, putting it above sea level) where more sunlight penetrates and warms the water, it produces more fish for human consumption than the other 4 lakes combined!

Fun Vid: The Draken Harald Hårfagre is the largest Viking longship built in modern times.  

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/f-bXuETQUUs 

Extraordinary tale. Full versions of building and voyage also available on YT.

Key Specifications

• Length: 35 meters (114–115 feet)
• Width (Beam): 8 meters (26–27 feet)
• Mast Height: 24 meters (79 feet), made of Douglas fir
• Sail Area: 260 m² (silk sail)
• Oars: 50 oars (25 pairs, requiring at least 100 rowers)
• Displacement: 95.5 metric tons (approx. 80 tons)
• Construction Materials: Clinker-built oak hull, hemp rigging, and over 10,000 hand-forged iron nails. 

History & Voyage

• Built: Construction started in March 2010 and the ship was launched in 2012 in Haugesund, Norway, by Viking Kings AS under the direction of owner Sigurd Aase. 
• Design: It is modeled after historical "great ships" described in Norse sagas, archaeological findings like the Gokstad ship, and traditional Norwegian boatbuilding methods.
• Expedition America (2016): The ship sailed across the North Atlantic from Norway through Iceland and Greenland to North America (Newfoundland, the Great Lakes, and New York.

FUBARland: 

I've been watching vids by Dr. Jason Smart, who has advised political leaders and campaigns across the former Soviet Union (Eurasia) and Latin America, with prior campaign experience in the United States (including the 2008 and 2016 presidential elections). He daily follows the dire circumstances happening in Russia and this recently caught my eye:

Today in Russia, there is a situation where the population sees no future and realize one person is to blame for how the got country there and his name is Vladimir Putin. What's more alarming for Putin is not this, but the fact that more and more of the elites are agreeing and are ready to make a change.

I think America is nearly there as well. Ironically, this is a deja vu moment featuring Reagan's "are you better off now than 4 years ago" from his 1980 campaign against Jimmy Carter. But today, the script has been flipped and this same message is being used by the Dems, especially the Progressives against the Roach regime. However, unlike Russia, I don't see our elites rising up against the regime. Instead, they are pouring zillions of bucks into mid-term campaigns that will benefit them. There's no money in Russia so many of their elites won't be staying-they may move to the west to avoid the potentially deadly chaos when Putin collapses. Many are already moving assets they still have and male children the hell outta Dodge.

Meanwhile, the Roach turns his back on Ukraine and makes a diesel "deal" with Putin. An oldie but goodie from Roach 1.0 featuring our old late friend Bin:

 

 

 

 
 

FIVE SECOND STORIES (updated)

In the Neighborhood: Such a beautiful Autumn! A week ago when I was working in the East Garden, I spotted a bumblebee on one of the Rose of Sharon's.

As depicted below on a stock photo, I watched it work, slathering his body with pollen:

Now, most of the pollinators and butterflies have left. We were having supper on the deck and I spotted one of our stalwarts-cabbage butterflies-who are usually the first and last seen during the season.

The East Garden:

Mr. Burning Bush, being mature, begins his leaf turning well after his smaller, younger brethren. He is beginning now with a few on top and a single bright red leaf, joining the colorful others in the neighborhood:

Our new Mr. Koi. In Japanese culture, Koi windsocks were flown representing the amount of male offspring in the household. Since we are cat parents, we reckon our Buddy qualifies:

Returning friends: I spotted a pair of juncos near the giving stone who flew off before I could take a pic. Our snowbird Robins left a few weeks ago and those who are staying have arrived:

One of our resident catbirds at the bath:

GF Birch's leaves are turning fast and dropping:

10/11-A curious and unusual event: one afternoon I looked out and saw this:

A young Chuck appears and it's a real head-scratcher-who is this? Google sez that yearlings don't return home nor do they hibernate together. And yet...Now, if it was a stranger looking to horn in on MamaC's territory, one would think she would charge and drive it off. Nope. In fact, this one came close, hung out in one of the apartments and the porches.

We don't know their culture but C suggests maybe this is the chuckette who was quite clingy and the last of the brood to leave. Perhaps, insecure about going into its first hibernation, it needed some Mum reassurance. Evidently, the youngun only stayed the afternoon as I have not seen it since.

10/12-13-Probably our final days in the 80's, 83° and 81° respectively. Bud was chillin':

Here he is on the back deck, getting covered with yellow locust leaves. 

As I write, it's looking like Friday night, 10/16 might be our first frost night. The average first frost here is 10/6.

10/13: The Diner irrevocably changed overnight. Grandfather Birch's dead trunk collapsed-we woke up to this:

We were grateful, however it was accomplished, that the drop was carefully threaded missing the feeder, pool steps, pool, new shrubs:

 

We did lose the cement birdbath that we bought the year we moved in from the East Lansing Art Fair. A replacement will arrive 10/15-this time I am trying one made of stone powder/resin. Weighs only 7lbs and has a hollow pedestal that can be filled with sand or gravel to weigh it down. 

I was fortunate to contract a tree trimmer to come out same day to cut and carry off the remains. So, our view of the Diner and Back 40 has changed:

The neighborhood seems to be in mourning-a few chickadees have come to the feeder, MamaC came out in the afternoon, inspecting the changes. Not a sign of the Nutkins or other squirrelies. Well, we still have our stained glass piece to remember how GF Birch was, intact.

10/14-Business picked back up at the Diner especially among the avians in the afternoon. Another old friend stopped by-Mr. Red-bellied Woodpecker:

One of the Nutkins had the place to itself: 

Our security chief kept an eye on things: 

We were winding up watching another episode of a series when we heard Bud start to growl while looking out the closed slider. Oh gawd-there was a full-grown black and white kitty on the deck, back arched and also growling. We shut down the portal for a bit and as C was preparing to go out and shoo the beast away, it wandered off towards Benny's. Just what we need, more feline combat 🙀.  

~

 

A Fall poem for a sunflower: 

Helianthus 

The Sun may be waning, but I still follow him
across the sky with a lover’s gaze.

My seeds feed my neighbors
and those they drop will grow next year as my children.

I feel frost coming.

A dawn’s crescent moon rises above the tree line,
my leaves glisten in the moonlight as I ready for the big sleep. 

~ 

Hodgepodge for $300

A nice turn of phrase: I was watching some historical drama and a distraught youngster was accused of expressing a penny dreadful thought: a broken-hearted young lass jumps off a pier, drawn "by the song of the black ocean".

~ 

 

In the style of comedian Rodney Dangerfield: 

You know, since I've gotten old, I gotten lazy. Boy am I lazy, I'm tellin' ya. I'm so lazy, I only buy sliced bread anymore. I can't be bothered to slice my own bread. 

~ 

Thanks Super El Nino: Hurricane Isaias-upon reaching hurricane status early on October 8, it tied the record for the latest-forming first Atlantic hurricane of a season set in 1905. 

~ 

Add to the different species that will confuse aliens picking up our transmissions-the headphones people, especially kids who wear them outside. 

Back to the transmissions: the aliens will pick this up: the  species I mentioned in an earlier post and these new variants- talk to each other!

 

~ 

MADads:

New Subway campaign: this is your SUBconscious talking...

Feed your SUBconscious. Installing craving software in 3,2,1...

Damn, I'm fucking hungry. I'm so sick of burgers, not healthy. Oh, look...a SUBway. Eat Fresh. They MUST be healthy.  

Uhh, actually-no. Subway is doing an ironic mindfuck. Their food has been deemed SUBpar for years. Used to be good until some assholes bought it (probably private equity) and forced cheaper ingredients onto the owners. Ruined the brand. These guys are gone and now the brand is trying to redeem itself. Oy.

~ 

Tagline for latest Kraft Mac n' Cheese:

Best thing ever/Better than life partners.

I guess whoever thought this up has yet to experience having a satisfying life partner.  

~ 

Progressive insurance with Flo and the Squad:

You gotta wonder if the actors have had real-life fan problems-like Baby Reindeer level stalkers. Yikes. The price of fame.

~

Afrin nasal spray: right out of Fractured Fairy Tales: once upon a time, there was a lovely lady trapped in another body:

Fun Vids:

PsychoBitches, a satirical series featuring therapy sessions with a shrink and famous historical people: Mary Pickford 

Mary and son Jesus

 ~

Rare weather events: Ice Chunks

In case you're on your 875,000th reincarnation and still around at this time, take notice: a star will pass by our solar system 1.3 million years from now and cause havoc. It's happened before:

TON 618 is a huge black hole 18 million light years away. Some stunning visuals from Earth if it should cross our path:

Reminds me of the black hole featured in Chris Nolan's Interstellar and the arrival of the rogue planet in Lars von Trier's Melancholia: 

 ~

From the band Khruangbin-So We Won't Forget 2020:

 FUBARland:

 

From a NYT interview: Is there such a thing as a necessary war? As far as I’m concerned, no. But philosophers and politicians have argued for thousands of years that war is necessary. The point is that war has always been considered as something in the pursuit of a political objective. It’s a means to an end. Today you get the feeling that war becomes the means to an end itself, and wars continue because people want to stay in power. They have created an environment where war becomes the condition under which they can continue ruling, and that’s very dangerous. -Mirjana Spoljaric, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

~ 

A new term I've come across in the Russo-Ukraine war, from a year ago. I don't remember seeing it in any media I follow. In the beseiged city of Kherson, the Russians were conducting drone warfare in the streets they termed human safari. Hunter/killer drones would roam looking for human targets and often these actions were streamed live by the pilots accompanied with death/thrash metal music in the background. Real-life version of the Call of Duty video games. 

~ 

From the pro-democracy group The Lincoln Project-utilizing and updating a 1964 Lyndon Johnson anti-Goldwater ad following the Roach's presser comment concerning Iran bombing LA:

I remember the seeing the original.

~ 

Two examples of female comestic self-disfigurement to meet the MAGA standards of beauty-Susan Dell and Kimberly Guilfoyle:

Seen while out and about-folks wearing this:

~ 

Depraved Secretary of War Hegseth announced that Roach approved his plans to livestream the firing squad execution of Nidal Hasan,  the former U.S. Army psychiatrist who killed 13 people in a shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009. 

Update: 10/15-the livestreaming event has been cancelled. 

~

Snark: there's continuing commentary about how trashy Roach, MAGA and the administration are. Filmmaker John Waters opined that "they make tastelessness look bad". 

Jim Acosta on MAGA: "who is left supporting Trump is down to the kool-aid drinkers and next of kin".

~

It was noted that as the Kimberly Guilfoyle scandal unfolds, that she is not the worst American ambassador in history. That honor goes to Marquita Maytag aka The Shrew of Kathmandu. She was described as "she was a mid-50s oversexed divorcee who figured anyone in town was fair game. Her targets ranged from Marine guards to Nepali airline pilots" as she hosted wild parties complete with marijuana brownies. Ms. Maytag was a political appointee during the Ford years, arriving in Nepal in May, 1976. She lasted until April 1977 when the new Carter  administration, appalled at her behavior, canned her. She stayed on in Nepal for another 2 years.