FIVE SECOND STORIES

In the Neighborhood: 

11/8-lovely day with sun in the mid-50's-late afternoon shadows: 

Buddy heading out on patrol after a snack and scritch session with Dad:

Quarter past 4 pm, I glanced out the garage-side door and saw a doe browsing on the berm behind Johnny's:

She was grazing up a storm on grass and some kind of vine which she greedily pulled out of ground and munched on as it hung from her mouth. Then, she came down the berm and settled down next to Johnny's burning bushes:

C arrived home and we watched her, basking in the waning November sunshine: 

An hour later, she was still there and we began to worry-is she ill? I researched:

A white tail doe in Michigan lying down right after eating a lot of grass in early November is exhibiting natural, highly efficient survival and digestive behaviors. She is lying down to chew her cud (ruminate), conserve energy for the upcoming breeding season, and hide from intense hunting pressure.

1. Digestion and "Chewing the Cud"

Like cows, white-tailed deer are ruminants with a complex, four-chambered stomach.

The "Gulp and Go" Strategy: To minimize the time they are exposed to predators while feeding in open areas, deer quickly swallow large amounts of vegetation without chewing it thoroughly.
Rumination: Once her first stomach chamber (the rumen) is full, the doe will find a safe spot to lie down. She will then regurgitate small amounts of the grass back into her mouth to chew it thoroughly, which is essential for digesting tough plant fibers.

2. High Hunting Pressure in November

Early November in Michigan marks the peak of archery season and the approach of the firearm season (which opens November 15).

Nocturnal Shifting: Because of intense human activity and hunting pressure, deer actively limit their daytime movements.
Proximity to Food: Does frequently shift to feeding at night or during the low-light hours of dawn and dusk. When daytime arrives, they will bed down very close to—or even directly inside—their feeding areas (like tall grass or crop edges) to stay hidden and avoid drawing attention. 

3. Energy Conservation for the Rut

November is the peak of the whitetail "rut" (breeding season) in Michigan.

While bucks do most of the active chasing, does are constantly pursued, harassed, and pressured by mature males.
Lying down allows the doe to drop her heart rate, restore cellular energy, and build up fat reserves to endure the strenuous physical demands of the breeding season and the oncoming Michigan winter.

Duh! Like cows, whose similar behavior I had heard of. Deer are not bovines but both deer and bovines are close relatives in the order Artiodactyla (even-toed ungulates).

I think this doe is a neighborhood girl-she was not bothered at all by someone mowing their leaves a couple of doors away and seemed totally at ease and safe ruminating in the sunshine. Is she the independent doe who last Winter, separated from her Mum and sister and fended for herself? Is she the doe I met last early June when I working on the berm and we had a moment? Yep.

https://bindiwankatterpi.blogspot.com/2026/06/planting-day.html 

C and I were laughing, remembering TV ads from our youth-both for Alka Seltzer:

1969-tagline: Mama mia! That's a spicy meatball! 

1972-tagline: I can't believe I ate the whole thing!

Ms. Doe stayed until twilight and moseyed off. Tis the season of light:

The clouds had typical cold air colors:

Buddy and his Mum watching the Tube together next to the space heater with plenty of belly rubs:

Hodgepodge for $400: 

Whoa! Big doggie: Irish Wolfhound 200 lbs!

AI glitch: I was watching a YT vid concerning weird ancient discoveries, one of which was a giant 60 lb. cross made of lead. AI pronounced it as LEAD as in leading a charge. Oy.

Works by Polish Art Nouveau illustrator and painter Edward Okuń (1872-1945):

Night (1903)

Concert (c. 1910-1912) 

Autumn Leaves (1912)

The War and Us (c. 1917-1923) 

Night Butterflies (1920) 

Russo-Ukraine War news: the high rate of casualties has forced Putin to send out press gangs onto the streets of Moscow to get more bodies into the collapsing front lines. Press gangs were made famous by the English Royal Navy beginning in the late 16th C through the beginning of the 19th C. After Napoleon was finally defeated and exiled, the practice ended as Britain reduced its navy. 

FIVE SECOND STORIES

In the neighborhood: while we have had cooler temps, we have yet to have a killing frost. In fact, much of the Midwest has not either, setting records. Here in Lansing, the average first frost is around October 6 followed by a killing frost (28°) in late October. Rainfall remains sparse: last big rain (half inch) occurred October 16-17 with less than a quarter inch since then. 

Business has been brisk at the Diner with avians still adjusting to the new waiting areas since GF Birch lost one of his trunks.

Many cardinals have been around, at least 2 mating pairs and  a couple of males, either pals or siblings who hung out for a while and flew off together.

A setting sun created some beautiful, glowy scenes to the East:

11/8: Turkey bros! They were checking out Benny's Diner then went to the end of the Cul de Sac. Still the Gang of 4!

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Buddy is not adjusting well with the cooler temps. He will request to go out but when I open the slider and he gets a face full of cold air, he'll look up at me WTF Dad!!?? and will turn around. Eventually, he'll go out for a brief patrol through the portal and return mewing. He is also facing another challenge: I'm afraid I have turned our boy into a Temptation treat addict and now he is undergoing a bit of rehab. Zero treats for a couple of days to reset, then they are only given as they are meant to be: a treat. Once a day ritual where I will hand them out via the savannah and activity board featuring the Plain of Jars. C is creating her own special treat event with a snack of mousse. 

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11/6-we drove up to Au Gres, about 150 miles on the Lake Huron side of the state, for the funeral of C's beloved Aunt Geri. I-75 was busy with semi's and featured the scary Zilwaukee Bridge spanning the Saginaw River.

Stephen Frye

South of Au Gres is the city of Omer, who advertises itself as the smallest city in Michigan with 274 residents (2020 census). Why is this considered a city? 

Google: Omer is considered a city because it was legally incorporated as a city in 1903 under Michigan state law, and in the United States, municipal status is determined by state legal definitions rather than population thresholds. 

When Omer incorporated over a century ago, it was a booming community serving as the original county seat of Arenac County, complete with multiple hotels, saloons, and a courthouse. While a devastating fire in 1914 and a massive flood in 1916 permanently halted its economic momentum and caused its population to shrink, Omer never stripped itself of its city status.

We took a different route home: took a 2-laner West to Harrison, then 127 South. Lovely drive: most of the leaves were down except for some non-birch species which had turned yellow and visually striking next to its grey-branched and pine neighbors. Farmers were out harvesting their corn, the soybeans were already done and there were many fields of green winter wheat. 

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Satirical illustration by Alsatian illustrator Tomi Ungerer (1931-2019) There is a reaper, whose name is death. 

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Seen while out and about: coming home on Saginaw Hwy, I encountered a motorcade led by motorcycle cops who were escorting this year's giant pine for the Capitol's Xmas tree. It is a 60 foot tall spruce from Iron Mountain.

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I never heard of this critter: meet Mr. Quokka:

 

From Wiki: The Quokka is a macropod native to Australia, about the size of a domestic cat and the only member of the genus Setonix. Like other marsupials in the macropod family (such as kangaroos and wallabies, they are herbivorous and mainly nocturnal. Their range is a small area of SW Australia and some smaller islands off the Western coast particularly Rottnest Island just off Perth.

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FUBARland: Knives out! The Dems have made it clear to Roach and Co: we're coming for you. Roach, in response doubled-down by firing yet another female in his circle-this time his Chief of Staff Susie Wiles-and appointing the dreadfully racist, cruel piece of shit Stephen Miller who accepted by publicly puckering up and kissing the demented diaper don's ass. The real challenge for the Dems will be to limit the damage these bastards can do before January. Stay tuned.

FIVE SECOND STORIES

In the Neighborhood: warm weather continued into November. Beautiful around the house-front yard is red: 

while the Back 40 is yellow:

The Budster having a comfy snooze on the back deck:

Sophie is still here and it appears her Mom's advice has paid off as she has gained some lbs.

A BigTail enjoying a slice of sourdough bread:

Has a drink: 

Then decides to take on the Baffle:

(game show buzzer) failed!

A Nutkin at the bath: 

11/3-afternoon high of 76° was one degree short of the record of 77° set in 2015.

Canada this evening put blue floodlights on Niagara Falls, in solidarity with us: 

11/4-last 60s degree day for awhile. It's been breezy the past few days and most of birch and maple leaves are down with many of Mr Maple's leaves coming down on the back deck:
 

C wanted to get some fresh air so she swept the deck:

Mr. Burning Bush's crimson crown: 

C's room is in that corner with a window on the Eastside completely covered by MBB. She enjoys the closeness-during warmer weather she will awaken to the sound of birds in the thicket of branches. Later this season, when MBB has completely turned, on sunny mornings, her room will have a faint warm glow.

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Sundown is now at 5.28pm and it's black out by 6!

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Life in America-I was picking up some fast food via drive thru-I inquired about the price with the clerk as I was paying. He replied: "I don't know the price, I don't eat here. I can't afford it". Wow. What? No employee discounts? I researched this and found as a general rule for this chain, employees receive 50% overall discounts with free meals during their shifts. One caveat: this varies from franchise owner to another with some items restricted or capped. Sounds like this poor guy works for an asshole.

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MADads: what a relief that the election is over! The ads contained some of the ugliest messaging I have ever seen and I am sure all of us were sick of seeing them.

I saw an ad from one of those online casino apps offering that magic part of retail marketing: rewards! Insidious in this case where getting some free cash via rewards is catnip for a gambling addict. Just like a drug pimp who offers a free taste of his wares. Keep 'em hooked!

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Russo-Ukraine war: 

Russian dead and wounded in October was a record monthly high: 54,000. It's good to remember that the Kremlin just announced that the next payday for the troops won't happen until mid-January 2027. Being patriotic to the Fatherland and Putin isn't gonna cut it anymore.

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A couple of pieces by Virgil Finlay (1914-1971) who was an illustrator for 35 years in the pulp fantasy, sci fi and horror genres.

 The Telltale Heart c1952 published in Fantastic Magazine.

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FUBARland: 

2026 mid-terms were the best for Dems in 68 years (1958) 

Today (11-4) Wee Lil' Mike Johnson stepped down from all leadership functions at the House. 

FuckWit Vance quickly has trotted out his continued view that the Iran war was a mistake to try and get some support for his future presidency. 

 

BUH BYE FUBARLAND!

 BLUE TSUNAMI!

ACCOUNTABILITY FOLLOWS!

Thank you for your attention to this matter. 

 

EL día de MUERTOS (THE DAY of the DEAD)

In Mexico, Halloween time is a series of celebrations which mix Indigenous with Spanish Catholic rites.

October 31: Families finish setting up home altars (ofrendas) and preparations. Tradition holds that the gates of heaven open at midnight for the spirits of children.  

November 1 (Día de los Inocentes or All Saints' Day): Dedicated to remembering and honoring deceased children and infants.

November 2 (All Souls' Day): Dedicated to honoring deceased adults. Families gather at cemeteries to clean graves, light candles, and share food and music.

La Llorona is Spanish for "The Weeping Woman"-according to the traditional legend, she was a beautiful woman who drowned her children in a fit of rage and grief over a lover, and is now cursed to wander near rivers eternally, crying out for them. The legend of La Llorona serves as an oral tradition, cultural icon, and popular cautionary tale, particularly for children to stay away from dangerous waters.

In Mexico, the marigold, known as cempasúchil, is the undeniable flower of Día de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead. It is believed that the flower's vibrant, sunny colour and strong, pungent scent act as a beacon, guiding the spirits of the deceased from the cemetery back to the land of the living. 

Families create paths of marigold petals leading to their homes and decorate their ofrendas (altars) with dozens of blooms. Here, the marigold does not symbolize sadness, but rather the beautiful, unbroken connection between life and death, and the joyful remembrance of loved ones.

 

 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! (UPDATED)

In the neighborhood: the leaves are falling fast! GF Birch and younger birch have dropping nearly all their leaves this week. The ground by them is a golden carpet:

Mr. Burning Bush is showing more color: 

Out front, Mr. Maple is in his glory:

Business at the Diner has been brisk with the avians and squirrelies fueling up. A pair of Jays check out the new Bath:

Curious thing-I was thinking that we haven't seen our Buns for a couple of weeks and usually in the mornings on our way out we'd see them in various yards. The very evening, a mature bun was in the Back 40:

He returned the next evening. In deep twilight, as we finished our TV viewing, a Blossom was spotted in the Back 40 heading toward the Giving Stone. Most likely, returning from the evening before when some elderly breaded pork cutlets were featured. I wonder where Blossom lives? The shed apartements? The big brush pile?

Fun pic: a sculpture of a fox in a tree stump found in the woods: 

 

Happy Halloween to all!
 

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In this short, a parody of The Exorcist, where the demon is AI:

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FUBARland: speaking of which, the whole world needs an exorcism to rid ourselves from this demon:

Just a few more days before the elections! The whole country has been exhausted by the last 2 years. I hope for everyone's sake, a blue tsunami occurs bringing oversight and accountability to this out of control and destructive administration.

Meanwhile in Russia: in an earlier post, I spoke of one of Putin's main issues: he has a citizenry that feels that they have no future and blame Vladdy for it. Well, Vladdy just made it worse with a new announcement directed towards his soldiers: because Russia has run out of money due to the war with Ukraine, their next payday has been postponed until January 15th or maybe the 27th 2027. That pretty much kills the major holidays universally loved and celebrated in Russia-Christmas and New Year's.

This is just begging for a mutiny. 

There are events happening in the Kremlin that parallel the past: in his final years, Stalin grew more and more paranoid and purged his inner circle. It's happening now-senior officials and generals are being arrested and tried.

This pattern has shown up in other historical cases of empire collapse. Certainly, we have seen it with the Roach, who fires people in his bizarre cosplay American version where the script follows a reality TV star.