FIVE SECOND STORIES

In the Neighborhood: 

8/19-Sandhills return! I heard them calling and they were v close with their eerie, echoey, Jurassic Park sounds. I spotted them in Benny's yard next door and stepped onto the deck to take pix:

Security already had them under surveillance:

After a couple minutes of continual calling, they flew up and over Benny's fence into the adjacent mowed field and resumed their calling for another 3-4 minutes. I wondered what was up-perhaps a Sandhill marital squabble:

Wife: why are we in this small space with dodgy security and short grass. No food here-what were you thinking?

Hub: hey, I thought it might be something different-sheesh, just trying to please you, dear.

Wife: well now we have to fly again for better pastures over that damn fence. I'm sick of flying.

Hub: IT'S WHAT WE DO! ARE YOU GOING TO COMPLAIN ALL THE WAY TO THE GULF OF MEXICO?

Wife: oh relax, I just was saying I would like to take it easy before we leave in October. The kids are grown, we're finishing our molt. I'm pooped. I just want an easy meal.

Hub: well go to McDonalds then-I can the Golden Arches just over there.

Wife: and eat what? 

Hub: I don't know-the apes are always throwing food on the ground. Hmm, maybe some Filet o'Fish? Mmmmm, tartar sauce!

Wife: oh, gawd. You know your mother warned me about you. He's a picky eater, dear. Always wants something different.

Hub: oh, nice-bring my mother into this. Fine. I'm going over by the parking lot to eat. You can stay here and sulk. 

Wife: I'm not sulking, I'm just tired. Tired of your brand of nonsense.

Evidently, that's where they left it as the calling ended and I lost sight of them behind our trees. I hope they patch things up before they head south otherwise, it will be a long trip.

8/22-A lovely late August Saturday afternoon. Pop-up thunderstorms swelled and rolled in-you could hear them coming in the distance getting louder and louder. Radar showed that the heaviest cells were tracking north of us but we still caught some of the widespread rain:

Temps immediately dropped so being the old guy that I am, I put on the lightweight hoodie and bombas. The air was refreshing and it grew dark as the storms passed over with cumulus piles growing off to the North:

 

Once the rain ended, Bud went out to his castle keep:

We received .9" giving us nearly 2" of rain just this week!

8/24-Fall morning temps: 51°! Yesterday's high was only 73°.

~ 

In Cardinal culture, this is molting time which takes 6-12 weeks to complete. A couple examples of the process:

The bald phase-the crown is gone:

A fresh coat coming in:

A teenaged Robin sporting a sharp-looking spotted vest (say that fast after a few whiskies):
 

Handsome Mr. Purple Finch:

Meet Frank the Squirrel:

Frank's namesake is Frank Sutton-the actor who played the Marine drill sergeant on the 60's TV show Gomer Pyle. The character was known for his aggressive, in-your-face behavior and so is our Frank. He is a young squirrel and this Spring, I first met him exiting the house by the garage. He was sitting up in Mr. Locust, hollering his head off at me. Geez, dude-chill. Throughout the Summer, he has continued hollering-at both me and Buddy on occasion accompanied with vigorous chatter and tail swishing. See above pic. This week, His Lordship was walking towards the deck past GF Birch when Frank charged him! Buddy had a surprised look on his face as he quickly skedaddled to safety. 

~

A BigTail on GF Birch stood for several minutes eyeing the feeder:

This reminded me of Wile E. Coyote and his blueprints for the demise of the Road Runner:

~

Discoveries: in the East Garden I noticed this sunflower in one of the raised beds:

I haven't grown sunflowers there in a few years so this has to be a feeder seed buried by somebody. 

I noticed this the other day by one of the Sharons:

I thought this was a cornflower-they are quite prevalent along roadsides and the big hill in back of the elementary school just to our South on Canal is covered with them. I researched and discovered that this is not a cornflower but chicory which is lighter in color with a different petal pattern. Yep, the same stuff whose root has been for years roasted and used as a caffeine-free coffee substitute.

New plantings: I wanted to put something in front of the pool step's concrete pilings:

These are bush honeysuckle or Diervilla var. Kodiak Red, a native species to the Great Lakes and Eastern US. They grow 3-4', have small yellow flowers throughout the season with leaves that turn crimson in the Fall. Said to be deer resistant-I ain't taking any chance between the Pruners and MamaC so I will keep them protected.

#cutebuddypix: he loves my mini-Van Gogh Iris quilt. Comfy and smells like his Dad:

 

Summer food: 

I was happy to find an old childhood favorite: peach ice cream. Only this brand is available. Yum!

 

Neighbor Johnny gave us our annual huge zucchini which I made into a orange/zucchini bread. This treat bridges the seasons: summer veg with the flavors of fall-cinnamon, cloves, ginger. Darn tasty with morning coffee.

When I was throwing produce at Better Hell, we would refer to such monsters as green shillelagh after the Irish walking stick.

8/20 Crazy critter encounters: 

#1:The Ghost Kitty

I was brushing my teeth in the main bath when I began to hear a cat. Mewing, mewing then hissing. I looked out the window and C is out in the East garden calling and holding a broom. She had just finished yoga and had gone to the half/bath to take a whiz when she heard the mews and went outside. Meanwhile, Buddy was in the kitchen looking perplexed. I went outside. The mewing seemed to be centered around the burning bush next to C's room. We looked high and low. It would start and finish then begin again. A real head scratcher. I went into her room to look out the window to see if I could glimpse the kitty in the huge shrub. I glanced at her computer and saw this:

It evidently popped up after her yoga vid and contains a loop of cat sounds. We had a good chuckle over this surreal event.

#2 Goose with an attitude.

I was driving C into her office and we're on Michigan Ave. and stop at the light at Harrison Rd. In the middle of the intersection was a Canadian goose, a yearling judging by his size. He was quite still and stared at me.

The light changed and I crept towards him. He wasn't budging. C says-what? suicidal goose? I honked the horn and he just stood there. I thought this is a youngun who has decided he is gonna play chicken: Muther F*****, this is my street, bitch! The car behind me started honking (can't pass up this tasty pun) and pulled around me. Meanwhile, C spotted a huge, shirtless jogger dude who is coming up catty corner on Harrison with a big dog on a leash and hollered at him for help. He ran over, waving and yelling at the goose who lifted up, wheeled in the jogger's direction. The jogger put his arms up (still hanging onto the leash) and ducked as the goose flew a tight turn around him and down Michigan Ave. Good grief! What was that all about?

~

With all uproar over the overextended tour by the aircraft carrier involved with the Iran conflict, I came across a sailor jargon I wasn't familiar with: A Jonah. From my eager AI program:

To sailors, a "Jonah" is a superstitious term for a person, passenger or object that brings bad luck, a heavy curse or severe storms to a ship. 

Origin of the Term

The Biblical Story: The term comes from the biblical prophet Jonah, who tried to run away from God on a sea vessel.
The Great Storm: God sent a massive, violent storm that threatened to break the ship apart.
Thrown Overboard: The terrified crew figured out Jonah was the cause and threw him into the sea. The water immediately became calm. 

Meaning in Maritime Culture

Bad Luck Charm: Calling someone a Jonah means they jinx any group or trip they join.
Superstition Extension: Historically, sailors expanded the "Jonah" label to specific groups thought to anger the sea or bring bad fortune, including clergymen, women on board, and redheads

Fun Vids: Whoa! Webb Telescope confirms something tearing through space. Be warned, this is heavy science although well explained. Hint-it's a runaway black hole! Who knew? 

Want something else to worry about? Well bunkie, today is a red letter day for you: Friday the friggin' 13th of April, 2029, the asteroid Apophis will pay us a visit:

Key Facts About Apophis

Discovery Date: June 19, 2004, by astronomers at the Kitt Peak National Observatory.
Name Origin: Named after the ancient Egyptian god of chaos and destruction due to early fears of a potential impact.
Size: Roughly the size of a football field or the Eiffel Tower (mean diameter about 340 meters).
2009 Approach: Will pass closer to Earth than geostationary satellites and will be visible to the naked eye in parts of Europe, Africa, and Asia. 

Scientific Importance and Exploration

Tidal Forces: Earth's gravity will tug on the asteroid during its 2029 flyby, potentially shifting its rotation or causing small seismic "asteroid quakes".
Planned Missions: Space agencies are preparing missions like NASA's OSIRIS-APEX and ESA's RAMSES to study the structural and physical changes caused by the close encounter. 

Hilarious and informative doc about Cooper's Hawks:

Only in America: The strange case of Orion-Elvis impersonator

John Hughes Ellis (February 26, 1945 – December 12, 1998) voice was similar to the King-something his record label took advantage of.  He began wearing his signature mask following Elvis Presley's death in 1977 and inspired by Gail Brewer-Giorgio's novel Orion about a singer who faked his death, Sun Records boss Shelby Singleton created the masked persona to feed rumors that Elvis was still alive. He appeared with a number of country artists including Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette and Jerry Lee Lewis. Ellis was shot and killed alongside his employee Elaine Thompson during a robbery at his pawn shop in Orrville, AL on December 12, 1998.

MADads: Dawn Powerwash brought to you by Brand Power: the ad begins with a quick blast of music similar to that often occurring in "breaking news" spots, then a pretty woman appears announcing this cleaning miracle. This music triggers our brains, compounded by years of training in an instant: PAY ATTENTION. THIS CONTAINS IMPORTANT INFORMATION. PLEASE ACT AS DIRECTED.

-buy this product

-listen to your president/governor/other authority figures

-political ad

-weather emergency, seek cover

-nuclear attack imminent, seek cover 

~ 

Newest campaign from Amazon presents us with yet another hallucinatory situation-their packaging contains this tagline: Without you, I am empty inside.  

Now we have to contend with Amazon with feelings. Don't bum Amazon out, buy something. Amazon wants to feel fulfilled and realize its true potential by being productive, the ultimate purpose of any worker in a capitalist, consumerist culture.

Now, one could suggest an experiment that is one part protest, one part probe. One day, an ordinary day, for no apparent reason, thousands of people across the country don't buy anything from Amazon. Rural, urban-wide range of demographics. See what the reaction is. It could be instructive. At the very least, better have boxes of kleenex on hand-a lot of trucks will need them. Sniff. So sad. Where did I go wrong?

 

Funniest and most strange MI political ad: El Sayed's Granny goes full Stephen King at the beginning of the piece:

Weird. Coupled with the "in his own words" attack ad with the tagline "he's DANGEROUS", which brought up the chorus from "Jesus Christ Superstar: Jesus Must Die: He's Dangerous"-creates a very curious message. Let's hope it's not prescient.      

FUBARland: Mike Lindell, who has refused to concede his loss in the MN gubernatorial race, is now demanding a recount. He has offered to pitch in up to 1m to cover expenses. Shape of things to come for every GOP loser in November?

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is advancing a fast-tracked plan to revoke a 20-year, 336,400-acre protection zone around New Mexico's Chaco Culture National Historical Park. The proposal seeks to eliminate a 10-mile drilling buffer established in 2023, reopening the greater ancestral landscape to new oil and gas leasing. Nevermind,that this is a UNESCO World Heritage site. This continues the pattern of destruction of everything we value by metaphorically shitting on it. A multiple dump for the Roach:

>fuck those red niggers

>fuck ancient stuff-I am only thing that matters now

>potential $$$ to pocket

>bragging rights with his elite pals

>because he can. I am Donald J. Trump. I can do anything I want. So there! Thank you for your attention.  

I visited Chaco Canyon with Michele back in the mid-80's-it is wonderful. It is a place of silence yet one can still feel the presence of those who lived there until around the 12th century AD.

FIVE SECOND STORIES

In the Neighborhood: For a couple of days, our Sandhill Crane friends visited many Diners and backyards. Here, they're on the berm behind us next to the Sparrow West building:

I had an amazing encounter with them: I was driving out to run errands and they were strolling on folk's lawns along our street. They paid me no mind, just kept walking  as my car moved next to them. 

They just stayed the 2 days.  

8/14-Turkey Bros! The Gang of 4 were out visiting everyone's Diners. They visited Benny's but gave mine a pass-probably leery of the new construction next to mine. They followed the berm and checked out Johnny's backyard. Their alpha led the way:
 

They next went to John's Diner across the street. Curiously, the alpha kept apart from his pals while they fed-perhaps to stand watch.

 

After having a bite, they returned to Carrier Creek.

Our new pool deck/steps are taking shape:

Our tomatoes are ripening! 

8/12- Total Solar Eclipse seen in Greenland, Iceland, Spain and parts of the Mediterranean. Here was the view from Corsica near sundown:

 8/16: pool steps completed!

 

I'm going to plant some shrubs along the front to mask the cement footings. I'm leaning towards Diervilla or bush honeysuckle which has delicate yellow blooms in Summer and leaves that turn red in the Fall.

Today it got up to 87° and muggy with a chance of showers. Nice fluffy clouds, though.

Tiger in my backyard. Now that construction has ended, it's time for some patrolling.

One of his many outposts outside...

and inside: 

Getting his hard-earned reward of belly-rubs from his Mum:

Exotic dessert on the Buffet-rainbow sherbet. It was nasty, more sweet than flavor. MamaC imbibed:

The next morning, the container was clean as a whistle-either she or Rocky's finished it off.

LG explored the new steps and enjoyed the solar cover posts as a convenient spot to have a peanut:
 

We were having supper on the deck and LG came over: Got Nuts??

It's probably been nearly 4 weeks since I've mowed the yard. It was getting shaggy especially up by the street where it gets any rain runoff. My attitude:

 The lawn needs mowin' and I don't care

 The lawn needs mowin' and I don't care

 The lawn needs mowin' and I don't care

Gee, those weeds are nice and green.   

8/18-I finally get out there and mow as some rain is promised for the evening. Mild and overcast-good working weather. Now, I have often observed that Mother Nature has a habit of letting we apes know that we are in her realm. Little cuts and scrapes from branches, bug bites and annoying noseeums. She outdid herself: all of a sudden, I discovered that we have several yellow jacket nests. The first was quite obvious-a hole about the size of a softball behind the pool that had been dug up. I think the Stampy's were responsible as I had seen a number of golf ball-sized digs across the yard. They are known to enjoy eating wasps and their comb. Plus, I could see wasps inside the hole. So, I'm out front and all of a sudden I feel a sharp pain: stung just above the sock line. I encounter more nests along the raised beds in the East Garden-stung twice more-on the other leg above the sock line and one of the bastards flew up my shorts and bit me in the ass! I ran inside, put ointment on the stings, switched to long sweatpants tucked into the socks and finished the mowing. Oi!

We got a nice soaker before midnight: all the models before I went to bed were forecasting .04-.2". We received an inch! Yay! 

Meanwhile, the stinging changed to itch on the wasp bites. Calamine lotion became my new BF.

 ~

Fun fact-US did not issue birth certificates until 1902. How did the government keep track of new citizens? They did so through a decentralized patchwork of local, religious and personal records.

~ 

Origin of saying "the writing is on the wall": From Wiki-In the biblical Book of Daniel chapter 5, there is an episode concerning Belshazzar's Feast. The Babylonian king Belshazzar is said to have defiled the sacred vessels of the enslaved Israelites by using them to serve wine at a banquet. The feast was then disturbed by the appearance of a divine hand, which wrote a glowing inscription on a wall –the writing on the wall – which was interpreted by the prophet Daniel as a portent of Belshazzar's doom. Belshazzar was killed that night, and Darius the Mede succeeded to his kingdom.

This event has been portrayed by many artists over time including Rembrandt. One of the most intriguing was made by British painter John Martin in 1821. It became so popular with the public that the gallery had to install fencing to contain the crowds. It's quite a trippy piece depicting the moment Daniel makes his prediction amidst a huge banquet for a thousand guests held in an open air venue. Daniel is in a dark coat with a raised hand as the words of Yahweh-"MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN" appear glowing on a wall on the left side of the canvas. The guests are freaking out and running away from the apparition. Beyond the venue, you can see the moonlit sky, the Tower of Babel, the Gardens of Babylon and a Grand Ziggurat:

FUBARland: Mike Lindell, the Roach's pal and ass-kisser who ran in the MN primary for governor, was creamed yet refuses to concede defeat. I wonder if this is a test case for the GOP playbook in the mid-terms: refuse to concede in order to obfuscate and muck up the process. As I post this, he still has not conceded.

Insane in the membrane-UK style. Perennial ultra-rightwing asshole, racist, immigrant hater and Brexit-lover was running in a special election for his seat in Parliament. Neither Labour or Tories put forth a candidate to oppose him. Instead, there was Count BinFace, a inter-galactic space warrior:

 

 

The Count received about 25% of the vote in a poorly participated election. I bet Bender Rodriguez would be thrilled with him:

Is Natalie Harp Roach's Eva Braun? 

 

Oh baby, let's go into the Ballroom bunker and leave the planet together!

 

Cuing up the band Garbage's hit song "#1 Crush" from 1995:

I would die for you, I would die for you
I've been dying just to feel you by my side
To know that you're mine

I will cry for you, I will cry for you
I will wash away your pain with all my tears
And drown your fear

I will pray for you, I will pray for you
I will sell my soul for something pure and true
Someone like you

See your face every place that I walk in
Hear your voice every time that I'm talking
You will believe in me
And I will never be ignored

I will burn for you, feel pain for you
I will twist the knife and bleed my aching heart
And tear it apart

I will lie for you, beg and steal for you
I will crawl on hands and knees until you see
You're just like me

Violate all the love that I'm missing
Blow away all the pain that I'm living
You will believe in me
And I can never be ignored

I would die for you
I would kill for you
I would steal for you
I'd do time for you
I will wait for you

I'd make room for you

I'd sail ships for you
To be close to you
To be part of you
'Cause I believe in you
I believe in you
I would die for you