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.

 

 

FIVE SECOND STORIES

In the Neighborhood:

9/29-the last day of Summer-it got up to 76° and mostly sunny. We had what might be our last supper on the deck.

 

9/30-the rains began. Grandfather Birch is quickly losing his leaves.

Temps turning cooler for the weekend and a good possibility of our first frost on 10/5.

C rescues Mr. Froggie (or so we hope). She was downstairs in her crafts room and she saw this guy next to the egress window looking at her from the leaf litter. We think he may be Mr. Green Frog:

She went out and gently took him out with some leaves and put him under the burning bush. Good luck! 

Life with cats: Feline rituals

Cats enjoy and prefer a routine in their lives with some things are raised a notch to ritual. This certainly rubbed off on the Egyptians.

With Buddy, it is the giving of treats.

First, drop some into the tall grass of the Savannah-got to keep those skills honed! Next, the Plain of Jars: claw extraction test. The rest is a hodgepodge-easy stuff when one gets frustrated.

Buddy is a very tolerant cat and quite good at communicating with us making his wishes known. If he wants out the slider and not in any particular hurry, he will simply sit silently next to it. He'll survey the deck area via vision and smell while he waits. Often I am writing and won't notice until I get up for something. If he is ready to roll, he'll emit a single meow and that will get my attention. 

~ 

Curious string of music picked by the algorithms for me the other day-interesting vids as well:

From 1996-Jamiroquai Virtual Insanity

 2003-Gnarls Barkley Crazy

 2013 Pharrell Williams Happy

FUBARland

Strange days-conspiracy theory

I'm picking up chatter about a military action in Cuba in January 2027. This thread has been out there for some time now, with the mysterious Secretary of State Marco Rubio being strangely absent from talks concerning the issues in Europe and Middle East. Things seem to be picking up now.

Is this misdirection?

We suddenly have pulled out of Iraq, where there has been a decade-long mission of anti-ISIS activity. 2,500 troops and support staff ready to be reassigned.

Meanwhile, Hegseth announced that he is chopping another 20% of top leadership of generals and admirals. He's already eliminated the high echelon officers and is now winnowing further down in the command structure. Any replacements, I am sure, must be sworn to be loyal to the regime. This is a classic authoritarian move with a military. He announced that this will be completed by January 1, 2027, just before January 3, when those newly elected to Congress will be sworn in. 

Consider this scenario: Happy New Year! we're invading Cuba. Jan 3 arrives and, oh, we're so sorry but we have a new war on our hands so we have to postpone swearing in the new folks. 

 
 

FIVE SECOND STORIES

In the Neighborhood: in these days of Harvest Feasts and Ox Roasts, here at the Diner we have for the first time: Acornfest!

Neighbor Johnnie is quite fastidious about his lawn but with his big oak, there's a problem: acorns. He spends a lot of time each year using a litter picker to gather them. We've seen this for years and this year C suggested a experiment: we'll take the acorns off his hands and see how our wild friends react. Johnnie was quite agreeable with the idea so, he gave us a big bag of them  and I put them on the Buffet. Within a couple of hours, MamaC waddled over to see the newest bill of fare. At first she seemed tentative. Gave them a try and wandered off. Hmmm, I thought-is this going to be an acquired taste, like learning to enjoy a beer? However, it seems to have grown on her as she visited another 3 times!

The following day, I put out another treat: the end corner of a calzone. Our girl certainly enjoys an exotic diet! 

It appears she is the only one who imbibes the acorns-seen no one else-the squirrelies seem to like the sunflower seeds better. Here she is snacking amidst a Raucous Caucus of sparrows: 

MamaC basking in some late afternoon sunlight. 

She is Rubenesque these days. You gotta wonder about her account on Groundhog Tinder: I might be older, boys but I am very experienced and acorn-fed. Hubba hubba!
 
Harvest Moon Day-We got the pool covered-yay! After supper, we gathered around the Tube afterward. Tis a change of season: space heater time and Buddy is very happy to have one blasting into his face. He is such a funny guy.

 

Curious patterns-we had as background while we ate, an hour's worth of sea turtles swimming.

Outside:

Harvest moon rising:
 

Neil Young's Harvest Moon from 1992:

~

Sedum in the West Garden:

Afternoon light in my bedroom:

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Welcome back Mr. Tufted Titmouse! Having a bite with a Mr. Redbird, who is still recovering from molt.

What they do during Summer: 

During the late spring and summer months, Tufted Titmice primarily feed on insects and caterpillars high up in the dense forest canopy. Because they are busy nesting, raising their young, and finding plenty of natural food, they rarely need to visit backyard bird feeders, making them seem completely absent.

Why They "Return" in September

As summer winds down and insect populations drop, titmice transition to a diet of seeds and nuts. They are famous for "caching"—aggressively gathering seeds from feeders and hiding them individually under tree bark or in crevices to save for the winter

~ 

 I spotted a Nutkin on the bath and realized that it was a Mom.

A couple of days later, she and her 4 kids are checking out Grandfather Birch's lofts-awwww, so cute:

A couple of Mamas:

Our street was repaved this week, something that has not been done since we moved in 16 years ago. Nice job!

With the pool covered, our billowing monster has returned: 

Little Guy seems to be ailing-there's a segment in his tail that seems to have shedded fur-what's up bro?

Tail looking kinky

 

You can see a notch before the first dark band

I haven't seen RW recently. According to research, the females and juveniles have headed out to Southern US/Mexico. The males linger until October/November fueling up for the journey.

A couple of things from my childhood-giant flocks of blackbirds that gathered in our swamp in the back corner of our 15 acres in the evening who were quite loud; ground fog I encountered as I walked 1/4 mile to the main road to catch the bus.

Grandfather Birch's leaves are beginning to turn. It seems early to me and according to past posts, he did the same thing last year-both summers were droughty and he had the leaf skeletonizers to contend with. 2023-he turned in mid-October.

One of my favorite pleasures of living in a place with four distinct seasons are the periods of transition from one to another. We're in such a time now with the change of temps for both night and day, leaves are turning and our outdoor activities shift. Each season has a sublime moment: the 100 shades of green in Spring, first pool day of Summer, the leaves changing in Fall and the first snow of Winter. Its part of keeps me here despite the issues with aging, along with my small family and our wildlife friends that live with us in the neighborhood. 'Tis such a lovely planet. 

9/29-I found a Wooly Caterpillar in some leaf litter while mowing this morning. Here's what nature's prognosticator has to say:

 

Looks like a mild Winter to me! Thanks buddy!

Fun Facts

2026 currently is the first time in 112 years that there have been zero hurricanes in the Atlantic Basin.

What European city has the largest population?  Moscow over 13 million within the city limits; 21 million in the metropolitan area. 

MADads: William Shatner's insatiable need for attention is well-known and documented. Futurama's character Calculon is a parody of Shatner. For this year's SuperDuper Bowl, he starred in a Kellogg's Raisin Bran Ad: 

 

Tagline: Will Shat here and you can too!

 

New term for me: lifestyle visit. Saw an ad for this where folks sign up for guided visits to see places for potential retirement. Looked rather posh in a White Lotus kind of way. 

Algorithm irony: the other day while I was surfing YT, I came across an ad featuring a young black woman exercising wearing one of those diabetic glucose monitoring patches on her arm-beats poking your finger every hour-with a tagline of Helps You Succeed! 

This was followed by an AI rendering of The Colonel hawking his $10 Bucket specials for tenders, wings and nuggets. 

Bad algorithms! 

~ 

Whoa! Ad turned up for Halloween shirts-this was rather gruesome I thought, thanks to the past decades of slasher/bloody horror flicks: 

Geez-who would wear such a thing? The wife and kids just wouldn't shut up. At least there were shirts for women as well-yeah, the asshole's been banging his secretary again. I taught both of them a lesson. Creepier still would be people who wear the shirt outside of the Halloween festivities. Just who you want in line with you at a Meijer checkout lane.

~  

There's a long-standing joke about out transmissions going out into Space and how other entities might view them. Recently, a number of broadcasts have been received and it's a head-scratcher-have these creatures evolved? New species? What's with those white things sticking out of their heads?

 

Fun Fact: radiocarbon dating has a test ceiling reaching a maximum of 50,000 years back in time. 

Fun vids 

From the actor who brought us Philomena Cunk, a new series Ann Droid: 

~

Researchers investigating the marks in European caves discover a form of proto-writing. The caves were a library, left by earlier inhabitants for the next group to come along: how to stay alive.

One of the marks is a "Y" and is quite common. Turns out to be an elegant idea: it symbolizes birth. A new branch.

~ 

The curious tale of Gobekli Tepe site:

~ 

I've seen this during my time living and visiting AZ where the drive from Phoenix to Tucson was visually extraordinary after a wet spring.

FUBARland

Both Will Lawrence and Abdul El Sayed are being beaten bloody by attack ads using their past very vocal, very public stances on defunding the police. Oy.

It's an old problem: one sends signals to indicate where you are on the political spectrum. People understand and recognize that you also have other progressive ideas. But later on, this comes back and bites them in the ass. Some never recover, others survive the test which adds to their reps.

~ 

The basic insanity of Data Centers: with so much of the country having drought issues, they want to build these things. A large hyperscale facility can use 1 million to 5 million gallons of water per day—comparable to the daily use of a small town. I like the protest signs:

~ 

Fabulous joke concerning the utter failure of Trump TV: viewership for its premiere was surpassed by tape loops of someone watching their feet.

~ 

Friends-it feels to me that 3 major crises in the world will come to a head this winter:

1) here in the US, the mid-term elections. If the Dems can pull off a Blue Wave, take both houses of Congress, Roach becomes a giant demented Lame Duck. We can get some sense back into the government and get it working again.

2) the Russo-Ukraine war comes to its final stages. Zelenskyy publicly told Putin-we're gonna hurt your people this winter. Puty is running out of cash, his oligarch pals are starting to flee and the citizenry are fed up. He's increasingly being backed into a corner. Even money on whether China will give him sanctuary or that a car bomb will take him out.

3) Major elections this fall in Israel-will Bibi and his awful far-right pals limp through and continue their blood-letting against their neighbors or will the people finally put their foot down and say enough is enough? Whodathunk, that a nation who survived a holocaust 80 years ago, perpetuate their own against the Palestinans? They are a pariah nation now, much like South Africa during the apartheid years.

Better buckle up-it's gonna be a turbulent few months. Good luck to us all.