FIVE SECOND STORIES

Seen while out and about:

I was driving East on 496 to pick C up from work when this guy flew over me. At first as he approached me, I thought, hmm...too big for hawk, wrong wing shape for goose or seagull and then I saw the white head. I've only seen bald eagles twice—the other time was years ago when traveling on Old Lansing Road near Millet Hwy. It was perched in a dead tree next to a swamp.

In the neighborhood: 

Full Beaver Moon-closest orbit to Earth since 2019

 

Diner kerfuffle under the Beaver moon:

Last night as we were shutting down things in a darkened Great Room, I peered out at the Diner and saw a Stampy who had its back to me. It looked like BigMama because of her plumy tail. Suddenly, a big Blossom comes darting up close to her and snatches off the ground a slice of stale bread I had tossed out earlier. Blossom dropped the slice long enough to bare her teeth along with a few choice words as the Stampy swung around and feigned a charge with a couple of quick steps. Blossom then picked up the bread, pivoted and ran back to the apartments. Stampy followed for about 10 steps then stopped and returned to forage for a snack. Not sure if both live in the apartments or one lives in the brush pile. I have reason to believe this isn't the first match—last weekend, there was the definite aroma in the Back 40 of the nuclear option having been deployed.

11/9: First snow!

Mr. Red-Bellied Woodpecker on the feeder, Senor Junco atop the squirrel baffle awaiting his turn:

Johnny's burning bushes:

Our Gang of 5 turkey bros. across the street at John's Diner:

~

Good news: Third week anniversary of her right shoulder injury and C is beginning to write again! 

~ 

C related a tale from one of her students: a Vietnamese boy was telling her about an accident while riding his bike at twilight: he got hit by a deer! Whodathunk?  

~ 

Memorable quote from Simpson's where Mr. Burns' long-lost brother appears as an animated version voiced by Rodney Dangerfield: Lazy, you're not kidding. Why, I'm like a rug on Valium. I'm talking lazy. 

Funny coffee mug:

 ~ 

Louisiana Tabasco sauce-made on a Louisiana island since 1868:

 

How it is made:  

 

 

~ 

 The Humongous Fungus of Michigan

The "91 acre mushroom" in Crystal Falls, MI is a giant Honey Mushroom (Armillaria gallica) that is one of the largest organisms in the world by area. It is a vast underground network of fungal mycelium discovered in the 1980's and is estimated to be between 1,500 and 2,500 years old. While its name refers to a 91-acre estimate, later research indicates it may be even larger, occupying almost 200 acres. The city of Crystal Falls embraces its unique status with an annual Fungus Fest. The city is due east of Iron River near the Wisconsin border.

This dwarfed by the estimated world's largest and oldest colony of Armillaira ostoyae, located in the Malheur National Forest in eastern Oregon. It covers approximately 2,200 to 2,385 acres (about 3.7 square miles and is estimated to be anywhere from 1,900 to 8,650 years old.

~

Curious ads from Norway-the strangest is the one with the young man and a huge hand-perhaps a visual extension of the old male joke about being married to your right hand:

 ~

Highly recommended: On Netflix: "Call the Midwife", a British series beginning that began in 2012. Set in the East End Docklands of London starting in the late 1950's, the show follows the lives of nurse midwives attached to a nursing convent, part of an Anglican religious order. This section of London was quite poor, in fact, rubble from the Blitz 17 years earlier, has not been completely cleared in some areas. The series covers a wide range of social/economic/class/racial/gender/religious issues that the young nurses face. There's a strong whiff of proto-feminism in many of the episodes with a whole lotta men behaving poorly. Childbirth is messy and its depiction is done tastefully yet direct. 

What has us hooked is the writing—they pack a lot into an episode and be warned, the drama can swing from awful, Dickensian grimness to Little House on the Prairie level of treacle. Add a dash of ER, where drama hikes up when a baby arrives prematurely and the gruff veteran nun barks "boil some water, STAT!". Fans of ER or St. Elsewhere will recognize this method of employing a sudden jolt of action into an episode.

The creators are a clever lot, using period music and lyrics (we have our cc on) to highlight a scene without dialogue. There are times where you are reminded of late '50s romantic film comedies with spot-on music, fashion and art direction. An American version would star Troy Donahue and Sandra Dee.

Overall, there is a hopeful, positive vibe which perhaps attracts us, considering the awfulness we are witnessing/experiencing these days. And, it's about life: the good and the bad, and perhaps most of all, love.  

~ 

FUBARland: Ever-suffering toadies and their narcissist masters:

ICE Snowflakes get their comuppance:

The Banksy 2003 piece "Flower Thrower", reimagined in viral memes.

Sean Dunn, a former U.S. Justice Department staffer, was found not guilty of assaulting or impeding a federal officer after a three-day trial in Washington federal court. Mr. Dunn threw a subway sandwich at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent during a confrontation. Evidently, the onion and mustard toppings were considered a real and present threat to the agent and the United States of America.

 

FUBARLAND THOUGHTS

 

The Roach held a Great Gatsby themed Halloween party at Mar a Lago:

 

Samuel Corum via Getty Images

 

Not only astonishingly tone-deaf to the appearance of this during a government shutdown where millions are facing food insecurity as SNAP payments are withheld; but also, as C pointed out, oblivious to the ending of the book:

 

 “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy- they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.”

 

Meanwhile, on October 29, JD Vance had a close encounter with Charlie Kirk's widow onstage at a Turning Point event:

 

At the same time, he has repeatedly said in public, that he wants his Hindu wife to become a Christian. Add this to his comments pointing towards his beliefs in ethnonationalism—from the NYT:

Vice President JD Vance laid it out explicitly in a speech  this summer: a national identity based not on ideals, but on privileged heritage and bloodlines.

“America is not just an idea,” Mr. Vance said. “We’re a particular place, with a particular people, and a particular set of beliefs and way of life.” He added: “The people whose ancestors fought in the Civil War have a hell of a lot more claim over America than the people who say they don’t belong.”

Hmm, smells like White Christian Nationalism with a strong dash of The Lost Cause. 

I put forth here an idea: 

Vance wants to dump his inconvenient wife of color and non-Christian for Erika Kirk—widow of the MAGA martyr. I'm sure I am not the first to wonder about this and its potential as he takes the reins after the Roach is out of the way. A match made in heaven, some would say. 

Stay tuned. 

 

 

FIVE SECOND STORIES

11/1: on my way home, I came up the street directly N of the house and spotted a pair of Sandhill Cranes grazing in a mowed field. I drove home, grabbed my camera and walked over the berm to see them. Dark storms were off to the NW but here, the sun was out:

They truly are snowbirds, migrating from their breeding grounds in Canada in October - November to the southern U.S. and Mexico.

Walking home, I ducked under branches of a tree that had odd fruit:

Chester didn't know what to make of it:

 

This is an American sweet gum tree seed pod. The resin sap historically was used for chewing gum and medicinal applications as a salve for wounds and a tea for tummy issues. 

Stalwart Mr. Cosmos, despite numerous frosts, is still producing blooms:

 

FUBARland:

Oblivious to the optics, Roach has his Marie Antoinette moment during the shutdown as millions (+/- 42M) are facing food insecurity due to SNAP benefits expiring while their ACA premiums skyrocketing as those subsidies also expiring, he sponsored a Great Gatsby themed Halloween party at Mar a Lago at the taxpayers expense (millions).

Fine. More ammo for the Dems if they wise up and take a page from Reagan's campaign tagline "are you better off today than 4 years ago." You'd think this would be a no-brainer. I would add that their emphasis should be on "kitchen table issues": cost of living, food, health care, rent. Of course, this will sell but the hard part is implementing policy, as Biden's National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan observed. A good example was the new push to widen decent internet access to rural areas which got bogged down in the weeds of local/state/federal regs. Roach's team has drastically changed the initiative and currently it is dead in the water.

MR. JAY AND I

 

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 and walked 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!"

HAPPY HALLOWEEN AND SAMHAIN!

 

 

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. 

~ 

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. 

FIVE SECOND STORIES

In the neighborhood:

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.

~ 

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:

~ 

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

 

 

FIVE SECOND STORIES

In the neighborhood:

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:

 ~

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.

~

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.