THANKSGIVING EVE AND MORNING

Noon-quite windy with temps dropping:

Within a couple of hours, the snow had begun:

 It began to stick in an hour or so:

We had graupel (ice pellets), we could hear it hitting the skylights:
 

Buddy has been grumpy lately-he does not like this transition to cold weather. Not only the cold but I suspect he's upset that he hasn't killed anything for awhile. He's restless and pesky about food and treats-poor lad is bored.

5.30 and on: very little business at the Diner as folks are hunkering down.

6.15, it's dark!

Thanksgiving Day morning:

 Near mid-day:

 

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

 Turkey tracks on Rte. 66 near Nilwood Il:

Susan Rissi Tregoning

Turkeys crossed through wet cement in the 1920's when this historic highway was being built from Chicago, Illinois, to Santa Monica, California. 

FIVE SECOND STORIES

In the neighborhood:

11/25: We've had several days in the low-50's that begin sunny turning cloudy by late afternoon:

Neighbor Johnny's oak leaves are the dominant feature this time of year. Oaks are notorious for hanging on to their leaves at the end of the season which leaves one with a dubious choice: either go out and rake/mow several times or wait to do it once but risk having early snow burying them til Spring. Johnny is quite fastidious about his yard so he is out there nearly every day...and he just turned 80. Me, nearly a decade younger, meh. I'm lazy these days.

We're entering the season of lights, commemorating the long darkness and cold of Winter and the coming of light, warmth and rebirth of Spring. 

Old Man Winter, in the form of a polar vortex, is paying us an early visit for Thanksgiving. This weekend will feature cold and potentially several inches of snow. Hopefully, no freezing rain, thank you very much!

Bright overcast evening sky: 

Komfykatter-Buddy's newest favorite way to hang out with his Mum:

He's been pesky about treats with a level of determination rivaling any K Street lobbyist in Washington, DC. The other evening while persuading C, he emphasized his wish with his tail. The result is 2025's seasonal tagline: 

This holiday, more twitching for treats! 

 ~

Water ice crater found in the far northern latitudes on Mars:

ESA/DLR/Freie Universitat Berlin (G. Neukum)

 Flying peacock:

Tropical islands appear to be floating:

A rare cat-meet the Andean Mountain cat (Leopardus jacobita), a small feline found in the high Andes of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Peru, as well as the northern portion of the Patagonian steppe in Argentina. It is considered the most threatened feline in the Americas and is counted among the five most endangered cats in the world with less than 1,500 individuals thought to exist. It is a monotypic species, meaning that there are no subspecies in its group.

J. Reppucci

Meet the Diatoms: Diatoms are microscopic aquatic plants found in all fresh, brackish, and salt waters on the globe. Diatoms, after the bacteria, are the most common forms of life on earth. Living diatoms make up a significant portion of Earth's biomass and generate about 20 to 50 percent of the oxygen produced on the planet each year. They are generally of a golden-brown color, and many are able to move about. Each diatom, in addition to its vegetable structure, is formed of a beautiful siliceous box, having a lid over the bottom part, and an ornamented rim (girdle). Throughout the world there are thousands of kinds of diatoms with thousands of shapes assumed by their respective boxes. Some are round, like a pill-box, some are triangular, and others are boat-shaped; all are marvelously decorated. 

A pink grasshopper: A rare pink grasshopper is a result of a genetic mutation called erythrism causes an overproduction of red pigment and the lack of the usual green or brown pigments. While it can happen in various species, pink grasshoppers have recently been spotted in places like New Zealand and Wales.

Teeth of a Crabeater seal: these are highly specialized for filtering, with a unique lattic-like shape that allows them to eat large quantities of krill.

  ~

Fun vids:

Bald Eagle mating ritual:

The bald eagle mating dance, called the"cartwheel courtship flight" or "death spiral" involves two eagles flying high into the sky, locking their talons, and tumbling downward in a cartwheel-like freefall. They release from each other just before hitting the ground. This spectacular aerial display tests their compatibility, coordination, and trust, and helps them form a strong, lifelong bond.

 

                                                  ~

Ringing rocks in SW Montana:

When you don't invite your neighbor to your dinner party:

 Smallest monkey in world-pygmy marmoset baby:

Ad for new male fragrance from Giorgio Armani —"Acqua di Giò Profondo"—The name evokes the fragrance's marine and mineral notes, capturing the mysterious depths of the ocean:

 

 

Ok, splash on this cologne and before you know it, you run and jump off a cliff and swim with a whale. Only in your wet dreams, Pete Hegseth.

 

Michigan meteorite! This shot was captured in Allegan.

 Flying Draco or flying lizard

~ 

Fun fact: Anjelica Huston, Larry David and Bernie Sanders are distant cousins according to DNA from the show Finding Your Roots.

~ 

FUBARland: 

Visual metaphor of Roach's regime: destroy or denigrate everything that makes America great-a exemplary example of the constant use of irony by his administration. 

~ 

Marjorie Taylor Greene has announced that she is resigning January 2026 after splitting from the Roach over the Epstein Files. As a result, Roach labeled her a traitor to the cause.

From the NYT: ...Ms. Greene said she had made the decision to leave because she did not want to endure a “hurtful and hateful primary against me by the president we all fought for, only to fight and win my election while Republicans will likely lose the midterms.” She added: “I refuse to be a ‘battered wife’ hoping it all goes away and gets better.”

One wonders what pushed her into this come to Jesus moment? A break from a fever-dream? Realization that she was in a cult? Was it truly a reaction to how Roach/Epstein etal treated girls and women?

~ 

Roach merch: A latest entry by gun manufacturers to use the Roach as a marketing point is from Bond Arms: the DT47 Living Legend pistol.

Now, several companies have created such things, apparently without direct links to the Roach. However, it is hard to believe that he or his people don't know about them. You can bet your Mama's last nickel (no pennies anymore) that Roach's reps have been in contact with their palm out for a cut, under threat of a lawsuit. It has been wryly noted that as a convicted felon, Roach is banned from owning one. Nevertheless, it's a twofor: make some cash and enjoy the fact one of his nutty supporters will use one of these weapons in an act of violence against enemies of the MAGA state. It's a J6 microcosm.

~

A nice op ed from the Guardian concerning the shift in the Right's view of Jesus:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2025/nov/23/america-christian-evangelical-discrimination-immigration 

~ 

Ode for the Epstein files from Leonard Cohen: Everybody Knows from 1988:

 

Everybody knows that the dice are loaded
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows that the war is over
Everybody knows the good guys lost
Everybody knows the fight was fixed
The poor stay poor, the rich get rich
That's how it goes
Everybody knows 

Everybody knows that the boat is leaking
Everybody knows that the captain lied
Everybody got this broken feeling
Like their father or their dog just died
Everybody talking to their pockets
Everybody wants a box of chocolates
And a long stem rose
Everybody knows

Everybody knows that you love me baby
Everybody knows that you really do
Everybody knows that you've been faithful
Ah give or take a night or two
Everybody knows you've been discreet
But there were so many people you just had to meet
Without your clothes
And everybody knows

Everybody knows, everybody knows
That's how it goes
Everybody knows

Everybody knows, everybody knows
That's how it goes
Everybody knows

And everybody knows that it's now or never
Everybody knows that it's me or you
And everybody knows that you live forever
Ah when you've done a line or two
Everybody knows the deal is rotten
Old Black Joe's still pickin' cotton
For your ribbons and bows
And everybody knows

And everybody knows that the Plague is coming
Everybody knows that it's moving fast
Everybody knows that the naked man and woman
Are just a shining artifact of the past
Everybody knows the scene is dead
But there's gonna be a meter on your bed
That will disclose
What everybody knows

And everybody knows that you're in trouble
Everybody knows what you've been through
From the bloody cross on top of Calvary
To the beach of Malibu
Everybody knows it's coming apart
Take one last look at this Sacred Heart
Before it blows
And everybody knows

Everybody knows, everybody knows
That's how it goes
Everybody knows

Oh everybody knows, everybody knows
That's how it goes
Everybody knows

Everybody knows

FIVE SECOND STORIES

In the neighborhood:

11/11: Cold, snow is staying.

11/12: Bright and sunny, with blue skies late in the day, reminiscent of what we often see in January:

Slowly it warmed up. Late in the afternoon, we had a new visitor at the Diner:

BigMama had stopped by last week. We reckon this is one of her younguns. Large white head and a non-fluffy tail like a kittykat: 

We've named her Bernadette.

11/13-14: The weather warmed up to the mid-50s with some sun. It was time to tackle the leaves as the snow had caused most trees to drop them. 

11/15: It was in the low-60's before noon and overcast. I finished up the leaves in the East Garden and the final work in the garden, taking down the echinacea.

Our mature burning bush is looking magnificent, standing out as all the younger ones in the area have dropped their leaves.

The drastic cold then warm-up has given some folks the wrong idea that Spring was nigh:

Dandelions: 

Forsythia:

The Diner and Back 40:

11/15:

C drove for the first time in nearly a month! 

11/16: A gorgeous day with a brisky wind with sun and clouds mixed. It was a busy afternoon at the Diner with practically everybody who is anybody stopping by. Tis that time of the year. 

~ 

Nice cat drawing by Japanese artist Misato:

~

Fun vids: 

Hilarious and cheesy send up of heavy metal bands with a feline twist:

Country artists love their cold beer:
 

 

 Dune, in the style of '40s noir:

Classic Monty Python: Hell's Grannies

 
World's Oldest Tree:

 Ancient Maize from Mexico:

 Abandoned Mansions in China:

Pigeon mesmerized: You're traveling through another dimension -- a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination... 

 

Bizarre ad for FanDuel casino featuring "Calling all Thrillionaires":

 

So, you may ask, what's with the arch that these people are so inspired to go through together like a bunch of gambling addicted lemmings? Is this the evangelical rapture? Nirvana?

Naw, nothing so mystical. The portal represents membership in the FanDuel rewards club (eye roll). 

FUBARland: 

Time to invoke the 25th amendment. We deserve better than this mess.

~ 

Check out the latest South Park episode featuring the Roach cheating on the impregnated Satan with his Vice President. Yikes!

 

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.