7/1-June came in with another below average rainfall month, continuing the trend for 2025 with the only exception of April with +.09". According to the MI.gov drought monitor map, we are on the edge of "abnormally dry" conditions. They point out that these maps depict broad-scale conditions-local conditions may vary. When I was mowing, I noticed that our crab apple tree (aka Mrs. Krabappel) had a circle of dried, dropped leaves under her. She got a nice 45 minute drink. My butterfly bushes and hyssop have suffered as well-unusual for this time of year and I have been watering them as well.
7/2-it was pizza night at the Diner and MamaC enjoyed a slice:
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| Mmmm, Hungry Howies with pepperoni |
A BigTail with a beautiful russet tail:
One morning, he was there as I walked on the deck to turn on the pool pump. He paid me no mind as I quietly moved towards the callas but hopped away the minute my feet touched the grass.
Buddy being extra cute with his tawny belly matching the deck wood, turning his head upside down "chinning" showing his white chin:
7/3-we got a nice rain shower that popped up out of the blue. It got stuff nice and wet while dropping the temps during supper.
First sighting of a Monarch butterfly!
Former Girl Scout C made vegan smores on the stove. Chester approves!
7/4-perhaps our last 4th as a free, democratic republic.
The daylilies around the bird bath have begun to bloom:
Bad Bunnies: they attacked and pushed over Cyril and Michal and nipped down the morning glories. Sheesh, what do they have against gnomes? Or is it because they are immigrant gnomes? MAGA bunnies-who knew?
Sigh, I've been using anti-bunny spray but then we've had all these brief showers.
Our polite cat:
In the evening, if supper is delayed because it's a Fresh Can Evening, Buddy is quite understanding. When I appear to be taking more time than usual, he will give me a strong tail rub and go over to his feeding tray and have a kibble appetizer while he waits. The main course arrives shortly.
Mother/Son kerfuffle:
While standing in the pool, we witnessed a squabble between MamaC and one of her silverback children-we think it's a teenaged son. As we are chatting in the shade, we heard a squeal and a suddenly flurry of motion: MamaC, wielding the proverbial rolling pin and squealing, chased her son out of the apartment's porches to the honeysuckle, he executed a quick 180° pivot towards the brushpile and both disappeared down the lane between it and the shed.
According to research, in Chuck culture the younguns leave home in early summer and I reckon this guy will soon be packing his bags. There's still the runt who still stays close to Mama-who knows when it will leave-hopefully soon.
Later, MamaC was at the Diner eating some bread. Upon finishing, she began to hoover the grass, something we see her do everyday. But from my angle of vision, which was seeing her coming head-on, I got a better idea of what she was eating: clover heads.
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| Mmmmm, clover |
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The evolution of the ketchup bottle:
As poet Ogden Nash observed in his poem The Catsup Bottle:
First a little
Then a lottle
(the unspoken part: The mutherfucking catsup bottle)
Old school ketchup bottles were a major PIA. Here is the evolution of the Heinz bottles:
From the Heinz website: the breakthrough came in 2002 with the introduction of the ‘upside-down bottle,’ a stroke of genius to
address the age-old gravity-related dilemmas. Innovator Paul Brown
introduced the silicone dome valve, a mechanism that allowed bottles to
be stored upside down, thereby eliminating any ketchup wastage.
It also dramatically reduced incidents of adult expletives at the dinner table (in front of the children) out of frustration with ketchup bottles.
Fun Vids:
Ohio waterspout:
A curious collection of flying machines:
Draco Lizards or dragons from SE Asia/India:
Hilarious AI Bigfoot vlog:
From a different creator, Bigfoot and Yeti hang out:
And now, to our reality:
FUBARland
The Roach got his OBBB passed through both houses of Congress as all but a handful of RINOs caved and gave him what he wanted to celebrate a big, beautiful 4th. It's reported that the stupid fucker doesn't even know half what's in the bill-members of congress know probably less. A good example of what the 2025 crew hoped would happen when they supported Roach for president-a chaotic, idiotic vehicle to push their retrogressive and reactionary agenda.
The timeline of the bill is curious: tax cuts for the oligarchs asap but waiting until 2028 for the Medicaid pain to begin.
Perhaps they are waiting to see what kind of pushback they are gonna get in the mid-term elections in 2026, which hopefully will be a bloodbath for the RINOs:
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/02/us/politics/tax-cuts-benefit-cuts.html
I received a strange email in the evening of 7/3 supposedly from Social Security with this heading:
Social Security Applauds Passage of Legislation Providing Historic Tax Relief for Seniors
Weird. But then, DOGE is entrenched in SSA and the new commissioner was appointed by Congress this Spring. Of course he wants to give the Roach some proper kudos as well as helping to sell the obscene OBBB.
I've been reading articles talking how big tits and cleavage are fashionable again especially amongst the Trump crowd. It makes sense-with their push to turn back our culture to the 1950's when Hugh Hefner and Playboy were huge, pun intended.
And yet worldwide, people are pushing back against the wealthy elites and authoritarian governments.
>there were protests against Bezos for using Venice as his private Versailles for his wedding
>massive pride march opening defying Viktor Orban, and his threats of violence in Budapest, Hungary
> the Dalai Lama aged 89, announced in a public interview concerning his successor, that he would certainly be reincarnating and there was nothing the Chinese government could do about it. Fuck you Xi.
>in Roubaix, France, a city with one of France's largest migrant populations, a new mural by Dutch artist Judith de Leeuw: Lady Liberty covering her face in shame:
