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:

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

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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?  

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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:

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

 

How it is made:  

 

 

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 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.

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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:

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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.  

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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.