FIVE SECOND STORIES

In the Neighborhood:

Ahh, civilization-The first day of Summer here was marked by the parking lot for Sparrow West, just over the berm, getting new asphalt. Hours of Beep, Beep, Beep-not so constant as to trigger a misophonic outburst but still annoying. The following day, we were treated to the detail work with liquid asphalt by the smell of it. Some beeping but it was the odor that kept us inside due to a steady North wind bringing it directly into the house. Bummer, it would have been a beautiful day to have supper on the deck.

The hydrangea is in full bloom:

We didn't see any Chucks out of their apartment, probably due to the commotion and smell. On day 2, MamaC came out to forage and enjoy some bread but no sightings of the younguns. 

A big tail imbibed as well:

At one point we had a young squirrel up in the birch, BigTail and MamaC at the Diner:
 

Our wind chime: a wedding gift from 15 years ago from one of C's colleagues who is now retired. We're not big fans in general of chimes especially those that tinkle constantly. We appreciate this one, in fact as a tool for it takes a good stiff breeze to get it going. Hear chime=big wind.

Tiger in my backyard:

Life with Cats: Something we appreciate and value about our big guy is his communication abilities. There are nuances, believe me, if you are not responding to what his Lordship desires, he will let you know. You get the stare or it upgrades to vocalization. Other times, he can be casual as he was the other day: would you like to come in? I ask opening the slider screen. He was on his side at a slight angle, looking at me with his green eyes. Well, I don't know he answers and shifts to a different position. Oh, the temperature is lovely (shifting again) but then, you have correctly observed that the odour out here is acrid. But then I'd have to get up. On the other hand (rolling and licking his lips) I am a tad peckish. Well, I said, I'm going into the kitchen to make some food for myself. He didn't answer-just began licking his rear foot.

I put together the rice mix as the water was boiling. I finished up and pivoted over to the sink and saw him sitting in a Bastet pose, staring at the window. I raised my finger (uno momento, senõr), grabbed his dirty food dish to soak, got a clean one ready and went to the slider. He chirped as he strode in, tailed me affectionately heading for the kitchen where I made him a snack. He ate heartily and retired to rest on the side of the couch where I usually sit. It carries the scent of his Dad.

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First calla lily bloom:

C and I were out front weeding the front bed. I discovered that our Pruner Girl has sampled the day lilies-something I don't remember deer nipping before. Sigh. 

 

6/25: Fireflies are here!

Still no sign of the chuckettes. It seems a bit early for them to have left home--I past posts confirms this. Perhaps MamaC sent them out because of the parking lot repaving noise/odor. Stay tuned!

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Hodgepodge for $500:

6/17-Mothership supercell storm, Westfield, IL. Turquoise color often is an indicator of a tornado-in this case one that is rain-wrapped.

Drew Brummel

6/25-150th anniversary Battle of the Little Big Horn:

Painting Custer's Last Stand by Edgar Samuel Paxson, 1899.

Sand Cat: meet Mr. Felis Margarita. First discovered in Algeria in 1858. Recently, a video first posted in 2017 turned out to be the first material evidence that this is the world's only felid adapted to true desert conditions.

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A bad case of the Tuesdays at the grocers: 

I was at a local grocer looking for Impossible Burger. I don't shop there often and couldn't find it in its old location in the Meat Department freezer. There's no buzzer to gain attention so I had to wait and win the lottery of actually seeing a Meat employee. I was lucky. A 30ish dude appeared in a barely lit corner by a butcher's saw, opening a large box. "Good Morning" I say. No response. I say it again, projecting my voice. He's handling a large, plastic vacuum-sealed hunk of beef. He answers without turning his head. "Be right there". Certainly a bit of irony here as I'm about to ask a meatman where to find vegetable matter impersonating cow flesh. He puts the hunk down and comes over. "Yessir?" I ask my question. He's obviously heard it before as he answers quickly "Aisle 21, section 8B". I must have had a puzzled look on my face. "Yeah" he says with a sardonic grin "they like to move things". I thank him and go to Aisle 21. Where it has moved to makes sense: with other frozen "meat" in the "alternative meat" section. Clearly, the guy was having either a bad day or just another day in Retail Hell. 

As I go though the self-check out lane, I don't see many familiar faces from 6 months ago. Then, I hear a voice do I know-their store director-who snarled at me once, whom I witnessed verbally mistreating a clerk. A major reason I don't shop there.  She was doing what she seems to do best: bitching to someone about a bagger/clerk/slave- "I gave him 2 things to do: this and that. I go out there and only one thing is done and it's wrong". Luckily, I am moving out of earshot towards the door for the rest of the rant, thankful to be retired.

 

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Another trippy vid from the Ai created group Frugit She Holds Me Like This-clever use of cat's personality translated into the human loving experience:
 

Yikes! This was a strange one: Purcell's The Cold Song from his opera King Arthur: 

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MADads: A telling sign of where our country is at the moment: A quickie from Home Depot featuring a gift for Father's Day-surveillance equipment. 

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FUBARland: Algae, a parody of the song Alfie from the film with the same name.