Noisy weekend

We won’t see another 4th of July until next year and the wifes’
cats are happy. During the evenings of the 3rd and 4th our little
portion of the east coast of Iowa exploded with what sounded like
a sound track from a WW II movie.

Fireworks have changed since I was a lad running around the back
yard with a sparkler in each hand. Even the occasional Black Cat or
M-80 pale when compared with what’s out there today. That said, we
did get a few pictures.

It was easy to know where the next burst was going to be as the
flash of bright light foretold of another display. And when said
pyrotechnics went off it would shake the ground, rocket into the air,
explode again, and fill the sky with light.

Our city didn’t have its own display while people all around us
decided to stock up and try to light all they bought in one night.
So many fireworks were shot off that our air quality plummeted to
a dangerous level and a haze filled the air.

The economy must be doing alright with so many people buying so
much fireworks and it was good that so many could forget about
the virus to just have a good time. We can wait until next year
for a repeat.

We have at least 4 neighbors who are veterans, two with PTSD
so we’ll check with this morning to make sure they’re ok.

Enjoy our Monday as it’s 5 o’clock somewhere. Now for some coffee
and leftover pizza.
Comments are always welcome.

Memorial Day 2020

This Memorial Day is different from others we’ve seen with the Covid-19 virus going around, states still on lock down, and politicians who can’t agree on anything except raises for themselves. Yet today we observe a holiday for those who gave all in defense of our freedom. Some of us observe a moment of silence at 3 pm today to remember those who are no longer with us. We can never forget that freedom isn’t free.

Just to clarify…

Memorial Day is a day set aside to honor those who died in the
service to our country. It is not correct to tell a veteran “Happy
Memorial Day”. We veterans have our own day and we hope everyone
remembers those who gave their all on their day.

Memorial Day is also the unofficial start of summer here in our
country. We hope the National cemeteries are filled with flags on
the day we mourn the fallen.

Once called Decoration Day, the observance began being called
Memorial Day in the late 1800s. After World War I the name Memorial
Day was more common. And in May, 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which moved 4 holidays from their traditional dates to a specified Monday.

Memorial Day was moved from May 30th to the last Monday in May. It
became a federal holiday in 1971. And that is our nickel tour of
this remembrance day. We can never forget that freedom isn’t free.

Tomorrow we’ll have a snicker that might be considered funny by
some, or at least a few. We try.
Comments are always welcome.

Happy New Year!

Like to wish everyone a Happy New Year! We hope it is both happy and prosperous. We’re almost down to the wire and the New Year’s Eve shows will be all over the TV. Here on the east coast of Iowa the fireworks will start and it’s anybodys guess when they will end.

Official fireworks hours here are from 10 pm to 12:30 am be we’ll
guess the skies will still be lit up and the ground shaking after the
official hours end. The usually do. Fireworks were going off before
they became legal and we don’t expect a big change.

Went over to see Dad this morning and the day started out great.
When I stopped to get his donuts the lady behind the counter said she
put in a couple extra donuts. I thanked her and Dad was impressed.
He may be 94, but he does have a sweet tooth.

Got back home and got busy and before I knew it the sun set and it
got dark outside. What little white fluffy love from above that fell
overnight has been swept away both here and at Dads so there just
wasn’t much to do outside anyway.

Dad was in an ornery mood this morning this morning. He said he was going to Nebraska for a vacation. When asked how he was going to get there he replied that a troupe of dancing girls were going to stop by and pick him up in their bus.

His caregiver told him he should take money as it might get expensive with all the girls. Dad came right back and said the girls were taking him and it wouldn’t cost him a dime. Seemed fair. Had another great visit with the Antique Farmer.

Enjoy what’s left of the last day of 2019 before it’s gone. Now for
some coffee and a little TV before I get the wife up.
Comments are always welcome.

Busy Christmas Eve

A sliver of the moon popped out a couple hours before sunrise so we
got a picture. Not enough there to talk to the man in the moon, it
just didn’t seem right. We’ll wait until we catch him when he has
fattened up a little.

The Nativity scene nearby was lit up while there was still some light
left on the east coast of Iowa and since it depicts what the season
is all about we’ll share this one.

This European starling was sunning himself and we just liked the
picture. Usually there are dozens on the tree yet this one was all
by his lonesome today.

Thought we’d throw in a picture of the sunrise from the other day
as we like it and hope you do also. Even managed to vacuum and wash the car today so it can get dirty again. Perhaps someone will invent a dirt colored car to cut down on the time spent in the driveway.

After a ham dinner the wife suggested going to a Christmas tree
light show. This picture doesn’t do it justice as it was timed to
Christmas music and they weren’t playing slow dances. I didn’t think
I’d like it, but after going have to admit it was a good show.

And a big thank you to Ronnie and Todd for stopping by with some
goodies and the nice visit.

Tomorrow is Christmas and we hope everyone has a happy holiday even if it isn’t your holiday. Now for some more coffee and leftover ham.
Comments are always welcome.

Something different

Since I couldn’t decide between two posts today I picked one and
looked at the other. The winner is a little winter and Christmas
folklore. Some you may know but we hope some you don’t.

We’ll start with winter lore:

If snow begins at mid of day, expect a foot of it to lay.

When snow melts off the roof, the next storm will be rain. When
snow blows off, reckon on snow.

Heavy frosts are generally followed by fine, clear weather.

When snow falls in the mud, it remains all winter.

Now the Christmas lore:

Green Christmas, white Easter.

If ice will bear a man before Christmas, it will not bear a mouse
afterward.

A windy christmas is a sign of a good year to come.

If at Christmas ice hangs on the willow, clover may cut at Easter.

When Christmas Eve is clear, our Lord will give us an abundance of
wine and corn.

And on a different note, something found out about a certain
Christmas tree ornament. I hadn’t heard of the Christmas pickle or
known anything about it until today. I know, I’ve lived a sheltered
live.

The tradition of putting a gerkin shaped ornament on the tree with
the others is said to date back to the 19th century here in the
U.S. of A. Folklore has it that the first person to find said
Christmas pickle got to open the first present or good fortune in
the following year.

Some say the idea originated in a Civil War prison camp when a
prisoner asked a guard for pickle as he was starving. The guard
gave the prisoner the pickle and saved his life. When he returned
to his family after the war he began a tradition of hiding a pickle
on their Christmas tree every year.

That’s so crazy it may just be true. Enjoy our Friday. Now for some
more coffee and for some reason I’m hungry for a pickle.
Comments are always welcome.

Good food, same old luck

We had our turkey and all the trimmings yesterday in an early
celebration of Thanksgiving as the wife works the holiday. Of course
the mashed potatoes and gravy kept calling me so I had to have 4 big
servings before pushing the plate away.

Went out to feed the feral cats this morning and the fickle finger
of fate pointed my way again. Just as I opened the door a cardinal
was again perched on the fence and my camera was inside on the
computer hutch. Knowing the bird would be gone by the time I went
back inside and grabbed the camera the cats got fed first.

When that was gone one look was all it took to realize the fence
was empty where the cardinal used to be. Looking at nearby trees and
bushes confirmed it, no bird. No sense hanging around as the day is
windy and temps are dropping. Sooner or later said birds will sit
still long enough to get a picture.

We haven’t got any snow here but did get some good thunderstorms last night. The lightening lit up the night sky like flash bulbs on a fashion runway and the thunder had a throaty rumble. Not sure
how much rain we got but the cat food dish had a half inch of water in it.

Enjoy our Thanksgiving Eve and remember those who work the holidays to keep us free, safe, and healthy. If you’re having a good spread on the holiday thank a farmer, and as we’re doing so in peace thank those who fight to keep us free.

Now for some more coffee and perhaps some leftover potatoes.
Comments are always welcome.

Delayed post

First I’d like to say Happy Veteran’s Day to all fellow veterans out
there and hope it was a good one. All set to do an early post today
my body rebelled and I didn’t even get out of bed until 10 am. Then I
went out to sweep and shovel the snow to feed the feral cats and
make a path to the car in case we needed it.

After doing that and fixing a quick bite I laid back down and fell
asleep again. So here I am at this late time putting this together to
get it on the blog. We also missed the Veteran’s Day parade but have
seen some coverage online.

When this is done I’ll hopefully get some things done that didn’t
get earlier before turning the TV on to watch a rerun of Perry Mason.
On another note, tomorrow there will be a full moon if anyone is
interested and we’ll wait until later tomorrow to see if the clouds
go away long enough to see it here.

Some people locally are mad that the snow plows didn’t get out
sooner. They seem to forget it is a holiday for city workers and I’m
just guessing someone had to approve the extra money for holiday pay. Things can get slick on the roads, be careful out there and take it slower than you usually would.

Leaving early to allow for the longer drive time beats ending up in
the hospital or morgue. Enjoy the rest of our Monday, Veteran’s Day,
as we will.
Comments are always welcome.

It’s here

Well the unofficial end of summer is here. Labor Day was started as a
way to honor the American labor movement and the day was officially
declared a federal holiday in 1894.

In some states Labor Day is the first three day weekend of the new
school year while other states have laws that prevent schools from
starting the school year until after Labor Day. Even if you don’t get
Labor Day off, it does affect us all in some ways.

As mentioned, schools start around this day. In the state of
Minnesota the State Fair ends on Labor Day, and if you’re fashion
conscious it’s the last day one can wear white. Or so we’re told.

And a lot of sports involve the holiday in one form or another. The
NCAA teams play their first games over the weekend and the NFL play
their kickoff game the Thursday after the holiday. NASCAR holds the
Southern 500 race at Darlington Raceway on Labor Day weekend and
at Indianapolis Raceway Park the NHRA holds their finals for the
NHRA U.S. Nationals over this weekend.

Labor Day is also the mid-point of weeks one and two of the U.S. Open
Tennis Championships. And in major cities their are celebrations. New
York has the Labor Day Carnival and fireworks at Coney Island, and in
Washington, D.C., they hold a free Labor Day Concert.

And many retailers hold Labor Day sales that are second only to Black
Friday. So whatever you think of the holiday it does touch us all. So
if you have the day off enjoy it and if you don’t just walk around
grinning like a fool. Others will be wondering what you’re up to.

Enjoy our Monday as we will. Now I need more coffee as I ponder
making an omelette out of whatever is in the fridge.
Comments are always welcome.

Enjoy our holiday

Happy Independence Day to all! As you know we celebrate this holiday on July 4th even though the Second Continental Congress voted to approve a resolution of Independence on July 2nd. After the vote Congress worked on the Declaration of Independence which revised the original wording and passed that on July 4th, 1776.

In case you didn’t know in 1777 the holiday was observed with gunfire, speeches, prayers, parades, concerts, troop reviews, and toasts. In 1779 the holiday fell on a Sunday and was celebrated on Monday, July 5th. In 1870 Congress declared Independence Day an unpaid holiday for federal employees, and in 1938 Congress changed that to make it a paid federal holiday.

It is a day most celebrate with a cook out and plenty of red, white, and blue. Many of us travel on this holiday to be with family as three day holidays allow it. However you celebrate today enjoy our holiday as it’s the only one we get this year.
Comments are always welcome.