Just another day

Looks like Ukraine has been invaded, snow is on the way here, the TV news still isn’t news, Trudeau has lifted the emergency orders, and we’ve all gotten a day older. Yeah, it’s just another day in paradise. Kind of makes one wonder when the worlds governments were filled with nutbars.

Went outside to have a smoke and found it quiet in our little portion of the east coast of Iowa and was thankful for that. The same can’t be said for the other night though. Some idiot decided 2 am was a good time to get in a shouting match and we could hear him a block and a half away. Not sure what it was about but did hear him call somebody a word that rhymes with ‘witch’ about 30 times.

Went out a little later and all was quiet so figured the guy had wore himself out. Oh no, even later when I went back out the guy was yelling at somebody to get out of his yard. As a card carrying Oldfart I see the need at times to keep people off the grass. The wee hours of the morning isn’t one of those times. Got to love city life.

The icing on the cake happened yesterday when the wayward dog made its way into our yard again and emptied both bowls of cat food then drank all their water. The pellet gun isn’t working out as the moment he hears the door open he is on the run. If it wouldn’t drive the neighbors nuts, I’d rig an electric motor to the door to open and close it all day.

Enjoy our Thursday as it means there’s a party somewhere only a dream away. Now for some coffee.

This month

Well it’s the first day Of October, and the rest of our lives. The
bonus is we’re one day closer to end of 2020 and hope that 2021 will
bring an end to the insanity that occurred during this year.

October is the 10th month of our year and is usually associated
with autumn in the northern hemisphere and summer in the southern
hemisphere. The following is list of things that occur this month.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Health Literacy Month,
Medical Ultrasound Awareness Month, World Menopause Month and
Vegetarian Awareness Month to name a few.

Here in the United States we have National Adopt a Shelter Dog
Month, National Domestic Violence Month, National Work and Family
Month, American Pharmacist Month, National Dental Hygiene Month,
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Awareness Month, National Pizza
Month, and National Pork Month.

Oktoberfests and Halloween are observed this month and car shows
start to become less frequent until the indoor shows start next year
here in the Northern part of country. Leaves on the trees start to
put on a show of color before dropping to the ground and critters
grow their winter coats.

This poem by Robert Frost sums up this month better than we could-

O hushed October morning mild,
Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;
Tomorrow’s wind, if it be wild,
Should waste them all.
The crows above the forest call;
Tomorrow they may form and go.
O hushed October morning mild,
Begin the hours of this day slow.
Make the day seem to us less brief.
Hearts not averse to being beguiled,
Beguile us in the way you know.
Release one leaf at break of day;
At noon release another leaf;
One from our trees, one far away.
Retard the sun with gentle mist;
Enchant the land with amethyst.
Slow, slow!
For the grapes’ sake, if they were all,
Whose leaves already are burnt with frost,
Whose clustered fruit must else be lost—
For the grapes’ sake along the wall.

Enjoy our Thursday as the start of the weekend is only a dream
away.
Comments are always welcome.

Random thoughts

Yesterday got away from me and there was no post so decided to post
early today and have it done. Yesterday I woke up late and had some
errands to run while not being properly fueled with caffeine. Even
after stopping for lunch and a bunch of coffee the feeling persisted.

Hopefully, later this morning I’ll have met my gallon of coffee
quota and function better. Let’s blame it on the cooler weather and
leave it at that. Hopefully it won’t happen again.

The clouds were something to see yesterday and the sky looked
interesting wherever you looked. White in some places, gray in others,
and a bold mixture looking elsewhere. Not sure what was going on but
we liked it.

This little grouping of leaves reminded me it won’t be long before
we’ll be raking, and bagging, leaves. May even have a frost tomorrow
night that will help the process along. It also means our lawn mowing
days are almost over for the year.

No pictures of cats or kittens as they were scarce but we’re sure
they’ll be around at some point. Thought we’d get lucky and get a
few shots of cardinals or other birds but they must have overslept
also. Or there are too many feral cats for them to chance being out.

Did watch a little of the so called debate before having to change
the channel. Didn’t care for the bull being shipped so turned the TV
over to some re-runs. The debate should have been called the ‘I know
I am but what are you?’ Special.

Enjoy our Wednesday as we made it to mid-week. Now for more coffee.
Comments are always welcome.

The weekend

The moon looked ready for Halloween Saturday night with a strange
orange tint. It was a little hazy out but the picture should give you
an idea of what that looked like.

The following morning the clouds and sky put on a similar display
for the fall season. Not sure what was going on but later Sunday the
clouds opened up and we got a good rain. Thinking that might help
at least a little to ease the drought.

Sunday I heard a sound that got my Navy training going so I
grabbed the camera and got a shot when this old war plane flew
over. They make a sound like no other and although I wasn’t sure
what kind of plane it was, I knew it was old military.

One of the feral kittens was playing hide and seek again. Thought
he was invisible and seemed surprised I looked right at him when I
talked to him. The feral kittens are entertaining. And I know, it
doesn’t take much to distract me.

And a squirrel was on top of an old gate getting his fill of the
overgrowth. By the way this one was eating he should be a lot bigger.
Or perhaps he’s getting ready for winter and will plump up before
cold weather hits. Plus he kept the feral cats busy as they were
watching his every move.

Finally, we have someone coming today to check the furnace and tell
us if anything is wrong with it. If there is he’s pretty good at
quoting a price to keep the place cozy this winter. The newer furnaces
may be more efficient but they sure don’t last as long as the old
ones did.

Enjoy our Monday as it’s here anyway. Now for more coffee.
Comments are always welcome.

An awakening

Yesterday was going pretty good, until the mail came. Sorting out the
junk we ended up with three envelopes. Two for the wife and one for
yours truly. Mine was from a law firm I didn’t recognize and in the
past that meant bad news.

Turns out it was copy of Dads last will and testament. I guess they
have to send that out before a notice goes in the paper. Reading said
will got me thinking that he really is gone and there will be no
more weekday talks with donuts and coffee.

Soon there will be a reading of the will and end that chapter of
our lives. Would have been nice if he could have lived to see 100
but as a realist know we can never be sure when our number is
called. At least he got 95 years and I got to know him for 69.

Today, we have the start of a run of cooler days and I’m ready for
that. Around Thursday the lows are supposed to be around 40 and I’ll
open the windows when I sleep so the neighbors can enjoy my musical
snoring.

Leaves are already turning colors and dropping from the trees. So
it won’t be long until we’ll be raking the fallen leaves again. And
perhaps we won’t be moving lawns for a while. After all, it is that
time of year. When the free lawn waste pick-up starts I plan on
having enough bags filled to keep the city busy.

Enjoy our Saturday as we will. Now for some coffee and donut holes.
Comments are always welcome.

Another decent day

Here on the east coast of Iowa the sky was full of clouds with
differing shapes and thickness yesterday. There was blue sky to be seen at certain times yet even with the clouds it was a bright day.

Been looking for the latest batch of feral kittens and as I
walked around the neighborhood I found them. They were behind the
old warehouse between the fence and back of the building.

What we call the ‘warehouse’ is actually part of an old barn that
burned down years ago and someone put a pitched roof over the
sandstone foundation. A local contractor used the building to store
his heavy equipment in so it was named the warehouse.

The barn actually goes back to the late 1800s and was part of a
small farm with the farm house across the alley from our place. The house is still there also. In the early 20th century the land was sub-divided and houses built. But I digress.

Here’s another shot of the orange kitten with her gray sibling
taking a nap in front of her. The kittens are still skittish so can
only get a few shots at a time.

Enjoy our Friday as we will now that we have the groceries put away.
Now for more coffee.
Comments are always welcome.

Laughing at kittens

Went out yesterday with camera in hand to see what there was to take a picture of. As I looked around and saw no birds, raccoons, ground hogs, or squirrels it wasn’t looking good. But there were the two white kittens playing so I concentrated on them. I decided to shoot in bursts of 5 shots per seconds and glad I did.

The kitten in the back was attacking a weed behind the other
kitten while the one if front was busy digging. Don’t know if the
kitten in front even knew how close he was to getting surprised.

Here the kitten in the back almost has the elusive weed in her
paws and the one in front doesn’t have a clue. It almost looks like
the back kitten is admiring her catch. Can’t be sure what was going
on as I don’t speak cat.

The last picture in the one second burst shows that the weed bent
over, the back kitten continued the attack, and the one in front
knew something wasn’t right. He almost looks like he’s saying ‘hold
the phone!’.

After the ensuing fight the cat in the back ‘hid’ from her sibling.
She had nothing to worry about as her sibling went back to digging
his little hole in the ground and forgot about the incident. These
pictures just make me smile.

Yeah, it doesn’t take much to keep me occupied. Enjoy our Thursday
as we will. Now for some coffee and leftover pizza.
Comments are always welcome.

Mostly good day

Yesterday afternoon it was hazy with clouds and didn’t expect to
even see the moon let alone get a picture. Not perfect, but this
shot shows the clouds and moon.

Went out later yesterday to find this critter looking to the west.
Seemed almost like he wanted a good seat for the sunset. He actually
sat there through the sunset before running off.

And this is what the sunset looked like from my vantage point. Now
the trees block a lot of the view but soon the leaves will fall and
said view will be better.

I was going to get down to the groundhogs level to take the shot
but my old bones said ‘not on my watch!’ I could have managed
getting down but getting back up is a whole other story.

Didn’t get out earlier in the day as I had things to do inside. Even
managed to get a few of them done. Not sure how that happened but
the honey do list got a little shorter.

Finally, my brother called last night and said he’d been in a
motorcycle wreck. He was at the E.R. getting checked over but later
went home. Things we shrugged off in our youth can now hurt like
hell as we get older. Hang in there and heal up.

Enjoy our Wednesday as no camels were spotted today on the east
coast of Iowa. Now for some coffee and leftover pizza. And yes, I
do like pizza.
Comments are always welcome.

Random firings

Here’s a picture of the cardinal I managed to get a shot of the
other day. Looking through the pictures we noticed a picture of
another cardinal also. Not as close as this one though.

This male cardinal flew to a tree in the neighbors yard and he can
be seen between the leaves. They didn’t used to be so skittish but
then again we didn’t used to have so many cats around either.

The sunrise looked different with all the smoke in the air from
the fires out west. The weather guy said that although it is hazy
there isn’t a health threat from the smoke. If said smoke changes
the way things look I’m thinking it isn’t good for me.

Growing up we used to call these foxtails. I suppose there is an
official name for them and if I’ve heard it don’t remember. Just
think they make an interesting picture.

Since the computer is back up I’ve been searching for the joke I
thought the wife sent me. So far no luck so have to go with my
original thought that I either dreamed it or entered the Twilight
Zone. Worse case, I’ll just type up something and see if looks right.

Called this picture ‘Mother’s Love’ as I caught the moment on
camera. There are also times the mama rolls her eyes and tries to
run too. It’s part of what makes them so much to watch.

Enjoy our Tuesday as it’s here anyway. Now for some coffee and
leftover pizza.
Comments are always welcome.

Just a few thoughts

Think we have the htich in my giddy up fixed now as 2020 continues
to be a pain in the butt. Said hitch was the computer crashing and
all that ensues when running Windows 7. Could be time for a new
operating system or even a new computer.

After things were back up in running order I asked the wife to
forward me a joke she thought might work for the Sunday Snicker. She
sent the joke I used yesterday but it wasn’t the joke I had in mind.

I told her what I remembered of the joke and she claims she never
heard of it, or sent it. This could be either the twilight zone or
me losing what little bit’s left of my mind. It could even have been a dream, although I don’t remember dreaming about reading e-mails before.

So yesterday afternoon I got a pizza from a real pizza joint to
celebrate the computer working again. Said pizza came from a real
Italian place called Uncle Bill’s. Ok, the name isn’t Italian but
the box the pizza came in did have a map of Italy on it!

Then I was going to get more pictures yesterday and even went outside carrying the camera. Problem was there was nothing to shoot. No clouds in the sky, birds in the trees, or feral cats anywhere. So I came back in.

So enjoy our Monday as it’s the first day of the week. Now for
some coffee.
Comments are always welcome.