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.

This is only a test…

Lately you may have noticed pictures of the new batch of kittens and
little else. One reason is they’re handy to photograph while another
is they’re cute. So this post we’ll show a couple of the older cats
that have been in the house for quite a while.

First up is the oldest, Yoda. Or as we call her, the 24-toed wonder
cat. She has extra toes on all feet and is gentle as they come. We
have never had a problem with her other than her habit of kneading
her claws on your pants leg.

This picture of Monkey, the second oldest cat in the wifes zoo, is
not as clear. If you know Monkey that’s because she can’t sit still
unless she’s sleeping. Named her monkey because when we brought her home she was bouncing the walls! Both were rescue cats are still doing fine.

Ran out of old cats so we’ll show this one of the sky looking south
from our place. Just thought the sky looked interesting that
particular morning. The steeple is on the church where we had
visitation and the funeral for Dad.

Here are hostas in bloom with ferns wasting away in the background.
Said hostas seem confused but then again we had roses blooming one
year up to Christmas.

Finally, this little brown squirrel was all over the yard searching
for his stash. Don’t know if he found it our not but it is almost
fall. Won’t be long and we might be seeing tracks in the snow.

Proved to myself a post could be done without a kitten picture.
Enjoy our Friday as in about 3 hours we’ll be buying groceries.
Now I need more coffee.
Comments are always welcome.

What a difference

When I went out yesterday morning this critter looked like he was
getting ready for a race. And he did take off like his tail was on
fire so who knows. This morning was a different story.

Yesterday morning the birds were singing, squirrels were getting
ready for winter, and the feral cats were out in force. This
morning, not so much. Went out to feed and water the cats and it
didn’t take long to notice that it was at least 20 degrees cooler
than yesterday.

The weather person on TV said a cold front was moving in but we
don’t pay much attention to what they say. We just go out and find
out for ourselves. Little early to get out the long sleeve shirts
but I’ll be getting them out later.

This kitten was not a happy camper as Little Bit was picking on her
and wouldn’t let up. Little Bit has grown some, is now bigger than
the kittens and, has turned into a bully. Trying to keep them apart so we’ll see how that works.

The sibling to the kitten under the car just sat at the neighbors
with a look that said ‘I feel your pain but am not getting involved’.
This one is smaller than the sister so I don’t blame them. Today
when I went out the only critter seen or heard from was Patches.
She’s always around to get her ears scratched and be first to the
food.

Enjoy our Thursday. Now for more coffee and some leftover pizza.
Comments are always welcome.

Burning up

The other day this black squirrel was looking all over the yard for
some treats he’d buried earlier. Have noticed a few of his friends
with walnuts in the their mouths as they ran for cover. Looks like
the critters are gearing up for winter.

Have also noticed the sky has gone hazy and we’re told that is from
the fires out west. Also told said conditions aren’t good for those
who have breathing issues. Thanks 2020.

Read an article about those fires which said not that long ago a
fire of 10,000 acres was rare. Now there’s one in California that is
50,000 acres. As we’ve said before the cause of these fires lay at
the feet of our government. Yes, government is blaming ‘climate
change’.

Well, shortly before Clinton left office he limited the ability of
our Forest Service to thin out dense foliage and downed trees. He
also introduced the Roadless Rule to restrict use of existing roads
and construction of new roads on the 49 million acres of National
Forest. This was all an extension of the Northwest Forest Plan of
1994 to prevent forests from being over-logged.

Ten years before that, the Fish and Wildlife Service placed the
northern spotted owl on the Endangered Species Act which ham stringed timber harvests. This resulted in an 80% decline in the amount of timber removed.

Sounds like good plans you say? Well…. Logging allowed fire breaks
which helped lessen the damage done by fires. When dense over growth and fallen trees are not removed they become kindling. And removing the roads makes it almost impossible for firefighters to get to some fires.

We think you get the idea. We only hope the people who live there
see the light soon and speak out about this mismanagement of
resources.

Enjoy our Tuesday. Now for some coffee and leftover pizza.
Comments are always welcome.