Just looking

Went out to have a smoke a little while ago and got to looking around. The sky was lit by the moon which highlighted the clouds that tried to darken the light. The clouds couldn’t get the job done and the moon kept on being the nightlight for us all.

A few stars could also be seen poking through the darkness adding a little more light to the darkest part of our day. Even with the security lights on in various homes and businesses, the sight was there to see for those who wish to see it. Also saw a raccoon sneaking around in the dark looking for a meal that he didn’t find.

Saw a feral cat nosing around a fence line a few houses away that must have been looking for mice or some other handy snack. And being in the city, I heard a siren. It didn’t get close, or last very long, so we hope all ended well. All that makes for a good start to another day. Enjoy our Saturday as it’s finally here.

Lost

Had good intentions of posting earlier and we all know how that works. So, we thought we’d better post now before we forget again. This getting older thing isn’t for sissies. Got to the grocery store at 7 am and thought I wouldn’t spend much and was proven wrong.

Last week groceries came to around $60 and I was sure this week would be close. It would be if you double that. Weird thing is, I didn’t buy any junk food, candy, or Coca Cola. I’ll add that the cat supplies added over $30 to the total.

Probably could have done without the bacon/cheddar brats and the steak, but hey I’m not on a diet. Even had a few people ask if I was going to put on weight. Well, if I haven’t in 71 years, don’t hold your breath now. Although I am willing to admit that stranger things have happened, and I won’t even mention Brandon.

Enjoy our Friday and we hope your day is as good as ours.

A few pictures

Managed to get a few pictures taken over the last few days and decided we’d share a few and perhaps brighten your day. So, without further ado and in no particular order, here they are.

This is the culprit who has been eating the bird food then has the nerve to give me some attitude. They must be tough little critters as the soft pellet gun has no effect on this one. Shot him about 6 times with the soft pellet gun and this one just looks at me as if saying ‘is that all you got?’

Saw this praying mantis and was once again surprised by the colors. Certainly not green, not really brown, but more of a grey. If it was bigger I’d have been worried as it kept looking at me like I was dessert.

These flowers are popping up all over the neighbor’s fence. Not very colorful and almost look dirty, but they are flowers. One can’t get picky with the weather we’ve had this year.

As happens some nights, the moon came out and we got a decent shot. The man in the moon was not in a talkative mood so we’ll just leave it at that. Enjoy our Thursday because it means Friday will be here before we know it.

Superpower

My superpower used to be that I could piss people off just by opening my mouth. I say used to be as I believe it has been replaced with another. My new superpower is that I can oversleep regardless of when I go to bed. Was up until around 2300 hours and got up an hour ago.

The days half over and I’ve only had one cup of coffee! At least I found a blend I like to use in the Keurig. But I’m getting off subject here. Among other things that happened yesterday, a padded envelope came in the mail, addressed to me, and when I opened it I found a letter and a small box. Turns out it was from the Iowa Lions Eye Bank that informed me a 61-year-old male and a 70-year-old female received corneal transplants from the wife.

The box contained a ceramic Christmas tree ornament with the words ‘In memory of Charlotte Mitchell’. We will treasure both. Now, I need more coffee and a pizza to jump start my ambition this morning. Enjoy our Wednesday as we can see Friday from here.

Early mornings

One recent early morning saw two deer at the other end of the alley. This morning I saw something different. After giving Lil Bit a scratch or two behind her ears and having a smoke, I noticed I could see my breath. It was 60 degrees out and didn’t think it possible to see your breath at that temperature but am here to tell you, you can.

We’re into August now so it won’t be long before seeing your breath in the morning doesn’t seem odd and it is a break from the heat and humidity, but before we know it will come the time we get the snow blowers out and start them for the first time. Hopefully ours will start without an overhaul.

It’s also about time to take the Ford in and have it checked to ensure there won’t be any surprises this winter. The car is 3 years old now and I noticed on the daily drive to the hospital in Iowa City that the turbos don’t always do what they’re supposed to do. When I step on the go pedal I want to go, not wait until some electronic part signals some mechanical part to let the horses go.

We’ll see what happens when we get to that point. At least I have early mornings to figure everything out so I can forget it later. Perhaps I should write it down. Enjoy our Tuesday and the favorite part of your day.

Why not?

Got up early this morning for a change and thought why not share a few pictures. So we found some that haven’t been shown before and will share them now.

Saw this blue jay singing to the sunset atop the charred remains of the old pine tree. Looked at first like the end of things as we knew them but with a second look I was leaning towards a new beginning.

Here’s another picture of the potted plant the mortuary talked me into bringing home. Not sure what it is, or how to properly take care of it, but will enjoy it while I figure it out. Watering it once a week seems to be working so we’ll stick with that.

Believe this is a katydid in the bushes out back. I have to admit these critters aren’t easy to spot as their coloring matches the bush, yet I manage to find a few. This one just sat there and with those little beady eyes I couldn’t tell if it was checking me out or not.

Have been trying to get pictures of butterflies in flight. Most come out blurry like this one, but we’ll figure it out. Just thought a clear picture of a butterfly flying would be different. We’ll let you know if we get it done this summer.

Thought these flowers growing on a fence came out decent so we’ll share it. The bright flowers against the dark fence makes the shot for us. So we’ll end the picture show here and get on to other things. Enjoy our Monday as it feels like it’s going to be a warm one here on the east coast of Iowa.

Sunday snicker

Don’t shoot the messenger. We go through several jokes a week and pick the one we think is the best of the bunch. This week the joke contains profanity and may offend some. That is not our intention as we pick the one that makes us laugh. ————————————————-

A crusty old man walks into the local Lutheran Church and says to the secretary, “I would like to join this damn church.”
The astonished woman replies, “I beg your pardon, sir. I must have misunderstood you. What did you say?”

“Listen up, damn it. I said I want to join this damn church!”

“I’m very sorry sir, but that kind of language is not tolerated in this church.” And with that said, the secretary leaves her desk and walks into the pastor’s study to inform him of her situation. The pastor agrees that the secretary does not have to listen to that foul language.

They both return to her office and the pastor asks the old geezer, “Sir, what seems to be the problem here?”

“There is no damn problem,” the man says. “I just won $200 million bucks in the damn lottery and I want to join this damn church to get rid of some of this damn money.”

“I see,” said the pastor. “And is this bitch giving you a hard time?”

SSDD

Going to have to go to plan C. When looking for bird seed I went with safflower seeds because I was told nuisance birds wouldn’t eat it. That was true. What I wasn’t told was that some cats, squirrels, and ground hogs find the seeds to be a culinary delight.

Add to that the fact that some ground hogs are back at the cat food bowls and we have a problem. An unexpected part of said problem is there is no set time when the ground hogs decide to dine. Used to be they only came out later in the day and after dark.

So I have reloaded the soft pellet gun and will try and run them off with that. It usually works and the raccoons haven’t been back in quite a while after getting shot in the butt a few times. It’s either that our get a little varmint rifle and find a recipe for squirrel, or ground hog, stew.

The heat isn’t helping in my quest, but we’ll figure it out. Enjoy our Saturday even if it’s a hot one.

Thinking again

The neighbor and myself were out having a smoke and noticed an addition to a large nest nearby. We couldn’t figure out if it was plastic on top, or some kind of material. Got the zoom lens on the camera and took a shot only to discover it was cotton, or wool, batting.

We’ve never seen bird or critter in the nest and were wondering what might make such a nest. We had nothing. As mentioned earlier we’ve never seen anything in the nest, just the additions to said nest. Have been hearing an owl at odd times but can’t pinpoint where it is.

Whatever resides in this nest must have an opinion on the upcoming winter and figured it was going to be a cold one. Either that or the creature needs padding for a bad back. Both the neighbor and myself could relate to that. We’ll keep looking in the hopes we can figure it out when we see something in the nest.

As long as it isn’t a gargoyle we’ll both be happy. At any rate, we’re going to leave things as they are. Enjoy our Friday as it doesn’t look bad here on the east coast of Iowa.

Nothing fancy

Just thought I’d share a few pictures taken the other day and hope you enjoy them, so here they arel

This is a plant that our financial advisor sent to the mortuary, and I was talked into bringing it home. The ladies assured me it was easy to look after, and I’d only have to water it once a week and keep it where it gets some sun. So far so good but the long term outlook is not great.

This feral cat is another that has hung around since he was a kitten. He’s not quite as skittish as he once was but still doesn’t allow one to get too close. He is fun to watch though.

This is Puka, the cross-eyed alpha male alley cat. He is one of the biggest feral cats we’ve seen and responsible for most the recent litters. He doesn’t get too close either.

We’ve seen a plant, and a couple of cats, so why not a praying mantis? This one was around 3 inches long and was in our bushes out back. This one gets around as I saw her on the water spigot this morning. Must be eating good as it just keeps getting bigger.

Finally, here’s a feather on the windshield. It’s a small feather and we don’t know what kind of bird dropped it, just found it interesting and thought it made a good picture. There will be more pictures as I’m getting the camera out again after a short break. Enjoy our Thursday because Friday is only a dream away.