Thanks, Scout!!

Scout is the cat. She is definitely a character, and ultimately demands to speak her piece.  Sometimes Scout can be very, very vocal when she thinks it is time for breakfast. [5 AM??]
 Nuh-uh!!
She can make sounds that you would not believe could really come out of that little face. Her routine is pretty standard.  When I make coffee and the dog is using the facilities outside, Scout eats breakfast. Then she gets a drink and saunters to the bedroom where she stretches out for a nap while begrudgingly sharing the bed space with me and the dog.

This morning I was watching a taped show of Brian William's 'Rock Central' .  I made a trip to the bathroom and returned to our shared space, my computer, and the TV show.  But now, somehow, the TV was on a different channel and there was Jack Hannah hosting his show..."Into the Wild". It was a fascinating bunker view of a hundred elephants arriving at their watering hole where they drank, played, and swam in their natural environment. A mother had to help her young one get 'unstuck' and out of the mud.  Many trunks were flinging dust and dirt around as they enjoyed a ''dirt bath'.  I have seen birds and squirrels do that same behavior, but watching the elephants' version significantly  kicked it up a notch.  It was pretty amazing.  I know that I am an addicted 'Nature Lover'.  When the morning shows have an animal segment, or the late night talk shows bring on animals, it is always entertaining as well as informative.  As a kid, Mutual of Omaha's 'Wild Kingdom' was a Sunday night family event before 'Lassie'  and 'The Ed Sullivan Show'.
I would like to publicly acknowledge Scout's unsung capabilities.  I also have to wonder...

How does she do that?  How does she change the channel on the remote?  Does she watch David Copperfield and learn his secrets?  I do know that the next time the TV remote is missing, I will have to "Scout it out" with that four legged Houdini!!  It will probably be in her 'bag of tricks'.

PS.  This is a clip art poster...The last picture is not Scout and I never had a hamster!! I just thought it was funny!!!

The bluebirds of happiness!

 I have lived in my current home for 22 years.  Numerous bird feeders and birdhouses have come and gone over the years, and it has been fun watching the activity.  My bluebird houses [specifically] have always been occupied with other varieties of birds. This house needed some repairs due to its popularity.  It needed a new roof, and it was filled to the very top with a highrise of occupants' abandonned nests. And when I noticed that I had a new family beginning a nest, I was amazed to see that it was indeed a pair of bluebirds [NY's state bird] who had checked in first.  I had never seen one prior to this!!!

And...my hummingbird feeder has been in such demand that I am going to put up another one.  Pretty cool...to be enthralled by nature's small miracles.  But you have to be observant and appreciate the wildlife in your own backyard.

Scout

Scout is the resident house cat.  She is 16 years old and I must say that other than growing in size from kitten to adulthood...she looks exactly the same.  She does not seem to age. She is an excellent soccer player and quite the  retriever, too!  We did have to surgically retrieve and remove the thread and twisty tie that she swallowed as a one year old.  She prefers the dog's food on a daily basis, but the dog also prefers the cat's food. We all march to the beat of her agenda... she can be affectionate, and then she can be very fast with those paws to let you know that you'd better " back off."  Scout has a wide range of inflection, tone,  and volume as she engages you in conversation.  Scout is gonna live forever.  Read the sign ... and then look at that face!   "Say what?"

New Snapple facts with commentary...

1. One fourth of the bones in your body are in your feet. And if your feet aint happy...well, it can just ruin everything. The fashion world sports 5 inch high heels, and if you buy them...kinda self-de'feet'ing to those 26 bones, 33 joints,107 ligaments, and 19 muscles.

2. The tongue is the fastest healing part of the body. That is a good thing! What amazes me is how painful it is when you inadvertently bite your tongue. 'Ouch' just doesn't describe it.

3. The average American will eat 35,000 cookies in his/her lifetime. I knew that I was above average in many ways...this would be one of them!
Actually, I believe that I am at the head of the class!!

4. Penguins have an organ above their eyes that converts seawater to fresh water. Thank goodness for that! Probably in response to their cries of..."Oh come on...give us a break!!" After watching National Geographic's movie, The March of the Penguins, I was so depressed thinking about what a hard life they had. And if someone thought things were bad, I would say, "Things could be worse...you could have born a penguin!!"

5. Oysters can change genders back and forth. No way!!...Way!

It takes about a year for an oyster to mature. They start out in the male gender, and progress to the female gender at a later time. Isn't there a saying that goes something like...'With age comes wisdom.'

6. Broccoli is the only vegetable that is also a flower. My mom does not like broccoli and doesn't eat it. Often, when eating dinner, regardless of what vegetable is on my plate, I will ask Florence in a very thoughtful and benevolent kind of voice...Mom, would you like some of my broccoli? I catch her off guard all the time!

"No thank you." [everytime!]

7. Almonds are part of the peach family. Flo loves Jordan Almonds! That's the way to eat almonds, especially at the movies 'cause you can make them last a long time.

8. Strawberries contain more Vitamin C than oranges. I must remember to pass this info along to the squirrels and/or chipmunks that stole my strawberries right off the front deck. I have noticed that the chipmunks are particularly plentiful, plump, and perky!!

9. Apples, peaches, and raspberries are all members of the rose family. So much for the ..."A rose ...is a rose....is a rose. Turns out their relatives look nothing like them. In the end, roses...smell great...and/or taste good. Now we're talking apples and oranges....I mean apples and roses!

10. Fresh apples float because 25% of their volume is air.
So if you are bobbing for apples, and you don't see the apples bobbing, politely decline the invitation...and pass on it! They don't call them 'Granny 'Smith apples for nothing. They're old!!

11. The fingernail on your middle finger grows the fastest. I realize that this fact is about the middle 'finger', but I just could not resist this picture. How funny is that? And so, I wonder if the middle toenail grows the fastest, too!!

12. Bees are born fully grown. If I remember correctly, when we [people] are born...only our eyeballs are fully grown. Everything else continues to grow as we age.
I, for one, am sure glad that bees get no bigger!

That's the 'buzz-zz-z!

Until next time...bee nice...because nice matters.

Snapple facts..with commentary!

1. Most elephants weigh less than the tongue of a blue whale. [I say...get a bunch of them doing some tongue-wagging, and harness that energy!]



'The coast is clear!'
2. The hippopotamus has the capacity to remain underwater for as long as five minutes. [Must take some extra time to find food, as I remember hearing they are mostly vegetarians...yet they are ferocious and thought to be the most feared animal in Africa! As the picture shows, some unusual friendships happen as a result of this!].

3. Spiny lobsters migrate in groups of 50 or more, forming a conga line on the ocean floor. [I just love the picture that this one creates!]

4. Only female mosquitoes bite. [No comment. I hate mosquitoes.]

5. A duck has three eyelids. [What would be the reason, I wonder. A definite winner in a winking contest!]

6. Antarctica is the only continent with no owls.[Whhoo-o'd a thunk it!]

7. A rhinoceros horn is made of compacted hair. [How do you think that happens?]

8. Some dinosaurs were as small as chickens. [I have never been a dinosaur fan, so I say...'Who cares?']

9. The archer fish can spit water up to seven feet to shoot down bugs from overhanging leaves. [I've been 'spittin' mad' a couple of times in life...]

10. The oldest known animal was a tortoise, which lived to be 152 years old.

[Ok...Who was in charge of keeping track of this?]

And 2 non animal 'Snapple Real Facts':

1. A strawberry is not an actual berry but a banana is. [Must have something to do with the seeds being on the outside?? I know that tomatoes are fruit.]

2. 111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321 !!! [Someone had too much time to kill before punching out for the day! It is pretty unique, though.]

And there you have it!

How does it happen?

Got a question? Google it. They have an answer! I love Google, and yet how this occurs is way beyond my comprehension. I don't understand the internet and world wide web at all. Where is it anyway, and how does it update itself in seconds when something happens? I mean...I accept it; but...it's so far out.

It's August! Where does the time go? Flo is watching Tiger Woods in the golf tournament. Here's what she doesn't understand: Why do so many people pay to stand up and watch? She just can't get over it. I'd like to know why so many people yell, "Get in the hole!" the very second the putt is in motion.It is just so ridiculous!

Netflix!! I would do a commercial for them. It is soooo easy. You pick out movies and TV series that you want to see. You can even rank order how you'd like to receive them. They send it, you watch it when it is convenient for you [ no late fees], and back into the mailbox it goes! Then...2 -3 days later...VOILA! Magic! Another of your picks mysteriously appears in your mailbox. It is great, and kudos to 'whoever makes this work relatively effortlessly!!'

Speaking of mysterious...I was giving Flo her pills this morning, as it is Sunday, and I'm navigating the ship! There were 4 pills in the little purple pill case. I popped open 'morning' and turned it over so that the pills were in the palm of my hand. Since my arthritis has had its way with my hands {~!!] , of course the smallest pill flew through the tiny space between my ring finger and pinkie and vanished into thin air. I looked everywhere...on the floor...under Flo's chair...the coffee table...the rug...and with the dog watching every move,
I said: "I give up, Gracie! How can that pill disappear?"

I sat down and kicked off my crocs, and there was the little yellow pill under my heel. These crocs are lined, and there it was...how did it do that? Weird!

And lastly, at Snapple Headquarters, whoever came up with the idea of putting 'real facts' on the inside of the caps...Thank you, thank you, thank you! I have learned so many interesting and mind-boggling facts. Here are a few:

1. The human brain is about 80% water.

2. People don't sneeze when they are asleep because the nerves involved in the sneeze reflex are also resting.

3. Armadillos have 4 babies at a time and they are always the same sex.

4. A male cricket's ear is located on the tibia of its leg.

If I ever get on the TV Show 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire?', I just might have an edge over all of the 'other than Snapple' contestants.

How 'bout those honeybees'? Mother Nature and her mysteries!

My!...What big eyes you have!

I hadn't been to the eye doctor in three years, and so I had called to make an appointment a couple of months ago. The doctor is an excellent eye doctor, but I have spent many a 'half-day' in his office waiting....then in a room waiting...then drops in my eyes and more waiting...that I am smarter now. I asked for a day when I was either his first appointment of the morning or the first appointment after lunch.

After meeting with a good friend for lunch at a restaurant [wahoo!], I continued on for the tests: glaucoma, cateract, general eye conditions. Ya know...eyeball to eyeball close with the doc..is pretty darned close!!!It was a definite invasion of my 'personal space'. Oh well, everything went well and I passed all tests with flying colors!
"See you in 3 years."
They gave me sunglasses to wear out, and as I sat in the driver's seat and looked at my dialated eyes, it reminded me of my last visit several years ago. I had taken a half -day off at school, because I figured I could still teach with no problem after the appointment. I wore sunglasses driving to school, and removed them to get things rolling. And then, one by one, I heard...
"Wow! What happened to you?"
"What happened to your eyes?"
And even as I started the afternoon and we switched classes, I still watched their eyes get as big as...??my eyes ??
"Do you have any idea what your eyes look like?"
Okay, okay, let me look. They can't be that scary, can they?

Yes, indeedy! Ooph!! What big eyes I had!! It made me look very, very weird. And that was the general reaction from the adults, too!
Had I known I would be scaring the kiddies, I would have taken the whole day!
Today, I only scared the dog when she jumped onto my lap and came into the close proxitity of 'eyeball to eyeball' contact. If dogs could talk, I think she was swearing!!
'What the ****happened to you?"

I'm sensing that you are not...

Words of wisdom from my mom's friend Gladys: Sometimes you have to get outside just to 'blow the stink off you.' After being indoors for most of the week, the four of us [Flo, Nic, Gracie, and yours truly] rolled into the car today for a ride in pursuit of Gladys' de-stink-tion!

We saw much...a Finger Lake's beautiful water, cows, horses, birds, amazing spring trees in total blooms of many colors, flowers, waterfalls, Gracie's ears straight back,

We heard sounds...the waterfalls' rushing waters, people talking, the drone of lawnmowers, the wind blowing in the window and rattling a plastic bag in the car [the open window because Grace would not forego sticking her face out of the window and into the wind!].

Ahh-h the aromas and fragrances of...lilacs, a chicken barbeque in progress, air rushing at your face, newly overturned earth recently plowed by farmers.

Taste? We didn't stop for anything while on the ride, but at home, we enjoyed a bowl of fresh strawberries, blueberries, bananas, topped off with a bit of whipped cream. Hours later, Flo and I munched on popcorn and drank some cold iced tea...mmm...while watching Michael J Fox's Special on Optimism.

The sense of touch... wicker [ holding onto the the dog's bed on my lap and the curls around her collar so that she wouldn't fall out].

I'm thinking that most of the time, we could be more aware of our surroundings.

Here's a great example:

For about 5 summers, I was the director of The Summer Fun Club at the YMCA for kids 5-7 years old. It was a combo of swimming lessons, arts and crafts, and field trips from 10-3 Mon.-Fri. And we did have fun.

I was working on the next field trip on the schedule. The phone conversation went something like this:

"Hi! I'm calling to schedule a field trip for 5-7 year old kids. The nature trails and museum that you have will be both exercise and education. I know that I have always enjoyed communing with nature on your 5 trails and I want the kids to get outdoors and have that experience, too."

"Great! Let me look at the schedule. Do you want the blind guide?"

"What? ...What did you say?"

"One of our guides is blind. She has a separate schedule."

"I apologize... I thought you must have been kidding! How does she do that?"

"Assissting her is her working guide dog. This tour is different from the others in that the tour is experienced from the perspectives of sound, smell, and touch."

"Wow! Sign us up for that tour. It will be something very different and unforgettable for the kids. And me, too. I love to learn with them."

It was pretty cool. She would listen and identify the birds by their sound. The trees were identified by the feel of the bark, and other features were pointed out by their smell.

We learned to use more than our sense of sight.

A very eclectic experience, and one that I'll never forget.

So, how about you?

Have you placed your nose up close and personal to a ''hyacinth'' and then breathed in through your nose? mmm...a rose? lilacs? sheets dried on a clothesline, chocolate, coffee, sauce cooking,

Do you take a moment to enjoy the tastes of your meals or snacks? rice krispy treats, a cold orange, a fresh strawberry

Do you know how soft a dog's ears are? flower petals, your pillow, shampoo lather, a baby's face,

Listen to silence? bird calls, train whistles, the wind, hummingbird wings in flight, cackling laughter, geese in a V formation honking to each other,

And lastly... O say can you see? What do you see?

Have you ever watched a cat's ears move independently? lightening?

What are some of your favorite sights, smells, sounds, etc.?

Mother Nature...artiste extraordinaire!!

One morning in school, right after we were done with the coats, lunch count, and other assorted tasks to begin the day, one of the kids chirps out, "There's a lady outside the door with an owl in a towel and she wants to know if she can come in for a moment."


My immediate reaction was one of disbelief...I mean, can you blame me? I quickly directed the kids to 'sit back down' and went to check it out. I did not recognize the woman, and yes she had an owl wrapped in a towel! She was the wife of one of our substitutes, and the owl had gotten 'hung up' in their tree, and was dead when they discovered it.She thought the kids would like to see an owl 'up close and personal' before she turned it over to Cornell University. When leaving the 6th grade Science teacher and my former students from last year, she asked, "Who-o-o [!!] else in the building would probably want to see this?" And they shouted out my name! Well now... how could I turn this 'teachable moment' away? I said that she could come in, but that the kids had to be about 2 feet back, and could not touch it.

Back in the classroom, I prepared the kids[with the rules], we moved a couple of desks, and the owl was placed on a front table.

I cannot describe the beauty of that owl. It looked as if it were sleeping, and had no physical signs of its recent demise...perfectly calm, peaceful, and awesome. When she extended the owl's wing, the feathers were a blend of color and patterning that was absolutely inspiring. And what a wing span!! Symmetrical and perfect.
The talons, the eyes[closed] and the face...something to remember, for sure. After about 15 minutes, the wise old owl departed[!!] from our classroom and continued on for a higher education at Cornell.
The kids documented the impromptu experience in their journals while the images were fresh in their minds. Far out!!

How to: defunk...

Flo and I got in the car and drove to Montezuma Wildlife Refuge in search of Mother Nature's wonders.
There were throngs of carp creating quite a stir as they tried to edge their way into the main pond entrance. But it wasn't going to happen with the stream blocked and closed to them.

Red winged blackbirds were strikingly beautiful in flight and plentiful too, but the prize goes to...babies!!

Baby geese, baby ducks, and close enough for me to wonder if the automatic window would go up fast enough should the moms and dads decide that we were dangerous.
Babies crossing the dirt road, babies floating among the reeds, and babies huddled up close to their moms.



Great blue heron...egret...crane???
We saw two long- legged, long -necked birds. And a small bird annoying the large bird by buzzing and dive bombing at its head. There were many of these 'David and Goliath' air chases going on along the way home. And it always seemed that the littler bird was winning.

Did some planting: giant begonia bulbs, shell plants, and oh yes...tomato plants.
Count off forty days and you can picture me in the kitchen making sauce!! Oops...
I forgot....cooking...not my strong suit.
Okay...then it's tomato sandwiches or tomatoes in the salads for us.
That is if the former- city , now country farm girl gets any tomatoes.
Gotta go now and see if my container tomato crops [ 9 different kinds from a QVC special of the day} need my attention!!!