Yikes!

Quite the series of events happened this week in my little corner of the world!! Nothing life threatening or comparable to real problems...inconveniences that were annoyingly timely. First of all, at the onset of the 95 degree weather...the air conditioning in my car quit. For many people, this would not be a huge problem. I contemplated calling 911 in anticipation of my passing out because I feel the heat more than anyone else that I know. So to answer the question,
"How hot did it get last week?"

Try NOT turning on the air in your car even for just one errand, and you will get a better appreciation.

Today, Saturday, my cable TV box decided to quit. Yes, it is on a weekend, of course! After about 3 attempts of trying to reboot it, along with a new signal sent magically through the air waves by cablevision....a house call is now scheduled to fix the problem.
And my mom who never allowed us as kids to use the "B" word [that would be 'bored'] said,

"Is there anything to do besides sit here and look out the window?"
I immediately thought...Holy mackeral...this could be a long and bumpy night!!

"Are you saying that you are kind of ...bored...Mom?"

"I think so...Yes, I am!"

I was immediately trying to spin a solution to that problem.

I know better than to ask the question, 'What else could happen?'

Because...there was the dog directly in front of me with her huge brown 'laser beam' eyes staring at me and saying,

"I hear thunder in the distance. You know that I will be in altered states before you can say..."
Lord have mercy!!

Well, 'the old and the restless' are now both fast asleep no longer bored and/or scared. What a good idea...I think I will join them....ZZZZZZZ~

Quackers!!

My neighbors are the proud foster parents of a Mama Duck and her newly hatched 10 babies. From the time that the nest was discovered, the arrival of the baby ducks was closely monitored. At one point, some eggs were found out of the nest ['on the loose' ]and were carefully placed back into the nest!!
Today, up close and personal, we watched Mama Duck lead her new swimmers all around the water atop the pool cover as she showed them how to swim, drink, and wash up. It was great fun to see her poke them one at a time, and the real crowd pleaser was smiling at the speed with which the babies reattached themselves to their mother's body when they sensed possible danger [ us]. It was like a magnetic force and ....whoosh... the ten little streaks were with Mom again and bobbing up and down. It was so fast that if you blinked...you missed it!
When the ducks tried to climb the side of the pool cover, they kept sliding back down . Then a board was put down, and it took no time at all for them to 'walk the plank.' It was awesome, and Flo is still talking about it.
To my neighbors...thanks for sharing the new arrivals on the block!!

They're back!!!!

Yesterday...the side yard beyond mine suddenly came alive... like a set on a stage. Enter stage right, two ankle-high 'lightning bolt' little legs sprinted across the ground and then 'stopped on a dime'. As if on cue, a second 2 legged sprinter followed the first. Then a third. Then a fourth.

It was mesmerizing...a robin parade. What a welcome sight!

Act 2: finches! Haven't seen a one all winter. They're back!

The icing on the cake will be the first hummingbird. Wahoo! Ahhh...Mother Nature, we await the complete cast to take a bow at the curtain call.

Ziggy

Breaking News: Mother Nature is the all powerful force capable of trumping all plans. We have witnessed the many, varied, and unusual ways that she has wreaked havoc over time and space.

It reminded me of senior year in high school when the band was going to march in The St Patrick's Day Parade in New York City, and we didn't get to go because of a flippin' freezin' outbreak of 'WEATHER'.

It was probably way back then that I began to identify with Ziggy who 'if he didn't have bad luck, he would have no luck at all'.

Fast forward to today, I was supposed to be in Buffalo at a gala event where my son is co-hosting a laughter -filled evening for a large gathering of people. I have been looking forward to it since Christmas when he asked me if I would like to be his date for the occasion. I lined up all my ducks in reference to making sure that Me Mum's needs were all planned out and I was going to stay overnight. My brother was to be traveling from NJ and fill in for me and along with St Nic, I thought I had it all covered. And then...the biggest storm in the history of our existence blew across the country...and that was that.

I am not a happy camper. I know...I know...I am counting my blessings. I could have been stuck on the Thruway in a 75 car pile up. I had to speak out loud my two criteria for downgrading my disappointment...There are wars going on and people are battling cancer. That can certainly change your perspective on life.

I'm okay. I'm just pretty darn annoyed...ticked...spittin' mad! [well, not really spittin, though].

Besides.... snowstorms, tsunamis, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, mudslides, lightning, wind, ...

I wouldn't want Mother Nature to kick it up a notch because of my stupid ranting about missing out on some little special occasion that has scarred me forever. Think about it: That parade in NYC was like forty-five years ago.

Damn. I'd like a slight revision in my lack of luck... any time now...

Mother Nature...Get a grip!

I was going to say, "Mother Nature...Chill out!" But if she took that literally, we'd be in trouble. She has scared us with wind. Wind can be a force to reckon with...and listen to... and pray for it to stop all the while hoping that the existing trees remain standing. [My Jan 7, 2009 post can explain the 'fallen' details.] We have had enough snow to last for the rest of the season. My next door neighbor kids built these two life-size snowmen and they are truly terrific!! Art! They decorated in great detail even with a red heart tucked onto where the heart would be located. They just make you smile!!

It snowed so much that when I went to let the dog out, I couldn't open the door! So I pushed enough to get it 'poodle width', and the snow was deeper than she was tall! Gracie looked at me as if to say, "Are ya serious?"

The spring bulbs that are in containers on my front porch have begun to sprout up green messages: Spring! Less than a month. Someone needs to text Mother Nature. Earthquakes...tsunamis...mudslides...This is not what we have ordered! So, now, if everyone would please cooperate by stretching your arms out to both sides, close your eyes, and hum...Oh-mmm. and Whoa-oo!

Similar to clapping to bring Tinkerbell back to life, if everyone hums together ...maybe we could help calm things down. It's worth a shot!

Things are a-popping!!

The Popcorn Factory sells a variety of treats, and a 25 day snack countdown to Christmas is both colorful and tasty. Each day has goodies wrapped in plastic and a puzzle is on the bottom side of each little box. I had one delivered to my mom as a daily activity...something interesting to look forward to...keep track of...sounds lovely, right? Well, getting each little box out of its space is next to impossible!! And then to get the top off of the box is difficult, too. Yesterday was Day 9, and after 8 days of aggravation, I just had to give it some added force to get that sucker out of its 'bonded nest'. I leaned it forward a tad, and the equivalent of 52 card pick-up flew everywhere into Flo's lap and onto the floor! Twenty-five little numbered boxes tumbled out, and putting them back into the box in order was cause for laughter and wild words simultaneously! Whew! The treats are fun, but you really have to have a whole bunch of patience.

Another focal point of patience [and also well worth the wait] are the amarylis and paperwhites that are planted and growing in the living room. Mother Nature's treats are awesome! There are also some container bulbs on the front porch which will alert us to the beginning of spring!! They are alongside the 'barren booberries' and 'stolen strawberry' plants that are wintering on the porch instead of the garage this year.

The birdfeeders outside the picture window are a 'feathered feeding frenzy' and at the moment we are winning the war with the squirrels. That could change at any moment, though!

And there you have it! A short summary of what we have our eyes on as we take 'one day at a time'. We are still looking for some deer to grace the landscape. Wahoo!

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.

Once in a blue moon...

Last night, at about 4 AM, I quietly turned on the bedroom light so that I might safely go to the bathroom. [I take no chances since I fell in Feb.] I glanced across the room, and Flo's eyes opened. I told her that I was just going to take a bathroom break, and I'd be right back. Since during the daytime, Mom had expressed a desire to see the full moon, I said:

"Mom, would you like to see the full moon? It wouldn't be difficult to do."

"Sure! Yes, I would!"

Was I surprised that she would want to get out of bed to see it? Not really. Flo has surprised me more than once. I have learned not to think for her.

Picture it:

I rolled her wheelchair next to her bed, sat her up, and into her chariot she went! A very short trip to my side of the room, and we gazed out the window. There, shining brightly, was a very full moon.

"Oohh! That is certainly bright! And beautiful!"

I wondered if it was a blue moon. Then I recalled that it was not possible since it was the first full moon in September. I remember years ago while still teaching, my friend, Maureen, explained that a blue moon is actually when there is a second full moon within the same month. It doesn't happen very often, and averages about once in every two and a half years. The rare phenomenon of 'two blue moons' in a year happens about every nineteen years, with 1999 being the last time this occurred.

Flo, Gracie, and I sat for a moment staring at the full moon, and chatting a bit [at 4:30 in the morning!!]. I told Mom that I would 'Google it' in the morning and find out when the next blue moon would occur. Here's the news:

The last one was May 31, 2007. And...a drum roll please...

Get ready everybody...Dec. 31, 2009!! So this New Year's Eve, be sure to look in the sky for the full moon, and make a wish!! It could be lucky!

And this info ...compliments of the last person that you would want to consult about astronomy!!

Which is why I thank my lucky stars for 'Google'!!

And then...when you least expect it...

Have you ever stopped and thought about the process that results in a flower bursting upon the scene?

Some start as bulbs, others as seeds, and some have pretty unusual circumstances in their journey to bloom. Some very pretty flowers grow up right through the smallest cracks in cement sidewalks and driveways. Wild flowers adorn highway edges, and dandelions win out every year despite the efforts of those who have deemed them as 'weeds'! They get to live on my lawn because I don't use pesticides and chemicals. I don't see them as evil weeds. I also have some clover and other tiny, little blue flowers that pop up at some point in the warm weather.

What prompted this discussion is probably the result of my plate-sized pink hibiscus shrub has finally burst into the flowers that are always very impressive. Many wonderful compliments applaud this bloom and I like to cut one off [at a time] and place it in a bowl in the living room. Awesome!!

On the flip side of this, I also have a small white flowering hibiscus shrub that did not do well this year. You can see in the photo that it is kind of naked and only a couple of its branches even sprouted leaves! [It is in the forefront of the young evergreen tree that boasts just one pinecone!!] I figure that either the winter 'salt ruck' had a negative effect on it because it is relatively close to the road. Or, the frequency of cars ' backing into it ' as they turned around in my driveway!!

In any case, even though I figured its days were numbered, I didn't cut it down because it didn't 'look good'. And then, one day, as I was walking to my garage, I noticed something different about it. There, at the top, in the middle, of the semi-dead shrub...was one white flower in full bloom. I couldn't believe it! I didn't notice a bud...heck...I wasn't expecting anything from this sad-looking perennial tree that I think most people would have buzzed when it was apparent that it was a mere shadow of its former self. And now it has two flowers. I wonder if it might make a comeback next year...given the chance. Time will tell.

I guess beauty really is in the eye of the beholder.

Or, all things in good time.

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!

Barren booberries, stolen strawberries,...what's next...

In a previous post [6/19], I shared the story of the $38 strawberry plant from QVC. Even though two years prior to this, I had purchased 3 blueberry plants quaranteed to produce buckets of blueberries...this is year #3 and they are now dubbed the barren bonzai booberries...they have neither grown nor borne fruit! Yes, they are alive and winter in my garage, but I have to wonder why I don't have plants that look like this...

So, when the strawberry 'kit' was demonstrated, and it came with the container, the dirt, the plants, and the promise of 'ever bearing strawberries...this year. Ok...there's a fool born every minute... and to take a chance again on bearing fruit makes me a 'born again fool! ' We would have strawberries growing right on my front deck. It was so exciting! They flowered, they sprouted 'porcupine erasers', they grew bigger, they grew redder, and just as we were about to harvest the ripened fruit...overnight...they were gone!! Outrageous!!!

Who did this? squirrel? bird? chipmunk? Well, two can play this game!

We moved the strawberry planter to the backyard 'fenced in...dogpen ' where the rest of the container garden was growing just fine! We saw new flowers, we saw the beginnings of new strawberries, we watched the ripening process[again] and AGAIN...gone!

Not a single strawberry did we get to pick before that 'strawberry-picking phantom' plucked the newly present... promising... plump ...protected...strawberries...again!

At this point, I have given up any hope for my own 'homegrown' berries!

And then, Nic walked in and said," Hey Mare, did you see that there are 2 cantalopes growing in the garden?"

"Really! I didn't think they would come to fruition?"[sorry bout that!].

Here we go again! If those cantalopes grow to their normal size, what cantalope burglar will appear to drag these large, heavy, bowling balls of fruit? I think they 'can't elope' with them this time. [Ooph! I just can't help it!]

And if they are big enough to carry it off, [the coveted cantalope, that is], I probably wouldn't want to be eyeball to eyeball with whatever it is ...that is bounty hunting in my backyard! Boo! Hiss!

I'll keep you posted.