Classic Verbal Exchange

My visitor this morning! Ain't he purdy!? We were out enjoying this fair and lovely 65 degree day. Humidity is 84% and the breezes are at 5 mph. Smelled so good outside. Things were still dripping a bit after yesterdays storm. Ok, as you are aware from texts past, my memory is deplorable. I have never done anything to change its default setting in an attempt to improve it. So saying, the following is a classic verbal exchange that occurred yesterday at work. As best my memory can recall:
N- Nice color. Looks good on you.
R- Uh, I haven't colored my hair.
N- Oh. Well, it looks very blonde this morning.
R-  Probably sun bleached.
N- Then the color IS different.
A- (snort)
R- No. Uh, yes. I guess... maybe... uh, I hadn't noticed.
N- I think the words you're looking for are Thank You.
A- (snickering)
R- So, uh, thank you, I guess...uh, I need to go look in the mirror.
N- Oh nice! Who brought the fruit platter? Was it G? Or R! Did you do it?
R- Uh.... no, I didn't do it, the store did it.
N- Well, of course the store DID it. That's not what I asked.
A- (giggling) 
R- Uh... I thought you asked who did it.
N- I asked who brought it.
R- Well, uh, G didn't buy it. I bought it.
N- I didn't ask who bought it. I asked who brought it.
R- I thought you asked who did it.
N- R, why am I still talking to you?
A- (laughing out loud)
R- Uh, because you asked who did it.
N- Don't make me eviscerate you right here, watch as everything oozes out and plops to the floor.
A- Hahahahaha!
R- Uh, you could probably sell that as art in New York.
N- A? Why do they make me do this!?
A- BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!

Deja Vu And Birdsong

Rained last night. I love the rain... Wait... Deja vu? Yeah. Me too. This looks and sounds so familiar... Oh Yeah! Yesterday morning. Again, the soggy Front Porch is preventing a comfortable fanny plant. But that's ok. I have been playing with a delightful birthday present given me by my beloved Baby Baby Sis. Not to be confused with my beloved Baby Sis. The informal monikers I use here refer to birth order so those who know me can easily identify to which Sis I refer. Thank You Baby Baby Sis! I remember how much fun Baby Sis and I had playing with this book while at the bookstore with you!! Awesome much!!! Check this out...I'm tellin' ya, this book has instantly become a favored possession!

Almost forgot the weather. 63 degrees warm with 93% humidity. There's that deja vu again. Fog and 3 mph winds. Ok, that's different. It really isn't yesterday again. It's definitely today today. And I'm off to ready meself fer the work day. I get the distinct impression they prefer it at work when I shower before I come in. Can't imagine why... :) May all the birdsong in your life be music to your ears fellow Travelers! Jusqu'à la prochaine fois!!

Mouthy This Morning Part 2

Assassins!!! These two hit men masquerading as sandals have conspired against me for the last time! Sunday, on my way to pick up the friend I take grocery shopping every weekend, the left assassin stuck his heel under Trusty's floorboard mat, successfully preventing me from being able to remove my foot off the clutch and merge into oncoming traffic in a safe and timely manner. No damage except to my pride and the possible wind chaffing of the gentleman's finger hanging out his truck window as he went around me. Then, while at the grocery store the Right assassin tripped me up not once, not twice, but THREE times, in an attempt to insure my demise!! Twice into glass displays! One of them was pickles. Oh what a mess that would have made. Fortunately, there was no collateral damage. When back at my friends apartment, going up the the 3rd flight of stairs, Ass. Left clipped the 3rd step from the top unsuccessfully tripping me. Enter Ass. Right! In a successful tag team attack, Right immediately clipped the next step up and sent me sprawling onto the landing. A carpeted landing. Ergo, a soft fall UP the steps. Thank the Stars. Again, there was no collateral damage and I survived. I never would have mentioned this attack of theirs except this morning, as I rounded the corner into the living room, my bare feet found them lying in wait for one final attempt to dispatch their unsuspecting victim. Headlong I went into a nearby chair who caught me in it's arms like a hero from a romance novel. How I love that chair! Summing up this last attempt on my life by these two lowlife assassins, guess where they are at this moment?!?

Uh Huh! Yeah! That's right! Good luck at the dump, the lousy pair of you!!!

Mouthy This Morning

Occasionally, I got mouthy in the mornings, back when these were texts instead of blog posts. ...Blog...  I have to resist the urge to turn my head and ptooey. I know I've mentioned this before, but doesn't the word blog sound like yer tryin' to spit something nasty outta yer mouth? Ptooey! Anyway, back to the mouthy morning thing. This would be one of those mouthy days when I sound off more than once. I'll warn you with the post title the same way I warn you with the 'I Got Nuttin' days. My camera wanted to showoff its talents with another "less than stellar" photo. I glanced out the back door and the sky said "Aren't I purdy?" and, oh my, it surely was. By the time the camera was ready to shoot, the blue in the sky was all but gone. But that's not the camera's fault. Timing is everything sometimes.

Less Than Stellar

Rained last night. I love the rain. Obviously slept right thru it as I missed it all. Cus it's not raining at the moment. Right now, all the normal places where I would plant my fanny for the mornings musings and daily photo shoot are soggy. Soggy enuf for my brain to put on the brakes and tell me "Nope. Ain't happenin' today." My weather photo of the puddles preventing my fanny plant is less than stellar. Less than stellar? That's being overly generous. It never made it to the sky let alone the stars. Still sitting on the launch pad. Under the rocket. Waiting to be burned into obscurity when the rocket launches. As it should be. And just to re-illustrate the "less than stellar" state of my photographic skills this morning, check this one out:

My only caller this morning. The crow was beautiful. My photo... well, allow me to indulge in some good ole denial. I blame the camera. It refused to focus this morning no matter what the setting. Of course, it didn't help matters that I had already abandoned the FP for the indoors and was trying to force the camera to focus thru the screen window. Ok, yer right. I can see how that might confuse the camera. Warm this morning. It's 65 degrees already. When we add that to 93% humidity, overcast skies and 5 mph winds, we have a delicious morning weather recipe. Skies are posta clear up today, and then cloud up again for more rain the evening. Works fer me! Have a good morning, good day, good afternoon, good evening and good night my fellow Travelers. May love and happiness be yours! (No humphf this morning! My "werkin' on it" is paying off! :)

Heebie-Jeebie Scale

As blurry as it is, this is the first image I've managed to capture of one of the many variety of pterosaurs patrolling the area around the Front Porch lately. Blasted thing chased me into the car yesterday. I was scrutinized through the windshield long enough to make me wonder if I was supposed to be lunch or if I was just being terrorized for sport. I am torn as to how to categorize this particular beastie. It hovers in size between Pteranodon and Quetzalcoatlus and it's ability to wreak terror in the hearts of humans is high on the Heebie-Jeebie Scale. Here I sit, almost 24 hours later, thanking any of the Powers That May Be who might choose to listen, for the invention of houses, windows with screens and the plethora of pest control options at our disposal. Not to mention the ability and talent to spontaneously engage in one of the gazillion known Spider Dances at a split seconds notice. Over it now. Almost. The weather is grand again today. Currently we are enjoying 65 degrees, 76% humidity with beautiful blue skies and 6 mph breezes. A great day to go outside and set myself up for yet another rendition of the Spider Dance. Well... I suppose we gotta get our exercise somehow. May your days be as heebie-jeebie free as possible, my beloved Travelers, unless, of course, you need the exercise! :)

Headache

Good morning from the Front Porch. I have a headache. Can't for the life of me figure why I'm sharing this bit of useless info, other than it was the first thing that popped into my mind when I sat down to type this. We are nearing the end of a weather holding pattern that has been perfect for the lucky headache-less vacationers who chose this past week to visit their camps. Clear skies, 80 degree temperatures and cool breezes. At the moment the We-Guessers, who probably don't have headaches, are claiming it is 69 degrees with 59% humidity, 6 mph winds and sunny skies. I concur. Lovely weather. I think the cute little Nuthatch in this morning's weather picture, who probably doesn't even know what a headache is, would agree with me. That is, if I spoke fluent nuthatch and he were of a mind to answer my query. Lovely, lovely weather. And I have a headache. Did I mention that? Oh yes. I see now that I did. I know I have a wish for you this morning, as I do most mornings, but I can't seem to find it. It's rattling around in my head somewhere, hiding from me. The same head that has a headache, doncha know. I'm gonna take my head and go throw it in the shower. Wanna see if that's the cure for this headache I have. Oh yeah... of course! Silly me! My wish for you today, may you lead a headache free life. And if you don't have that good fortune, may your headaches be brief and few. By the way, I have a headache. Just thought I'd mention it.

Agitated Crows

Nothing is moving around the Front Porch. I can guess why but can't know for sure. Aside from the train whistle which I dearly love, all I can hear are crows. Lots of them. They're close but not nearby where I can see them. The racket these crows are making is loud and incessant. Something has them very upset. They sound just like the crows at work did 3 weeks ago when an eagle, the very one in this picture, landed in their trees. That glorious eagle sat there for about 5 hours while a dozen or more highly agitated crows squawked at it nonstop the entire time. The last time there was nothing moving around the Front Porch was just a few days ago when an owl was perched on a tree branch in our Front Yard. I wonder if that same owl or some other predatory bird, is similarly perched nearby. That would certainly explain all the noise the crows are making and the lack of activity around the FP. It's a cool 48 degrees this morning and doesn't it feel good. I can feel a very slight breeze. The We-Guessers are calling the winds calm. I don't feel justified in slinging my favorite sobriquet at them as I could see no movement amongst the tree leaves, shrubs or grass. Even so, the air felt so wonderful. OK! We're SO done here. I must ready for work! Happy trails and a gloriously grand day to you, my Traveling Companions!

Memories

I was thinkin'... thinkin' makes my head hurt so I don't engage in the activity often. Words can save so many memories. Good ones. Bad ones. Fun ones. Sad ones. Everyday it seems like thousands of memories are made and out of all that are made, I choose to set to words a moment on the Front Porch. I can't decide if that's good, bad, fun or sad. But, as always, the Porch provided many memories this morning. None of which can be substantiated with a photo. Well, none except for the Moon. Life moves too fast for a slow camera hand. A Great Blue Heron flew right over the Front Porch. What a beautiful sight that bird was! Three Robins engage in a fantastic aerial battle for food rights in the neighbors yard across the street. They took it high into the tree tops all the way down to the ground and through the yards of several other neighboring homes. I could hear them smashing into the tree limbs and leaves as they fought. The great thing about their food fights is that, although one will eventually win the war, there are never any casualties. All combatants went about their daily foraging as if the war never occurred. Twitchy was racing, in that special twitchy way, through the Woods. This time there was no fall from the trees. If he is a juvenile, he is perfecting his climbing skills rapidly. Chippy popped out of the home den under the Porch, executed a lovely startle at the sight of a large camera toting lump looming so close, and bolted back to the den. A Bluejay sat high up a tree in the Woods vocalizing throughout all the comings and goings as though providing commentary to all that was happening. It was during one of my many attempts to locate and photograph the Jay that my eyes caught sight of the Moon playing peek-a-boo through the tree limbs. That lovely orb was good enough to allow it's photo to be snapped before dipping out of sight behind the trees. I can say without doubt I had a wonderful 10 minutes on the Porch this morning. Made even more wonderful with 52 degrees of calm and partly cloudy skies. May your life be filled with many wonderful memories that can be remembered in your own special way. Live Laugh and Love my Fellow Travelers of the Universe.

Sparklys

It's a really nice day out today and I've done nuttin' but watch TV. Daredevil to be precise. Kinda binge watching it the last few days. I finally stepped outside for a moment. The Front Porch weather right now is... wait for it... still loading... phone service is so bad here... There it is! 65 degrees, 3 mph winds, 68% humidity and, wait... what!?... Overcast skies!? Oh goody! I love it when this happens! Ahem... LIARS!!!!!  Oooo! Look at that! I can scream my favorite epithet so much louder here! Not only in caps but bold AND underlined!!! Never did figure out how to do that in a text. Anyway, overcast is it?! I see NOTHING but clear blue skies. Not even a wisp of a cloud. Wow... the sky is so pretty right now... ok, sparkly. Where was I before being distracted? Oh yeah, the We-Guessers. I tell ya, when the Weather-Guessers get it wrong they sure get it WRONG...  Wow. That sky. I should get my camera... again with the sparkly... moving on now. Today the weather picture isn't today's weather picture. Although, that sky sure deserves it's picture taken... SPARKLY!... enough already! Since I had no visitors this morning I thought I would introduce you to one of the resident crows at work. He or she allowed me to snap this picture a few days ago while he or she waited patiently for me to toss one of my crackers and a raisin his or her way. He or she knew I would share because I have been leaving him or her and his or her fellow crows snacks for the better part of a year now. This crow in particular is comfortable enough to fly in and land within 10 or 15 feet of me. He or she is a most beautiful bird. I look forward to his or her visit everyday when I'm at work. I must be off now. Things to do... Places to be... you know the drill. May your day be filled with beauty and happiness my fellow travelers, and enjoy the Sparklys when they catch your eye!
   

No Visitors Today

Today the temp is a delightful 49 degrees escorted by 93% humidity, calm winds and partly cloudy skies. Perfect for my morning musings. Perfect for the chance to greet many visitors. Yet, aside from a whole squadron of pterasaurs of varying sizes and persuasions, none of whom I consider visitors so much as invaders, I got no visitors at all. I sat on the Front Porch steps for quite a long time with my camera at the ready and my size 11 missiles locked and loaded. Finally I gave up wondering where every thing was, disarmed the missiles, turned off the camera and prepared to leave the Porch when, all of a sudden the answer came to me. Oh yes it did. Yep. Uh-huh. A very large, very beautiful owl flew out of the tree right in front of me!!! OF COURSE IT DID!! AFTER I TURNED OFF THE BLASTED CAMERA!! HUMPHF!!!!!  sorry... still working on the excessive humphfing. Never saw it, never heard it, never knew it was just 30 feet from me!! No wonder there was nothing moving in the vicinity!! So, the only picture for you today is of one of my missiles, code named Slipper Left. That and chippys grape sitting near the edge of the bottom step. Humphf.... sorry. Still working on it.... 

Toodles and Travelers

I got a picture of Twitchy!! It's not a good picture but out of the 56 shots I took this one is the only one not completely blurred. The little guy never sits still for a second. He's so dinky! About the size of a chipmunk. He's out and about foraging for his breakfast this fine morning while I am enjoying the 63 degree weather. It's sprinkling ever so slightly. But not enuf to discourage me from enjoying the morning or Twitchy from his foraging. And there is a subtle breeze making the air feel oh so good on the Front Porch. That's it. That's all I got. May your days be filled with sensory wonders and your senses be awake to enjoy! Love to you all my fellow travelers! ... travellers?.. travelers?... Google Time! Ok, another word that is correctly spelled two different ways. And again, it depends on which side of the Atlantic you're on. One L in the US, two L's in the UK. Really? As if the English language isn't difficult enuf already! Humphf... Oh, sorry. Still workin' on it. Toodles!... tootles?... toodles?... *heavy sigh*... back to Google... Ok, toodles is a slang way to say goodbye, most likely derived from the French À toute à l'heure. Tootles is a character in Peter Pan. A rather interesting character, I might add, who has somehow managed to escape my attention. Having read and watched Peter Pan, where was I in all that reading and watching that I not remember Tootles!? My brain is a mystery to me and yet, there I reside...

Purdy Purple Flower Day

Good morning! First, a picture from yesterday. It must be shared because the little fella in it is an unusual visitor! In preparation for a new paint job on the house, the shutters were removed, cleaned and stored yesterday. This lil’ Bat was found napping behind one of them. I guess he just covered his eyes and froze. Each time I checked on him not so much as a hair had moved in the slightest. I was beginning to think that he might not be alive. I went out the last time around 9 pm and he was gone. I have never been so glad to NOT see something! I hope he found a safe place to sleep today. As for this morning, 60 degrees we have already, along with 5 mph breezes, 80% humidity and fair skies. A delicious morning weather recipe served up today! Purdy as a purple flower! Just like the one dangling over the walkway leading from the Front Porch. May you have many Purdy Purple Flower Days in your future, mis companeros de viaje!

Twitchy Red Squirrel

54 delicious degrees on the Front Porch. A bit of a foggy morning. Quiet, too. Unusually quiet. Does the fog do that? I sat out there till my fanny went numb. Glad I lingered. Having just decided not sit there any longer, I turned off my camera, picked up my phone and coffee cup, looked up and spotted a tiny red squirrel in the neighbors yard. Twitchy little guy. Never still for a second. He darted across the street into our yard and up a tree. How I wish I had my camera on. He proceeded to scamper down the tree. Then back up the very same tree. He launched himself onto the limb of a neighboring tree, scuttled down the trunk then beat feet over to the next tree. Up the trunk. Down the trunk. Hopped gracefully over some downed tree branches and through a pile of leaves to the next tree. Darted straight up about 15 feet and here's where my head replays, everything, in slow motion, what I wish I had video taped. He leaped for a branch that proved to be just out of his reach. Realization set in about half way thru his jump. He quickly contorted his body to prepare for a landing on a lower limb. Limb is too generous a word for the puny twig he finally landed on. It bent under Red's weight, slung him back and forth a couple of times, hind feet and tail flailing in an attempt to find something, anything to grab a hold of. Maybe it was all that thrashing about that caused the little guy to lose his grip, I really can't say. But on a downward sling, lost it he did. He was unceremoniously flung to the ground where he landed in the pile of leaves at the base of the tree. Red, being such a twitchy little thing, instantly poked his head out of the leaves, executed a quick series of glances in every direction, decided the coast was clear and shot back up the tree. In a matter of seconds he disappeared into our back yard via the tree branches. After I quit laughing at the little guy, I realized I had just learned something. I have long wondered if squirrels, chipmunks and other such tree-climbing critters ever fell from the trees. I can now say without a doubt that they do. May your life be blessed with many delightful and entertaining critters.
LIVE LAUGH and LOVE Travelers!!

Ticked Off Hornet

A fabulous morning! Last I looked it was 47 degrees with a slight breeze and clear blue skies. A great day for pictures!! And I got a leaf...  I know. I know. A leaf? Yer right, yer absolutely right. Boring, common and the only thing that caught my eye this morning. Well, that and an angry hornet. I'm thinkin' it's physically impossible to photograph a bent out of shape hornet. I don't know why that bug was so mad but we ran in circles around the yard a few times before I beat a hasty retreat into the house. He bounced off the storm door a couple of times before taking off into the Woods. It was a good 5 minutes before I ventured back out onto the porch to retrieve my phone, camera and completely cold cup of coffee. I abandoned all in my hornet induced tizzy. Now, we're supposed to look for the positive in all things, right? Who says so!? Ok. Ok. Let's see if I can find anything positive about being chased by ticked off hornet first thing in the morning. Working on it... Pondering it... Beginning to think the "Who" in "who says so" are imbeciles... wait...  I got it! I found a positive! Two, actually! First, I am now thoroughly awake and second, I still got the Spider Dance moves. :)
A wish for you my beloved fellow travelers, May the angry hornets in life always be far far away, but if not, may you always possess the moves to avoid them!

I Got Nuttin' Part 3

I have nodded off twice at the computer. It's another nuttin' day. I don't even wanna trudge to the archives. But I will...

Feb. 13, 2016

The Front Porch wanted its picture taken. Works fer me!
A 4° Front Porch sounds like a much warmer porch than the previous days -5° porch, but the goosebump I turned into this morning looks just like the one standing out there yesterday. Did I say standing? I'm not sure I've been on the porch long enuf lately to qualify as standing. Think The Flash. I stepped out and back in before the door realized it had been opened. And still the giant horripbump emerged. Like the Hulk only without the awesome color. Currently the humidity is at 83%. How accurate a reading that is, I couldn't say. However, the skies are partly cloudy. This is a personal observation, not an official one. Overcast is the official report. LIARS!!! I love it when I can scream that. I see plenty of blue sky to feel justified in my bellowing. One more time... LIARS!! 😆 Makes the lungs feel good. Where was I? Oh yes, the weather conditions. The winds are... wait for it... wait. for. it... CALM. No surprise that. This completes today's weather breakfast. I was looking for a clever sum up and found a list of skills that I myself possess!!! Apparently it takes real talent to choke on air, fall up stairs and trip over absolutely nothing. And all this time I've been blaming old age!

Not Dead Yet

It's beautiful outside, as always. My senses were awakened by the best things. First to wake was my nose. I find that rather remarkable as I am losing my sense of smell right along with sight and taste. And hearing.... humm. Is it an old age thing that dulls all the senses? Well, of course it is. And why do I find this remarkable? Because I'm a ninny. Humphf... Sorry. I'm still working on the humphing thing. They're not dead yet, my senses!  My NOSE woke up before I was completely out the door this morning. The lawn was mowed yesterday and the fantastic fragrance of a freshly mown... humphf... sorry... mown is wrong? I thought it was a word but spellcheck has seen fit to apply the Squiggly-Red-Line of death to it. It's Google time!! ... well, apparently mowed or mown are both acceptable. Moving on. The smell of freshly cut grass is an awesome aroma. My EARS perked up a split second after my nose. The chorus of birds singing to the drumming of 2 woodpeckers was a delightful Sunrise Concert. EYES were next. They were bedazzled by a brilliant blue sky. TOUCH woke immediately after the eyes did. Confused much. My sense of touch claimed it was rather chilly out. But a quick check of the temperature claimed 52 degrees. "That can't be right" I says to myself. I checked another weather site. 53 degrees. Humphf... sorry... HOW is it possible to be chilly in 52 degree weather when yesterdays 54 degrees was so warm. How? All I can say is, it felt great out! My TASTE, always the last to wake, was just as confused as touch. My coffee stepped up from putrid to bad. A marked improvement!
Must share one more picture. I spent more time on the Front Porch last night than this morning. The moon was beautiful and deserved to be appreciated. The picture is horrible. I am not a photographer and unless I go to school to learn the art, I never will be. Still, I feel the overwhelming urge to download Moon's picture. A lovely sight to be sure! Live, love and laugh my Travelers. Look, listen and learn. Do it for your Dreams!

I Got Nuttin' Part 2

Browntail. Bad this year. Got nuttin'. To the archives...

Feb. 12, 2016

This morning I stepped out onto the Front Porch and instantaneously turned into a giant goosebump. It bordered on being a painful experience, brought on by the brisk -5° we are enjoying at this moment. Did you notice the little minus sign in front of the 5?  Feel free to insert as much sarcasm as you wish into those last statements. "Enjoying?"... my frozen fanny thinks not!!! Goosebumps... ya gotta love that term. Of course, I hadta look it up. My questing mind has finally woke up. Where was it when I needed it in school? Focus, must focus... ok, I'm back. After an extremely brief Google search which means I could be completely wrong, here's what I got on goosebumps. There are 2 medical terms for the phenomenon known as goosebumps. Cutis anserina, which sounds like something one would coo at a cute goosebumply baby. Then there's my personal favorite, horripiliation, which aptly describes my experience this morning as the 'horri-fic' sensation that 'rip-ped' it's way from my head to my toes. I wonder if I have morphed permanently into a giant horripbump. Back to the Front Porch, the winds are calm, but aren't they always in the morning? The skies are fair and the humidity is at 75%. Me and my horripiliation are gonna find a hot shower now. I don't wanna go to work looking like a giant featherless goose. My wish for you today... may your goosebumps always be cutis as opposed to horrip!!!! 😆

Triple B Day

Its a rare day when something on or near the Front Porch doesn't catch my eye. This is one of those days. Its not the fault of my much loved Porches. I do love my Back Porch as well. No, it's a triple B day. And what exactly is a Triple B Day you ask? BRAIN fog brought on by an attack of the BROWNTAIL MOTH caterpillars necessitating the need for BENADRYL. Wonderful stuff, Benadryl. Brain fog is a small price to pay for the symptom relief it brings when one is attacked so unmercifully by the browntail. My picture today was actually taken yesterday. I feel the need to say this as normally my pics are taken to illustrate the current weather conditions. Which reminds me, the weather has not been updated recently on the Weather Guessers website that I normally visit at this time. Napping on the job. Maybe they too are experiencing a triple B day. Ok, I was discussing what? Oh yes, yesterday's picture. The chubby little Titmouse on the right is a juvenile testing out his wings. The skinny little Titmouse on the left is the Mom or Dad. I know this because I watched as the skinny little one flew off and returned repeatedly to feed the chubby one.... we're so done here. BORING. I blame the browntail. May you live a browntail moth free life, my fellow travelers, and may your brainfog moments be brief or, even better, non existent. Te quiero... WAIT! a quick weather check has shown the We-Guessers are up and moving finally. 59 degrees, NW winds of 10 mph, 56% humidity and mostly cloudy skies. No wonder it felt so good out there.

Working On It

1st picture: The Front Porch. Beloved enuf to have me capitalize it's name. 2nd picture: Look closely and you can see the little caterpillar. The brown tail moth caterpillar. Not beloved. He and his oh so numerous siblings are responsible for denying me my morning musings on the Front and Back Porches as well as in my much loved M. Woods at the side of the house. HUMPHF!!! It's amazing how something so small can fill the heart with dread and disappointment. Oh, and lets not forget the annoying and completely unflattering head to toe rash those of us with sensitivities get to sport for the next few weeks. HUMPHF!! Blasted things!! *heavy sigh* Please forgive my humphfing. I have been in humphf mode for awhile now. I fear it may be trying to become a permanent state of being. I just can't allow that. I'm working on it, I promise. The weather recipe would be delicious this morning if I could enjoy my share. HUMPHF!! Sorry. Working on it. 53 degrees, 80% humidity, 3 mph breezes and overcast skies holding the promise of possible rain showers later. DENIED!!! Sorry. Working on it again. Guess I'll throw open the the curtains and enjoy what I can of the morning from inside the house......... HUUUUMPHFFFF!! Sorry. Sorry. Lost the battle. Working on it. I am. Really. *heavy sigh*.....  My wish for you, fellow travelers, may you live a rash free life and always get your fill of the morning weather breakfast! Keep those DREAMS alive. You know what nourishes them!!

I Got Nuttin'

Nuttin'. I got nuttin'. I highly dislike "I got nuttin'" days. Notice how I avoided dropping the H bomb! This Blog thing is tough. Boring. Humphf.  I'm not liking the frequent visits to the archives either. Yet, to the archives I go. Cus I GOT NUTTIN'! From here on out, if I remember, I'm gonna title my nuttin' days "I Got Nuttin'"  as a warning to any potential readers.

Jan. 25, 2016

Pretty color in the sky this morning but the camera in the phone couldn't capture what I saw. Makes me ponder which is more defective, my eyes or the camera lens. Nuff brain cells spent on that. It was purdy outside!! 18°, calm winds so no wind chill to contend with, 71% humidity with partly sunny skies. A nice winter morning recipe. Five senses engaged. Ears- Lots of crows making crow noises, Nose- the fabulous scent of someone's fireplace, Eyes- the gorgeous orange and pink sunrise, Touch- the brisk chill in the air and finally Taste- the putrid flavor of my coffee. Why do I insist on making a cup in the morning? I know I can't make a decent tasting coffee. It makes NO difference, zero, nada, zip, if I pay 3.49 for a cheap can of off brand or 25.00 a pound for some exotic organic freshly ground beans at a high end store, my coffee is PUTRID!! But we've been over this before. And still, I have not learned. What is the definition of insanity? According to Einstein, it's doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. In my defense, I am trying DIFFERENT brands of coffee so its not exactly the same thing over and over again. Not yet. Good morning, good day, good afternoon, good evening and good night to you! Remember, keep your eyes open for those L's as they pass by! They'll fuel the big D for you and help you make it happen!!! Maybe I should try tea...

One Can Hope

47 degrees, clear blue skies and calm winds have everything up and moving this morning. Except me. I turned off the much loathed alarm and promptly went back to sleep. *Humphf* As a result, my morning has been cut short, which in turn cut short my allowed time on the Front Porch, which resulted in a plethora of blurry useless pictures of the "everything up and moving" that was visiting this morning. Hence the humphfing. *Humphf* I don't think I am alone in this humphf of a morning. I moseyed around to the side of the house where I snapped the only picture that stepped out of the Bad category and into the Not Very Good category. The little Robin starring in the picture might be having an off day as well. The poor thing is a bit ruffled in the picture. Just seconds before, it flew in for a landing not 5 feet from me. A beautiful photo op! One that I was quick NOT to take advantage of. A sleep addled brain at it's best. Anyway, when the poor thing spotted me, in it's panic to avoid death by a pajama wearing reaper with bad hair, it flew straight into a set of my wind chimes. I haven't a clue what death the poor bird envisioned then. The squawks it let out were ear-piercing and when combined with the chimes, a very short heavy metal rock concert ensued! I think the only reason that poor Robin stopped long enough to allow me to aim my camera at it, was to make sure it's own heart was still beating. Perhaps our day will only get better from here on out! One can hope. Have a great day today, my Brothers and Sisters of the Universe!! I'M LATE!!!

Oops

Ok. I'm not sure this will work. I mistakenly attached an mp4 instead of the jpeg I wanted. Let's see what happens. Still at the experimental stage with this Blog. Something about that word... blog. Sounds like yer trying to spit something nasty out of yer mouth. Anyway, blog shyness is still nagging me. I'm working on it. Gorgeous morning. I dallied too long at the hummingbird feeder. No time left to babble at you this morning. 51 degrees with 6 mph winds makes for a delicious morning weather recipe. I'd definitely recommend it! Time once again for the drill you've patiently listened to for 2 years: LIVE LAUGH LOVE LOOK LISTEN and LEARN all that you can or will today. Your DREAMS need to be fed if they are to grow up and become reality someday. Feed them well! Te quiero!
Well, whoopsie. That was a learning experience. So, no mp4's. Got it! I'll get this. One of these days... I think... Maybe... :)

Visitors This Morning

I had MANY visitors to the Front Porch this morning! The pictures can speak for themselves except for two things. There were 4 squirrels, not one. I believe they were juveniles. They didn't appear to have their climbing skills honed. And there were 2 hummingbirds battling over the feeder. The little green one that buzzed me on the Front Porch clued me in that the feeder had customers. It's 52 degrees but the wind is blowing hard enuf the chill drove me back inside for warmth. A pterosaur, not of the quetzalcoatlus variety as he was much smaller, buzzed quite close to me. He wisely altered his course. Armed missiles, aka my slippers, were locked and ready to fire. May your "Porch" be frequented often by delightful visitors, and free from those of the pterosaur persuasion!

Bringing Up The Laundry

 Good morning from the Front Porch. Nuttin'. I got nuttin'. To the archives...

Jan 24, 2016

14° of wind chilled 4 degree air. And I'm feeling all 4 degrees of it. A 7 mph breeze has my wind chimes making the most beautiful music. The only other sound is the wind singing thru the pines... and the tea pot whistling to let me know I can make a cup of coffee now. Honestly, the teapots voice is not one that will win ANY awards of praise EVER. It may have a chance at the Angry Duck Award for most grating voice of the year, but my alarm clock consistently wins that one. That's because, as grating a sound as it may be, I listen with eagerness for the teapots serenade in the mornings regardless of how putrid my coffee. I can't say the alarm clock has ever been a pleasure to listen for or wake up to. E-V-E-R. I'm gonna go finish my laundry now. Just thought you might want to know that. I mean, really, using the weather as a means to strike up a conversation is a time honored tactic. Bringing up the laundry... that's just desperation. Adieu.
"Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." Ferris Bueller. And if you haven't seen Ferris Bueller, you're missin' out!!! ☺

Sense the Wonders

Fabulous morning on the Front Porch. No visitors, but that's ok. I'm enjoying the bug free Porch. That little Iris (I think that's what it is) was the first thing that caught my EYE and the first picture I took. The traffic noise caught my EAR. Loudest and most noticeable noise. The NOSE didn't notice anything. Sense of smell is slowly fading. My face and arms FELT the 50 degree coolness in the air right away. And as usual, my coffee TASTES putrid. Five senses up and running as best they can. All is right and good this moment. Engage those senses! There are wonders to behold if you choose to do so! Ich liebe dich, meine Bruder and Schwestern des Universums!

Benadryl

Brown tail moth caterpillars + Benadryl= ZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzz...........

Jan. 8 2016

15°. A noticeable difference in the temp. My body turned into a gazillion goosebumps instead of just one giant bump. I had to put the lone star in the weather picture this morning. It grabbed my attention immediately when I stepped out on the Front Porch. "Me! Me! Look at me!!" it said. So I looked and it was a purdyful thing!! Hadta share. Done already. Have a good day today. Watch for them. The 6 L's and the big D. They're always out there, even when it's hard to see them.

Gray or Grey

You're right, you're right. Chippy pictures get boring fast. But he is such a cute visitor. And one that visits often at the moment. Of course, the raisin I leave for him each morning works wonders at enticing him out from under the porch. The only other visitor to the Front Porch this morning was a relative of the same Quetzalcoatlus who launched an unsuccessful attack on my face a few days ago. I didn't get Quetzal-2's picture. I was too busy giving him 'The LOOK' to remember the camera in my hands. I saw him coming from a mile away. My eyes locked onto him like a missile guidance system onto its target and I must have immediately exuded the "come near me at your own risk" pheromone. Quetzal-2 can blame his deceased brother for that. Being the smart Quetzal that his brother wasn't, Q-2 altered his course right away and gave me a wide berth before disappearing into the Woods. A tense moment to be sure, but one with zero casualties. It's a delightful 55 degrees with a 3 mph breeze. A few sprinkles but not even enuf to get the Porch wet. A nice gray day is predicted. Or is that a grey day. Both proper, but I can never remember which spelling is used on which side of the Atlantic. Wait! It came back to me! Such an easy way to remember. Use gr-A-y in A-merica and gr-E-y in E-ngland. May all your grAy days hold something pleasant and something memorable for you! Te quiero a mis Hermanas y Hermanos del Universo!

Toes In The Dark

56 degrees of sogginess outside. It's drizzling now. Drizzling. What a great word. It must have rained last night at some point. Slept right thru it I guess. Very quiet on the Front Porch. Ok, I got nuthin' this morning. So we're off to a morning past...

Dec. 17, 2015

35 rather delicious degrees on the Front Porch. It felt so good to step outside. The humidity is at 96%, the winds are calm and it's cloudy with rain expected later. No snow in the 10 day forecast. I drank a lot of tonic water last night. I mention this because it necessitated the need to get up every 2 hours to use the facilities. I mention this because my first trip to the restroom resulted in a full body slam, nose to toes, into the bathroom door. Um, I forgot I closed it. I also forgot that age has made it necessary for me to stop moving about in the dark. I think you've heard this before. Me and the Dark have always got along very well. Not so anymore. But it's not Darks fault. I lay the blame at the feet of Old Age. My second trip, in the dark, because I just can't seem to learn from first time experiences or second for that matter, resulted in the kicking of a little bookcase I conveniently forgot placing in the hallway. My poor toes and I have always had issues. I've unmercifully slammed them into door jambs and protruding obstacles my entire life. Third trip, again in the dark, resulted in no injury! But it took me forever to negotiate the ten feet to the bathroom as I was slightly crouched, arms sweeping the dark for anything in my path, toes likewise patting the floor inch at a time looking for those obstacles they so routinely find the hard way. I finally made it! Of course, the light switch just 3 feet from the bedroom door would have been a better and quicker solution. Humph. Must be the old dog syndrome. Just can't teach some of them new tricks. My poor toes. May you go thur life with unscathed toes, my Sisters and Brothers of the Universe!