July 27th

A simple act of kindness.

What does that really mean?

Do kind acts need to be elaborate or just plain simple?

Mother Theresa made it her life calling to help others.

But some people are saints in disguise.

There was an old episode of "Friends", where Joey tells

Phoebe that an act of kindness is essentially selfish because

it makes the giver feel as good as the receiver.

I've been thinking about that.....

A lot.

I've come to the conclusion that Joey was right.

Whether its volunteering, tipping a bit more to a harried waitress, 

buying a meal for a homeless person, helping a stray animal, 

or simply giving up your right of way to an ungrateful driver,

it makes us feel better to do it.

When you become the receiving end of those kind acts,

it becomes a humbling warm feeling.

Kinda like Sally Field's acceptance speech at the Oscars.

"You like me! You really like me!"

When people like this come into your life 

and have a positive impact, you are just so thankful

that your paths crossed and they brought joy into your life.

Gives me warm fuzzies…

You realize that people are truly altruistic, 

and do feel great about helping others.

Just remember to pay it forward and help the next guy out.

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 The Garden

The cucuzza plant is doing well.

It hasn't started to fruit yet,

but we're crossing our fingers.

Today's haul of bell peppers.

They are doing well even in the heat.

Eggs from Ethel, Lucy, Hazel and Pepper.

Somebody's been sleeping

 in my bed 

(of my English Ivy)!!

It's probably Hazel,

that's her M.O.

She finds a potted plant and

"plants" herself.

I thought I got all the mushrooms outta

my plants, when here comes more

wet weather.

Heavy sigh!

This was a squirrel argument on the tree 

in the pouring rain.

A Mexican Standoff.

They were like this, chattering at each other

for about 10 minutes, till the one on top

climbed up into the tree and the other one

ran down and away.

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Chicken Sick Bay

Don't know if you can tell by this picture,

but Nugget's comb is looking better.

It's not totally adhered back in place,

but it looks healthier than before.

After I took these pictures,

 I added more Neosporin.

Maybe I should have taken a cue from

'My Big Fat Greek Wedding',

and sprayed her with Windex!

She hasn't missed a beat in the eating

and stalking insect prey departments either.

Soooo glad I didn't have to perform

a comb-ectomy!

That would've taken all my resolve to

clip that vascular area off.

That's one of the ways chickens

disperse body heat -

through their combs.

So now it's a wait and see situation.

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Remember....

If you stumble,

suck it up and make it

part of your dance!

Hugs!

July 17th

On the 20th we'll celebrate 50 years since the Apollo Moon Landing.
I gotta tell you.
I was beyond excited about seeing this momentous event on TV.
50 years!
It's amazing to think of this.
I can tell you exactly what I was doing.
I was laying on the floor of our living room with my eyes glued to the grainy,
black and white images on our small TV, waiting for those men to do the unthinkable
and actually walk on the surface of the moon!
In the few years from 1952 to 1969 so much happened!
The Korean War, rise of the Boomer generation, TV dinners,
fast food establishments, the death of my father, death of a beloved uncle,
the death of a beloved president, Civil Rights movement,
Vietnam Conflict, and the Space Race.
Russia launched Sputnik in 1957, but we had to get our stuff together
and be the best of the best. So, it was on!
In the year 1969 there was so much going on in my 17 year old world....
The Beatles last performance on the roof of Apple Records,
Charles Manson's cult murdered 5 people,
Ted Kennedy was embroiled in the Chappaquiddick affair,
Vietnam atrocities on TV every night on the Nightly News,
Acquaintances on the lists of  war casualties,
Woodstock, the mother of all music festivals,
Apollo missions to get us to the ultimate goal of making it to the moon,
and then....
Apollo 11 landed in the Sea of Tranquility on the face of the moon!!
UN-FREAKING-BELIEVABLE!
(Although my Grandmother was a vocal disbeliever that they went there)
Those words, "The Eagle has landed!" made me get goosebumps.
Then I was holding my breath as Mr Armstrong said, "One small step for man,
one giant leap for mankind!".
Thanks to a great American hero,
Neil Armstrong 8/5/1030 - 8/25/2012

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The Gardenias are still blooming.

Asparagus 

Cucuzza flower.

Hopefully it will bear fruit!

Sunflowers

I love them!

Blood oranges

That's 5 of them in a cluster.

It's been so wet that mushrooms 

have sprouted in the mint.

I got rid of them but,

I searched for more just in case.

This is a big weird shaped white mushroom 

in the big aloe vera plant

This is a side view of it.

Very weird.

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This is Nugget

Her comb is split on the back side.

You can see how it isn't attached there.

No bleeding, although it looked like dried 

blood near the top of her head.

Well, ain't this is a new wrinkle in raising chickens!

I didn't know what to do for her.

So, I looked it up.

Apparently, it is common for a chicken, 

especially one with a prominent

comb, to have it caught on something

or to have another chicken or predator bite it off.

Treatment is to clean the area with 1/2 strength 

perodixide, apply something like neosporin,

unless the comb is hanging almost off,

then you need to cut it off and apply

super glue as a wound sealer

after it stops bleeding. 

O.K.

Well....

Wasn't prepared for that!

They even show pictures of how to remove the 

comb with sanitized scissors and to stitch

it up if necessary.

Whew!

Don't know if I'll have to go that far.

Yesterday, we cleaned the area,

and applied NuSkin,

hoping it would adhere the two pieces.

Well, that didn't happen.

This morning, the area is turning black.

Crap!

I may have to preform chicken surgery.

And,

the CEO said "that's your job!"

So,

I'm waiting till he comes home.

I need a surgical assistant

and

a glass of wine!

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I had to remind myself of this definition.

I hate this word!

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 Tonight is a "Full Buck Moon"

It's called that because a buck's antlers

are in full growth mode at this time.

So,

Look up tonight!

June 28th

On vacation...... Be back soon!

June 20TH

Today is National Ice Cream Soda Day and National Milkshake Day.
Wow!
My 2 favorite kinda days....
Especially in this heat!
I've gotta make sure to celebrate with at least one of those today.
Its also American Eagle Day.
How fitting that the eagle is given his own day?

Especially in a summer full of patriotic days,

Memorial Day, D Day, Flag Day and the Fourth of July.

We'll celebrate with our own raptors...…

Ethel

She's still broody.

She won't leave the nest.

That's why she's giving me the stink eye.

Pepper

She's eyeballing a lizard,

 standing perfectly still to catch it.

Then she scratched the ground like she wanted it to know

she was gonna grab it.

She shot over toward the lizard with lightening speed,

grabbed it in her beak and ran off with Hazel in pursuit.

It was like a scene from "Jaws", 

where Quint and Chief Brody 

are in the classroom and 

Quint (Pepper) scratcher nails 

on the chalkboard to get everyone's attention.

"Sometimes that lizard, he looks right into ya.

Y'know the thing about a lizard, he's got ….

lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a dolls eyes.."

Gulp!

 

Hazel

This is the second before Pepper grabbed the lizard.

In the chase, Hazel got a lizard part.

Don't know exactly which part,

but a part nonetheless.

Gross.

Nugget

She has no idea of what's going on behind her.

She is just following me around.

But....

She was accused of calling a Code Red on Ethel.

Lucy said that it was Nugget who called the Code

because Ethel is occupying their spot in the coop.

When confronted with the evidence,

I simply asked for the truth.

Nugget just clucked.

She meant that I can't handle the truth.

But,

She said "We live in a coop that has walls,

and those areas have to be used to lay eggs,

you want me in that coop,

you need me in that coop!"

I conceded.

I pushed out Ethel.

Whew!

The drama!

Lucy 

Chillin' in a dust bath.

(Looking deceased)

Their habit of this unnerves me.

Hazel and Pepper

(Maverick and Iceman)

Scanning the perimeter for bogeys.

(lizards and bugs)

**********************************

Eggplant 

Purple Bell Peppers

Petunias

**************************************

And

remember,

never take life too seriously.....

You'll never get out

alive!!

Always Hugs!!

June 6th

To those of us living in a free country,

we stand in reverence at the sheer unadulterated

courage shown by those who died and those

who succeeded in turning the tide of war.

Those men who stormed the beaches that day

looked near certain death in the face, but didn't

falter in their mission.

Oh, I'm sure they were scared and anxious

and thought of loved ones at home, but

they didn't think of quitting.

That mission was nothing short of suicide.

Eisenhower, in a letter to his men,

said "In company with our brave allies and

brothers in arms on other Fronts, you will bring

about the destruction of the German War Machine,

the elimination of Nazi tyranny over oppressed

peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves

in a free world."

The world was literally holding its collective breath

in asking these men to sacrifice everything in the name

of freedom and liberty.

The outcome would be the end of tyranny or

a completely new oppressive world that the allies

couldn't allow to happen.

The orders that day were simple......

Victory at all cost!

Thankfully those brave souls gave their all.

But, even the men who survived that fateful day,

were never the same.

They had seen too much.

They would never go back to the carefree lives

before the war.

The war experience did more than make them brothers,

it played on continuous loops in their brains

as constant reminders of what horrors

can happen when people aren't allowed to be free.

We as Americans need to make sure that

those kinds of horrors never happen again

and those courageous men didn't die in vain.

Ronald Regan said,

"Freedom is never more than one generation

away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children

in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected,

and handed on for them to do the same"

So again,

Thanks to all Veterans.

We owe you everything.

 

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Thai Basil

with small purple flowers.

They sprout such beautiful fragrant blossoms.

That's Cuban Oregano to the left

and Spearmint to the right.

 

Eggplant.

There is a small flower trying to grow.

 

The pepper harvest.

I've chopped some up to freeze,

and dehydrated some.

As they dry, the sweetness comes out.

 

Marigolds.

I just like them.

They scream summer!

 

Lucy,

she's acting like the BHIC

(big hen in charge)

The CEO can't get any work done unless

he says hello or holds the girls.

They'll squawk till he acknowledges them.

 

Pepper and Nugget

They were following me as I weeded.

They like to pick through the weeds for

tasty bugs.

They go after those critters like its the last hot dog

on the fourth of July!

And just so you know,

I don't like bugs.

I'm not afraid of them,

well most of them,

but for full disclosure,

 I dislike them.

I don't have a lotta "dislikes",

but bugs are near the top.

Lets see.....

there's coconut, hot muggy days,

people who get in my personal space,

pepper hot food, crowds, snakes!, heights,

bugs, fat on meat - ugh!, liars,

Jehovah's Witnesses or anyone going door

to door to proselytize.

 (Does that ever work for them?)

and for a similar reason - a glass front door.

(I don't want anyone seeing in my house!),

maple syrup - only cane syrup for this gal,

any mayonnaise other than Blue Plate, because,

well, its simply the best!

But,

I digress.......

 

 

************************************

I noticed this in the paper.

It is fitting that Mr Benson is honored in this way.

And I'm glad it was Kenner that did it.

 

*************************************

 

In the same vein as Game of Thrones,

Yeah,

these buggers are gearing up

for their vampire blood meals

of humans in shorts,

sleeveless shirts and

bathing suits.

More surface area to bite!

(another extreme dislike)

 

 

 

Remember,

 

Always trust people who

like big butts,

 

They cannot lie.

 

Memorial Day May 27th

For all those in heaven who will forever

remain in uniform......

Thank you.

This is more than a three day holiday,

more than barbeques and family reunions.

It's about the ultimate sacrifice to the greater good.

Few can say they would lay down their lives

for their fellow man.

You who died while serving,

whether we know your names or not,

are our heroes.

I send a prayer of thanks.

 

************************************

 

Parsley

When we got this plant it looked like

it was dying.

We repotted it and used compost

and

just a little TLC.

Looks great now!

 

Basil.

We have three kinds.

Sweet Basil, Thai Basil and Christmas Basil.

All have similar tastes.

Great, versatile herb.

 

Yukon Gold's

or,

Maybe alien potatoes.

How cute are these?

 

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Marigolds

 

Petunias

 

Chrysanthemums.

More Chrysanthemums about to bloom.

 

********************************

Ethel...... brooding.

She doesn't want her picture taken.

She fluffed out her feathers and clucked at me.

But she calmed down when I

patted her.

Nugget posing

Hazel and Pepper trying to capture a lizard.

He got away.

They weren't happy so they stayed there eyeballing him.

 

Chicken Facts

1) As hens get older they lay larger but fewer eggs.

2) Humans see in 3 color bands (red, blue and green).

Chickens see those too but also have UV vision.

The thought is that UV helps determine which

eggs will hatch or not, explaining why hens

sometimes kick an egg out of the nest.

3) Chickens have exceptional hearing. It has been

shown that they can pinpoint sounds to within

a few inches. They are also able to regenerate

hearing cells as needed when they age.

Scientists are studying this as to how they

may apply it to human deafness!

4) The number of chickens on Earth is around 25

billion. The number of humans on Earth

is around 7.7 billion. We are outnumbered

3 to 1!

5) Scientists have isolated "Chicken speak" like

they have done with whales. Chickens makes

assorted different sounds to announce that

they've laid an egg, there's a predator in the

air or a different call for a predator in the sky,

or to identify individually their many offspring.

 

We think that they recognize their names

as well as come when we call them.

Silly birds!

 

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I don't get political,

but in light of all the so called

"politically correctness"

and turn to democratic socialism

in the world today,

I'm reminded of a quote from

George Orwell's classic

1984

 

  He wrote this in response to Nazi Germany......

 

******************************

 

But wait!

 

When I worked at Kmart, I was explaining to a woman

why we could not take back the item she wanted to return.

She was growing more incensed and continued to argue with me,

as I told her that we did not

sell that particular item nor would she be getting a refund.

In a huff she says to me...

 "Well, at least you can call me a cab!"

I took a breath....

"Ok"

"You're a cab!"

and I simply walked away.

(drop the mike)

 

Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

 

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