August 11th

On August 15th it'll be 50 years since Woodstock!
It was billed as an Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music.
That's amazing to think of, 50 years!
Wow!
I'm old.....

This pic was taken at Seattle's MoPOP

or, Museum of Pop Culture

in 2016.

Reminded me of those old songs from the Woodstock era.

I wish we had Google back then to freakin'

understand the lyrics!

We listened to them on AM radio, which was not

the best with clarity of the music,

and, if we were into listening to "alternative" music,

we tuned into an FM station.

But,

still no better to hear the lyrics or understand them.

so,

I looked up some of the "misheard" lyrics.

here are a few.....

Love the chicken reference...

This might take a minute.....

annnd...

There are tons more, 

but suffice it to say,

when we didn't know the exact words,

it didn't matter...

We sang it out like we were on stage

with a hair brush as the mike!

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Nugget

Her head is healing nicely.

Hot day fun.

We freeze canned corn so they can

get a chicken "snowball"

Nugget with Pepper and Ethel in the background

waiting for the treats.

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Chicken Humor

and

these.....

Who knew???

Yes, Barbie with her backyard hens!

(I don't think she comes with poop on her shoes)

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Musings...…..

Husbands...…..

90% of marriage is shouting "What?"

from other rooms.

and 

Husbands are the best person to tell your secrets to.

They'll never share them because they weren't 

listening in the first place!

Ha!

A typical exchange at our house...…..

CEO: Where is the...

Me: Next to the....

CEO: NO, it's not.

Me: It's directly in front of the....

CEO: I looked, we must be out. We need more.

Me: Storming in to show him where it is.

CEO: Oh, I didn't see it.

Me: mumbling... "Sweet Baby Jesus, save me...."

and

We said our "I Do's" 25 years ago.

That seems to be the last time we actually agreed on something.

We can't even commit to dinner plans...

and

Spooning in bed...

Me: "This is nice."

CEO: Snoring in my ear loudly

Me: (3 seconds later) "OK! Move!

Your body heat is melting my skin off and I can't breathe!"

I was sweating like the fountain at the Bellagio.

CEO: snoring, making slight pig noises.

Me: Shoves him, he finally rolls to his back.

CEO: Now making whistling noises from his nose.

Sounds like the clarinet section at a beginner band

concert!!

Me: Pushes him again.

CEO: finally rolls over.

Me: WIDE AWAKE!

But...

Sometimes its me snoring...

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Remember.....

In the wise words of Bill from

 Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure,

"Joan of Arc is most definitely not

Noah's wife!

Augusr 2nd

Today is Dinosaur Day

It's in honor of those long extinct relics of Jurassic Park.

This particular T Rex was found in the 

Cheyenne River Reservation in Wyoming.

It's named after Sue Hendrickson a fossil collector.

Sue is currently on display at The Field Museum

in Chicago.

Several years ago, we were lucky enough

to see a full sized replica

in Phoenix. Arizona.

"Sue" surely is a jaw dropping specimen!

But...

In reality, they aren't totally extinct,

they simply evolved into other modern day creatures.

Creatures like our own lovable feathered hens.

(and now we segue to the girls)

Pepper and Nugget

Can't you see the T Rex family resemblance?

Hazel

Thank goodness they lost those T Rex teeth!

Ethel

They still lay eggs though.

Nugget's head is healing nicely.

Thankful that I didn't have to perform 

a "comb-ectomy"!

Yay for Super glue!!

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Eggplant flower.

The plant is covered in them.

Cucuzzas are here!

Basically an Italian summer squash.

They have a mild taste and lend themselves

to many recipes.

See the small ones?

They look like grass snakes hanging

upside down.

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A recent dryer malfunction 

resulted in my hanging clothes out to dry in my yard.

Not an activity I'd recommend in this heat!

But....

It reminded me of my Mom and Grandmother

doing the same thing,

like in this picture.

But, 

there was a slight difference.

My clothes were washed in an electric washing machine

with all kinds of bells and whistles

compared to the one my Mom had

back in the day

Yep.

We had a wringer washer like this one.

If I remember correctly,

all it did was agitate,

you hadda pull those heavy, wet clothes

out of the "tub" and push them

between the rollers of the wringers.

They 'wrung' the water from the item.

Then my Mom would put the wet clothes in a 

wicker basket to bring outside to the clothes line.

Good times?

Maybe not so much for my Mom,

but a warm fuzzy memory for me.

All this reminiscing,

got me to thinking of times gone by.

Our kitchen, the little eat in kind,

 had a small formica table with 4 chairs.

It was chrome with Naugahyde upholstery,

the same thing in the living room....

It was a vomit green Naugahyde couch 

with a deep red accent wall.

It made any time you were sick and stayed home from school,

exponentially worse looking at those colors!

What was my Mom thinking?

It's no wonder the Nauga has become extinct.

The unchecked use of their "hydes" in the '50's and '60's

was ubiquitous!

And...

no picture of any Naugas in the wild, exist!

Then,

 we had Alligator Pears,

Mosquito Hawks, 

and black or white lace veils

for Mass.

Just the simple basics.

We walked and played on a banquette (sidewalk),

went on a trip with our grips (suitcases),

our Moms Iced the Cake (frosted) for birthdays,

drank red drinks (Barq's Red Cream Soda),

and waited patiently each year for

Mr Bingle.

(Jingle Jangle Jingle,

here comes Mr. Bingle,

with another message from

Kris Kringle....)

We wore Wind Song perfume,

and gave Evening in Paris Perfume as 

Mother's Day gifts.

All Grandma's carried a Handkerchief.

We slid down a Shoot the Chute

and adhered our butt flesh to the hot metal

during a 100 degree summer!

We needed a skate key to get skates to stay on

our shoes.

Most skating was on the bumpy cement sidewalks.

No kid was exempt from a knee scar from

falling off skates or a bike.

You were like the Marines...

Adapt, Improvise and Overcome!

Young girls had to endure Sanitary belts and napkins

that were medieval torture devices.

But we managed.

Ah! those were our halcion days,

spent mostly outside, 

suntanned and

getting Grandma Beads

and scabs.

Do I miss it?

Maybe, if I tell the truth,

 I do miss it a bit.

Time was slower,

the world was smaller,

people knew each other,

We felt safe and secure.

But, now it's enough to look back

on my special memories

with my rose colored glasses,

and smile.

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This says it all.

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Remember...

It was the famed poet

Meatloaf who said....

Two outta three ain't bad>

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!