Wild Turkey - 2015 Happy Thanksgiving, 2020! The COVID-19 pandemic has overshadowed everything since March, and made even more frenetic the recent presidential election. Another spike of recent COVID cases is driving dramatic changes in our observance of this truly American holiday through city and state mandates; e.g. mask wearing, limiting the number of people … Continue reading Turkey Day
Category: Odds & Ends
For Sale - Wyoming Thought for the Day: Let me live in a house by the side of the road,Where the race of men go by.The men who are good and the men who are bad,As good and as bas as I. I would not sit in the scorner's seat,Or hurl the cynic's ban.Let me … Continue reading This Old House
Fancy The passing of our beloved Fancy, the fourth of our family dogs, is an end of an era. For over 50 years we have been met at the door by a wagging tail -- all were good dogs. But Fancy had more personality than the other dogs combined, and the most trusting dog I've … Continue reading Fancy
Big Cat Ever wonder where the expression "Cat's Pajamas" came from? I heard a lot of expressions when I was a kid, this being one of them. It sounded so absurd that it must have meant something really great. Whatever. But who was the first to say it? An early 1900's cartoonist, named Tad Dorgan, … Continue reading Cat’s Pajamas
Hazy Sunset The smoky air from the wildfires in western Nebraska and the west coast provided an apocalyptic scene at the Comstock Lodge in central Nebraska. This shot was taken about an hour before sunset. Thought for the Day: Stop worrying about the world ending today. It's already tomorrow in Australia.Charles M. Schultz
1950's croquet set The history of croquet is long and storied, going back to the Middle Ages. Today's game of croquet was introduced to England in 1852 by Ireland who called it "crooky". The game's popularity spread and became a primary social activity of England's "leisure class" by 1860. The game's popularity spread around the … Continue reading Croquet
Crazy Address Addresses with "1/2" added to the house number are not uncommon in the old parts of large cities. Why? During the Depression, people decided to rent out half their house to make ends meet, so they divided their house into two "residences" and "1/2" was added to distinguish the two. But, this picture … Continue reading 4147 1/2
Sarasota National Cemetery The first Memorial Day (called Decoration Day) was in 1868 at Arlington National Cemetery to commemorate the sacrifices made by both sides of the Civil War. Over 620,000 men gave their life for what they believed in, a number too large to comprehend. Memorial Day became an official national holiday over 100 … Continue reading Memorial Day
Hmmm, Now What? This pooch is a little too curious for its own good. Now I see why dogs/pets are not allowed in National Parks. Actually, this is a composite of two separate photos: 1) my Westie looking off the edge of a boat dock, and 2) view from Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park. … Continue reading Lost Dog
Neema Orphanage Children in this Tanzanian orphanage remove their shoes and stack them neatly outside the door before entering their living quarters. After the initial wave of hysteria over the balloons, the children settled down and waited patiently for their care givers to blow up a balloon for each of them. The plaque below the … Continue reading Balloons
I met this little guy by accident, searching for the choo (toilet) behind a children's center in Moshi, Tanzania. He was alone, but I could hear distant sounds of a preschool classroom. His face was full of questions, but smiled when I greeted him in Swahili. Bashful, yet engaging, he didn't try to speak. I … Continue reading New Friend
Cedar Creek - 2019 Uggh, winter is still here. We've had enough winter already, so let's think about spring. Give someone you don't know a nice warm smile. Thought for the Day: One kind word can warm three winter months.Japanese Proverb
Oh, the colors of summer. Thought for the Day: Winter is on my head but eternal spring is in my heart.Victor Hugo
Nice Touch A new year, out with the old in with the new, a new beginning. Forget the mistakes of the past and look forward. Unburden yourself of past mistakes and boldly step forward with a positive attitude. Like the dawn of a new day, I like to think of it as a fresh start. … Continue reading New Beginning
Shadows Shadows can be deceiving. I know what this picture shows because I took it, but it might not be obvious. I thought it made a decent abstract. Give it a go and see if you can identify the shadow. Let me know your thoughts. Thought for the Day: Character is like a tree and … Continue reading Shadows
Coming in from the bright midday sun, it took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. Surrounded by empty space, the cavernous interior of the Notre Dame de Rouen cathedral was lit only by natural light that filtered through the stained glass windows behind the altar, which was hundreds of feet from … Continue reading The Light
Clemantis We are barely three weeks into the winter season and I'm sick of it already. Three measurable snow falls and three days of single digit temps was a brutal wake-up call. The fields are brown, the trees are bare, the nights are long, the fireplace broken in, the garden a distant memory, the bird … Continue reading Clemantis
Thanksgiving - 2019 Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, second only to Independence Day -- both original American holidays. I have so many things to be thankful for; twelve are pictured here. Four others are not pictured, as they had commitments in Arkansas this year. While I missed the four, I treasured the time … Continue reading Thanksgiving
November Bonfire It was still dark as I plodded through the kitchen to check the outside temperature. A cold front was predicted last night, and I could tell it had arrived by the ice cold tile under my bare feet. My reliable thermometer, with digital readouts looked different to me, like it was missing something. … Continue reading Cold Front
firewood I like puzzles, especially word and number puzzles. Jigsaw puzzles, not so much, but I will probably like them more when I'm less ambulant. While stacking firewood, it reminded me of a giant three dimensional jig saw puzzle -- trying to place round pieces, flat pieces, triangles and rectangles together for a snug fit. … Continue reading Puzzles
