Oh, yuck, Rick, that is one creature I hope never to run into!  I'm feeling super buggie right now having been out with the long extention loppers to cut branches hanging over where I want to extend the slide & awning for the RV tomorrow. Glad I didn't read your link before chopping down those limbs, they were dropping all over me & sure had bugs on them. 

Need to so some work on replacing those little spools that anchor the accordian shades at their bottom... why they install plastic that will crack in the sun/heat when the metal bobbins for sewing machines are exact size & holes in the right places... and just takes a 4 handed person to install but a dozen or more cost next to nothing from Walmart, a sewing shop (or Amazon). One more "to-do".

Patricia, we've had a nest of bumblebees near the yucca plants. The berm has two types of yucca plants, the native to Kansas that you see all over dry western KS, and another variety with wider leaves & much bigger plants & stalks of blooms. The native ones take over, can't kill them out. The bumblebees had a mimosa tree near that died years ago but one volunteer mimosa grew up in the front yard & is blooming right now. The bees are humming as they enjoy their meals. They don't treaten me like the wasps do.

No more bug stories before bedtime!  I will have nightmares! Bought some nice looking ears of corn at the store today, a wash & wrap in waxed paper, 2 min in the microwave & cut it off the cob & put chunks of butter to melt on the corn. It doesn't soak into the cob so you get to enjoy all that butter. Yum... Of course we know the corn is "genetically modified" because it doesn't have worms on it anymore... I prefer NO worms and going to put an ear in the microwave right now, here it is 10:00 pm & I am just now eating my supper. Bad ME.... See y'all tomorrow.

Gloria, wish I could send you my appetite!

Janie, you jumped in. I was that terrible kid that didn't want to try anything different. Could have lived on peanutbutter & jelly. Hope your head is better.

a Bird called here is barnswallo, the build a nest out of mud and gres mosly wilted grass. and the fly up and dow and in circles,grabbing masceatoes and other bugs as the fly,and the young start very yong. wee have a nest of them in the ittery way to our apartment.  they are very active here, good night and sweet dreams. Nancy is not feealingshe is running a couple degrees of tempture'

Lloyd

I found it! Imagine a bee as large as your little finger. It's called a Golden Northern Bumble Bee   https://www.insectidentification.org/insect-description.php?identification=Golden-Northern-Bumble-Bee

This site says we have mud daubers in the Interior, while the other site said we didn't. Whatever, but going through that list of everything we had here, most I didn't recognize was enough to make anyone skittish.

Goodmorning..

Rain overnight and a wee bit of a thiunder roll.

Patricia ,before I forget (happens often) is this the critter? Ok, I see you did find it..

https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/pollinator-of-the-month/hummingbird_moth.shtml

Toss up today...do I can mushrooms or can rhubarb juice??

Shielry there are both ticks and fleas about but so far we do not have either. We do get a hard freeze here but that doesn't seem to deter them. Drops or flea collars are avaiable  if need be. Speaking of bee.... the ones I hate are the ones that make a nest in the ground. You have no idea until you step on them and up they come!!

lloyd, we have one that has built a nest on top of a light fixture in the shed. So far no babies.

Jane, how is your cold?

Gloria, we had our furnace on for a bit th other day and today is that muggy I am sure the a/c will be put on.

Better get..

Enjoy your day and stay safe.

Good Morning Everyfriend!  I slept pretty well last night until I got a dash-blasted cramp in my foot!  The only thing that eased it was getting up and walking around on it but as soon as I went back to bed it came back.  I looked it up and it said magnesium helps and Cindy noted that she has two bottles of that!  So at supper time today, I'll give that a try!

Right now, I think it's time to get in the shower and get dressed before someone comes by and catches me.  My cold is getting better a little at a time and I don't really feel bad with it any more!

I wish you all a good day...better than yesterday but not as good as tomorrow!

AMY and  JaneS, well I went to bed very late and tosed and turned And miend did not want to shut down,but when it finley did I slept good. I just wok up got up and took my vitials and sent them VIA sadilait to VA. It Is 80º and full sun here this morning so I I think couch jockey and TV with a western moovie is a good plan for today. Hope you all have a great day just as you like.

Lloyd









va

well I was setting here in my office watching the birds,Mainley the barn swallies circling around. and seen two good things they are dooing. one  i seen one of the yong Land in the yard and one of the older ones kept dive bombingit and pecking on it's head untill it went air born again and a  second i seen one of them catch a bug air born. they keep circling around and toucing the ground th chace the bugs up and catch then. they do team work one dives on the gras and a second one makes the catch. Now that is team work. Have a good day and a better tomorow.

Lloyd

Today is the Solstice, the day the sun never sleeps! Starting tomorrow we will lose daylight minute by minute. We would have had a huge party with sales, sporting games, fair rides, baseball, soccer, & golf games starting without lights at midnight and boat races, car races, 3-person endurance attempts, and international food fair.

However, after Covid, international tourists are missing and Eastern European tourism is all but gutted. To put the lid on it, commercialism has taken over and they had a small car show, street fair, and music acts on Saturday the 18th. That is four days prior to the Solstice but they got their advertising dollar!

Fun Fact, Barrow, our northernmost city has sixty-seven days of darkness before regaining daylight minute by minute each winter.   https://www.reference.com/geography/six-months-darkness-alaska-4dd677b2bf60e239


https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/everything-you-need-to-know-june-solstice/

well a earley good night and sweet dreams. sory I i post un instering things for you all , But I still like the birds and what they do.

Lloyd

Good morning...

Going to be another blistering day today. The toss up was made and we now have 16 pints and 24 half pints on mushrooms canned. Today I will do another batch of Janies rhubarb juice.

Lloyd, your posts are not un interesting as you say. we enjoy reading them . I watched a swallow fly with a feather in its beak to put in their nest, dropped it, then its mate swooped in caught it and flew towards the nest. Almost there and the feather dropped again...gently heading back and forth to the ground, mate swooped in caught it and if finally made it to the nest. Guess that is what you call "feathering the nest".

Jane,I took Shirley's advice and bought some gatorade....keep a small bottle in the fridge and when needed take a small drink of it.

Patricia, we were up your way in June  in the 90's and I can remember how light out it was at 10:30 at night. 

Gloria, hope all is well there.

Better go pull rhubarb.

Enjoy your day and stay safe.

Good Morning Everyfriend!  I didn't get a chance to check out last night.  We were busy right up until bed time.  I hope you all had a good day.

Interesting chat about the the Summer Solstice in Alaska!  I've never experience that one but I can always tell when the days are getting longer or shorter around my area!

LLOYD, you're sure taking note of the birdies around you area!  They must be busy and close by!  It is fun to note what they do!

Christy will be heading for the airport today and taking her flight back home to Maryland!  We're all going to miss her!  She sure is busy!  I've not seen her sit still since she's been here unless she was knitting or driving a car!

Everyone seems to be active this morning!  I think I'll join them and she what's happenin'.  I wish you all a good day...better than yesterday but not as good as tomorrow!

Good morning, at least it is morning. Still cold and raining and the only time I feel warm is laying on the couch with a down throw around me and another throw over that. Thank goodness Yvette is here because I shiver every time I get off the couch. Thought I better get in here and at  least let  you know I have been thinking of all out Cyber Family.
Back to the couch till I have to get up and let Yvette in.

Have a good day and stay safe.

Good morning, everyone; we're back to sunshine and warming after a couple of days of steady downpour. We dropped a couple of hundred fires through those days of drenching rain to only 331 fires currently.


Lloyd, I enjoy reading about your birds as in the city, we have only mew gulls, pigeons, and an occasional hawk. I can no longer get to and stroll along the riverbanks or go to the bird sanctuary and wander around with my camera. I miss that and enjoy your's and others' birdwatching.

Yesterday, the sun set after I went to sleep at two AM, or I should say this morning.

I have been missing for much too long, so today I will be playing catch up. 

JANE, I am sorry you caught a cold, and I do hope you are feeling much better. 

SHIRLEY, I know you are sad having your family here in Colorado without you😩😩

I seem to never have anything to say other than my health woes🤪🤪🤪

I did get the epidural in my lower spine yesterday and it went very will tell if it was successful.  I am hoping and praying it will.  I go for the other procedure on my groin area the 7th. 

Bob has his tests all scheduled on the same day, the first of July to see if they can find a reason he went not A-FIB.  We just want all this crap behind us needless to say🤪🙏

The family are on their cruise in the Mediterranean and having a wonderful time. 

We all thought of Our Michele on her one year date of her passing.  Still seems so surreal😢

I wish you all well.  I will go back and read your posts to see what
I missed.

Jenny

Hi Jenny!  I've missed seeing you on line and now I'm practically in your back yard!  I'm visiting my daughter in Jenks, Okla.  It's right outside of Tulsa.  I think if we whistle loud we might hear each other!  I'm glad to hear your getting you "ills" taken care of and I sure do hope the care is what you need to feel better.  I bet it's hard coming on the anniversary of losing Michele!  I hope you can all look on it as the special day that she went to a special place to wait for all of you to join her! 

I may not get in to check out later so I'll say "Good night" now.  Christy is half way back to her home in Maryland.  The last we heard she waiting to get on a plane in St. Louis and then her next stop will be Baltimore where her hubby will meet her.  We missed her before she left Tulsa! 

I wish you all a peaceful night's sleep and a happy tomorrow.  And may God bless us, every one!  And may he look after ALL the travelers!

well i had a goood day here ,but Nancy is still fighting a bad cold. good night and sweet dreams.

Lloyd

Checking in for the night. Have thunder & now some rain, been threatening all afternoon so I was afraid to get in the bathroom to trim my hair & been putting off doing that job for days, have to make sure we aren't going to have a power outage because none of the bathrooms in this house have any outside windows/light. It would be clean, hear loud thunder & check radar & sure enough, another pop up storm near Wichita.... almost no rain until just now.

I've been watching the kittens playing out front, they've been staying in a shelter/shed Cas created for 2 of his 3 riding mowers. Since I got rid of 2 & the other one has it's own little shed, so other stuff stored in that spot & it's nice & dry so the tiny little mama cat has been keeping her babies in there.  Not something I approve of but don't know what to do about it. I'm pretty sure she is the "kitten" Callie had been going out to visit at night, doesn't look big enough to have babies that are already half grown. She lays out there & lets them come out to play in the evening.... I can't get any of the neighbors interested in adopting them or helping get them to the Humane Society. I do not want another cat much less a mama with 5 babies (saw the 5th one today). Can't stand knowing they are hungry so making me awful sad. Humane Society doesn't try to find ferals a home, put to sleep same day they are brought in. I really could hate people that dump animals instead of being responsible. Humane Society told me years ago that "if you feed them we consider them yours & your responsibility to get rabies shots every year, etc".... so not just a matter of feeding them but if one scratched anyone it would be a big deal to go through the testing for rabies, etc. I'm not lookin' for trouble!

Jenny, my A-fib was caused by the leaky valve, I didn't know that until after the surgery, but was taking a 325 Bayer every 4 hours to keep it from rocking until I passed the Conceal Carry test and then to the surgery. A-Fib hit again in the hospital when I got upset because they kept moving me from area to area & my coat turned up missing & at that point the chest was pounding so hard it moved my whole body & Doc said he had to give me something for it... was a shot & then a pill... then turned me into a zoombie & set me back to worse than day after surgery.  Bottom line was A-fib was caused by the valve & lucky for me I managed to get beyond it without the meds & still doing what I need to keep truckin' ...........Hope Bob gets along as well. Then we need to fix you up.  I know you are one tough cookie so not sure why they can't figure out the pain. My latest scan of the liver showed it is enlarged but "normal" for me.... she laughed when she said that because I don't fit "the norm".... liver is doing what it's supposed to be doing so it's up to me to figure why I'm so short winded.

Jane, glad Christy is almost home safe & sound. Julie-Ellen got back to St.Louis last night with serious head issues, sinus problem & a bug she caught from her gr-daughter. They tested for Covid but knew it was allergies to start & infection set in, being over tired also contributed to the problem. Flying has been touch & go lately, bad as gas prices are, I'd rather be driving. Do hope you are feeling better by now.

Hugs to Nancy, Lloyd, and hope she gets better quick. Summer colds are bad, my daughter caller her doctor as soon as she go home for prescription for antibiotic.

I'm going to bed & plan to do what didn't get done tonight, do it tomorrow! Can't keep my eyes open. Have sliding door open with soft rain, cooler air & good sleeping weather. Hugs to all, God Bless.  Love y'all.  Shirley/Tisie

Good morning..

Love the cool mornings but know it won't stay that way long. Will label and put away Jane's Rhubarb juice , laundry and gardening after we get back from town.

Jenny, both you and Bob have had a long haul!! Time you get some quailty time out of life.

Shirley, I know what you mean. I wrote a letter to the paper asking people who had left little kittens at the road  what next.....your kids!! I was livid to find these little wet furballs  ,we had wolves,fox and goodness knows what else plus the highway to kill these kittens. I bundled them all up and took them to the humane society...back then they did take them.

Jane, if I am not careful I will have to grow more rhubarb!!I did start two other patches but being just new I don't want to take away too many stalks.

Better run.

Enjoy your day and stay safe.

Good Morning Everyfriend!  It's going to be another HOT one today...heading for the mid to high 90s!  Right now it's very pleasant out there...73 or so!  I can take that!

I'm off to the showers and have to get dressed.  Cindy's on slow this morning.  I think she caught my cold but she won't admit it!

I read everything and I wish you all well and happy!  I'm off!

Good morning from a smoky Interior!The summer is destined to be fiery, with lows in the sixties and highs in the low eighties. Yesterday, I posted some blue skies and clouds in a line. Only four hours later, those blue skies and clouds disappeared, becoming a sea of white and dense smoke. Overnight it rained, and it's back to dense smoke again.

https://www.seniorsandfriends.org/index.php?msg=219797

Before climate change, we used to reach 104 in the summers, but we haven't seen that since about 2016. Of course, I haven't seen the winter woes of minus forties through minus sixties either, and not for weeks at a stretch. The coldest it seems to get is a day of minus thirty here and there. And a high of eighty-six, which appears to herald fires.

I've become a hermit, only venturing out when I have to or someone comes for me. My balance often goes sideways anymore.

Shirley, I found several cats rescue in Wichita besides the humane society. https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=cat+rscues+in+Whicta+Kansas&atb=v330-4&ia=web Give them a call and save a life or two or three. I've been involved with Pet Pride, a national group, for the last twenty years as of this October.

Amy, Jane, we have rhubarb growing everywhere locally, but it gets dug up and trashed due to clearing lots or people not knowing what it is. I'd like to see more heat here without adverse weather reactions.

Good morning everyone, 58° nice it is above the 40's this am and I am not shivering for a change.

PHYLLIS  Juneteenth is a dumb word and for a holiday even more stupid made up word. Maybe I am the only one who feels that way but does that word really make sense?

SHIRLEY  from what you said about your mud daubers it sounds like what we call hornets. Around here they will start a nest is any crack they find. I had read years ago that you wait till evening when they are all in the nests for the night and spray into the opening and it kills them.  When I lived it the apartment at my son's house they built one outside a living room window, told him about it and I bought a new can of spray and that night he opened that window all the way up and I sprayed into the opening and in a few minutes we could see them dropping out and they were dead.

RICK  like you one morning I opened my drivers door and saw the beginning of a nest I knocked it out of the spot they picked  where when the door is open there is a space. They never went back to that spot again.

PATRICIA  Mike had to go through the orchard before harvest time to get the wasps/hornets out of the ground. He did not want any pickers to step on any or the kids get stung. They were a different color having white spots.

SHIRLEY  this state of Rhode Island is the only one that celebrates VJ day in August. They do not even put it on calendars anymore.

Took me hours to get back to this post. Yvette called to ask if she could start at 9:30 this morning, other client had an appointment at 9. She hurt herself and had to go to the VA hospital to get checked out. Since I was already awake she might come and that way I knew I could get a nap in this afternoon. Worked our good for me, slept over 2 hours and now will be awake for my daily Skype date with my daughter at 5PM Can have enough time to grab a snack so she will not hear the growling tummy.

SHIRLEY  oh no you do not want anymore cats. You have been tied down roo long with them now

AMY  was warmer here this morning and I stopped  shivering.

Have a good evening and I hope I can do better tomorrow.

Sleep good and stay safe.

For those of you who have been to Alaska and driven around, this video will be familiar to you. The couple is from Virginia and dreams of owning land and living off-grid. They purchased land in the Anchorage area, Southeast Alaska, where the climate is rain country, part of the Washington, Oregon rain country thermal climate. The area is usually warmer in the winter by 20 degrees and colder in the summer, averaging in the sixties. I wanted to show the differences between them and us. We are on the other side of those mountains, an eight-hour drive from the area shown.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIYNd4J3pXM

Up too early but Tiger thought it was time. I'll get a nap later, had hoped to get some jobs done before too hot.... OOPS!  Too hot already!  I hate waking up to 80 degrees & humid.

Patricia, I've checked into some of those places that save cats & find as you dig deeper, they are more interested in donations, on-going donations. We were told that by having these "fixed" they would keep other strays/ferals away. I'm pretty sure it was Callie that brought this little cat (with 5 babies now) around, she had been wanting out at night & I would see the little black one sneeking off later. Now that Callie is gone it's "Katy, bar the door". Could be little mama wandered down the river from a shopping center half a mile away where a whole colony of cats live. Lady next door asked if I'd ever been there in the evening when people would bring bags of dry food for the cats, and sadly, that is not the cure, they need to be spay-neutered. We used to have lots of birds but the cats are winning, I think. We used to see so many baby ducks & geese but they aren't safe from the cats (and turtles). Nature is out of balance with our help! Thanks for searching for the links, seems we have way more cats than responsible humans that want to adopt.

Time to mow again, you'd think some young kid would be looking to earn money, but not these days. I bought a Toro battery powered mower as well as a Black & Decker weed whip/trimmer in hopes of finding someone I could count on to mow for me, but all the boys or girls big enough to walk behind a mower play various sports for summer & practice all the time. The going rate is $50 for a yard & the guys that bought big equipment are done in 20-30 minutes. They all drive big, shiny new trucks. Gripe-gripe...The last crew I hired showed up 4 days after the first mow & grass hadn't grown, he insisted he was working out his schedule. $100 in 4 days is a bit much when not a lot of grass!  So I better do my own mowing!

Gloria, we have mud dabbers, yellow jackets, hornets, wasps, honey bees & bumble bees & they build all kind of nests. I keep a can of spray by every door & like you said, when you hit them they fall dead like raining down. Not safe to be barefooted.

Well, kids, I have not had breakfast but would rather get more sleep only I know it will be HOT in another hour or so.  Movin' along.

Good morning..

We had a hic cup in the power during the night,now to reset the clocks.
I just read an article on the problem people are having with cotttages being rent out for short term. They are rented out to some,not all that have no respect for others around.Noise at all hours,garbage strewn about and then they leave and let the next  ones come in. The term being use is  the new invasive species.

Work around home today is about it..

Patricia, thank you for the video. I loved the mountains when we were there,breath taking they are!

Gloria, I am getting tired of this fry weather. Do you remember when I said I was gettin tired of this freezing weather??? Guess we are hard to please with weather.

Since the temp is 53° I am going to get some outside work done before it gets into the 80's..

Enjoy your day and stay safe.

Good Morning Everyfriend!  I don't seem to be getting as much computer time here as I do at home!  I guess there's been a lot more to do with real time people since I came here.  This might be my only time to visit with all of you. 

I've been interested in the kitties, Alaska, Gloria's time and everything else that comes up!  I was the 'chief cook and bottle washer" around here yesterday and I'm glad I was here to do that for Cindy because that cold hit hard!  She feels much better today but like me, the sniffles are hanging around! 

My SIL went off to help granddaughter ALI with her flower growing.  Tomorrow "Saturday" is the Farmer's Market and she sells her flowers there.  Today will be her busy day!  Now I have to go get my breakfast and see that Cindy eats something too. 

I hope you all have a good day...better than yesterday but not as good as tomorrow!

Good morning everyone!

 Shirley dont whine we here in MO. are @ 85º Now. i took one Napt hrough one Moovie , I will try to stay awake for another one. Have the rest of the day good just like you like it.

Lloyd

Heading toward 102 in Oklahoma.  Probably wouldnt be so bothered if the weather gurus wouldn't keep telling us how hot we are!.

Okay, got a funny from a friend in CA that need to share with y'all...........don't groan ahead of time!!!

"My wife got stung on the forehead by a bee, she's in the ER now, her face all bruised and swollen, she almost died. Lucky for her I was close enough to hit the bee with my shovel."

Friday HELLO to EVERYFRIEND 🦋 These days just keep passing me by 😩

Tonight might just be the night for Our Avalanche to take it all.  So excited. 🏒🏒. I hope and pray if this happens that the crazies don't let things get out of hand.  We can celebrate with out there having to be destruction‼️ I want them to cinch the Stanley Cup tonight, but then it is over and we will miss not having them to watch🤪🤪 What will be will be🏒🏒🏒GO AV'S 🏒🏒🏒

Unfortunately, Bob went back into A-FIB yesterday, but it stopped again last night.  Sure anxious to find out what is causing this😩🤪

PATRICIA, I sure enjoyed watching the family relocating to Alaska that you shared.  How exciting it was, however, at this stage in my life I would have a hard time being able to take on this BIG adventure🤪🤪🤪

Oh my, SHIRLEY.  THAT funny you shared is a good one.......makes my head hurt just thinking about it!

AMY, the power outages are such a pain, and getting all the clocks reset is quite the task. Thank goodness for the generators that many have now. 

JANE, I hope you and Cindi can feel much better soon from that virus visitor‼️  Sure wish I could go to that Farmers Market and buy some of the beautiful flowers. 

We have no big plans for the weekend but do hope to go up and see our new baby boy again next Thursday. 

Have a great rest of your day.

Jenny