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Norms Bait and Tackle

Started by dapphne, March 30, 2016, 09:23:16 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

angelface555

#5340
Good morning from the Interior. We had thundershowers and temperatures in the eighties Saturday evening and had continuous steady rain yesterday and today. I have kept the balcony door open, the screen door shut in the daytime and Farrah loves the cool air coming in the apartment with the higher indoor temperatures. While we have control of the heat to our apartments, I never turn mine on as I have a middle unit. I do have a newer portable heater which I sometimes use occasionally in the winter for short periods.

Carol, I have seen Internet adverts about Colorado where the state is pushing to invite new settlement and that may be part of your issue with new folks moving in. The Natives here have a good idea as they own their lands, not reservations, and they have consistently voted down any highway road systems in the Interior, where much of their lands are located. They are a political force to be reckoned with vote wise.

About home security, I know a couple who both hunt. They live in a large trailer and wannigan incorporated into their house, outside of town. They have numerous hunting bows, rifles and other guns along the walls in their living room while they sleep in a back bedroom. I mentioned that a burglar could choose any weapon before even reaching them. They astounded me by saying they had more guns in the bedroom!

Larry, another time, some years back, I was locked out. A friendly guy came over from his apartment and showed me how to flip my balcony door off its fitting to get back into my apt. I was thankful, but a bit wary. I know how to take a window, (From the earlier robbery); or balcony door off its fittings even if my arthritis now prevents me from doing so. So crooks can get in so many ways we might not even think of!

The Instapot is heavy as it's weight is centered at the bottom. But the provided insert and extra basket are lightweight. Mine sits in a lower cupboard in my bar, but the shelves pull out and up on an installed mechanism. Dora keeps hers on her kitchen counter. I don't think you would find it useful unless you did daily meals or twice monthly meal prep as I generally do. It is similar to a large crockpot and liner by weight feel to me. Mine is a five quart and I was surprised when I saw it on how large it is.

We now have fog out there and I am so sick of rain. While we are supposed to get more sunshine starting tomorrow, more rain is expected on the following weekends, a trend expected to continue. According to the weather pundits, we are still running about eight degrees below average and that is expected to continue. A bright spot is my senior vouchers arrived today so I wii be at the farmers market probably this weekend.

Sandy

Good Afternoon Everyone, from the hot and dry rocky coast of Maine.

Off came the cast today and I am now wearing a soft cast,
which is removable.   

My arm is healing nicely, but still tender.   Next appointment ,
six weeks ......    treating it like a baby.

Happy to be free from the hard cast...
All is well.
Sandy.     ::)
  "It pays to keep an open mind, but not so open your brains fall out."

― Carl Sagan

Mary Ann

Sandy, I'll bet it feels so good to have the hard cast off your arm.  Just be careful and your arm will heal nicely.

Patricia, I know that regardless of how many locks I have in place, if someone really wants to get into my condo, that person will find a way.  Locks only discourage a person testing to see if the door or window is unlocked. 

We have 92 degrees now and the air has been on since morning. 

Mary Ann

wjoan

We are at 80 right now, but may go up by 5 tonight.

Marilyne

joan - You've left me behind as far as the weather is concerned! :'(  Still cool and windy here. I think our temps are more like Patricia's, in Fairbanks. Supposed to be in the high 60's today and then warming up by the end of the week.

Carol - That was a good family story, about the bear-trap and the loaded rifle! Wow, lucky you did a search of the house before turning the children loose.  Seattle always seemed like a safe and sane city to me, in the many times that I visited there. I didn't realize there was so much residential burglary.  As you said, if a person wants to get into your house, they will find a way, regardless of the measures you take to prevent entry!

JeanneP

Just to uncomfortable to even be on the computer.  97 deg today and been in the 90s for 8 days. Say tomorrow to be in the 103 deg.  Only going down to 79/82 at night. Hard for A/C to keep it up. I go out before 9am and then after 7pm if needed.
JeanneP

Marilyne

It's funny how good 90 degrees sounds, when you're in the middle of a cold snap! 
High of about 67 here today. I was dressed in sweat pants, long sleeve knit shirt and a sweater.  Supposed to start slowly warming up over the next couple of days, until it hits the 90's on Friday!  Then I'll start complaining about the heat. ;D

Mary Ann - Where was your cottage located? I aways hoped to have a weekend or vacation cabin, but it never came to pass.  Lots of nice areas here to buy or rent a house for a weekend get-a-way, either at the beach, near a river, or in the mountains surrounded by beautiful redwood trees.  We only have a few natural lakes in California. . . most of our lakes are man made, with dams, for water conservation.  They are popular though, with lots of recreational boating, and camp grounds.

Beverly

Interesting about houses being left unlocked in the past. I don't remember our house ever being locked  when I was young and we lived on a main highway. There is no way I'd leave my house unlocked today! I admit it's unlocked a lot during the day when I'm here, but we live in a very safe neighborhood.

Today was the birthday of a long-time best friend in Vermont. We must have talked on the phone for an hour and a half!

Sad to say that alzheimers is progressing for my best friend since childhood. When I called her recently she asked where I was. I said "in Florida" and she wanted to know "what are you doing down there?".   :(

We've been having rain and overcast skies a lot but nobody is complaining. We have been in a drought situation for months.  Hot and muggy has now arrived!

Sandy - Glad you were able to get rid of the cast. My 25 yr. old granddaughter broke her foot and is able to wear a "boot" over the cast. She decided to decorate it. I may post a picture of it.  She's creative, artistic and fashion conscious.    ;)

I want to thank everyone who responded to my post about my son Michael's cancer.

Larry - You asked his age. He's 56.

Bocce in the morning so I should be in bed.

Mary Ann

Marilyne, my cottage was at Upper Lake, a small lake about 25-30 miles north of Grand Rapids.  It is north of Cedar Springs and west of Sand Lake, just inside the north border of Kent County.  I had it built and we spent many weekends there.  My dad got a lot of enjoyment from it.  I used to love sitting on the front porch and watch storms come in.  I had a tete-a-tete where I would sit on the front lawn in the afternoon with some iced tea and a book and enjoy the lake.  I did not swim, boat or fish.  My dad would fish, but with a small lake, most of the fish were inbred and too small to keep.  He enjoyed it, though.  Until we found where they were coming from, we used to find dead birds inside.  The birds would come in under the cap on the chimney and of course, they couldn't get out again.  I was young and daring in those days (1960) and I'd get up on the roof and put a screen over that opening and that was the end of the dead birds.  My next door neighbor had a duck come in through his chimney and you can imagine the mess they had.  The cottage was fun as long as my dad lived, but after he died, it was hard keeping up two places and especially trying to keep the house cool when I was gone weekends and worked during the week.  I owned the cottage for 16 years and the sale of that and later sale of the house allowed me to buy this condo free and clear. 

It is going to be another scorcher today.  It is nearly 78 degrees inside and the air should go on soon.  Outside it is 72 degrees.  Marilyne, be careful what you wish for because you might get it - 90 degrees, I mean.  That is HOT!

Mary Ann

larryhanna

Hi everyone.  It is to be another hot 91 degree afternoon with little chance of rain.  We plan on staying home and having a quiet day.

Mary Ann, I bet you missed that cottage when you no longer had it as a retreat from the hot weather.  Did you have to drive very far to get from your home to the cottage?  I understand that Church members going on mission trips usually come back strengthen in their Christian faith and find it more than worthwhile.  I think many churches send mission teams out every year.  Nice that Tom H has and is able to participate in the mission work.  Our Church also does local missions.  During the summer there is a week camp several places over South Carolina where young people come and stay at our church and go out each day and work on homes where people are poor and not able to help themselves.  Then our young people will go to a Church in another city or town and participate in their camps.  Our men's group also does a three day weekend local mission effort to repair homes as well.  There are many poor people in this State.  Some of the women of the church also join in this effort.

Carol, we also have underground power lines but have lost power for brief periods of time but not too often.  There are power lines feeding the underground system and guess that is where the problem occurs.  What an awful job to track rattlesnakes to put trackers on them.  I think that is done also with other types of animals, particularly those that are considered endangered. 

Patricia, sound like you have had about enough rain for a little while.  It sounds like you have a very warm apartment since you don't have to heat often during the cold Alaskan winters.  I actually know what a wannigan is as right before we left Alaska we had purchased a mobile home with a wannigan as expected to stay another two years.  It was out a bit in the wilderness.  However, we never moved into it as I was hired for a job in Illinois and we moved back to the Midwest so we could be closer to family and our children could get to know their grandparents.  Like Mary Ann has said, thieves usually can get into about anyplace if they want but I understand they look for easy pickings rather than dealing with burglar alarms and deadbolts. 

Sandy, glad the cast did come off yesterday as planned.   

Joan, 80 is hot enough.  We have had quite a few 90+ days already this year and summer is still a few days away. 

Marilyne, enjoy your cool weather while you have it.  I wish you could share some of it with us.  :)

JeanneP, something wrong with the picture that I live much South of you and your temperatures are so much higher.  I do remember how hot it got in Illinois when we lived for 15 months in Springfield in a mobile home.  Fortunately we had a good air conditioning system but it was awful outside and some of the highway construction work sites I had to visit as an auditor were not air-conditioned. 

Beverly, I don't want my house unlocked even during the day.  A few years ago a friend's wife left to go to the store for a short visit and she left the entry door unlocked while she was gone.  A prisoner from the local jail work detail out on a job escaped and went into his house and took him hostage.  The house was soon surrounded by police but the occurrence was very frightening to him and we just never know.  I don't leave my garage door up either unless I am right outside. Alzheimer's is such a terrible disease as is dementia in any form.  Sorry your best friend is experiencing it.  My best friend has Parkinson's and I am seeing its impact on his mental ability.  He is an electrical engineer by profession and now he is having trouble sometimes getting a statement out.  We talk now about once a week on Facetime and I have continued to watch the deterioration that is occurring over the time we have lived in South Carolina.  Your son Michael is just a couple of years older than my son.  Sometimes our children have to fight such terrible battles with illness.     

Lindancer

I also join the group, with the 90's.  then to morrow is will be in the low 70's which I can take.

My AC decided to act up yesterday, it was 88 in my living room yesterday.  Only air was coming out of a few vents.  Also my irrigation is giving me problems, it is working in the front yard, but not the back.

Beverly, I also will be praying for Michael.

MaryAnn, you cottage sounds nice,  Years ago we had a beach house.  We had to take a boat to get to it.   Narrow beach ocean on one side and Great South Bay on the other.  It is a barrier beach, it protects Long Island from the ocean.

Click for Riverhead, NY Forecast

Marilyne

Mary Ann - your lake cottage sounds like it was a fun and relaxing vacation home, for you and your dad.  Sitting out on the porch or the front lawn and watching the weather changes, would be such a treat.  We've never owned a second home, but we used to spend two weeks at Lake Tahoe, ever summer for many years.  Just sitting and looking at that beautiful lake, would slowly drain all of the stress and worry out of me, and give me such a peaceful feeling. 

My parents used to rent a beach house, (Newport Beach in Southern CA), every summer for a couple of weeks, and we would always go down there and stay for one of the weeks.  I love the ocean, and for me, it is a treat to go to bed at night and hear the ebb and flow of the waves.  Looking back on both vacation places - hard to pick the one I liked best.  There was something about the clean fresh air at both the beach and the mountains. The air at the high altitude at Tahoe, was clean and crisp and refreshing - once you got used to breathing at 6,300 ft.  Then again, there is nothing quite like the cool ocean breeze at the beach - always fresh and salty, and watching those waves crashing on the shore is almost hypnotic!

Well, enough said - I really got carried away with my memories! ::)  Back later . . .

Mary Ann

I'm not sure it was asked in this folder, but my cottage was about 25-30 miles from home.  It could get warm up there too.  While the cottage was well insulated, we had no big trees near the house to really cool things off.  I enjoyed it until I had to return to a hot house because it was closed up all weekend and during the week all day.  I had a couple of big trees in the back yard at home and I decided I could sit under them as well as on the front lawn at the cottage.  I really had the cottage built so my dad would be able to enjoy it - and he did.

I just returned from lunch with my retiree friends and there were five of us.  Tom had a phone call from a friend from Petoskey and they met there too so it was very convenient for both of us.  Tom's friend left before our group broke up but he was waiting for me.  He sat at a table near us so knew when we finished. 

When I was young, my folks used to go to cottages owned by people in my mother's church Ten.  I can think of three of them now.  A memorable vacation was in 1935 when we rented a manse at Lake Ripley near Cambridge Wisconsin.  My mother was brought up in Lake Mills WI, near Cambridge.  We were next to the community park, but in a cemetery.  If there was a funeral, my folks saw to it that we were elsewhere.  I tried to learn to swim there, but that was a lost cause.  Dad was brought up in Minnesota and had relatives in Wisconsin too, so we had one perpetual family reunion.  I met many of my parents' cousins.  I loved it.  Another time my folks and Mother's sister rented a cottage at Miller IN, near Chicago so there were the two families plus Mother's other sister there.  We were on Lake Michigan at the south end.  Or we'd rent a cottage at Grand Haven from another of Mother's church friends.  It was not near the lake and lots of stairs to get to, but it was fun.  In later years our Sunday School class rented the same cottage.  We had to put a quarter in a gas meter to buy gas and there was a strike clock that did not know when to stop.  Those were the days!  And I got carried away!

Gloria, I hope your a/c is fixed as this is no time to be without air.  I do remember those many summers when all we did was lie around because of the heat.

Larry, I think our church does not participate in personal mission trips, but I know at one time some of the medical people at our church did go to Honduras to treat people.  At other times, the young people went to various inner cities and help people in the area.  They slept in churches.  I often felt they could have worked with the poor, elderly and ill in Grand Rapids.

When I finish here, I may take a nap.  My eyelids are quite heavy.

Mary Ann

Mary Ann

I hope someone posts after this just to keep things going.  Tom went grocery shopping before supper and was tired so I put together our supper, such as it was.  He had bought a rotisserie chicken for supper and we had that and a banana salad like Dad and I used to have - I sliced a banana lengthwise, spread mayo on it and sprinkled some chopped nuts on it.  And that was our salad.  Also our supper.  Having eaten out for lunch, we didn't need much. 

Everyone sleep well.

Mary Ann

Beverly

#5354
Mary Ann - I came in here to read today's posts and saw your wish, so here I am!  :)

I played bocce-golf this morning and lost! Next week we start again with regular bocce. I'm much better at that and also like it better.

Tonight we went to the monthly pot-luck. They usually don't have them in the summer but decided it's a good way for everyone to get together and stay in touch. We have two new couples on our street I haven't met yet. Will meet one of them at a "meet and greet" at one of the neighbors on Thursday.

Larry - I never leave the house unlocked, even for a short errand. And our garage door stays closed! There have been burglaries in the past but none near us. If the door is unlocked I am home.....of course that's no guarantee someone won't break in!   :o

Just saw the news about the apartment high rise in England that's on fire. Praying for them...... Not a good thing to see before I go to bed.

On a happier note, our oldest daughter and her husband are on a road trip with her daughter, son-in-law and two grandsons. The boys are 14 and 8.  Their  first stop was Niagara Falls and today they were at the Badlands National Park in South Dakota. Their destination is Yellowstone Natl. Park. I imagine the return trip will be on a more southerly route. They plan to be gone two weeks. I'm keeping track of them on Facebook. They've posted some beautiful pictures.

Good night all.


larryhanna

Hi everyone. It is another nice morning and we expect it to the partly cloudy all day and get to about 92 degrees.  Yesterday was an interesting day as before noon my neighbor stopped in and we visited for over an hour.  Then in late afternoon a good friend from where I used to live and who I saw often was on his was to North Carolina and called from the South Carolina welcome center on I-20 saying he was near by and could he stop by.  He was here in a few minutes and we spent an enjoyable couple of hours visiting.  Then I got a text saying a couple of shirts I had ordered from Costco had been delivered.  I checked and no shirts so I looked at the order and our old address ended up on the order.  I have no idea how that happened but it did.  So today I am going to contact my former next door neighbor and ask for his help as he knows the young man who bought our house and hopefully can pick up the package and mail it to me.  So it was not a normal day.

Today we are going to celebrate Father's Day early as Scott has to work on Father's Day.  We will meet at a restaurant and then come to the house to later enjoy cake that our granddaughter is making for the occasion.  Pat has a meeting this morning at the Church with your Gifts group that make things for charity and for the bazaar held in the fall.  So it is going to be a full day.

deAngel, these hot days are sure no time for your AC to act up.  I hope you can get it repaired quickly.  Glad today is to be cooler for you today. 

Marilyne, like you we have never owned two homes at once other than in the process of buying one and selling the other.  However, years ago we did have a membership in a nice camping resort that had small campers you could reserve and stay in overnight and that fishing and swimming and other activities.  I think the kids enjoyed it and Pat liked to fish.  As I recall we didn't use it very much and stayed overnight just a time or two as it wasn't too far from where we lived and nicer to sleep in our own beds and go to the resort area on day trips.  I enjoy your discussion of your memories as I do all that everyone cares to share here.

Mary Ann, it was very considerate of you to have your cottage built so your dad could enjoy it with you.  Your experiences growing up and meeting other family members at vacation spots sounds very wonderful  and has given you great memories.  Growing up on a dairy farm we only took one or two one-week vacations all the time I was growing up and that involved visiting relatives in Denver although one of the trips was through the Black Hills in South Dakota.  It was summertime and before A/C in cars.  I remember my sister having her head out the car window with the air blowing her hair.

Beverly, I know what bocce ball is but what is bocce-golf?  Sorry you didn't win but hope you enjoyed it as that is the main thing.  Nice that you have "meet and greet" affairs for new neighbors.  That certainly doesn't happen around here.  Jackie mentioned the high rise fire in England but all that Fox News is talking about is the shooting of the two Congressmen at the park ball field where they were practicing for an annual charity game.  Fortunately the shots were not fatal.  I hope your daughter and family have a wonderful trip out West.  Nice you can follow their trip via Facebook. 

Jeanne Lee

Terrible breaking news from both sides of the world this morning. 

A tragic high rise apartment fire in London, England, with fatalities.  Started at 1:00 a.m. London time.

A shooting of congressmen and aides in Alexandria, Virginia. At 9:00 a.m. EDT they still don't know who the gunman was or why.

Click for Corinth, New York Forecast

Mary Ann

Beverly, thank you for getting the ball rolling last night.  It just seems that the folders where I post have so few posts.  It worries me a bit, but maybe the hot weather is keeping people away from computers.

I'm drying off from my shower and hair washing.  Usually our lawns are mowed on Thursday, but I've heard them all around today.  That has to be a hot job. 

Radar shows rain around us, even over us, but everything is dry.  I bought a beautiful plant last week (don't know the name) and the hot weather has almost done it in.  I almost drown it in water and there are some new buds on it.  I wish I could take the hose to my plants on the deck but I have to fill a milk jug with water and water them.  It takes a couple of trips to take care of them. 

I haven't read the news yet, except I did see the headline about the high-rise fire in England.  I'll read about that and the congressmen when I go to the news.  What is this world coming to!?  I'm so glad my future is behind me!

Larry, you did have a busy morning yesterday, but it sounds like it was leisurely with visiting and no work.

My dad and I took several trips out west both in the summer when he was still teaching and later after he retired we could go whenever we wanted because I could take my vacations during the year.  I loved it out west and wanted to go with Jim, but he wasn't interested.  We had some very nice trips, however, not to the west I wanted to see (we did go to the Pacific Northwest  - Seattle - and that is "west"!

That sort of travel is over for me.  I guess I have to say scenic trips are my "thing" and I take that in when I do ride somewhere.

Mary Ann

Marilyne

Yesterday was one of those rare, "perfect", weather days, the falls between too cold and too hot.  It was about 76 degrees, and the sharp wind that had been blowing for a week, finally turned into a gentle breeze.  I enjoyed being outside and even went for a short walk. Today is supposed to start turning hot, and by tomorrow, temps will be in the 90's.

Regarding the news: It does seem like lately, there's a catastrophic event going on somewhere in the world, every single day.  Sometimes it's terrorist related . . . it's hard to remember anymore, there are so many random shootings.  The one involving the House baseball practice this morning, has yet to be resolved.  The fire in the London high rise, is just terrible.   The news story that really shocked and saddened me yesterday, was the one about the young American college student, who was arrested in North Korea in Jan. 2016, for stealing a political poster off of a wall.  He was tried and convicted and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor.  Now he has been released, but is in a coma, from a years worth of torture and beatings. (according to witnesses).  There are so many frightening news stories every day, that you just can't keep up wth them.

Mary Ann

Kendrick and I just came in from the deck.  All was so calm and suddenly the wind kicked up and I decided we should come in.  We are predicted to have a storm and the wind could be blowing it in.  I just looked at the radar and a storm is near but no rain yet.

You would have laughed at Kendrick on the deck.  There are birds nests on the supports below for the deck and Kendrick could hear and probably smell them.  If he could have gotten between the boards, he would have, but there is only about 1/32 of an inch between them, just enough space for water to drain through. 

Tom is in Holland with a friend and I know he won't be home before the storm starts, however, weather doesn't bother him with driving.  And maybe by the time he heads home the storm will be have passed.

James and Alicia have invited us to their place for Father's Day - they are the parents of the twin girls, who now are four months old.  Tom said the last time he saw them, they seemed to look at him and recognize he was someone other than a parent.  They might be ahhing and googling by now; it's been a long time since we've had four month old babies in the family.

Mary Ann

Beverly

#5360
Good evening all.

As Joan Lavelle (Biscuit) used to say on SeniorNet, I had my hair kinked this afternoon.  :) I can usually go 4 or 5 months between perms but this last one fizzled out in less than 3 months. I have thin, very fine hair and the perm makes it easier to deal with.

We had a lot of storm clouds but nothing developed. Rain is in the forecast for tomorrow. Hope they mow our lawn soon. With all the rain lately it's getting very long.

My family made it to Mt. Rushmore today and took some more beautiful photos. My daughter and SIL bought a new 50x zoom camera before they left. 14 yr. old great grandson, Trevor, is also posting pictures, probably taken with his cell phone. He has used the word "awesome" several times to describe the views.  :) When my daughter first told me about her plans for taking this family vacation, I said that I hoped they still liked each other when they got home.  :D

Mary Ann - I think Kendrick is good company.  Long ago I decided that if I am ever alone, I will have a little dog I can take anywhere and doesn't require a lot of walking. I haven't lived alone since we were married just before my 19th birthday, though Chape did travel quite a bit for his job. That's pretty much a whole lifetime!

Larry - Bocce-golf is played on a bocce court with a putter and golf balls. The object of the game is the same......the winners are the team who gets the most golf balls nearest to the pallino  (ball). Hard to understand how they sent the shirts to your old address. Have you ordered from Costco since you moved?

Marilyne - I know what you mean about bad/sad news. Years ago when things happened you only heard about it on the 5 o'clock and late night news and then you seldom saw graphic pictures. Sometimes it's good to just turn off the TV.

Jeanne Lee - I don't even want to know all that happened with that fire. What a horrific thing! I fear fires and know I wouldn't want to live in a high-rise. Haven't "spoken" to you in awhile. How have you been?


larryhanna

Hi everyone. It looks like we are in for another low 90's day but do have some chance of rain later today and for the next several days.  I will go to the men's coffee this morning after picking up my friend at the assisted living facility.  I am not going to attend the Wisdom group at church as have several other things to accomplish this morning and just have limited energy. 

Yesterday the builder brought and put down a block of sod over the exposed irrigation pipe in the back yard which I certainly appreciated.  Late yesterday afternoon Scott, Jennifer, Pat and I went to the new Diablos restaurant here in North Augusta for our Father's Day Celebration and then spent the early evening hours visiting after coming back the house.  My granddaughter gave me a beautiful Grandfather card.  We didn't have the cake as she wasn't feeling well enough to make it and we certainly didn't need it after having the Tex-Mex meal out. 

Mary Ann, I hope you got some good rain yesterday.  I see the US Open Golf Tournament is being played at a new course in Wisconsin with 49 of the top 50 golfers in the world competing.  Nice you can look forward to seeing those twin babies on Father's Day.

Beverly, it sounds like your family are enjoying their long motor trip seeing the sites in the West.  Dogs are a lot of company but do require a lot of care each day.  Our days of dogs and cats is over and will just enjoy the stories about them from our son and granddaughter.  Our granddaughter has a new puppy that is going to be a big dog.  Thanks for the info on Bocce-golf. 

Marilyne, it seems we don't get too many of those perfect weather days.  Glad you could enjoy yours.  We sure haven't had many of them here this Spring and now summer is almost here.  It sounds like you will be experiencing the same temperature we are to have today.  The punishment certainly didn't fit the crime for that young man in North Korea.  I fail to understand why anyone would voluntarily go there anyway as it certainly isn't a safe place to be.


Mary Ann

Larry, we did have some rain overnight, but it wasn't a storm because I never heard a thing; I only saw wet pavement this morning.  I think we will have another hot day today and after the rain, our humidity may be higher.  The last several days our humidity has been less than 50%.  I'm waiting for the a/c to go on, but it may wait a while.

Larry, I see where Phil Mickelson officially withdrew from the Open as he will attend his daughter's high school graduation. 

Mary Ann

SCFSue

Good for Phil Mickelson!  High School Graduation is very important to a teen!

SCFSue

Marilyne

Beverly - Mt. Rushmore, is truly an awesome site, so I can understand why your grandson used that term to describe his feelings.  My husband and I were so impressed, and stayed there most of the day,  just sitting and admiring that magnificent sculpture!  When we left there, we visited the Badlands National Park, and spent a day there.  We had never seen a buffalo, up close and personal until then.  It's a sight that will take your breath away!  The many photos and movies we had seen over the years of buffalo, didn't prepare us for how BIG they are!

Larry - Looks like you had a nice early Father's Day celebration with your son and granddaughter.  I don't know yet what Sunday will consist of here?  Our son, and his wife and daughter, are leaving for Oregon tomorrow, to attend the college graduation of their son (and brother) from Oregon State U., in Corvallis.  They will be gone until Monday.   They're coming over here this afternoon to leave their dog with us until they return.

Mary Ann - As I just mentioned to Larry, Cocoa, the chocolate Labrador Retriever, will be arriving today to spend the weekend.  That means Winnie, will be biding his time in the basement.  He'll probably be very comfortable down there, as our temps are supposed to soar tomorrow into the mid 90's, and then into the 100's over the weekend. :P  He's happy to spend a few days in the basement, rather than having to deal with Cocoa.

angelface555

Good morning. It has been a somber week here. The triplet that has been in the hospital has died although that was not a surprise as he had never been strong due to some issues.

And a good friend who had a sister and brother pair of Lhasa Apsos for twelve years, woke up to find the blonde female had died overnight.

The weather has been in the low eighties and some wind but the rains are due back again this weekend.

Farrah has cleared another boundary where before she would lay by you but with just enough distance that you couldn't easily grab her. Now she just lays down close to you although never stays long. She has been enjoying watching the different birds surf the winds and some have new young trying out their wings. Outside my balcony is the middle of the top third of three birch trees, close enough to scrape my bedroom window in strong winds. So there are several types of smaller birds, then pigeons, inland seagulls, and some hawks to watch.

Marilyne, we have both Wood Bison here and also Musk ox which are both huge. I do not know if MaryAnn saw them while she was here or not but the Wood Bison is related to the Plains Buffalo. It sometimes would be nice if we lived close enough to see each other's areas.

Mary Ann

#5366
Patricia, I don't recall seeing any large animals in Alaska, but when Jim and I were driving back from North Dakota, we were on a road, maybe in the South Dakota Bad Lands, and traffic stopped.  Coming toward us were several buffalo who ignored us and kept on going to wherever they were going.  When they left, we started up and a few miles down the road, there were more buffalo.  My dad and I drove to Mount Rushmore one year but I don't recall seeing any buffalo on that trip.  As has been said, Mount Rushmore is very impressive.

Kendrick either lies in front of the slider door or on the deck floor and watches the birds.  And he'll position himself as if he's going to pounce on a bird, but there's no bird, only the sound below the deck.  He is funny!

Marilyne, I don't know what Kendrick would do if a dog appeared in my house.  I understand he was brought up with dogs, but he was five months old when Annie bought him and he hasn't seen a dog since.  My neighbor lets her cat out when she is working in our gardens and the cat stays close by her.  I don't feel I can let Kendrick out because he would not stay close to me.  And I have no idea what he would do with another cat in the vicinity.  I still make him stay inside.

It's almost 90 here but I'm enjoying the air being on.  I'll pay for it when I get my electric bill.

Mary Ann

angelface555

MaryAnn, the wood bison is slightly larger than the buffalo, comes from the same family, but different species, similar to the crow and raven's differences. They are native to the Interior. There are other subspecies such as Mountain Bison that are not located in Alaska.

"Although plains bison are similar in appearance to wood bison, wood bison are on average about 15% heavier than plains bison. A wood bison's hump is taller and has its highest point forward of the front legs. The wood bison has woolly hair along its ribs, where plains bison have very short hair."

http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=woodbison.main

Musk Oxen are native to Asia and Alaska's Interior, probably from the ancient land bridge. They are another species from the same general family.

http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=muskoxidentification.maturecows

Mary Ann

Patricia, I am sure what we saw were plains bison. 

I haven't been able to watch the PGA Golf Tour because the LPGA is playing in Grand Rapids, about a mile or two north of where I live.  I haven't seen, but they may show the PGA Tour this evening.  On weekend, when there is a conflict or more than one important tour, they switch to CBS or NBC.  But not on Thursday or Friday.  Oh well, I'll survive!

Mary Ann

angelface555

I'm sorry, MaryAnn, I wasn't clear in what I meant. I was still speaking of Alaska and not North Dakota. I have seen Rushmore twice, once in childhood and once soon after they began working on Crazy Horse's statue in the area and yes it is impressive.