Rammal, I don't mind giving my real name.  I was born in May 1929 & my family name was Mason.  I was Mary Page Mason, until I married.  There are of course many other family names involved in many other kin.  Cousins & suchlike.

Hi, Mary de!

Mary Page, what a sweet story of Mile's giving the lady a hug. I think that made her day.

Barb, I have become the world's best procrastinator when it comes to exercise.  I do spend Friday with my 3 yr. old great grandson who keeps me going for four hours, but boy am I pooped when hubby & I get home.  I used to be an exercise fanatic and now my treadmill collects dust, my videos are packed in boxes in the laundry room and the ab roller has managed to make it out to the garage. I do love the part of waking up with a purpose. 

Marilyne, I so agree wholeheartedly with you saying to keep up with driving if possible.  Since my hubby retired, we sold my car and went down to just the one, he does all the driving and even though I was never a confident driver it did give me a sense of independence.  I know I can still drive, but only short distances because I have NO sense of direction even with a gps. lol 

In Looking at the Virginia lines of the Mason family who came over here from England, I see the first native-born came along in 1677. I expect that settled the FFV thing.

🌷🌹 HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY  🌹🌷

https://www.seniorsandfriends.org/card-shoppe/holidays-birthdays-etc/msg262034/#msg262034

Interesting article,

"Chimps Got the Rhythm

A new study revealed chimpanzees drum with rhythm when they bang on tree trunks and share similarities with humans in their ability to hold a beat. The discovery, in one of the closest relatives to modern humans, sheds light on the evolutionary building blocks of music.

The behavior is believed to be a form of long-distance communication (read study) and suggests the chimps employ different sequences depending on the social situation. Researchers who analyzed 11 communities of chimps across six populations and two subspecies found groups from separate regions of Africa produced different rhythms for the same context, suggesting the mammals independently developed their own methods of communication.

The study also hints at a longstanding anthropological question—despite being a common human experience, how and why humans produce music remains unclear. 

The study comes on the heels of a separate observation of an individual Californian seal—named Ronan—that can keep time via rhythmic beats."

Just saw another way...

Repel Ants

If your house has an ant problem, sprinkle some table salt on your countertop or by cracks in doors or windows. Since salt is dehydrating, ants will avoid it. This low-cost solution minimizes the need for harmful pest-killing chemicals in and around your house.

Patricia, we had an ant problem here in the kitchen that continued on for most of this recent Winter.  First I tried the salt and then baking soda. After neither of those worked, I went through a variety of other kitchen cupboard suggestions, like cinnamon, paprika, cooking oils, and of course keeping counters and sink wiped down with vinegar.  Nothing deterred those little guys!  This went on for a couple of months until I finally agreed to a poison.    I hated  to do it, and left it up to my husband to take care of.  He put a small cotton boll with a few drops of the stuff on it, in a corner of the counter. In the morning there was not a single ant left. Totally gone, and none have returned.  It still makes me feel bad, but by then I could see that none of the natural things were ever going to work.  Ants are fascinating and harmless.  I wanted them to live, but I also wanted them out of my kitchen.

Your message before the ants, about the chimps was interesting . . . the fact that they like rhythm, and that they have developed different types of rhythm to communicate with each other was fascinating.  I've also read that most domestic animals and farm animals are soothed by soft music, when they're sick or stressed.   During many of the wildfires here in CA, when dogs, cats and horses were evacuated to safe but unfamiliar places,  they were calmed by music. 

Locally, the only ants we have are carpenter ants, which are very bad for wood and houses.

"Carpenter ants are large ants from the genus Camponotus that build nests inside wood by excavating it, creating smooth galleries. Unlike termites, they do not eat wood but discard sawdust-like material outside their nests, and they can cause significant structural damage to buildings."

For me, it's very interesting that all species have a sense of rhythm in one form or another.

I saw a video a couple of years back that showed cows moving toward a group playing classical music nearby. They seemed interested in the music. 

Anybody out there who's interested in Baseball?  See the picture under this message of my great-grandson, Steele, who just turned 20, and is preparing for a career in the majors.  He was "scouted" when he was in high school, and given an athletic scholarship, first to a two year college.  He has now been moved up to the University of San Francisco, and is playing on their team.  He's a pitcher. 

Fabulous Marilyne - how exciting...

Hello Marilyne and Patricia, I'm new. I hope you don't mind my joining the ant discussion. I have quite a bit of non-toxic experience with them. I've dealt with the small black or brown ants that like sugar and fat by first cleaning the entry and trail area with alcohol. It removes the trail they lay down. Then slice a fresh jalepeño or habañero pepper and wipe it across the entry point(s). If the nest originates outside, pour boiling water over it if you can, or mix jelly and borax in a small lid and leave it by the nest. They'll take the "food" back to the nest and it will kill them. Might have to replenish the bait until they stop coming out.

Carpenter ants are a whole different ball game. Find and seal the entry point outside the structure. Then you'll have to kill them when theynshow up inside. Its horrible. I've had invasions 2 years in a row. They get in during the hatch and they're looking for a new nest site. A lot of things that are supposed to repel them according to online experts actually attract them, like vinegar, sweet orange EO or lemon grass EO. The only EO that I've found that works is tea tree/eucalyptus. But you don't want to trap them in your walls, so don't use it until you've killed them, then monitored for several days. When you're sure their gone seal where they were coming out of the wall on the inside. Hope that helps.

Welcome, OnLonelyMountain. I think you will like it here.

Marilyne, how exciting. My best wishes to Steele and his further studies and career.

I am finally started on getting a few things done that have been put off for a while. Next up are to go get my blood-work panel done and to make an appointment for my DEXA scan. I am in the middle of a search for a new bed and mattress. The cats are not going to like it much, but I want a twin sized bed now to make a little more space. With that in mind, I have been getting rid of some old tee-shirts that are particularly cat-holed. I have a ton of t-shirts from when I was working; now I don't need so many. A couple of worn out and no longer fitting jeans have been replaced with lighter pants because I don't need the heavier jeans for yard work anymore. Some socks and shorts have been pitched. Also, I am spending way too much time searching for just the right bed. I want to get rid of the old double bed with a twin size, though the cats are not likely to like that idea. I am also considering buying a smaller car or leasing one like my sister does. This one is still good for its age, but the service guy warned me that the next inspection is likely to flag undercarriage rust and what-not.

Oscar continues to do fairly well on the prednisone. I still don't see that he is gaining much if anything, but he is not curling up into a tight ball sleeping most of the day, more alert, eating a bit better, not making so many trips to the potty-box, and has only spit up twice since he has been on it.

It is still rainy here and will be off and on through week. This weather app on Windows is not particularly accurate. It just updated to claim it will be in the low 80s the rest of the week. Well, very, very briefly. Now it says only two days this week will be over 80. I bet if I look at it again in a few minutes it will say something else. The app on my Fire tablet is not much better, if you ask me. 

Thank you MarsGal.  Sounds like you have a busy day planned.

On LonelyMountain - Good morning to you, and welcome to Bait & Tackle!  It's not about fishing, as it sounds, but about any other subject that you might like to bring up, comment on, or ask about.  The ant problem seems to be one that cycles through every year or so.  As I said in my last message, I hate to resort to any type of poison, but the natural methods just don't work for me.  Fortunately we don't have much of a bug, ant, tick or mosquito problem here.   Snails come every spring, and attack any new plants, but they are easily deterred with a pan of beer. Lots of snakes and lizards that are harmless. Rattlesnakes appear in the neighborhood, but so far not in this yard.
Tell us more about your Lonely Mountain?  Do you live alone?  If so,  hope you have neighbors close so you can call if you need help with any problem? 

Mars - Looks like you're  all prepared to face the Summer . . . getting all the blood work and health necessities out of the way, plus purging your closet and downsizing your bed.  Glad that Oscar is doing so much better, and that the Prednisone is helping him. 
I've been wanting to tell you that I'm almost finished with, "I See you've Called in Dead?" by John Kenny.  I remember that you and Barb mentioned it in Library.  I'm really enjoying it, and will comment on it in Library when I finish.

Marilyne, good afternoon! Glad to hear no rattlesnakes in your yard! I live here in my RV from mid to late April until the snow comes in November. Mostly alone. I have 2 dogs: a standard poodle (SD ret.) and my LGD Kato the Kraken. He's 150 lbs of teeth, muscle and fury. I have bears, wolves, mountain lions, poachers and am being gang stalked by the registered sex offender and his family that bought the property south of mine. I can only assume that he wanted this piece, but I made an offer before he did. shrug. When they started shooting at me I got Kato. Backed them way off. I won't be calling on the neighbors for help. In the winter I return to my farm in the pesticide zone until chemical application begins again in the late winter. I have access to some closed county RV parks that I go to until the road up here opens back up. We are building me a tiny house up here; it will be 2x the size of my RV, warmer/cooler, less pest invasions. Then a permanent house. My husband brings me supplies weekly or so. I keep encouraging him to go fishing and I can last 2 weeks with planning. b/c Care giver burnout. Once I have the tiny house and more space for food, etc, I think he'll feel better about it. My daughter and her family come up for "family camp" for a week and a few other times during the summer. I am off grid, solar and LP.

On LonelyMountain...
...no fun in living off grid, we did for a couple of years, then sadly my hubby died suddenly, leaving me feeling so trapped and without a car, even living amongst people way down in the valleys who just got on with there own lives, but then i moved back towards where we had come from and found my church..

Hm, stalked by a registered sex offender, i hope your police are monitoring his movements...

Welcome OnLonelyMountain!  Living off the grid is interesting to hear about.  I can't imagine not having my neighbors nearby, let alone having a predator so close.  Please be careful.  I grew up in a small rural town with tons of acres of land, my siblings were my only friends growing up so since I married my hubby 54 yrs. ago it's been suburban life for me! 

MarsGal, I am so happy to hear Oscar seems to be doing better.  I too have been cleaning and clearing out a lot of clothes and things I know I won't be using and giving them to my church's annual rummage sale.  Downsizing to a twin bed will just mean the pets will snuggle closer. 

I had an ant problem a few weeks ago in my kitchen and found where they were coming in from and sprayed the entry area then had my hubby use clear calking to seal up the cracks.  So far so good!!

Marilyn, NO thanks for the lizards, snakes etc. Growing up in a rural area I had my full of even gardener snakes.  We have lived in our house in the suburbs for nearly 50 yrs. now and it has an inground pool.  Every year we have to get the pool cover off as soon as we hear the frogs mating at night.  This week they were so loud my neighbor called me and asked what was that sound coming from our backyard and I told her I can't believe you haven't heard it before it's the mating season of the frogs.  I sadly despise frogs so hopefully with the cover off they will go somewhere else.  The first year we realized what was happening is when my nephew came to build us a privacy fence, he came into my kitchen and said, "Aunt Marie, how much do you like frogs?"  I asked why and he told me on the top of my pool cover they had laid thousands of eggs which will be tadpoles if I don't to something FAST. Lesson learned. 

Good Morning Jackie! Yeah, off grid's not for everyone, thats for sure! It wasn't actually something I was planning on, or wanted to do. Its just I can't survive the chemicals in society. So my choice was pretty narrow. I do have a solar system. I love it, when the sun is shining. 🙄 Did you have solar! When I get my wood cookstove installed my solar batteries will last through overcast days. Right now my heat is electric, and its cold! 35°F this morning, felt like 30°.🥶(frozen emoji) So glad that you have your church community! What are you up to today?

Thank you Ciaobella  Your frog story was pretty interesting and entertaining. Do they not lay eggs in the pool?

I try to be extra careful. Three things I never go out without: my cell phone, my pistol, my guard dog. Because of my disability neighbors can't really help me. I'm like that "Boy in the Plastic Bubble" movie from decades ago. Only plastic is toxic to me. My forest is my "bubble." I've been forced to rely mostly on myself for 20+ years. So far so good. If its an emergency I can call my husband. I have a couple of LEOs I can call also for poachers and trespassers. I'm much safer up here than back in society. I can at least see the predators coming. I can't see the chemicals before they get me.

I loved my wood burner, back when I had one. Top was just the right size so I could cook down tomatoes for sauce, made lovely stews, grilled cheese and pancakes. Sometimes I would wrap corn on the cob and potatoes and stick them in the wood chamber. I didn't get too carried away because it was just a small wood burner in the basement.

It looks like the rain is clearing off for a couple of hours so I need to get my trash gathered to carry to the trash bin. I saw the local news this morning that there are small stream and creek flood warnings. Rain is to come back later this afternoon, I think, and more tomorrow.
 

Hey MarsGal, I poked the "like" and it showed a down thumb. I don't knw why that is. I unpoked it. That stew, grilled cheese and corn sounded yummy!

OnLonelyMountain, poking the like button and seeing the downturned thumb means you liked the post. Unpoking it means you removed the liked.

Thank you Patricia19

Good morning to everyone who looks in.  It looks like the start of  a beautiful day here in Northern California.

Ciaobella -  I'm not a big fan of any of the cold blooded critters like frogs, snakes, lizards, etc., but I learned to tolerate them.  My younger daughter spent many summers, catching polliwogs, (as she called them), in a small pond not far from the house.  This area was quite rural then.  Now covered over with houses.  The polliwogs (tadpoles) would grow quickly into frogs, who who would live in our garden, keeping the insects under control.  She also liked snakes, and would catch them and keep them for awhile, and then turn them loose outside    There were a few funny snake incidents that happened, that still bring a smile to my face.  Especially the snake that got loose in the house!     Finally  she settled on turtles, which I liked much better.  They  were nice and slow, and never caused a problem.

OnLonelyMountain -  I'm wondering what chemicals you're sensitive to, and what type of reactions you had to them?  It's hard to get away from chemically grown foods in today's world.  Do you have a vegetable garden on your mountain?  Do you raise chickens for eggs?  Is there a river nearby where you Can go fishing?  Sounds like the Tiny-Home you are building will be comfortable for year-around living.  Do you hope to finish it this Summer?

Sorry for asking so many questions .. . I'm interested in how you pass the time.  Obviously you have a computer, but what about a television or a radio? I've seen pictures of farms and ranches that are  off the grid, and they often have a solar device set up on a frame  in the yard, that works well to heat the house and power all of their appliances. 

That's enough questions for now.  Hope you're having a good day today!       

OnLonelyMountain, no, the frogs lay eggs in shallow water and my pool cover allows rainwater to stand on it, so I suppose it's the perfect environment for their eggs. I've never cared for frogs since I was a kid and was holding one and my mother said if they pee on you, it will cause warts. I actually got a wart on my thumb and as silly as her wives' tale sounded, she took me to my grandfather who was known to rub warts, and they would go away.  Believe it or not, my large wart did indeed go away without any medicine just him rubbing it. He was known to rid many of their warts. lol

Marilyne, the only pets ever allowed in my house were cats & dogs and a parakeet. I seriously creep out at just the mention of snakes. Thanks for asking the questions we all are surely interested in hearing the answers to. 

Vanilla Jackie, Welcome!  My hubby and I have been with our church since 1978, and it is like having an extended family.  We've made such great friendships, our kids and grandkids went through grade school-jr high there, played sports in CYO, and I taught CCD classes to grades Pre K - 8th grade, not to mention the principal and I began the first computer lab with NO background experience whatsoever back in 1983. Now we are EHM serving the Precious Body & Blood.  I don't know what we would do without our Regina Coeli church and school. My sons would love for us to move closer to them 45 minutes away, but we truly love our church so much we can't imagine leaving it. If anything, we are becoming even more involved.  So glad you found comfort in your church.

Hi Marilyne, I don't mind the questions. I was a teacher so educating others is still a passion, especially if it can spare others pain. I got pesticide poisoned back in 1996. It caused immune system disregulation. The harm gets worse with every toxic exposure, big and small. Because pesticide driven ag is the biggest industry in our state, and I fought for disability accommodations for people who are chemically sensitive, I got targeted by a lot of applicators. By the time I was sent home to die in 2004 even plug-in air fresheners and the synthetic fragrances in other people's personal care products were causing life threatening reactions. All synthetic fragrances contain, on average 200 known toxic substances, including insecticide. Insecticides are poisons. Every system in my body would go down, even to the cellular level. Theres a function in the body called apoptosis. When a cell is defective, like in cancer cells, the body sends a signal for the bad cell to commit suicide, by "exploding." With the immune system disregulation my body couldn't make glutathione, the #1 detoxifier. The more toxins I got exposed to the more glutathione was used up. Without glutathione every cell would be defective. I'd get systemic apoptosis and be dying, fastand hard. Thats just one reaction. Its been pretty hairy.

I do have a solar array. I don't watch TV. I clean the forest. In the winter trees blow down. I cut up what I can. My e chainsaw only has a 16" bar, so no big ones. My skill set isn't up to hung up trees or complicated falls. I just do what I can. There's plenty of work. Inforage for food and medicinal plants. I manage the campground: Swings and a fort for the grandkids. I repair the barbed wire fence. And I work on building the tiny house. Its not Permitted for year around residence, no foundation, no sewer, no water plumbed. It gets me a longer stay, with more weather protection, until the permanent structure can be built. I want to have chickens, dairy sheep and honey bees, as well as a small garden. I have predators, so livestock will have to have protection before they can be brought up. I want a greenhouse to extend my growing season and protect my veggies from deer, elk and rodents/cavies. In the meantime I get the cleanest food I can.

I hope you have a lovely day there in N. Cali!😀

Ciaobella,
Your Grandfather had quite the gift!😀