Beetle Lov’n

Wondering if these beetles are thinking spring is in the air with how lovely it’s been weather wise and trying to sneak in a little on-the-go nookie -

Sorry, not sorry, but engaging in a bit of shagging on the walking trail doesn’t grant you privacy, so there’s that!

No Blues Here

Not the bestest picture but it’s the closest I could zoom in with my iPhone. I need a nice 35mm camera with a zoom lens so I can take better close up pics, anyone?!

That’s a blue bird perched atop the light post -

I’ve seen quite a lot of these beauties this fall out back, hanging around the storage unit and back deck. A VERY welcome visitor!

Poo Happens

So, even though Halloween is officially over, trick-or-treating on the walking trail is very much still a thing.

However, there is no “treat” in this trick or treating. Rather the “trick” is trying to determine, as you’re walking on now leaf covered walking trails, what are leaves and what are piles of dog shit 💩!

The winner goes home with clean (relatively speaking) walking shoes. The loser goes home a little something extra with them 😉, ewww

YES! I kid you not, this IS a real hazard ⚠️!

Find The Critter

Can you find the critter in the below pic -

 

Press 1 And Go Mad!

This was literally me this past week making a few call and after getting stuck in call center phone menu hell, a.k.a. Automated Phone Purgatory (APP) -

I was initially going to ask y’all who else gets to the end of their rope and begins screaming “REPRESENTATIVE” over and over and over into their phones when making calls into businesses?!

But after doing a Google-machine search to find a suitable image for this post, and seeing the results and options, it’s clear EVERYONE does this! No wonder American blood pressures are SO darn high!

Honestly, companies that make you press nine buttons, repeat your birthdate three times, and have their customers shouting ‘representative’ at an automated system shouldn’t get to call that customer service!

Get Out And Enjoy

It’s shaping up to be another perdy day -

The Colors Of Fall

Fall’s here yo -

A For Effort

I’m not gonna be the bad guy here but someone outta tell this terrific looking squash plant growing along my walking trail that it’s to little too late and that the growing season is over -

Gonna be hard pressed to find a bee 🐝  or two 🐝🐝 out there still working to help pollinate at this time of the year.

Luv the never give up attitude though!

Call Of Nature

Mother Nature called while I was out on my walk yesterday morning and the urge to shake the dew off my trouser Lilly was just too strong to ignore.

The good news was that I literally had the entire walking trail all to myself, first time that I didn’t pass a single soul, so I was free to pick a tree, any ole tree, to “water” 🤣.

Unbeknownst to me, the walnut tree that I chose to snuggle up against to nourish, just so happened to have Rocky, the forest park ranger, squirrel 🐿️ sitting in it.

I’m not sure what it was that scared the little fella as I unzipped my fly 😉 but the critter started to squawk, chatter and carry on as it began to zigzag higher up the tree.

In the process of leaping from limb to limb Rocky shook loose one of the last remaining walnuts that had been hanging on for dear life or did he intentionally drop said projectile, hmm 🤔? I guess we’ll never know. 

And can you guess where that walnut fell ⁉️ 

You got it, knocked me right on the noggin! Fortunately for me it was a smaller walnut and may have hit a branch or two on the way down to soften the blow 🤕. Seems Sir Isaac Newton and I now have something similar in common…

I could swear that when I looked up that son of a bitch Rocky was sitting there laughing 😆 and giggling 🤭.

I didn’t know I had to wear a hard hat while having a getting-back-to-nature piddle.

Live and learn.

Danger Will Robinson!

I came across the above news story this morning out of Knoxville -

This incident reminded me that when I was driving to the Knoxville airport in the early morning of Saturday October 24, I passed a car traveling in the WRONG direction on the SAME Interstate 40!!

The car was heading west in the east bound side of Interstate 40! The west and east bound lanes are divided by concrete jersey barriers, so there was NO mistaking what was happening! 

Fortunately, being it was around 3-3:30AM, there were almost no vehicles on the road, so I saw the car coming towards me. However, there was no where for me to go had the car been headed at me in my lane, as there were barriers on both sides of that stretch of interstate. Thankfully, there were two east bound lanes, the car was not driving very fast, rather more at a puttering (I’m lost and confused) speed, and remained in it (wrong) lane - I didn’t notice any swerving but it all happened so fast!

I will say that the area this occurred in was a construction zone, so it was a bit confusing. Perhaps, the driver simply got confused with the signage, lane shifts and all, dunno!

It all happened SO fast but thinking back, it certainly could have had a different outcome for me. Hoping the knucklehead made it safely back into the proper side of the interstate AND without causing any accidents to others.

Come on people, pay attention!!

#Blessed

Just Saying

Buh-bye!

I slept like a baby last night after receiving the below Apple pop up message on my phone -

It’s not that I am a Golden State Valkyries fan, nor am I an Atlanta Dream fan, rather SO SO happy that the arrogant Angel Reese lost!

Oh, and least we forget about the antics both of these WNBA teams pulled with the national anthem…

She loves to run her mouth and thinks she’s “all that”, so where was she when it mattered most?

She scored one point and did not attempt a field goal in the fourth quarter of a game seven with the championship on the line, sheesh!

It was her fourth consecutive game with more turnovers than field goals made. Across those four games, she shot 12-for-45 (26.7%) and committed 19 turnovers, YIKES!

Her stats speak for themselves!

Soybean Harvesting

The soybeans, along the trail I walk, was harvested when I was away this past week -

I’m a bit disappointed, as I was hoping to catch the harvesting in process to see it in action and how it’s done.

And it sure looks different -

There’s another field of soybeans nearby, that was planted later in the summer, that look like they’ll be needing harvesting soon too -

Interesting how it would seem the farmers let the plants die back completely before harvesting. Perhaps, it helps the process when most of the leaves have fallen off on their own before the combine comes rolling through.

The walk is already looking drab with most of the summer greenage all but gone and the blah colors of fall replacing them, alas.

Circle of life I suppose.

East Tennessee Mystery

I spotted the below chrysalis hanging under the overhang of our deck yesterday -

It’s tiny, about 3/4 inches long, grayish with black markings and raised bumps along one side.

Anyone wanna venture a guess at what this chrysalis is and what beauty it will turn into?

I’ve done my research and have a pretty good idea of what this caterpillar/chrysalis will become. If I’m correct, this species can overwinter in the chrysalis stage, which I’m guessing is exactly what it intends on doing since it’s so late in the season.

It’s gonna become…

Drum roll please.

Ta da 🎉 

A beautiful orange and black butterfly called the Variegated Fritillary, see example pic below -

I’ll keep an eye on it, and if I’m lucky I will catch it in time to see it emerge.

Night night, happy overwintering!

Easy Open My Arse

Anyone else struggle with this, or is it another just-me thing?

I’m talking about those heavier, prepackaged plastic bags containing products like shredded cheese, jerky, dog treats, etc., that have a resealable zip closure at the top. You’re supposed to tear off the top portion to open them. See the two examples below -

I always assumed the idea was that when you tear off the top, it would leave a somewhat jagged edge, making it easy to identify and grab each side of the opening to pull apart. Right?!

So WHY is it that whenever I tear one of these bags open, both sides somehow separate almost perfectly evenly, leaving absolutely NO jagged edge to grab onto?

What should literally take 2 seconds turns into a 2-minute wrestling match, followed by elevated blood pressure and questioning my ability to perform one of life’s simplest tasks. 😂

Make Up Your Mind!

To the rollercoaster they call the stock market -

Feed Me 😋!

It was great to be back “home”!

Catching up with family and friends was extra special. I can’t even put into words how meaningful it was to see, hug and spend time with my daughter ❤️!

Took care of several medical appointments, visited my folks grave, drove past my childhood home, my Franklin home (tough one) and the surroundings area to see some of the changes that have occurred since I’ve been gone.

Also, took advantage of the local restaurant and eats that

I’ve been missing. Here are just a few -

A delicious combination Chinese food meal with a Mai Tai to wash it all down with -

A frosty Coors Light in a Boston Bruins glass, which made the elixir taste SO much better -

Just look at this BIG corner piece of pepperoni pizza 🍕, to die for -

My first ever Guinness beer 🍺 -

With a scrumptious bowl of thick and creamy New England clam chowder -

And of course several of my go to Coors Light longneck bottles -

It was a GREAT trip that went by too fast 💨 

#Blessed

Bag-O-Eggs, Maybe

Here’s a peek at this mornings free complimentary hot breakfast -

Doesn’t look too bad and tasted fine.

However, the following is a bit unsettling -

A plastic garbage-type bag filled with egg and cheese omelettes laying on the counter -

Again, they tasted fine but upon further and closer inspection they didn’t look like real eggs at all, nor did the cheese look like cheese…

I guess you get what you pay for.

Patriots Country

Keeping my consecutive days walking streak going while here in Massachusetts, doing laps around Patriots Place, home to Gillette Stadium, each morning -

The weather has been beautiful! A bit chilly but sunny and not a cloud in the sky -

A gentle reminder to all you Eagle and Steelers fans -

The GOAT -

The Final Play, circa January 19, 2002 -

The Patriots Hall of Fame -

Fall in New England, and the New England Patriots, are hard to beat!

Where’s Everybody Going

I do NOT miss this, Monday morning rush hour traffic!

First pic is 7:30am Rt.95 traffic heading into Boston -

Same 7:30am but Rt.1 congestion contending with traffic lights heading into the city -

Complete grid lock! Stop and go, stop and go…

Looking back, I don’t know how I did this every day. SO much time lost just sitting in commuter traffic, while making a living.

The last 15 or so years my round trip commute to and from the office was just over 120 miles a day! Pre COVID I was in the office everyday Monday through Friday.