No Vacancy

Um, pretty sure they’re doing it wrong -

It’s not hide-and-go-seek!

Oh, The Butterflies You’ll See

The walking trail has been loaded with a variety of butterflies the last month or so!

From Monarchs and Swallowtails to the likes of Cloudless Sulphurs, Pearl Cresents, Skippers and Painted Ladies, pictured below -

The flit from flower to flower and seem to always be in a hurry. Suppose they’re well aware the seasons are changing and in a hurry to get things done!

I’ll keep enjoying them for as long as they’re around.

The Wait Is A Killer…

Having to wait in the waiting room for your oral surgeon to call you for your procedure is a different kind of torture 🤕!

Well, I was finally called at 12:58PM for my scheduled 12:00PM appointment; the one I had previously scheduled four months earlier!

Apparently, the office was down a person, so said the doctor when he came into the exam room. Okay, shit happens I get it but sure would have been nice to be given a heads up when I checked in OR if one of the four receptionists sitting behind the glass would have made an announcement for ALL the folks in the waiting room who were getting antsy and wondering what the deal was, nope 👎 

I can only imagine this pic below is similar to what a death row inmate sees when they’re walked into the execution chamber -

Good news, bad news -

After reviewing the X-ray that was taken minutes earlier, the doctor wants to wait a bit longer, giving the graft more time to, graft. So I got a stay of execution so to speak and pushed the post install (attempt #2) out to mid-December.

Would have preferred to have installed today, as this has been a horrible long drawn out process but at the same time I don’t want to rush things if the doc doesn’t think it’s ready.

So, to take the edge off I opted to stop on my way home and enjoyed a frosty Coors Light 🍺! This was a much better alternative to the yogurt and chocolate Ensure I had planned for my post surgery meal.

Find The Critter

Can you find the critter in the pic below?

It’s a nice picture of the trees but not so much of the critter I’ve been trying to photograph - 

I’m not familiar with this bird, and until spotting it here around our pond, it’s my first time actually seeing one in person.

They seem like a very skittish bird, similar to the Blue Jay, as it takes off as soon as I near the pond, so this is the best I’ve been able to do so far but will keep trying.

It’s a Kingfisher; I believe a Belted Kingfisher!

And a very cool looking bird!

“The Best Part Of Waking Up…”

I deer 🦌 you to tell me… -

…that today isn’t shaping up to be a beautiful day -

Double deer dare yeah!

When 4 Is Too Much

Well, that’s three hours that I’m never getting back…

I watched John Wick 4 last night and what a terrible decision that was!

Some say the stunts were great. Some say the camera angles were great. Some say the fight scenes were great but I beg to differ.

I mean, yeah, some of the fight scene choreographies were cool but too much is too much. How many times after hitting someone or shooting someone and they’re still coming is too much?! Also, the plot itself was weak and blah.

I don’t know about you all but I’ve been brought to a knee before and essentially incapacitated by sneezing, reaching for something awkwardly or simply bending to tie my sneakers. So, when you watch John Wick roll down 30 flights of stairs or fall from the top of a building or get hit by a car and he’s fine and continues to fight as if nothing happened, sorry that’s a bit much, for me anyway.

I’m partial to the quick realistic punishment/justice handed down by the likes of Jason Statham (Wrath of Man, A Working Man, etc.) and Denzel Washington (The Equalizer, Safe House, etc.) type movies. They administer quick, no nonsense, real life type justice and NOT the long boring, drag out fighting of SO many tough guy movies…

Maybe John Wick 4 is two too many?!

Just one man’s opinion.

Smell-O-Vision, Maybe

Or perhaps, scratch-and-sniff.

If only this was a thing. Someday maybe 🤔 

You need to smell 👃the drying tobacco to appreciate it. Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s not the bestest smell, like say fresh cut hay but it does have a unique somewhat likable odor that has mellowed since its original hanging -

And from my novice perspective, I’d say it’s curing quite nicely!

When it was first hung, it had a smell similar to fresh cut hay. However, after drying for a couple months now, it has a kinda rich, earthy, woody and old weathered barn smell 👃.

I’m not a smoker but just might need to sneak a piece and give it a taste toke…yeah know, the whole when it Rome thing.

Find The Critter

 Can you find the critter in the first picture below? Here’s a clue, it’s green -

How about in the second pic? I made this one a bit easier for you all, at least I believe I did -

Okay fine, how bout in this third picture below, any easier, GEESH -

A BIG beautiful, green female Chinese mantis!

The Weather’s Changing

You know it was a bit chilly on the walking trail this morning when “no shirt guy” was actually wearing a shirt -

And NO, this does NOT now make him “shirt guy”, sorry not sorry.

Make It Make Sense

STILL missing you 😢…

An Everyday Occurrence

Is it me, or do y’all experience the same thing? It’s me, isn’t it? You can tell me. Be honest, I can take it. 😢

Ever notice how, when you’re cooking pasta, you stab and stab and STAB, trying to harpoon a single piece with your fork to test if it’s done? Ziti in my case this afternoon. And for the life of you, every single stab comes up empty.

BUT… once it’s plated and you’re digging in, you inevitably harpoon one or two pieces too many, and suddenly you CANNOT get those little fuckers off your fork! 😩😂

Welcome to my world 🌎 

Magoo, You Road Hog

Literally vehicle traffic on the walking trail yesterday afternoon, I kid you not -

I’ve run into numerous critters on the trail, even been stared down by a mother daughter deer duo, had to navigate puddles following some of the downpours, lawn mowing crews and circumvent inconsiderate people walking two and three abreast but never an actual vehicle!

Oh my, things are done a bit different here in these parts!

Well, That Took A While

Timbercreek, the manufacturer of our house, FINALLY sent out their “fix it” crew, a husband and wife duo, to address our concerns and fix and repair all the outstanding issues with their terrible manufacturing, and the issues caused by the transporting of our house from NC!

It’s been a long wait, having been in the house since early May and here it is October, but they say good things come to those that wait.

Most of the items have been addressed. Here is Shannon putting the finishing touches, paint, on the living room ceiling. Oddly, the living room ceiling sustained numerous cracks in the plaster as a result of the moving of the house -

It’s a textured ceiling, so after the sanding and patching of the cracks, a mop-type brush was used to slap textured paint  overtop of the repairs. Looking today, you can’t even tell where the issues were -

They do need to come back one more time to finish. They didn’t have all the proper supplies in their truck to fix a couple things.

Although, Timbercreek needs to improve greatly on their overall shoddy workmanship and lack of quality controls when building their manufactured homes, they did what’s right and took care of our issues.

The company we purchased the home from, Yurezz, filed for bankruptcy protection not long after we got our occupancy permit. Yurezz was supposed to do their final walkthrough with us to review our issues list. It was scheduled but canceled the day before, which coincided with the closing of all their lots and the arrest of the owner of the company for embezzlement!

At the end of the day, and in the grand scheme of things, we got SUPER lucky and have not been adversely effected by the mismanagement and charades of Yurezz.

Checkered

Here’s a pretty cool looking butterfly. One most might not even recognize as a butterfly because they’re so small as compared to the likes of Monarchs and Swallowtails -

The common-checkered skipper, aka, burnsius communis -

There are oodles of these black and white checkered beauties all along the walking path recently, which is spot on for this time of year; they’re right on time!

They seem to like to fly low to the ground and favor sunny open spaces and are constantly flitting about.

Ankle Biter

OUCH 🤕!

Well, there’s a first time for everything they say.

I had a first today! I got stung by a bumblebee 🐝, YES a bumblebee! The Amish of the bee world - gentle, hardworking and steady, who are reliable, focused and unbothered by the rush of the world, THAT BEE!

It was in the inside of my left ankle. Fortunately, it was through my sock, which is why it was only a little ouchie and not a BIG ouchie. However, it got my attention to say the least!

My first reaction, after swatting the critter off, was to stomp on the dude. But when I saw that it was the lovable bumblebee 🐝 that had caused the pains I let it “bee” and go on its merry way.

Could have been worse for me too, as bumblebees have smooth stingers, lacking the backward facing barbs of other bees. Therefore, their body stays intact following a sting which allows them to sting their target more than once.

Chance are high that had this dude stung me multiple time I would NOT have let it go on its merry way…

Pay Attention

I’ve uncovered a new danger lurking on the walking trail!

No, it’s not black bears. No, it’s not racial graffiti written on the sidewalk in chalk, nor is it the pile of poop that some person (I kid you not!) took the liberty of depositing just off the walking trail, nope! Rather, it’s walnuts! 

The walnuts have begun to ripen and fall and there are oodles of them! Besides being messy, they’re covering some sections of the walking trail -

And they blend in with the falling leaves that are also littering the path. The danger is if you’re not paying attention you risk stepping on one of these walnuts.

Something so simple and innocuous could very well end up being a possible twisted ankle or knee or back, or worse, a break! Also a challenge when your fighting off kamikaze gnats.

Just a heads up and another PSA by yours truly!

It Is Sunday After All

Almost Roadkill

There was quack a back up on Oakdale drive this morning -

Thirteen of these Muscovy ducks out and about enjoying the rainy morning. Crossing the street like bosses without a care in the world.

They were quite a ways away from their home base and playing in the street is not good for their health or longevity -

Interestingly, these ducks are owned by the same family of the runway pig I posted about back in late August, and these are the same ducks that I hear quack, quack, quacking most evenings.

A good, healthy looking flock of Muscovies too. I’m a big fan of the chocolate colored critters.

I texted the owner to give her a heads up. She thanked me, was puzzled at where they were, and told me they were working on building a pen for them.

Pick Me, Pick Me

That didn’t take long at all.

The field corn 🌽 running along a quarter mile of the walking trail is Tusculum was harvested this past week, only took them a couple days -

I need to do some research to understand the process, as I had assumed that the entire corn stalks; ears of corn, stalks and all of the plant, was processed and used for the silage. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case. Rather, it looked like the corn 🌽 was removed from the cobs and then the cobs and casings were discarded back onto the field, see example below - 

Also, the first pass that the combine made looks like it cut the stalks about one to two feet up from the ground leaving a considerable amount of stalk behind, see below -

When all was said and done, the field is littered with the unused pieces and parts of the stalks and the stalks cut off at ground level. I’m assuming this will all eventually be tilled into the soil and used to feed and enhance the soil for next years crop -

It sure looks different and what an absolutely beautiful day it was yesterday -

I also need to read up on soybean harvesting. The back half of the above pic is a field of soybean, that I’m assuming will be processed soon. It’s interesting, as it looks like they wait for plant to completely die and dry up before picking.

Wax On, Wax Off

Left boot is before and the right boot is after -

Thought it a good idea to finally apply some waterproofing/leather protectant to my work boots today. They’re older and a bit beat up but hoping to extend their life by applying some TLC; long overdue TLC.

I’m ready, let the snow fall…

Mammalian Secretions

So what’s the deal with these East Tennessee kamikaze gnats?? Guessing they’re eye gnats, (yes, eye gnats are a real type of gnat that are attracted to mammal secretions, yummy 😋 ). Can somebody please explain?

Due to a prior commitment I was unable to go for my morning walk, so instead I opted for an evening walk yesterday.

Morning walks are much more peaceful and enjoyable; I prefer that time of the day. It’s quieter, before everything and everybody awakens, and the hustle and bustle starts.

Although, there were more people on the walking path yesterday afternoon and you could hear the roaring and droning of the rush hour vehicles on nearby 107, it was still enjoyable.

That was until the East Tennessee kamikaze gnats came out, and in force they came!!

Those dudes are relentless and what’s the attraction to the face, eyes, nose, ears and mouth, OMG!

In the span of less than one mile I had eaten five (not willingly of course), protein I didn’t ask for or need, dug three out of my left nostril (what a sight, as I was knuckles deep rooting around and trying to stop the sneezing fit), one out of my left ear and was nearly blinded by three others that imbedded themselves in my left eye!

After ridding myself of these ilks, and once the blurry vision cleared and I could see again, I opened my Amazon app and ordered myself one of them thar beekeepers hat and veil combos <wink>. I’m sure I’ll get some side eye and weirdo looks but c’mon safety first!

I have a new appreciation for livestock; horses, cows, etc., as well as deer and other animals that these gnats and other annoying flying pester and bother constantly.

Anyway, I digress, my afternoon walk was relaxing despite being attacked by East Tennessee kamikaze gnats.

Where’d Y’All Go?!

Another post-season disappointment by the Boston Red Sox, and again to our dreaded rivals, the New York Yankees.

Sox bats went cold, so did their offense and overall performance, being outscored 18-2 in just two games. It’s embarrassing really and SO frustrating.

So this FU goes out to, of course the Yankees, but also to the Sox’s too for disappearing yet again in the post season when it matters most.

The better team; the team that wanted it badly enough, rose to the occasion and won, so congrats NY.

Sox, well clean out your lockers and piss off!

Love ❤️ me!