One Person!

 You know what's crazy?

There are 8 billion people in this world and I can't stop thinking about one!

💔

I've Got You (Me Actually) Covered

So, this happened this morning - flannel sheets!

Perhaps, a tad early but the overnight temps have been dropping into the upper 40's and 50's.

It would seem I've taken the old Boy Scout motto, "Be prepared", literally.

Which also mean the flannel shirts will be coming out too!

Eat Your Heart Out Clark W. Griswold!

It's not "metallic pee" in color but look at the station wagon in this pic I took the other day!

OMG! My dad would be in his glory in this bad boy!

Being how we typically traveled as gypsies for our trips to and from West Virginia and Tennessee growing up, this wagon would have allowed my dad to pack and load more "shite"!

Who knew there was such a beauty?!

Will Wonders Never Cease!

It's taken years but yesterday was the day it happened, my paver walkway FINALLY got repaired!

Pavers were sinking causing the walkway to become uneven, several edge pieces had even come completely loose and the polymeric sand, the sand between the pavers (cracks), needed to be replaced.

Frustratingly, the company that did the original install has been bread crumbing me the last couple years but my persistence paid off and they stepped up and did the right thing to fix their work.

There are a couple more items from the original job that need to be repaired, so fingers crossed they continue to step up and do the right thing and schedule the repairs soon.

Caught Yeah (Pics)!

Here are a few pics that Emilie took back in April of some of the critters who call my little piece of heaven their home too - 

She has a good eye with the camera!

 

STOP And Go Away!

Okay, show of hands, who has had it with these mint mobile ads?!

I am a fan of Ryan Reynold movies; Deadpool, Safe House, The Hitman's Bodyguard, even The Proposal to name a few.  He is very successful in both acting and business (investing), however, he's quickly falling out of favor with me due to the incessant mint mobile ads that are everywhere.

Seems almost every internet article I click on these days is preceded with his latest "100th mint commercial" video, ENOUGH!

Ads are super annoying in general and everywhere now; Internet articles, movie streaming services, even my solitaire game that came installed with the Windows operating system has ads, UGH.

You just can't escape them, ALAS.

Such Emptiness...

💔

Dry As A Bone Around These Parts!

UGH!  Look at my lawn, brown, dried up and brittle!

I don't recall when we last had a good rain but I can tell you that we've not had any measurable rainfall in September and here it is the 16th.

Everything is bone dry, even in my gardens not a single earthworm to be found.  On the positive side, I don't need to mow it nearly as much.

Find The Critter

 Can you find the critter in the below pics?

What A Ride!

What an absolutely beautiful day for a ride yesterday!

We took off around 10AM, jumped on Rt 140 and headed West towards the towns of Belchertown and Ware Massachusetts, home to the Quabbin Reservoir.  All secondary roads and being a "work day" for most fools, traffic was light and the ride so enjoyable!

Before getting to the reservoir we stopped in the town of Hardwick, picked up some lunch and headed to a spot called Hanks Meadow within the reservation itself, which has some picnic tables and a terrific view of the Quabbin.  Such a quiet and peaceful spot!

After lunch, relaxing and taking in the views off we went.  We chose a different route home, which took use through some scenic small MA towns, many with beautiful old stone churches and building, then into Connecticut with some amazing farm-type land, eventually back into MA and back home around 6:30PM.

A tremendous 198 miles ride!

#Blessed

Clueless POS!

To each and every person who either doesn't use, or waits till the last possible second to, use their blinkah, piss off, you all suck!

Just Can't Be Beat!

The best patio, and patio rules, I've ever sat on ❤!

SO many wonderful memories from the past and thankful to still be making them today!

#Blessed

Power Red Baby!

And another Red Cross Power Red donation completed this afternoon at the VFW here in Franklin!

2 more units of blood donated today, bringing my unit donation numbers to 70 & 71! 

The Franklin VFW had it's side yard adorned with American flags in remembrance of 9/11.  It was impressive and moving, and brought a tear to my eyes -

#Blessed

Not One, Not Two But Three POS

Another example of "People Suck", which I sat and watched unfold I kid you not!

I was finishing up running my errands this morning and since it was just about noontime I thought I'd treat myself to a grilled chicken Cesar salad wrap sandwich,  Instead of grabbing it and heading home, I opted to swing by a local pond\walking trail\park area an eat my lunch while enjoying the beautiful day.

As I ate I took in the sights and did some people watching.  In particular, I watched this young woman with two leashed dog cross the street and come into the park.  For some reason she proceed to walk through the picnic table area, you know the area where people eat, not around it.  Well, of course mother nature called and one of her dogs squatted and proceed to take a BIG dump (in the area between the two white picnic tables in the pic below). C'mon, really!  People gather and eat there, have some clue and common courtesy.

Good news, shockingly yes, she did pick up and bag the feces - what a good responsible dog owner, kudos to her <sarcasm>!

However, she then walked towards the path that leads alongside the pond and dropped the bagged poop on the ground beside a large rock, see pic below.  Now I assumed since she just arrived at the park that she was leaving this there to be picked up upon here return, which still irks me in principle!  NO ONE wants to see that or accidently step on it even if here intentions were honest.  Not too mention that there were two trash cans within 40 feet of where she tossed the bad on the ground, lazy

Then off she went along the pond path, oblivious to how selfish and inconsiderate she is.  Some 10 minutes later her she comes walking back AND carrying another bag of dog crap!  Guessing her second dogs BM kicked in, so walks over time to head home.

YES, you all guessed it, she walked in the opposite direction from the bag she tossed on the ground, did find the trash can where she disposed of the second bag of poop AND then proceeded to walk away, cross the street and leave, I kid you not!

What an inconsiderate POS!

This is why we can't have nice things anymore!  People ruin things for everyone with their selfishness.

May both her dogs get explosive diarrheas and that she has wall-to-wall shag carpet to boot! 

A Full Day Retreat!

I finally made it to Marshfield, MA to see my farmer friend Tim.  It was a long overdue visit, one that I am ashamed took too long to take place.  However, as with all my visits, spending the day with Tim is wonderful!  I stop and grab coffee and tea, and muffins and we sat for hours just talking and catching up.  Although, the day flies by, it also stands still and it let me forget about my troubles and struggles and to just relax and be in the moment.

And always I never leave empty handed, he will NOT let me! Typically, I leave with a car load full of plants, which means work for me when I get home, and this visit was no different.

He sent me off with a dozen or so outdoor plants, perennials, that needed to be planted, which I took care of yesterday.  However, I'm finding it harder and harder to find places to stick all these due to full flower beds and lack of sunny spots.  My yard was once mostly sun, however, over the years and with the all (small) trees I've planted (now BIG trees), the yard is mostly shade.

He also sent me home with the below house plants.  He was offering and pushing more and I would have taken more but the foolish cat I have will not leave them alone and is always finding a way to eat them, GRRR, so I was selective and passed on many!

A beautiful Aloe Vera plant, which I transplanted into this larger pot -

A nice Bamboo plant, in a fancy elephant pot -

This unique plant is called "Hoya Kerri", also known as "Hoya Heart", which you can see why.   Like the Aloe Vera, this plant is also a succulent and doesn't require much care, and for what it's worth this plant is pet friendly and not toxic to dogs and cats.  However, if the cat does get into this plant, he'll have BIGGER things to worry about than toxicity...ME!  He's already on thin ice!

The last thing I need heading into the cold New England winter are house plants but I welcome them and very thankful for Tim's gestures.

Food For Thought and Meals

Here are some of the meals I've made recently using my garden fresh tomatoes and peppers that I hand pick just before preparing!

Fresh made guacamole spread on sourdough toast -

My Friday night special, PIZZA!  I've been topping my pizzas with my tomatoes -

Greek stuffed peppers -

Chicken, garden fresh peppers and onion Chinese stir fry -

A melt-in-your-mouth Omaha steak fillet with garden fresh peppers and onions AND some local farm grown fresh native corn -

Greek tomato, feta, red onion and Kalamata olive salad -

Garlic chicken, garden fresh pepper and onion and rice -

Last nights meal was shaved steak and cheese with garden fresh peppers and onions, with air fried sweet potato fries -

*I wrote this with the button of my jeans undone, BURP 🤣

I See It Now

Out For A Stroll

Passed these turkeys on my walk the other afternoon.  Looked like two adult hens and four youngsters.  As you can see one of the mothers was on guard and watching me closely as I made my way by.

Several years ago you couldn't swing a dead cat 😉 without hitting a wild turkey.  They were all over and in larger groups too.  There were even local news reports from other towns that were seemingly overrun with them.  I had oodles of them parading through my yard many times, often with 3 or 4 or 5 Tom's strutting and showing off for the hens.  Even taking their dancing to the center of Lincoln street, which would stop traffic.

However, there seems to have been a big decline in the last couple of years, at least I'm not seeing them nearly as much.  In the spring I saw a couple smaller groups, 3 or 4 birds pass through and this summer I've only see two females, each with a single chick following closely behind.

I did a quick Google search and the experts are unsure as to why the decline but have their theories, e.g. an increase in predators and hunting, and habitat loss and degradation, which all seem on point.  Of course man is at the root of it, after all we do need more CVS, Taco Bells and Walmart's, etc...

Find The Critter

Although, not an individual critter rather a home to critters.

That being said, can you find the critter in the below pic?!

I will tell you, and as you can see in the pics, that this bees nest was built directly over the sidewalk and only about 8' to 10' off the ground, so just over head high!

I've walked that sidewalk many times and only yesterday did I spot this.

I believe this is a bald-faced hornets nest and, although, they're related to yellowjackets in my experience they're not as aggressive.  Well, at least from my standpoint and past experiences, these dudes seem more tolerant than their kin, at least up until they're disturbed then watch out!

One other item worth noting, which may be a good thing here, is that since the DPW of Franklin does a terrible job, in my opinion, of performing regular and general upkeep and preventative maintenance, the limbs from this ornamental pear tree hang SO low that in many cases folks need to step off the sidewalk into the street to get by, therefore avoiding a stinging altercation.

About the size of a volleyball and VERY active with comings and goings -

 

I've sent an email, with pics, to the Franklin highway and grounds superintendent.  Lets see if I get a reply and if they take care of the nest AND the long overdue limb pruning...

Preserved To Enjoy Later

I will call this "Poor Mans Canning".

I have oodles and oodles of tomatoes coming out of my ears!  Seems like they ripened all of a sudden too.

I've been eating them as best I can - BLTs, Greek tomato salads, toping my pizzas with them, adding them to my cooking and yet I still don't seem to be making a dent.

SO, yesterday I spent several hours preparing and freezing well over 30 of this delicious dudes!

A quick, less than 4 minutes, dip in boiling water, which loosens the skin to where it easily falls right off - 

My work area -

Once skinned, I cut up into cubes, removing the seeds (as best that would just fall off) and removed the harder innards -

Tossed the pieces and parts, along with salt, into some containers and into the freezer they went -

When the days are short and it's cold outside, I can pull one of this bad boys out, thaw and enjoy in a sauce or some dish, MMM MMM GOOD!

#Blessed

For The Win!

Well, not the BIG million dollar winner but a winner none the less!

Seeing as how I typically don't get any numbers, alas, getting two and a $4.00 winner is still winning and I'll happily take it!

Meh, who needs millions anyway?!  It will only complicate things...