A Room With A View!

It's a rainy day this morning, so the pic below is a bit gloomy, which is kinda appropriate to this post.

This is the view of my back yard, out the window over my kitchen sink. Perhaps, not the prettiest with neighboring houses in view but when you look beyond that it's special, special to me anyway.  I've been blessed with this view for 25 years and it never gets old. There's always a surprise waiting - deer and turkey and other wildlife passing through, wind storms and snow storms a buzz, mesmerizing stars at night and of course, the amazing sunrises and sunsets to name only a few.

...I am sure gonna miss that view; morning, noon and night, and all the surprises and wonders it offers -

Here's just one example that you just can't beat -

#Blessed

Hey "U" There!

Since moving in back in 2000, I've transformed the landscape and yard. Most of the trees, scrubs, flowers and plants in my yard, are ones I've planted over the years - a labor of love!

This tree pictured below, a Bradford Pear, I bought at the Home Depot in Norwood. I bought two at that time, the other is in line and behind the one pictured.  The trees themselves were no bigger around than your wrist, however, the root balls were BIG and HEAVY!  Home Depot loaded them in the back of my pickup with their fork lift, so no problem there.  The challenge was at home and getting them from point a, the driveway, to point b, the complete opposite side of the yard, UGH!

I was able to wrestle each, one at a time, and slid them off the tailgate and into a wheelbarrow! Fortunately, the wheelbarrow had two wheels, so balancing wasn't an issue, rather the weight was AND pushing it was, OMG!

Fast forward some 20 odd years and the trees are both doing great!  They've grown into mighty trees and look awesome when flowering in the spring. Although, flowering Bradford Pear trees release of sulfurous compounds odor, which is very unpleasant. Guess you gotta take the good with the bad.

This ended up being an awful long posting to point out the cool and unusual "U" shaped branch that grew.  I've been tempted over the years to cut that limb off, as more often than "knot", I'd run into it when mowing the lawn but glad I fought the urge. Even thought it's at just the right height to take you out when on the ride mower, it's unique.

Anyway, that's all, a long tangent post.

It's Said "Hindsight Is 20/20"

Which means, it is easy to see things clearly and understand them after they have already happened.

That being said, had I known what and how these past several years would have effected me, I should have invested in Kimberly-Clark (KLA), the owners of Kleenex.

With my use of these tissues alone, it would have been a worthwhile investment; I would have made a killing!

If only...

My Little Shadow

Ms. Trixie senses things are a changing. Perhaps, the utter chaos the house has been turned into, the numerous strangers trapesing throughout or maybe, just maybe she can tell how emotional I've become.

Whatever it is, she seldom leaves my side. She'll follow me from room to room to room, upstairs to downstairs, always staying close.  If she wakes, and I'm not in the room with her, I can see a bit of panic in her as she hurries to find me, checking each room until she does.

She's always jumped up with me when I sit down, has been doing it for years now. I think mostly to see if I have any food, but seldom stays too long if there's none. However, this past Sunday, she jumped up, then curled up in my lap and went to sleep - like a true "lap" dog.  She zonked out and stayed there for close to 30 minutes, which was so very nice to keep my legs toasty warm, as the homeowner keeps the thermostat so darn low 🥶, GHEESH! She would have remained there longer had I not attempted to change positions to relieve the numbness that had set into my lower extremities -

She's 13 now and showing her age, 😢 Her eyesight isn't what it was and her hearing is all but gone, unless I yell, and even then it's hit or miss.  It's VERY difficult to watch but she's hanging in there.

She's helped me beyond comprehension to get through the ups and downs of the past several years, AND I'll do the same for her as she ages. Prolly couldn't have done it without her. My unofficial service dog...

She's a great dog, my best friend and I love her unconditionally.

#Blessed

NOT Frost On The Pumpkin

So here it is November 20 with overnight temperatures dropping down into the thirties!  Actually, last night we were down to a very chilly 28°, BRRR!

 Believe it or not I still have some Black-eyed Susan's, in the pool area, that are alive and well and still blooming!

They're not in the bestest condition at this point of the year but I'll take it and I'm thankful for their persistence and uplifting blooms.

This should help - I'm having tiny coats made for each of the flowers to keep them warm and happy, with the understanding that they keep on flowering -

#Blessed

Solitude

Just waiting on "one day"...

Winner! Why Yes, Yes I Am!

Looks like Friday nights $980 million dollar winning Mega Millions ticket was sold in Georgia!

Congratulations to whomever won.

I did contribute and purchased a quick pick.  Although, I didn't win the BIG jackpot, I did get two numbers correct, with one being the gold Mega ball!

I did a quick Google machine check and it looked like I won $7.00, which I was happy with since I recouped my money.

So, imagine my utter surprise when I stopped in at my local convenient store and asked the clerk to scan my winning ticket - BAM, he tells me it's a $35.00 winner!

CHACHING!

PPMI & MJFF

What is Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) -

Thankfully, I've not been diagnosed with Parkinson's, but sadly my dad was stricken with this dreadful disease. My participation is perhaps a way to keep honoring my dad and in some small way to help the powers that be better understand this disease, so that one day a cure can be discovered.

You do NOT need to have PD in order to participate in the the Parkinson's Progression Marker Initiative study.

I've been participating in the online survey's since December of 2021 (not sure why the screen shot below shows only 3 years) and just yesterday morning I completed another set of survey activities. Participants complete sets of questions on health and disease in PPMI Online every 90 days -

The Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) is a landmark research program from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF). PPMI launched in 2010 to better understand Parkinson’s and develop new treatments. Since then, the program has changed what scientists know about the brain and how research is done.

PPMI follows people — with and without Parkinson's — over time to learn more about how disease starts and changes. Gathering information over time helps us discover how brain disease starts, changes and, most importantly, how to stop it.

#Blessed

I'm Gonna Miss It

Was feeling a bit nostalgic yesterday; okay more than a bit, and thought what better way to drown my sorrows away then a nice relaxing soak in my jacuzzi hot tub!

Using the hot tub does come with added expenses, such as electricity and water, see below for the high use notification I received this morning from the town.  I also did a couple loads of laundry too and ran the dishwasher, so there's that -

Here's a short video of said hot tub just before I climbed in and drifted off -

 My Last Hot Tub Soak 

Milkweed Scatters Promise.

I came upon the above milkweed factoid on one of my social media apps yesterday - good to know right.

The ironic thing about this factoid is that only a couple hours earlier I took the below pictures of the milkweed I have had growing in my pool area!

Although, I've cut EVERYTHING else back as a part of putting my yard and flower beds to sleep for the winter, I didn't touch the milkweeds.  Their seed pods were all nice and plump but still green and not ready to open.  Fast forward a month or so and this is the rewards of my patients -

It's a cool sight to see these seeds floating away, like falling snow, as the wind carries them off.  Hoping that some find a safe place to take root come spring.

After all, Milkweed seeds are crucial for the Monarch butterfly's lifecycle.

Their seeds are tiny lanterns, each one drifts away carrying the hope of a monarch’s tomorrow.

Find The Critter

Can you find the critter in the first pic below - 

Believe it or not, he gave himself away by the crunch, crunch, crunching from the nut he was gnawing on. Clearly, he was not concerned about hiding, rather his focus was on filling his belly and who can blame him -

A Red Squirrel, one of my favorites!

I’ve Got Unpackable Levels Of Enthusiasm!

“Moving boxes, because apparently I need all this stuff after all.”

I scored myself about 30 odd sized boxes off of Facebook Marketplace!

No more excuses. Seems I have my work cut out for me...

A Blast From The Past

My grandfather worked for Union Carbide in South Charleston, West Virginia for 41 years!

"Charlie Frye (with an "e") came here over 41 years ago. He spent 30 days in AX and 30 days in the catalyst, then went to ethanol operations for 24 years,  Since '69, Charlie has been in polyols as foreman on "C" shift. The Frye's have two children and four grandchildren"

Below is a picture of my grandfather at his 40-year celebration party -

 To be a fly on the wall...

Money Can't Buy Happiness

Rejoice Always

This Squirrel Is Nuts!

I took these pics yesterday of a grey squirrel sitting atop one of my back deck posts eating a nut of some sort -

The odd thing about this is that there are NO trees within 50'-60' feet and the deck just isn't an easy place to access or one that I would have thought a critter would find inviting or safe.

So, this dude had to cross the pool areas chain link fence - guessing by going under, then make it's way to the deck, up 12 stairs or scale the banister and then climb atop the 6' post.

The dude looked content and comfortable up there.  Well, until he spied me taking his picture, then he got camera shy, reversed direction down the post, down the banister and scurried out under the rear gate door and up into the peach tree.

Honestly, I think these critters are just screwing with me on purpose...

My Sunday Game Time Decisions

I'll admit it, I did watch some of the New England Patriots game yesterday.  Call me a fair weather fan if you'd like but they're winning, which makes watching the games more tolerable for me.

Plus it gave me an excuse to brake out the above snackies and a couple ice cold wobble-pops virtually guilt free, YUM!

They're Here!

The Lincoln Street Asian Lady Beetle invasion has begun!

Perhaps cute don't be fooled, these are NOT Ladybugs. Rather, they're false ladybugs otherwise known as Asian Lady Beetles.

Although they look similar, their size, color, and markings can help you tell the difference. 

The easiest way to tell Asian lady beetles apart from ladybugs at a glance is to look for the white “M.” Asian lady beetles have a distinctive, highly visible M-shaped black marking on their otherwise-white heads. This marking varies in size, thickness, and shape, but it’s always there, so look for the “M”, which you can clearly see in these pics -

Similar to ladybugs, Asian lady beetles feed on aphids and other insects that munch on plants. This means that although they can be a nuisance, they can still be a gardener’s friend.

However, these bugs won’t bid a happy goodbye after gardening season is over. They’re prone to swarming, and prefer to overwinter inside homes. Once they’re finished feasting on aphids, they will crowd on reflective surfaces like windows and sliding glass doors. If they have the opportunity, Asian lady beetles will invade your home -

The last week or so, when the temps during the day climb (mid 50ish), these beetles have started swarming the south side of my house!  There's not as many as the Boxelder beetles but certainly more than a handful.

I swat the Boxelder beetles every chance I get!  They're too messy but these Lady Beetles I leave alone.  They're too cute and likeable.

Amen!

An Oddity, Pricey Too!

Came across this Facebook Marketplace posting this morning for a wasp's paper nest -

"$50 or best offer. You cut down. In tree."

You can't make this stuff up!

I can certainly see offering something like this up to a teacher or a program geared towards kids, and I understand people are in a tough spot these days, but $50.00 really?!

Of course the add doesn't say how high up in the tree this nest is but looks like it's up there.

It's just a very weird posting.

Is it me?

Bottom's Up...

I picked myself up a memento yesterday, an "Entering Franklin" town mug -

Just what I needed more crap, but guessing it'll have a bit more meaning down the road.

This is what you get (can purchase) after having spent 26 year living in the same town.

A consolation prize if you will...

A Cooking I Done Did!

I did a bit of baking yesterday and made the following, which I haven't had in quite a while

Had a hanker'n for some cornbread -

And Tuna casserole -

However, I opted to use chicken in place of the tuna and changed it up a tad by using cream of broccoli soup, adding some corn, loads of fresh garlic, several types of cheeses and topping it off with some crushed potato chips.

Perhaps, not the healthiest meal but it was darn delicious and hit the spot!

Also, I now have plenty of leftovers.

Reminiscence Of A Mail Carrier

Views from the backroom of the Millis post office.

These pics show a calm, clean and organized work area but don't be fooled, come 8AM on any given morning this room is complete chaos. Racks, dollies and pallets loaded with mail, magazines and packages all being sorted with mail clerks scurrying and mail carriers sorting and casing mail.

This first pic is the "case" for route 7, the route I primarily did for the last several months of my tenure -

Here is the case for route 10, which is referred to as the auxiliary route.  Meaning it's the smallest route in the Millis PO, spans two towns; Millis and Norfolk, and made up of odd stops. I learned on this route, spending most of my early months on it -

Although, not labeled, below is the case for route 8.  This is the route I was mentored on and learned on when starting out as a mail carrier, and would often fill in on when the regular carrier was out.  Of the three routes I did, this was the largest with the most stops and typically up there as one of the routes that has the most packages per day.  It was also the most challenging of routes because of it's size, number of stops and the convoluted house numbering order - 

The orange bins, which are older and used mostly by the "rural" carriers, are known as "pumpkins" and where the clerks place the packages for each route. Most mornings these bins are usually full, overflowing actually, with packages stacked along side them -

The blue bins below are the new "pumpkins". These are used by the "city" carriers.  The flat wooden cart, of which there are many, are used by the carriers to bring the trayed, sorted mail out to the LLV mail trucks for loading -

The unofficial USPS mail carriers creed -

"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."

Outdoor Chores Completed!

** Update **

Okay, now it's official!

As of today my yard is now 99.5% winterized and put to bed!

Patio furniture stowed, hoses drained and stowed, and took the deck sail down and stowed!

I got my wires crossed thinking this past Monday was the day the town was to pickup the yard waste, however, it's actually next Monday, the 10th. So, my mistake actually worked to my advantage and allowed me to add more bags.

So, I added (8) more leaf bags to the pile, making the total now (44)!

Today, I mowed my entire lawn for the last time this season, making it the 19th time.  What I like to do with the last mowing is to lower the mower deck, so instead of #6, I cut it on #4; nice and short.  Hoping this helps prevent the remaining leaves from getting caught up in the grass and instead make them easier to get blown away.

Here are a couple pics of the freshly mowed side and back lawns.

Also, this year I took a different approach to pruning the (14) tall ornamental grasses I have around the pool and yard.  In years past I would tie them up, then cut each down at the base; (14) easy to move bundles.  However, since I no longer have a way to get these big bulky bundles down to the recycling center, this year I cut then down in handfuls, then cut them up in 6"-8" lengths into the brown yard recycling bags and simply added them to the pile at the end of the driveway.

Not ideal! A lot of work and a lot of time to do it this way but at the end of the day they'll all be gone come Monday, so I'm gonna take it as a win.

I have one planter with a still flowering annual that I couldn't dump out, so this is the .05% remaining to be completely outside winterized.

I ended the day by rearraigning the garage a bit, which then allowed me to pull my car in, where it will be parked out of the elements for the winter months.

Phew, "Calgon take me away"....

Reseeding Obstacle Course

The little bit of grass that I have in the fenced in pool area happens to also be where Ms. Trixie does her "business".  I don't have a before pic but as you might imagine her urine killed much of grass where she "goes".

About 2 months ago I planted the last of the grass seed I had in the dead grass area, then laid a scrap piece of wire on top in an effort to keep Ms. Trixie from "watering" it 😁

You can see the wire fencing in the below pic and how nicely, and green, the new grass has done, for now.  It will all be killed off again once I remove the wire -

It's comical to watch Ms. Trixie when she tries to walk on the wire. She stumbles and fumbles and almost trips at time as she tries to get off of it.  It's like she forgets it's there but not all the time. She's definitely my dog and takes after me in many ways, the poor thing.

For example, below she successfully navigated the wire, walking around the edges, to eventually (OMG the drama and time it takes for her to decide where and the position she needs to be in is maddening, especially when it's 2AM) cop-a-squat and take herself a poop 💩 -

 

I assured her that I (prolly) wouldn't be posting her compromising pic for all to see, so Shh, this will be our little secret.

STOP! Enough Already

My USPS delivered mail from yesterday -

(6) pieces and ALL mass mailing junk!

I tear these items up and right into the trash they go, never looking at any of it.

What a waste of resources and the mail carriers time, as each piece need to handled multiple times before even being delivered. Since most of this junk mail is addressed, it forces the carrier to stop at each and every mailbox, thus extending his\her day and why you often see mail carriers out late and well after dark.

The USPS, the whores that they are, luv this junk for the money it generates for them,  They do NOT care about the waste it creates, the mail carriers time and effort to sort and deliver, nor the customers who simply do NOT want to receive this annoying ka-ka, and do as I do and immediately toss it all into the trash.

The USPS mail has become just as annoying and bothersome as email spam and general advertisements!  Whether it be on regular TV, e.g. an NFL game, a paid services, e.g. Netflix or simply accessing the Internet to read an article, e.g. Foxnews!

All incessant, overbearing and unwanted.

I would be interested to see a break down of how much work or responses these solicitations actually generate and if they're even worth the expense.

Thirty-Six!

(36) is the final number of leaf bags that I jam-packed filled, plus (1) full green landscape barrel, that are all curbside and awaiting pickup today!  

My neighbor across the street spent most of this past weekend out raking and filling leaf bags also, which are curbside for today's pickup!

It's nice having, some, neighbors that take pride in their yards and put in the effort to rake.

I see it as being neighborly; an obligation of sorts, to do my part to clean up my yard of as many leaves as possible. After all it does suck when you do all the work to have a clean yard, only to have the neighbors leaves blow into my yard because they're lazy and can't be bothered to put in the effort. I agree it's hard work and not much fun, however, it's also a necessary evil, and one of many being a homeowner.

You can see in the second picture above, the leaf covered lawn to the right of my across-the-street neighbors, oodles of leaf bags. One windy day could very well blow a majority of those leaves next door, even into my clean yard.

C'mon neighbors keep up!