Boobies Make Me Smile!

OH MY GOODNESS!!

Just what did you think I was referring to?!?! Geesh, you all need to get you dirty little minds out of the gutter!

But of course I am referring to the Blue-footed Booby, Sula nebouxii (pictured below). The Blue-footed Booby has a long neck, a sharp bill and bright blue feet. Its feather are brown on the wings, and its head and neck are brown with black streaks. Its chest and undersides are white.

The name “booby” comes from the Spanish term bobo, which means "Stupid" or "Fool" or "Clown". This is because the Blue-footed Booby is clumsy on the land.

Father's Day 2009

"A truly rich man is one whose children run into his arms when his hands are empty." - Unknown

Happy Father's Day!

Below is a little history on this wonderful holiday:

• In 1910, the city of Spokane, Washington celebrated the first Father's Day.
• In 1924, the third Sunday in June was proclaimed Father's Day by President Calvin Coolidge.
• In 1926, the National Father's Day Committee was formed in New York City.
• In 1956, Congress recognized Father's Day as a holiday.
• In 1966, a presidential proclamation by Lyndon B. Johnson declared the third Sunday of June officially Father's Day.
• In 1972, President Richard Nixon made the third Sunday in June a permanent national observance of Father’s Day.

Find the Critter XI

Please disregard the mess...

Can you find the critters in the above picture?

FastPitch - Season 1

Emilie's first spring softball season has come to an end and boy did it go by fast! She's a natural...

Emilie and her 12 teammates, known as the Red Rockets, had a ball (no pun intended). They each had the opportunity to play different positions in the field and were able to bat in different orders, with the last batter being the sought after role. This last batter was able to run all the bases, a.k.a. like hitting a home run, after her hit. The team would then take the field to play defense.

The coaches were great and did a wonderful job. We, the parents, we’re also able to meet other parents (Franklin residents), some of whom we’ll undoubtedly be seeing often throughout other extra curricular activities, school events and even sleepovers and play dates.

Here is a picture of her first trophy, which she’s VERY proud of it, as she should be and so are her parents!

Field Hockey Showcase

Yellow pinny for showcase event - #3

Red pinny for All-Star game - #6

My oldest daughter attended the New England Premier Field Hockey College Recruiting Showcase, held in Exeter, NH, this past weekend. The weather was beautiful on Saturday but rainy, windy and cold on Sunday. Generally speaking the girls didn’t appear phased by the conditions and performed well.

The two day showcase ended with an All-Star game. All-Star selections were determined by staff ballots for each game played over the two day showcase. Of course I’m biased when it come to each of my three kids, so I wasn’t surprise to hear them call “Stephanie Frye” as one of the All-Star players – red team, #6. Obviously, being selected for the All-Star game is an indication of how well Stephanie did during the event. Hopefully, we'll be able to leverage this moving forward with college just around the corner.

The New England Premier Field Hockey College Recruiting Showcase is a unique arena for the best high school field hockey players to demonstrate their talent and decision-making skills in game situations — and for college coaches from around the country to conveniently and thoroughly assess their potential. This event is totted as, “the BEST recruiting opportunity for top players”.

Bag O Garden Pests

I collected some unwanted pests from my garden last night, see picture above. These are the few that I bagged, the others were anatomically altered and had their heads pinched off before being discarded. They were here last year and went unnoticed until too much destruction was done. I’ve been waiting for them to reappear this year and hope to get a jump on them before they do too much damage and reproducing.

The little green caterpillars are pure destruction and called “Imported Cabbage Worm” because some time in the mid-1800’s they were transported from Europe to Canada, and have spread all through North America since then. They’re an invasive species, of course.

Some might ask why I’m concerned with cabbage worms since I’m not growing any cabbage but rather broccoli and kale. Although they appear very different, kale, broccoli, kohlrabi, cauliflower, cabbage and Brussels sprouts are all the same species of plant.

The beetles are Colorado potato beetles. They’re serious crop pests of potatoes but may also cause serious damage to tomatoes and eggplants. These pests are more difficult to catch since they can fly. However, their eggs are easy to spot, which are typically laid on the underside of the plant leaves in clusters, and easy to destroy.

Find the Critter X

Can you find the critters in the above picture?

Chick Update

There have been some chicken changes at the ole Lincoln street homestead, so it’s about time for an update –

Lucy, Ethel and New Honey have been sold; re-homed to what sounds like a very nice family a couple towns over – with an open invitation to stop in for a visit any time we want. Coop rules and pecking orders are about to change for these girls. They’ll now be sharing their new coop with a 5+ year old rooster named Einstein. If there is such a thing as a lucky rooster, Einstein would be him, and if chickens could smile, Einstein is sporting and ear to ear grim right now!

This change was a necessary one to make room for our new chicks that are now 7 week old. They’re doing just fine and are very friendly but have been housed in a large crate that I am tired of cleaning. The location of this crate has also prevented us from hanging our laundry outside since it happens to be situated in close proximity to the close lines.

If you’ll recall, we started with ten day-old pullet chicks; (5) Amberlink and (5) Black Sex-link. We sold four last week to very enthusiastic, young 4-Her named Adam. He, like Einstein, had an ear to ear grin as he proudly carried his box of chicks to his moms van idling in our driveway.

Today, we’re down to six chicks, three of each breed, pictured below. These little ones can now be relocated to the recently vacated abode decoop of the older hens. This will give them more personal space, more room to fly, jump, dig and scratch and A LOT easier on the farmers who tend to them -

Amberlink -

Black Sex-link -

Veggie Garden Update

Here it is the second week of June and truth be told I’m still waiting for summer to arrive. We’ve had some fantastic days but all in all the days have been cooler than what’s expected around here this time of year. However, we’re making the best of it and still getting out to work in the yard and enjoy the pool.

The vegetables have all been planted and appear to be doing quite well. Here’s a list of them:

• Corn – (1) row of Silver Queen and (1) row Yellow Golden
• Tomato – (20) Better Boy & (5) Roma in garden; (5) Roma & (5) Grape in pots
• Potatoes – (1) row of Yukon Golden
• Sunflower – (1) row of mixed varieties
• Peppers – (6) California Wonders
• Garlic – (2) rows of Allium California Soft Neck - Jumbo
• Rhubarb – (1) plant
• Carrots – (1) row
• Radish – (1) row
• Pole Beans – (2) rows Kentucky Wonder, planted two weeks apart
• Cucumber – (3) plants
• Broccoli – (6) plants
• Kale – (6) plants
• Strawberries – (1) raised bed with oddles of berries
• Raspberries – (2) row looking full and thick – red and orange
• Peaches – (1) tree with an abundance of baby peaches throughout
• Herbs – (4) Greek Oregano, (4) Italian Parsley, (3) Thyme, (1) Rosemary, (1) Fennel & Chive planted throughout the yard

The only nuisances to speak of are the wild rabbits that are getting into the carrots, beans and radishes. Just the other morning, from the upstairs bathroom window, I threw a tube of toothpaste at a bunny that was eating the carrot tops. Surprisingly enough it sailed perfectly and came pretty close to beaning (no pun intended) the pest - it landed just high and to the right, into the radishes. In my groggy state the tube of toothpaste seemed like the best option at my disposal, so I went with it.

Baby Bunny - UPDATE

Here's an update on the baby bunnies that were rejected by their mother -

We removed them from the same cage as their mother, boxed them up and brought them upstairs where it's warmer. We didn't hold much hope for their survival; they were skin and bones and in pretty bad shape, so we weren't surprise when we woke the next morning to one that had passed away.

Surrogate mother JoAnne is determined to save these little guys and made a special trip the a local pet store and picked up some KMR, which is an all natural, no preservatives, made in the USA, complete food source for orphaned or rejected kittens - this also works for bunnies.

She's up early to feed them before work, feeds them when she comes home and at least once, sometime twice before bed. They did NOT like the formula at first, so the force feeding method was used. Today, a week later they're gobbling it up to the tune of 6, 8 and 10 eye droppers full. They've also begun nibbling on rabbit feed, grass and comfrey. All five are doing FANTASTIC! They're alert, active and love running around in the kitchen.

Here is a picture of the remaining crew taken on June 2. As you can see they're a little queasy looking.

This photo is for comparison. The grayish bunny is from a different litter and was born on the same day as the brownish bunny - quite a size difference.

Kudos to Surrogate mother JoAnne !!

"Of course you realize...this means war" *

There are only two types of bunnies welcome at the ole Lincoln Street homestead - our domestic bunnies and of course playboy bunnies! All others are forbidden, especially wild bunnies.

Operation Chipmunk 2007 was a huge success. No water boarding was required. The enemy has been eradicated with extreme prejudice.

Operation Woodchuck 2008 was also a success.

We're now facing another conflict (foe), dubbed Operation Hare 2009.

I usually spend a couple minutes looking out the bathroom window, into the backyard, each morning before my customary morning urination. This is typically a peaceful time to take in all the hard work we've done and occasionally catch a glimpse of an interesting backyard visitor, i.e. deer, fox, turkey, rabbits, etc. This morning, however, one of the many wild bunnies who visit regularly was up in one of our raised vegetable beds eating the newly sprouted beans, Ugh!

With a still full bladder, I threw on a pair of jeans and took off for the backyard. I chased the @$%!* rabbit off but the damage was already done. Our newly sprouted beans have been reduced to stems only, no leaves, Ugh! All of our hard work, time and energy, for not, eaten by an unwanted and uninvited pest. Ugh!

It's ironic that on one hand we have a litter of domestic bunnies that we're feeding by hand in an effort save and on the other hand my alter ego Carl Spackler is coming out.

Click the embedded link above for a Carl Spackler YouTube moment and read the Caddyshack movie excerpt below -

Sandy: I want you to kill every gophers on the golf course!
Carl Spackler: Correct me if I'm wrong Sandy, but if I kill all the golfers, they're gonna lock me up and throw away the key...
Sandy: Not golfers, you great fool! Gophers! The *little* *brown* *furry* *rodents* !
Carl Spackler: We can do that; we don't even have to have a reason. All right, let's do the same thing, but with gophers -!

*Bugs Bunny

Similar Looking but NOT an ALB

Monochamus scutellatus

Cutting the lawn yesterday I got a scare when I came across the insect pictured above. His antenna are as long as his body. It looks very much like the Asian Longhorned Beetle (ALB), which has been found in several western Massachusetts towns.

The ALB is considered an invasive species in North America where it is a serious threat of hardwood trees including; maple, horse-chestnut, birch, poplar, willow, elm, ash, European mountain-ash, London plane tree, mimosa, and hackberry. The beetles cause damage by tunneling within the trunks and branches of trees, disrupting the sap flow and weakening and eventually killing them. The ALB will kill infested trees and if left unchecked it will continue to spread to adjacent host trees with the same end result.

In August of 2008, officials from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed the presence of Asian Longhorned beetle (ALB) in the City of Worcester. To date there have been ~18,000 trees removed in Worcester alone to prevent this destructive pest from spreading to non-infested areas. The removal began in December 2008.

The good news, for us anyway, is that the beetle we found is NOT an ALB but rather a very similar look-alike called the White-spotted Pine Sawyer - we have ourselves a male. White-spotted sawyer is a native species, one of hundreds of different longhorned beetles that you may find in Massachusetts, but not a very common one. It typically attacks pine and fir trees that are already diseased or damaged and should not be a threat to a healthy pine stand. Not too sure what to do with this dude, prolly end up feeding him to the chickens - good protein for a laying hen.

Check out the Asian Longhorned Beetle and look-alikes website.

An Even Dozen (12)

Two new litters of baby bunnies have arrived here at the ole homestead on 5/15. Each litter has (6) babies - 12 total, WOW! As you can see from the pictures below, both litters look similar in color and markings.

We noticed yesterday that Salt & Pepper's babies are now half the size of Honey's. After a closer inspection her babies are all skin and bones. It appears that she has stopped nursing them. This may have occurred after I moved them to a different cage about a week ago. So last night we stepped in and forced the mothers (both) to nurse. I held each doe (mother) on their backs while JoAnne and Emilie placed the babies on the tummy so they could nurse. It's amazing to watch how the babies come to life and immediately search for and latch onto a nipple and begin to feed. We're not sure how this is going end but hopefully our efforts will pay off and save them.

Honey's litter -


Salt & Peppers litter -


In case you've not been following along, Salt & Pepper is the mother of Honey who was one of the babies we kept from last spring\summers litters. The two were kept together in the same cage until they were breed and then separated.

Scram. Take Off. Beat It. Silly Monkey.

Well, can you? If you can't beat the monkey, might I suggest spanking the monkey...

Someone at MSN posted a faux pas, in reference to their "Need a Break? Play a Game" posting.

Of course if you have a dirty mind like I do it can certainly be taken out of context.

As you can see below, they realized their error and quickly modified the posting -

Find the Critter IX

Can you find the critters in the above picture?

Menagerie Addition - Spring 2009 - UPDATE

Oreo's babies are 5.5 weeks old this weekend - (3) males and (1) female. All four have been sold and placed in their new homes. Their mother has been relocated outside, finally, with the other rabbits...actually that's not entirely true. Salt & Pepper and her baby from last summer, Honey, are currently in the garage raising their litters. Each had (6), so we're up to our eye balls in bunnies! These new babies are just over a week old and not yet mobile but their colors look interesting already.

The baby chicks are also getting big and have been moved outside, again finally! We're going to keep (4) two of each kind, so I'll be advertising the others soon.

Too many babies = too much work...

Columbine Sawfly Larvae Infestation

We have our first insect critter problem of the season. We’ll actually the second; the first was an Eastern tent caterpillar nest and associated caterpillars that took up residence in our peach tree. The nest and occupants (most) have since been destroyed :-)

This second insect critter problem involves our Columbine plants. We have an abundance of these plants all over our yard, I’d say well over 20+, and in a variety of cool and unique colors. With that said this critter problem has huge, damaging implications.

I noticed one plant in particular, that resides next to the back gate, which was missing 90% of its leaves – it was a virtual Charlie Brown Christmas tree. After a closer inspection, one that required me to get on my hands and knees, I found the culprits responsible – the Columbine sawfly larvae - worm or caterpillar.

Pristophora aquiligae

This is the first year that we’ve had this specific issue. The plant was covered with these little green eating machines. I picked a handful off and fed to the chickens, which they gobbled up. I’ve inspected the other Columbine plants throughout the ole homestead and frustratingly they’re affected also. However, the damage is not as bad as on the initial plant but I suspect it won’t take these pests long to defoliate these plants too.

I’m sure there are chemicals that could be sprayed to kill these critters but instead Emilie and I have decided to take the hunt and kill approach. I use a pair of long nosed, sharp scissors to cut the little fuckers in half; Emilie has chosen to squish them between her fingers. There are simply too many and they’re too small to try picking them off to feed to the chickens at this point. We’ve killed over 200+ in just two days! The goal is to kill as many as possible to minimize their damage. Perhaps, I will look into a safe insecticidal soap that I can use to ensure a higher kill rate.

Find the Critter VIII

Can you find the critters in the above picture?

A Pair of Sox's

It was Stephanie's birthday on Saturday and we took her out for an early diner at Bertucci's. Afterwards, we stopped at Bird Park in Walpole to take some pictures and check out the ponds wildlife. It was a beautiful spring day, and except for having to navigate the incredible amounts of Canadian Goose landmines (poop) littered throughout the grass, we had a nice time.

Here is a picture of Boston Red Sox players #46 Jacoby Ellsbury and #34 David Ortiz, who just happened to be out and about taking in the wildlife also - what are the odds?! I just wish we got their autographs...

And We're Off II...

We got out in the yard yesterday and did some gardening, among other things. We transplanted (18) sunflower seedlings outside; (23) to go, where these will be planted I don't yet know. Emilie and I started these in the house on 4/5, along with some some white pumpkin seeds, which have since been dropped of at my dad's for planting.

We planted the following veggies yesterday:

• A row (package) of Kentucky Wonder pole beans - 65 days to maturity.
• A row of Silver Queen corn (30 seeds) - 88 days to maturity.

I took a ride at lunch on Friday to my favorite nursery and picked up the following plants:

• Two six-packs (12 plants) of Roma VF tomatoes - 76 days to maturity.
• Five six-packs (30 plants) of Better Boy tomatoes - 70 days to maturity.
• One six-pack (6 plants) of California Wonder sweet pepper - 75 days to maturity.
• Two six-packs (12 plants) of Inpatients.

She's SAFE!

#4

Here's Emilie laying down a perfect bunt and heading for first...

Donate Today!

I gave blood today at work - 1 pint. It's now your turn! Consider yourself officially asked.

One blood donation can help save up to 3 lives. Only 5% of eligible Americans give blood. Every 2 seconds someone in America needs blood. Less than 30% of the people who give blood once will ever give blood again. Donated blood only lasts for 42 days. You can donate blood as many as 6 times a year. There is a 97% chance that someone you know will need a blood transfusion.

Click here to go to The American Red Cross and learn more.

Christopher Lacrosse

#13

Mr. Lacrosse, a.k.a tough guy!

Whut yu look'in at? Yu wanna piece of me?!

Notice the 6' defensive stick he's wielding. It's taller than he is!

Insect Fornication 2009

Love is in the air here at the ole homestead...

Daffodil or Narcissus (plant)

The pictures below show the variety of daffodils that we have growing in our yard. They look fantastic when in full bloom but don't last long enough. Sadly, the flowers have already passed but they're being replaced by our dogwood tree, which is beginning to flower now.







Daffodil Fun Facts:

• The earliest record mentioned about Daffodils was around two or three hundred years BC.
• Daffodils were brought to Britain by the Romans who thought that the sap from Daffodils had healing powers. Actually the sap contains crystals that can irritate the skin.
  

Daffodils - a poem by by William Wordsworth

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling leaves in glee;
A poet could not be but gay,
In such a jocund company!
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils

Find the Critter VII

Can you find the critters in the above picture?

A Pair of BaltiOriolePears

I was leaning towards posting this as a "Find the Critter" but thought it too easy. My reader are simply too intelligent to be patronized that way!

Here is a pair of Baltimore Orioles that found something to eat in our beautiful, bloom'n Bradford pear trees.

They were there for some time busy as a bee. Hopefully, they'll nest someplace close so we can continue to enjoy their visits.

I'm Not Talking About Cereal Here

SNAP, crackle and pop, but without the crackle and pop! You know it's entirely possible that there was some crackl'n and pop'n taking place just moment following the SNAP...

Been working on the problem and as you can see I'm making progress.

You can refer to this particular field mouse as, "Marty Feldman".

May they both rest in peace!

Menagerie Addition - Spring 2009

Here are a couple pictures of the new additions to the Lincoln Street menagerie:

This is a picture of Oreo's litter of (4) baby bunnies that we're born on 4/14. They're twelve days old in this photo and their eyes are just beginning to open. We had them out for the first time, and although they're behaving for this picture, they had been bouncing and crawling all over the place, as well as piddling.

Here is a picture of (10) baby chicks that I picked up yesterday from a local feed store. There are (5) Black Sexlink and (5) Amberlink - can you tell which is which?!?! They are a couple days old now and still require a heat lamp. We haven't decided yet but leaning towards keeping 4, maybe 6 and selling the rest. This also means that the three old hens we currently have today; Lucy, Ethel and New Honey (the egg eaters), will also be going. We just need to sell Emilie on this idea.

More cages to clean and maintain - oh, happy happy, joy joy!!

Siberian Squill

Scilla siberica

Visited to our local town library, the Franklin Public Library the other evening. The Franklin Public Library is considered America's first public library and is also a member of the Minuteman Library Network.

Unlike the night putting that Ty Webb (Caddyshack) was caught doing, we did a little bit of night putting of our own and "checked out" some Siberian Squill plants.

Scilla siberica bulb plants brighten yards with spring flowers like tulips, snowdrops, crocuses, hyacinths, grape hyacinths, daffodils, etc.

They've been rehomed along side our Lily of the Valley. Hopefully they'll take and begin spreading and offer up some nice flowers come spring 2010.

Need New Apartment Sale

BIG sale - Need money for another apartment.

The following items are available:

1. Porch swing made from old couch
2. Commode planters
3. Bathtub planters
4. Used bib overalls

Oh, almost forgot, and one 5-month old infant child at half price...

West Virginia has produced some "unique" folk!

Eggstructions

Above are the Easy to Grow instructions for a product called "Egg Plants". Egg Plants is a cool idea - it's a ceramic type egg that comes pre-filled with soil (growing medium) and flower seeds already sown. According to the instruction all you need to do is crack off the top of the egg , as you wood with a soft boiled egg, water and in 7 - 10 days your sporting a blooming (no pun intended) butterfly desired flower garden. Of course this remains to be seen. It's been 10 days today and nada, bubkis...

Step 1 reads, "Place plastic wrapped egg on a plate. Using a spoon, gently crack the top of the wrapped egg. Remove the plastic wrapping and broken pieces of egg." Pretty straight forward wouldn't you agree?

I've underlined and highlighted in red above the flaw in their instructions. You see in order to obtain said instructions one must remove the plastic wrapping!

Here's your sign...

And We're Off...

Emilie and I got outside late Friday afternoon to plant some veggies.

We got a row of carrots and a row of radish seeds sowed in one raised bed and (6) broccoli and (6) kale plants in another, as well as (4) parsley plants along side the garlic in another bed. The garlic was planted in the fall and it's doing fantastic; it took off as soon as the weather broke and hasn't looked back. I suspect we're going to have a bumper crop, with no worries of vampires...

Find the Critter VI

Can you find the critters in the above picture?

First Timer

Nope, not the Boston Red Sox but rather a pair of dress socks that I darned. Yup, all by myself and I did a darn (hehehe) good job, if I do say so myself. Now that I've tapped into this hidden ability it'll free up some time for JoAnne, which could be used for things like ironing or washing or dishes, etc. (hehehe)...

Happy Easter

Easter according to 3 blondes

Three blondes (natural) died and found themselves standing before St. Peter.He told them that before they could enter the Kingdom, they had to tell him what Easter was.

The first blonde said, “Easter is a holiday where they have a big feast and we give thanks and eat turkey.”

St. Peter said, “Noooooo,” and he banished her to hell.

The second blonde said, “Easter is when we celebrate Jesus’ birth and exchange gifts.”

St. Peter said, “Noooooo,” and he banished her to hell.

The third blonde said, she knew what Easter is, and St. Peter said, “So, tell me.”

She said, “Easter is a Christian holiday that coincides with the Jewish festival of Passover. Jesus was having Passover feast with His disciples when he was betrayed by Judas, and the Romans arrested him. The Romans hung Him on the cross and eventually He died. Then they buried Him in a tomb behind a very large boulder…

St. Peter said, “Verrrrrry good.”

Then the blonde continued, “Now every year the Jews roll away the boulder and Jesus comes out. If he sees his shadow, we have six more weeks of basketball.”

St. Peter fainted

A Mulching Story

We had the day off today, Good Friday. So, this morning JoAnne said she was going to the market to pick up the fix'ns for Easter dinner. Said she wanted to beat the weekend chaos - good idea. I should have known something was up when she took a left out of our driveway. You need to turn right to go to the market.

She came home abut 10 minutes later and announced that she just ordered 5 yards of bark mulch, that it was being delivered and would be here soon. I didn't realize that the market now carried mulch, interesting concept.

Well, it took all day but we spread ALL 5 yards and it looks FANTASTIC! Hopefully, I'll be able to stand up straight again soon, walk without pain and lift my arms above my waist.

Note: We went with the black mulch; looks sooooooooooo much better than the red!

Fast Pitch, Inconsiderate Bitch

Place: In our town's high school field house.
Date: Saturday 4/4
Time: 8:30 - 10:30 AM
Event: Girls Fast Pitch Softball Clinic
Rating: Excellent

===============================

Emilie attended a girls fast pitch softball clinic that was given by the varsity girls softball team and had a ball (no pun intended). It was open to all ages with the girls grouped by grade level; Emilie was of course in the kindergartners & first graders group. The high schoolers taught the girls the fundamentals; throwing, catching, fielding, base running, batting, etc and let them all take turns doing each. The little ones all enjoyed themselves and the high schoolers did a fantastic job; a GREAT event and fundraiser!

However, that's where my praise and pleasantries end. Please also note this rant has NOTHING to do with any aspect of the event itself but rather one particular douche bag who I will affectionately refer to from now on as "dipstick", OK?!

The field house contains an indoor track with a full basketball court in the center and bleachers on one side - it's big with plenty of space to roam and accommodate many, many people. So JoAnne and I find a spot and settle in to watch Emilie. Then outta no where Murphy appears; you know Murphy, of “Murphy’s Law”! He always makes an appearance at the most inopportune times and this day and event was no different. OK, technically it wasn’t Murphy but rather a parent making her way over to watch her daughter too. Naturally she wasn’t alone, nope, she had two little rug rats in tow…let the games begin!

With all the seating choices and possibilities available how and why this woman chose our space, next to us kills me – only Murphy would find humor in this.

She’s one of those people who behave and act as if she’s sitting at home in her living room regardless of where she is - completely inconsiderate, oblivious and doesn’t care about anyone else around her. I can’t imagine what goes through the melon of someone like this or how someone can be this rude and clueless.

She was constantly yelling at or calling for the rug rats as they were tearing up and tooling around all over the place completely outta control and being supervised, if that’s what you’d call it, by a women sitting on her gluteus maximus and yelling from afar - after all she was in her own living room wasn’t she?! When she wasn’t yelling at them she was horse playing with them. At one point she had one hanging on her back and was spinning around and around weeeeeeeee so much fun, what a wonderful parent – NOT! Of course this wonderful parenting was taking place smack dab in front of us and other parents who were their trying to watch their own kids through this dipstick only to need to strain their necks to see around them. The quote Charlie Brown, “UGGGH”!

Oh, almost forgot another gem of an example - The signs that were hanging on the entrances to the field house that read, "No food or drinks allowed inside the field house", well those were obviously for everybody else and simply did NOT apply to her and her rug rats. So, when one of kids proceeded to empty his juice box on the turf track, well that was fine. Oh, she scolded him but that was it. She didn’t move off her ass; no common curtsey or decency, nope, she never even made an attempt to clean the spills. Just what the track needed twenty feet of sticky juice box stains, PRICELESS!

Fighting back the urge to put the woman in her place, which at that point would have been nothing short off a barrage of profanities, we decided it best to move away to another spot – confrontation averted.

Now, here is the ironic and cruel part of the story – the event ended with M having a fantastic time and we went on our way. Later that day M had her first softball team practice – (13) 6, 7 & 8 year old little girls learning the fundamentals of the game. Again, Murphy appeared and just who do you think one of the girls on her team is?!?! Yup, you got it the daughter of the “dipstick”. Thirteen weeks of attending practices and games trying to bite my tounge as dipstick rants and raves at her rug rats, UGGGGH. Looks like I’ll be upping my high blood pressure medication in anticipation...

Water, Water, Water.

Q: How can I grow my onions sweet rather than strong and spicy?

A: If your onions are too strong and spicy, you haven't watered them enough. Don't be fooled by healthy-looking green stalks. The stalks will be green even if the onions are too dry. The secret to sweeter onions is water, water, water.

Courtesy of The Old Farmer's Almanac

Find the Critters V

Can you find the critters in the above picture?

The 70's

I installed a second banister going to the basement for a friend of my folks. It was a nice little project that didn't take too long and it came out pretty nice if I dare to tout my own horn. The home owner was very pleased, plus it's now safer for her to climb up and down the stair.

Her basement is full of stuff that has been collected over the years, just like my folks. Many of the items are older, for example here are some pictures I took of a vintage Playboy collection from the early 70's -

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Notice the famous Farrah Fawcett issue, just to the left of the issue with the loooooooooong legs!!

There may have been some 'reading' during my coffee breaks, you know for banister installation ideas of course...