Facebook

I have a Facebook account. There are days I wonder why. I think George Carlin said it best.

It would seem on most days they have a Facebook account. Maybe it is good that I never post about this blog on Facebook. So almost all of the Facebook friends I have will never read this. There are things in life that I don't care about. Your high score on Candy Crush Saga or Slots or any other game connected to Facebook. What you had for lunch, supper, breakfast, snack, meals on wheels, or any thing else you have eaten or will eat unless it will be on an episode of Man versus Food or Ripley's Believe It or Not. If you are having whale tongue filet or chicken lips or leftovers from Jeffrey Dahmer's freezer then post that shit with pictures. If it is fried chicken and mashed potatoes honestly I don't give a shit. Your kids and grandkids, hell yes I want to hear about them. Every accomplishment in life for them you want to share. Put up pictures of them playing ball or graduating from school. I don't see most of you often enough to know what is going on and those things are important. The fact you ate lunch at Applebee's and shopped at Target afterward, really not so much. Now on to things folks seem to like to repost. Again I call on George Carlin.

Obama is a muslim born in Kenya and not qualified to be president because he wants to take our guns and he is trying to cover up the scandal in Benghazi while he uses the IRS to crush Tea Party groups. If you choose to repost something that someone else has posted on the Internet or Facebook take a few minutes to see if it is true. I find it incredible that you can Google anything and get a hundred or a thousand or a million sources of information on subjects you don't even care about. I see stuff on Facebook every day that is complete and utter bullshit. I want to make it clear I am not picking on any group. Liberals and conservatives are both altering the facts and manipulating headlines to make political points. They both lie. Every fucking day! Read multiple news sources, do some fact checking, read something about what is being said before you just repost and agree. We have access to more information in less time than at any point in history and yet the willingness to check any statement to see if it is true is just too much trouble. I read it on the Internet or on Facebook so it must be true. If that is where the majority of  users are then we are soooooo screwed. So when I see you again and I take my hat off and put it on your head it is not because I think you want my hat. It is because I see that orb on top of your neck as nothing more than a talking hat rack.

Oklahoma

Monday was a bad day if you lived in the effected areas of Oklahoma. There was destruction on a scale that is hard to imagine. I am posting several pictures of the area with the full understanding that they cannot convey the full extent of the damage.

 

 

It amazes me in a couple of  ways. First, that all that damage can be done in a matter of a few seconds. Second, that the number of people who died was not much higher. I know the area is know for tornados and they take preparation seriously down there, but how can you prepare for this?

The aftermath is even more shocking when viewed from ground level. The last picture is a view of the medical center.

 

This is a young boy being pulled from what remains of his school. I would have nightmares from this experience if it was me.

Churches weren't spared either. 

 

This is my favorite hypocrite or money grubbing jackass or whatever other label you want to put on him. I am sure he will be on the news in the next few days telling us that America needs to repent or god will continue to pour out is wrath like he did in Oklahoma. He will blame gay marriage, abortions, greed, homosexuals, no prayer in public schools or one of a hundred other things for the tragedy in Oklahoma. God is punishing us Pat?  In my mind only with your presence. I miss the old days a hundred years ago before radio and television when a few million fewer people would have to listen to your bullshit. I have two simple statements. You allege god punishes us for our collective misdeeds but as a parent I know that punishment is ineffective unless you know why you are being punished. If you just walk by every now and then and whack your kid up side the head with no explanation he just learns to avoid you. Is that your god's plan. Second point, I wasn't real crazy about a house being dropped on a wicked witch in the Wizard of Oz. If god is dropping schools on children to teach us a lesson I have a real problem with his teaching method. If you response is that the devil is doing it, well once again that would only happen if god allowed it according to your words.

 

If you want to help those who have been effected by this natural disaster take a few moments and give a dollar or two or a hundred or two to the American Red Cross.

 

Let's hope brighter days are ahead for those who are suffering now.



Be Like Mike

My friend Mike says carry your camera you never know when the opportunity for a picture might present itself. So for the past few weeks I have done my best to be like Mike.

Last year we planted over 500 trees in the pasture at the bottom of the hill behind our house. Tuesday I went down to walk around and check those trees and do some mowing. On the way down on the tractor I stopped to take a picture of the hawk nest that was home to a family of red tailed hawks last year. I thought I saw some movement and was hoping we had baby hawks again.

I snapped a few shots. I didn't have my glasses and the screen on the camera is small so I didn't know what I had, if anything. When I took my break for lunch I took a look and was disappointed to find that all I had were pictures of a nest. No hawks. I knew there was a nest somewhere because a female red tail hawk kept circling overhead screeching at me. She never landed in the trees anywhere and I couldn't locate where she might roost. After lunch I went back to work taking a quick glance at the nest as I drove by on the tractor. It is a strange thing, animals and tractors. It seems as the day goes by and you continue with the routine work of the day the animals pay less and less attention to you and the tractor. At 5:00 p.m. I was tired and hot. The daytime high had reached 90 degrees for the first time this year and my get up and go was gone. I headed up the hill on the tractor and realized I had left my camera and water on the ground by the fence. I went back to get them and as I went back up the hill I noticed the female hawk was standing on the side of the nest.

I kept the tractor running and stayed on the seat hoping to get a few good shots of her. I have found that if you get off the tractor the wild critters get alarmed and flee. If you stay on usually they stay put. Mike is also right about another thing. We are old, sorry Mike but it's true, and film used to cost too much to take multiple shots. The great thing about digital photography is no expense other than batteries. I figured if she would sit still for a photo shoot I would take several shots hoping for something special. Thanks for more great advice Mike.

I didn't have my glasses on and did not realize that from my second shot on there was a baby hawk on the nest to the left of mother  hawk.

So, keep that camera at the ready. New batteries close at hand. A good photo editing program is also helpful. The first picture was as it came off the camera. The last two were cropped and zoomed. While they are a bit grainy and the lighting could be better I did the best I could with the tools I have. The pictures were taken in the late afternoon facing west into the bright sun. You will note in every shot that mother hawk is paying full attention to what I am doing. I will try to get more pictures over the next few weeks until this little fella leaves the nest. Maybe there is a bother or sister in there like last year.

Happy Birthday Lily Lu

Today is Lily Lu's first birthday. When we got her I couldn't imagine why we would want a puppy to replace our departed beloved Candy Mae. Now I can't imagine life without Lily Lu. We recently returned from a trip to Lexington, Kentucky to see Carol's family. We had to leave early on Sunday morning so we would be back in time to pick Lily up from the kennel. We didn't want to spend another day without her.

This is the little girl we brought home last year. This is one of my favorite pictures of her.

This was Lily earlier today enjoying some ice cream birthday cake. Spoiled dog? Maybe.

She disappeared from the living room after eating her birthday cake. I found her in the guest  bedroom relaxing on the bed. If you look closely on the side of her face you can still see some blue icing. It would seem that eating cake is hard work.

When Lily is not eating or sleeping she is out in her new area digging. We keep thinking at some point the bird feeder is  going to fall over. It is set in concrete and she has now dug completely around it. If you are looking for trenching she may be available for hire. Her current speciality is landscaping removal.

We don't know what is down there but she is determined to dig it out.

Happy birthday Lily Lu. Thanks for allowing us to be your people.

Tales from the Road

Carol and I just returned from our annual trek to Lexington, Kentucky so she can spend time with her siblings and their families. Today's post isn't about any of that, it is about stuff I saw along the way that appealed to my admitly juvenile sense of humor. Someone recently asked if I was in my second childhood. I told the truth, I haven't finished my first yet.

We took these pictures at a construction site in Knoxville, Illinois right before we dropped Lily off at the kennel.

I personally wondered what exactly went on in the "Dirty Room". Does one go there to have their "tools" cleaned. They are working on the water tower. Do you get the rust blown out of your pipes?

While in Kentucky we went to the Waveland State Historic Site. It was interesting but that will be the subject of another day. I happened across this brochure for the Big Bone Lick State Park. Really? Nobody in Kentucky State Government saw a red flag here. It gets better.

If you will take a moment to read above you will note that Big Bone Lick State Park is in Union, Kentucky on Beaver Road. It makes sense. If you are going to have a big bone licked you really need some beaver around.

Okay this is just one of the goofy things I do when I travel. If I see a "Big Boy" I am getting my picture taken with him. I was a bit surprised when Carol agreed to be in the shot. You will note she is helping Big Boy hold up his massive meat. How can you not have fun with a big boy.

Horseshoe Bend Winery is a real winery in Kentucky. We saw this bottle of wine at the Liquor Barn. Now I have seen King Kong movies and I don't remember a thong on Kong. The other thing I don't recall is Kong sporting such an impressive package in his thong. He appears excited to be on top of that building. I think maybe he is ready to go to the dirty room.

I bought a bottle of this beer. Rogue Voodoo Doughnut Bacon Maple Porter. Haven't tried it yet but it is on ice. I will report on the experience.

 

 

We toured the Maker's Mark distillery and they had this poster on the wall. It is good when you can poke a little fun at your own business. More on that tour in another post.