South Florida has had record-setting weather, rainfall specifically, for the last few months. Starting last November, we had the dryest season on record, for a period of 6 months, and the dry conditions have spawned fires, plant losses, all the results of little or no rain coming down. Our fire index for the local counties has been in the RED alert zone---until just the last couple of weeks, that is.
Now, we are approaching the end of May, and the latest weather report is that we are going to set a new record for the largest amount of rainfall, for the month, for a recording period going wayyyyyyy back. We have had flooding in parts of the state, particularly up around Daytona, where they had areas getting 18-20 inches of rain last week alone.
Locally, we have had substantial rain, to say the least. Just this afternoon, we had a sudden, short, 'monsoon' rain, that dropped almost 2 inches here at the house. Ours has been spread out just enough to avoid any damage, but even close by there have been flooded streets, clogged drains and lots of puddles. Seems we have been getting ours in about 2 inch increments, and quite a bit has soaked in. The grass has really perked up. I think the yards are having growing parties!! I did mow the yard yesterday morning, and it was not hard to see where the mower had been, unlike the last couple of times, when only the undesireable weeds had been tall enough to need cutting, and most of the rest barely high enough to reach the mower blades.
I hate to have to go to the doctor tomorrow! We have had my wife's sister here for a two week visit, from Indiana, and we have been hitting a lot of places to eat that we try to avoid most of the time. I have NOT been on the scales, the whole time she has been here, and dislike the idea that the nurse is going to start right off, tomorrow, by checking to see if I have lost any weight!! HA! Not at all likely. And we still have a fair stock of left-overs in the frig, which will need to be gotten rid of, before the possibility of weight loss can be considered. I should have scheduled this visit for just before her visit, not just after. My only chance is to build a 'rack' to sleep on tonight, and try to extend myself about 4-6 inches. Fat chance of that.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
Couldn't get the photo to copy, sorry.
In a special news conference yesterday, GovernmentMotors announced its new concept car.... The new GM (Government Motors) proudly introduces the2010 Obama.... This car runs on hot air and broken promises. It hasthree wheels that speed the vehicle through tight left turns.It comes complete with two Teleprompters programmed tohelp the occupants talk their way out of any violations.The transparent canopy reveals the plastic smiles stillon the faces of all the "happy" Democrat owners.
What, no bridge tonight???
No, a very unusual Friday evening, and not sure Carol will survive the traumatic experience! Because her sister is here, visiting from Indiana, we elected not to play, both last week, and this week. I think part of the group did get together last week, but actually, this week, everyone seems to be taking a break.
Of course, this is the start of a holiday weekend, along with graduation time, so people had other things to do that were a little more demanding, since bridge can come by on lots of weeks.
We have had great rains the past few days, after one of the driest 6 month periods on record. Lawns had been looking bad, wildfires happening in a lot of places, no fires allowed, all that sort of thing. We missed the forecast rains on Monday, here at the house, specifically, but we got about 2 inches on Tuesday, got missed again during the day on Wednesday, but got another 2 inches Wednesday night, almost 3 inches Thursday and last night, and after emptying the gauge this morning, we got about another 3/4 of an inch while we went out for late lunch today. The grass has really greened up, (mowing time again,) and we have had a good drenching to help keep the fires from happening. Actually heard that Daytona had 17 inches in places, and Daytona Beach had 20 inches reported. That should help considerably.
It will help the water bill as well, not having to sprinkle the yard to keep from losing the grass totally. Fringe benefit.
Our fosterising neighborhood cat has still been staying close. Here every morning, before we get out of bed, waiting for her daily treat of wet cat food, and then back most days, afternoon or around suppertime, for a little handful of 'kitty treats'. Even has been using our carport as a dry haven during some of the weeks rains. Wonder where she really lives?????????
Of course, this is the start of a holiday weekend, along with graduation time, so people had other things to do that were a little more demanding, since bridge can come by on lots of weeks.
We have had great rains the past few days, after one of the driest 6 month periods on record. Lawns had been looking bad, wildfires happening in a lot of places, no fires allowed, all that sort of thing. We missed the forecast rains on Monday, here at the house, specifically, but we got about 2 inches on Tuesday, got missed again during the day on Wednesday, but got another 2 inches Wednesday night, almost 3 inches Thursday and last night, and after emptying the gauge this morning, we got about another 3/4 of an inch while we went out for late lunch today. The grass has really greened up, (mowing time again,) and we have had a good drenching to help keep the fires from happening. Actually heard that Daytona had 17 inches in places, and Daytona Beach had 20 inches reported. That should help considerably.
It will help the water bill as well, not having to sprinkle the yard to keep from losing the grass totally. Fringe benefit.
Our fosterising neighborhood cat has still been staying close. Here every morning, before we get out of bed, waiting for her daily treat of wet cat food, and then back most days, afternoon or around suppertime, for a little handful of 'kitty treats'. Even has been using our carport as a dry haven during some of the weeks rains. Wonder where she really lives?????????
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Finally, I got thru-------------------
No, I did not die, or get lost. I made a slight mistake, just after posting on 4/30, and have been unable to get back online to write. I was trying to post a comment, to a blogspot written by a Grandson, and added a 'gmail' address for myself, to be able to post the comment. Since that time, I have been thwarted from getting to this site, because it kept insisting that I write under the gmail name, but would only take me to a brand new page. I have tried dozens of times. in the meantime, but finally got to it today.
Hopefully, I can now get back more easily. I don't have a lot of time at the minute, but keep looking, and I will try to get backagain soon.
Hopefully, I can now get back more easily. I don't have a lot of time at the minute, but keep looking, and I will try to get backagain soon.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Happy Birthday, Palm Beach County
We are 100 years old today, officially! Time for a party, I do believe. There was quite an interesting article about it in one of the newspaper inserts today.
Originally part of Monroe county, which now is at the very southern FL tip, and includes, Key West, which must have been enormous, and then part of Dade county, (Miami), it became a county of its own on April 30, 1909. In fact, at one time, the county seat of Dade county was in Juno, roughly between Juno Beach and Palm Beach Gardens, in northern PB county. Since its inception, PB county has been pieced off into at least 4 other county units, Broward, Okeechobee, St. Lucie, and Martin counties all taking part of it.
In spite of that, Palm Beach county is still the largest county east of the Mississippi, and larger than the state of Rhode Island! By a sizeable amount, according to Wikepedia. And having only about 5,000 total residents in 1909, the 2006 figures say something over 1,300,000 people now, and one of the 20 most populous counties in the country. (Easy enough to believe during the winter snowbird season and trying to get thru traffic!) Also, according to Wikepedia, we are the most wealthy county in the state. Not sure whether that is a totally good thing or not, if one is not part of that high-dollar income bracket, but it does provide some pretty fancy homes, etc, to drive around and look at. (And wonder just where the $$$ come from to pay for such places.)
Anyhow, it is a big day locally. Not sure if there is going to be any cake to share, but we are going to the Fellowship Dinner at church tonight, (meatloaf--hurray), and rarely is there a shortage of desserts of some kind.
Wonder what the next 100 years will bring? Or even the next 10, if we are still around at that point.
Originally part of Monroe county, which now is at the very southern FL tip, and includes, Key West, which must have been enormous, and then part of Dade county, (Miami), it became a county of its own on April 30, 1909. In fact, at one time, the county seat of Dade county was in Juno, roughly between Juno Beach and Palm Beach Gardens, in northern PB county. Since its inception, PB county has been pieced off into at least 4 other county units, Broward, Okeechobee, St. Lucie, and Martin counties all taking part of it.
In spite of that, Palm Beach county is still the largest county east of the Mississippi, and larger than the state of Rhode Island! By a sizeable amount, according to Wikepedia. And having only about 5,000 total residents in 1909, the 2006 figures say something over 1,300,000 people now, and one of the 20 most populous counties in the country. (Easy enough to believe during the winter snowbird season and trying to get thru traffic!) Also, according to Wikepedia, we are the most wealthy county in the state. Not sure whether that is a totally good thing or not, if one is not part of that high-dollar income bracket, but it does provide some pretty fancy homes, etc, to drive around and look at. (And wonder just where the $$$ come from to pay for such places.)
Anyhow, it is a big day locally. Not sure if there is going to be any cake to share, but we are going to the Fellowship Dinner at church tonight, (meatloaf--hurray), and rarely is there a shortage of desserts of some kind.
Wonder what the next 100 years will bring? Or even the next 10, if we are still around at that point.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Being 'fostered', I think.
Not sure if there is a better term to use, or not. Being adopted as 'staff' might be more descriptive, were it a full time connection.
Some weeks ago, a very pretty black cat would sometimes be found around our house. Often, in the early morning, (Yes, Virginia, there is a dawn!), she would be resting under my truck, parked in the driveway, and would sometimes sort of mosey over closer to say hello, or whatever. Seems the people across the street had been feeding her, along with their own cats, but they do not lay claim to her, nor did they seem to know just where her official home was.
Other times, she might be sleeping, (a cat-nap, of course,) in our backyard, or we might see her carefully walking along the top of the fence, to get to either the front or rear of our house.
Well, as things go, Carol had occasion to purchase an off-brand of canned tuna a while back, and it had a 'fishy' taste that neither of us liked, but we ate it the first time. The next time she opened a can, again the smell was not real pleasing, and she tried a third can, with the same result. She then opened, and used, a can of her regular brand, and capped the two open cans, thinking perhaps of taking them to the store and checking to see if this was a normal smell/taste. After a couple of days, she hadn't gotten to the store, and happened to mention that just maybe, the cat outside might like some of it. WELL, she not only opened a can of tuna---but a can of worms, as well!!!
By the time the two cans of tuna were gone, a modest portion at a time, the habit of breakfast behind the house was well established, to the point of my feeling bad when I was going to run out of tuna, so I picked up a couple of cans of cat food, and the process began. She is here almost every morning, frequently waiting for us to appear, and sometimes when we happen to go out the utility room door, into the backyard, she will come jumping over the fence from behind our house, and come running up for a treat. She is not getting fed enough to sustain her, at our house, that is, and obviously has others feeding her as well. In fact, the couple across the street have named her "User", for her habit of coming by their house to eat as well.
She always waits so patiently, posing in classic cat poses, and never making any noises, at least until I go out to retrieve her feeding dish, and then she is very verbal, greeting and letting me know how hungry she is. She does not come into the house, although she has gotten curious enough lately that I think she would, given an opportunity, by my wife has no desire for that to happen.
Speaking of being verbal---do cats talk to each other??? This morning, when I looked out to see if she was waiting, she was laying in the grass, and just a couple of feet away, was ANOTHER cat, this one grey and white, maybe a B/F, but the two of them were just waiting for the first sign of life in the house. When I went after the dish, the second one took off, but a couple of minutes later, when I brought the filled dish back, the extra cat was hovering out by the fence, watching the proceedings. (And probably wondering if the feeding dishes only came in singles!) One is enough, cats, that is, but it will be interesting to see if the second one shows up again, even if I did find today the Wal-Mart has the canned food for half what I had paid at the local drug store.
Some weeks ago, a very pretty black cat would sometimes be found around our house. Often, in the early morning, (Yes, Virginia, there is a dawn!), she would be resting under my truck, parked in the driveway, and would sometimes sort of mosey over closer to say hello, or whatever. Seems the people across the street had been feeding her, along with their own cats, but they do not lay claim to her, nor did they seem to know just where her official home was.
Other times, she might be sleeping, (a cat-nap, of course,) in our backyard, or we might see her carefully walking along the top of the fence, to get to either the front or rear of our house.
Well, as things go, Carol had occasion to purchase an off-brand of canned tuna a while back, and it had a 'fishy' taste that neither of us liked, but we ate it the first time. The next time she opened a can, again the smell was not real pleasing, and she tried a third can, with the same result. She then opened, and used, a can of her regular brand, and capped the two open cans, thinking perhaps of taking them to the store and checking to see if this was a normal smell/taste. After a couple of days, she hadn't gotten to the store, and happened to mention that just maybe, the cat outside might like some of it. WELL, she not only opened a can of tuna---but a can of worms, as well!!!
By the time the two cans of tuna were gone, a modest portion at a time, the habit of breakfast behind the house was well established, to the point of my feeling bad when I was going to run out of tuna, so I picked up a couple of cans of cat food, and the process began. She is here almost every morning, frequently waiting for us to appear, and sometimes when we happen to go out the utility room door, into the backyard, she will come jumping over the fence from behind our house, and come running up for a treat. She is not getting fed enough to sustain her, at our house, that is, and obviously has others feeding her as well. In fact, the couple across the street have named her "User", for her habit of coming by their house to eat as well.
She always waits so patiently, posing in classic cat poses, and never making any noises, at least until I go out to retrieve her feeding dish, and then she is very verbal, greeting and letting me know how hungry she is. She does not come into the house, although she has gotten curious enough lately that I think she would, given an opportunity, by my wife has no desire for that to happen.
Speaking of being verbal---do cats talk to each other??? This morning, when I looked out to see if she was waiting, she was laying in the grass, and just a couple of feet away, was ANOTHER cat, this one grey and white, maybe a B/F, but the two of them were just waiting for the first sign of life in the house. When I went after the dish, the second one took off, but a couple of minutes later, when I brought the filled dish back, the extra cat was hovering out by the fence, watching the proceedings. (And probably wondering if the feeding dishes only came in singles!) One is enough, cats, that is, but it will be interesting to see if the second one shows up again, even if I did find today the Wal-Mart has the canned food for half what I had paid at the local drug store.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Catching up
My blogger son in Utah has taken me to task for not blogging about the Boynton Beach, FL, lady who called the police last week, telling them that she was watching thieves in her house, as she was on the phone, getting ready to clean out all of the electronics, etc, that they could find.
She had installed the system after being burglarized last fall, and was able to log, with her computer at work, to see what was going on. She did not make a real habit of checking, but had a gut feeling that she needed to do it that day, at just the right time. She saw two guys roaming thru the house, eating food from her frig, and gathering items together, ready to load them into a van, driven by two other BGs, who were raiding a neighboring home while they waited!!
It was interesting to see the BGs suddenly dash from front to back of the house, only to discover that the local PD had the house surrounded, as well as stopping the van! My son was quick to point out that the technology used for the surveillance came from a company out in Utah.
And now for the bad news----the noon news broadcast reported that the BGs had all gotten out on bail already!! Nothing like a quick turn-around. It will take a WHOLE lot longer than that for them to see the inside of a courtroom, and face a jury, I am sure. Hopefully, to provide them with some time in jail. Which will probably be used to find out how to avoid getting caught the next time. Certainly not to learn some job skills, to avoid having to get their cash by robbing homes. After all, w-o-r-k is a 4 letter word.
She had installed the system after being burglarized last fall, and was able to log, with her computer at work, to see what was going on. She did not make a real habit of checking, but had a gut feeling that she needed to do it that day, at just the right time. She saw two guys roaming thru the house, eating food from her frig, and gathering items together, ready to load them into a van, driven by two other BGs, who were raiding a neighboring home while they waited!!
It was interesting to see the BGs suddenly dash from front to back of the house, only to discover that the local PD had the house surrounded, as well as stopping the van! My son was quick to point out that the technology used for the surveillance came from a company out in Utah.
And now for the bad news----the noon news broadcast reported that the BGs had all gotten out on bail already!! Nothing like a quick turn-around. It will take a WHOLE lot longer than that for them to see the inside of a courtroom, and face a jury, I am sure. Hopefully, to provide them with some time in jail. Which will probably be used to find out how to avoid getting caught the next time. Certainly not to learn some job skills, to avoid having to get their cash by robbing homes. After all, w-o-r-k is a 4 letter word.
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