Saturday, March 26, 2011

2 Things Challenge: Song/Line

The 2 Things Challenge this week was Song/Line.  Welcome to The Grateful Dead meet Johnny Cash.  The song represented by the concoction above is Dead's "Truckin" and the line is Johnny's "Because you're mine, I walk the line."

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Spring Bee



Another harbinger of spring!  These are carpenter bees and although I read the males lack stingers, I hate them!  They will eat your house, your deck, your lawn furniture, whaterver kind of unprotected wood they can find.  Actually they don't eat it, but burrow nice little perfectly round holes in the wood for nests, and if there's a lot of them and you don't stop them, they can do a lot of damage.  Bublebees, however, nest in the ground and do a lot of good pollenation, if you don't mess with them.  Bumblebees have striped abdomens, not the shiny black of these fellows.

These were hovering above the patio, staking out territory and looking for nesting sites and mates.  I hate it when they hover right in front of my face, challenging me on my own property, even if the males don't sting.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Supermoon from Alabama

Tonight is the "supermoon."  It's supposed to be bigger, brighter, etc., because it's closer than normal, but it just did not look significantly different from any other full moon to me.  It was a very nice full moon, don't get me wrong, but boy, the news folks sure do try to make a really big deal out of things that aren't as significant as that green Ford Fiesta in the commercial where the guy claims, "It's a really big deal." 

2 Things Challenge: Wet/Dry

"Beefeater martini, straight up, absoloutely NO vermouth, with an olive."  That's exactly how Fletch ordered it every time we met in California on business during the 1970's.  That's also a pretty dry way to wet your whistle.  Very often this was followed by prime rib, medium rare.  Those were the days when we flew first class and would drive an hour to have dinner in San Francisco.

I haven't seen or spoken to Fletch in a long, long time, and I'm not sure if he's even still alive, but if you're out there Fletch, this one's for you.  (By the way, I really don't think Fletch could have brought himself to drink a martini in a RED glass.)

Join us at 2 Things Challenge for other interpretations of the Wet/Dry challenge.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

2 Things Challenge: Sneak/Peak

The 2 Things Challenge this week was Sneak/Peak.
This little mountain is one of the smaller ones to the west of Mount Katahdin in Baxter State Park, Maine, as viewed from the southern shore of Millinocket Lake, just outside the park.  The peak is trying to sneak out above the clouds on a gray and dreary fall evening a couple of years ago.
This is Mount Katahdin, viewed from the shore of Round Pond within the Baxter State Park, on a much brighter and clearer morning.  The peak is the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail, and it is barren enough that it would be very difficult to sneak up on that peak.
In this photo, the farthest peak seems to be trying to sneak behind the closest one.  These small mounds are on the shore of Jordan Pond in Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island, home of Bar Harbor, Maine.  Together they are known as The Bubbles, although I heard they have another, unofficial name also.

(Yes, my wife and I were there on vacation in the autumn of 2008.)