Flora

Some photos of a fading bouquet.

SWMBO's favorite, a Carnation.

A science fiction fan's favorite, a very tropical-looking Lily.

The bouquet came to SWMBO from the BRD on the latter's birthday.  Rather nice to remember your mother on the anniversary of the day she gave birth to you.

SUNSHINE ON A CHILLY DAY!

Well, lookie here.  Stephen at The Chubby Chatterbox has nominated me for an award.

It's the Sunshine Award.  Considering my sometimes sarcastic, sometimes snarky, sometimes snarly blog posts, I'm not sure I deserve it.  But, what the heck.

The rules of the Sunshine Blog Award are simple…

#1 Thank the person who nominated you with a link back to their blog. (Thanks Stephen! The link is posted above.  If you've never been to his blog, trust me, you'll enjoy it.  Stephen is a talented artist/illustrator and a very talented writer who spins great tales.)

#2 Answer a few questions about yourself.


Favorite color: Red, I think.  I do like black, too, but I'm told it and white aren't really colors.


Favorite animal: Cats.  And jackalopes.


Favorite number: 4, probably because there are an abundance of them in my birthdate: 4-24-1940.  Hasn't helped me out with the Powerball, though.

Favorite non-alcoholic drink: NON-ALCOLIC???  You've got to be kidding.  Oh, o.k., I guess it would be Diet Coke.


Facebook or Twitter: Facebook, I guess.  I've never tried and never will try Twitter.  (I know, never say never)


My passion: This damned computer.  And the Arizona Diamondbacks!

Favorite flower: I think it would have to be Lilac.  I keep threatening to plant a lilac bush around here but haven't done it yet.  But we had them around my house when I was a kid and I love the smell of them.

Favorite movie: Oh, man, there are so many.  Casablanca is one I never fail to watch.  And The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming is fantastic though I haven't seen it in quite awhile.

Favorite painting: I love anything by Renoir, particularly The Luncheon of the Boating Party.  Though I've lived for years in the Southwest, I'm up to here with cowboy art or Western Art.


Now, I'm supposed to nominate some other blogs for this award.  I was going to decline this one but I'll suggest a couple.


Judy, at Prescott Area Daily Photo
Tom, at Light Breezes

APRIL FOOL!

April Fools Day was two weeks ago but the joker saved one last trick for us.

The BRD's birthday is April 11th.  SWMBO's birthday is May 12th.  Every year they go out for a long, lavish lunch somewhere between the two dates to celebrate another year.  Then they go to a nursery and buy lots of flowers to set out in front of the home of each. 

When she was younger, the BRD always used to push the season.  That is, after days of temperatures around 70 and trees greening and blooming, she would want to buy the flowers and get at it.  SWMBO always used to tell her "it's too soon."  The lesson has been learned.

Because nearly every year we'd wake to something like this.



Yes, it snowed again here last night.  Not much and it won't last.  The weather forecast says the high will be in the middle 40's today, the mid 50's on Sunday, the mid 60's on Monday, and the middle 70's for the rest of the week.

But for those of you who like this kind of thing . . enjoy!



MUSIC BY JOHN DEERE!

I can't believe this.  You just have to watch.

This was sent by email from a friend of mine.  Here's the explanation that came with it:

This incredible machine was built as a collaborative effort between the Robert M. Trammell Music Conservatory and the Sharon Wick School of Engineering at the University of Iowa . Amazingly, 97% of the machine's components came from John Deere Industries and Irrigation Equipment of Bancroft , Iowa .. Yes, farm equipment! It took the team a combined 13,029 hours (6.26 years) of set-up, alignment, calibration, and tuning before filming this video but as you can see, it was WELL worth the effort. It is now on display in the Matthew Gerhard Alumni Hall at the University and is already slated to be donated to the Smithsonian.

Well, guess what.  It's a fake!  I showed it to SWMBO and she said, "It's not real.  It's computer animation."  That sent me to the Interwebs and darned if she isn't right.  Snopes has the goods on it at this location.

Blast!  Guess I'm getting gullible in my old age.

RESTING BEEF

I've read recipes that call for "resting" the meat once it is cooked to allow the juices to settle within.  But this goes beyond that.  This is resting the beef before it's anywhere near your barbecue grill or stovetop or oven.

I know, I know.  You're probably all getting tired of my fascination with the beef cattle near my home.  Well.  Get used to it.  These guys have.



THE ROCK JOCK

This is how it all started . . . 51 years ago.  A rock and roll radio station in Minot, North Dakota.  Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to introduce . . . Bruce on the Loose!!!

I never understood why the studio photographer insisted on portraying a bunch of crazy disc jockeys as (relatively) well dressed, thoughtful, sensitive individuals.  We certainly weren't.  But I guess that's why they call them "glamour shots."

A GHOST

A photo I shot yesterday was a ghostly blur with a shadowy image inside that box.

Aha!  A few seconds later and a second shot with the flash stopped the movement and revealed the occupant/resident of that fairly new box.

It's Jazz in one of her favorite spots . . inside of a box.  I'm not sure why cats love boxes so much.  It may be because they would seem to offer protection or safety or coziness.  But they all have to try out any box that comes into the house.  This one is even big enough to accomodate Blackwell.  But Jazz tends to adopt and dominate the territory whenever a new one appears.