TRAPPING CATS

And . . .

And . . . our Gratuitous Critter pic of the day.

"Oh yeah?  You and what army?"

I'VE SAID IT BEFORE . . .

. . . and I'll say it again.  I love the holidays because of the food!  Stuff gets made that doesn't seem to appear any other time of the year.  SWMBO got busy yesterday and made fruit breads.

Orange/cranberry/pecan and applesauce/wheat/raisin breads.

And the BRD sent over a loaf of bacon/cheese/onion bread to test our tongues for a savory taste.  It is very good (and almost gone!)

I told you I'd say it again: I love the holidays for the food!

Speaking of which, here's today's Gratuitous Critter picture.

"Share and share alike, fellas."

BRISK

Just in case I hadn't mentioned it before, here in the Central Highlands of Arizona it can get cold.  We get occasional snow.  During our "dusting" the other day I found that Prescott, only 6 to 8 miles away but a thousand feet or more higher than here, had several inches and piles of it were stacked around town alongside the roads where it had been plowed off.

Very early this morning the temperature dipped to 14 degrees and there was a splash of rain and, once again, a very light dusting of snow.

I found just outside my front door today that some fallen leaves had gotten trapped in a wet spot that then froze.  Later when the temperature rose most of the leaves blew away.  But they left behind their footprints and one of their colleagues.

Cool, huh?  Well, actually, it was cold and it still is.  When I went out to retrieve the mail the temperature was only in the 30's and a bit of a brisk wind was making it chillier still.

O.K.  I've had enough winter.  Bring on the warmer temperatures!

p.s.  I can't help remembering a bit of doggerel from some radio program when I was a kid:  "Whether it's cold, or whether it's hot, we're gonna have weather, whether or not!"

BLACKWELL WANTS IN!

Yesterday, when SWMBO was doing some Christmas decorating my big black boy cat, Blackwell, decided to get into the act.  A half-empty box of tinsel was too much for him to avoid.

A WEEKEND DUSTING OF SNOW

We had our first snowfall of the winter over the weekend.  While it snowed most of Saturday the temperature was too cold for much of it to stick.  It did, however, render the bird bath inoperable.

It was the snow on the bamboo in our back yard that attracted SWMBO's attention.

Even with all that moisture from the sky, the air apparently was so dry as to make the snow look like a dusting of sugar.

For today's Gratuitous Critter photo I am indebted to the BRD, who sent me over a clutch of bird photos.  This one seems to fit my snowy pictures.

"Aren't we a cool couple?"

THOUGHTS ON A SHOOTING

I've been hesitant to write anything about the massacre in Newtown, Connecticut.  I think it's because so many people are running their mouths and I just want to say "shut your damned mouths."  Friday was a black day for American journalism, if it can even be called that anymore.  "Journalists", both print and television, first got the name of the assassin wrong, they said he left an automatic rifle in the trunk of his car when in fact (if even this can be believed) today they said it was used for most of the killings, they said his mother was a teacher at the school (apparently she had no connection to it), they said the principal had buzzed him in because she recognized him (also apparently not true), and on and on.

I've been reading the biography of Walter Cronkite by Douglas Brinkley.  Cronkite was a great believer in the old journalistic maxim - don't report it until you have two unimpeachable sources.  He was angry at Dan Rather when he screwed up in filing a special report on former President George W. Bush's attendance to duty during his short-lived National Guard career.  That mistake - using only one source (who turned out to be either mistaken or an intentional liar) spelled the end of Rather's career at CBS.

I don't know how the "media" got so much of yesterday's story wrong but I suspect it was because of the rush to get it on the air, ahead of the competition, which is huge these days of cable "news" channels.

The point is, we are being badly served by our alleged news reporters.

Then there's the gun control argument.  During past events of this type, I have been one of those in a hurry to demand stricter gun control laws.  But I seriously wonder, today, if they would do any good.  There are more guns than human beings in our blighted nation.  I suspect there was a rush by the people convinced that President Obama and the federal government are going to go from door to door removing all of their guns today to buy even more guns and ammunition.  There is no gun control law that can bring back all of those guns.

I think the 2nd amendment to the Constitution, which states "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed" is complete and utter balderdash in the year 2012.  Why do we have police forces - city, state and federal - if not to provide the protections of a well regulated militia.  Why do we need every person on the street to be "packing heat?"

I was in a pharmacy the other day.  The person in front of me was an elderly man, not to good on his feet, hard of hearing, but he had some type of gun in a holster on his hip.  In the event of something terrible happening should I depend on him to restore order and protect me?  I think not.

I DO believe that our gun laws need to be strengthened to prevent people with mental disabilities from having guns.

I DO believe that anyone who sells guns, whether it be an employee of a licensed gun store or some guy at a gun show, should be required to have a background check done on their potential buyers.

I DO believe there is no place in this or any country for citizens to be able to buy automatic weapons, whether rifles or pistols.

So, the gun control debate will begin in Washington and around the nation.  As always I suspect it will lead to nothing.  And, were stricter laws passed, would they do any good?  There is still a massive amount of weaponry and ammunition already out there.  

And would stricter laws have eliminated the tragedy that happened yesterday.  Apparently not.  The assassin used guns that legally belonged to his mother.  That she purchased for self-protection.  And that cost her her own life.

Enough.

A DUKE'S MIXTURE

I've been having a lot of fun with my new car lately.  Today I got to use the windshield wipers for the first time because there was a light mist falling from the sky.

For those of you worried about the future . . .

For those of you worried about Santa . . .

For those of you worried about Arizona and it's notoriously loony governor, there is always Steve Benson of the Arizona Republic.  Hey!  This guy is a Pulitzer Prize winner!

For those of you worried about the BRD . . . (I don't know why anyone would worry about her!) . . .

She's the one on the far right.  Don't ask me what the boots and brooms were all about.  I think it was an excuse for "da girls" to get together and drink!

And for those who may have been worried about the reports that our good friend, DK, had turned 80 this year, worry no more.  The extremely good looking gal is on the right in this picture with her friend Melanie recently.

Oh, pshaw!  Just tell me I'm not full of the Christmas spirits . . er . . I meant to say "spirit".  Sure I did.

Speakin' of which, here's today's Gratuitous Critter picture.

"Jus' out here bayin' at the moon."