A PRICKLY PRESENCE

Something you don't want to mess with in Arizona.

Just one of many different varieties of cactus that live in the Great Sonoran Desert and surrounding areas.

This one is a Prickly Pear and it's very sharp spines covering the pads are a few inches long.

But the smaller hair-like bristles are the dangerous ones as they detach easily from the cactus and can become imbedded in one's skin.

In Mexico the cacti are known as nopales and are eaten as a delicacy.

After the needles are carefully removed, of course.

But me?

I think I'll just keep on avoiding them and watching where I step.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

'Tis the last weekend of summer, so they say. 

So let's put it to bed with a bang. 

Or at least a laugh. 

Maybe a non-P.C. laugh or two.

Did I mention that some of today's humor is non-P.C.?

O.K.

Just so I warned you.

A special thanks to my contributors this Friday.

Have a terrific weekend and always remember to keep laughing.

THROWBACK THURSDAY

Same trip that took me to the Hello, Dolly set (last week's post). Sometime in the mid to late 1960's, RTNDA convention in Los Angeles. I was over-exposed by the photographer at CBS Television City studios, where we were entertained by the Smothers Brothers, among others.

The bags under my eyes and the lines in my face tell me it was a great boozy trip.

SMACKDOWN!

This scene sort of resembles a WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) match.

Blackwell reigns and rests in the chair.

Muggles lies on the floor after being flattened.

But it wasn't that way.

It's just afternoon nap time.

Blackwell has found the chair to be comfortable for her snooze.

And Muggles, as is her way, collapses on the floor on her back.

At least part of her. 

Her top half appears to be on it's side but her bottom half rests facing the ceiling, with her rear feet poised.

I've never understood how cats can sleep on their backs but Muggles does it frequently.

By the way, that tube behind her on the floor is her favorite toy, packed with catnip. It's pretty stale now, I would assume, but she still plays with it.

Probably out of habit.

Like her sleeping posture.

Ho-hum. This post has made ME sleepy. Guess I'll join the felines in a bit of a nap.

TUESDAY TRAVELS

A rather disheveled-looking Captain Catalyst studies the Pacific Ocean near San Simeon in California a few years ago.

"What was that? Did someone say 'Rosebud'?"

IN THE SAME YARD

And then there's . . .

Anybody have a clue?

IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Is this a camelia bush? SWMBO thinks so.

The bluish-purple blooms are dying pink ones.

Whatever they are, they're gorgeous.