FRIDAY FUNNIES

There was a bit of an earthquake over in Southern California early this morning.

Doesn't look like any damage or injuries have been reported but that's always a great excuse to play one of my favorite rock and roll tunes.

If you felt the shaker, that ought to make you feel better.

And now on to the regular Friday Funnies.

Ah, I see Maxine is still worrying about that earthquake.

And her daughter, maybe?

And her drink of choice?

As for the health reasons for drinking alcohol?

You've seen me talk on this blog about my love for the beach life.  

Here's why.

Some people, however, prefer the mountains.

It's a little early to be drinking as I write this in Arizona.

But remember what Jimmy Buffet wrote: "It's Always 5 o'clock Somewhere!"

With those intoxicating thoughts, I wish you an invigorating weekend and always keep grinning!

Here kitty-kitty.

THROWBACK THURSDAY

I was at my doctor's office for an annual wellness visit a couple of days ago and his nurse measured my height.

It came in as 6 feet and one-half inch.

WHAT?

I was 6 foot 2 for most of my life!

In this picture from my boyhood you can see why.

It's those l-o-n-g legs.

That's one of my cousins, Bluegrass Bonnie, posing with me.

Baseball Steve and I have had a running argument for years about which of us was taller.

I always was except when he wore his high-heels.

Cowboy boots, that is.

But about a year ago I was measured at 6 foot 1.

So I ceded the title to him, even without his boots.

When the doctor came in to talk with me he said "You're really tall."

I told him I used to be 6 foot 2 but that I'm now compressing in my advanced years.

We both agreed that it was the result of years of gravity pushing on me.

I'll go with that.

JAY DIP

THE WATCHERS

The patriarch of the Gambel's Quail family always gets up high on a bush or a tree or a wall when the young'uns are out perambulating around.

Keeping an eye out for potential danger.

Meantime, mi gato azul keeps an eye on the birdbath.

Incidentally, the blue cat is not named after the tapas restaurant in Prescott, run by my friend Barry Barbe.

But you might stop in for a bite once in awhile.

I haven't been there for a long time but I love the place.

A VERY POPULAR BIRD BATH/FOUNTAIN

As the temperatures hover in the upper 90's I am finding our bird bath more and more frequented by the birds of the area.

They come in all sizes, from the tiny Goldfinch above to the larger warbler below.

And the camp-robbing Jays are showing up more often now that they've learned about it.

Earlier in the week a Gambel's Quail approached it but then ambled away.

We've had the Rufous Towhee drinking and bathing in the basin.

We had a very surprise visitor one day with a hawk perched on the edge.

Mourning doves pay their visits.

And yesterday, just for an instant, there was a big-assed PIGEON who jumped up and cooled off his feet.

As I was grabbing for the camera he flew away so you have to take my word for that one.

SUMMERTIME

It is June fourth, 2016, and I have a fan blowing on me as I sit typing this.

It's cool, even as the indoor/outdoor thermometer resting near me says it isn't.

It seems early this year.

The Weather Gods tell me the average high temperature for this date is 83.

But in 1996, just 20 years ago, the mercury soared to 98.

We've topped that already today and the period of highest heat is still several hours away.

And the official beginning of summer is still 16 days into the future.

This is, after all, an era of much publicity about Global Warming.

It causes my mind to drift into the distant, murky past.

To period of time when an uncle had a cabin on tiny Camp Lake in Minnesota, near to the gigantic Mille Lacs Lake.

It was only about 100 miles north of his home in Minneapolis.

But it was a wonderland to a young boy from North Dakota when we would make our occasional visits there.

My aunt Alla had fixed up the interior to resemble a small lodge, with knotty pine walls and breakfast nook.

My brother and I and our cousins loved the lake.

Boyhood then was something like this*.

Yes, memories of those days long ago provide a spirit of cooling when the temperature scorches us here in sun-blessed Arizona.

*This picture doesn't come from my family. It was only borrowed from the World Wide Web to illustrate a memory.

FRIDAY FUNNIES

O.K., neighbors, put those garbage dumpsters back by your houses.

Monday was a holiday so the truck won't be around until tomorrow.

There.

I feel so much better.

With that out of the way, it's on to the Friday Funnies!

And there will ALWAYS be an Ireland, right?

(Oh, that's England?  Never mind.)

Thank you to the contributors among my Gentle Readers, have a specially splendid weekend and remember to always keep a little laughter in your heart.

Here, kitty-kitty.

(Uh-oh)