AURAE

MY BLUE JAY FIXATION EXPLAINED

Some of you have commented how the blue color of our bird bath/drinking pond matches nearly perfectly the color of the blue jays that visit it.

Some others of you may wondered about my constant photographing and displaying their visits to said bath/pond.

It goes back.

Way, way, way back to the days of my youth in a small town in northwestern North Dakota where I was born and raised.

The town's name was Stanley and the nickname of the school's sports teams was . . . well, I bet you guessed it, didn't you?

I never was on any of the teams but, as I think I've said here before, I was the tallest student manager in the state.

And I still remember the "fight song".

Stanley Blue Jays

Hats off to thee

Your name, your fame

spreading from sea to sea.

Rah, rah, sis-boom-bah,

Rah, rah, sis-boom-bah,

H'ray for the white and blue!

So forgive this alumnus of 1958 for his favoring the blue jays in his yard.

It runs deep.

BLUE ON BLUE

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

Good morning Gentle Readers.

Wait!  There's Breaking News!

Glad we got that out of the way.

Seems like I'm getting afraid to turn on the television or the computer these days.

Ah well, let us forget about all of those travails and get to some righteous humor.

No, that's not what I meant.

I think it is time once again to explore the various ways real live human beings have chosen to act around statues.

Whew!  I know what you're thinking.

People confronted by statuary seem to have either a violent or a romantic thought.

Well, one last guy had a different notion and I think he's my favorite this week.

That was a bigger than normal selection but I just decided to clean out the files a little bit.

Now get out there and have a wonderful, fun-der-full weekend, Gentle Readers, and always remember to keep laughing.

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

(Oh, everyone has to get into the act.)

DIY CAR

I was in a grocery store parking lot a week or so ago and heard a very loud vehicle.

This is what it turned out to be.

It appeared to be a Do It Yourself vehicle.

The driver got out and went around to the passenger side to open the rusty door for his companion.

It took quite a tug to get it open.

The "car" looked even more unique from the rear.

A pretty strange creation.

SOOPERMOON!

So there it was, coming up from behind Mingus Mountain.

There were some wispy clouds in the sky which added to the effect.

I wonder if anyone else got this shot, with another planet showing.

Actually that's either a nearby light or a reflection or some other coincidental trickery of my simple camera.

A little later, from a different location, the misty clouds give it a Sherlock-and-Watson-at-night-on-the-Moors sort of look.

As I said, my camera is a simple point-and-shoot so my moon pictures are far from super.

I'm sure others with better equipment will get much better pictures and I can't wait to see them.

O.K. I POSED. NOW PET ME.

Blackwell

JUST DROPPING IN

On this sunny Saturday as the world prepares for tonight's viewing of the Supermoon, a look at some critters who dropped by our yard.

Old Yellow sat next to my chair and contemplated a turtle that never moved.

Then after a couple of pats and a scratch behind the ears, he rolled over to show his white belly.

That is one domesticated cat!

Less domestic but just as handsome is the Mountain Jay at the birdbath.

That's quite a beard he is so proud of.

Maybe he's getting ready to play Santa Claus.

Preparing for Supermoon, I snapped this photo last night.

It was almost full as it shone through the tree branches.

And finally, a colorful sunset shot I took recently.

It's kind of amazing what you can find right around home.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

Ah, Gentle Readers, the time has come once again.

Friday AND the first day of December, all together, all at once.

And you know what that means.

Well, we all have our problems, don't we?

Maybe this weekend I'll just lie on the couch and watch Tiger Woods play golf once again.

But for you, Gentle Readers, I expect a grand weekend full of tree lighting, holiday parades and, above all, shopping.

Lots and lots of shopping.

Oh, and always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

(Uh-oh, maybe I won't lie on the couch watching tv this weekend.)