The Watering Hole, Saturday, April 15th, 2017: Eve of Destruction? Enjoy the View

If we’re lucky, trump and/or Kim Jong-Un won’t blow up the planet this coming week. Unless something insane happens during the imminent fly-by of asteroid 2014 JO25, on April 19th, at a distance of 1.1 million miles, we could get through the week.

And if we’re really lucky and make it safely through these fucked-up times, and humankind is still around ten years from now, another asteroid will be visiting us at approximately 236,000 miles, about the same distance away as our moon. If the scientists are off a bit in their calculations, who knows, perhaps 1999 AN10 will be merciful and finish us off.

In the meantime, enjoy these glorious pictures of a wide variety of places on this planet we call home.

This is our Open Thread-say anything.

The Watering Hole, Saturday, March 4th, 2017: Look Back and Laugh…and Sigh

We need to take a break from the horror that America has become under a dark, grim authoritarian regime that’s less than two months old, and look back at what – in now-stark contrast – were the halcyon days of Barack Obama, The Laughing President.

President Obama was always at ease with himself, so he was also (almost) always at ease with foreign leaders, celebrities, his fellow Democrats, former Presidents from both sides of the aisle, even the Pope, for heaven’s sake; and even, FFS, the PRESS, that “Enemy of the American People”:

Notice that German Chancellor Angela Merkel doesn’t mind President Obama touching her.

Jon Stewart and President Obama share a pose and a smile

President Obama heartily laughing with David Letterman

V.P. Joe Biden and President Obama perform synchronized laughing.

Patently genuine laugh between Hillary Clinton and President Obama

Hillary’s losing it, but Obama provides support

President Obama and former President Bill Clinton having a good time

“THERE ARE FOUR PRESIDENTS [laughing]!”

The President and The Pope

President Barack Obama’s mic drop at his final Nerd Prom

But the ease and warmth that he obviously shared with so many others pales in comparison with the almost-visible aura of the unmistakable ease, warmth, humor, respect and love that he shares with his wife Michelle:

Barack and Michelle, side by side, as a loving couple should be…

Date night out?

Now THAT’S “Class!”

I won’t sully this brief remembrance of better times with the name(s) or photo(s) of the current fake occupier of our White House. I hope that, as I did, you couldn’t help but smile in response to President Barack Obama’s infectious grin.

[…sigh…]

This is our Open Thread, a bit late – enjoy!

The Watering Hole: Saturday, October 15th, 2016: KITTENS!

I was going to title this “ALL-PUSSY EDITION”, but it might have attracted the wrong crowd. Heh.

Wayne and I have just added two kittens, sisters, to our family. No names yet, but it’s only been about ten days since we got them, and I’m observing their behavior/personality traits for clues as they settle in. They made themselves at home within the first day or two, and while Wayne and I find them highly entertaining and completely adorable, the rest of our kids are not so amused. The older four, Missy, Buster, Fitzgerald and Cecilia, are happy to have the bonus of Kitten Chow (and even though I started out feeding the little ones separately, in the other side of the house, the others quickly sniffed it out anyway), but otherwise avoid them at all costs. Squiggy, on the other hand…

Squiggy’s a big (and heavy!) boy now.

Squiggy, about two years old now, is a big boy and loves to play, especially “fetch”. We’ve always had lots of toys around for him, often stockpiled for when he goes after a thrown toy but comes back empty-mouthed, yet still asking for another throw. With the exception of the occasional spontaneous outburst of play on the part of our older ‘girls’, Squiggy has had most of the toys pretty much to himself. He has his “favorite” toys, his “okay-I’ll-play-with this-one-until-you-find-me-one-of-my-favorites” toys, and the “I’m-just-gonna-let-that-one-go-by-while-looking-bored” toys. Whatever he thought of them before, the two invaders now consider all of the toys to be theirs. Not even Squiggy’s favorites have been spared, and, although he seems simply fascinated by their antics at times, and sometimes joins in when the two girls are running full-tilt through the house, he is all-too-often bemused, bothered, befuddled and bewildered. We’re trying to make sure that he and the others get their previously-normal share of attention and loving, but, as I said, the older ones currently prefer to steer clear. We’ll all adjust eventually, they just don’t know that yet.

No more prologue is necessary, so here they are:

It’s tempting to name her “Blaze”.

Her blaze has stripes.

I only got one picture of this little girl’s face, unfortunately. And obviously, I had to clean up the background to make it presentable in public.

Here’s a nice back view of the lighter one’s markings.

“She likes to wash.”
That’s Wayne’s hand, for the record.

And one last one – Sorry, but I couldn’t help making this shot into a political meme:

This is our daily Open Thread – don’t forget to sprinkle some compliments in amongst your comments!

Also, too, any and all suggestions for names will be welcome.

The Watering Hole, Tuesday, August 30th, 2016: “Invest in Beauty”

I was going to tell a dreary tale – about a disturbing conversation I had with a customer who, somewhere in the discussion of her foot problems, managed to bring up Trump and her buzzword-laden approval of him – for today’s post. Instead, thanks to two Zoosters’ comments from yesterday’s thread, here’s some cat stuff.

In yesterday’s comments, pete contributed the following:

“I have often thought that the world would be a better place if evolution had just stopped after cats; large and small. Sure. They are vicious predators with a complete absence of mercy but they are also graceful, intelligent, and have a fantastic sense of humor.”

Not much later, fatherbob posted a link to an article about a lost cat being found next to its “missing cat” poster. The same site had another article about professional photographer Robert Sijka’s photos of “Bearded Cats”, aka Maine Coons; the article includes a brief gallery of glorious creatures, and a link to more. You HAVE to check them out.  As the author of the article says:

“Maine Coons are the largest domesticated felines in the world, able to grow up to four feet in length. The breed is characterised by their gentle nature and their fabulous fur, which can easily be mistaken for a scruffy beard.
Basically, they’re kinda like a lynx, except that they won’t try to kill you.”

Of course, Maine Coons start out all tiny and innocent-looking, like these:
But they eventually turn into the fiercely beautiful, majestic, dignified, imperial creatures that all cats innately are, regardless of size or fur length.
There, that’s better than some scary Trump supporter, right?

Last week I ran across a quote on a greeting card that I’m compelled to share:

“If you ignore beauty, you will soon find yourself without it. But if you invest in beauty, it will remain with you all the days of your life.”

~ Frank Lloyd Wright ~

This is our daily Open Thread. You know what to do.

The Watering Hole, Monday, July 11th, 2016: “Christians” vs “Critters”

If you’d like more proof that at least some “Christian Evangelical” megachurch “leaders”, along with the “Prosperity” Jeebus hucksters and their varied brethren, should be under the microscope of the IRS, there’s a few articles on the Christian Post’s “Politics” page. (Also see RawStory’s recent thread about “Pastor” Jeffress.)

Or, if you prefer to start your day/week with some ‘critters’, here’s the official “Watering Hole”:

This is our daily Open Thread–say whatever you want.

The Watering Hole, Saturday, February 27th, 2016: Antidote

I’ve been up all night wallowing in the dregs of American “humanity”, IOW, reading headlines and comments on various internet sites. Right now I don’t even want to think about what a despicable, bigoted, uncaring, brutish devolution of a formerly (somewhat) civilized society we’ve become.

So, since I’ve blown right through sunrise here in the east, missing it completely, I’m putting up someone else’s glorious and unusually-tinted sunrise photo as an antidote to the darkness in my mind and soul. I hope it soothes your souls, too.

This is our daily Open Thread – talk about whatever you want.

The Watering Hole, Monday, February 1st, 2016: Clouds and Cute Stuff

Let’s start this week with no mention of anyone in the (R) Kandidate Klown Kar, or crazy-assed snackless ‘militias’, or wacky Talibangelists (or Talibanjoists.) I’m going with Mother Nature today.

The Weather Channel has a recent piece about this ‘Hand of God’ cloud that appeared over Madeira, Portugal. To me, it looks more like the ‘Fist of god’, and I wonder at whom it’s being shaken. Is there some satanic evildoer on Madeira who is (using Alan Rickman’s Professor Snape voice) “…UP to something”?

(Photo Credit: Rogerio Pacheco, via TheWeatherChannel)

Next, Lenticular Clouds ~

I know that we’ve covered lenticular clouds before, but take a look at some spectacular shots from (apparently) dedicated Russian photographer Vladimir Voychuk.

Now for some cuteness: Also from The Weather Channel, penguin chicks cuddling together against the cold.

While we’re on the subject of penguins, here’s more wonderful shots of them, this time under the sea. The photos were taken by French photographer/diver Andre Voyer.

And finally, cuteness that will make you squee.

“Hey, margay kitten, what big eyes for you…TA HAVE!”

This is our daily Open Thread–go ahead, start talking about something.

Sunday Roast: Birds for Ebb

Formosan Magpie

Quetzal

Green Jay

Bleeding Heart Pigeons

(Photo source, Buzzfeed)

Thinking of you Ebb, and wishing you well.  I hope these pretties made you smile.  🙂

This is our daily open thread — Discuss

The Watering Hole, Monday, January 11th, 2016: Odds and Ends

Let’s start with some recent local news:

Woo-hoo!  New York State’s medical marijuana program is now open for business.  One of the new dispensaries is in White Plains, NY, about 40 minutes south of us.  I think I’ll email the story link to my doctor, who used to say that, if NYS ever legalizes pot, she’ll start her own business.  I realize that this isn’t the same as legalization, but it’s a good step in the right direction.

It was recently revealed that Donald Trump had wanted to ruin summer fun for thousands of local children.  It seems that, a few years back, The Donald had been interested in turning Playland Park in Rye, NY, into a residential development.  Now, a little explanation is in order:  when we were kids, the end of many a school year was celebrated with a class trip to Rye Playland–it was fairly close, fairly affordable, and in addition to the rides, it had a decent-sized beach on the Long Island Sound.  I feel safe in saying that at least 90% of kids who grew up within a 50-mile radius of Playland has been there more than once.  Not to mention that the park has been around since 1928.

I was horrified to read about Trump’s offer in our local Patch online news – losing Playland, a part of our childhood, would be sad enough, but losing it to Trump would have been so much worse.  Good thing Trump’s meeting with Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino to discuss the possible development came to nothing:

“I could just imagine the gates of Playland with a big ‘T’ on it, you know?” a chuckling Astorino  told The Journal News. “Trumpland.”

Exactly right, Mr. Astorino, and that would be SO wrong!

Next, a few pieces from The Weather Channel:

A traffic camera in Montreal caught a snowy owl in flight.  The gif below is comprised of four photos the camera took, which can be seen here in TWC’s article.

Also from TWC for your viewing pleasure, here’s a series of photos entitled “Liquid Mountains”, by photographer Dave Sanford.  These are amazing shots of storm-tossed waves on Lake Erie–and take note of Sanford’s apt titles (shown above the upper left corner of the photos) for each of the shots.

This is our daily Open Thread – enjoy, discuss, whatever!

 

 

 

Sunday Roast: Color

Photos by Zooey

Sometimes, the color of the ocean is unbelievable.  I was going through some old photos on my computer — these are from 2011 — and found these in a folder called “Jade.”

I’ve never seen the ocean look like this since then, and I feel lucky to have captured these photos that day.

This is our daily open thread — What’s your favorite color?  😉

The Watering Hole, Monday, December 7th, 2015: Smile For The Camera!

With last week bringing us a tragic escalation in the madness for which America is the new poster-boy, this Monday calls for another diversion. So today’s fare will be: Animals – first in photobombs, then just cuteness. All photobombs courtesy of either dogtime.com, or from two separate photobomb categories from Huffington Post.

‘Hey, look what I found!’

‘What – you’ve never seen a Boston Terrier driving?’

‘Big Orange, Little Orange’

‘Cat Thinker with Derp Brother’

Now just cuteness:

There, that should help a bit.

This is our daily Open Thread–go ahead, talk about stuff.

The Watering Hole, Monday, November 23rd, 2015: NatGeo, Take Me Away!

I can’t deal with “Ugly Americans” [of course, “Ugly Americans” = “Republican Presidential Candidates and their Fans/Supporters”] anymore; we keep thinking, “How can these guys sink so low?”, then, the next hour or day or week, one or two or several of them come out with such outrageous shit that we really need a new word to define what circle of hell lies beyond “outrageous” or “horrific” or “despicable” or “abhorrent” or “inhuman” – sorry, I need more words!

And I’ve had it up to HERE with the holidays being turned into meaningless “shop-’til-you-drop” commercialism [how about if “Black Friday” could be turned into “Black Lives Matter Friday” – hell, make every day of the entire Thanksgiving/Christmas holiday shopping season a day of protests]. So I’m going with some beautiful photos from National Geographic to start the week.

Here’s some pretty birds, from “A Flight of Birds”, a section of NatGeo’s Photo Ark, including a photo capturing the iridescent plumage of the Purple Glossy Starling, such as seen below,

and a more close-up shot of the Javan Rhinoceros Hornbill, like the one seen below:

And if you prefer a larger gallery for leisurely viewing, here’s more from NatGeo’s 2015 Photo Contest. The “Week 10” group includes a brooding sunset photo of Godafoss Waterfall in Iceland – here’s a chilly winter shot of the falls, just to start the calming process:

This is our daily Open Thread – enjoy the views or rant away – or you can do both!

Sunday Roast: Spider!

Photo by Zooey

This beautiful spider has set up an abattoir on a huge web outside my kitchen window.  He’s got about five of these little “packets” in his web at any given time, and just goes from one to another, stabbing in his sippy straw and chugging away.

It’s really rather disgusting, but fascinating at the same time — and as long as he stays on his side of the window, we will remain the best of friends.

This is our daily open thread — Anyone know what kind of spider this is?

The Watering Hole, Monday, September 14th, 2015: ICYMI Grab Bag

While the “Christian” flavor of the right-wing-religious-nut-jobs have been hogging the limelight lately, there’s been more of ‘teh crazy’ happening over in the Mormon corner. According to an article by Peggy Fletcher Stack in last Thursday’s Salt Lake Tribune, many Mormons, in the belief that the signs are about right for doomsday to arrive, are starting preparations (these Mormons are referred to as “preppers.) Here’s a couple of excerpts from the article, titled “Some Mormons stocking up amid fears that doomsday could come this month”:

“Jordan Jensen, a salesman at Emergency Essentials, said his Bountiful store has been “crazy busy, sales up by definitely a large amount.”
Those 72-hour emergency kits are “almost impossible to keep on the shelves,” Jensen says, “and we get a shipment every day.” A lot of customers, he says, believe “this is the month it will all happen — with a ‘blood moon’ and a currency collapse and everything.”

Here’s how the doomsday scenario plays out: History, some preppers believe, is divided into seven-year periods…In 2008, seven years after 9/11, the stock market crashed, a harbinger of a devastating recession. It’s been seven years since then, and Wall Street has fluctuated wildly in recent weeks in the wake of China devaluing its currency. Thus, they believe, starting Sept. 13, the beginning of the Jewish High Holy Days, there will be another, even larger financial crisis, based on the United States’ “wickedness.” That would launch the “days of tribulation” — as described in the Bible. They say Sept. 28 will see a full, red or “blood moon” and a major earthquake in or near Utah. Some anticipate an invasion by U.N. troops, technological disruptions and decline, chaos and hysteria.

Some of these speculations stem from Julie Rowe’s books, “A Greater Tomorrow: My Journey Beyond the Veil” and “The Time Is Now.” Rowe, a Mormon mother of three, published the books in 2014 to detail a “near-death experience” in 2004, when the author says she visited the afterlife and was shown visions of the past and future. Though Rowe rarely gives specific dates for predicted events, she did describe in a Fox News Radio interview “cities of light,” including scores of white tents where people will live in the mountains and sometimes be fed heavenly “manna.” She saw a “bomb from Libya landing in Israel, but Iran will take credit.” And “Gadianton robbers” of Book of Mormon infamy, meaning secret and corrupt leaders, are “already here.”

Okay, that’s the crazy part–now for the scary-crazy part:

Her purpose in speaking out, Rowe told interviewer Kate Dalley, was “to wake more of us up. … We need each other as we unify in righteousness and continue to build a righteous army. When we need to defend the [U.S.] Constitution, we will be ready.”

Oh, great, another right-wing-religious-nut-job cult that doesn’t understand that the Constitution proscribes the very idea of their “righteous” religious rule. Then again, this particular zealot who is trying to build her “righteous army” may not have a whole army of followers:

“For the past year, the popular writer has been sharing her experience and visions at Mormon venues nationwide, drawing crowds of eager — and worried — listeners. Her two books have sold more than 20,000 copies apiece.”

Uh-huh, and probably all 40,000 books are sitting in a Newsmax warehouse or its religious-literature equivalent.

Next, from TheWeatherChannel, cool photos of volcanic ‘blue’ lava, taken by photographer Reuben Wu in East Java, Indonesia.

Last, NASA has some new photos of Pluto to share from New Horizons’ flyby of the “dwarf planet.” Photos of Pluto’s moons will be coming along soon.

This is our daily Open Thread–enjoy!

The Watering Hole, Saturday, August 29th, 2015: Let’s Get Away From It All

This ought to take your minds off of the insanity of the Republican “presidential hopefuls”, if only for a little while.

The Weather Channel has posted the finalists for its 2015 “It’s Amazing Out There” photo contest. So enjoy some cool photos and forget about Teh Stupid.

Here’s one of last year’s photo finalists, a cool shot taken by Dwayne Kear:

So go ahead, refresh your sense of wonder at something other than jaw-dropping idiocy.

This is our daily Open Thread – enjoy!

Sunday Roast: Day trip

The day started a bit hazy…but cleared up nicely.  My eldest likes to take the Otter Crest Loop byway, and in the few minutes it took to get there, the day became crystal clear.

Photos by Zooey

So it was another beautiful day on the Oregon coast — and there were FAR too many people who agreed with me.

This is our daily open thread — Hey look!  I didn’t forget and posted on time!

The Watering Hole; Friday May 22 2015; Cool Critters v. Clown Car Creepoids

In these days where political insanity seems to rule the world in which we’re stuck, it’s most enjoyable to head out and commune with critters that have never heard the word ‘Wingnut,’ and most certainly would head for the tall weeds if ever they should happen to encounter one — a concept with which I happen to be totally sympathetic.

Ergo, whenever the opportunity shows itself, I grab at the chance to turn my back on the ‘madding crowd’ and head for a more peaceful surround — assuming the weather cooperates, a rare happenstance so far this year (I could make some sort of snide comment concerning the science of climate change, but won’t because I don’t want to come across as “really arrogant” ).

So here are a couple of critters that share the lake with the local flock of Canadian Geese. First up is what I’m guessing to be a Western Painted Turtle. He likes to hang out on an old bleached beaver-felled log that lies in the shallows very near the shore. He’s a fairly good sized fella, shell about 12″ in diameter, plus or minus one or two. He’s also a very peaceful dude; was sprawled on the same log on both days last week that we spotted him. We watched him for close to a half-hour each day, and he was the most statuesque critter I’ve ever seen — never moved a single muscle.

In the turtle’s general neighbood we spotted this other fellow as well. S/he is one half of a mating pair of Great Blue Herons which appear to have set up houskeeping at the lake this year. At least they’ve been hanging around for several weeks — time will tell if they choose to settle in. They are, however, very elusive, very secretive, and quite skilled at avoiding people. I got lucky with this one — spotted it standing near the shore a hundred yards or so distant. Fortunately, the camera’s 60X zoom was ready and willing to do its job!

In the immortal words of Robert Burns,

“Still thou art blest, compar’d wi’ me
The present only toucheth thee:
But, Och! I backward cast my e’e.
On prospects drear!
An’ forward, tho’ I canna see,
I guess an’ fear!”

That’s a very fair summation of what rolls about in the back of my mind every time I leave “we the people” behind and venture out for a mingle with the Higher Animals. The main downside to the whole process is the inevitable return to “civilization” and all of the noise that keeps it operational. Such as current political news, even little tidbits thereof. I think it was just yesterday morning, for example, when I heard that Rick Perry is going to announce on June 3rd or thereabouts that he’s decided to become the first Presidential candidate in US history to enter the race while under criminal indictment. WOW! He’s also just recently made it clear that nobody will worry about jade helm-type conspiracy theories when HE is president. Double WOW! For some odd reason, those two headlines, along with recollections of his brief candidacy in 2012 B.G. (Before Glasses),  reminded me of an old joke which, if based on genuine fact, would explain a lot of that WOW stuff:

A few decades back, a Texas family – mom, dad, and son – moved to another state. Come fall, mom and dad enrolled their son in first grade in the local school and told him that from the first day onward they wanted to hear all about what school was like, how things were going, etc. Dad said, “Son, always remember one thing: we’re from TEXAS and proud of it! And being from Texas means we got a heads up on everybody else, cause that’s what happens when you’re born in TEXAS!”

Son nodded and smiled. “Yes, daddy, I know. We’re from TEXAS!”

Over supper the night after the boy’s first day in school, dad asked, “So, son, how was school today? What’s it like?”

“It was ok, daddy. We all got told by the teacher where we should sit and I’m in the front row! Then she asked if anybody knew the alphabet and I raised my hand and she called on me, had me go to the blackboard and write it out, and I did! And I got all the letters wrote just right and teacher said I was the only one in first grade that ever knew all the alphabet on the first day! Is that cause we’re from Texas, daddy?”

“Yep, son, that’s cause we’re from TEXAS!”

The next night at supper, daddy asked again how school went. The boy smiled big and said, “It went great, daddy. Today the teacher asked if anybody could count all the way to twenty, and I raised my hand and she had me stand up and do it, and I done it! She was really happy, cause most kids can’t even count to ten and get it right. Is that cause we’re from Texas, daddy?”

“Yep, that’s cause we’re from TEXAS, son.”

On the third night, daddy again asked the boy how school went.

“Well daddy, today we went to the gym and they gave us shorts and a shirt to wear when we learnt how to do exercisins on the gym floor.”

“How’d you do, son?” Daddy asked.

“Oh, I done good. But afterwards we all had to take a shower get cleaned up afore we went back to class, and in the shower I noticed that all them boys had little bitty weenies compared to me.” The son paused, then asked, “Why is that, daddy? Is that cause I’m from Texas?”

Daddy thought a minute, then finally said, “No, son. It’s because you’re seventeen.”

The following year the Perry family moved back to the cotton farm in TEXAS.

Yep, that would pretty much define the Rick Perry with which I’m familiar. And I should add that while I’m definitely NOT a Democrat who has ‘sold my soul’ for immigrant votes (in spite of what one of the potential Clown Car Creepoids proclaims), it remains a FACT that I’d happily vote for either a turtle of a Great Blue Heron — immigrant or native, no worries —before I’d vote for ANYONE in said Clown Car!

Ok, that’s enough for now. The OPEN THREAD  is now . . . ummm . . . open.

The Watering Hole; Thursday May 21 2015; “Difficult standards for people to live up to.”

“Animals are reliable, many full of love, true in their affections,
predictable in their actions, grateful and loyal.
Difficult standards for people to live up to.”
Alfred A. Montapert

About two weeks ago, I posted here a series of ten photos, taken on May 2 and 3, of a Canadian Goose “family” which included three newly hatched goslings, probably out on one of their very first forays into their new world.

Then a week ago and for no apparent reason, those three little guys were nowhere to be seen. I noted here our fears that the “odds against them being somewhere — even in the nest — unsupervised are quite high. Dare we hope? In any case, time will tell if they’re still around or gone for good. We do intend to keep a close eye on the situation and will report back if anything happens to pop up.”

Later that same day, fellow bird-watcher Woody-the-Goose-Guy stopped by late in the afternoon to say he’d spotted the little ones in another corner of the lake. So last weekend when the weather finally cleared up long enough for us to go take a look, we got lucky. There they were!

Here’s the “family” as of May 16, pretty close to exactly two weeks since the goslings first left the nest (note that the newbies have grown a bit in those two weeks — apparently there’s adequate chow available!).

So all is well, at least with what appears to be the ONLY local Canadian Goose family that has managed to reproduce this year, and that’s out of an overall population where potential mating pairs likely number in the hundreds. Also curious, there are only three goslings; usually in years past the number is typically more like six, maybe seven goslings per family. So what’s up with that?

I asked Woody-the-Goose-Guy the same question, and he explained that “they” (Homo sapiens sapiens) who monitor and control the local goose population are sending their people out during spring nesting season with instruction to locate eggs and coat them with vegetable oil. That prevents the embryos from developing (by disallowing the eggs to “breathe”), and when most eggs don’t hatch there are obviously going to be far fewer goslings and, as a result, far less goose crap on the lake’s paved walkway come late summer/early fall — which means far less complaining by people who are offended by goose crap. Problem solved. More or less. Humans are SO clever, aren’t we?

One thing I have to wonder when I ponder these human-inspired “lower” animal birth control agendas is highlighted by this pair of recent ‘headline’ links:

Trent Franks: 20-Week Abortion Ban Will Make Americans Realize Legal Abortion Is Like Slavery

Anti-Choice Leader Admits Rape Exceptions Are ‘Political,’ Goal Is To Outlaw All Abortion ‘From Conception’

So “fundamentally” it’s OK to control birth rates in (and numbers of) every other species of life on the planet, but it’s NOT permissible to allow the same or similar privilege to fellow humans? Why the difference? Just curious.

Stephen Jay Gould once wrote,

“The fundamentalists, by ‘knowing’ the answers before they start examining evolution, and then forcing nature into the straitjacket of their discredited preconceptions, lie outside the domain of science —
or of any honest intellectual inquiry.”

I think I agree.

OPEN THREAD

The Watering Hole; Thursday May 14 2015; Of Geese and Goofs

The day was Monday, May 11, 2015. Springtime, right? I was up early, and when I first looked out the window this is what I saw: the endpoint of an overnight snowstorm, some five, maybe six inches of heavy wet stuff. Looked like the middle of January out there, and certainly not like a happy time for springtime’s nesting bird life. A few hours later the temp had climbed into the low forties, and the clouds had begun to break up, revealing this view of the Front Range where, according to reports, as much as two feet of snow had fallen. The following day, the PM temps returned to the low seventies where they typically reside this time of year. That afternoon, we decided to take a walk around the local lake, see if we could again spot the Canadian Goose family that had been busily exploring its corner of the lake during the week before the storms came.  The photo below was taken on May third, very near the day the goslings first left the nest to explore their new world. So on Tuesday the twelfth we returned to their corner of the world and eventually spotted the mating pair of Canadians (Branta canadensis) relaxing near the shore of a small island that lies about a hundred yards out. They were, as usual, in the company of the only remaining pair of Chinese geese (Anser anser domesticus) in the lake’s current goose colony. In the photo above, note the absence of goslings — they were nowhere to be seen, which is most unusual as the days approach the middle of May. Where were they? Normally if they were nearby, either the Canadian mating pair or the Chinese geese would be supervising, watching carefully. Such was clearly not the case, so the first assumption was that something had gone awry. Were they victims of the sudden snowstorm? The recent weather had certainly been goofy enough to be assumed a possible threat to days-old chicks. Or maybe a fox stopped by? Or a cougar? Dog? Feral cat? Take your pick. One thing I did notice — later in the day while reviewing the above photo — was what appeared to be a battle wound of some sort on the neck of the white Chinese goose: Chinese geese are a popular domestic breed, well-known to be an efficient watchdog that is typically very noisy when anything unusual is around. In this local semi-wild setting, the two of them are always and invariably in the company of their Canadian ‘friends.’ They are, in fact, extremely protective of Canadian goslings. They seem to watch from a distance, but whenever another critter pops up in the neighborhood (humans included) they immediately start honking loudly as they hurry over to offer whatever help might be needed. My first glance at the neck wound above, therefore, definitely made me wonder if maybe the goslings had indeed “gotten got” by one or another of our furry critter locals. The odds against them being somewhere — even in the nest — unsupervised are quite high. Dare we hope? In any case, time will tell if they’re still around or gone for good. We do intend to keep a close eye on the situation and will report back if anything happens to pop up.

Meanwhile, back to the human world where the idiocy continues unabashed, as evidenced in these few recent headlines:

Poll: One-Third Of Republicans Think Obama Wants To Invade Texas

Conservative Pundit: ‘Major Outbreak Of Violence’ Against Obama Administration Imminent

And finally, this absolute GEM!

Beck: Free Community College Is A Government Plot To Enslave People Through Student Loan Debt

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Sunday Roast: Happy Mother’s Day

Awwww, it’s my Mom… on a tiny pony.  She looks to be about three years old, which dates this photo to the WWII years.

I’ve always wondered about this photo — why was such a photo taken, when her parents weren’t country people?  They lived in the big city of Cleveland, Ohio!  Then I remember that, of my maternal grandmother’s many pregnancies, my Mom was her only living child.  So when the opportunity arose to put her only baby girl on the back of a pony for a photo-op, you know that was totally happening.

I never met my maternal grandparents — my grandmother having died of breast cancer when my Mom was 13, and my grandfather having died suddenly when Mom was in her last year of high school — but I like to think they were nice people.  She didn’t talk about them much.  They gave her a good foundation, and she made the best of it.  Isn’t that what parents are supposed to do?  Especially on a shortened time frame…

Miss you bunches, Mom.

This is our daily open thread — Call your Mom!  Or spend time with happy memories.

The Watering Hole; Friday May 8 2015; First Day In The Life Of . . .

Around these parts at the foot of Colorado’s Front Range, the first week in May is the typical time of year when Canadian Goose (Branta canadensis) chicks first show up on the scene. I’m not sure exactly which day they actually hatch, but this year the very first little guys out of the nest appeared on the afternoon of May 2, and though there were only three in the company of their parental mating pair, they were each and all very busily exploring their new world, learning the ropes, etc.

Following is a series of ten photos which I assume pretty much portrays various moments of the goslings’ first full day of real life outside the egg and beyond the nest. No need for captions, the images themselves pretty much tell the familial tale.

Party’s over, but tomorrow’s another day! Yay!                                   (all photos by frugal)

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The Watering Hole; May 1 2015; “Can the Dumb — Define the Divine?”

Premise number one: the world of humans is insane. See links below.
Premise number two: the place to find sanity is in the world ‘out there.’ See pix below.

START HERE

Pat Robertson: God Will Punish America For Persecuting Anti-Gay Activists

Yah sure ya betcha.

GOP Rep. Bill Flores Links Baltimore Riots To Gay Marriage

OK. Right. Makes perfect sense.

Steve King: ‘What Happens To The Demographics Of America’ If Birthright Citizenship Continues?

Prolly will turn the whole world upside down, right? Right.

Obama Is ‘Pulling The Strings’ In Baltimore So He Can Seize Control Of The Nation’s Police Forces

Oh no, not again. Another one?

Anti-Gay Activists Urge ‘Resistance’ Before Marriage Equality Destroys ‘Just About Everything’

Nothing new there. Some stuff makes it, some doesn’t.

Capitol Prayer Service: God Will Punish America For Legalizing Gay Marriage

Oh . . . BITE ME!

Sheriff Mack: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Is ‘A Very Senile And Evil Person’ Who Will ‘Destroy Marriage’

In the words of Emily Dickinson, “when the Wind is within —
Can the Dumb — define the Divine?”

Gay Marriage Is The Work Of ‘The Devil Himself

Scary scary. That does it, I’m gittin’ outta here.

Bernie Sanders: People Didn’t Die To Create A Democratic System Of War Between Billionaires

And Pax vobiscum.

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Dedicated to the modern GOP vision for America, which is:

[All photos by frugal]

The Watering Hole; Thursday April 16 2015; The ‘Eyes’ Have It

Since there’s nothing of note or import going on in human’s world these days, I thought a quick peek ‘out there’ — where the activity remains ceaseless — might be worth a quick look or two. Or three. More? Some recent photographs of various species of waterbirds perhaps? Following are a few from each of two corners of the world (well, from Colorado and Florida, at least) of, respectively, 2 species of geese, a Great Blue Heron, Sandhill Crane, and soon-to-be Great Egrets. The Colorado critters live a mile or so from my back yard and seem to enjoy posing; the crane and Egrets are from Florida, and last week were introduced to my longtime friend (from Tempe Arizona) Denny Green.

It’s long been said that a picture is worth a thousand words — unless, of course, the words are those of an accomplished poet such as, say, Emily Dickinson? Amazing how poetry can sort of sum up the obvious and still toss out intriguing ideas, maybe a new thought or two? An untried way to “see” perhaps? And speaking of seeing, in each and all of the photos below, the eyes have it! The world is fascinating enough to human eyes, but I wonder how it appears when seen thru the sharp eye of a wild critter? Dickinson spent a good deal of her reclusive life “mingling” with the natural world, always trying to see the world thru eyes other than her own. Following are a handful of Dickinson verses, not intended as photo captions but more to toss out different ideas — what she called “circumference,” one short verse for each of seven “captures” of (still free!) waterbird entities.

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The Birds rose smiling, in their nests —
The gales — indeed — were done —
Alas, how heedless were the eyes —
On whom the summer shone!

Canadian                                                                                                                                frugal photo

Sleep is supposed to be
By souls of sanity
The shutting of the eye.

Snoozing Canadian                                                                                                             frugal photo

Look back on Time, with kindly eye —
He doubtless did his best —
How softly sinks that trembling sun
In Human Nature’s West —

Chinese                                                                                                                                   frugal photo

If I should disappoint the eyes
That hunted — hunted so — to see —
And could not bear to shut until
They “noticed” me —

Snoozing Chinese                                                                                                                frugal photo

He glanced with rapid eyes
That hurried all around —
They looked like frightened Beads, I thought —
He stirred his Velvet Head

Great Blue Heron                                                                                                                frugal photo

I’ve nothing else — to bring, You know —
So I keep bringing These —
Just as the Night keeps fetching Stars
To our familiar eyes —

Sandhill Crane and Chick                                                                              photo by Denny Green

The Child’s faith is new —
Whole — like His Principle —
Wide — like the Sunrise
On fresh Eyes —

Great Egret Chicks                                                                                         photo by Denny Green

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Lift it — with the Feathers
Not alone we fly —
Launch it — the aquatic
Not the only sea —
Advocate the Azure
To the lower Eyes —
He has obligation
Who has Paradise —

And finally, a parting thought:

Had we the eyes without our Head —
How well that we are Blind —
We could not look upon the Earth —
So utterly unmoved —

Shame is the shawl of Pink
In which we wrap the Soul
To keep it from infesting Eyes —
The elemental Veil
Which helpless Nature drops
When pushed upon a scene
Repugnant to her probity —
Shame is the tint divine.

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Sunday Roast: Sea Lions Doing Sea Lion-y Stuff

Lounging…

Swimming…

Vocalizing…and more lounging…

Blowing bubbles…napping…maybe waving?

Photos by Zooey

I definitely waved back, just in case.  😉

Sea Lions, I like ’em.  Some people hate ’em.  Whatareyagonnado?

This is our daily open thread — Get on with it!

The Watering Hole; Friday March 20 2015; Springtime in the Rockies

Spring. Finally. Thank all Gods winter is OVER! Here at the foot of the Rockies, the temp hit the high 80’s earlier in the week. Now, as I write these words (Thursday PM), the outside temp is 42, it’s raining, and tonight it’s supposed to snow. But that’s OK because it’s not quite Spring. Yet.  And of course, around here spring doesn’t signal the end of the snow; if anything, it signals the beginning of the heavy wet stuff. Got to wait for summer . . . and, well, even then . . .

Anyway, this is our seventh springtime in the Rockies; I’ve recently spent some time reviewing photo “libraries” of each of the years, and in the process I pulled out a handful of SPRINGTIME (!) shots. They’re each and all taken anywhere from late March to mid-May, and collectively kinda show the change of seasons, esp. the part about winter not wanting to succumb!

1. April 2009; Pikes Peak from Lake Beckwith

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2. New tulip in early spring; April 4, 2012

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3. Ice fog below the Front Range; Tax Day, 2012

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4. Geese, Goslings, and one soaring bird; early May, 2013

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5. Fresh snowfall on the Front Range; May 14, 2014

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6. Columbine, the Colorado State Flower; April 29 2012

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So that’s the way spring looks here at the foot of the Front Range, elev. approx 6200 ft, where winter and summer fight it out from March 20 until . . . ? Who knows. It is an interesting fight to behold, however, and one thing is certain: the flowers and the baby geese ALWAYS win!

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