Kingfisher Cove

What the WHAT?

The bell collar experiment is a FAIL. They are still intact (which surprises me; I figured the cats would have found a way to shed them by now), but they aren’t doing a bit of good! Coils of guts left on the bedroom floor just about every morning this week. I saw Mojo trotting down the deck toward the open window on two different occasions with a bird clenched in his jaws and I dashed to slam it shut. (No way was he relinquishing those poor birds). And then.

AND THEN.

John and I were enjoying a beverage out on the deck earlier today and he said, “You wouldn’t believe what greeted me on the bedroom floor this morning.”

“Oh God, what?”

“A bat. A bat with its head missing.”

Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew!

Now I’m wondering, do we have to worry about rabies? Is that a given with bats? It’s been a while since any of the animals have had shot updates…

And how in the hell does a cat catch a bat? While wearing a bell…

---

Busy around here. Today, our neighborhood private road was paved with black top, or at least a good-sized stretch of it. Our road committee (John’s the Prez) have been planning for this for quite a while and finally got a decent bid (but still hellaciously expensive!) The paving isn’t down to our lot yet, but will continue on down the road in coming years as funds build up. Since the road is the ONLY egress/ingress out to the county road, we were all trapped today! (With plenty of notice). John has spent most of the day “overseeing” the progress of the project and he took some photos.

It will be so nice to drive on! Areas had become really bad with pot holes. (Just wish they’d continued down our DRIVEWAY, although it’s not ready for paving yet, and it’ll likely be concrete, not black top).

---

Then, remember this?

Specifically, that pole that the arrows are pointing to. It’s raw and rough-hewn, with the idea of somehow finishing it, eventually.

It’s been that way since the house was framed, and at first John thought he would trim it out to appear like the round poles throughout the house (which would have been a helluva undertaking). So he decided to encase the pole in clear cedar to match the beams instead!

I was a wreck while he was installing the wood panels because he had to STAND on top of that horizontal beam! And it’s not flat on top; he left it open so he could place indirect lighting in that beam, so he’s balancing on the edges! I hated this!

Then he had to climb back up there to stain the damned thing.

But it sure does look nice! I don’t think the cats will be inclined to scratch on it anymore!

For Posterity

Holy cow, two posts in one day!

I just have to record this, though. I don’t think I have any Scottish DNA, but I wish I did! They come up with the best insults EVER!

So…the UK voted yesterday to exit the European Union (a big deal, mostly based on racism / immigration) and today the world-wide financial markets were in free-fall. [gulp] While those markets were skidding and the British prime minister was resigning (and the world was reeling), idiot Trump was in Scotland touting his golf course resort. After bloviating on and on about his very very excellent suites in the resort lighthouse that nobody in proximity could ever afford to enjoy, the press finally asked him what he thought about the “Brexit” (British Exit) vote (and get this: less than two weeks ago Trump didn’t even know what Brexit meant!)

  

The thing is, Scotland voted to REMAIN in the EU, unanimously. As usual, Trump was clueless. The responses began with this on Twitter:

And then it continued from there. Gloriously!

“Scotland voted to REMAIN, buttplug face!”

“Scotland voted IN, you weapons-grade plum!”

“…you tit!”

“…you toupéd fucktrumpet!”

“…you witless fucking cocksplat!”

…you clueless numpty!”

“…you weaselheaded fucknugget!”

“…you gobshite!”

“…you eejit!”

“…you bloviating flesh bag!”

“…you mangled apricot hellbeast!” [my favorite!]

“Delete your golf course.”

I also saw this on Twitter, which cracked me up:

"How many people in America do you think I can trick into believing that Brexit is the name of one of Sarah Palin's kids?"

---

Snort!!!

Deal Me In

Kind of a “meh” week with icky weather, headaches (John), computer problems (John), and killings (cats). I DID finally get the bell collars I’d ordered and we’ll see how they work. They’ve definitely tested them; several attempts on the deck to lightning-speed dash after a bird, but I just couldn’t stand back and “see” if those collars worked. (I grabbed the spray bottle of water and squirted!) But, aside from one instance of finding a small pile of guts (mouse?), there hasn’t been any obvious success on their part. It’s also taking us a little getting used to hearing jingle bells whenever the cats are around and on the move. (It’s quite amusing). Wylie isn’t a big fan:

 

The collars are black leather and they rather enhance their “tuxedo” mien. Heh heh.

John is now at the top of the driveway with the block wall and is beginning the curve around the bank toward the road. He has an excavator rental scheduled for one day next week, as well the hired help of his buddy, Lee, so he’s getting there!

---

I continue to be head->desk about politics and the horror of Toxic Trump (what an idiot, and no, it’s not candor—it’s lunacy), so deal me in with playing the “woman card!”

Heh heh.

And I’ll leave you with synchronized geriatric weenie dogs:

Critters

Peanut turned 16 years old on June 10th, and next month Bailey turns 14. Blows my mind, and to be honest I find myself making sure they’re breathing when they’re asleep. (They sleep very deeply these days, and Peanut seems to have disturbing dreams). For the most part, I have to say they are both still doing quite well, although they are both deaf  and Peanut is quite wobbly (she has been ever since she had disc problems several years ago). But no indication of cataracts, and they certainly have appetites. And an inner-clock that strikes about an hour before doggy dinnertime.

So, from what I understand, in human years Peanut is 112 years old. Holy crap.

And then the cats. Grrrrr. John and I awoke early this morning to the unmistakable “chip”/light-saber buzz of a hummingbird…inside our bedroom. Wylie had caught one and brought it in through the open window—alive. And just like last time, it soared upward to the clerestory windows and proceeded to hover up there for hours. John climbed up on the roof (!) and put dark flooring paper against the windows with the idea that if the stupid bird couldn’t see the trees (or light) through the windows, it would notice the big open deck doors down below and fly out to freedom.

Ah, no.

They call them bird brains for a reason. He finally got the long-pole window washer squeegee/sponge thing and the exhausted hummingbird perched on it while John quickly charged out the deck doors with it on board. The hummingbird immediately shot up to the sky.

Jeeze.

I’ve ordered bell collars for the cats, especially since later today we discovered a dead mouse AND another dead bird in the house. I’ve tried the break-away collars on Mojo before, but he sheds them immediately. These are sturdy and serious collars and I think the bells will help save the wildlife. Plus, they could be entertaining. I’m sure it’ll harsh their stealth and will likely irritate their murderous souls.

Oh well!

---

Happy Father’s Day!

Last Friday of Spring

Interesting cloud formations tonight. There’s a name for this (these), but it escapes me. Kind of cool! Makes me think of a serpent.

In fact, it was an active day on the water with the oyster boat harvesting the oysters out front. Actually, I’m not sure exactly what they were doing. There have been bags of oysters along the beach for months (owned and managed by Taylor Seafood) and then cages out a little further tethered to buoys for a couple of weeks. Today, I think they emptied the bags into the cages and hoisted them onto the oyster boat and now there are empty cages sitting on the beach (to be picked up later, presumably). But it was a little dramatic. First, last night with the lights on the boat:

And then today (they worked on it for hours):

Our neighbor posted some photos on Facebook (including the one above) that included a fuzzy pic of a school of DOLPHINS passing through! They must have been the short-beaked dolphins they’ve been talking about on the news (rare here). We didn’t see them, and I’m bummed! Here’s his fuzzy pic:

I think he zoomed in quite a lot because it looks like they were close to Squaxin Island across from us. I wonder how he saw them in the first place? I’ll be keeping my eyes pealed now!

---

Taaaard. It was cleaning day and my back is killing me!

Wednesday was John’s birthday and I cooked up a couple of lobster tails. I also made zucchini “fries” from Chrissy Teigen’s cookbook (“Cravings”), which is a very fine and hilarious cookbook! And The Pioneer Woman’s “Hot Crash Potatoes.” Oh NUM.

And yesterday would have been my dad’s 81st birthday. I’m so glad, though, that I did this:

This is Why

I love Louie C.K.! He is my favorite comedian, and so much about him that tickles my funny bone is his keen intelligence. (Ever see his bit on “Everything is Amazing and Nobody is Happy?” Check it out. You’ll giggle your lips off). So now that we’re down to Hillary and the idiot orange steaming pile of vomit-inducing excrement as presidential nominees, I ran across this by Louie C.K. and it clearly illustrates why I choose to support the SANE one:

“It’s like if you were on a plane and you wanted to choose a pilot,” Louie said. “You have one person, Hillary, who says, ‘Here’s my license. Here’s all the thousands of flights that I’ve flown. Here’s planes I’ve flown in really difficult situations. I’ve had some good flights and some bad flights, but I’ve been flying for a very long time, and I know exactly how this plane works.’”

Then you’ve got Bernie, who says, ‘Everyone should get a ride right to their house with this plane.’

‘Well, how are you going to do that?’

‘I just think we should. It’s only fair that everyone gets to use the plane equally.’

And then Drumpf says, ‘I’m going to fly so well. You’re not going to believe how good I’m going to fly this plane, and by the way, Hillary never flew a plane in her life.’

‘She did, and we have pictures.’

‘No, she never did it.’

It’s insane.”

---

And we’re in the aftermath of yet another mass shooting in this country, this time a gay bar in Orlando, FL. In numbers (50 people dead, another 50+ injured, some critically), it’s the worst mass shooting in our history. The actual WORST might have had fewer numbers, but killing 20-something tiny children in an elementary school in Connecticut a few years ago is the worst ATROCITY in our country that never changed a thing thanks to the NRA bribes to the GOP. So here we are again, and will be again, I can guarantee it.  It makes me sick and furious.

Am I a terrible person for wishing at least one of these bribed republicans or fervent NRA members experiences the devastation of losing a loved one to a gun? Is that what it would take to EMPATHIZE? To GET IT?

---

I’ve been fighting inertia lately. The house needs some major cleaning and I’m all “meh.” We’ve had a lot of rain, and I know that the instant I clean the floors (which is a HUGE job), it’ll be all for nothing once dogs and cats and work boots walk on it with dirty/wet footprints. It’s depressing! That’s kind of why it’s good to plan for company to give me motivation. A couple of fun things coming up: my cousins’ picnic the end of July, and then Helen and her husband are coming for the 4th. No, I won’t be waiting until then to clean! (Well, probably not).

A couple of photos from the past week or so:

These (above) are what John gave me for my birthday! They are really beautiful. They match what he gave me for Christmas—the flower holder that I need to find some twisty / abstract / unique and contemporary silk floral display for :

Then, Nate posted this photo of himself on Facebook and it totally cracked me up. (He just celebrated his 30th birthday! And yes, he loves golf).

Man I love that kid!

And remember when I said we’ve been having a lot of rain? Get a load of this black cloud! (Yep, it eventually dumped on us).

That photo was taken around 3:00 in the afternoon! Jeesh.

Today was half-way decent with some showers, some warmish sunbreaks. We trekked to Costco in Tumwater and loaded up on MEAT. (They have the most excellent meat around!) I also picked up a couple of nice-sized lobster tails to cook for John’s birthday this Wednesday!

Oh. Yum.

“It took a Trump candidacy for my German-Jew father to finally break his silence.”

This is my friend, Carol, when she and her husband (and doggies) came to visit us at Harstine.

And this is her dad’s story. After much encouragement, this very private 88-year-old man finally wrote a letter to the editors of several newspapers in the U.S.

Editor:

Being a Holocaust survivor, I am one of only a few people who, as a teenager of 15, was old enough to have experienced Hitler’s coming to power.  Now, as an old man, I am witnessing our current US situation.   I was a German citizen then and there, I am a US citizen here and now.  I cannot be quiet any longer; I must recall my memories.

If you hear the speeches now, just mentally substitute “Mexicans” and “Muslims” with “Jews,” and there you have Hitler in the 1930’s -- the same gestures, the same shouting, the same continuous referrals to himself.

A year or so after getting "emergency power,”  Germany -  once a democratic country - was no longer recognizable as a democracy.  Yes, FDR got a similar authority, but he was no Hitler!

“Trust me!” Hitler had said, and the Germans did.  They loved him for verbalizing the already-existent anti-Semitism, not unlike the feelings and fears that many Americans  have now about Mexicans and Muslims.

Hitler did not rise to power because “it had been built into the German DNA" (per Jochen  Bittner, NY Times 5/31/'16, article entitled "The West's Weimar Moment").   Hitler told us exactly what he was planning to do.  Hitler, too, told Germans to trust him.  He, too, knew precisely how to convince people, and how to win.

One of the first things the Nazis did was to get control of the press.  Now, we see the press being slammed and an ABC News reporter being called “a sleaze.” Watch it.  This is well beyond normal election talk.

Yes, there are real differences, but identical circumstances are not a requirement for being doomed to repeat history when we have chosen to ignore it.

Yours truly,

Thomas Heumann

 

Birthday Outing

So, today I turned sixty. (Chew on that for a minute). Done? OK, let’s move along.

We decided last night to take a long-ish road trip today down to Long Beach. I’ve been there a couple of times (many moons ago) and I have fun & fond memories of the quirky place. We knew we’d be gone for quite a few hours and didn’t want to leave the dogs home alone that long, and today worked out well because it wasn’t hot (like it’s supposed to be this weekend). Can’t be leaving doggies inside a hot vehicle while we’re bouncing between shops and restaurants, so this was win-win. In fact, it was very pleasant! Comfortable temperatures, blue skies now and then poking through some high clouds, a little breezy but not overly so. And another pretty drive.

The ocean! Haven’t seen it since—San Diego! (To be honest, Washington’s coast isn’t as picturesque as California’s and Oregon’s, but it’s still breathtaking in its own way).

I don’t think the shopping district is like it used to be. It was the early-to-mid ‘90s when I was there before, and I remember the shops as plentiful and intriguing up and down the main street. Now? Not so much! Lots of closed up buildings, and then it was also apparent that this is a “weekend” town and they somewhat roll up the sidewalks during the week days. I suspect this place was hit pretty hard with the recession. But, it was still fun. The bizarre Marsh’s Free Museum is still there where it’s fun to browse the—bizarre—goods and sundries. I took a few pictures so you can see a tiny fraction of what I mean:

(That above is the “Gorilla Man.” It’s real! Really.)

We had a late lunch and then headed back on the long road home. Here’s a cute little island in the midst of Willapa Bay:

And then, John had mentioned that we’d be in Elk country during parts of our drive and sure enough! He first spotted one in a field off the highway through the trees. Once we passed the tree stand, the field opened up and there was an entire herd! He found a place to pull over and shot this pic!

If you click to enlarge it, you can see a young one suckling its mama. And I swear a number of them were aware of John, even though they were pretty far across the field (he punched up the zoom).

So THAT was cool!!!

I picked up a little birthday present for meeeeee!

I think they’re purdy!