T

Went and picked up Chuck's cremains today. I picked out a "sprinkling" model urn with Monarchs on it. He loved butterflies. I'd mentioned on a couple of platforms that not only had I not seen them the last couple of yrs but the 'Ice Ballet' White Swamp Milkweed that we planted our 1st yr here hadn't bloomed in that time period as well. It didn't "click" until a couple days ago that both stopped happening the Summer he went into Care.
Interesting.
Cheers,
Pat

The last Duffy cat had to be put to sleep yesterday after the seizure meds stopped working. She was over 16 yrs old. We don't know exactly because she was originally a stray. My Dad used to sit out in their little guest "hut" and watch all the recorded sports while Mom watched all her recorded Soaps in the house;>. One day, Molly wandered in and sat but Dad's chair After a couple times Dad started feeding her and after a couple of weeks sitting on his lap, they made her an indoor cat.
It was always funny how uninterested she was about open doors, as opposed to Mom's Ragdoll Bella who would immediately run for it. Molly knew a good deal;>.After the parents Passed, my brother took them since their cats were also declawed(ours weren't).
The house only has cat t-shirts, throws and knick-nacks now. For a while a neighborhood cat, Jack had been visiting during the day but I haven't seen him for over two weeks. Right now I get my "Feline Fix" by petting Fluff when I put the bowls out. Since Jack disappeared, Lilbit's been occasionally dropping by for breakfast and scritches. Plushies aren't a real replacement;>.....
Cheers,
Pat

My Mom grew up in a town that had no Electricity. Their house had no indoor plumbing, heated and cooked over a wood stove and actually used a horse and wagon to get around. In her life we got to the Moon, the Internet was created and she saw her Gay son be able to be Married...just like his 3 Het brothers always could.
In my life I saw the Moon Landing, Human Rights expanded in many countries as well as here......and then I've got to live long enough to have some of those Rights so far stripped in the USA and Afghanistan.
I just lived too long....
Troth,
Patrick

Now, this will sound crazy to the non Woofolk here(and to quite a few who are...). It all started with a bunch of us oldies in line at the grocery. We were all bitching about the weird weather since last Fall and one lady said,"What color do you remeber the Sun being when you were a kid?". Huh. Sun's Yellow. She said,"when you take your bags to your car, look up". So I did.
When did the Sun turn White?
So, I did what any modern person does, I went on the interwebs. Apparently, most people over 40 remember the Sun being Yellow when they were little but NO ONE can remember when it began to change color. Lots of theories. Probably the one that sounds the best to me is the color is due to increased solar activity. That, of course lead to reports of other changes that, until it was forced in front of me I hadn't noticed. Like the Northern Lights in the last 2 decades being seen in the lower 48, even down to Florida(which I DO remember the news telling everyone to look up for a couple nights on the Panhandle).
Another thing folks were talking about wa how some insects you hardly see anymore while others(like Ticks) are at unprecedented levels. Why couldn't it be Fireflies?!?
As some one who lives with a Qanon person I tend NOT to take Conspiracies seriously but something one person on Youtube said made me uncomfortable. How did these things happen and we just didn't notice? I mean, after the grocery conversation I remembered that off and on the last decade or so I'd noticed the sunlight "didn't look right" but I just blew it off figuring it was an unusual optical illusion. I definitely noticed the bugs since I Garden.
Oh and Magnetic North is moving faster than expected toward Siberia.
Interesting Times...
Troth,
Patrick T Duffy

I've got flower buds on the Mulberry I planted last month!!!!! I also put out for Hardening off the last batch of seedlings. Got my new raised bed(with Wheels!) ready for some of the Salvias I ordered in January. The rest of the planter will be filled out with cut flower Annuals.
I'll have to replant the Salsify and Parsley since we had a hot, low Humidity day and they didn't handle it well....
I also ordered a few 10 gal fabric pots for interm containers for the 'Smith' Fig and the Saskatoon(as well as just in case. We all know how plants just seem to pop up;>).
Cheers,
Pat

I was heading over this am on my usual Sunday trip to visit Chuck when I noticed a deer half out of the woods beside the highway watching traffic, watching ME. Kept eyes on me the whole time as I passed. I didn't figure out why I'd felt so unsettled till I realised that it had been watching me head on and deer don't do that since their eyes are on the side of their heads. This one's eyes, while far apart were facing forward.
Creepy.....
Troth,
Patrick Thomas Duffy

Sooooo, today I Saw my 1st Wights since Yule! Apparently, they're common enough that Cryptid and Ghost Hunters have recorded them. They're generally cally "Flying Rods" because that's basically what they are. In NW Florida they were prey to these VW beetle sized things that acted like anemones. I've only seen the rods here though. They move like squid on speed;>!
Maybe Spring's FINALLY coming!
Cheers,
Pat

It's Sunny and single digits here today. Unlike Nashville(NW of us) we had minimal damage. I am grateful it wasn't as bad as it could have been, unlike a chitton of folks online who are complaining about it. Gee, unlike other places, you didn't die or get injured, your property didn't get damaged.
Stop your flippn WHINING!!!!!!
I guess Tennessee has more in common with my old stomping grounds than just being a Red State MAGA demesne.
Stay warm and dry out there!
Cheers,
Pat

All settled in. Went shopping Thursday and am all stocked for eventualities. One of the FEW "Good Things" about 23 yrs in Hurricane Country is that Storm Prep is pretty much automatic. I'm more worried about the Stray Cats I feed than myself. If we keep Power their heated water dish and beds will be fine. If not, they have outdoor cat shelters on both sides of the house.
Worst case for me is that I park myself in front of the fireplace. One of the Positives about losing Power in Winter as opposed in Summer(which was usually the case with Hurricanes) is that you don't have to worry about food going bad. Frozen goes on the porch(or car) and refriged gets put in the sunroom. The worst(IMO;>) about losing Power in Winter is that I've used a bidet-type toilet for more than a decade.....
And yes, even though I still keep TP;>...
Cheers,
Pat(supposed to get over a 1/2 ft of Snow today which is preferable to ANY ICE!!!!!)

So, today I did something I haven't done in yrs. I tried to replicate one of mom's recipes. She was old school,all in her head. Most of my favs I know the ingredients(I watched and helped enough when I was a kid;>)but the proportions?
With the weather the way it has been I tried to make her Lima Bean Soup. I could source all the ingredients locally except smoked hamhocks, so I tried an end piece of country ham. I also couldn't make myself use the boullion cubes she used and instead used a good stock.
Came out pretty good! Not as salty as hers and the difference using good stock and a different part of the pig wasn't a negative, just a different good.
Now, if I could have as good of luck with her Jalapeño Cream Cheese dip. I've tried at LEAST a dozen times over the yrs, have a complete list of ingredients but NEVER get the taste right. None have been bad but none very good or as she made it.....GREAT!!!!
Cheers,
Pat