Day 14901

So, today as BluEyes and I were eating brunch we decided take a drive north of town next weekend to view the fall colors. I love fall. Spring is still my favorite time of year as new life comes forth out of the dead of winter, but fall is a close second. I like the still warm days and cool nights that allow me to sleep peacefully. I love the renewed activity of wildlife. And, of course, I really love viewing the leaves turning color. So that's our gameplan for next weekend.

Ever since I ate at a nearby deli here in Redding, I've wanted to visit a place near Dunsmuir, CA called Mossbrae Falls. The deli has a gorgeous photo of this place hanging on one of the walls. Anyway, I'm hoping the trees have been changing colors and that I can get some of my own photos.

I was snooping around the net and came across this webcam site. What a great idea! I know others enjoy taking in the fall colors as I do and here we can get a heads up or simply view what we can't get to. Very cool. Another site mentioned that northern California seems to be about 3 weeks ahead of schedule this year. I'm hoping our timing will be good. I'll be sure to post some photos from the trip at a later date.

Thanks for stopping by!

Day 14867

Saw a silly little meme I thought I'd take. The results are posted below:

You Are 47% American

America: You don't love it or want to leave it. But you wouldn't mind giving it an extreme make over. On the 4th of July, you'll fly a freak flag instead... And give Uncle Sam a sucker punch!

How American Are You?

So, it made me think, "Am I really that displeased with this country?". Well, of course not! I thoroughly enjoy many of the benefits of living here. This and many other meme's are simply over-simplifications to what just isn't very simple. Kapeesh? Kind of like the strategies used for slogans during elections...short catch-phrases that people can remember, but don't really reveal anything important to prospective voters.

So, for the record, here's a little bit more of a glimpse of just how Amurikin I really am:

1) Yes, I tried to leave the U.S. and become a citizen of New Zeeland. I had too few points. So, here I am. Guess the 1st line of the results was not-exactly correct, eh?

2) I suspect that, one day, monetary inequities between the have's and the have not's will cause another civil war in this country. It certainly has been a driving force in other parts of the world. Realistically, I expect to have passed on before this happens.

3) If I were ever elected as President of the U.S., I guarantee I would piss off every single person in the country at least once, probably more. Yeah, that's how many changes I would make! So, I guess that part of my results is correct.

4) On the 4th of July, I fly no flag, U.S. or "freak". I feel incredibily fortunate to have been born and grown up in this country. I also have served in it's military, but I am certainly no hardcore patriot. I care more about the people who work for the military complex than I care about the military itself, or rather those who control the military. So, again, looks like that meme missed again, at least partially.

Well, what can I say? No meme can truly identify my sympathy for some forms of socialism, my appreciation of a balanced budget, my love of sports, the fine arts, and the sound of explosions. Hey, I'm a complex guy!

Quit laughing. Seriously. I know where you live!

Day 14825

Hey there. Hi there. Ho there. I'm being all covert and such, trying to post a blog entry without Michelle finding out! She's either watching some TV or fell asleep...can't tell, as her back is to me.

So, today was just one of those days where we got to do a variety of things, got exhausted, and just felt like we managed to not waste a day. It started at 7:30 this morning when I went to the nursery to pick up some organic mix for the raised planters one of the Goobers & I built for the front yard. We had overestimated how many cubic yards of soil we needed, so we got to pick up some medium sized tree bark with the funds we had prepaid. The soil just barely fit the 3 planters and the bark was just sufficient to cover the ground around the planters. It looks good and it feels great to finally be finished with my portion of the project. Miss Blu gets to do some planting now.

After a cold shower to get rid of the dust and cool down, we headed out to Whiskeytown Lake for an afternoon of swimming, sun-worshipping, kayaking and fishing. We caught 2 small largemouth bass and a hand-sized bluegill. Not a great haul, but we had enough action to keep it interesting. The real treat was the new kayak. Ok, so it's not-so-new. In fact, I got it used almost a month ago. Anyway, today was it's inagural voyage and Oh-My-FSM, is it fast! It was just amazing how quickly one stroke of the blade was quickly able to move that kayak! Gonna have some real good trips in this thang!

Next, we came back home for another cold shower. Did I mention the heat? It got to 108 today. Just enough to suck the energy right out of you. Anyway, after the shower, we grabbed some quick grub and went to see Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest. It was a good 2-1/2 hours long, but worth it. In typical sophomore fashion, it was not quite as good as the original, but still worth paying $2.75 for a box of Original Dots!

All in all, we had a good day and now I'm dog-tired as well. Time to crash!

G'Night, folks!

Day 14818

As BluEyes mentioned on her blog, we enjoyed a pleasant day in Lassen Volcanic National Park. She suggested that I renew my blogging (Ahem, by my own free will) by posting some pics we took during the day.

I think I got my interest in wildflowers from my mom, who loves to garden. We used to occasionally spend an hour or two around the house I grew up in planting, watering, and weeding the gardens. I recall those memories as being quite peaceful and pleasant. Anyway, I took several photos of wildflowers today and what follows are some of them.

This first one reminds me of cotton candy. It was the size of a clover plant, but with fuzzy pink flowers. The bees, wasps, and dragonflies were all over these while I shot, but the best photo had no insect life.



The mostly blue flower in this next photo is my favorite. I don't know what this flower is, but it has a very unique shape. The purple-ish back end of the flower does not connect directly to the stem of the plant. Instead, the flower is attached to the stem in the middle. It is sort of oriented like a capital T.



This photo was obtained by pure luck. As we were cruising along, I would say to Miss Blu, "Stop!" whenever I saw something I wanted to shoot. One time, there was just no place to immediately pull off, so we coasted further up the road. The shot I intended to take was a flop, but to the left of us about 75 feet away were a cluster of 4 of these. Again, I don't know what kind of flower this is, but I have seen them before in Arizona. I thought they were from a yucca plant, but a search online yields an entirely different looking flower. I've got to pick up a book on wildflowers!



So, not everything we saw was pretty. This last photo was of a stream that appeared to have more mud and volcanic ash flowing in it than water. It was just a bunch of nasty smelling (from the high content of hydrogen sulphide) grey slop! The scary thing was that back in the day, this immediate area used to be a resort spa! It was called the Supan Sulphur Works. People actually paid money to take baths in the geothermally heated pools, which helped cover up their B.O. with the lovely scent of Deviled Eggs! These people probably also purchased really cheap land in Florida!



Well, we had a great day and I'm glad I got to share it with Michelle! Check out her site to see more pics.

Day 14686

From BluEyes and Alison...

Pick a band/artist. Then answer these questions using only titles from the band/artist’s songs.

1. Name of band/artist: They Might Be Giants
2. Are you male or female?: Mr. Me
3. Describe yourself: I've Got A Fang
4. How do you feel about yourself?: Your Own Worst Enemy
5. Describe your ex girlfriend/boyfriend: (She Was A) Hotel Detective
6. Describe current girlfriend/boyfriend: S-E-X-X-Y
7. Describe where you want to be: The Other Side Of The World
8. Describe how you live: I Hope That I Get Old Before I Die
9. Describe how you love: Til My Head Falls Off
10. What would you ask for if you had just one wish?: Another First Kiss
11. Share a few words of wisdom: Everything Right Is Wrong Again, Happy Doesn't Have to Have an Ending, I Should Be Allowed to Think
12. Now say goodbye: You'll Miss Me

Day 14674

Egads it's been a long time since I last posted! I wish I had something better to write, but today was, well, today.

I learned a lot about myself and my relationships today, albeit, too late. I spent the day with my Sweetie, who simply had a bad day. She seemed to have wanted to be alone, but due to the wet, cool weather and a steady stream of intruders, she just couldn't get any peace. Did I mention that I was one of the intruders? You see, I forgot that I'm a guy, programmed to solve problems, and, well, tried to solve what I didn't understand. Then, when I couldn't fix, well, her, I immediately focussed on myself and got defensive. Finally, when I realized she really did just want to be by herself, I failed to cook her dinner or pick her up a little something as I went out for some goodies for myself. (Somebody smack me upside the head!)

I've done this before. Not with her, but in other relationships. Whenever my partner got down, I quickly assumed it was something I was doing or not doing and focussed on myself. Then, because I wasn't trying intentionally to annoy, I got overly defensive and shut down any meaningful communication, which was most likely annoying! So, she's in a bad mood, I'm getting one, and here I come along trying to fix her so that I don't feel so uncomfortable.

(FYI, Yibbyl means "designated moron".)

Right now, I'm typing this, she's asleep, no doubt from pure emotional exhaustion, and we have just gone to bed, not angry, but frustrated, for the first time. It makes me sad, especially since all I did today was add to her headaches and make her question just how alert and empathetic I am. To be honest, I think I came across as selfish and uncaring. Yep, today, I was a winner!

(rolls eyes, turns off computer)

Day 14619

I'm wide awake when I should be asleep. Miss Blu is asleep but experiencing flu-like symptoms. So am I, but didn't want to tell her. She would be overly concerned with me and probably make herself feel worse thinking that we were making each other sicker. Or is that more sick? Wicked sick? Yeah, I like that one.

I hate being sick. I am probably the biggest whiner in the world after about a week of experiencing cold symptoms, or the flu. I let my frustration get the best of me. Chances are those around me get frustrated with my pissing and moaning during those times too.

So, not only am I awake, but the goobers are as well. They think I don't know, but I can hear the pages turning as they read. I get mixed feelings about that. They constantly stay awake reading, but at least they aren't sneaking out. However, their school starts on Wed. and they need to get their sleep schedule stabilized. At the same time, I rarely read as a kid...something I really regret. I know it is valuable for them, so I guess that's why I let it go. Don't want them to have to stare blankly into space whenever someone references anything from some story. Besides, you really can't win a game of Trivial Pursuit without having had access to some of the great and not-so-great literary works. Useless trivia for youse all...I have only ever won one game of Trivial Pursuit. The question that won it for me was "Who wrote the Peanuts cartoon strip?", which, of course, was Charles M. Schulz! (Cartoons were perfect for my short attention span!)

Here's something ironic. Not only did I use to hate reading, but writing as well when I was a wee tyke of about, say 15. Now I want to write...not really blogs, but screenplays! My Sweetie gave me a gift for Christmas to help me along in the process. It's some software I've wanted for a couple of years. It's really cool, but I'm getting the feeling that my lack of reading in the past is going to significantly hurt my writing skills. We'll see. Add to this that my 1st attempt was a false start and my second has an issue as well. Seems my idea matches a little too closely to my past family life. I'm concerned that they might figure it out and be offended. Also, it touches a nerve in me that causes some emotional discomfort. Still haven't figured out whether I will try to write it or not. We'll see.

Hey! I just yawned! Maybe I'll be able to sleep soon! It's worth a shot. Time to tell the goobers bed time was over an hour ago. Boy, I really am the evil adult!

Nighty-nite!