I Still Love Squirrels

I love all of them.

I've seen so many squirrels in my lifetime, and, in my way, I've loved them all.  I still watch them.  They are not boring to me.  They are cute.
I tried to feed a squirrel that had climbed up a telephone pole.  She was hanging out there, ready to shimmy across the wire to the other side, when I jiggled the bag that held whole walnuts, which, of course, I bought for my squirrel neighbors.  She hesitated.  She seemed to be quite interested in what was going on, but she remained on her lofty perch.  I decided to toss a walnut toward the pole.  I thought she might come down and get it.  She didn't, though.  Instead, she shimmied across the wire toward the east.  I picked up the nut and tossed it onto the grass in front of my windows, hoping I'd see a squirrel get it.  I didn't, though.  The next day, I went out for a job interview, and, when I returned, the nut was gone.  I'm 99.9% sure a squirrel got it, and that's all that matters.
I used to spoil the squirrels around here with whole nuts.  I think either they've forgotten me doing this, or these are some new squirrels on the block.  When I jiggle the nut bag, they don't come hopping towards me like they used to.  On the contrary, the noise seems to scare them away.
Anyway, I had my chance with another squirrel.  She was tens of feet away.  I figured I'd toss the nut in front of her, she'd notice it, then she'd get it.  I threw it badly, though.  Instead of going as far as I wanted it to, it went high.  Give me a break, I was thinking.  Odds are, it would land on the grass.  There's more grass than sidewalk in that area.  Just my luck, it landed on the sidewalk with a loud sound.  The squirrel jumped at the noise, but she recovered quickly.  I think it took at most a second, if not less than one, for her to grab a piece of the nut after it had shattered on the sidewalk.  Then she took off.  She knew she had a rare treat, and she'd better go eat or bury it before another squirrel tried to take it away from her.  

Listen to Enya

Enya

 I am listening to Enya right now.  I listen to a lot of different kinds of music.  Before listening to this Enya CD, I was listening to a Morbid Angel (death metal) album.  That's just how I do it.  One minute, I'm listening to Slayer, and in the next, I'm listening to the Dixie Chicks.  Anyone who'd like to judge me can wipe my ass: please.
Anyway, Enya was born to sing.  She sounds like an angel.  She may be an angel; I don't know.  I am 1/4 Irish, and I have an Irish name, so I am proud that she is Irish.  Her voice is pure beauty.  We need as much beauty as we can get in this world.
I'm disappointed with my squirrel neighbors.  I bought some whole walnuts for them, but they seem to have fled for greener pastures.  I can't blame them.  They forage on the grass, and the grass here is covered with snow.  We had a few inches recently.  A squirrel loves to receive a whole freaking walnut.  I want to feed my cute neighbors.
Back to Enya.  What an amazing voice.  It's otherworldly.  Perhaps she's an alien.
I'd also like to recommend Tegan and Sara.  I love their music.  They are identical twin sisters from Canada.  Both of them play guitar and keyboards.  Both of them write songs.  Both of them sing lead: and backing vocals while the other is singing lead.  Their voices are similar, but not the same.  They look different.  I read on Wikipedia that they're both lesbians.  I've seen Sara sporting a haircut that resembles one of the Beatles from their mop top phase.  From what I've seen, she tends to dress in a more masculine way than Tegan does.  Initially, I fancied Sara more than Tegan.  Despite her manly haircut, she is slim, and, though I love both their voices, I currently like Sara's a little more than Tegan's.  Once I saw Sara from the waist down: dressed like a boy or man; I realized I was more attracted to Tegan.  Both of them are beautiful.  Both of them are great singers and songwriters.  And I will never get to be romantically involved with either of them.  So it really doesn't matter what they look like.  They were born to sing, write, and play music.  I'm sure of it. 

Turkey Day

My Thanksgiving wish is that adult hunters will be hunted by a maniac like Danny Rolling.

People call Thanksgiving "turkey day" as though the slaughter of millions of these animals each year for this holiday is something "cute."  What a crock.  Most of the people in this world don't care at all about animals like turkeys, chickens, cows, and pigs.  If you're one of them, you should be ashamed of yourself.
Someone on PBS has a heart.  Yesterday, they aired 3 shows in a row.  The first was about turkeys.  A naturalist received some wild turkey eggs.  He hatched them using an incubator and became their mother.  The little turkeys cuddled with him.  He'd walk through the forest, and the turkeys would follow him.  It was a beautiful show.  I'd rather die than eat meat.  The show that came on after that one was about ducks.  They are wonderful animals too.  I'm so disappointed that a show like Duck Dynasty is a big hit.  These jerks got rich by helping people kill ducks.  It makes me sick that they would become so popular and successful.  Ducks are cute, they don't hurt us, and people have every advantage when they hunt them.  I once saw a piece on the news.  There were a bunch of ducklings on the roof of a store or restaurant on the street of a small town.  They wanted to get down, but they were scared.  They were jumping, and a man was catching them.  He used a ladder to get onto the roof to gather the ducks who were too afraid to jump.  Then he stopped traffic as he led the ducks through town to a pond, where they safely jumped into the water.  It's one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.  That man, to me, is a real hero.  The jerks from Duck Dynasty are villains.  The third show was about deer.  I think hunting season just recently began.  I love to hear stories about hunters getting shot.  When hunters get shot, they get what they deserve.  If you grab a gun and try to kill living beings, then you deserve whatever violence comes back your way.  He who lives by the sword will die by the sword.  Adults who shoot at living creatures deserves to be shot at as well.  That's how I feel about it.           

Danny Rolling (part 2)

Danny Rolling

 I had been sort of fascinated by the serial killer Danny Rolling.  He wasn't like other serial killers.  With exceptions like Ted Bundy, they seem to target so-called "easy targets" like prostitutes.  Sadly, they are less likely to be missed, and they voluntarily put themselves into unsafe situations.  Rolling was different in that sense, because he killed 5 students at the University of Florida in Gainesville.  Pretty young college students aren't supposed to be killed by a maniac with a knife, which is what Danny Rolling was at that point.  He broke into their apartments at night, he raped them, killed them, and mutilated them.
I just finished a book about the murders called Beyond Murder.  It was a good read; I went through it pretty quickly.  I'd say I'm no longer fascinated with Danny Rolling anymore, though.  I pretty much knew most of the gory details already.  One of the things that interested me about him was his music.  During a TV show about him, they played a snippet of one of his songs: "mystery rider, what's your name?  You're a killer, a drifter gone insane."  It sounded good.  Obviously, he had some interesting things to write about.  I read, in the book, that he was talented enough of a musician and songwriter that someone wanted to record him.  But Danny Rolling never showed up for the appointment.  He had problems.  His father didn't want him, but his wife refused to get an abortion.  So his father hated him.  He beat the crap out of him.  It seems like he never loved, or even liked, him.
Danny Rolling was also depressed, as so many people are.  One of the reasons why he killed the amount of people that he did was because he did some very hard time at a plantation-type prison.  The conditions him and his fellow inmates had to endure were very harsh.  In Danny Rolling's case, it didn't work out very well.  He vowed to kill someone for each year he spent at that prison.  So maybe it's not a good idea to inflict cruel and unusual punishment on inmates; it could create monsters.  
Danny Rolling was big, 6'2", and strong.  He lifted weights.  He liked to walk around with a large knife strapped to his leg.  I have tried to imagine the terror his victims experienced at the crime scenes.  It's nothing pretty.  Rolling was a real-life horror-movie monster.
Also, today I bought some walnuts, still in the shell, for my squirrel neighbors.

I Saw a Skunk

playful pup

The skunk was not dead, and of course I'm not referring to seeing one on TV or in a photo.  It was nighttime.  I looked out my window and saw an animal walking around.  At first, I was thinking cat.  Then I took a closer look.  She was a skunk!  It was the first time I had seen a live skunk in the flesh.  It was exciting, but the skunk didn't do the moonwalk or anything; she was just foraging like all the other animals around here do.
Darn that Adam Sandler!  A few weeks ago, I watched You Don't Mess with the Zohan.  I enjoyed it; it was pretty funny.  The problem is that there is so much hummus in the freaking movie.  It obviously is in there as some kind of joke.  His character even puts out a fire by attaching a hose to a giant tank of hummus.  I was liking the movie, but I was thinking that it would probably lead to me buying hummus, and it did.  I love hummus, and I hadn't had it in a while.  Sure enough, because of Adam Sandler, I've eaten pounds of it since watching that movie.  I've been eating it every day.  It does make such a great chip dip.  Now I'm trying to turn it into a positive situation.  I bought a package of carrots; even though I don't like carrots by themselves.  The plan is to use the hummus as a veggie dip: instead of a chip dip.  I plan to try dipping cucumber slices into hummus too. 
I discovered another great product: Bird's Eye (frozen) oriental stir fry.  It is so good.  It contains broccoli, carrots, sugar snap peas, and other (oriental) veggies.  It comes with a delicious sauce to put on it.  I rarely go to restaurants.  The first time I had it, I thought it was as good as something I'd get in a Chinese restaurant.  I've been eating it almost every day.  Life is short.  We must treat ourselves well: especially when we're talking about a food that is vegan and healthy.
Today and yesterday were pretty good days.  My car died recently.  That has been difficult to deal with.  Who looks forward to buying a car?  I can only think of rich people, and I am not rich.  So it's been a tough time for me; that's why I posted those song lyrics last week.  Life can be hard, but we must press on and try to improve things.

Where Have All the Groundhogs Gone?

Miss you Lucy

I'm going through groundhog withdrawal.  I haven't seen one in weeks.  I keep looking for them.  I suppose I won't see any til the spring, though.  I will miss them.  They cheer me up.  Here are some song lyrics:

SOCIAL DISTORTION LYRICS

"Ball And Chain"

 Well it's been ten years and a thousand tears
And look at the mess I'm in
A broken nose and a broken heart,
An empty bottle of gin
Well I sit and I pray
In my broken down Chevrolet
While I'm singin' to myself
There's got to be another way

[Chorus:]
Take away, take away
Take away this ball and chain
Well I'm lonely and I'm tired
And I can't take any more pain
Take away, take away
Never to return again
Take away, take away
Take away
Take away this ball and chain

Well I've searched and I've searched
To find the perfect life
A brand new car and a brand new suit
I even got me a little wife
But wherever I have gone
I was sure to find myself there
You can run all your life
But not go anywhere

[Chorus:]
Take away, take away
Take away this ball and chain
Well I'm sick and I'm tired
And I can't take any more pain
Take away, take away
Never to return again
Take away, take away
Take away
Take away this ball and chain

Well I'll pass the bar on the way
To my dingy hotel room
I spent all my money
I've been drinkin' since half past noon
Well I'll wake there in the mornin'
Or maybe in the county jail
Times are hard getting harder
I'm born to lose and destined to fail

[Chorus:]
Take away, take away
Take away this ball and chain
Well I'm lonely and I'm tired
And I can't take any more pain
Take away, take away
Never to return again
Take away, take away
Take away
Take away this ball and chain

 

Manhunter/Red Dragon

Graham home.  Marathon, Florida.  Save yourself, kill them all.

Where's Penny?

Lucinda

I haven't seen any groundhogs for at least a few days: maybe even a week.  I hope Penny is okay.  I miss seeing her.  Maybe she went with an early hibernation.  I've read that groundhogs start hibernating after the first frost, which I'm pretty sure hasn't happened here yet.
It always cheers me up to see groundhogs.  A day without groundhogs is like a day without sunshine.  They make my life better.
At least I've still got the squirrels.  I like them too.  I've been thinking about feeding them again.  I haven't done it in a while.  I've seen the food that some of my neighbors have left out for birds and squirrels: stuff like white bread, white rice, and even Pringles.  I wouldn't give them processed foods like that.  I'd only give them pure, unsalted nuts: preferably still in the shell.  It's fun to toss a whole walnut to a squirrel and see her seize it between her paws.
Some people think people shouldn't feed wild animals.  We shouldn't make them dependent on us, but I think the occasional, healthy, whole walnut would make a nice treat for them.
Well, there's not much more to say.  Think of animals as your brothers and sisters.  Treat them well.  Don't eat them.   

I Love Penny

Got your back.

I finally named her.  She may be the last groundhog left in this immediate area.  There might be another, but she rules the territory around my windows.  It is possible that she has chased all her sisters and her mother away.  She has claimed the hole she grew up in as her own.  The hole is right next to the building I live in.  The first groundhog I ever named, Sheila, used to live in this hole.  Anyway, her name is Penny.  I think it fits her well.  She's very cute, but, then again, the vast majority of them are.  She's been frightened a little too much lately.
The birds were driving me crazy.  Whoever designed the kitchen fans in these buildings is a real dummy.  Birds seem to think they make perfect bird houses.  Since I love animals, I put up with them for the longest time.  Thump!  That's the sound of a bird landing behind the kitchen fan.  You could hear that several more times than you would ever want to in any given day.  Chirp, chirp, chirp!  Birds make so much noise.  Especially baby birds, who are probably saying "Feed me!" most of the time.  I'd finally had enough.  They made so much noise on a daily basis; they were driving me nuts.  I began to try to scare them away.  They'd make their noise, then I would go over to the fan and tap hard on the outside of it: hoping it would scare them away.  It was just a temporary solution, though.  They always came back.  I called the office about it.  The office manager said they can put a cover on it, but they don't like to, because the fan keeps the units from getting too smoky.
I said, "I don't care about that; these birds are driving me crazy!"  Besides, I don't fry, or burn, anything.  I bake potatoes, boil pasta, and so on.  I never do any smoky cooking.  So they put the cover on.  Things were fine for months, but I recently heard the birds again.  I went outside to look, and, sure enough, the cover came off and was hanging open on one side.  But when I went outside to look, I scared Penny.  She had been grazing, and she ran into her hole when she saw or heard me.  So I called the office again and asked them to put the cover back on.  But the next day, I kept hearing the birds.  Since I saw one of the maintenance guys spraying freakin' bushes, instead of covering my fan, I called the office again to say that no one had done it.  I was told it would be done that day.  I went for a walk.  When I returned, I checked to see if the fan had been covered.  Poor Penny, I scared her again.  She dove into her hole.  But then she stuck her head out to look around: very cute.  Finally, the fan was covered.  And no birds were trapped inside.  There were none in there at the time; I checked.  

Please Treat Animals Well

Now that's a horse that I would ride.

I was walking near a Wal-Mart.  I noticed a young man addressing a seagull in an impolite way.  If he had taken action against the seagull, I would like to think I would have intervened.  I would have told him to leave the seagull alone.  Or what?  He might have asked.  Or I'll knock your teeth down your throat.  He probably would have been shocked.  He likely would not have believed that a skinny, short, "old" guy would confront him like that.  But no, he just gave a disdainful look to the seagull and walked on. 
I often get offended while watching TV.  While channel surfing today, I came across a hunting program, which, of course, make me sick.  This hunter picked up a dead duck, and said to his buddy, "It landed right at my feet.  It literally hit me in the knee on the way down."  Predictably, his idiot buddy laughed.  I changed the channel in disgust. 
Duck Dynasty, I hear, is an extremely popular TV show.  I don't have cable; I've never seen it.  From what I've read, it's about hillbillies that have gotten rich by helping people kill ducks.  I'm rooting for the ducks: not the hillbillies.  I don't care how long their beards are.  If I was given power of life and death, and was forced to choose who would die, either a duck or one of the Duck Dynasty hillbillies, I would spare the lives of the ducks every time.  I don't care how long their beards are, every single duck in the world is cuter than they are.  F___ those Duck Dynasty ass_____. 
Trust me, it always feels good to treat animals well.  I don't know if I believe in karma, but I do at least sometimes.  If you're going around and dealing out death and violence, then maybe you should expect some to come back in your direction.  Don't you think things would work out better for you if you tried to be good instead of evil?
If you love all the animals, and live your life that way everyday, then I love you.  But it's not enough.  People like us need to try to change the hearts and minds of those who eat meat and don't care about animals beyond their pets.  The animals literally don't have a voice; we must speak up for them.       

Holy Hell!

Lucinda

Today is the worse of two bad days in a row.  Yesterday, I realized that I lost my cell phone Saturday night.  Then I went for a walk and got bit by a dog.  It was ridiculous.  I was walking past a dog grooming shop.  To my left, I saw two dogs.  One was being walked by a woman, the other by a young girl.  The young girl let go of the leash, the woman yelled, and the dog approached me.  She was a cute small dog, and I love animals, so I was kind of like "hi."  Then the dog sunk her teeth into my right leg.  Holy crap!  I was shocked.  I started running down the street with the dog chasing me.
Unbelievably, the woman yelled to me, "Don't worry; she doesn't bite."
"She already did!" I yelled while running away from the biter.  It, again, was ridiculous.  The woman was trying to get the dog on the loose, Bella, while holding on to the leash of the other dog.  Bella had broken my skin in 4 places, and now I have at least 1 bruise there. 
She kept yelling, "Bella!" but it didn't seem to do any good.
Meanwhile, I became concerned.  This dog was off the leash right next to a busy street.  I was worried that she would get hit by a car.  So I ran into a parking lot: hoping she would follow me.  She did.  I was a little shocked, I was angry, and I decided I'd had enough, so I continued my walk.  Then I started to think about things like rabies.  If an animal, that's infected with rabies, bites you, it can kill you.  So I walked back toward the woman.  She was still yelling Bella's name, and she was still on the loose.  I yelled to her, "Does she have her shots?!"
"Yes" she answered.
So I walked on.  I got to my destination, turned around, and walked toward home again.  I don't have health insurance, but I have been to a free clinic around here.  They will treat you, but they ask for a $10 donation.  I wanted to make sure I wasn't going to die.  I got the idea to go into the groomer's and see if that woman was there.  If she was, I would ask her for money.  Why should I have to pay to make sure I'm not gonna die from rabies?  I went in there, but I did not see her.  By the way, she didn't even apologize to me.  I did think to write down the phone number of the groomer's, which was on a sign in front of the shop.  When I got home, the first order of business was to call the groomer's and ask if they make sure the dogs have their shots before grooming them.  The nice woman on the end of the phone insisted that they do.  She pretty much put my mind at ease.
Today, I went to pick up my cell phone from where I lost it.  On the way back, my car overheated and started belching smoke.  Then it did what it never did before; it failed to get me to my destination.  I didn't have my AAA card on me, so I walked home (from the highway).  It took me 40 minutes to get home.  I was at home, on the phone with AAA, when someone rang my buzzer.  My first instinct was to ignore it.  Then I thought, what if it has something to do with my car?  Sure enough, a NY state trooper was at the door.  He asked if my car broke down.  I said yes, and that I'm trying to deal with it.  Then he let me know it had already been towed.  It turned out to be $150.  It would have cost nothing, or a little more than nothing, if AAA had towed it.  I called a nearby garage and told them what happened.  The mechanic on the phone seemed to think it might be an expensive problem.  I asked the towing company to tow it to this garage.  This has been a pretty difficult 2-day period.