Damn, that was a long few days.
Here’s the stuff of life:
Caffeine. Taste. Mmmmmmm.
Had a medical professional today on the phone tell me that I needed to drink water instead. She lost me, right there and then.
Author Archives: momdude
Purple Trumpets
They’re everywhere. Just in case the hummingbirds aren’t happy with the standard fare in the feeders.
Filed under Flowers, Photography
Chasing The Last Photons Of The Day
Flowers will move to track the Sun through the day. (See “heliotropism.”)
Tonight I went out to the front yard about an hour after sunset, still a bit of light in the western sky.
Down by the mailbox, it was strinking how the flowers were all lined up, all pointing west. It was spooky, like, 1960’s British, low-budget, horror movie sort of spooky.
There were still a few solar photons creeping over the horizon, and by god, they were going to photosynthesize them OR KNOW THE REASON WHY!
I was very careful to not let my shadow fall on them. Never underestimate the potential power of eldritch horror lurking in the innocent flowers at the beginning of a 1960’s British, low-budget, horror movie!
Professor Quatermass taught us that.
Filed under Flowers, Photography, Sunsets
A Bad Influence On Dogs
Blanc (the neighbor’s dog) had been howling earlier in the day while I was petting him over the fence, so I reminded him that the “pink” (so named because of the flowers and cherry blossoms blooming at this time of year) new moon was rising tonight, and I promised to come back out later and howl at the rising moon with him.
I came out just as the full moon was peeking over the horizon, went over to the fence, petted Blanc some more, and started howling. Blanc was confused and started barking instead of howling. His owner came out and yelled at him to stop barking and I had to explain that it was my fault for teaching Blanc to do bad things.
I wanted to get a picture of me, Blanc, and the rising full moon, but Blanc wouldn’t stay still long enough.
Two out of three ain’t bad, I guess.
Filed under Astronomy, Paul, Photography
Conditioned
Last weekend when we went down to Anaheim and saw the Angels’ home opener on Friday and stayed for fireworks night on Saturday, we stayed overnight rather than schlep three-plus hours each way back and forth. Like with many newer hotels, they don’t have little bars of soap and tiny bottles of shampoo any more – they have these large squirt bottles in the shower instead.
But without my glasses on in the shower, I can’t read the small print. So I think that I lathered up my entire body with the conditioner, not the body wash.
It didn’t work. It’s been a week and I’m in the same condition I was in a week ago, possibly worse. I didn’t even turn that avacado green color or anything cool.
I guess we’re stuck with that same old same old me! Sorry.
Filed under Farce, Photography, Travel
Long Day – Pumping Gas
As stated, a very long, exhausing day.
The good news – thanks to outstanding work by the team, a huge freakin’ problem has been solved. It’s been tough sleeping for the past few nights with that one hanging over my head.
The bad news – we spent this afternoon and evening at a funeral for a beloved family member. She had been sick for a while, so it wasn’t a surprise, but it was still emotional and traumatic.
Even in the middle of all of the running around, I needed to stop for gas. The clouds were sublime and wispy and ausgetzeichnet!
Filed under Family, Photography, Sunsets, Weather
2025 Lizard Season Opening Day
It’s been getting warmer and we’ve had several days in a row in the low 80’s. While I’ve seen little skittering motions out of the corner of my eye once or twice while strolling through the back yard, today was the first time this year I got a clear view.
Normally I would expect the first fence lizards of the year to be the teeny, tiny, newly hatched “popcorn” lizards (so named because they’re basically just light snacks for the birds, bigger lizards, and other predators). But this dude was pretty good sized.
One of the “blue bellies,” he didn’t retreat when I spooked him, but started doing push-ups to demonstrate his dominance. I refrained from dropping and giving him twenty-five, although I might be able to do it these days.
Something of a “chonky boi,” I’ll keep an eye out for him and if I spot it before I get close enough to disturb it or make it feel threatened, I can turn and take a different route for my walk. The sun really did feel good, and I want to be a good neighbor and/or host.
He also needs to watch out, the fence he was hiding out against separates our yard from the new neighbors, and in particular, their dog, Blanc. I’m waiting to see if Blanc is into chasing tiny reptiles, but I wouldn’t be surprised, and Blanc might have a different idea regarding the role of good neighbor and/or host.
Filed under Critters, Photography
Contrail Leftovers
Sunset tonight, a dozen or so clouds glowing pink, criss-crossing the coastal jetway.
But every one of the “clouds” is unnaturally long, thin, in a couple of parallel sets, like an exploded tic-tac-toe grid. And over on the far left, still compact and bright white, is the next line being laid down.
Another 737 laying down a contrail between SFO/OAK/SEA/CGO/TPE/YVR to LAX/BUR/SAN/SNA/PHX. Soon to be a long, straight, puffy, expanding, pink line across the western horizon.
Filed under Flying, Photography, Sunsets
Ballpark Impulse Buys
At Angels Stadium this last weekend I ended up in one of the team stores to get something. At the cash register, the evil monsters had the ultimate impulse buy for the twelve-year-old Paul trapped (screaming, I suspect) inside this 69-year-old carcass.
I haven’t bought baseball cards in YEARS! But there they were, and unlike fifty-seven years ago, I didn’t have to go mow lawns, shovel snow, or scrounge through the bushes along a busy highway for discarded Coke bottles with a $0.02 refund on each in order to get a couple of packs. I had a credit card, and I wasn’t afraid to use it!
Today’s cards are a far stretch from the cards of the early 1960’s in terms of color, design, and quality. Nonetheless, what I wouldn’t give to have my original set of cards back (long ago sold off by my mother at a garage sale).
I was pleasantly surprised to get a Mike Trout card right off the bat. Perhaps that’s a good sign!
They’re great to look at and read through, takes me right back to my pre-teen days and some of my fondest memories of those days. I’m not sharing too many details about the world of 2025 with 12-year-old Paul – he was fresh out of Catholic school and hadn’t even learned to swear yet (a story for another day) and would be tragically ill-prepared to deal with all that we’re hip deep in.
Filed under Paul, Photography, Sports
Grand Finale
I generally don’t post long videos here (they take up a LOT of space on my corner of the WordPress site and I’m paying for that) but I think this is worth it. The “grand finale” from last night’s fireworks display at Anaheim Stadium.
The Angels won again today, so they’ve taken two out of three games in each of their first three three-game series. By the standard of their dozen or so most recent seasons, that’s about the best they’ve done in a long, long time. There are still 153 games left to go, but 6-3 is a lot better than 3-6 to start, and that losing record is more of the norm.
Enjoy the fireworks and big booms! Try to not stress out too much over the news tomorrow and for the rest of this week. Especially since there’s not much any of us can do about it. The train is out of control, there’s a mad man driving it, those who have the power to stop him are mostly helping him, and the rest of us are just along for the ride.
Keep breathing, folks.
We Love The Stars Too Fondly 