Blooming Spiders...

It’s that time of the year again, well sort of, I remember it happens in the spring too. What you say? Spiders! On one part of my jogging lane there is about 100 meters of trees on my left side. It didn’t happen this year and that was kind of a mystery to me, because of the prior years.

When I am out jogging, sometimes walking, I am headed east into the sun. And since I have great eyesight I notice many things at a distance, especially in the bright sunlight. Today, it was spider webs. In the distance I noticed hundreds of single webs from spiders. Well, not hundreds but quite a few.

Last year I carried a 20 inch stick with just for those spider webs…also for those little dogs that bugged me along the way. Anyway, I would just put the stick in front of my face, so the webs wouldn’t get into my eyes and so forth. However, earlier this year, no spider webs, so no stick. And no little dogs, either.

So, this time, and this was the first time this year, I just held my arms up and in front of my face to deflect those single strands of glistening webs. Of course the spider webs just wrapped around my arms. When I passed the trees, by the lake, I had to get all of that sticky stuff off my arms because, that stuff itches! And if it gets in your eyes, well it’s only happened once, I don’t want to happen again, ever.

My only guess is that the spiders mated late this year and the babies are blooming! Or something is going on and the spiders are getting out of town.

A star is born...

"I learned something new today; Tawas Point State Park is a dark sky site. I did not know that. Sunday morning I happened to wake up at 3 a.m. and saw Millions and billions of stars. I thought there was only one site, but there are four sites in Michigan."



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My God, it's full of stars...

I went camping this past weekend, three fun filled, relaxing days. My only complaint, my air mattress continues to deflate. This in turn causes me to wake up with a sore back, which is still hurting as I sit here and type this blog post.

On Saturday, early on, the rains came and they came. Most of us decided that we would drive over to the beach house and get out of the coming rain. Seconds after we got into the beach house the rain started falling, sideways! Even though the rain only lasted 20 minutes we stayed for in place for an hour.

While I was there, I ate something, and to this very moment I can’t remember what it was I ate but it was probably sweet and I know I had some coffee. Now that I think about it, I remember that the cup wasn’t clean and there was some strange looking crud at the bottom of the cup which I didn’t notice until I finished the coffee. I have the feeling the guy who brought his coffee maker never cleaned out.

Around the time it started getting dark the group all got together and we started a fire and we sat around drinking beer and wine. Someone then pulled out some cheese and crackers, which I needed to counter the effects of the beer.

I noticed the clouds were beginning to clear and the stars came out, but it was still bright out, basically because of the quarter Moon.  Mars and Jupiter were very clear and bright, I should have gotten up and gotten my binoculars but the beer was having a slight effect on me.  Anyway, the big dipper and a bunch of stars came out, but nothing amazing. It was like being at home sitting in the back yard looking up at the stars in the sky. Then the clouds filled the sky again.

I got my first telescope when I was about 11 years old. Not knowing a lot about astronomy the only thing I could see was the moon. I don’t ever remember seeing stars or planets, way back then, and I don’t remember what happened, to this day I think my brother broke my telescope knocking the secondary mirror out. I spent hours and days trying to glue the mirror but it just wouldn’t stay in place. This was way before Super Glue.

In my life time I have had three telescope, two reflectors and one refractor.

All of them were cheap and I could never see any of the planets, though, the moon came in clear, big and bright. A few years ago my brother came into town and he brought with him his telescope. He had a cheap telescope, one he purchased at a pawn shop. But, he had purchased expensive, but not too expensive lenses, and that made the difference.

With his telescope and lenses I, for the first time in my life, saw the rings of Saturn, heck; I even had a clear view of Mars! All this did was get me salivating whenever I saw a telescope. I have a page on Pinterest with all of the telescopes that I could ever wish for or dream about. The one I want, though, is $14,000! Hey, I can dream can’t I?

Back at the campground, I decided to go to bed about 10:30. I figured that I had enough to drink and I was hoping the alcohol was enough to help me sleep. For whatever reason I cannot sleep in a tent, considering someone in the next tent was snoring so loud and for just about all night, but I digress…

Around 2 am, my stomach started talking to me, loudly. Not only that I had a sharp pain in my lower abdomen and it got sharper as I laid in my tent. I stayed there for about a half an hour before I decided to get up and walk a 100 meters to the camp restroom/showers.

Even though I was in pain I happened to look into the sky. I have, in my lifetime never seen that many stars! Some were so bright; they looked as big as flickering baseballs in the sky. I even saw the Milky Way, the center of our galaxy. It wasn’t as bright as I have seen in pictures but I could see the entire outline. If it weren’t for the pain and those pesky mosquitoes I would have pulled out my chair and sat and watch the stars, as I was, in awe and wonderment.

I made it to the restroom, did my thing, 15 minutes later I slowly made it back to my tent, but I didn’t go in, not right away. I stood there and just viewed the stars as long as I could. The two things I lacked that night, a telescope and a real camera, I have a point shoot right now. I could have gotten my binoculars but, I would have had to get back into my tent to get my car keys and If I went back in I was going to try and go to sleep.

From what I understand, Michigan has four Dark Sky sites and I just happened to be in one of them, Tawas State Park, Michigan. I didn’t know that at the time and felt I like a kid in a candy store looking at millions and millions of stars glowing and flickering the night away.

A camping I will go...

I love camping, well; I like it a lot, really. I just got home from my latest camping trip to Tawas State Park, for this past weekend.

It’s kind of funny; I always try to remember to bring the important things that I need to have a successful camping trip.  Most times I forget those things. Usually I will do something like, a blanket but forget the pillow. Or, forget a pan or spoons or something. This weekend I forgot my little pan, so I could make pancake for breakfast and I forgot my giant patio umbrella because I read that it was going to thunderstorm on Saturday night.

This weekend I remember to bring a pillow but I didn’t take a blanket, to completely cover me, because I was thinking on bringing a top sheet. I didn’t realize that it would get cool that first night or for that matter the second night. So, for the first night I blew up my sleeping pad and laid my sleeping bag on top of the pad. I was fine for a while, though.

Late into the night I started to get cold, considering that it only got into the 50s, it was too cold for shorts, no socks and a t-shirt. So, the little blanket I had, a throw blanket, 4’x 3’, which was only big enough to cover my feet and legs, but not my upper torso or vice-versa.

I remembered that I had bought a couple of towels. I got the largest towel, which is about six feet long and covered my legs and used the tiny blanked to cover my upper body.  It was a bad night, I just couldn’t keep either towel or blanket on me and the cold was overwhelming. I don’t remember sleeping much the first night.

On the second night, Saturday night, I was thinking that I would have to use the second towel because I took a shower and that big towel was wet. I had, earlier, looked at the weather report and it stated that the temperature was going to be in the 40s! It actually got to 48 degrees!

Then it hit me, like as if someone dropped an anvil on my thick head…I had a sleeping bag. Why didn’t I just use it? I got in my sleeping bag and was toasty the rest of the night; I was too warm, now that I think about it.

 I had realized a tiny bit, and a day late, that when I am sitting around the campfire with the gang, I should not have had two glasses of wine, and three beers. Those liquids seem to help me forget more than old age ever will.

Dreaming...

Dreaming…

My father, many, many years ago, labeled me a “Dreamer”. I made the mistake of sitting around and dreamt about everything that popped into my mind; usually my dreams were of science fiction. I watched as many SF movies as I could, considering; going to a movie, in those days was only 25 cents. Those dreams, though, got me to write science fiction stories. I don’t regret those dreams.

In recent years, I still dreamt bad and good, more on the bad later. However, for instant, I have always had that dream I would win 10 million dollars, still hasn’t happen, but I keep that dream in the back corner of my mind. I do remember seeing a computer, at Best Buy, and told myself, that was the computer I wanted! I had never seen a one piece computer before and it was the...one.

Nearly 10 years ago, I started doing surveys’ online and for a long time I never won anything. I would just accumulate points in order to get gift cards, and that was fine, ten bucks here, ten bucks there…I purchased a ton of Apple gift cards and music. Six years ago, I got an email from an unknown person; the note read that I had won a computer. I kind of ignored the note for a couple of days, then, I got another email from the same person.

So, the note said, call this person to verify who I am. I did one better and Googled the company and asked for that person. She told me that I indeed won a computer, the one I had seen at Best Buy, the year before. She mentioned to me that she wished that more people would call.

Anyway, in the years following, I have won more gift cards and a 55-inch Sony flat screen Boob tube, and more gift cards. However, as of today, I have not won anything in the Lottery, still dreaming about that though. And, I am still dreaming about my perfect, dream woman – not really, but it pops up every now and then.

The Bad, well, not all that bad. I remember dreaming about having a crash while I was driving and it had happened a few times in my adult life. Years ago, I remember dreaming about my brother and I heard him screaming, “Freddy, Help me, Help me!” A few days later, I heard he was in New York; he had been attacked and was in the hospital. I also remember a friend, who lives in Boston told me she was flying to Chicago the next day. That night, for whatever reason, I dreamt about a plane crashing. The next day was 9/11.

Not all of my dreams have been that bad or devastating. One thing, or dream I have, more often than not, as I am washing the dishes, (yes, I still wash my dishes by hand, even though I have a dishwasher), I always, as I am washing one particular knife, a large butcher knife, think that I might drop that thing on my foot. That has been going on as long as I have had that butcher knife and or have been washing the dishes.

Today it happened. I dropped a knife onto my foot. Now I won’t have to think about that anymore, because it happened and it’s over. I am just thankful that it was a butter knife!

Facebook

"Just a reminder: When you are chewing gum and you decided to throw it out of the window, just remember, don't flick it in a downward motion! I never noticed that green wad of gum that stuck to my door a couple of days ago, as I flicked it out, downward...go figure..."



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it's SCAM TIME...Be aware!

(3) Facebook: "It's the scam time of the season. Everyone, BE AWARE!! I just got a call from the internal revenue services (Not the IRS?) from somewhere in Washington State. Anyway, I just googled the number and found out it was a scam. So, again...BE AWARE, if you are getting any calls from the internal revenue service. The IRS will send a letter first and you call them if you have a problem with the IRS."



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Is that a cat or a fur ball?

"I don't get it... I brush the cat and get another cat of fur in the process. Two minutes later he jumps on my lap, I rub him and get another handful of loose fur flying all over the place. What's up with that??"



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In the heat of the night...wait, what?

It getting to the end of summer and it is getting cooler, most nights. The last two days it has gotten down into the 50s, well, last night it was only 47 degrees. I usually keep my window open and the fan going, also. But, last night I turned the fan on to just the No.1 setting, the lowest. I usually have it on high, but, only because it has been the hottest summer on record.

Of all these summer days and nights, I usually don’t see my cats, Tom and Jerry until the morning and it’s usually just Tom. He tries to wake me up about 6 am, my alarm goes off at 7 am. For whatever reason, I would wake up about that time and Tom would try his best to get me out of the bed by slapping me in my face, until I roll over and face away from his attacks. Jerry, on the other had would sit on the floor and then jump on the bed when I throw the cover off of me.

Yesterday, though, I got into bed about 12:20 am or so and curled up under my blanket to end my day and fall off into dream world. Five minutes or so later, Tom jumped onto my bed and curled up next to my legs. Two minutes or so after that Jerry decided that he was sleeping with, on me too, and he curled up way to close to my face.

For whatever reason he sometimes lays, face first and usually putting his paws on my arm, digging his claws into my flesh every now and then. Tom, on the other hand, likes to lay over the edge of the bed with his butt near my face and tail beating my in the face.

Anyway, around two o’clock it started to get cold. Now, I lay on my back most of the time and this time Tom decided to lay in between my legs. That meant I couldn’t roll over without kicking him off the bed. On top of that he was laying on the extra blanket I had covering my feet. I was just covered with a blanket and a top sheet and I was starting to feel the cold. But, since I didn’t want to wake that darn cat I just fell back to sleep, cold does that to you.

This past night I thought way ahead and pulled the comforter onto the rest of the bed. I wasn’t going to be cold this night. I again turned on the fan and the window was opened, I do this so the cats can watch whatever is going on all night long. Anyway, I noticed Tom sitting on the ledge looking out of the window, not at all interested in me. As I laid there, under my three blankets I started to get hot, even with the fan on and the window open. That was strange.

A few minutes later I heard Tom jump down from the window ledge and then jump onto the bed. He took his usual position, next to my legs and curled up trying to find that heat coming off of my body. Jerry joined in a few minutes later. 

This morning I heard that it got down to 47 degrees! It’s that time of the year where the temperature will drop day after day. Checking the news, weather, it’s going to be in the 80s next week. Right now it’s 73, even though it feels warmer, well warmer in the sun. It’s bright sunny day today, Great Football weather.

It shouldn’t be to cool tonight, I just checked, only 57 degrees, not bad, unless you like laying in bad with your cats snuggles between your legs and the other cat with its butt near your face. But, I will be warm.

Play ball...

Facebook: "I have finally seen the process...You throw the ball to the cat, the leaps for it, wrestles with the ball and then pushes it under the sofa, never to be played with again. Or until I decide to lift the sofa and take out the other 20 ball stuck under there."



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Muffins...

"I think I have too much on my mind right now. I've been thinking, what would a blueberry muffin taste like with peanut butter spread over the top? I have a taste for one Right now! And a cup of coffee, of course!"



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Coffee, it's back...

Fred Green: "I feel great now! I went out and got a 12 cup Mr. Coffee maker. I just have to drink 12 cups in the morning or figure out how to make just four cups...naw, I'll drink the 12 cups!!"



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Getting my racquet on...

Fred Green: "It's been about 5 months...I played racquetball today. I hurt my arm last March and it still hurts, but I can at least lift my arm up and swing the racquet without a lot of pain. I just have to learn to dink the ball more."



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Sky Rasins...

"OMG!! Tom, my cat, just ate a spider, a Sky Rasin! I guessing it had to be tasty!"



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The grass is alway, wait I can't see the grass...

"Have you noticed how good your lawn, the grass, looks...in the darkness of night?"



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My Monday Morning Moment...

My Monday morning moment: I got up with a desire for a nice cup of steaming coffee. I washed the old-time percolator out, put in a brand new filter, tenderly added three scoops of coffee and then put the pot on the stove and turned the fire on.

I then went and turned on the boob tube to watch the news. After five minutes, I smelled something burning. I went into the kitchen, checked the stove and noticed nothing. There was steam coming out of the pot, or what I thought was steam.

I went over to the cat and had a conversation with him for a couple of minutes, but that burning smell was getting more distinct than it was a few minutes before. I looked at the pot and noticed that the steam wasn’t steam at all. It was something burning in the pot. I took it off of the stove and noticed the weight. I had put no water into the pot.

The filter had practically burned up, on the inside, and the little plastic knob on top melted. I stood there watching it and not noticing that I had forgotten to add water.

Oh well, no coffee for today, so don’t ask me anything, for the time being.

Coffee...and keep it coming!

Coffee…and keep it coming!

My new Keurig, 3 years ago

I woke up this morning thinking what am I going to do about getting my serious morning energy so I can go out and be productive in this world? Or just run three miles…(considering that I went hiking and then kayaking yesterday and this morning I was so sore I didn’t want to get out of bed, and I have no drugs to deaden the racking pain in my shoulders, back and places I didn’t know muscles existed.).

This is day four with my broken Keurig Coffee maker. I had to buy a cup of coffee on Thursday night and I decided that I would just chew the coffee grounds and see how that works. It didn’t. Then, like a true light going off in my head, I remembered that I had a nine cup Aluminum Camp Percolator! I dug it out of that big green duffel camping bag that was sitting under my kayak.

I pulled it out of the box and washed it out, considering I hadn’t used it since June, might have had bugs living in it – hey, it happened before, a couple of years ago. Anyway, when I got it clean enough to use I filled it with my coffee grounds and fired it up. However, I forgot the filters to put into the brewing cup. (I found that I did pull the filters out with the percolator but I put them in a place where I forgot where I put them.)

In the end, the coffee tasted good. Not as good as the DD store bought coffee, but it did wonders for me. My cup is large, two and a half cups large, so I had two…actually I just drank all the coffee in the percolator, since I didn’t want to waste any of it

Now, if I can remember to put the filter in the brew cup, tomorrow, I should be good to go, at least until I can find the instruction manual for my Keurig and fix that darn thing. 

My feel good Friday...

 "My Feel good Friday:
I hiked 5 miles and took in all of what nature had to offer...
I wrote a couple of pages, my book and my blog
I had dinner with 6 friends in an restaurant I've never been to before
I Kayaked 6 miles, two miles in the dark, lit only by moonlight"



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I want my coffee back...

"Chewing coffee grounds just isn't working."



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Never, never, ever say...

Fred Green: "I heard someone say, you should never say what else could go wrong. My coffee maker died this morning and I said to myself what else could go wrong? Well my glasses broke now I can't see, more or less I can't read anything. Oh well Life Goes On, I mean, what else could go wrong?"



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