Monday Musings...

Welcome to the start of another week, smack dab in the middle of the month.
Have to say I am liking this weather, however cool it might be, but I will draw the line at having snow, like they did out in Wyoming last week...about TWENTY INCHES of it, too!
Today in the Hoosierland will find us partly to mostly cloudy today, as some rain is moving in sometime this afternoon.
Temps will rise to around the 65 degree mark and drop back into the upper 40s overnight.
All in all, not that bad...thanks, global warming!

Sheesh - there is NO global warming!

In the meantime, let's go get our morning cup of fortitude as we see what's been going on since wwe last convened...
*** First out of the firepit today are those celebratory days I missed over the weekend, so here goes:
-- September 12 was National Video Game Day, National Chocolate Milkshake Day, and Stand Up To Cancer Day.
-- September 13 was National Peanut Day, National Defy Superstition Day, Yom Kippur, and Uncle Sam Day.

Yom Kippur

(hope everyone fed a squirrel, walked under a ladder and waved a flag).
It was also my late Mother's birthday (woulda been 93)
-- September 14 was National Creme-filled Donut Day (that explains why I didn't see any POLICE in our area...lol), and National Pet Memorial Day.

I want one of these...

That brings us to TODAY.
And that means it must be...(...drum roll, please...)...NATIONAL FELT HAT DAY
(???)
Now how many people do YOU see today that wear a felt hat, let along OWN one, hmm?

I kinda miss seeing fedoras of all shapes and sizes being worn, and even before my time, it was considered NORMAL to wear a hat, and always facing the RIGHT WAY (unless you were a catcher for a ball club...or a U-boat captain...lol)
And yes, I do have a felt hat (from the old Doctor Who days in the 1970s)...dusty but quite wearable, so there.
Now, we're all caught up on what day it is, or should be, or was...got it?
Moving on...
*** Remember those barricades I was wondering about last week?
Well, I didn't have to wonder too long.
Saturday (late afternoon) someone erected them, blocking off OUR block only, so I figured it was some sort of "block party"...
It was a small party of sorts...the "AfriCANT-American" mooks across the street and up the block had a few people in from Wisconsin, and the kids were playing "volleyball" along the street...without a net, and not watching WHERE they were playing.
That meant the ball was coming onto our property regularly.
So, I went out and asked them to "not be on the lawn so much", to which they retreated to their crib and played there, but the barricades remained in place.
The OTHER Latino mooks (boozers across the street) had to use the ALLEY to vacate the neighborhood, as did Wifey when she came back from the football game she attended.
Talk about inconvenience!
I didn't know people could do something this impulsive WITHOUT notifying people affected in the area...like to ASK for permission or to join in...as WE used to do back in Philly.
Someone must know someone in the city street department to get this done, and that kinda pisses me off.
Where do these people come off being SO damn PRESUMPTUOUS in thinking it's perfectly okay to block off a street, not ask anyone about it, or notify them, JUST so kids can play in a street, rather than in a yard...or better yet...how about a PARK?
This whole "doing anything you please whenever you want to" has to be addressed...this would never be done in such a manner where NORMAL people live, right? I personally find it all a bit abhorrent.
When did OUR property become THEIR property, anyway?
Goes to show that there are NO rules in place down here, and no one knows what BOUNDARIES are...and then people wonder WHY we have problems out the ass?
Not me.
Now, let's back up a bit in the day and talk about something on the lighter and better side of life...
*** Wifey and I took the liberty of driving out (west) to a place called Eagle Marsh, where the 4th annual "Monarch Festival" took place.

The recent rain didn't help with being able to navigate any of the many TRAILS they have there (some as long as TEN MILES), but, it was a wonderful day trip that was educational and informative, as well as just plain enjoyable.

No, not THAT type of "monarch"...

And definitely NOT this type of "monarch"...

Hot, but not THIS monarch, either (sighs)

There were not many people there...perhaps a couple HUNDRED, which was nice.
Lots of kids there, and all WELL-BEHAVED, too.

People around where we live could take a few pages from the parenting book of those attending Eagle Marsh.
There was a video presentation airing every 1/2 hour, displays of LIVE monarch butterflies in all stages of life (that was very cool), and some arts and crafts for the children (face-painting, make yourself look like a butterfly thing), and so on.

Wifey's actually normal, too...no, really.

Snider colored caterpillar (and spouse)

It was SO refreshing to see NORMAL PEOPLE for a change, because where we live, all the normal folk (save for us) have been replaced by the ABNORMALS, and THOSE we have to deal with daily, so you can see my joy at being AWAY from that mess for a couple hours.

There are TWO geese dead center...trust me.

The area itself is wonderful to look at, and it's a damn shame the trails were under several inches of water.
Eagle Marsh (Little River Wetlands Project) has a website with a great map of the place and listings for plants and critters found there, and here's the link:
http://www.lrwp.org/
What I find remarkable is ALL the varieties of BIRDS and MAMMALS, as well as reptiles and amphibians...and plants!

Near the Eagle Marsh barn...nice day.

Naturally, you're not going to see ALL of them at once...that would be a miracle (or the coming of an apocalypse...lol), but just to see one or perhaps two is something you're NOT going to find in your backyard (unless it's one huge, honking one).

Trail 8 was washed out...

The people who volunteer there are fantastic...extremely helpful (for a rookie naturalist like me), and love to explain things so that even I can understand it...like the migratory habits of the monarch butterfly (remarkable in it's own right, believe you me).

The butterfly tree  - we put one there with our names on it.

And, to top it all off, there was FOOD served...HOT food...and it was...FREE...!!!
They served pulled pork sandwiches (something I've come to love here in the Hooiserland) with a choice of sweet or hot sauces. Free bottled water, too.
They had a donation jar, so I dumped a few bucks into it...(it's what I do).

Hopefully, THIS will occur next year in our yard.

And to top things off, they gave away FREE MILKWEED PLANTS (so you can attract the butterflies - the only plant monarchs will lay their eggs). Next year, we'll be ready!
So, YES, it was worth the drive to get to commune with nature for a spell...and meet some wonderfully normal people along the way.
That doesn't happen in our part of the ghettohood these days.
*** Last back to the wildlife refuge today, whenever I get a chance to get away from a city-like environment, I usually jump at the chance.
When you grow up only reading about farms and animals, and woodland areas, and only see many animals at the zoo, you get an inkling as to what it's all about, but until you actually IMMERSE yourself in such environments, you never come to as full a realization of how great God really is.

A "hug from God".

I liken it to being "embraced by God", when you are removed from the familiarity of the home, and the comfort of the mundane.
You have a chance to understand how VAST and beautiful nature can be, and hell, we were only at a place that was a mere 716 ACRES...nothing close to the "GREAT" outdoors, but I've spent some time in other places that prove likewise.

Former city boy "in the field" (and loving it)

And you know what? It NEVER gets old (to me).
You can hike along a wooded path you've known ALL your life, and there will always be something "new" there...it changes with the seasons, constantly, inevitably, and with purpose.
In some very minuscule manner, we try to make our patio, garden and backyard such an oasis from the banal.
Would it be that more people can come to appreciate all that our creator provides us...for free.
The world might just become a better place...and wouldn't THAT be a miracle in it's own right?
Yasureyoubetcha!

Be well, make a difference to someone today, and...
Stay SAFE out there, America.