Celebratory Hot Fudge Sundae . . .

Northern Cardinal

Female Eastern Bluebird

European Starling

Northern Mockingbird competing with a lawnmower at South Park

It's been a very good day. Dr. D. told me this morning that my heart is back to functioning very well. I am tickled pink. We were able to do it with another pill so I'm really happy about that. I do feel stronger and with my left leg starting to feel better I was able to walk my usual walk around the neighborhood at noontime. Yes, it's a good thing the sun was playing around in the clouds because it was 80 degrees and I had no trouble with the heat. Don't know how much longer that is going to last - being able to walk in the late morning and early afternoon. I will have to go back to early morning or resort to walking indoors at North Park in the afternoon. I'd really prefer to walk outside so I guess I'll be walking the minute I get out of bed - before breakfast!! Ridiculous but preferable to indoors.

Not much else going on - I ate my Hot Fudge Sunday and Puppy's Pop had his strawberry ice cream sitting outdoors at the Marble Slab at Juban Crossing - perfect lunch! I spent a good part of the afternoon getting ready to plant the Marketmore Cucumber seeds in a big pot near the fence. I hope they grow well. We enjoy fresh cukes and tomatoes. I have a patio tomato loaded with little green fruit and I got Puppy's Pop a nice plant that will produce slicing tomatoes. He doesn't like the little ones. I also prefer the big tomatoes but we haven't had very good luck so far down here. We would need to bring in some good topsoil because our lawn grows in clay and fire ants! Not fun 'believe you me' as my Mother would have said! 

Quote:  A chord, stronger or weaker, is snapped asunder in every parting, and time's busy fingers are not practised in re-splicing broken ties.  Meet again you may; will it be in the same way? with the same sympathies? with the same sentiments? Will the souls, hurrying on in diverse paths, unite once more, as if the interval had been a dream? Rarely, rarely! ______Bulwer

 

Beautiful day in the neighborhood . . .

I am having trouble being angry at the darned squirrel. They are pains in the derriere but what the heck. I always chase him back across the fence. I tease the neighbor and tell him they are his squirrels!

Eastern Towhee - I was surprised to be able to get a half way decent photo. He was scrabbling around in the tall grass for a long time at South Park;  he just popped up onto the dead branch. I didn't even think about focus or anything else - just snapped the shot. It's the first time I see a Towhee since we moved from Moosup to Denham Springs.

 

Time to go to Oak Point and pick up a couple of chuck roasts for a stew day at Big Kiddo's home next week. I like to freeze them and prepare the meat when it is only partially thawed; it's much easier to trim the fat. I can't get good chuck roasts at our Neighborhood Walmart although I do like to shop there as it is small and I rarely have to worry about items being out of date. I"m not a good shopper. I make a list and buy what's on the list.  That's about it. If I get something on sale it is usually by accident. I may have to order my King Arthur Flours on line because all three stores I usually go to are out of it. That is also a pain in the buttski.

I guess that's enough complaining for now!

Quote:  He scatters enjoyment, says Lavater, who enjoys much; and it is equally true that he will enjoy much who scatters enjoyments to others. ____Quarles

A few photos that don't really go with an interesting article . . .

A Near Call: Whether the Left Will Implode or Triumph

 I obviously don't have anything close to mastery of Blogger! This Eastern Bluebird was at South Park yesterday and I was surprised to see him trying to scare himself. Puppy's Pop figures he must have a nest close by and was being protective. The Carnival was in town for the weekend and many trucks and campers were parked at one end of the park. I bet the poor little guy was chasing himself all weekend.

The article is something I found interesting but it is not supposed to be located where it is. I'm going to try and relocate it here! Well that didn't work. So I'm just going to leave it where it is and go see what I can come up with for dinner.

Quote:  A journalist is a grumbler, a censurer, a giver of advice, a regent of sovereigns, a tutor of nations.  Four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets.   ___Napoleon

The Eastern Bluebirds are in bloom . . .

 I took these photos yesterday; I was surprised I was able to get close enough for this Bluebird Easter Parade. Went to South Park this morning and and managed to get a short video of a Bluebird sitting on the mirror of a truck and then attacking the window of the truck. Puppy's Pop thinks he may have a nest nearby and was trying to shoo the 'other' bird away!

Had a really nice Easter Sunday dinner with Puppy's Pop, Big Kiddo and Puppy Pup. His wife has the week off and is having a ball fishing with her Aunt and Uncle somewhere near Dallas. She was having good luck. M loves to fish and hunt - pretty darned good pass times. She makes the best fried Catfish - better than any of the fancy and not so fancy restaurants who pride themselves on their catfish meals. Those days will be coming again soon, I think! 

Spoke to both my brothers and my younger sister; all are doing well. I love to hear them happy and pleased with themselves and their kids and grand kids. Springtime helps all of us feel young again. 

Quote:  The word independence is united to the ideas of dignity and virtue; the word dependence, to the ideas of inferiority and corruption.   ____J. Bentham

Joyeuses Paques . . . Beautiful Spring Day . . . I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in love! ! !

Amethyst Kiss

 Easter Sunday always makes me happy. Not sure if it is the religious meaning or memories of the Ideal Magazine that my father used to get so many years ago. I think that the glossy magazine came out four time a year - one for each season but the Spring edition always made me believe I was in heaven. The beautiful photos, the poetry and sweet reminiscences made my soul glad to be alive and well with my parents, pepere, brothers and sisters. I don't think I could have been more than 7 years old when I started to look forward to the day Pa would bring home the magazine from box 195 in the Moosup post office. The magazines were never discarded but I imagine that over the years the collection must have disappeared as we kids outgrew the family home.  I wonder if I can find a copy on Ebay. 

Looking forward to a quiet dinner. Miss the Prime Rib Dinners we used to make at the old Caron Homestead when our Big Kids and their Little Kids, Ma, Pa, MaTante and Gram came for Easter Dinner. Time has a way of ticking our lives away. Ma always said, 'Every age has its compensations.' I guess that is true - I now have the time to relish the old days in the comfort of our Louisiana home and my neighborhood walks.

Quote:  Life is before you; not an earthly life alone, but an endless life; a thread running interminable through the work of eternity.   ___J. G. Holland

Quote: Our grand business in life is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand.   ___Carlyle

Got a lot of work done . . . Puppy's Pop was out playing . . .

Blue Jay

 While Puppy's Pop was out flying with the club in Zachary I got all my housework completed and best of all I managed to speak with our youngest daughter on Skype so she could help me to get rid of an unwanted notification that was driving us crazy on the computer. It would ding and pop up often and I was afraid to play with it.  With Youngest Kiddo's help it is gone forever! Yay for Skype.

 There are times that technology is indispensable. I hate to admit it though. I may go back to posting on FaceBook because I really do like keeping track of family and friends but I also find myself checking on UBI's (useless bits of information) which is time consuming. So I don't really know how I'm going to handle it. It's not a big deal except to me! Why? Because I am anal retentive about somethings, well, many things. I don't feel right going on a social media app or whatever you call it and not being social by liking everything I see by someone I know. It really doesn't make sense but I've never been good at that either.  I just kind of wander around, get sidetracked and then don't do the most important things I really like to do - like read, take photos and write in this crazy blog which really is more of a journal that I should be handwritten in some secret notebook. It rarely pertains to anything pertinent - just my mind going off on its own. Sometimes that isn't a safe place. But putting it in blog form keeps me from getting really ticked off about politics, people, places - yes, I can get really upset with places especially cities. (I have no idea why I just wrote that. I never know where I'm going to end up when I start writing.)

I love city life. I lived in NYC for three summers working to earn  money to help my parents pay for my degree from UCONN. Life is exciting in a city. There is so much to see; so much to do; so much to eat; so much to learn; so many people to watch; so many places to enjoy; so many people to meet. But I hate myself sometimes because now when I think of cities I can only find crime, poverty, ignorance, politics, hatred. I know there is beauty, goodness, kindness, love, yearning and learning but it seems to be in the background. So yes, cities frighten me. And I hate that. 

Time to sign off until I'm in a better frame of mind. Maybe I'll just go sit in the sun and enjoy looking at my world - no camera attached. Gee, maybe this writing stuff is therapeutic.

Quote:   Joy, temperance, and repose, slam the door on the doctor's nose.  ___Longfellow

Quote: Refuse to be ill. Never tell people you are ill; never own it to yourself. Illness is one of those things which a man should resist on principle at the onset.  __Bulwer  (By George, I so believe Bulwer is correct.)

Of an Egret having breakfast and getting the Dental Office to return some money . . .

 

The photos are in reverse order but I'm not going to try to get it right!

It was a rather grey morning yesterday so Puppy's Pop offered to go see how My Mississippi was doing. We weren't sure how close we would be able to get as it is above flood stage. It really isn't very high right now. I'm hoping that the dredging of Bayou Sara has helped to stop the flooding that engulfs the Oyster Bar and my favorite little house every spring. So far so good; but it is still very early. What we did see was this beautiful bird eating a snake in the parking lot near the boat launch. I couldn't get too close and as I did slowly walk toward Big Bird  I realized that he had a snake and it made me a bit cautious. I was trying to watch my step as I moved and took photos at the same time.  I'm not fond of snakes no matter their size. I know there are many different kinds of  snakes here in Louisiana so I really should study them. I don't even like photos of snakes. https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/entertainment_life/home_garden/article_7f61be72-6b18-11eb-80c1-6f913445ba14.html

 Naturally we stopped by the Birdman Cafe for my favorite mocha icy, made by Daniel my favorite barista, and a snack. On the way home Puppy's Pop took a detour to allow me to take  photos of wild flowers. It isn't easy to find a place along any road in Louisiana where you can find room to stop safely but we found one. The sun wasn't very bright but I managed to get a few good shots.  I think I'll use one of the pictures for my Easter Sunday post. 

Had to go to Zachary this early morning for some blood work. We ate at Waffle House here in Denham Springs when I returned.  My favorite Waffle House used to be in Zachary but it's no longer well run and it is dirty. Once again I'm happy  to go to the Waffle House close to home - we must wear our masks, of course, but they are allowed to have at least 75% capacity so we could at least find an empty booth, a great waitress and a super duper Bacon Chef - crispy to perfection. 

Later I had to call our Dental Insurance; our Dental Office made a billing mistake. I had called  their office and we were not able to determine what the problem was. I expected to get a call from them once they received their explanation of benefits but no call came so I was on the phone for an hour with our insurance representative. I had to wait while he called the dentist's office to find out what was going on. Puppy's Pop had been charged $181 for a visit that the insurance said should have been $81. After the rep came back on the line he asked, "How well do you like this dental office?" I told him it was the third one we've had since we moved here 5 years ago; we also had billing problems at the last dentist office. It seems the latest group didn't bill the insurance company for one procedure and instead automatically charged us $100 for it. We will be getting a few bucks back after all is said and done but the rep warned me to check all bills for any medical procedures. He has seen many charges on medical bills that should not have occurred. I trust his judgement; I've had to fight insurance companies and doctors'  billing departments often over mistakes in my medical bills. It's is tiring.

Quote:  Nothing is so good for an ignorant man as silence; and if he was sensible of this he would not be ignorant.____Saadi