I took this shot off the deck this morning. The first fall cool front came through, and it was pleasantly less warm this morning (I wouldn’t yet characterize the temps as ‘cool’). The kids, dogs and I enjoyed the change in weather by playing in the backyard and on the greenbelt before school, and I didn’t get very sweaty on our walk to Hannah’s school.
UPDATE: I uploaded a desktop-sized copy of the sunrise image. You’re welcome to download and use it.
I pretty much always have a song playing in my head. Normally, the songs rotate pretty frequently, except for two cases: if I’ve listened to the same music repeatedly (which I tend to do with new CDs) or, I just remembered, when I’m singing in a choir.
Occasionally, I overdose on a new CD and get really tired of the song(s) in my head. If I stop listening to that music, the song will eventually change to something else.
But now that I’ve started singing in a church choir again, I remember that there’s a different dynamic to the songs that get stuck in my head. Rehearsing and performing a choral piece seems to lodge music more firmly in my head than just listening to it (which makes sense). I’ve had last Sunday’s anthem replaying all week–and I didn’t really like it in the first place! Maybe it’ll be replaced after Wednesday night’s rehearsal. I hope so, because I’m REALLY tired of it.
Yesterday I was pretty sure that Leonard had become a late-night snack. Today, I’m happy to report that he was sacked out as usual on his leaf last night.
For a couple of months now, I’ve felt depressed when I read news relating the presidential campaign. I have had this vague feeling of hopelessness. Apparently, my acquaintance Rafe Colburn has been feeling the same way. But he was able to pin down the reasons in his essay The futility of political involvement. He expresses my feelings, too.
I’ve mentioned the lizard that sleeps outside the bathroom window. Well, we’d named it Leonard. On Saturday night I looked out the window, and there was Leonard stretched out on a leaf, as usual. But stretched out near him in the shrub was an 18-inch garden snake.
The next morning, Katie suggested that perhaps the snake wasn’t just sleeping; rather, he was seeking a late night snack.
Well, Leonard hasn’t shown up again yet. He’s usually visible on the shrub only about one of every three nights, so I haven’t lost hope yet, but we’ll see this week. Keep Leonard lizard in your prayers.
This Yahoo! news photo just gives me the creeps:
UPDATE: Katie tells me those nails are probably fake–which doesn’t reduce the yuck factor by much for me.
OK, so Google AdSense context-sensitive ads are not always perfect:
I sure hope those refer to two different types of organs.
In a campaign speech at a Boeing factory in Pennsylvania, George W. Bush said:
Another thing that’s interesting that’s happening at Boeing that probably you aren’t aware of, but you should be, is that Boeing engineers lowered the first ballistic missile interceptor into its silo at Fort Greely, Alaska. It’s the beginning of a missile defense system that was envisioned by Ronald Reagan, a system necessary to protect us against the threats of the 21st century. (Applause.) We want to continue to perfect this system, so we say to those tyrants who believe they can blackmail America and the free world: you fire, we’re going to shoot it down. (Applause.)
I think those who oppose this ballistic missile system really don’t understand the threats of the 21st century. They’re living in the past. We’re living in the future. We’re going to do what’s necessary to protect this country. (Applause.)
Gee, did Al-Qaeda get its hands on ICBMs? ‘Cause, you know, I thought the ‘Star Wars’ system was dreamt up to deal with 20th century cold war threats.
This morning before church, I took the dogs on a walk around Hendrickson High School. When we got back near the athletics facilities, I spotted a large owl trapped inside one of the baseball batting cages.
Each cage consists of a steel frame holding up a big ‘box’ of synthetic net. Apparently, the owl had landed on the ground outside the cage and gotten inside it under the edge of the net. But it wasn’t able to find its way back out.
I lifted up the net on one side and propped it open, hoping the owl would find its way out. But due to the owl’s very sharp talons and beak, I was reluctant to try to coax it towards the opening I’d made. And the presence of the very excited dogs further complicated the situation.
Then we walked home and I reported the problem to the county animal control. But the kids wanted to see the owl, so we hopped in the van and drove over there.
When we got there, I noticed another big frame of the net material inside the cage. So, I picked it up and walked toward the owl with the frame between me and the owl who at this point was hanging from the net roof. At the first attempt to coax the owl toward the opening, it just flew a few feet and hung from the net again. I advanced and again tried to coax it to fly. This time the owl flew right out the opening and flew off toward the nearby corn fields. I did it!
I just have to say that Randall’s Grocery Stores make the yummiest sandwiches.
