Archive for September, 2011

Just Another Random Photo Friday… BUT WAIT!

Hey guys!

Sorry I’ve been a little MIA this week… I have been keeping up with all of your comments however, even though I didn’t answer them– I promise I will talk back more this week. (You have to appreciate the irony of ME having to promise anyone I’ll start talking more!)

I INTERRUPT THIS (pretty boring) POST (that I actually started writing last night) WITH AN EMERGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT:

I JUST SAW A COYOTE IN THE BACKYARD!!! A BIG ONE!

Kinda like this guy:

(This is not my actual coyote, I was too busy hopping around wringing my hands and doing an  “I don’t know nuthin’ ’bout birthing babies!” Prissy-from-Gone-With-the-Wind impression to go get my camera.)

Or THIS one:

(They just LOOK like they’re guilty of something, don’t they?)

If you follow me on Twitter/Facebook you’ve already heard me ranting about this all morning, but hey, I have never even seen a coyote before (outside of Roadrunner cartoons) and I was shocked at how honkin’ HUGE the dang thing was! Also? Not remotely afraid of me– which, granted I’m not that scary in person, but I waved my arms around and assumed a really threatening look on my face and he basically just yawned and flipped me the paw. Then after a short time of relaxing in the sun he casually ambled off towards the tree line.

All the while, I was frantically dialing Williamson County Animal Control (FYI, they don’t do coyotes) and then the TN Wildlife Agency, where a very nice woman with a calm voice told me that they are ‘opportunity predators’ so I might not want to let my small yappy dogs out unattended because yes, coyotes would indeed eat them. (Apparently they could be mistaken for squirrels, which to be honest I have thought that exact same thing before but I never mentioned it out loud for fear of hurting their little yappy feelings.) She also said that I needed to scare it away any time I saw it by making a loud noise, so that it would look at ME as the predator and I would be sending the message that it was not welcome in my territory, blah di blah blah… To be honest, I wasn’t paying a lot of attention at that point, I had kind of drifted off to my happy place where I was enjoying picturing myself dressed in an Alpha Coyote costume, pacing back and forth on the deck beating my chest and yelling obscenities at the terrified coyote cowering in my yard. BUT THEN I totally snapped back because I heard her say “… and you might want to think about getting an air horn.”

Hold up. An air horn? How fun would that be?!!!!

So while I’m busily Googling “air horns, Brentwood TN” please enjoy my original post, which basically consists of a bunch of unrelated photos with captions. But that’s not really my fault because I am now suffering from Post Traumatic Coyote Syndrome, and can’t possibly be expected to come up with something entertaining after almost being killed by a wild animal just a few short hours ago. Evangelistically speaking.

Anyway, enjoy!

**In food news, here is a shot of my homemade pesto sauce (from my basil plants) and the last of my summer tomatoes:

**And here are my ripening Meyer lemons– I can’t wait, they are so good! Last year SOMEONE in this house (rhymes with Schmarlotte) totally ate, like, 8 out the 11 lemons that little tree produced, right out of her hand like an orange. I’m watching their progress closely so I can get the jump on her.

**It’s that time of year again when my thoughts turn to crafts… more specifically, wreaths. I found this one on the intrawebs yesterday; it’s made out of those tamale corn husks you can get in the Hispanic section of the grocery store. Isn’t it fabulous? I just may do it! (In my spare time, between air horn solos, of course.)

** Last weekend Russ, Charlotte and I went up to the lakehouse, and one evening we drove down to the marina and went bank-fishing. The few nibbles we got were apparently from fish too small to even eat the entire worm off of the stinkin’ hook (Fish: “Oh no thanks, that’s plenty for me, I’m full…”), but it was fun anyway. Russ took these pictures of Char and I– doesn’t she have lovely fishing posture, by the way?

** And lastly, in the spirit of last week’s famous Walker’s Shoes and Cheese sign (and in honor of the incredible business names you guys told me about in the comments!), here is a sign I saw this week in Columbia, TN on the top of a restaurant that will be opening very soon. And I am totally going to eat there when they do. I love the South.

Rhetorical Question Friday

As you long-time readers know, here at the ‘Bloomr I have a tendency to just suddenly decide willy-nilly that it is going to be “International _______(fill in the blank) Day.” So in that spirit and for no good reason, I now pronounce that today is Rhetorical Question Friday!

Which I happen to think is infinitely classier than my first choice, “Bitching and Moaning Friday,” don’t you? (And that right there? IS  A RHETORICAL QUESTION!!! See how I did that? Aren’t I just the best?)

This is your opportunity to put a voice (or more specifically, a keyboard) to all of those pesky queries you’ve longed to fling out there into the universe without really expecting an answer. They can be deep or silly, long or short, and can be put in categories such as (but not limited to): Family (spouses), Work (bosses), Traffic, Waiting in Line, Airports, Paperwork/Bureaucracy, and the ever-popular and universally inclusive They– as in, “WHY do They always…” or “How come They never…”

Got it? Ask as many as you want!

OK, I’ll start:

1. Why does Costco start carrying some wonderful product such as, oh I don’t know, Main St. Cafe Scalloped Potatoes, just long enough for you to decide they have to be a staple in your weekly menu because they are JUST THAT GOOD, I mean good to the point of being able to put them in one of your fancy casserole dishes and take them to a potluck and pass them off for homemade, not that I would, I’m just saying, but THEN decide for no dang good reason (and believe me, I ASKED) that they weren’t going to carry them anymore, but “might be bringing them back seasonally”??? And in a related rhetorical question, what is “seasonal” about potatoes, for crying out loud?

2. What is it about the onset of fall that apparently makes skunks suddenly decide to cross the road in the dark without looking both ways?

3. Why do I not remember that I have a whole giant pile of those environmentally-friendly reusable shopping bags in the trunk of my car UNTIL THE MOMENT I place the last of my many, many items on that little moveable belt thingy to be checked out and the bored high school kid about to start bagging my groceries asks me, “Paper or plastic?”

4. How many joggers have you ever seen that look really, really happy to be jogging?

5. How come aging enriches us on the inside by making us wiser, resilient and more aware of the important things in life while simultaneously kicking the crap out of us on the outside, by  sagging our skin, expanding our butt, thinning our hair and creating the need for reading glasses that we constantly misplace because we can’t remember where we put them? (VERY FUNNY, universe!)

OK, your turn.

BUT FIRST– HERE”S A BONUS!!!

Years ago when we first bought our lake house in the little town of Smithville, there was a store there owned by the Walker Family that only sold two things. For real. I always deeply regretted not getting a picture of the sign hanging out front, but thanks to the wonder of the intrawebs and my penchant for Googling every little thing that pops into my pea brain, I found this image that I will now share with you as a lovely parting gift for playing our game:

(OK, NOW it’s your turn.)

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