Before I begin my enthralling blog post, I have a question -
How come there aren't any lightning bugs this year? I love them and have been eagerly waiting for their appearance every evening, but so far it's a no-show.
Did they freeze to death during the seven-month Tennessee winter? Or did the recent torrential rains drive them to Guatemala?
Mysteries never cease.
Yesterday, Friday, the endless rain finally abated, the timid sun emerged from the clouds, and I was able to make a trek into town.
Walmart is slowly getting back to a semblance of "normalcy". That means everyone is talking on their cell phones - and the majority of plague masks have been discarded.
A few people afflicted with Perpetual Plague Panic Syndrome are still wearing masks - and glaring at those of us who don't.
An aside:
I always wonder why - when Walmart has a thousand customers - they consistently only have ONE checkout line open.
It takes me fifteen minutes to do my shopping and two hours to wait in the checkout line.
Yesterday, ahead of me in the checkout line, there was an old lady wearing a plague mask.
And she kept glaring at me with unmitigated disdain (undoubtedly because I was maskless).
I tried to ignore her, but every time I looked, she was glaring. Right at me. If looks could kill, I would have keeled over instantly.
Even without the icy glare and the plague mask, the woman was scary. She looked like Attila the Hun's sister.
You're mean, Jon. You're always so mean.
Comrade, being mean is one of the few undiluted pleasures I have left.
While on the subject of the plague - -
Thanks to BuzzFeed and the Washington Post, 4,000 of Dr. Fauci's private emails have been recently released - revealing his major inconsistencies concerning the pandemic and the fact that he very often lied to the American public.
Over six months ago, I wrote (on this blog) that Fauci was a vastly over-rated, hopelessly egotistical media whore. Nobody believed me but, as usual I was right.
The general consensus forced us to believe that Fauci was a cross between Clara Barton and Jesus Christ.
I'm highly suspicious of any general consensus. And you should be, too.
Drastic change of subject:
I've been successfully making homemade wine for nearly a year now - and couldn't exist without it. Never had a problem with any aspect of it.
A few days ago I had a first mishap. I put a container of fermenting wine on top of the refrigerator - away from cats and mice.
The stove is right near the refrigerator. One afternoon I was at the stove, making hamburgers in a skillet. I suddenly heard a LOUD POP! The lid flew off the container of wine and landed on the stove.
I couldn't believe it.
The fermentation yeast was going crazy and expanding like the Blob. This never happened before. Perhaps it was due to the sudden warm weather. Anyway, the wine is still good. No problem.
This reminds me of something:
When I was ten years old we had a neighbor named Tom who was in his early 20's. Tom decided to make homemade beer and had at least a dozen bottles of it. One night all the bottles of beer exploded at once. The tops blew off and beer drenched his ceiling.
That was his first and last venture into making homemade brew.
I don't have any photos to post on my blog this time around - so I quickly snapped a few pics a few minutes ago, Here are the unremarkable results:
I knew it was bound to happen sooner or later - - the forest is closing in on me, clawing at the windows in anticipation of devouring me....
one of my pianos and antique desk
(Blogger occasionally refuses to center my captions)
Kitzee on the front porch
(she caught a mouse last night)
it's very humid and raining lightly
It amazes me as well WHY people are still wearing masks outdoors and in their cars, which is the MOST baffling, but they are still donning them. Perhaps they have not been vaccinated or have chosen not to get vaccinated. In our case we have been there and done so and if no mask is required, off they go. It has been a long time since I have been in Walmart, yet another reason to stay away.
ReplyDeleteI give Jon props and awards for going into that place. I have no patience for that dump or the nutty going-ons in there, like his example above. I'd burn in hell before going in their stores.
DeleteI hate Walmart, too - especially the inferior quality of their products. Unfortunately it's the only place in town to shop - besides the supermarket and Walgreens.
DeleteAs for masks, I think there's still some confusion about them. People who haven't been vaccinated (like myself) are supposed to wear them (I don't).
DeleteSome people are so used to wearing masks that they possibly feel naked without them and are reluctant to give them up.
It's nice to NOT see any snakes in these pictures....I was waiting for one. I wish you could move. The weeds and forest are soon to engulf the whole house soon.
ReplyDeleteThe mask thing confuses me. Now that in most states masks don't need to be worn, everywhere I go, it seems more people then ever are now wearing them, than I've seen during the whole of the pandemic?!?!?! Since I'm now vaccined, I still have one with me in case a dinning establishment requires it or a retail place, but otherwise have not worn one anymore. The country baffles me.
Concerning lightening bugs...I love them too. It's too early for us yet, they hit here maybe the end of june I believe, but I understand that there are less and less lightening bugs and are facing triple extinction because of habitat loss, artificial light and heavy pesticide use. It's actually very sad the amount of the animal kingdom becoming wiped out.
I'm so damn nervous about finding snakes in the house that I'm always looking everywhere. And I'm still wondering how the hell they get in??
DeleteWhen I lived in the Missouri Ozarks the lightning bugs always first appeared in May. This year May was so cold here in Tennessee that it might have dissuaded them from appearing. Now that the weather is warm and humid I'm hoping they will eventually show up.
It is a tragic fact that the animal kingdom is being wiped out. I've noticed here in the forest wild animals are becoming scarce due to the hunters and the loggers (they seem to be cutting down trees constantly).
I was surprised to hear you call them "lightening bugs" because everybody else keeps telling me they are called fire flies. WE always call them lightening bugs! lol
ReplyDeleteCome to think of it, we have yet to see ANY so far this year and we are usually loaded with them everywhere!
Your window pic reminds me much of the movie, "Creepshow." Remember that one?
Your kitty pic of Bosco is cute.
I did some research and discovered that lightning bugs and fireflies are exactly the same thing. It depends on what part of the country as to what name they're called. When I was a small kid in New Jersey, they were always called lightning bugs - and that's my preference.
DeleteIn England they're (sometimes) .called glow worms
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteActually, Tennessee is like a trip to Disneyland compared to West Texas. Things wouldn't be bad here if I didn't live in such a rural area.
DeleteWest Texas was a complete NIGHTMARE and the cause of all my problems - which is why I'm living in poverty here today.
I always keep the lid very loose on the wine containers when they're fermenting, so the air circulates. This is the first time the yeast went berserk and exploded.
I knew that Fauci was a fraud and a Trump hater from the first day. He didn't fool me one bit - despite the fact that nearly everyone thought he had the wisdom of Solomon and the powers of Jesus.
P.S.
DeleteMy blood BOILS every time I see that corrupt perverted creeping cadaver who weaseled his way into the White House. I try to restrain myself from exploding on this blog...
I have still been wearing my mask because this spring and summer I have been having real problems when outside in pollen. If I start sneezing it results in horrible nose bleeds that are difficult to stop. One of them caused me to go to one of those Urgent Care places,which was a million times better than any emergency room around here. They put lidocaine and epinephrine in my nose and it finally stopped the bleeding. But if I sneeze, the bleeding can start again. So I am trying to remain un-pollinated by using my mask when outside, or in car,or in the laundry soap aisles, and it does help with the allergies. This has been going on since early spring. I had never had a nosebleed in my life until this spring.
ReplyDeleteWe have not yet had a single June Bug here near St. Louis, Yay!, but we haven't had any lightning bugs out yet either, Boo. I hope the really cold nights so late into spring didn't kill all of them. Everybody around my area of St Louis County calls them lightning bugs, too. Our community has a mosquito spraying truck that goes through all of the neighborhoods during mosquito season. I think the spray they use kills more butterflies and possibly bees, and lightning bugs than mosquitoes. That damn truck spray makes me wheeze every time it comes around. I leaks in around our old loose fitting windows.
I would get creeped out at night with the branches scraping against the windows and making shadows. I became freaked out by an old Twilight Zone show when I was a little kid that had a big panther lurking around in the trees
at night. Also that famous gremlin on the plane one had me often thinking I was seeing a gremlin at night up in the trees. I think I may have been too young for those original Twilight Zones, but I always watched them anyway.
Wow, your nosebleed ordeal is really scary. I have an enormous amount of problems with allergies and hay fever. I never thought about wearing a mask outside to control the allergy problem, but it's a good idea.
DeleteThe lightning bugs seem to be late everywhere this year. I can hardly wait to finally see them. I haven't seen a June bug since I lived in the Missouri Ozarks. Right now, here in TN, I'm plagued with aggressive bees and annoying flies.
There were many Twilight Zone episodes that scared the jeeters out of me when I was a kid (also the Alfred Hitchcock TV episodes).
Strangely enough, I seldom get scared here in the TN wilderneess - even though it can get really creepy at night.
Re my original comment: "I leaks in around our old loose fitting windows." I swear on a stack of bibles that I never once "leaked in around our old loose fitting windows,". The mist from the mosquito truck bug spray does though.
ReplyDeleteLike Susie, I've still been wearing my mask (hopefully) to avoid inhaling pollen. And gosh-knows what else. Plus, of course, it conceals years worth of hard-won wrinkles.
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering if calling in some sort of structural appraiser or an exterminator wouldn't be worth the cost. This way they could identify where your 'guests' are coming from. Jus' a thought ...
I never thought of wearing a mask for pollen, but it's a good idea. The only other reason I like wearing a mask is because I don't have to shave.
DeleteI'm thinking that the crawl space under the house is where many of the creepy critters gather. When I lived in Texas the houses were built on cement slabs and didn't have crawl spaces. It was a MUCH better concept.