SATURDAY WITH PHOTOS

My Good Friday post probably didn't interest anyone other than myself, but - heck - I couldn't resist.

The spring blossoms in my neck of the woods started out with promise but faded quickly. My prediction came true: late frosts killed them. It happens every year.

A few days ago it was 75 balmy degrees (that's Fahrenheit, for those of you in Guam), but yesterday the temperature dropped to 40. Last night killer frosts arrived and expunged any semblance of spring. 

Devastating weather is predicted for Easter Sunday: raging storms, hail, and possible tornadoes.
I'm suddenly thinking of all the calm, beautiful Easters I remember in California and Texas.....   

Question:
Should I wear my Black Plague Virus Mask while I'm running frantically from the tornado?    

Despite all the chaos around us, I hope everyone will have a safe and pleasant Easter. 
And I'll repeat what I've already said many times:
Don't get caught up in the insane hysterical media hype. Use your reserve of inner peace and enjoy your sequestered lives. 

Someday soon I'm going to crawl out of the closet and finally say what I really think about this virus hoopla. 

Until then, I'll inflict you with some recent, uninteresting photos. 

 The blossoms were largely unspectacular this year, and short-lived due to the frosts.

 I'm going to miss the view of the neighboring mountain, which can be seen from my front porch. In a week or two it will be completely obscured by leaves from the trees.

(The cats will miss it, too)

Bosco (left) and Scratch

 The "yard" is turning green

View from bedroom window 

MORE OF MY DOMAIN

So why have I recently been filling my blog posts with photos?
Because it's better than depressing everyone with my chronic complaints.

Most of you politely and graciously tolerate my complaints. 
Recently, however, a few nervous nellies abandoned my blog because they considered it to be too depressing.

My advice? Lighten up, amigos. I might occasionally bitch and complain - but I do it honestly, with flair and style. 
I'm fascinating even when I'm in a bad mood.

....he says with a smidgen of sarcasm....

Here are a few more random photos of my private domain. 

 This past weekend was chilly and rainy. The gloomy (but extremely intriguing) forest mists compliment my mood.

Yesterday (Monday) was sunny and cold. I had planned on driving to town but got a bad aura migraine headache, so I stayed home.

In the evening, just as the sun was sinking, the moon was rising above the forest.

 I very seldom show photos of my house, but every now and then I give a glimpse - just to let you know it's there. 

 The inside is a minor disaster. Too small to hold my possessions, and messy enough to perpetually depress me. This is the living room, which I desperately need to dust and vacuum.

 I plan to put up white wooden blinds on the windows. I'll only need six of them.

I did the same thing in my Texas house - but that place had twenty-three windows and I put up all the blinds myself.

 I have three bedrooms - two of which are extremely small. I keep one of my pianos in this bedroom.

 I love the front porch - which is on a high level. The previous owners left that little wooden bench-swing.

 I also love this window in my bedroom. It's relaxing to lay in bed and watch the intrigue of nature.

The photo below was taken last autumn.

Critters occasionally get into the house. I've had one snake and three 'possums (not all at the same time).
 And, trust me, it's no fun trying to capture them. Took me two days to get the damn snake......

The snake was in my bedroom (last summer). Is it any wonder why I'm always a nervous wreck around here

??

Here's the serpent exploring my dresser drawers. One of the drawers was open and he crawled in and disappeared!

The only critters I want to see in the house are my two cats.

WHO ARE THEY?

A dilemma.
Should I write a personal update about the multitudinous hazards and unexpected unpleasantries of life in the mountains.......

......or.....should I do a worthless, inane post utilizing photos that I lifted from the Internet? 

I'm opting for the worthless, inane photos. 

Interest in my blog is dropping faster than the cat population near a Cantonese restaurant. Think about that for a few minutes. It will get funny.

I need to incorporate some mindless fluff to maintain the interest of my readers. I have some unusual photos of famous people. Can you guess who they are?
Scroll very slowly to avoid seeing the answers too soon.

Tangible proof

that even Commies can be cute.

Joseph Stalin in 1902

 Well, not all Commies are cute.....

Sieg, Heil!.

Adolph Hitler 

I should have probably said "Nazi", not "commie", but - what the hell....

Okay, let's all say it together:

"What the heck is he wearing??"

Is this a Prince? Royalty, maybe?

Nope. It's Donald Trump.  


  

 Tall and slim?

He was never tall and slim.
It must be trick photography.

(his uniform is even fancier than Trump's)

Winston Churchill

 You'll never guess this one.....

not in a million years.

A mug shot? At age thirteen??

For stealing her mother's car and going on a joy ride.

It's CHER!

 Tangible proof that even ugly ducklings

can turn into beautiful swans - -

If they have enough money

Kate Middleton
Duchess of Cambridge

Note:
I was very skeptical that this was Kate, so I double-checked my sources. It is indeed her, in 1990 when she was a Brownie (in Pangbourne, Berkshire). This photo appeared in the Daily Mail.com - - in an article by Rebecca English, published on January 5, 2012.
The photo is originally from XclusivePix.com 

Not quite ready

for Hollywood

perhaps a change of name.....

some peroxide.......and a slight

nose-bob will help.....

Norma Jeane becomes

Marilyn Monroe

Who is this young violin virtuoso?

Paganini?

Jascha Heifetz??

Nope.

It's Richard Milhous Nixon 

 A little bit chubby?

Or perhaps the cowboy suit is a tad too small....

Could it be Beaver Cleaver?

Not a chance.

It's William Jefferson Clinton

What's this? 
Another future president?

A wannabe film star??

How about lighting up a Havana cigar......

with Fidel Castro

 Not much to look at

but at least he's sweet and clean-cut

Could be dating your sister.....
or your daughter......

a nice guy to bring home to Mother....

Charles Manson

Just a simple Mississippi country boy


posing with Mom and Pop.

He could never become a king, could he?

Heck, he ain't nothin' but a hound dog....



Elvis Presley

A simple-looking kid
who doesn't seem to have artistic inclinations....

but you'd be surprised what he could do 
with a can of Campbell's soup.

Just think "popism"

Andy Warhol

A sweet old lady

resting in a garden
with a walking cane in her lap.

Hey, wait a minute.......

Is that a cane........... or an ax???

Lizzie Borden 

rare photo taken in 1922
 30 years after the infamous murders took place

2015 Day One

The New Year's Eve moon

rising above trees in my back yard.

Quiet. Reflective. Uneventful. Solitudinous.
That sums up my New Year's Eve.

My Spell Check just informed me that there's no such word as solitudinous. I beg to disagree.

It is difficult for me to believe that I've actually left West Texas behind. I still occasionally hear the screaming winds and taste the thick dust and feel the parched, arid air, and look in my boots for scorpions before putting them on.

Then - just to reassure myself - I look out any one of my windows and see mountain views. Tall trees. Wilderness. I hear the incredible silence. I inhale fresh, pure air. And I know I'm in a different place.

This was the most quiet New Year's Eve I ever remember. Absolutely no one around, but me and the trio of cats. When I ventured outside after dark I could hear only the sounds of distant animals echoing through the canyons. Coyotes and wild dogs, neighboring cows and horses. An owl now and then. It was crystal clear and very cold-- 17 degrees.

New Year's Eve was thoroughly enjoyable - despite the fact that I'm still living in an empty house. For now, the laptop is my only source of entertainment - and my cell phone is my unwanted but vital connection to civilization.
I'm uncharacteristically content.

I've lived a wild, exciting, and turbulent life. I've done more things than I'd ever care to remember. Or reveal. Yet I love this newly found isolation.

You're getting old, Jon, that's what it is. Admit it.

Bullshit.

I snapped a few New Year's Eve photos with my cell phone camera. The picture resolution is poor. I have an El Cheapo Tracfone  LG305C which doesn't transfer photos to a computer. I have to email them to myself and then upload them to a photo file. I'm a quill pen, scroll, and candlelight kind of guy. Modern technology  simultaneously baffles and annoys me.

Anyway, here are token souviners of my Mountain New Year's Eve.

The last sunset of 2014

 

 

 



My tiny, impromptu Christmas tree

on New Year's Eve

 

 

The tree from my kitchen window

 

 

 

The setting moon

from my living room window

(it looked much more impressive in real)

 

But Jon - - don't you have any curtains on your windows?

 

Hey, I'm in the middle of nowhere. Who's gonna see me? Big Foot?

I eventually plan on putting up wooden blinds (the same kind I had in Texas). Curtains annoy me.

 

 

I truly hope all of my blog friends and anonymous readers have an incredible 2015 - - filled with contentment, joyous discoveries, good health, warm memories, love, and peace from within.      Jon



Here's an excellent New Year's Day blog post from my Blogger friend Tony in Los Angeles. His insight is always worth reading.

http://leavingcaliblog.blogspot.com/2015/01/happy-new-year-faggot.html