New Technology Takes Off. Literally.

My father sent me a link today to this amazing video about The Aeromovil, a combination airplane and automobile.  Just wow:

Since it will cost "several hundreds of thousands of Euros," I think it should have all the features we need before Pepper and I consider purchasing one. So, I think I'll hold out for a Harrier-type version that can take off from stop and go traffic, instead of requiring a runway, before we place our order. And I do want it in blue.

In my dreams.

Dang. Wouldn't Buck have salivated over this?  Come to think of it, Murph might, too!

The Jetsons must be closer to moving next door than we think.

This, That, and Birdwalking

Happy day after Easter! It just wouldn't be Easter if I didn't post this iconic picture of Bouie Cottontail:

I'm pretty sure he's still embarrassed by that photo even all these years later.

We had our family gathering on Saturday night, minus The Son's family as they were somehow tied up. Younger Daughter brought her pup, Persi, so we had a wild and crazy time -- four Labradors, two toddlers, six adults, Easter food, and and Final Four basketball. It's so good to be able to celebrate holidays easily with family. As much as I may miss New Orleans sometimes, this is, and always will be, home. Ditching the 7 hour drive is pretty sweet, too.

Grandpa decided that the grandkids needed a homemade milkshake with real whipped cream and a cherry on top. Moogie went to Krogerville to buy some new cherries after seeing this on the jar in the pantry:

Elder Daughter wondered whether the jar was pre-Katrina. I'm pleading the Fifth.  But, everyone enjoyed the milkshakes!

Elder Daughter is just about to pop -- her second son is scheduled to be delivered by section on the 21st of this month, but I don't know if she'll hold out until then. He's going to be a big boy.

Younger Daughter and family are settling into their new home, mentioned in the last post. We've all been a little preoccupied with that move. SiL#2 will be taking a business trip next week, and YD is a little nervous about staying in the new house alone with Grandchild #5, so I may be heading over there for a good old-fashioned sleepover -- Mommy to the rescue! Even when one's child is 31 years old.

I saw the coolest thing in Saturday's newspaper:

Yep -- Superman's changing room is being nominated for the National Register of Historic Places in Prairie Grove, Arkansas! I hope it makes it.  Pay phones/phone booths are pieces of Americana that defined a couple of generations. Most kids these days don't even know what a corded telephone looks like -- or how they work. That reminds me of the time when Grandchild #1, then about 4 or 5 (now fifteen years old -- how did that happen?!?!) came to New Orleans for a visit and was exposed to the crank down windows in Pepper's little truck. He thought those were the coolest things ever because Grandpa let him roll them up and down, up and down. And up and down.

Moogie appears to be birdwalking just a titch.

It happens.

Your Botany Lesson of the Day

Someone who really knew what  they were doing landscaped Moogie's Manor.  There is always something flashing color, no matter the season.  Right now we have scads of bright red holly berries showing off next to the deep green leaves.  And there is always visual interest.  My gosh, Autumn was fabulous!! There was so much color you could almost hear it.

One of my favorite plants is pictured above -- it's a Harry Lauder's Walking Stick.  The leaves are very soft -- almost fuzzy.  Ours is just outside the front door, and you look right at it from the office windows.  See it on the left?

It's a member of the Filbert family, but doesn't usually produce.  This is what it looks like today, wearing a "dusting" of snow (Yep, the weatherfolk predicted a "dusting" of snow last night.  Cars were crashing into one another all night out there in the dust storm. We got over 3" of dust.):

And a closer-up, after the ice storm on Sunday:

I mean, how cool is that ?!?!

The literature says it flowers in the spring before leafing out.  I can't wait!

Class dismissed.

It's For the Birds at Moogie's Manor

My father, Boompie (that's his "grandfather" name, after Jimmy Stewart's character in Mister Hobbs Takes a Vacation -- "Boompah?!?!  What kind of a name is Boompah?  You couldn't do any better for your own father?!"), instilled in me at an early age a love of, and fascination for, birds.  Except sparrows.  Don't ask. It's a long strange story.  Anyway, I can just sit and watch birds for hours.

Back at the Mansion in New Orleans, birdwatching was pretty much limited to Mockingbirds, Cardinals, and Doves, with the occasional obnoxious Crow or Pigeon thrown in.  And, Doves are just stoopid birds with very little personality, so they don't really count, and that just left me with Cardinals and Mockingbirds, who are meaner than a snake!  It was hardly worth setting up a feeder because the Mockers wouldn't use it and the Cardinals got bored with it, and it attracted rats.

But, here at the Manor, we have a wooded green space in back that is home to scads of birds!  Moogie is in hog heaven! (Heh -- get it?  Razorbacks?  Hog Heaven?  I crack me up sometimes.)  We have Cardinals and Mockers and Finches and Titmice and Chickadees and Nuthatches and Hummingbirds!  I have three feeders on the back deck!






(There's Moogie's reflection in the window. Say hi!)

Having three feeders, however, means we also have a herd of greedy, marauding squirrels. 

I originally hung the feeder in the first picture in the spot where the new squirrel-resistant feeder now hangs in the second pic.  Not a good plan.  Acrobatically-gifted squirrels had it emptied in a day.  The new spot is just far enough away from any good launching points to keep them at bay.  Pepper said he'd hang and re-fill it for me (Moogie is height-challenged), but I had to clean up the Kamikaze squirrel carcasses.  So far, no squirrel carcasses!

As for the new feeder, so far, so good.  It works on a weight and spring principle -- it closes the food ports when heavy critters get on it.  The squirrels tried every angle possible for a few days -- you could just see their frustration when they shook their furry little tails and had to give up.  Sometimes they will sit and stare at the feeders, as if willing the feed to hover into their greedy little paws.

But, I think some of the birds must be in cahoots with the little vermin.  Some of the birds appear to prefer a specific type of seed, so they'll sling the other types right out of the feeder!  And the squirrels, being the determined moochers they are, now just kinda hang out on the deck or the rails and scoop up what has fallen, without really even having to work for it.

And that drives Bouie nuts!  I'm just hoping he doesn't go through one of those windows.  Mysti just gets excited because Bouie's excited.  Come to think of it, however, she has started tracking the squirrel scent lately, so I suppose I should start worrying about both of them now.

We have a dominant Hummingbird who has staked out his territory around the hummingbird feeder.  He loves to light on the feeder and drink his fill.  They are such incredible little birds!  And, fearless.

So, it's apparently the best of times for the local bird populations, now that Moogie has become their neighbor.

I wonder what else we'll discover?  Hopefully nothing reptilian.  Ewww.

I'm Too Relieved to be Too Terribly Angry

Way back on April 15th, Pepper and I did the Concealed Carry Course and I mailed off our packets the next day.  The packets were returned some three weeks later because I had enclosed personal checks for the fees instead of cashier's checks.  I corrected the oversight and mailed them back in the next day.

*sigh*

My 34th anniversary gift was a sweet little .22 that fits my hand perfectly, together with a neat little holster that nestles divinely in the small of my back.

Our anniversary was June 9th.

Still waiting.

Having been mailed from Baton Rouge on July 3rd, Pepper's permit arrived in our mailbox last Saturday, the 7th.  He and Bouie have been having safer walks since.  But what about Moogie's?

Do you see where this is going?

I rifled through Saturday's mail in the trash and combed through magazines and advertising circulars searching for the envelope.  I was just about to fear I'd failed the background check, but I strongly suspected that an envelope bearing the return address, "Concealed Handgun Permit Unit," had been mis-delivered by our cracker-jack postal carrier to some thug's house who was going to alter the photo and use it for no good.  I've re-delivered mis-delivered mail so often around here that I should be on the USPS payroll.  Then, this afternoon I got a Facebook message from my good neighbor to tell me that he had just put an important-looking envelope in my mailbox that had been delivered to his house by mistake.  And my good neighbor is not a thug!!

So, now I'm legal!!!

Thanks, R.C.!

(The picture of me is absolutely horrid, so I covered it up to spare your eyes.  I hope I don't ever have to show it to anyone!)

Navy Week Comes to a Close

I haven't had time to upload my pics and videos from Navy Week, but here's a brief video from nola.com that captures a few ships departing this morning.  The tall ship with the sailors standing amid the riggings is from Ecuador:



How cool is that!

Navy Week!

It's Navy Week in New Orleans and the kickoff of the Bicentennial Commemoration of the War of 1812. Moogie has been very busy volunteering and celebrating! There will be amazing videos and pics to come, but not until all the festivities come to a close on Sunday. Right now, I'm just sitting with my feet up, having spent 6 hours on them, on concrete, in the sun, serving as the source of all knowledge and cat-herder. I see Chinese delivery in our immediate future.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Carnival, and the Status of the Unionized Speech

Why, yes, I am still alive, thanks for inquiring!  I'm not sure where last week went, but it was probably consumed with the taking down of Christmas finery, the putting out of Mardi Gras excess, and our first ever Endymion Coronation Ball. Pepper will be riding on a brand new super float, throwing trinkets to the masses, and getting properly lubricated for the Extravaganza that follows the parade on February 18th in the Superdome.

The Coronation Ball was pretty impressive -- it staggers the imagination to think of the logistical nightmares that accompany an intimate dinner service for 5,000+, but it was pulled off with style and flair (even though we left before the Second Line parade -- the Second Line parade that kicked off at 2:00 a.m.!  Pepper and Bouie had a date to go bird hunting early on a foggy Sunday morning.)

So, it's beginning to look a lot like Mardi Gras here at Moogie's Mansion!  We're expecting anywhere from 4 to 9 guests for the big second weekend.  I guess folks are finally accepting that this could be our last Carnival season as New Orleans residents (translation: free bed and breakfast a block off the Uptown parade route).  Here's a little bit of the finery --

The dining room is my favorite spot to decorate for Mardi Gras because we spend a lot of time at the table -- and you have to go through the dining room to get most anywhere downstairs.

The front parlor is fun, too.

Then, there's the upstairs tribute to my Krewe of Muses, the night-parading, all-woman Krewe.  I usually leave this good loot out all year 'round so our houseguests have an adequate opportunity to develop an appropriate appreciation for the Muses.  If Pepper wants to erect a shrine to Endymion he'll have to find another spot.

Yep --  shoes play a large role in Muses treasure.  (The roll of toilet paper is from the Krewe of Tucks.  Their monarch doesn't ride on a throne, he rides on a giant toilet and throws plungers and squirting toilets!).

And, of course, the Sophie Wright marching band is in full practice mode, and they've been practicing outdoors in the unusually-warm weather we've been experiencing.  Yep. I had to turn on the AC in the middle of January!

I'm sure I'll feel like this come Ash Wednesday.

Now, changing gears, what Drinking Game trigger words shall we establish for tonight's Status of the Unionized speech?  "Fair share?"  "Millionaires and billionaires?"  "Educational opportunity?"  Everyone had better get a designated driver set up -- this could be a tipsy evening!

Ya Gotta Love a Principal Who Sticks to her Guns. Um, Principles. She Doesn't Carry, I'm Pretty Sure.

I'm sitting here listening to the intercom (yes, they broadcast over their intercom to the entire neighborhood, but we always know what's going on!) at Sophie B. Wright Institute for Academic Excellence (Whew! That's a mouthful, even when you type it!) down the street, and I've just experienced yet another refreshing note of what's happening in that school.

The Principal's irritated voice (yes, I recognize her voice by now) summoned three students by name and directed them to board the bus at once:  "Get on the bus now.  You're holding up the entire bus and the entire route.  Get aboard your bus immediately, and I mean NOW! Do NOT make me go looking for you!"

How cool is that -- a principal who takes no guff and suffers no fools.  Way to walk the walk, Ms. Clark!  Happy Homecoming Week!

Home: Improvement and Invasion

As revealed here in an earlier post, we did indeed celebrate Bastille Day at Moogie's Mansion by accepting delivery of a new, fancy mattress.  We were way overdue -- both of our backs had been talking to us for quite awhile.  As Pepper observed, our old mattress held up really well for 10 years -- too bad it was 11 years old.

So, I was very excited to get the new one set up (the delivery guys left the house just as the rain began to fall), with its high-falutin' bedbug-proof, allergen-free, waterproof cover.  Bouie was neither excited nor happy because he had to be locked in the tv room while the delivery guys were here -- he was acting just a little too "interested" (read: he had entered a not hump-free zone) and "helpful" (read: he needed to see every little thing and inspect every little movement).  Being all caught up in Bouie and getting the zippered cover fitted correctly, I failed to notice how much higher the surface of the mattress was than our old one's.

The dang bed is now taller than more than half of me!

No way are my feet going to reach the floor when I try to get out of bed.  I felt kinda like a 5 year-old sitting on a chair designed for the "big and tall," swinging my legs.

There's not enough room on my side of the bed for me to be able to use one of those pet steps designed to enable older, short critters to get up onto the furniture.

So, I went upstairs and grabbed Elder Daughter's step-stool from college.

So, now, instead of feeling like that 5 year-old, I feel more like a toddler bellying up to the bathroom sink to brush her teeth.  Or a sorority girl.  On second thought, I don't think I have nearly enough energy to be a toddler.  And I certainly don't have enough energy to be a sorority girl; I barely did the first time around.  So, I suppose I'll just feel short.

*Sigh*  At least the new mattress is really comfy.  Once I manage to get up on it.  And I hardly need to bend over at all to change the linens! 

One strange thing, though, leads me to believe that the fancy cover wasn't made here in the good ol' U.S. of A. -- this advisory label that lets you know which end goes where:

There's the same label on both ends.  I'm not quite sure what to make of that.

And, speaking of lizards -- I went into the kitchen earlier today to put some thing in the sink and this is what I found!

It was a tiny little thing and it didn't seem to be very frightened of me.

It seemed to prefer red wine to coffee, however.

Pepper invited it to go back outdoors.  We really don't need any new pets around here right now.  I'm too busy adjusting to a new mattress.

Leapin' Lizards -- Today's Lesson in Herpetology

Moogie's Mansion is overrun with lizards from early spring until frost (which, sometimes, doesn't arrive until well into winter).  Most of the common lizards we see are either brown anoles or green anoles -- the browns tend to stay closer to ground level while the greens typically prefer higher terrain, but both varieties can be found on fences, in bushes, and even up in trees. There's one stretch of sidewalk down the street that I call "Lizard Central" because any time you walk through it, dozens of lizards scurry back and forth from the groundcover near the street to the foliage near the fence.

Both of the guys pictured above are males -- they have this "distensible dewlap" that they use to attract females and  challenge other males.  It's quite impressive to see them all puffed up and macho, sending signals all around the yard -- they do two or three lizard push-ups and then poof out their dewlap like a balloon.

For several years -- especially after Katrina which pretty much wiped out the lizard and songbird population for awhile -- the brown anoles were winning the lizard territorial war from the green anoles around here and I was afraid we wouldn't see the colorful shows that they produce anymore.  The browns are apparently fairly aggressive.  But, both varieties seem to be thriving these days and I am very happy about that.  Except, they don't eat enough bugs to suit me.  And sometimes they jump out at me when I open the mailbox.  That's a little disturbing.

Several days ago, two males were doing this "anything you can do I can do better" number on parallel poles on the gate while I was sitting outside waiting for Rosie to do her thing.  They leapt and crawled the length on the poles, eyeing each other all the way, then they'd flip around and climb back up.  Quite the gymnasts.  I really wished I could've recorded that little episode.

I finally had my phone with me yesterday on my way to the car when I spied a green on the fence.  I thought he might do some acrobatics for me to record, but he did something even better -- he got a drink of water.  He got a drink of water by licking a holly leaf with his tiny pink tongue!  I'm not sure how I thought lizards get hydration before seeing this -- maybe I assumed they just absorb it from the atmosphere? -- but I never suspected I'd see a lizard lapping up water like a dog!  Look closely at this little guy's tongue -- it's amazing!  And he let me get right up next to him!


(I was so excited to watch the video in the car that I left the house keys in the gate lock and didn't realize it until I got to the grocery store.  I had to come all the way back home to get them before I did my shopping!  I don't think my vicious attack lizards would've done much to discourage a key-thieving thug.).

Today I spotted one slinking across the birdbath to get a drink!

Someday, I'll get a video of two males stalking each other and puffing up and chasing one another.  It's quite the B-movie horror film scene when dinosaurs ruled the Earth, in miniature.

What's really unusual about my fascination with lizards is that I can watch them and get close to them without being afraid.  Except when they leap out of the mailbox, and that's mostly a startle reaction rather than the full-blown panic attack I suffer when I get anywhere near a snake.  I think it's probably because lizards have elbows and shoulders.  Joints seem to make a difference.  Don't ask me to explain it -- I'm just grateful for those shoulders and elbows, or I don't think I could go outside down here except during the winter!

There are days when Moogie is so very easily entertained.

A Magic Show in the Sky

Is this a cool picture, or what -- lightning passing through a rainbow!  From Wednesday's Times-Picayune: