March 26, 2015

We put out grape jelly today for our bird friends (many photos)

Edit: These photos are from previous years, not this season.

It is time for our oriels to show up. This Saturday we will put out the hummingbird feeders. We get a great selection of birds because Fontenelle Forest is on the other side of our back fence: http://www.fontenelleforest.org/

Last week raccoons ruined an old Shepard's crook hanger. I had to go buy another heavy duty version. That gives us a place to put a hummingbird swing.



The new heavy duty top looks like this.





We use this jelly because it has no HFC. Be sure you get the label marked natural.



Delicious, bold fruit taste
No high-fructose corn syrup
No preservatives
No artificial flavors or colors
Also available in convenient, kid-friendly squeeze package

You can find this at the local bird store. It is no longer available in gallon cans. We would go through 2 every year.




Here is the feeder we got at a democratic fund raiser auction. Hand made by (Gardens by) Nancy. The next year by coincidence Nancy took care of my mom in hospice. The mushroom top used to be straight across. It got pushed up by a Pileated woodpecker. We left it like that for when he comes back for more.




Oriels, Tanagers, and more come in for the jelly.

March 15, 2015

Rescued Florida dog now recovering in 'protective custody'

Source: AP

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- A dog rescued after being shot and tied to railroad tracks in Florida has been released from a veterinary clinic to continue its recovery.

Tampa Bay Veterinary Emergency Service posted a message on its Facebook page late Friday saying Cabela had "left the building to go into super secret, never to be revealed, protective custody." The 1-year-old mixed-breed dog was in hiding to "heal, socialize and begin her transition to a new life," the post said.

Tampa Police have said that Cabela was shot, tied to railroad tracks and left to die earlier this month because it wouldn't fight.

The Tampa Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/1x6iItO ) that a Hillsborough County judge on Friday denied bail for two men accused of using Cabela for fighting.

FULL story at link.



Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_DOG_TIED_TO_RAILROAD_TRACKS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

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Two previous stories at this link: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10141037705

March 12, 2015

DUing while impaired

Have you ever done something while impaired you regret later? It happened to me this afternoon here in GD. It will happen again if I stay as a regular.

Perhaps I should change my name to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Try to remember I'm not who I was when I joined a little over ten years ago. OS doesn't really exist anymore.

I wear plastic casts on my thumbs for arthritis in the daytime. Even simple copy and paste takes awhile. It took a couple hours to put this all together.

I wear braces on my hands at night until I have surgery in a month or two for carpal tunnel syndrome. Just one hand at a time.

I've been on a CPAP since 2001. It was very hard to kick lunesta a few years ago. There was a missed warning there.

Both shoulders and both sides of my neck have damage from 2 at work accidents, and a car accident back on Christmas Day a couple years ago on my way home from work.

By now I'm sure you know pain killers are part of my life. Mood swings and periods of lack of judgement are right out of the medical books for me with everything going on. Think of what Marta has to put up with.

A couple dozen DUers know what is slowly killing me. I thank every single one of them for keeping my secret. I'll write that tell all post when it is time to leave for good.

I'm going to try to be a real life volunteer for newly diagnosed terminal patients. I'm going downhill, so I have no idea how long it will last. Because of the nature of what I'll be doing is confidential, I really can't share much. My first venture is next week.

I'll be attending the state boys basketball tournament for I hope the next three days if my team keeps winning, so I won't be on the DU as much as I have been since I retired.

I love the DU. When the time comes to leave I will lose a huge extended & caring family. Sometime after that it will be the theme from M*A*S*H.

I do want to stay on the DU. Please let me know when Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde have overstayed their welcome, because I won't know it myself.

BTW, those cowards living in a cave don't bother me in anymore. They haven't for a long time!

Much love,

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde A.K.A. OS