Blame it on the...

Sweating like a horse.  August smaugust.

OK.  Take comfort in snap dragons and lemon verbena.

Pretty pretty weeds.  No.  Those are wild flowers.

Feeling better already.

Wait.  Uh oh.

Phooey.  Time to retreat to the nice cool house.

I really should be out there pulling weeds.  Oy.

Move over, Clover.  That couch is calling me.


Blame it on the heat.  Blame it on the sun.  Blame it on the Bossa Nova.

Meanwhile in the Garden...

Had a hankering for stuffed peppers.  Trouble is, these are red peppers.

That's OK.  There's plenty of squash- and then some.

Happily, ducks like squash too.  Provided it is julienned first, of course.

Fried green tomatoes are not on the menu.

Looks like this plant plans to take flight when the time is ripe.

My Favorite Tree

Here it is in flowery close-up.

Here it is in green glory.

Here it is in autumn amber.

Here it is in spring bud.

(It is there even during one of my obsessive searches for my arch nemesis The Fisher while I take action shots of my own finger, peer out of windows....)

Here it is as silent sentinel.

What kind of tree is this wonderful tree?  I kept wondering.  Then one day, I was doing something in the bathroom and happened to read the shower curtain.

It's a Tulip Tree!

Pop Culture Frenzy, Round 59

Welcome once again to Pop Culture Frenzy.   Let's get right to our question.

There's a dog spa in Japan that offers the usual luxuries, baths, private rooms, fine dining.  They also offer something quite unique.
What is it?
Molly?

A squirrel hunt?

Hostmaster:  incorrect.

Cyndi?

Nail wraps?

Hostmaster:  incorrect.

Bryan?

Kabuki theater?

Hostmaster:  incorrect.
Fluffy?

Water polo?

Hostmaster:  incorrect.  You've come up with some interesting answers.  Still, nobody's warm.  A hint is in order.

Pea soup.  Head spin.
Molly?

Pease porridge hot pease porridge cold

 pease porridge in a pot nine days old!

Hostmaster:  oy.
Fluffy?

The price of soup at this spa will make your head spin?

Hostmaster:  incorrect.  Let's try another hint.
Devil dogs.
Cyndi?

Chocolate is bad for dogs.

Hostmaster:  sigh.
Bryan?

Dogs belonging to Marines get in free?

Hostmaster:  incorrect.
Fluffy?

They provide exorcisms?

Hostmaster:  correct.

How did you get that?

 In the seventies, there was a really stupid movie

 about a demon possessed German Shepherd.

 It was called Devil Dog.

Some like it hot some like it cold

 some like it in a pot nine days old!

So ends another round.  Here's a link if you want to check out the D+Kirishima Spa.

Devil dogs check in but only

dogs check out!

Phooey.  Devil dogs would cheat in

 the squirrel hunt anyway.  

Round 59

Fluffy/Molly    29
Bryan/Cyndi     23

Slow-moving Trespasser

One morning, a few weeks ago, the dogs caught this trespasser lurking around in the inner perimeter.  They barked at him.  They surrounded him.  His response was passive.

Even after the dogs dispersed, the interloper remained in motionless mode for some time. Opossums sort of go unconscious when they Play Possum, though this fellow apparently did not go full swoon.

After the dogs came back in the house, the intruder was left alone for a while.  He moved to leave. First he tried to climb the fence.  That proved too strenuous.  He then moved to the gate, which presumably he squeezed under,  for all of a sudden this phlegmatic interloper was gone.

Tail Tales

Clover's tail is 24.6 inches long.  Impressive, no?

No.


Meet Keon.

He holds the record for the longest tail.  His is 30.2 inches.

IHEFM 2017

Here is our annual It's Hot Enough For Malcom picture!

Pop Culture Frenzy, Round 58

Welcome once again to Pop Culture Frenzy.

"Comedian" Kathy Griffin has created quite a stir with her, er, art.  Unless you've been in a coma for the past 48 hours, you've heard about it.  In this round everyone gets one turn to answer.

What did Griffin do?

Bonus question.  Why did she do it?

Cyndi?

She made a statement of outrage toward

 the authoritarian violence that Donald Trump represents.

You know, you whiners never cared when Obama 

was treated with more disrespect than any president ever.

  How about what Ted Nugent said?  You guys don't mind that!

Hostmaster:  Molly?

She posed with a fake head that looks

 like President Trump covered in blood.

  I think she was trying to be funny.

  I don't get how it's funny.

Hostmaster:  Bryan?

She put on make-up and a blank expression

 and held up a beheaded Donald Trump. 

 The audacity of the stunt is not amusing but sure got attention.

  When she apologized, she said she moved the line,

 then crossed it.

Hostmaster:  Fluffy?

She said she wanted to do something

 big, new, political.  Evidently inspired by those

 zany ISIS freaks, she did a photo shoot featuring

 herself holding the bloody severed

 head of the President of the United States.

Hostmaster:  Kathy Griffin is a third rate hack who specializes in crassness.  There is an audience for it.  Once, accepting an award somewhere, she told Jesus to "suck it".

As a rule, I have no sympathy for people who do something stupid then apologize only after being called out on it.  But I actually pity Kathy Griffin.  She is evidently so desperate for attention that no low is too low.  Her desire to be edgy, to be significant, has led her to ever uglier infamy.  She's still not satisfied.  Now she's suing members of the Trump family for opining on her base performance. She claims they are "bullying" her.

Someone needs to remind this pathetic clown that we all have the right to expression, including pointing out that she is a  repugnant no-talent fishwife.

So ends this round.

Round 58
Fluffy/Molly   28
Bryan/Cyndi    23