August Flora

Rose of Sharon.   Pretty.  Such a pretty little tree.

Meanwhile, this pretty flower has exciting possibilities.

Roasted sunflower seeds!  My hope is that by November, when baseball is all over, I can spit sunflower husks on my living room floor like the ball players do in the dugout.

Speaking of foodstuffs.  This is a fig tree.  (Well, the one on the left is a fig tree the other is oregano.) Anyway.  No figs yet but maybe  - if the tree survives under a blanket in the garage over the winter and bears fruit next year- we will have figs!

Let us return to the pretty.  This is what a poinsettia plant looks like in August!

The Evolution of Duck Eggs

Here at the homestead, the youngsters born this spring are now laying eggs, just like the grown ups.

It takes a few tries to pull off the perfect egg, however.

 Start small, work your way up is one method.

For scale: a small Kong and an extra large Kong. 

Another method, somewhat unnerving to observe, is an egg that looks like a regular egg in every way except the shell is soft and almost translucent.

 There will be no photos taken of these egg monstrosities for their appearance is, well, icky.  There is often a tail of white material hanging from the egg like the umbilical cord of an alien creature.  Happily, the Freakish Eggs are much more rare than the Mini Eggs.

Before long, the ducks start laying nice uniform eggs that are pretty as wild flowers.

You done with those Kongs yet?

Pop Culture Frenzy, Round 70

Welcome once again to Pop Culture Frenzy.  Let's get on with it.

It seems that a California billionaire has developed a vegan dog food.  He claims it's full

 of a special very excellent protein and will feed hungry dogs the world over. 

What is this vegan protein?
Fluffy?

Soybeans?

Hostmaster:  incorrect.  Bryan?

Dogs are not vegans! 

Hostmaster:  uh huh.  You want to answer the question?

Eggs?

Vegans don't eat any animal products. 

 They only eat plant based food.

Don't some vegans eat eggs as long as the 

chickens are free range or something?

If they do, they aren't vegans.

 It's cruel to eat animals and anything they produce

 no matter how ideal their environment may be.

Hmm, maybe I'll stop using milk on my morning Grape Nuts

 and use gin instead.  It's plant based and cruelty free!

Hostmaster:  good thinking.  Now back to the matter of the protein in the billionaire dog food.

Molly?

The only vegans I know are squirrels.

So, nuts?

Hostmaster:  incorrect.
Cyndi?

Koji?

Hostmaster:  correct.  The company says that koji fungus has more amino acids that are beneficial to dogs than steak does.

What are they calling this vegan nightmare food? 

 Fungi Feast?  Moldy Mangia?  Koji Krap?

Hostmaster:  I don't know.  The company is called Wild Earth.  It's a curious name choice since their product is created in a biolab.

Ah, the wonder of marketing. 

Next they'll say that  9 out of 10 dogs

 prefer slime pellets to steak!

Hostmaster:  Wild Earth has plans for a cat food.  The protein for the cat food will be made from lab cultured mouse meat.

That doesn't sound vegan friendly.

"Lab cultured"?  

Maybe they're test tube mice.

Maybe they're free range
clone mice!

At least they're not pretending that

 cats are vegans. 

This round is over.  Who's

up for some koji?  I'm buying!  

If this koji protein is so great, why

isn't the billionaire guy feeding it to
 hungry people the world over?

Read about the super fungus dog food here.  *****Sorry folks.  This link was allowed when this was first posted.  Now it is not.  The article is in FoxBusiness.com July 30, 2018  title:  Billionaire Peter Thiel backs vegan pet food start up developing lab-grown mouse meat.

Round 70

Fluffy/Molly  34

Bryan/Cyndi   33

A Lark of an Owl

Look! An owl.
Hello there.  Nice to see you.
I thought you guys only came
out at night.

Mind your own business, snoopy.

Fine, pal.  Be that way.
I found a dead vole this morning.
It's still fresh.  I won't tell you where it is. 

I'm gonna hide that vole.
  When it gets ripe, I'll roll on it. 

Stuff that's Happened Lately

The mower sits as dormant as the grass.

The rain barrels have long been empty.  The squash plants are wilted.

  Finally.  A glimmer of moist hope.

Meanwhile, the humming birds are unconcerned for sugar water is not rain dependent.

There was an incident in the night a few weeks ago.  The power went out and the top of the electric power pole was on fire.  While guys in a firetruck watched, utility workers put the fire out and restored power.  Then a couple days ago, power men in multiple trucks appeared.  They cut off the charred part of the old pole and put a nice new pole next to it.   They added more lines for "communication".

Communication with what or with whom has not been explained.  What we need is a little irrigation to cultivate a suitable conspiracy theory.

It's that Time Again

Here is our annual It's Hot Enough for Malcom to be Outside picture.

Pop Culture Frenzy, Round 69

Welcome once again to Pop Culture Frenzy.  Our question involves a sales savvy Canadian who rented a booth at a Vancouver festival.  Determined to get in on the super food scam, er, trend, he  invented his own power water to offer festival attendees.

What kind of water did he sell to the fancy folk for 38 bucks a pop?
Fluffy?

Pomegrante water?

Hostmaster:  incorrect.  That is so yesterday's super food.
Molly?

Bird bath water?

Hostmaster:  incorrect.
Cyndi?

Broccoli sprout water?

Hostmaster:  incorrect.  You guys aren't going to get this without a hint.  Consider other edible things that are offered at fairs.  Then consider how the water that accompanies these items might be marketed as the latest health craze.  Put on your entrepreurial thinking cap.
Bryan?

Beer backwash water.

Hostmaster:  incorrect.  You're thinking like a vulgar hick.  You must think like a marketing genius.
Molly?

Elephant ear water?

Hostmaster:  incorrect.
Bryan?

Hot dog water?

Hostmaster:  correct.

That's not fair.  You gave hints and

 he got an extra chance.

Hostmaster:  alert the media! Ms. Broccoli Water has discovered that Pop Culture Frenzy isn't fair!

In case you forgot Cyndi, Bryan is on your team.  

Tell you what, if it'll ease your sense of justice, 

feel free to renounce your point for this round.      

Forget it.  Justice schmustice.  

All decisions rendered by the Hostmaster are final

 and not subject to review.   This round is over.

Round 69
Fuffy/Molly   34
Bryan/Cyndi  32





Read about the master salesman here.