TGIF! presents....The Seekers' "Georgy Girl"!

My happy song. You should get one.

i am born.

This day, Saturday, the 29th of August, in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen hundred and sixty four, at 2:34 p.m. I am Saturday's child, who works hard for his living.

Anders Breivik. Justice served?

Killed 77 people (mostly children) and gets 21 years - the maximum sentence under Norwegian law. How quaint. Now - his sentence can be repeatedly extended if he's deemed "a danger" after his initial sentence is served. I think Norway needs to reexamine their criminal code statutes.

What a cunt.

TGIF! presents..."A River Runs Through It" (the best scene)!

Great film - and it's the best scene in my opinion as it reminds me so much of myself, my brother and father and our annual fishing trips on the Rainbow Flowage in Lake Tomahawk, Wisconsin. You can fast-forward to the 2:30 mark if you'd like....that's me, Jason and Dad - talking, laughing and loving.

TGIF! presents...Sir Geoffrey of Glen Mar, Royal Archer!

(NOTE: BEFORE you watch this, PAUSE video, and MAKE SURE the setting icon (bottom right of screen, left of the clock icon) is at 1080 and enlarge to full screen...for best quality.)

haikuin' it, zucchini style!

Zucchini bread - LIKE
homegrown…my Greendale garden
eat – come to Glen Mar

"ohhhh...look at the pretty lace!"

That's a rose bush leaf. That's what those motherfuckin' Japanese beetles leave when they're finished munching on my beautiful roses. Well - not any more. I just sprayed the fuck out of them.

Previous post on aforementioned Japanese beetles/fuckers.

mojitos.

Made with chocolate mint from the garden. WHOO!

TGIF! presents...Charlie Rich's "The Most Beautiful Girl"!

A #1 smash hit for Charlie. My favorite line/melody:

"...I stood alone in the cold gray dawn

Knew I’d lost my morning sun."

Ezra the Juvenile.

 

Monday's are the shittiest day of the week. Mine was even shittier. We have a family of red-tailed hawks that live at the cemetery where I work during the summer. Beautiful, regal birds. They've lived there for a few years, nesting atop an evergreen tree. The male and female mate for life and as far as we know, Ezra (above) was their only offspring. Ezra was born in the spring, a "juvenile" -  meaning it hasn't reached sexual maturity - which in Ezra's case would be two years. We don't know Ezra's sex so we'll just say he's a "he".

Monday morning, Bryan and I found Ezra on the ground below the nest, lying on its back. As far as we could determine, Ezra's back had been broken. We have no idea how. Perhaps a flying miscalculation? Who knows.

We kept an eye on Ezra all morning, turning him on his stomach to see if that helped. However, he slowed down as the morning passed. We called a vet, the DNR, Human Society, shelter - no one would come out to the cemetery. There was nothing they could do for him.

- - - - - - -

The hawks were untypically quiet all day. Do you suppose they knew their Ezra had passed? Were they looking for him? Later on in the afternoon, I saw mom and dad hawk soaring above, riding those thermal drafts - floating, wing-to-wing. At one point, I saw one of the hawks roosting in a tree I had never seen them roost in - a tree overlooking the baby section of the cemetery.

And Bryan and I were quieter than usual that day. Ezra was a part of our daily life and I can't stop thinking about him. So, writer-Jeff composed this haiku, in memory of Ezra the Juvenile:

ezra

look yonder, young hawk!
soar! cry! kree-eee-ar! kree-eee-ar! search the sky!
silence. listen...kree-eee-ar!

Before giving Ezra a proper burial (as only we would know how to do), Bryan and I each took one of Ezra's tail feathers, held sacred to many American Indian tribes - our way of honoring our friend. Take a look at this video - an up-close look at a trained red-tailed hawk...much like Ezra the Juvenile.

Goodbye, Ezra...may you soar in peace for a thousand years. You will be missed.

Early Girls ripen'in.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Mom! A wonderful woman, wife and mother... Jas, Dad & I are very lucky. She has gone beyond the call of duty many times - partly because we three guys can be idiots but mostly because she chooses to do so.

Love...Jeff, Jason & Dad.

TGIF! presents...Johnny Cash's "The Caretaker"!

For Bryan, Bernie & myself.