Snake and Toad

Life's not always fair. Sometimes you can get a splinter even sliding down a rainbow. ~Terri Guillemets

Can you believe it got down into the 40s last night? It's FREEZING this morning. ::::shivers:::

I swear, the weather this year is totally nuts.

My DH did a good deed yesterday (well, good for the toad, anyway ... I'm pretty sure the snake isn't happy). I was inside when he came in, got these huge BBQ-ing tongs and started out. I knew he wasn't cooking, so asked if he was using them to pick up something dead (eww). He told me to go look outside at the walkway.

I did.

There was a garter snake (not really that big ... maybe a foot long and as big around as my index finger) with a toad in its mouth (the toad was about the size of my palm). DH (who is quite snake phobic, so I give him credit) picked up the snake with the tongs (as an aside, when snakes are threatened they will regurgitate a recent meal to make for a fast getaway, so the moment the snake was touched, he let go of the toad). While DH and the snake headed for the woods, I checked out the toad.

The top of his head was covered in snake spit and he just sat there, crying. Really. He kept making this little high-pitched mewl over and over. Saddest thing I've ever heard (who knew toads could sound like that?). We washed him off and then DD kept watch to make sure he started behaving like a toad again. Once he started acting a little more lively, we put him in our veggie garden.

I wish the snakes would just eat the grasshoppers. We have millions of those.

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You Are a Green Light

You take life at a fast pace. You act quickly and decisively. You have good instincts and trust your gut. You're confident and brave. You are determined and ambitious. You don't allow yourself to waste time. It's no surprise that you get a lot done. You are efficient and productive.

What Color Traffic Light Are You?

Hmmm... yep.

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Something Cool

Anyone who says they have only one life to live must not know how to read a book. ~Author Unknown

Nothing new in my life, lol, so I thought I'd share something cool I just read off the Wild Rose Press author loop.

Apparently, The Wild Rose Press was asked to provide hundreds of romance novels as props for a movie. One of the characters is a romantic suspense fan, and reads them. How cool is that? It's not like any of my books are there, but still ... I think it's incredibly neat. AND, the movie looks like it's going to be a hoot.

The movie company provided the trailer for The Wild Rose Press website and I gave it a look. It's called "Red" and stars some big named actors like Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Morgan Freeman and Helen Mirren. It also stars Mary Louise Parker as the romance novel addict.



So, if you go see it, watch for romance novels in Mary Louise Parker's place, and apparently also in Bruce Willis' place (he reads them to get to know her better).

I love the that studio is using a smaller press for this. How cool is that?

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You Have a Wild Imagination

You can think or dream anything. You have very vivid and colorful thoughts. You have a refreshing and bold attitude. People can count on you to be honest. You are chill to the point of being a little lazy. It's hard for you to get motivated at times. You are a very thoughtful person. Even when you're resting, your mind is churning a bit.

The Bubble Bath Test

Except for the "you are chill to the point of being lazy" part (because I DO not know how to just slow down and relax ... something that makes my DH crazy), the rest is pretty right on.

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Drama in Pillar Place

Never say, "oops." Always say, "Ah, interesting." ~Author Unknown

Thanks for your input yesterday -- I'm going to write to Cigna and see what happens. I'm going to suggest that they toss in some flower seeds (I'll even provide them -- I have PILES of dead head/seeds from several butterfly friendly flowers) and become a certified Monarch Waystation. They'll have a cool sign they can post and be listed on the Monarch Watch website.

We had two more successful releases in Pillar Place: Monarch yesterday: 2 more boys. They were lovely. We've seen a few monarchs fluttering around the past few days. We wave. *G*

Also in Pillar Place, we had one small problem that will hopefully end up being no problem at all. One of our "J" pillars from yesterday, Thomas, had some issues shedding his skin and ended up falling off the roof of his box. I remember a couple years ago this happened, and I tried to glue the chrysalis to the roof, but the pupa died almost immediately -- probably from my handling.

This time, I've let the pupa lay on the floor of his box overnight. It hasn't turned black, so it's not dead, and the shell around him has hardened. I've read that they can be handled successfully (if you're careful) once the exterior is hard. So, today I'm going try to reattach him to the roof. I'm not sure how yet -- he doesn't have much of a "stem" so I don't know if I want to glue him because the glue will get onto the chrysalis.

Oh the drama. Now, with my luck, he'll hatch deformed and DD will want to keep him as a pet.

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It's hot here, in case anyone wondered. Really hot. I'm dying. My life for air conditioning ...

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You Are Charming

You are quite stylish and unique. You have a flair for living well. You have a bit of attitude, but you're definitely not stuck up. You know how to let loose and have fun. You are well liked and a total people person. You are almost always at ease in a crowd. You are a huge lover of life and all it has to offer. You're proud of who you are, but you never brag.

How Does Your Cookie Crumble?

About 25% correct...

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A (Not So Good) Day in the Life

Alice came to a fork in the road. "Which road do I take?" she asked.
"Where do you want to go?" responded the Cheshire cat.
"I don't know," Alice answered.
"Then," said the cat, "it doesn't matter."
~Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

The vote was overwhelmingly for the picture with Dakota (maybe I should have let Dakota wear the shirt? *G*), so I'll be sending that to Lori today.

DD decided that I didn't have a good picture of Dakota as wallpaper on my phone, so took a bunch.



Pretty puppy.

We released four more butterflies yesterday, and have two more emerging today and then we're done for a little while. We had three pillars left and two made their "J" yesterday, so will be butterflies in about 10 - 14 days. After the last one does his thing (soon!), we'll be done for the summer.

In butterfly news, too, we were horrified to discover that Cigna (bad, bad Cigna) who owns the HUGE field of milkweed across from our library MOWED it yesterday. WHY? They couldn't wait until our first freeze? It's not as though they use it for anything. It just sits there and feeds monarchs and tussock moth babies. And those rotten humans destroyed the nursery. It was undoubtedly a mass Monarch-pillarcide (based on how many we found this year, there were probably upwards of a thousand, maybe more, in that field). I wish I knew how to get in touch with someone who would care... DD was almost in tears.

It was just not a very good day for DD. She also got stood up for her play date. She waited. And waited. Then cried. The people did finally call at around 7:45 -- they'd had a funeral to go to (not immediate family and the death was one they'd been expecting), but I'm thinking they probably knew about the funeral before yesterday afternoon. I had rearranged my entire day around that play date and both DD and I were frustrated, angry and sad.

But, HEY! It rained last night! A real rain ... just falling from the sky over a long period of time. Certainly not enough to do any real work at filling the empty ponds and rivers, but it watered.

Speaking of water -- it's mind-boggling: my flowers are dying, my grass is dying, my veggies are dying, but the weeds? THRIVING.

In any case, here's hoping today will be better.

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You Are a Geek

You definitely have some nerdy ways, but you've evolved into something way cooler - a geek. You are free spirited and quirky. You're proud of who you are, and you've got style. You may not fit in completely, but you don't have any problems socializing. You're witty, smart, and very knowledgable. You believe that everyone should embrace their inner geek!

Are You A Nerd or a Geek?

I embrace my inner geek daily...

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You Choose

A photograph is memory in the raw. ~Carrie Latet

Morning!

I'm making this quick so I'll have time to visit with some of you on YOUR blogs. I haven't had a chance to do so the past couple of days and I miss you!

Yesterday, I had DD take pictures of me (no makeup!) for Lori Foster's Facebook page. She is trying to get a picture with one of her shirts from every state. I'm New Hampshire. Unfortunately, as you know, my camera isn't working so she used the cell. I'm not in love with any of them (the T-Shirt is HUGE!), and can't decide which to send.

The studious one:



The Vanna White one (you get the dog butt for free!):



Me and the Dog one:



The just standing there one:



What do you think? Which one should I send?

As an aside, and in case you're wondering, that's my "backyard" -- hence the bears and the deer and the turkeys and ....

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You Are Modern

You are optimistic and forward looking. You love living in this world. You are constantly looking to improve yourself. You don't think you have all the answers. Food excites you. You are definitely a foodie, and you're adventurous about trying new restaurants. Right now you have one thing, and one thing only, that is consuming all your time. And you love it!

The Bookstore Test

This couldn't be more wrong... of course, they didn't include the romance section in fiction so that could be why!

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A Menagerie

In wilderness I sense the miracle of life, and behind it our scientific accomplishments fade to trivia. ~Charles A. Lindbergh, Life, 22 December 1967

Well... my mental health day turned into "let's clean the house from top to bottom" day AND "let's work on all the last minute changes to the LASR/WC/Aurora anniversary party" day.

Not a lot of down time.

Oh well.

Don't forget that you can enter to win one of THREE Nook eReaders this month at the aforementioned LASR/WC/Aurora Anniversary Party. It's easy to play and enter. Go for it! And these are the expensive, 3G Nooks -- which also come loaded with a whole pile of donated eBooks AND a $50 BN.com gift certificate. Woo!!

Now ... back to our regularly scheduled blog.

First, and without further ado, I'd like to wish my mom a very happy birthday!! I wish I was celebrating it with you ... but know that I'm there in spirit.

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In Pillar Place: Monarch, we had five releases yesterday and three on Saturday. There are butterflies popping out all over. In a bit of irony, yesterday's releases were all gendered exactly opposite of their names. We had:

Igor (female), Karl (female), Hermine (male), Earl (female) and Gaston (female). Saturday's releases were all male.

A few pix (are you tired of looking at butterflies yet?):




We also had some early morning visitors yesterday (I had to take the pix through my slider without opening, or I would have scared them all off):




Yep ... three mamas and five baby wild turkeys came through our yard on a walkabout.

DD also found a friend:




I think stick bugs are incredibly cool... one of my fave all time insects. Don't you think they're neat?

And, that's it from the local menagerie. Today should go back to normal (or what passes as normal for us!).

How was your weekend?

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You Are Logical

You tend to be rational to the point of driving other people crazy. You are all about the facts. You don't like to make a big deal out of anything. You take both good and bad news in stride. You believe that the simplest approach is often the best approach. Why complicate things? You know how to get down to business and figure out what needs to be done. You're good at processing information.

The Impossible Figure Test

That's mostly right! LOL...

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A Day Off

I need a mental health day. My day may not be this exciting:



But I need it.

Wishing you all a wonderful Sunday.