Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. In two or three sentences tell us what Veteran's Day means to you?
Mr BC is a veteran of 6 years in the Navy, the last 2 years we married and shared his shore duty in Key West, Fl. I like that whenever, he wears his Navy baseball hat someone, almost always, thanks him for his service.  We try to remember to do the same.

2. What's your favorite film with a patriotic theme woven into the storyline?  
Mrs Miniver

3. Flu shot-yes or no? If you answered no, do you plan to get a flu shot? If not, why not? Have you ever had the flu?  Yes, now that I am older, I get one every year.  I had the flu several years ago.

4. I've seen lots of people posting pictures of their Christmas trees up and decorated. Many stores have had Christmas on display since well before Halloween. Red cups are back at Starbucks, sans the holiday decor, and that has some people up in arms. What are your thoughts on all the holiday ruckus this second week of November? 

It pains me that fundamentalists, read something evil and conspiratory into everything.  It is a red cup everyone. In past years they had always printed secular Christmas imagery on the cup anyway and most of those are adopted from the pagan anyway.  So tiresome!

Randy Bish.

5. What 'critter' are you most afraid of encountering unexpectedly? Why that one? 

Skunks, and deer on the highway at night....here in the hinterlands.  We live in town but I have seen a dead deer most every week, since it has started to get darker in the evening.

6. Do you like building things? What's the last thing you 'built'? 
Lego towers with my grandsons.

7. In keeping with this month's theme of gratitude...what are you most grateful for that brings beauty to your daily life? 

Living where the leaves turn in the fall.  Walking the dogs has been a pleasure this fall. This past week or two, has been lovely in our area.  Really fiery trees, even in my yard.

8.  Insert your own random thought here. 

In past years years I have been grateful for our mutual health....Mr BC and I.....This year I am grateful that Mr BC has had such good care, while being in the hospital for the last....almost 2 weeks. He went in with pneumonia and they found some serious kidney disease that he will be dealing with the rest of his life.  This has been a real kick in the butt for us. I just would like him home ASAP.  

A Bag of Trouble for the Squirrels

I can't say I am unhappy, that we won't have many walnuts this year. I have six black walnut trees, which provide wonderful shade in the summer and more walnuts than you can count.  This time last year, the ground was covered, with more dropping each week. 

I tried to keep up with the walnut rolling, last year, so I could walk through the yard and play ball with the dogs, without tripping on nuts. I waited and waited for someone to ask again, if they could pick up our walnuts presumably, to sell them  They came the year before, and I gratefully let them pick them up.   When they didn't come back, last year, I saw it as a sign the economy was getting better.

I don't sell them or shell any, as I don't care for black walnuts and I am not sure where to take them. OK, I could google it, but I didn't want to!  So when winter arrived, the squirrels stayed and feasted.  By Spring there was not a walnut to be found, only the black hulls and shells, in piles around the yard. The varmints in the neighborhood. were very fat indeed. I figured if no one wants them, the squirrels will.

This summer, we had a huge bagworm infestation, in our town and surrounding area. 
Indeed every nut tree...in fact most trees of any kind, had the pests. They apparently, won't kill the tree,,,,but they will destroy the leaves and hinder the growth of the nuts. The leaves of the walnut trees won't turn the lovely yellow this year, looking so mellow in the afternoon light of Fall, this year. 

When we returned from our trip, the trees had very few leaves left and I could skip through the yard, if I wanted, without turning an ankle. Maybe, there are an eighth of the walnuts we would expect.  So my squirrels may have to go further afield, to eat this winter.  While I am not unhappy to lose the walnuts and the work involved in clearing them the squirrels will miss them. They will be looking for a different food source.....and I will have to keep them out of my bird feeders, or simply look the other way.