Watching TV

Almost everyone I know watches TV.  Some watch a lot and some watch only a few programs, usually the news.  I have to admit that I watch a lot of TV.  So I have a question for all of you.  What programs do you always watch and which are your favorites.

I will start out by saying I prefer all the old shows, you know, the ones that are only in black and white.  Right now, at this time, I am watching Perry Mason.  I also watch all the old western shows, like The Lawman, the black and white versions of Gunsmoke, etc.  Then there are shows like Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Twilight Zone, etc.  Some of them are on too late (or should I say, too early in the morning) for me, so we record them and watch them whenever we want to.  I guess I like the shows that I used to watch years ago.  And yes, that was a long time ago.  In fact, I can remember getting our first TV.  Since I was sick and couldn't get out to play, I guess my Dad felt sorry for me at the time.  And yes, the TV networks were not on all night.  They would show a test pattern instead of show.  OK, I guess I am giving my age away again.  I miss the good ole days. . .  Now, you all turn that boob tube off and read my blog, you hear?

Not a Restful Night.

I didn't have a restful night's sleep last night.  The first interruption to my sleep occurred just before one o'clock in the very early morning.  I heard something that made a chill run up and down my spine, my hair stand on end, and my eyes opened up very wide.  What was the sound I heard?  It was a scream.  No, not someone screaming but the scream of a very large cat.  Yep, our mountain lion is still hanging around my place.  The sound came from the southwest corner of my property.  I decided to wake my wife and tell her that if she gets up before me in the morning, not to let the dogs out without me being there.

That happened about one o'clock, as I said above.  Then around three o'clock this same morning, she woke me up saying she just heard it scream and it was to the east, close to where our son and daughter-in-law lives and has all those chickens, rabbits, ducks, and goats.  It is not all that bad to have a little extra excitement in our lives.  It keeps my old heart a pumping and my old lungs a breathing.  Now, I hope you (and I) have a quiet and peaceful day, you hear?

What Are They Smelling? And small mushrooms.

When I took my two dogs out last night before I went to bed, the youngest one put her head up in the air and sniffed and sniffed and sniffed and then she turned around and ran back up the stairs and into the house.  I wonder what she smelled?  And then she did the same thing this morning.  So, I bet that mountain lion is still hanging around, just out of sight.  With the trees and brush all around my place, it wouldn't have to be more than a few yards away from the dogs' fence, which is my backyard fence.

When I was out in the back yard, I noticed tiny little red mushrooms.  I thought that they looked really neat, so I went back in the house and retrieved my camera and took a few pictures.  I placed a dime on the ground to give you a comparison of their size.

And another picture taken near ground level:

That is all for today.  Now, you all have a great day, you hear?

Here Kitty Kitty Kitty

My son has game cameras set up several places on our property.  He gets some fascinating picture from these cameras from all kinds of dogs, foxes, etc., but one picture made me take a second look.  He posted the picture on Facebook but I decided to copy it from his Facebook page and post it here, also:

I don't care what you think it is, I believe that it is awesome.  BTW, did you know that this type cat, according to the Guinness book of world records has the highest number of names being used for the same animal.  These names are mountain lion, puma, cougar, painter, mountain cat, catamount, etc., etc.  It has a very wide range, from the Canadian Yukon to the South American Andes. . . and I guess to my back yard!!

They can get quite large, typically weigh in at 70 to 150 pounds and be up to more than eight feet long.  It has a bite force of 350 pounds per square inch, enough to break the skulls of wolves and horses and, I suppose, anything else it decides to kill.  I don't think that I want one to get mad at me or see me as meal or a midnight snack.  I definitely want to go out with my two pups at night.  I doubt if I could fight one off, but my screams might scare him (or her) off.  I don't think that I would scream, but just to be on the safe side, tonight I will go out with my pups and carry a firearm.  Of course, I shouldn't worry, my ugly face should scare any big cat away.  Now, sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs big cats bite, you hear?

Diamonds in the Grass.

I went out this morning.  Everything was wet after last evening's rain.  I found a patch of tall grass at the side of my driveway that had drops of water on the ends of the grass.  Those drops shone like diamonds and I tried to get a picture of what I had seen.  The camera didn't do it justice but you can see some of the drops:

Like I said above, the picture doesn't show it like it was in real life.  Click on the picture and maybe it will enlarge for you.  I really thought Mother Nature had done that just for me to take a picture and show you all.  Now, have a great day, you hear?

Good Morning Glory

This morning I took a walk out the driveway. . . Well, actually, I was taking three bags of household garbage out to our dumpster that we share with my son's family.  On the way I saw some wild morning glory vines that were blooming.  Now I am a little confused.  The ones I took a picture of looked to be on the pink side where as the picture shows them to be blue.  Why would that be?

Anyway, here are the two pictures I took, one a little ways away and one up close.

Nature sure has a way of brightening up my world.  Seeing those this morning started my day of right.  I sure do enjoy all the wild things that grow and live on my property.  I feel like I am the luckiest guy in the world.  I always try to observe and enjoy the beauty that nature comes up with.  Sometimes it can also give us bad things, but I try to see the beauty in all things, even the lightning storms.  Now you all enjoy the beauty around you and have a great day, you hear.

New Light.

I bought myself a new hand held light the other day.  It is quite versatile.  First of all, you can hold it like a flashlight or hold it like a lantern by the attached handle.  It has a powerful beam.  I pointed it at a lot of the trees on my place and it sure did light them up, even the ones two and three hundred yards away.  Yep, I have that mush space on my place.  In the picture below, you can see that it isn't very large:

This next picture is looking into the front of it.  You can see the reflector but just look at how tiny that little bulb is!!  I wouldn't expect it to be able to the job, but it does.

And guess what powers this mighty little light?  Yep, just three double A batteries.  These fit at the rear under the screw off end. 

I think that it will get a lot of use.  I think I finally found a light that will do all that I want it to do except write this blog and I had to do that (grin).  Now that I tried to light up your lives with this posting, I want you all to have a great day, you hear?