I Can Haz Helth Kare

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I CAN HAZ HELTH KARE? Wif publik opshun? KTHXBAI.

h/t Lisa at LaFiga

Sunday Moonset

Tonight's sunset was followed shortly by the moon setting.

Barn Swallows

These two birds hung out on the deck railing for about half an hour yesterday afternoon. They were not freaked out when I went out with the camera to take these pictures and let me get darn close. The babies in the nest up under the roof peak above the deck are getting big and should be flying soon. The mom part of me was saying to myself that these are the parents and were either trying to encourage the little ones to fly or were just enjoying some breathing room not in the nest.

Power went out for about an hour and half last night. After lighting all the candles, I grabbed the ipod and stood on the deck watching the stars overhead. Absolutely magnificent and I almost grabbed both camera manuals to try to figure out how to take a picture but... can't read the fine print by candlelight. One of these days...

Afternoon Delight

Foggy most of yesterday until late in the afternoon. As the fog burned off, the birds returned to munch on the tide's offering.





Of course, the fog returned a few hours later. Today has been overcast all day. Tide is falling so the birds should be back for their afternoon snack soon.

Bird Days Of August

My little cove here has become very popular with the bird set as the the tide rises. There must be lotsa little critters that they love to scarf down. These guys are out there most every rising tide lately.



Mama barn swallow has been busy keeping these little ones well fed.

Monday afternoon I return to the dentist. He is going to work on the two bottom eye teeth that he says must be saved. I'm looking at one maybe even two root canals on them. Yuck. But it must be done.

Who Dares

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Hubble Space Telescope Eye Candy

Hubble Views in 3D - major eye candy and brain candy to a science geek like me.



From the utube page:

I've recently discovered an animation that was rendered using the measured redshift of all 10,000 galaxies in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field image.

I've written a short script that leads you through a quick history of both deep field images and this video ends with a fly-through of the Ultra Deep Field.

Every galaxy in the image is in its proper distance as viewed from the telescope line of sight.

As if this image wasn't amazing enough.

Animation Credit:

Hubble Cosmological Redshift Animation Courtesy:

Mike Gallis

Open it up to full screen and enjoy. Wow.

Rain

Been enjoying the rain the past couple of days. A wee bit more than an inch total and 3//4 of an inch fell in the last 24 hours. A good soaking is exactly what we've needed - things should green up quickly.


All the plants seem to be thriving on all the wet.


Even the birds seem to enjoying feeding in the rain. Lot of activity both at the feeder and on the bay.

Monday Monday

How I spent my Monday Monday:

Watching the ripples on the bay created by the southwesterly winds that turned the normally placid bay into a huge glitter patch.

Looking at all the pollen piling up on shore as the tide comes in.

Pretty quiet bird day - only this big guy was flying.

The clouds swirling.

Picked some flowers from the downstairs gardens including some of the pink rose that tries to eat the stairs.

Not bad for an M-word day off. The hired girls came today and washed down all the kitchen cabinets and windows and brought up more wood for my nightly fires. Even though it was 78 here today, the evening will have the usual damp chill that goes hand in hand with being waterfront. Nothing like a nice fire going in the stove to chase it away.

The blue skies over the bay and spit have been chased away by clouds coming in from the ocean. There is a slight chance of rain tomorrow.

Want Health Care Reform?

If you want to know when and where your Democratic Senator or Representative is holding a Health Care Reform Town Hall or meeting in your area, just type your zip code into this neat widget. Jane Hamsher of FireDogLake had this made so that it is easier to find out when and where meetings are in your area.




Don't forget to bring a video camera (if you have one) to record the antics of the astroturf folks who come to disrupt and prevent discussion.

UPDATE: Shit - I have some HTML error and it won't post. Click on this FireDogLake link and the widget is on the upper right of the page.

Almost

The sitemeter at the bottom of the page indicates that I will soon be having my 20,000th visitor. TTGB has been on these here internets since March, 2006 - and like Tina, sometimes I like to do things nice and easy - other times...



To whomever visitor 20,000 is - Hey. Nice to see ya. Make yourself comfy and take your time looking around the place.

Squirrel Proof Is Not Chipmunk Proof

Squirrel proof is not chipmunk proof. This little guy has discovered the bird feeder and does not weigh enough to trip the springs. He's not being particularly greedy and does run away when a bird comes to the feeder.


A lovely day today at the peaceful retreat on the bay. Got up to 69 today with only gentle breezes. Lotsa traffic - this is County Fair week here in Tillamook County.

I plan on staying home and enjoying the sights and sounds of birds on wing (and at the feeder) while watching the tide rise and fall. My mouth is doing a lot better today. Not looking forward to the root canal on the 17th but... it is a necessary step towards reaching my goal.

Hi Ho Hi Ho

Hi ho hi ho, its off to the dennis* I go....



The Dentist - courtesy of cartoonage at YouTube.

*yes I know it is spelled and pronounced dentist but that is the term used at this house

UPDATE: walked out with 2 less teeth than I walked in - he pulled the two broken off ones next to the upper front teeth.... so far so good.. of course, I am still really numbed up and figure I scared other people while driving home with two gauze fang looking things sticking outta my mouth -- tis not a pretty thang - am tired and queasy and have a list of do's and don'ts including the caution to NOT come home and go to sleep - if I must sleep the tech said to do so upright due to that whole blood thing.

next visit is gonna be the bottom eye teeth- the bottom right will probably need a root canal and the bottom left just a regular old filling.

Pink?

I am not a pink kinda gal. Never have been - even though my second ex-husband kept buying me pink dresses and insisted I wear them - pink just is not a color I enjoy. Nonetheless, I find myself with pink in the garden. A lot of the pink was here before I moved in such as this pink geranium


and the pink roses that climb (and try to eat) the stairs.

I've always been a purples and blues kinda gardener




and yet ...

there be pinks I've added


and there are other pinks I've shown here before (such as in the post below this).

I'm going to blame the topsy-turvyness of this on having Monday as my day off - that having someone joyfully looking forward to Mondays has caused a disruption in the force of the universe. Tis karmic payback and karma has a twisted sense of humor.

6 Months Later

By now, I'm sure you have all seen the Jill and Kevin Wedding Entrance Dance (if you haven't, click on that link - we will wait for you to catch up). Here is a peak at the goings on 6 months later.






Never been a fan of pink but this is just lovely. Am glad I was unable to resist it at the nursery - tis a bright spot of color even on a gray day like today.

The flower stalk on the biggest potted plant survived the drive in the heat (and being bent around other pots to get it inside the car) and is now blooming.


Have a classic cartoon that I hope everyone enjoys on tap for tonight at the Lake.