Finicky squirrels

I put some barbeque flavored corn chips in the squirrel feeder and the squirrels wouldn’t eat them. I even left them there for several days. No luck.

But why, you ask, did I put barbeque corn chips in the squirrel feeder? Because I didn’t like them either. I removed the corn chips, cleaned the squirrel feeder, and put some rabbit food in the squirrel feeder. There are oak trees everywhere. Two in the front yard. A huge oak tree in the neighbors front yard. Just oak trees everywhere and of course, so too there are acorns everywhere. That may be another reason that the squirrels didn’t eat the corn chips. Their tummies were full of acorn nuts because of the bountiful supply. Have a nice day and if you happen to visit a park and there are some cute little squirrels there, don’t bother trying to feed them barbeque corn chips. Lew

intruder

I went to get a picture of the marigolds because they are doing so well with all of this rain. They seem to be getting taller. And they are forever dropping seeds onto the dirt beneath them. Then something caught my eye. Something that wasn’t suppose to be there. An intruder! There was an intruder among the marigolds.

The intruders were toadstools. Growing and feasting on the wood of the dead tree stump. It is really amazing how rapidly they grow. Well, this was the blog that I was suppose to post today but I did a repeat post by accident.

How do you like the cooler weather? When I stepped outside this morning it was quite cool. In fact, almost chilly, but not quite. Was Lew right about the weather getting cooler in September? You bet he was. See why every year I celebrate September 1? Happy times of cool weather are coming.

Tomorrow is dental day for getting a crown. Getting a crown sounds a bit regal doesn’t it? Unfortunately it is not that kind of a crown. The best part of the whole experience of getting dental crown work done is when I am walking out the door. And the price! Well, we won’t even discuss that because it will make me deeply depressed. Thinking about the cost of the crown makes me depressed but talking about it makes me deeply depressed. And writing out the check to pay for the crown is something that I try not to think about. Do you know how many times I could go to Cicci’s pizza for the cost of a crown? Lots and lots. And the Golden Corral? A whole bunch.

Tonight was Vietnamese food night. Mary tried a recipe from the Vietnamese cookbook that she got from the library. The main dish was pork with vegetables and the side dish was fried green beans. It was good. I like Chinese cooking and the Vietnamese dish was like Chinese food. I like egg rolls at a Chinese restaurant but they are expensive. So once a very long time ago I went to a Chinese all-you-can-eat buffet and had nothing but egg rolls. Lots and lots of egg rolls. Considering how expensive they are on the menu I think that I got my monies worth that night. For lunch we had turkey sandwiches which is traditional for a few days following a turkey dinner which we had on Sunday.

Have a nice evening and enjoy the sights of nature. Beauty is all around us. Today a lady bug landed on the front of my shirt. I thought that it was neat. I tried unsuccessfully to get a picture of it and ended up putting it into the grape vines where there are probably plenty of aphids. We have had problems with aphids in the grape vines in the past and lady bugs love aphids so the lady bug should be absolutely ecstatic right about now. Take care and carpe diem. Lew

The Three Musketeers

I saw these three different flowers in the flower garden and the name The Three Musketeers came to mind. The blue flower on the left is a mystery flower. Neither Mary or I know what the name is. Of course the flower in the middle is a periwinkle and the flower on the right is the hibiscus.

Isn’t the hibiscus absolutely magnificent. The color is so intense and rich. Mary commented that this hibiscus must be the type that grows low to the ground because it just doesn’t get any taller and it produces plenty of flowers.
This was a stay at home day, a mow the grass day, and for Mary a bathe the bunny day. It is terribly hot outside but it is September and I am happy because I have made it through another summer. It is like riding my bicycle over a hill. I struggle going up the hill but once I reach the top the hard part is over with and then I coast down the hill. August 31 was the peak of the heat hill and after September 1, I am coasting down the hill of hot weather to the cool days of autumn.

I cooked hamburgers for lunch on the grill today because that is traditional for Labor Day. Tonight we are having the baked turkey with cubed baked potatoes and of course cranberry sauce.
The rabbit seems to be getting a little friendlier. He lets me brush him now. There is a cardboard box in the dining room next to where I sit. The Chihuahua uses the box to jump on and then jump up onto the chair that he customarily lays on while Mary and I are in the dining room. The rabbit will jump up onto the box and wait for me to brush him with an old soft hair brush. He jumped up on the box twice this afternoon for a brushing. When we are in the dining room Mary brings the rabbit in so that he can run around. Mary blew up one of those thick skin sock-em balloons. We use those because they are very durable and the rabbit doesn’t break them. He likes to run in circles around the balloon. He will be sitting on the scatter rug and then run over to the balloon, run around it and back to the rug. After half a minute, he repeats the whole thing. He will keep this up for around 10 minutes. He really seems to enjoy it. He is not afraid of either the cat or the dog and all of the animals get along with each other real well. I hope that everyone has a nice Labor Day celebration. Lew

Garden theater tour

This is the interior of the Garden theater. I got to go on a guided and narrated tour of the theater. I thought that the little lights in the ceiling representing stars was a nice touch. Then I noticed a cluster of stars in one spot on the ceiling. In this picture you can just barely see the cluster at the very top of the picture on the right side. Can you see it? Here is a close-up of it.

I asked the tour guide if there was any significance to the cluster of stars. She told me that the stars were suppose to be the little dipper. If you look at it from the correct angle it does sort of look like the constellation the little dipper.
The tour was very nice with a lot of historical information on the theater. We even got to go backstage where the dressing rooms are as well as the lounge areas or green room as they call it. In addition to the movies, live theater plays are performed here as well. They will be having the musical Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat this fall. I saw this production of Joseph and the Tehcnicolor Dreamcoat performed professionally in West Palm Beach with Sam Harris in the lead role. The production was very lavish in the costumes and the sets. Sam Harris was the very first winner in the singing category of the television show Star Search. The singing and music was great. It is a musical tale of a biblical story.

This is one of the two dressing rooms for the actors and actresses. In the reflection in the mirror is our tour guide who is dressed in a black blouse and white slacks. The other people are some of the members of the tour group. I think that there were around eight people all total. They are also looking for volunteers to help with the production of Joesph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat. She said that they had around 100 volunteers already but that they needed more. Once you put in enough volunteer hours, you can see the production of Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat for free. Just give them a call to sign up for volunteering. The tour guide said that they will be using local talent for the actual production. It is a nice theater. Lew

monster in the neighborhood

A typical Florida day, the sky is filled with white puffy clouds. Wouldn’t it be nice to get some pictures of the clouds like Seaside does. So out comes the camera and all of the wires spoil the picture. This picture is looking north. How about looking northeast? Maybe I will have better luck.

Nope! No such luck. There are wires in that direction also. But what is that beside the right side of the neighbor’s house.

Yes, it’s a monster truck. The type that runs over cars crushing them. He must need a ladder to get into that thing. What a view he must have of the traffic ahead. He can see over the tops of the cars and spot traffic tie-ups long before I could. I wonder what new tires cost? I shudder to think. Today it is off to the Garden theater. Mary is going to go shopping while I am there. She doesn’t get to drive her car very often any more and so it is good for her to drive it from time to time. Have a nice day. Lew

Kermit the Frog

Can you spot my little buddy? No? Look closer. Still closer. Try going to the magnification mode.

Yep, there he is. A little tree frog sitting on a leaf just as happy as frogs can be. I spotted him just by luck while in the front yard. He is in the gardenia bush. Hopefully he will eat lots of mosquitoes and anything else that bugs me. Sorry, I just couldn’t resist the pun. When I worked at the hospital in Phoenix, I had a coworker, Anne, who just loved to make puns and as a consequence I got a steady stream of verbal puns with each followed by a laugh from her and a laugh from me also. She was very nice and had a really kind heart. The hospital was a Catholic hospital and all of the people there were very dedicated and caring. How else can you be when you are working alongside the nuns. Their order was the Sisters of Mercy. I use to do volunteer work for the Little Sisters of the Poor in Phoenix. They operated a nursing home. It was very rewarding spiritually to work with the nuns. It was also an honor. The same was true at the hospital and so we only had good, kind, gentle people there. We had a radiologist there, Dr. Matheson, and he told me once to treat every patient as if they were either my mother or father or brother or sister. I took his advice to heart and applied it on a daily basis. It was a sad day when I left for another job with the State of Arizona government. But the state job with Arizona was an adventure and incredibly fun. I got to travel all over the state of Arizona. What fun. Everyone have a nice day and lots of fun. Time to do my on-line jigsaw puzzle. Lew

Garden theater

This is the Garden theater in downtown Winter Garden. Mary and I went there to see the movie Wag the Dog starring Robert DeNiro and Dustin Hoffman. I really didn’t care as much as what was playing as I was about seeing the interior of the theater. This theater has been restored to its former grandeur when movies and movie theaters were at their heyday. I always loved those grand old theaters that looked like a palace inside. When was the last time that you have seen such plush ornately decorated carpeting like this in a movie theater?

The carpeting actually looked too nice to step on. They did a fine job in the restoration process. This is the inside of the theater.

The theater was so unique. From the stars in the ceiling

to the unique side balcony’s for the VIP’s to sit.

It was a lot of fun going to the theater. With the coming of the multi-plexes you just don’t see theaters like this anymore. Time to go, Mary is waiting for the movie to start.

They give tours of the theater on Saturdays at noon where they take you backstage and give a nice narration about the theater. I think that I would like to take this tour. It would make my trip to the theater complete. I wonder if seaside and villager ever went to this theater when they lived nearby? Have a great day and take the opportunity to see a movie in an old time theater every chance you get. Lew