Day Two Hundred Seventy Six 2012

For the first time ever, overweight people outnumber average people in America. Doesn't that make overweight the average then? Last month you were fat, now you're average - hey, let's get a pizza!
~Jay Leno  (You know what else? There is a quote for everything.)

Neil and I enjoyed our fabulous mushroom pizza at Gondola tonight. Neil did not always enjoy mushroom pizza. I think it was on our second date, waaay back in early 1972, we landed at Gondola, only it was in a different location then. They had, and still do have, some of the best pizza on the planet (and they still cut it into squares, not triangles, which I think makes it taste even better.) I guess he thought he’d be sweet and let me order the pizza. Much to his horror, I ordered a mushroom pizza. I didn’t learn, until years later, that he was horrified at the time, because he ate it and didn’t complain. Sweet, huh? He has since changed his tune about mushroom pizza and enjoys it as much as I do. I reminded him tonight about that second date and how we seem to have come full circle. Like a pizza.

Day Two Hundred Ninety Four

Autumn Day

Each Fall, the leaves on the Maple in our back yard turn an awesome shade of red until the whole tree is literally blazing. The tree is still 95% green. A few leaves have turned and fallen, like this one, which begged me to take its picture. Happy to.

Still obsessed with the cuteness of mushrooms ... snapped a picture of these while waiting on the hill out back for Shelby after school this afternoon. Looks like a little fairy garden. And the blue sky is still with us. What a beautiful day!

Day Two Hundred Fourteen

Snapshots from mine and other big back yards....

The Fairy Ring was back on the front lawn of Jefferson Avenue church of Christ this morning when I arrived. They look different from the ones I saw there last week. These got trampled later on by some little kids. Bummer.

I notice mushrooms everywhere now this summer. Not sure why. Saw these in a neighbor's front yard today. I hope they didn't mind me creeping into their yard to snap some pictures. These mushrooms were huge.

This one looks like a sand dollar.

And these look like something in which a Hobbit would reside.

Found this discarded insect shell, an old pine cone and a rock keeping company in the outer limits of my own back yard. The nearest pine tree is two houses down from ours. Guess this one blew in during a storm a long time ago.

Discovered some more pretty flowers growing in our jungle. This one still sported a little dew drop on its petal.

Pretty little bud. Didn't even notice the bug attached to it until I downloaded the picture on the computer.

The cone flowers are fading but still photo worthy.

Get a room! I thought I was snapping a picture of a cute June bug until I got a closer look. I think we can be sure there will be more June bugs next year....

Our Dahlias are really pretty this year.

This is my favorite snapshot from today.

Dahlia bud

I like this little Morning Glory. The vines are growing everywhere now. They always remind me of the beginning of a new school year because the Morning Glories were always blooming when my daughters walked through the back yard to school.

Sun/Moon Face looks like he could use some Chap stick!

Day Two Hundred Five

Random pictures from today...

Kay's been into the mushrooms again...

I think they're cute...

Hard downpour came up suddenly this afternoon. Neil and I

sat on the back porch and enjoyed the show. Love those new

gutters!

Between a rock and a hard place...The screen mesh

has come loose from the lower corner of the screen

door. The new kitty comes in through the gap and

climbs the kitchen door, wanting to come in. He usually

can't find his way back out. Duh! Neil calls him Sherman.

I like the name Eddie or maybe Ernie. Buddy doesn't like

him no matter what his name is!

Speaking of Buddy, he's checking out the makings for

our BLT's. He could smell the bacon frying and wanted

in on the action.

My sister Ann brought tomatoes from her garden to us this

past Thursday. They were huge and red and juicy and the

first thing I thought of when I saw them was "BLT!" Thanks

for the tomatoes, Ann!

The BLT made with tons of crispy bacon, crisp lettuce, lots of

mayo (the real stuff!) and a big slice of Ann's tomato on fresh

whole grain bread. And on the side a bowl of tomato soup and

a glass of icy Coke Zero. Doesn't get any better than this, folks!

Day Two Hundred Three

These mushrooms have been growing on the front lawn of Jefferson Avenue church of Christ for
probably years now. I especially noticed them tonight because they're so large! The grass has
grown up around them and they'll most likely be mowed over at some point this weekend. I've
heard something like this is called a Fairy Ring or Fairy Circle, so I looked it up. Pretty cool stuff.
By stepping into the ring to take the close up picture (cell phone camera), I may have brought bad luck upon myself. Or I could have made a wish. Either way, who knew? Now I know.

A "fairy ring" is a circle found in a lawn or pasture land thought to have been caused by dancing fairies. Scientific explanations for this widespread phenomenon are less poetic; the must usual is that it is caused by the spreading mycelia of a fungus (Marasmius oreades). The fairy ring may appear only as a depression in the grass but may also include sprouting mushrooms. If a human steps into the ring he or she is compelled to join the fairies in their wild dancing, which would seem to occur in a few minutes but in fact lasts for seven years or more. The unfortunate mortal dancer can be rescued by having someone outside the ring grab hold of his or her coat-tails. The concept is widely discussed in Celtic languages.

When circles of lush, dark green grass were seen in meadows, they were said to mark the place where fairies had danced, and anybody who set foot in one risked being carried off. Such rings are caused by underground fungi, which at times produce visible toadstools; they persist for years, getting steadily larger, and grazing animals avoid them. No serious belief now attaches to them; at most, a vague idea that it is unlucky to step into one, or, contrariwise, that one can make a wish.

http://www.answers.com/topic/fairy-ring

Day One Hundred Ninety Two

Random pictures from today......


Okay, so I'm in love with cute mushrooms that grow in my
yard.....

Her name is "Carlisle" and she's one in the quartet of cute
kittens that make their home at my sister Jane's house.....

And this cute chick pea is niece Sarah who is
celebrating her 14th birthday on Monday. She
partied tonight with family. We all enjoyed a
lot of laughs and had a great time together.
Good times, great memories!

Day One Hundred Ninety One

A few random pictures from today.....

The north side of our house all dressed up
in new siding, trim, and windows...

Found these cute mushrooms hiding under a bush in the
front yard....

The light was just about gone when I took the pictures
of the mushrooms. I'm going back out there in the daylight
tomorrow and try again....

My sister Ann and her husband Terry grow a vegetable
garden every Summer. This beautiful yellow squash is
some of the harvest....

Day One Hundred Seventy Eight

I noticed these cute little mushrooms growing outside my back door this afternoon. Had to get down real low to capture a shot of these. I looked them up on the 'net, and I'm not real positive, but they may be known as Copelandia cyanescens (a.k.a. "blue meanies" in Australia and New Zealand or "magic mushrooms"). I thought the "blue meanies" reference was interesting. Now, after all these decades, I'm making a connection between "magic mushrooms" and those crazed characters The Blue Meanies in The Beatles' animated movie 'Yellow Submarine'. A light bulb moment, folks. I'm not sure if it's life imitating art or the other way around. At any rate, and either way, they're cute as all get out.