Halloween Countdown 1: Halloween

I don't know why this got so many hits on my flickr photostream, but I think he's shedding.

Finally a guy with no excuse not to clean up after himself

Halloween Countdown 2: Leather Gloves

"Why no my dear I'm not an elf, but the gloves used to be."

Halloween Countdown 3: Green Screen Stalker

Short range creeper. Eww.

Halloween Countdown 4: Dissonant Teabag

Nothing about this Hasidic Popeye-wearing teabag seems right. Is it the hat, the pants, choosing "Lipton" instead of "Stash"?
I get the feeling he's been tea-bagged without knowing the Urban Dictionary definition.

Shouldn't he be wearing a Peggy Lipton t-shirt?

Halloween Countdown 5: Dem Bones

I hope I'm still have the energy to shop for socks at the campus Walgreens when I'm this age. I was half hoping she'd turn around and half afraid she'd plotz if she did.

Halloween Countdown 7: Toot Sweet

An enticing vat of sugary corn enticing despite this guy's dupa pointed at the mixing spoon.

Sunset Double Rainbow

Mother Nature ended the day peacefully after she was done dumping cold water on us all Sunday. The weather had been (yes I'm one of those people who constantly talk about the weather now) fantabulous all week and then rain and gloom. But wait, how about this sunset double rainbow?
It was 76 and now apparently it's winter so enjoy the sky and dig out your winter boots.
Someone was talking about snow at the Hy-Vee bakery today. I almost punched him.
Millenial Pastry Clerk: "It was snowing when I came in, but that's okay, I like snow."
Me: ~Thwarp~

By way of apology for today's weather and the upcoming five months

Forget the pot of gold just find me a blanket

I'm calling that spot behind the clouds, "The Moon" rather than a raindrop stain on the lens

Color My World

I found a little fall color after a gloomy Sunday so made a few more day trips when the weather turned bright and warm. 

Looking at Halloween decorations with my mother on a mostly gloomy Sunday

The trees seemed prettier in Lake Mills, maybe because we were high on fast food

Dexter and I had a fire alarm scare when I got home. I was the only one that brought out their cat (still the same guest cat I've had since April).

Out again at the beginning of the week, this time near Lodi. I was hoping that shed was a bathroom, it wasn't

After finding a bathroom at a closed campground ala Friday the 13th—seriously, it's called, "Crystal Lake"—I saw this sign reminding me that getting old had its perks

The next day I found a place I never found before, then immediately got lost

Foot Cheese

I don't know what stage of Limburger cheese they were eating at this Oktoberfest down the way, but it was unsettling to learn from the Wisconsin Cheeseman that there are three of them: Beginner, Intermediate and Hardcore, also described as "weapons-grade."

I won't have what he's having

Thinking twice about their life choices

No please no why did I—no. And I think that's Brett Favre sitting to her left

The winner. But didn't we all win by not entering this contest?

Bird Law

I was surprised to see that Bird Law has a Wikipedia entry. It not only references the comic twaddle I'm talking about but mentions the Migratory Bird Treaty of 1918 which means I might have learned something.

I also learned that a bunch of turkeys is called a rafter, gang, posse or dole.*

What I mean by Bird Law is that you should pay attention to birds that are acting weird. And this gang of rafters on the dole were a questionable posse. They were hanging out near a grill and acted as if I interrupted an avian tailgate party. 

There were more wild turkeys creeping off to the side. Normally there's only one or two giving you the stink eye from the middle of the road. 

And the neighborhood cranes are still here instead of GPSing their way down to Florida. Which brings me to the ominous clouds percolating behind them.

I was looking for rocks on a humid still too warm for October Saturday because I thought Dane County ROCKS! which paints and hides rocks around the county would be a fun hobby for my 92-year-old mother and me. My cousin mentioned them when I posted about these girls selling rocks—notice the wellspring of product behind them.

After I drove past this camo turkey I wound my way back to the beach. To make a long story short (too late) a swift wind blew my glasses off the park chess table where I was texting my cousin about rocks and baseball as a tornado touched down seven miles away.

Bet you didn't see that coming and neither did anyone else since there were no sirens.

The thing about losing your glasses is that you need them to find your glasses. 

Crouching on the ground blindly taking pictures with my phone didn't work. Mostly because I panicked and tried to get to my car as fast I could before looking at the photos.

"As fast as I could" meant trying to walk to the path across the lawn. It also meant getting lost in "woods" about the size of my living room. 

I somehow Magooed my way out of the shrubbery, stumbled onto the walking path and back to the car.

I drove halfway down the walkway and schlepped over to the last place I saw my glasses using an old pair from the glove compartment and a dull flashlight I mostly keep because it matches my car.

The wind was picking up and it was threatening to pour.

Not a single warning siren went off and if one had I would have passed out. 

I decided the hell with it, turned on the brights and drove a few feet from the chess board and there they were, upside down and spotted with raindrops in the middle of the pavement. 

So I guess the lesson is to heed wild turkeys. Maybe I should have saved this story for Thanksgiving.

*From the National Wildlife Federation's Blog

We Got Lots of Them

I thought these girls were selling lemonade last Sunday, but to my delight they were selling rocks. My cousin and I would throw rocks when we were kids and it never dawned on us to go into business. In no way do I condone throwing rocks unless it's rock candy and then be careful because sugar can be dangerous.

So here's to these beautiful young entrepreneurs, long may they rock.

"Oh rocks, I got lots of them, they keep throwing and missing meeee."

Notice the tip jar

Happy to buy a rock probably found in her yard

If you live in Dane County there's a friendly group you can join called Dane Country ROCKS! that paints and hides rocks for people to find and rehide. Rock on.

Lowered Expectations

This crazy hot then pretty nice then a little less hot it will probably snow soon weather is confusing for nature. I drove 80 miles north yesterday and a whole lot of nothing— although I got the Badger game in for most of it. Honestly, I could see more fall color from my couch.
Sunday is airing out mum with a drive and a lady lunch day so I'll try again, maybe I'll give her the camera.
Meanwhile here's a shot I took with a kit lens a few years ago. I'll be trying to beat this photo, but on top of a monochrome fall, my camera is only working in auto settings.
Bitch, whine, whinge, kvetch, time for a new camera and cooler weather.