If a political party does not have its foundation in the determination to advance a cause that is right and moral, then it is not a political party; it is merely a conspiracy to seize power.
Our family has always enjoyed putting together jigsaw puzzles; we have dragged them out for Thanksgiving and Christmas, as well as simple get-togethers for no particular reason.
While we are visiting our daughter and granddaughter, we pulled out a small (14 x 10) puzzle, which we figured the three of us could work in about 15 minutes.
Ha!
The puzzle is cut from wood, and all the pieces are different. There are no corner pieces, so you have to look for triangular ones that mesh. There are lots of bits with flat edges, but they might go in the center someplace as easily as on the outside. The picture is of Omni Grove Park, a golf course near Ashville.
It was small, but it was mighty, and it took the four of us over two hours!
We looked for an Episcopal church this morning and found one that listed itself as Anglican. Wow! I grabbed my trusty, dusty 1928 Book of Common Prayer and shuffled off.
Well.
They met in a school, which didn’t bother me, but they used a BCP that was very, very similar to the 1979 book, and Rite II to boot. They didn’t have a proper hymnal but used a thin looseleaf sort of thing, with maybe 100 songs. There were some “real” hymns, but they included some that I would consider more suitable for a Pentecostal church. Something by Amy Grant, for instance, and a version of A Mighty Fortress that I remember from an Assembly of God service.
At coffee hour – the Other Sacrament – I asked a woman what differentiated their church from the Episcopal Church, and she told me they thought the EC was getting too liberal in what they accepted. “They just took parts of the Bible and said they didn’t believe that anymore.” I didn’t ask if she was talking about homosexuality but figured that was one sticking point. I’ve had that particular discussion with folks at St. A’s, to no avail. Well, they won’t let me run it, so it’s their loss.
The Squire decided to move one of the bird feeders, because the squirrels were cleaning it out. He put it in the middle of the garden, and placed a metal guard on both that pole, and the one next to it. As you can see, this worked perfectly.
We use disposable plastic trays from the supermarket to feed the foxes. When we take out one dish, we bring in the other, but lately the dishes have been disappearing. Obviously, the critters are carrying them off into the “back forty”. The Gas and Electric company hasn’t been mowing back there for a while, and a large fallen tree has prevented us from getting there ourselves. I’m not keen on traipsing through knee-high weeds to find a plastic tray, but it’s frustrating.
No idea why the foxes are carrying them off, but The Squire thinks maybe they are using them for shingles on their den. Whatever it is, at this rate they’ll have a service for twelve in black plastic.
If I could figure out how to shrink this picture it would help. Anyway, this is the tree that prevents The Squire from mowing the back forty. Just below the split in the tree you can see a small break in the grass; that is the path the animals have worn going back and forth. We call it the “Fox Trot”.
The dish was gone again this morning. I’m going to stop at the thrift store and see if I can snag an angel food pan. Pound a stake into the ground and drop the pan over it, and that ought to keep the little dickens from carrying it away.
Up until Saturday, we had three snapping turtles in the pond – one I call Jaws, who is simply HUGE, Little Girl, who is small and has a white shell, and a third one that I dubbed Big Boy. I have no idea the actual sex of any of them, but it’s my front yard and I make the rules.
When I went out to feed them Saturday evening, I only saw Jaws and Little Girl – until I noticed a whitish blob over near the water lilies. Somebody had chewed through Big Boy’s neck.
thisendoftheswamp 