Good morning everyone on a most beautiful sunny afternoon!  I’m finally back!!  You have noticed I was away, right?  A few of you?  Sigh.  I know many of my faithful readers are no longer faithfully reading.  But that’s okay.  A big welcome to my many new faithful readers, now reading from 3 countries!  Wheehee!  Keep passing the news of my new site and perhaps we can add even more countries to the list!  This is fun.  Okay, why was I away?  Don’t ask.  Technical difficulties of 2 different varieties.  One is solved.  I hope.  The other is still problematic.  Sigh. Not sure when that one will be solved.  Oh well.  New pics coming, including Sir George sitting on my bird feeder, well, standing anyway.  Not easy getting a good photo of a herring gull, they are such a brilliant white, gives them a ‘glowing’ look, need a better camera I guess, but at least you can see him.  Herring gulls are big birds, with a big appetite.  There is also a grackle above his head.  Nice that he is getting to trust me more.  Like the gulls at my last place he sits outside and calls if there is no food on the feeder.  Poor Chuck, the crow, doesn’t really like Sir George but since he is only half the size he has to wait his turn for the food, which means sometimes he doesn’t get much.  So then he tries going after the chipmunks food.  Chipper will run, but Cheeky (used to be little chip) chases Chuck.  I know.  My title says insulatoring.  I’m getting there.  But this way I can make it two parts.  Wheehee!  Oops.  Sorry.  I got a bit wet this morning.  Another rather large thunderstorm, with drenching rain.  And I certainly did.  Get drenched.  Sigh.  Wasn’t even outside long.  Also had some fun.  Was standing on top of a three step stool, at the top of some stairs, full story like bunch of stairs.  And I looked down.  It was a long way down.  I get kind of woozy when I do that.  Not exactly a good thing.  For me anyway.  Sigh.  I do strange things sometimes.  Speaking of shopping.  Oops.  Sorry.  Supposed to be about insulatoring.  I’m getting there.  Right now it is very nice and sunny and warm, just the kind of day that dad and I like for insulatoring.  So off we went.  It was a wet year, like this one.  And after a mile of walking we really didn’t have much to show for our efforts.  Only half a dozen very common types, but at least they were in nice condition.  Then came a marshy area.  Some poles had been cut down and were left lying in the water.  Complete with cross arms and insulators.  Unfortunately they were out of reach.  If we could only reach out to that grassy clump we could get a number of insulators.  Hmm.  Dad found part of an old pole.  We stood it up and dropped in towards the grassy clump. Whump!  Splash!  We did it.  Amazing.  Go out and get them, said dad.  Why me, I asked?  Because you’re smaller and I will sit on the pole so it won’t move, replied dad.  Pole is solid, I said, and you have better balance, and also it was your idea to go insulatoring today.  Fine, said dad.  And off he went.  Made it easily.  He started taking off the insulators.  I sat on the pole watching.  Good and solid, as I tried to rock it.  Then it moved.  Just slightly.  Got dad in the back of the legs.  And he sat down.  On the other side of the pole.  With a noticeably loud schlump!  He was waving his arms.  I can’t get up, he called.  Why not, I asked?  Don’t ask questions, just come and help me, he yelled.  So I found a stick and walked over to where dad was sitting.  Wow, you’re in deep, I said.  Haha, said dad.  I tried poking my stick under him.  What are you trying to do, asked dad?  Pry you out, said I.  BONEHEAD!  Odd that he would be enjoying this.  That’s gooey mud, I said, I think you are sinking deeper.  Very funny, said dad.  Maybe if I lift your legs, I said.  Which I started to do.  AAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!  Don’t lay down, I said, that’s water behind you.  Put my legs down, he said.  Here, I’ll roll you over.  Nooo!!!  Dad’s arm went underwater that time.  Now you’re getting wet, I said.  BONEHEAD, said dad. Double odd.  AAAAAAA!!  What’s that, asked dad?  I put the stick under you when I rolled you over.  It actually worked.  Sort of.  Dad managed to pull himself out.  Wow, look at the size of that hole you made, I said.  Haha, said dad.  Since you’re here, help get the rest of these insulators, said dad.  Nothing much exciting here, I said.  Get that one, said dad.  Can’t reach, said I.  Move closer, said dad, it’s solid.  I did.  It wasn’t.  My feet disappeared.  AAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!  Wet feet, I said.  Oh, said dad.  I think he did that deliberately.  Finally we were both back on solid ground again.  Must be time for COFFEE, said dad.  Great idea, said I.  The gulls were squawking overhead.  Just like they are now.  I really enjoy that sound.  A real sound of summer.  Muffin is enjoying here patch of sunshine by the window.  Sun and a nice breeze too.  Nice.  If the weather is nice, get out and enjoy the outdoors.  Summer is nearly over.  For us anyway.  At any rate, I hope you enjoy the remainder of your week, God bless!

Steve. And Muffin.

Notice the new addition to my cottage sign! Wheehee!

Summer momma

Muffin waiting for chipmunk.

Notice the new addition to my sign!  Wheehee!  And Momma came by again. And then there is Muffin!

Greetings all on this absolutely beautiful, sunny, warm, sunny, with just a light breeze, sunny, and overall very nice day.  And it’s sunny too.  A nice summer day.  Especially after a couple days of cool, rainy weather.  And it rained.  A lot.  Just over 4 inches.  We have had a lot of rain this summer.  More than usual.  Does keep everything nice and lush and green however.  Which is nice.  Speaking of computers.  Mine is not being nice.  Again.  It keeps changing things.  While I am in the middle of doing something.  Or it makes things totally disappear.  Then brings it back.  Mixed up.  Sigh.  It can only happen to me.  That fellow Murphy was certainly a smart person.  Like those laws of his.  Or whatever they are.  Certainly fits me anyway.  Doesn’t matter what it is, if I am doing something, there will be problems.  Always happens.  And at the worst times too.  Like when I am in a hurry. Speaking of being in a hurry.  I was late getting my supper.  And I was sore and tired.  Bad combination for me.  Picked up the pot of corn too quickly and the water splashed out.  All over the stove.  And the counter.  And on my hand.  And down my leg.  On pants I had just put on.  And on my socks.  Which, amazingly, I had only changed twice that day.  And since it splashed on me, it was of course, quite hot.  So I ended up jumping around and dropping the pot, which just missed my foot, which then spread the contents all over the floor, which I then stepped on and went sliding, but amazingly didn’t fall, and Muffin came to see if there was anything good to eat, but quickly realized there wasn’t and since I was still jumping around she decided to leave and so my supper was a little later again and without my veggies and by the time the cleanup was finished my supper was not exactly hot anymore, and, and…sigh.  But things happen to me all the time.  The other day I was taking apart an old desk.  And the top fell on my head.  Which made me lay down on the floor.  And don’t ask how the top fell on my head.  But it did.  And it left a rather large lump.  Which is smaller now, but still sore, and when I got my haircut this morning I had to tell the barber to be careful and he thought the lump was quite large but really it is much smaller than it was even though it still hurts and, and…sigh.  Things happen to me.  I inherited this from my dad.  He was very accident prone, as you all know, well, many of you know, except for my new readers, but you will soon find out too, and so things just happen.  All the time.  Speaking of phones.  The other day I wanted to check on something about my phone.  So I call their phone.  But, of course, no people answer, just a machine, telling me to press the number for what I wanted.  Except there was no number for what I wanted.  So I pressed the number that I thought was close.  I have done similar things before.  So I should know better.  Anyway, all I get is more choices.  I press a number again.  And I get more choices.  I press a number again.  And I get more choices.  This is now getting annoying.  But this time there is a number for an actual person.  Great!  A lady answers.  I’m sorry, she says, this is the wrong department for that.  So she tells me to go back to the main menu and start over. At which point I hung up.  I was not about to go through that again.  Maybe another day.  Sigh.  What I find amazing is, other people don’t seem to have these problems.  Only me.  How is that possible?  The other day was kind of windy.  So as I went out the door a gust of wind caught the door, which I was holding onto, and blew it wide open.  That made me lose my balance, which happens to me a lot, but I did not fall, nonetheless I did manage to step into the ‘critter pool’.  So I ended up with a wet foot, a wet sock, and a wet shoe.  So I had to go back in and change.  I do not like wet feet, as you know.  Or at least some of you know.  Except for my new readers.  Sigh.  What is a ‘critter pool’ you ask?  Normally it would be called a bird bath.  Except mine is used mostly by squirrels and chipmunks.  Which is why the different name.  Let’s face facts, I’m different.  Or, as some would say, strange.  Not quite sure why.  Sigh.  Muffin is enjoying some time in the sun.  And Chuck (the crow) just came and took the peanuts I had put out for the chipmunks.  Oh well.  Haven’t seen Sir George today.  He has been coming very regularly lately, twice a day.  Seems to prefer just having some bread, one slice per trip.  He’s one big bird.  For those who don’t know, he is a herring gull, a very large bird that does not normally come to a small bird feeder.  He is getting braver, but I still haven’t been able to get a picture of him.  Sure wish I had taken pictures of all the gulls at my last place.  I miss my gulls.  They were mostly ring-billed gulls.  And they were very brave.  There was a pair of herring gulls over there too.  Sigh.  Hmm, I was going to talk about something else today.  But this is already too long.  Sigh.  Hope you all enjoy your weekend, God bless!

Steve.  And Muffin.