Wednesday, July 1, 2015

A Rainy Start For July

July 1, 2015

Good morning.  Goodness, it is already July!  Most cities and towns across the country are getting ready for their July 4th parades and fireworks displays.  Many folks buy their own fireworks, and have their own private celebrations in their yards.  Please don't do this, as it is very dangerous, and most likely illegal.  Also, you want to be considerate of any war veterans living nearby.  These fireworks could be quite devastating to them.  Pease be considerate.  And safe.  Here's the July page from my calendar.


Well, I don't have to turn on the Weather Channel to see what the weather will be like today.  It's been soggy and gray all morning.  The rain isn't too heavy though, just steady.  It doesn't scare off all the little birds from their feeder.  These little birds are hungry. 

We've been inundated with a whole flock of black birds lately, and they eat all the food that we put out for the other birds.  I don't mind them eating too, but it would be nice if they would share.  It only takes this flock a few minutes to gobble up a whole day's supply of food for all the other little birds.  I won't miss them when they move on to greener pastures.

The squirrels are rather piggy too.  They sit at their feeder until every morsel has been devoured.  At this rate, I'll need to start my own peanut farm.  haha.   I have corn for them as soon as Joe finishes lacquering the other squirrel feeder.   Then we'll go looking for a good place to hang it. 

Today I have photos of a couple of the weird looking mushrooms that grow in my yard beneath the pine trees.  There are quite a few different looking ones, in many colors and shapes.   These two are huge, at least seven inches across the top.



In our local newspaper, there is a column titled "Your Opinion".   Yesterday's opinion was about Hillary Clinton's "good ideas" for voter equality.  This person said that "No, we don't more people voting.  We need more informed, involved and engaged people voting."

His idea is to "stick a short, multiple-choice civics quiz at the top of every ballot.  Let everybody vote, but only count the ballots from the ones who get more questions right than wrong."   YEAH!!!  I think this is a fabulous idea. 

At one of the more recent November elections, I took my ballot and went into a cubby to vote.  However, it was very uncomfortable because there was a party going on in the booth next to me.  There were four or five people squeezed into the booth, all talking and laughing.  When I made a comment about this on my way out, I was informed that one of the many new voting changes was to let some folks take help into the booth with them so that they would understand who and what they were voting for.  I'm sorry.  If you don't know what you are voting for, or what the issues are, stay out of the voting booth.

I also think you should be able to read English and write your own name when you register.  Imagine how many X's were registered to vote.  Was each of them a registerd resident of that city or town?  Were they legal?  And how about all these early voters and the absentee ballots?  Are any of these ever checked for legitimacy?  I don't believe they are. 

I know for a fact that in my town, there is a person who has registered as living at my house - AND THEY DO NOT!!! - and the town lets him vote with an absentee ballot.  I brought this to the clerk's attention, and was told that the only way changes could be made would be if the person involved notified the town of an address change.  I'd like to know what address the town sends this person's absentee ballot to.  Definitely not mine!  Hmmmm.

So tell me, where's the incentive for legal honest citizens to get out and vote?   I've always felt that it is a privilege to be able to vote, but now it is so corrupt that it is difficult sometimes to keep feeling this way.   Whatever happened to being able to vote for the best person for the job?  Now we get to vote for whichever person has the most money and is able to coral the most people to vote for him/her. 

Oh dear, I need to get off this wicked tangent.  I have a lot to say about it, but I'll save it for another day.  Instead, I'm going to watch the shopping channel (HSN).  They have an "all day" craft special, and some of the products are quite interesting.  No, I'm not buying anything, but I do love all the different ideas that they present.

On that note, I'll take my leave.  So till tomorrow, Y'all have a magnificent day.

Hugs, Edna B.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Edna,

Wow what an interesting post today. I don't know what to say about the voting as it all seems rigged to me. I have not kept up with any of the politics lately except to say that I hope Donald Trump gets the boot early. I have no use for that man. I don't think that he can keep his temper under control long enough to make rational decisions.

Those are really some odd looking mushrooms! I haven't seen many here this year. The squirrels are really in abundance here too. It was sad yesterday when I spotted a dead squirrel out by my patio. I called Nathan to go and have a look but he said it wasn't a squirrel but he didn't actually go and look either. Yesterday evening I saw one of the feral cats taking it away.
Mommy raccoon and her two babies are having way too much fun playing in the tree outside my patio. I wish that I could get some good pictures of them but it is too dark and the ones that I have taken did not come out well. Too dark. I tried to lighten them up but it didn't work.

Oh Edna I laughed so hard at the Restaurant Dog video that you sent to me. I had to share it and show everyone who would come by. That was just too funny! The things that people and animals can do just amaze me. I seen a video with a cat sitting on a counter and there was a glass there. He would inch the glass over to the edge of the counter and his owner would tell him no and he would inch it back to where it was and the second the owners back was turned he would knock it off the counter. It was so funny. I will see if I can find it but it was a while ago that I seen it.

Edna, I went last year to visit my son in Brain Tree Ma. How far are you from there? I really want to come back and go to Salem. Matthew said that he may be going to Toronto Canada in the next few weeks and wants me to fly in there and spend a couple of weeks. It would be great if I could route a stop in Boston. Not sure yet. I never know where my son is. Right now he is in Chicago and he hates it there. He said he saw a rat the size of Cisco coming out of a trash bin. LOL.

I updated my blog a little while ago and made a page with some of those beautiful items that you sent to me. I hope you like it. Talk to you later. Cisco needs to go out and I still haven't done that yet Poor guy.... gotta go... Hugs, Beth and Cisco!

The Queen Jester said...

I've noticed several posts on Facebook about being considerate of War Veterans during the Fourth of July with all the fireworks that go on. I for one could do without all the noise and flashbang mania that goes with this holiday. It's not just war veterans, it's anyone with PTSD that suffers from this.

Very interesting mushrooms - I don't know why they fascinate me so, but they do. Can't say I'm overly fond of eating them, but I sure like to look at them.

You have a good day and a safe fourth.

smiekeltje said...

You're right that lots about voting and getting the most of votes from the public more and more depends on how much money the candidate can spend.
In our country it is a bit different, because we have quite some different parties but here too more and more has to do with money and not if the people who finally come into government are doing the right things for the country and the inhabitants.
All have of course splendid programs and ideas, but what actually is done with those once they are in the chair of prime minister and ministers??
Oh, gosh, it's much too hot now to think about those things now(although it's very important, I know), we have a heat wave here at the moment, temps getting to 95 F, which is really extra-ordinairy fro our country! And it will stay there for another two days, they say, then it will go down again, to may be 77 F, (and that is a nice temperature).
so we will not try to move too much today, hahahaa, and we'll have a cold dinner today. Have some left over chicken I've made in the oven yesterday, so I have found a nice recipee with that and if you want here's the link:
http://www.kayotic.nl/blog/curried-chicken-salad

Have a lovely day
Hugs
Kyra

Mat's Merry Memoirs said...

Oh I do agree with your rant on the voting procedures...we desperately need some updated rules and regulations, but as long as Hollywood keeps putting "creatures" in the White House, you can forget anything being "properly" or "reasonably" done.
Glad you are getting your weather now and hopefully will be clear and beautiful for the 4th. I hope some are considerate with the fireworks around here too (because of the poor animals)!
I had some weird mushrooms too, but my yard guys were here yesterday afternoon late and they are gone now...LOL! They grow in bunches together! Will try photographing them next time.
Hope you and Pogo have a great 4th weekend and make lots of memories to share! Catch ya later, going to fix all some breakfast and I know my birds are waiting for their bread (and seeds and suet...) so are the squirrels! Da outside kitties were fed at 5 a.m.! Hugs, Mat