The Most Interesting Pictures by meeyauw

The most interesting pictures by meeyauw

To see yours, go to The Most Interesting Pictures By . . . and put in your flickr user name.

Thank you to HarryCalgary for the link.

Technorati tags: meeyauw photographs Flickr most+interesting HarryCalgary

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Why Can't I Own a Canadian?

Why Can't I Own a Canadian?

I'm going to Bible Study tonight like I do every Wednesday. I am always a bit tense and curious to know if the local homophobe and scripture quoter will be there. He can disrupt the wonderful communion that I find with the others that come to study by justifying all sorts of exclusionary behavior and by out-scripture-versing anybody. His favorite guiding principal is "love the sinner and hate the sin."

You can never win with people like him because the Bible is so full of disparate verses. I've spent a lot of time reading and practicing my replies to people like him. I will never be able to, and never want to be able to, out-scripture-verse him. But I want to be able to reply to him in some fashion.

I keep wondering if my efforts are fruitless anyhow. I doubt that anybody can change the mind of a homophobic fundamentalist conservative who thinks you will go to hell if you don't think right thoughts. But perhaps an accumulation of gentle ideas and suggestions will work.

A fundamentalist conservative god is a dark, angry, vengeful guy, not my nurturing feminine spirit whose only motivation for action is love. I'm pretty sure She has had enough of our hate-peddling here on Earth.

Technorati tags: Bible faith homophobia scripture+verses God

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Cats Tuesday: Alley Cats: Urban Tales

I hope you enjoy this beautiful book. It will open in a new window. To return here, close the window. Urban Tails: Inside the Hidden World of Alley Cats can be purchased in hardcover.

Happy Cats Tuesday!

Technorati tags: Cats+Tuesday meme cats books

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Baldfaced Hornets

We have been watching this hornet nest grow and shrink and grow again all this summer. The hornets were re-building this morning so I put this together to illustrate the nest and the hornet. The barn has many old and new nests. An interesting fact: these hornets are black and white versions of yellow jackets. They are also called whitefaced hornets. For more information about baldfaced hornets go to bugguide.net.

Technorati tags: Baldfaced+Hornet Dolichovespula+maculata hornet+nest

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Paving Rt. 16

We haven't had this much noise or excitement around here in years. Barton decided to pave a couple of miles of Rt 16 every year. This was the year they did the squiggly section that begins at my eastern boundary. The whole stretch in front of my house was their staging area. They were very polite and as quiet as could be. It only took two days, Friday and Saturday. Wingnut took the photos.

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Irasburg Church Fair

Irasburg Green, Saturday, July 21, 2007
Click on any photos you wish to see. They will open a new window.

Wingnut manually dunks the fireman (legal!).

Woodcarving contest

Mickie's alpacas

Wingnut swings on a tree.

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My Harry Potter Saturday

Wingnut with his new HP7 in front of the Galaxy Bookshop, Hardwick

I did the Harry Potter thing and to tell the truth I am glad I did. At last I was a part of our American popular culture. Our Vermont experience of American culture is a bit different, though.

I took Wingnut to Hardwick for his book at 5 AM on Saturday morning. The Galaxy Bookshop was going to open at 6 AM. They had an ample supply of books to sell so I did not need to reserve a copy. The national "will-I-get-a-copy anxiety" does not exist here.

Wingnut was excited the day before. But not at 4:30 in the morning. He had spent most of the night reading his Lemony Snicket book so he had maybe four hours of sleep. He stumbled about while I hopped about (I had been up since 2 AM, which was accidental because I had read the clock and thought it said 3 AM).

Just as we left the driveway my doe crossed the road. We took about five minutes waiting for her to stare at us, cross the road, and then sit in the tall grass and watch us. Even I was too zonked from only 3 hours of sleep to grab the camera.

Wingnut with his new HP7 in front of the Galaxy Bookshop, Hardwick

We were at the bookstore at 5:50 AM (25 miles). We were the only people on the street. Wingnut were concerned that we had the time or place wrong (OK, we did have one short moment of will-I-get-a-copy anxiety). I saw people inside the store which reassured them. The Lamoille River runs through Hardwick and is directly behind the bookshop. I went to look at the river but Wingnut needed to keep an eye on the door of the shop.

At 6 AM sharp they let the hoards of young readers in the store (Wingnut). Immediately one other young man from the neighborhood showed up. I was fascinated to see that the clerks at the store had already read three-quarters of the book over night. I paid. Another neighborhood resident showed up on his bike. I left to take photos.

More traffic: a young mother with her daughter, a couple from Massachusetts looking a bit frayed at the early hour, and second young mother. The Mass couple got two copies. Wingnut came out for photos, and we went to the Village Restaurant for breakfast. One of the young mothers was there with her brood. Her boy and Wingnut read HP7 while we ate. We were home by 8:30 AM. Just in time for me to nap until noon.

A very pleasant excursion was had by all.

Hardwick at 6 AM on a Saturday morning.

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Schmooze Award

Dorothy of Scrungy's Creator awarded me this award and I am touched. I find it extremely difficult to make friends (yet I blog; go figure) so the ones I have on blogs are special. There are friends for every part of my life: professional, girlfriends, photography, animals, and my faith. That Dorothy finds me worthy of this is very important to me because she is so special.

Here's what the Power of Schmooze Award is all about:
"As it goes, schmoozing is the natural ability “to converse casually, especially in order to gain an advantage or make a social connection.” Good schmoozers effortlessly weave their way in and out of the blogosphere, leaving friendly trails and smiles, happily making new friends along the way. They don’t limit their visits to only the rich and successful, but spend some time to say hello to new blogs as well. They are the ones who engage others in meaningful conversations, refusing to let it end at a mere hello - all the while fostering a sense of closeness and friendship."

I am passing this award on to these special bloggers:

Somerset Bob for his technical help, sense of humor, fascinating stories and his music.
Robyn for her wonderful stories that have so many elements in common with my life, her support, her sense of humor and her comraderie.
Mom Unplugged because she gives me wonderful ideas for lessons and for the time with my grandson. She energizes and motivates me.
Vegan Momma for her blogging support and encouragement and because she has great posts that have been a direct help to me.
Gretchen Rubin at The Happiness Project. Gretchen doesn't even know me but her site is very important me. Life is often sad and Gretchen's site is a boost-up every day with practical advice and wisdom that lifts some of the impossible mostly self-imposed expectations from me. Thank you, Gretchen.

Many other bloggers that I could have passed this award to have already won it.

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Wild Chervil (Anthriscus sylvestris)

My original untouched photo

On June 24 I posted a photograph which I tentatively identified as Wild Chervil. I used the book Wildflowers of Vermont, 2nd edition by Kate Carter (2001) and National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Eastern Region (Eastern). I finally settled on my wild chervil identification because of the Carter book which seems to have had an error (see the last photo below).

On July 14 TrinkaVermont left a comment that this was not wild chervil but yarrow. After spending the afternoon reading about these two plants and using a link she supplied, I must agree. I have documented some of the material used for my decision and posted it below.

Uploaded with Skitch!

Yarrow is a wildflower frequently planted in flower gardens. Wild Chervil has two plants by the same common name but two different Latin names. The one we are concerned with in Vermont is Anthriscus sylvestris and it is a dangerous noxious invasive pest. There are statewide programs to eradicate the state of it. We must learn how to identify it. Once identified it must be eradicated properly or we can inadvertently help it spread.

Uploaded with Skitch!

Uploaded with Skitch!

I found two excellent sources of identification and eradication information:

UVM: Invasive Plant Information for Vermont: Identifying Wild Chervil
The Herald of Randolph, VT: Wild Chervil Information Center

Finally, I cannot find TrinkaVermont to thank her for her identification. I have used Google Blog Search, Google search and a Flickr search. If any of you know her, please pass on my thanks.

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A Fledgling Something

This fledgling could fly enough to get into the brush, away from the house (and cats). It was larger and heavier than a robin but it had red on its breast. I like the foot in the air while it is walking. Any ideas on what it could be?

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DaisyMae Maus & the Feline Americans: Thursday Thirteen #29: Maya Angelou

DaisyMae Maus & the Feline Americans: Thursday Thirteen #29: Maya Angelou

A wonderful post about Dr. Angelou that you should read.

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First Quarter Moon

Evening sky was bright blue. I used a tripod with 10x zoom. This is my first serious attempt.

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Photo Hunters: Tiny

Wingnut, my 11 year old grandson, took this photo of two Japanese beetles "battling over food." He captured amazing details and color (please click on the photo to see it full size in a new window.)
PhotoHunt

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Kat's Cradle: Our Winter Weather

Kat's Cradle: Our Winter Weather

I quote from a comment I left on this post of my blogging friend Kat's Cradle from Australia:

For those people from the US that don't get it (and that is all of us since there are only two three nations in the world that don't use metric and the US is one of them), I translate:

In a normal winter the average day time temperature is 72°F. The night time temps can get to about 46°F.

and

The lowest night time temps in the city have been around 37°F to 39°F. Where I live is about 19 miles inland and our temps have come down to below 32°F. The day time temps have been around 64°F to 66°F.

My comment: It is the middle of summer here and you are now officially warmer, in the middle of winter, than we have been this summer. Wingnut is freezing at swimming lessons. It has gotten to 70°F (21°C) maybe a couple times in July. I think we'll come to your neck of the woods to get a proper summer this year during winter.

What are your summer temps?
This is fascinating.

Americans need to learn these things in mathematics and science classes so that they can understand their fellow citizens in the world. My college students don't know these conversions even though we are on the border with metric Canada. I don't know these conversions! The mathematics of measurement is part of our cultural literacy. We're failing.

Here is a conversion tool:

• In your Google search field, type, without the quotes, "convert 18 degrees c to f" or "convert 18 degrees f to c"
• Hit enter. Your Google result will be your conversion.
  

Google does these conversions for you. They will convert between metric and American systems and within systems (i.e. "convert 28 ounces to pounds").

If we make ourselves do these conversions enough, we will gain a sense of what 20°C is or what 100 kph is. We need to learn.
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King Arthur Flour Part 2

As promised: King Arthur Flour, Norwich, Vermont. This is the sign at the small entrance to the company on Rt. 5. The bakery and store have everything that is in the online catalogue, but it's baked and bigger.

The bakery and store building.

I visited on April 7, 2007. That is why there is still snow.

The castle-like entrance to the store.

The entryway to the store and bakery.

You can never have enough money when you go to this store. I had lunch there. The sandwiches are ridiculously huge and extremely good. Half a sandwich for lunch and half for supper!

You can subscribe to a free newsletter from King Arthur. There is a subsciption field under the banner of the home page of the King Arthur site. This newsletter is where I get most of my recipes for my meeyauw's recipe blog. There is a recipe featured every week. This week the recipe is Puff Sandwiches.

There is also a print newsletter, The Baking Sheet, that you can subscribe to for $19.95 a year.

When you leave the store, you see this Baking Education building across the parking lot.

This is the door to the baking classroom. I was going to take a soup and sandwich class but it was cancelled. I absolutely will enroll for another class. There are children's classes in the summer and during other school vacations, and classes for professional bakers and cooks. Click here for the schedule. Also available on that page: free online classes and national baking classes.

Make sure you visit the site. If you are able to come to Vermont, visit the store and take a class. I have made a map for you so that you can easily find it on Google Maps.

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OMG! All Online Data Lost After Internet Crash!!!

How many web apps do you use?

• gmail
• Google Reader
• Google Calendar
• blogs
• Flickr
• MapMyRide
  
• Zooomr
• Twitter
• Pownce
• YouTube
• bugguide.net
• tumblr
• del.icio.us
• digg
• librarything
• OK Cupid!
• 43 Places
• 43 Things
• MyChores
• Vermont251
• Technorati
  

What are the ones I have forgotten?
(This Wallingford, CT dude was obviously using a Mac!)
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Not A Blog™ : LOLcat Bible

Not A Blog™ : LOLcat Bible

The article is windy; the comments are hilarious; the photo is outstanding.

Which verse is your favorite? (I am still deciding!)
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NPA.RMLABS.NET - Phone Number Geolocator

NPA.RMLABS.NET - Phone Number Geolocator

A neat reference tool to geolocate phone numbers. It doesn't seem to be available as a widget yet. Would anybody want a widget like this? I'm in my GPS-obsessive phase right now; I think I would use it.

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King Arthur Flour Customer Service

This week's e-mail correspondence with King Arthur in Norwich, Vermont:

From: meeyauw
Sent: Tuesday, July 17, 2007 10:23 AM
To: Customer Service Desk
Subject: Item 4154

RE: Expandable Bread Keeper with Slicing Guide Item # 4154 $14.95

I have one of these and I love it. But I lost the little white piece that you slide in front of the bread in the slicing guide. I no longer have the box, either, so I don't know who manufactured it. Can you help me locate this thing?

Thank you!

Their response:

Thanks for your email. I have asked our warehouse to see if they have any extra parts for the bread slicing guide downstairs. Sometimes folks send back an item that is damaged in a different way, but some other parts are still useable, so they keep them around ‘just in case’. If they can locate the piece, they will send it out to you. If you don’t see it in the next 2 weeks or so, drop another email, and we can look into this further.

Sincerely,
MaryJane
Baker's Catalogue, Inc.
King Arthur Flour
1-800-827-6836
customercare@kingarthurflour.com
Winner~Best Place to Work in Vermont 2006

If you click on the screen shot I took with Skitch (I still have four beta invitations left, Mac only, leave a comment if you would like an invitation), you will be taken to the King Arthur Store page in a new window. I love this bread keeper. I make all my own bread (Wingnut makes it in the summer) and this is the only thing that I have found that keeps the bread fresh and mold-free. It is also cat-proof.

Today I received this e-mail:

Dear meeyauw:

Items from your recent order have been shipped. To contact us with any questions or concerns about your order, email us at customercare@kingarthurflour.com or call us at 1-800-827-6836.

Sincerely,
The Employee-Owners of The Baker's Catalogue

No charge.

I notice the company is owned by the employees. They were also voted the Best Place to Work in Vermont in 2006.

Coincidentally, Wingnut and I made a King Arthur box cake tonight. It won't be ready until tomorrow night because it is a bit complex. There are no trans fats in it and no high fructose corn syrup. I got it at the Glover store awhile back and saved it for a special occasion. This week is the special occasion: too many rained out swimming lessons and cabin fever from the rain. The price tag: $12.95!

The price is worth it. I can tell because I snuck a few crumbs. The aroma is intoxicating: it isn't that fake chocolate smell or taste from Duncan Hines.

I will post another article about King Arthur Flour soon. They are one of Vermont's gems.

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Footloose Flicker

A poor photo of a flicker but his foot is up there. They don't walk like this. Was he shaking his foot out? A flock of flickers is living in the old wild apple trees and come to dig up stuff all over the back door yard. I never knew flickers until I moved to Vermont. I even used to think they were grouse because of the way they fly off and the sounds that they make. You can see my good flicker photos on Flickr.
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