Cunard Cruisers - How are things where you are ?

[navybankerteacher]

1 hour ago, LewiLewi said:

I’m from one of those sunbelt states, Florid “uh” and things are not improving down here. People are still not complying with sensible rules and are still dining indoors at restaurants, going to gyms, salons, visiting friends in their homes, etc. I seem to be one of the few who wears a mask when walking on walking paths outside our home. I don’t know why people down here are so stupid...

A friend of mine wrote a supplemental (meaning not to be graded as course work, rather as an exercise in inquiry) paper for his philosophy of science course.  He posited that, at the time of the “Big Bang”, when all matter in our known universe came into being — that along with “matter”, as generally understood, there was also a finite amount of intelligence created.  The unavoidable conclusion, of course, was that as the population of humans grew, the average amount of intelligence possessed by each necessarily had to decline.   He included in a footnote that good taste had to be similarly diluted.

[alc13]

19 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

A friend of mine wrote a supplemental (meaning not to be graded as course work, rather as an exercise in inquiry) paper for his philosophy of science course.  He posited that, at the time of the “Big Bang”, when all matter in our known universe came into being — that along with “matter”, as generally understood, there was also a finite amount of intelligence created.  The unavoidable conclusion, of course, was that as the population of humans grew, the average amount of intelligence possessed by each necessarily had to decline.   He included in a footnote that good taste had to be similarly diluted.

The trouble is that intelligence is in conflict with partisanship.  It is distinctly unintelligent to not wear a mask, but loyalty to your "side" is stronger.

 

Covid infections begin in the nasal cavity.  So even pulling the mask below the nose - wearing it at half-mask - puts one at risk.

 

Where are all the public service ads in support of masks?  On the positive side, I saw more masks at out local hardware store yesterday.  Maybe the message is getting through. 

 

We are in Day 1-zillion of a prolonged hot spell here in Maine.  Everyday the forecast extends it farther into the future.  The garden is thriving, however, and we haven't seen the groundhogs lately, perhaps because of a fox that's taken up residence.  Some deer razed a small bed of hostas one night, so I've applied more  repellent everywhere ...  We also had a problem with beavers damming a culvert that runs under our driveway, but a local trapper volunteered to take care of them and I think he's done the trick.  Last wildlife story - a porcupine and its offspring waddled across the lawn the other day.  The young one was romping in a clumsy, porcupine-y way.

 

Wishing everyone well.

[alc13]

Today's Spelling Bee puzzle from the New York Times -  make a word of any length using all 7 of these letters:  KLONBIT

 

You can use letters more than once.  I'm stumped.

[bluemarble]

52 minutes ago, alc13 said:

Today's Spelling Bee puzzle from the New York Times -  make a word of any length using all 7 of these letters:  KLONBIT

 

You can use letters more than once.  I'm stumped.

 

How about INKBLOT?

[alc13]

4 minutes ago, bluemarble said:

 

How about INKBLOT?

Excellent, Bluemarble!  Thank you!

[naturelovergirl]

Hello all from Central Florida.

In our little bubble of our household we continue to be socially distant and careful.
 

We are very grateful to the businesses and counties who have amped up their mask rules in the wake of our state’s rising numbers.

We have also been glad to see fairly good adherence by people in our immediate area.... but we are acutely aware that it is not happening everywhere. We also know that there are some major issues in our beautiful but flawed state.

We continue enjoying being outside and distant at our wonderful state parks. There are absolutely amazing natural things here where people can enjoy the outdoors AND be safe... I know that we have tried to capitalize on natural solitude during this crazy time. I think that my husband and I are fortunate that even in normal times are “off the beaten track” types of people. We are always looking for peaceful nature and unique experiences. I think that has helped us in all of this- we already know how to seek it out.
(The picture below is from our recent hike on the historic “Catwalk” at Highlands Hammock State Park)

 

I look so forward to the time where we can all have our normal lives again... where we can plan travel and time with our loved ones. 

[navybankerteacher]

10 hours ago, alc13 said:

Today's Spelling Bee puzzle from the New York Times -  make a word of any length using all 7 of these letters:  KLONBIT

 

You can use letters more than once.  I'm stumped.

That is a good addition - my new favorite daily NYT challenge is the “Two Not Touch” next to the crossword -a sort of spatial relations/logic exercise good for filling a leisurely morning.

[navybankerteacher]

Entering the third day of the season’s second heat wave.  Fortunately the are shade trees at our local beach and generally a good breeze off the water (75F) which makes it possible to not have to spend the whole day cowering in A/C.

 

For some reason the foxes who usually raise their young in our area are absent this year - with the result of our being over-run with rabbits and chipmunks.  Also the strings of turkey chicks which usually get culled down to two or three by late July are still close to ten or so each — they will be fighting for the mast come fall.

[Camgirl]

I have a massive success to report. We have at last harvested two strawberries!!! They are sitting on a teaspoon! I don't think they will be winning any prizes for size! It looks as though we might even get another two.

[Camgirl]

There have been a couple of mentions of foxes. I took this in our garden last week.

[alc13]

9 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

That is a good addition - my new favorite daily NYT challenge is the “Two Not Touch” next to the crossword -a sort of spatial relations/logic exercise good for filling a leisurely morning.

Thanks for mention of a new puzzle.  In the print edition of the Times maybe? - I read online these days.  Sadly they've dropped the daily Kenken so I'm eagerfor an alternative.

[alc13]

2 hours ago, Camgirl said:

There have been a couple of mentions of foxes. I took this in our garden last week.

 

9 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

For some reason the foxes who usually raise their young in our area are absent this year - with the result of our being over-run with rabbits and chipmunks.  Also the strings of turkey chicks which usually get culled down to two or three by late July are still close to ten or so each — they will be fighting for the mast come fall.

That is a very handsome fox, Camgirl! 

 

NBT, we are also overrun with chipmunks and squirrels this year, apparently the result of an abundance of acorns last fall.

 

Here is our critter - maybe not such a good hunter; he is very skinny.

 

 

[navybankerteacher]

38 minutes ago, alc13 said:

Thanks for mention of a new puzzle.  In the print edition of the Times maybe? - I read online these days.  Sadly they've dropped the daily Kenken so I'm eagerfor an alternative.

I had been thinking of dropping physical delivery — but the puzzles (what I see as fairly effective dementia immunization) are important to us.  Whichever gets up to start the coffee brings in the paper and, while the coffee is brewing, makes copies of the crossword, Ken Ken and, now, the “Two Not Touch” so we each have a set.

[Camgirl]

Alc13, I think this a new young fox. The one we used to get in the garden was a much more scraggly looking thing, more like yours, and looked much older. That one seems to have disappeared now and we have this handsome new fox on the block.

 

Navybankerteacher, it sounds like you have an ideal arrangement there. Very efficient!

Edited July 28, 2020 by Camgirl

[Kynance]

@Camgirl - by a massive coincidence I took this photo of our strawberries today! I think we started before you so were fortunate to have 4 (just devoured - very sweet & juicy 😊). Yours have a lovely colour and gloss to them. 
 

I’ve been giving ours tomato food for the past few weeks rather than generic plant food so I wonder if that has made the difference - we are starting to get larger, juicer looking fruits rather than the horrid, dried up little things which first emerged.  
 

Keeping my fingers crossed we both enjoy more fruits from our labours. 😃🍓

 

 

[Bigmike911]

Glad to see folks with success with their strawberries. I gave up planting fruits and vegetables a couple years ago the tree rats (squirrels) would grab a tomato or a strawberry partially ripe, pull it off the plant, take a bit and toss it away. 

 

I focus on Citrus and have a bumper crop of New Improved Meyer lemons (right now one tree has nearly 300 lemons on it). Valencia oranges, Morro Blood oranges and Bearss or Persian Limes. I usually put up 16 to 20 half pints of marmalade in December, but this year, I will have to do more than that. 

 

Friends, family and neighbors seem to be happy to receive them as Christmas Gifts. I have the capacity for 8 half pints per day, so it will be a week long event this year. We had the outer rain bans of Hurricane Hanna last week, but did not even get an inch of rain. I hope all are well. 

[Etta1213]

On 7/27/2020 at 5:28 PM, naturelovergirl said:

 

(The picture below is from our recent hike on the historic “Catwalk” at Highlands Hammock State Park

 

My grandchild would love this. I would love railing on each side! Do you see alligators there?

[naturelovergirl]

8 hours ago, Etta1213 said:

My grandchild would love this. I would love railing on each side! Do you see alligators there?

The boardwalk that leads up to the historic catwalk still goes over the swamp and has rails on each side. So people have the option see it and not hike on it- just turn around at the end of the larger boardwalk.

We did opt to continue on the small historic catwalk... very fun.

 

We know the alligators reside there at Highlands Hammock State Park (in Sebring, FL)... but we did not see any that  day we hiked the catwalk.
 

I would imagine if he went there in January or February we would see more (we have found that we “see” more when the weather is more temperate in the winter months- especially apparent when driving “Alligator Alley” across South FL... in winter you see more)

We do see alligators all year, though. Most are small-ish.

 

From a tourist perspective, we took an airboat ride once in the Florida Everglades and we saw so many... by far the most we have ever seen.
We have also seen many on the banks of the river when we took out a boat on the St Johns River.

[Host Hattie]

We're back from our trip to celebrate Mr HH's birthday, the weather was very kind. We stopped off to see MIL in her caravan and had lunch outside the local pub. No masks being worn by staff delivering food to tables, it made me a bit twitchy but at least we were outside ! We stopped for ice cream and to watch the surfers at Newgale and then went to our hotel. Room service worked well for drinks, dinner and breakfast and we had a great terrace overlooking St Brides Bay. All the staff wore masks and left the trays on a stand outside the room so we didn't get into each other's space, it felt very safe.

[frankp01]

Beautiful photos. That was quite a hotel stay and a nice birthday celebration. I do prefer our sandy beaches to pebbles, however!

[Camgirl]

Wow! That sounds like it was a really good trip. Glad it all went well, particularly at the hotel. That is such a beautiful area to visit.

[alc13]

Looks wonderful.  Happy birthday finally, Mr HH.

[Etta1213]

20 hours ago, naturelovergirl said:

The boardwalk that leads up to the historic catwalk still goes over the swamp and has rails on each side. 

 

We know the alligators reside there at Highlands Hammock State Park (in Sebring, FL)... but we did not see any that  day we hiked the catwalk

Thank you so much for all the info. I can't help wondering why we don't just have open season on alligator hunting. The incident at Disney horrified me so much that I can't find it in my heart or mind to believe we really need them. Any critter that attacks people is, to me, not needed. Same ref rattlesnakes here in Texas. 

[navybankerteacher]

16 hours ago, Etta1213 said:

Thank you so much for all the info. I can't help wondering why we don't just have open season on alligator hunting. The incident at Disney horrified me so much that I can't find it in my heart or mind to believe we really need them. Any critter that attacks people is, to me, not needed. Same ref rattlesnakes here in Texas. 

Of course alligators are likely to do what alligators tend to do.  How do you feel about people who refuse to socially distance or wear masks these days?

[alc13]

Navybankerteacher, you make a good point.  Critters do what they are meant to do, whether by evolution or divine intent.  Mr ALC and I are fortunate to live in a happy equilibrium with the wildlife near our house, and they give us much pleasure when we see them doing their daily whatevers.