I love where I live. My apartment building is surrounded by woods so we see wildlife all the time. I took the picture above from my deck.
— Namaste
Category: The World is Amazing
Memorial Day
For many years, I cleaned out my garage on Memorial day to get it clean for the summer and on Labor to clean it for the winter. It was an extra day to get things done in 
a household with four messy, but lovely little kids.
After my two sons served in the military, it was — and still is — a day to be proud of them and their service. Along with a day to 
get things done and be glad it is summer.
But this year, it reminds me that we are at war and have been since 2001 — the Global War on Terror — and the general public doesn’t seem to care. Vietnam was 11 years long.
Seventeen years of war with a military that doesn’t have a draft. How taxing must this be on the families of those servicemen and women to continue? I don’t know what to do about that, but it crosses my mind this year.
Enjoy the day. Fly the flag. And, now I need to go clean my garage.
— Namaste
Things I learned this Week
Fasciitis is spelled with three “i”s and two of them are next to each other. (mind blown)
In 2016, the CDC estimates that 64,000 people died from the opioid overdose. That’s more than the number of people killed in Vietnam and Iraq wars combined. That’s 20 times the number of people killed in 9/11 and is why retired U.S. Navy Admiral James “Sandy” Winnefeld says this epidemic is a national security threat.
Snicker ice cream bars are worth the calories.
—Namaste
Fly Away Hummingbirds
This summer, like all great things, will be coming to an end soon. With the start of school and the cooler nights, everything takes the cue to move to the next stage. My hummingbirds will be leaving soon. I’ve heard the Baltimore Orioles are already out of areas in our region.
According to Wired.com, forty percent of all North American waterfowl, and up to 50% of all migratory bird species use the Mississippi River as a navigational aid. Enough birds follow the Mississippi Flyway that they are picked up by radar on calm evenings.
I use BirdCast to get an idea of what is flying through my area. It helps me decide if I need to make an effort to get outside and what habitat to visit to see the birds I want.
So fly away. Bring on Fall. (…. and no, there will not be an obnoxious pumpkin spiced reference in this post.)
— Namaste
