February 1st 2025

 Welcome to a new month. And as usual, here is my calendar page for the month.

Hot & Cold

 We parked next to this heating & air conditioning truck. I thought it was so much more artistic than the usual work truck. Plus funny. If we didn't have air conditioning, this would make me really want it.

Photobomb

 I saw this photo online somewhere, and it tickled me so much. A bird photobombing.

Meanwhile, we passed this cute little antique shop. The name attracted me.

But the window says No Loitering! Isn't that just what we do when we shop for antiques?

“A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking, because her trust is not on the branch but on her own wings.”

— Anonymous

Rats!

Did you know that Pouched Rats are trained to detect landmines and other explosive devices? APOPO, a German organization, trains rats, known as HeroRATS to detect explosives. Their lightweight body lets them walk on the mine without it exploding.

 

When they detect a mine, they are given a bite of banana.

The training takes about 9 months. They can even detect tuberculosis! The rats can test many more T.B. test samples than laboratory techniques can—100 in 20 minutes, which would take a lab technician up to four days using. These rats can even detect a person’s tuberculosis BEFORE he gets it!

This is Magawa. He has sniffed out over 100 landmines and explosives. Magawa spent five years making former conflict zones in Cambodia safer for local communities. His exceptional work earned him global recognition, numerous awards, and admiration from millions. The necklace he is wearing is an award medal for his outstanding work.

"A rat is neither good nor evil. It does what a rat has to do."
- Jo Nesbø

Cheesy Roads

 Did you know that cheese is used to treat icy roads in Wisconsin. Green County has been using cheese brine to pre-wet roads before putting down salt treatments for about 20 years.

The brine helps salt stick to the roadway rather than bounce off. And it speeds melting. This means the county uses less salt — and saves thousands of dollars. More than 100,000 gallons of the cheese brine was used to treat roads last year. Here is a photo from the web of one of the brine trucks. The side shoot puts out the cheese brine.

Cheese brine is the leftover salt-saturated liquid used in the cheesemaking process. The best cheese for roads is Mozzarella and provolone.

Sunday Sunset - Straight Lines

 Many different straight lines, too! All in the same evening.

You never know a line is crooked unless you have a straight one to put next to it. 

Socrates

Frosty

 I took these photos of frost on the living room window. There was furniture in front of the window, so I could not get very close. I made some edits, too! It looks like feathers.

It gets cold in the desert at night, particularly up in the mountains; the stars hammer on the rock and strike frost.

Tanith Lee

 

The frost makes a flower, the dew makes a star.

Sylvia Plath

Peanut Butter Day

 

Happy National Peanut Butter Day!! Betcha you didn't even know this IS a day, I sure didn't. One of my favorite ways to eat peanut butter is a fluffernutter sandwich, on bread, a waffle, or crackers.

I have made peanut butter pancakes, but they always turn out so dry! Here are some in my cabinet. My favorite is Jif Honey.

This one is kind of new, and I can't wait to try it. Any peanut buttery thoughts?

A Trip to The Vet

 My photos were taken from the T,V. and the quality is awful, but I just could not resist posting this story. In Turkey, a mother dog carried her sick puppy to the vet!!

The puppy was unconscious by the time Mama dog got it to the vet.

The mother stood right by the exam table, watching everything the vet did to her puppy.

The vet was able to save the puppy, and it is now reunited with it's mom and the rest of the litter!

Happy Moo Year

 Guess who we came across the other day?

The Big cow! He is finally dressed up again. A bit late for the new year, but that's O.K. At least he's making an effort.

For some reason, he has a guitar that says "Elvis". But who knows what goes on in the mind of a cow...

Squirrely

Today is National Squirrel Appreciation Day! Do you have many squirrels around? We do, and they are amusing to watch. Over 200 species exist!

I once met a squirrel eating a tortilla in front of a Mexican Restaurant.

Bob Ross, host of The Joy Of Painting, rescued an orphaned squirrel and would bring it on his show sometimes. Here are some of our squirrels. They always oblige me, and seem to like to pose for my camera.