Hello, Spring -- are you there?

We're getting clobbered by a nor'easter today and into tomorrow. It's cold, rainy and windy and I needed something uplifting. Usually we would have planted our balcony window boxes by now, but this year we'll have to wait.



I took these pictures last May. Our south-facing balcony allows us to plant a little earlier than some others. (Yes, that spikey-looking feature is the Washington Monument.)

Blot 21

Mourning Maureen

For nearly 30 years, Maureen made children laugh and adults cheer. She was a fixture and, indeed a star in the National Zoo.

Recently her keepers became concerned about her lack of appetite and lethargy. A vet was summoned last Wednesday but it was too late.

Most California Sea Lions live maybe 20-25 years, so Maureen was an exception in more ways than her personality and the fact that she lived her life without teeth. She was rescued as a pup from a fishing net that, during her struggles to escape, tore out all of her teeth. Thankfully, she had no problem swallowing fish that were hand-fed to her.

Rest in Peace, Maureen. We will miss you.

April 13th -- Friday!

Fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskavedekatriaphobia a specialized form of triskaidekaphobia, a fear of the number thirteen. The history of it is way too involved to mention here, but it goes back hundreds of years. Just for fun, I looked up events that happened on April 13th. Following are a few: 1633 Galileo was convicted of heresy. 1861 Fort Sumter, SC surrendered to rebel forces starting the American Civil War. 1945 President Franklin D. Roosevelt died. 1961 First man flew into space. 1981 First launching of the space shuttle. 1970 Oxygen tank on Apollo 13 exploded putting the crew in peril and inspired an award-winning movie years later. 1983 Harold Washington was elected first African-American mayor in Chicago's history. 1997 Tiger Woods became the youngest golfer to win the Masters. Some famous births: 1506 Catherine de Medici 1743 Thomas Jefferson - 3rd US president and inventor extraordinaire 1852 F.W. Woolworth 1866 Butch Cassidy 1906 Samuel Beckett - Irish writer and Nobel Prize laureate 1907 Harold Stassen - American President Candidate; lost nine times 1919 Madalyn Murray O'Hair -- American atheist activist 1951 Peabo Bryson - American singer 1963 Gary Kasparov - Russian chess player 1970 Rebecca Cummings - American porn actress (no, never heard of her!) Something to contemplate: 2029 Asteroid (99942) Apophis will come extremely close to Earth with an estimated 1 in 45,000 chance of a collision with our planet. Today is also my birthday and here's why I don't worry about it: I turned 13 on Friday the 13th and I had my 15 minutes of fame when my school principal announced it to the entire student body. I stayed in room #1313 in the Bellevue Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia the week before the Legionnaires held their convention there and unfortunately had a new disease named after them. So. . . . . happy Friday the 13th. But -- don't walk under a ladder or cross the path of a black cat and be sure to hold your breath when you drive by a cemetery. . .

Rutgers Ladies

It made me so sad to read that some of the Rutger's women's basketball players feel that they are scarred for life following a despicable comment made by a radio talking head. If anything, these young ladies should consider themselves classy heroines! So many celebrities have made excuses for "slips of the tongue" lately -- they didn't mean to say what they said. Bull!! Spontaneity can be dangerous for people who don't have pure hearts and thoughts. After all, what's a Freudian slip? It's the unconscious mind speaking out loud. To those who have been so rudely, verbally assaulted by these nitwits, I suggest that they don't take them seriously. They are flawed and don't deserve all the attention they get. Many celebrities consider any notoriety valuable because it keeps them in the public eye. My eye has been poked one time too many to give further thought to such degenerates.

George and Martha

The population of Bald Eagles in our region is growing. This is great news and has caused quit a stir among bridge builders working on a new Wilson Bridge to carry Beltway traffic over the Potomac. The workers who first spotted the mating pair in 1990 nicknamed them George and Martha and cheered their 16 eaglets. Last year a younger female eagle attacked Martha, nearly killing her. She was nicknamed "Camilla", "Angelina" and "Charlotte the Harlot", depending on which construction worker was asked. Martha was treated by a vet and spent weeks recovering in a bird sanctuary in Delaware. When released, she soon made her way back to George. Last September, Martha flew into a power line or tree limb and had to be euthanized. The bridge builders and many in the region were saddened by the news, but Martha's rival soon moved in with George and their courtship began. George may still be mourning his mate or "Angelina" isn't as comfortable being so close to 200,000 vehicles crossing the bridge each day. There are no new eggs -- yet.

This is Spring?

This is what we woke up to this morning. It's still flurrying. . . .*sigh*

As Easter Used To Be

During my childhood Easter was the time of year we girls/women got new hats and often, new dresses to wear to church. It was all quite glam and oh, so feminine.

The one thing I wasn't fond of were the heavy, white, cotton gloves that were required of properly dressed young ladies in church. Of course it was impossible to turn the pages of a hymnal, much less get the quarter out of one's pocket to put in the collection plate -- but wear them, we did!

I think this photo of me at age 4 was the first Easter I had to wear those bulky gloves. I was tickled with my Easter bonnet, but those gloves. . . . . . ..

Remember. . .

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome. -- Anne Bradstreet Some of us are experiencing unusually cold weather this spring but this too shall pass. And just think how welcome those 90 degree days will feel -- yeah, right!!

More Blot Fun

Thought for a Tuesday Morning

My niece found this one and I loved it! "Cheese—milk's leap toward immortality." —Clifton Fadiman (1904-1999)

Thoughts on the War Between the States*

*That's what Southerners still prefer to call the American Civil War. It was fought in several states and many battlefields are located within an hour's drive from DC. Fortifications are still evident all around our region as are some from the American Revolution.

This time of year, the Bull Run Regional Park in Manassas, Virginia blossoms with acres of bluebell flowers. The sight is spectacular and helps camouflage the fact that so much blood was spilled on the soil there. The 1st Manassas Battle of Bull Run was handily won by the Confederates in July of 1861. In August of 1862, the Rebs nearly won again. The Union rearguard saved that day and considerable face for Union officers.

Visiting this park still gives me chills. It's beautiful and families picnic and play ballgames there, but I can't help thinking about all the young soldiers who suffered and died so terribly. Choking smoke from rifles and cannon probably blanketed the area and most of the trees had their branches shot off. Probably no blooming flowers then -- just mud.

Here's how part of the creek looks today. AMEN.

Time for another blot. . .

Click on this one to get the full effect.

Random Act of Kindess

This morning's rush hour was the usual mix of harried drivers intent on getting to wherever they were bound -- in a hurry! Two police cars, with lights flashing and sirens blaring, slowly snaked through the heavy traffic, much to the annoyance of the commuters. One unfortunate woman's car stalled in one of two inbound ramp lanes from a busy bridge that carries traffic over the Potomac from Virginia. Within nanoseconds a back-up ensued. The woman seemed to be scared out of her mind and simply sat in her car while incensed drivers roared around her. Then, a man in a white car [i.e. knight in shining armor on a white stallion] gallantly pulled over and parked in front of her car. He calmed her down then pushed her car onto the shoulder - across the lanes of traffic, no less! Thankfully drivers thought better of running him over and let him complete his mission. I wish I could have told him how gracious was his service to this woman and all the commuters who also benefited from it. He was nicely dressed, drove a nondescript car -- no Lexus, BMW or Acura -- so I suspect he was just another hard-working civil servant. Thank goodness there are people like him who maintain integrity and a strong work ethic regardless of who is in the White House.