So many pictures and no time to post. Some skidmark nicked the hose that was sitting in front of the house but the joke’s on them because it was a one-season P.O.S hose. One less thing for me to have to deal with this winter.

Tiny blue and green dragonfly

Got one. Monarch butterfly nectaring on butterfly milkweed.

The Monarch butterflies have found our yard. I’ll try to grab pics if I can, but my iPotato phone insists on overheating after being outside for more than five minutes. A bit like me in that way.

Quick photo dump. It’s 90F which is nasty but this is Kentucky and it does that in August.

Unpopular take from a developer: all AI is a scam, all of it, and you should not use it for anything ever

Oh dear. That previous post loops the video and I don’t know how to stop it. I also managed to ruin an intimate moment while taking a picture of a flower that looked a bit different than the others. Apologies all ‘round.

And before anyone accuses us of putting on airs, check out the solar-powered rave fountain I dropped in for the frogs. Breaks up the surface during the day to keep the tadpoles safe and lets the lads throw ragers at night.

How it started and how it’s going. It wasn’t possible to reproduce the lighting from pictures taken three years apart - but this is good enough.

Flowers be flowering

We never needed to worry about repopulating the pond. Nature has sorted itself out. We have water striders, beetles, dragonfly nymphs, tadpoles … probably more things that I can’t see. Excellent.

Year two. In spite of a monsoonal spring, the purple coneflower is thriving.

HI ALL TWO PEOPLE READING THIS! Things have been happening. Updates incoming! I hope I don't get whomped for being too posty. The gardens have happened and everything is blooming and the bees are drunk flying and it's all very nice. Except for the bit that isn't, but we'll get to that.

Slept through Thursday night’s tornado warning. No such luck tonight. Alas. It’s been absolutely bucketing.

Rocks, more rocks, and rocks wrapped in plastic (that the wren refuses to stay out of) that I have to check periodically in case he traps himself.

The face of absolute disappointment. I attempted to explain to Monsieur LeQuack and received his numerous, uncensored thoughts on the pond not being completed yet. #birds #mallard #disappointed

Yard project has started back up. Pond troubleshooting, hardscaping, planting of trees and shrubs and other things - busy busy. The estimated conclusion is April. Here’s hoping.

Ice storm. We also picked up a new guest - a mockingbird. It is completely unafraid and makes weird noises at me when it sees me. The flicker does the same. I’ll have to create a disguise so I can lurch about the yard in peace.

The Only Wrens feeder extravaganza to help them survive this cold snap. I put a variety of food choices in it. Always nice to have options.

Sputnik J. Wren will troll back, so don’t worry on his account. The moment he spotted me he started shouting for bugs and peanut treats.

Budget Trauma thanks to a CPU fan issue and a Win10 [enshittification] update. Gaming only rig is unavoidably Win11 - however I will neuter as much nonsense as possible via Regedit. After coffee. The iMac will be for actual work and other things. Not loving the expense but it is what it is.

Trolled the Wren and now it’s three days of energetic recriminations

While the view from up here is nice, I don’t have all day for this. The local farms need to start with Starlicide and follow up with other measures. Unfortunately Starlings are such an incredibly destructive (invasive here) species here that the best thing to do would be to eradicate them.

Initial damage report. The porta potty was unharmed.

Juncos as far as the eye can see.

Closed Captioning got stuck. Definitely makes advertisements more watchable

I have a “no hitting” policy for both work and home, though I have to admit that in certain instances there are individuals who - during moments of aggressive stupidity - would likely benefit from rapid cranial percussion.

Progress. The rest of the project will start back up in 2025.

We have a basin. Just in time for it to start raining.

OTOH, the snow gives me an excuse to post some Richard Scarry art.

The pond as it stands now. The hope is to saddlebag it which will take 3 days of jackhammering. The catch is that we have rain then snow inbound, 1 minor surgical op, and an in-person meeting at the end of the week. Fun.

They'll never find him if he has his stealth and set bonuses maxed. Plus, guards don't swim.

Progress. There will be more jackhammer fun for hopefully just three days. Mt. Mudd is almost completely gone.

Was not expecting the dulcet tones of a bulldozer at work on a Saturday morning, but here we are

Wolf spiders are now Garage Dogs. End of line.

Life Pro Tip www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWEp...

Ooted meself with that last link. I'm Scottish but you probably already reckoned that.

If your insurer gives you static over a procedure, the game ender is "Are you directing or attempting to direct care?" To Dr.Seuss it; that's illegal over here, that's illegal over there, it's illegal everywhere. Also, demand to speak with the Ombudsman and ask for an itemized bill from hospitals.

Snitches get stitches.

Without power-leveling I will only say that I have worked in healthcare for decades and watched insurance companies ruin lives firsthand many, many times. No empathy to be found here. Fuck for-profit “healthcare” and the clowns it rode in on.

Could we not do any of that? Thanks.

Hell yeah it’s Krampus Season.

Remember that we’ve seen this clown show before. The difference this time around is that all of the competent evil has left or won’t risk themselves. Yes, there’s a difference. I’ve worked with both so I know it. The clown car will crash into a wall long before it plows into the fireworks factory.

Anyways, point is this: Don’t catastrophize, don’t take the clickbait, don’t worry over external judgments, don’t internalize, don’t let anyone do your thinking and reasoning for you - ever, don’t panic. Be still, breathe, focus, then move forward. Take care of yourself, then help someone else.

January will probably be Face-Eating-Leopards month and likely only to be funny to me because it means we might actually get to retire. People rolling into the office QQing about Obummercur - who the fuck do you think paid for your visit today? It wasn’t you, chucklenuts. Uncle Sam paid for it.

Finally old enough to have a trick knee that flips out over weather. What an achievement.

Monday will be a long day. VM’s phone was blowing up while we were eating yesterday. I would say “It’ll be better after January” and normally that’s exactly how it works. Probably not this year. Maybe next year.