Image for 11-17-11 - OZZY!

Quick, pop quiz, what four-letter word would you choose to immortalize in concrete? Whatever it is, I'd be surprised if it was "OZZY". This bit of sidewalk graffiti is on a driveway along one of my regular walking routes. I always look at it and wonder how old it is and who did it. My guess is it was a teen-aged male, probably a loner who wore glasses and didn't get along with his Dad. Oh yeah, and he was a virgin, which is telegraphed by the bold underlining. I'm curious if whom ever scrawled that tribute is still around and visits their handy work. Do they still listen to Ozzy? Are they are the "Crazy Train"?

OK HW

A Good Weekend It Was...

I have gotten out of the groove with posting. Plenty going on, I have just been lazy about getting anything on here. Let's catch up.

November 4, 2011

Friday was a blustery day with heavy winds coming right out of the north. It was almost like a Nor-easter, but no rain. The Chesapeake Bay was heaving with six foot waves that crashed right up to the seawall of the homes on the beach.

November 5, 2011

The winds were still blowing when I got up Saturday morning. The day started out good with a solid seven mile hike, but when I got home and took a shower, the water stopped going down the drain. Drag. I tried a few things to clear the line, but no joy, so I had to call in the big guns. We went with Roto-rooter and they sent a friendly guy named Robert out who worked hard to clear the drain and succeed after wrestling with getting that snake down the clean-out pipe. That wasn't how I meant to spend my day, but it had to be done. The joys of being a homeowner.

November 6, 2011

Today began with an extra hour courtesy of daylight savings. Newspaper in bed, then a big breakfast. With my hiking goal looming (I have 101 miles left on 700 miles by year's end), I laced up the boots and hit my usual seven mile route. The sun was shining and the winds had died down from the last couple of days. The trees around here are in full autumn blaze. I love me some fall.

OK HW

Image for October 21, 2011 - Early Morning Beach Hike

I got up early today and got a quick two mile hike in on the beach. Now that the warm weather is done, the beach has been abandoned to the joggers and dog owners and wanders. I had Peter Gabriel's soundtrack from "The Last Temptation  of Christ" (The Passion) on the iPod and it was the perfect way to start this weekend. I am off today, taking a long weekend.

I also came across this huge jellyfish washed up on the beach. The low morning sun made it's transparent shape looked like some alien being, at least to my mind.

Have a great weekend!

OK HW

A Friend of a Monkey is a Friend of Mine...

I am an animal lover. I particularly love primates of all kinds. Monkeys, Gorillas, Chimpanzees, big, small, tail, no-tail, doesn't matter, I feel a special connection to our hairy little siblings. A couple of years ago, I stumbled across an article about the good folks at the Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary in Florida. Their mission is to,

"...provide permanent, high-quality sanctuary care for abused or unwanted New World primates from around the United States who have been cast-off from the pet trade, retired from research, or confiscated by authorities."

Monkey's are highly intelligent and social beings, so it breaks my heart to read on the web site some of the sad, cruel experiences that they experienced before they found their way to the sanctuary. This year I decided to sponsor a monkey, Miki-Moo and have added Jungle Friends to my list of worthy causes. If you have read this far, then you know what's coming, I know times are tight, but consider throwing these folks a few bucks. They do good work and deserve the support.

I'll leave you with a little monkey video from the Jungle Friends web site and a quote from the comedian Steven Wright:

"If you had a million Shakespeares, could they write like a monkey?"

OK HW