on my walk today i spotted some dandelions........I've always thought of them as a spring thing.......it's October and fall........and was so distracted by them being there, i almost missed this beautiful blue heron........feeding in the pond i passed.........only the second one I've seen all year......i have a sling bag i carry.......i hate shopping bags....and my sling bag is ample for carrying the bits and pieces i pick up on my shopping trips.....but i always have a compact pair of Bushnell's in the bag........had several enjoyable minutes bird watching..........and before i get any rude comments......i only watch 'birds' with them.......anyways it's my story and I'm sticking to it............
[ bye the bye the correct name for dandelions is of the family Taraxacum]

i'm in mourning today.........an online game i've played in 'beta' and on and off for the last 13+ years has 'died'...........or rather the server basically had the server equivalent of a myocardial infarction, it's dead..........and there are not enough players left to support 'CPR'............
the bad news is the game is gone.........the worst news is i'll have more time to post here.........[hehe]

between formal education and private study i am a religious conservative.......if it means any thing to you i'm a 5 point Calvinist.....which personally puts me to the right of what are commonly know as fundamentalist...but i don't expect others to either agree with me.......or to follow my beliefs....one of the fundamentals of my belief system......my world view if you will........one of the main beliefs of my faith is the I, you, we, all of humanity have free will, i have no right to tell you what to believe.......and i will defend your right to believe as you will..............even when your beliefs are polar opposite to mine........i will disagree with you........i may even try to convince you of my position......but i will not think less of you..........and if we never reach an agreement.......so be it.......you will always be my friend........and if you need a hand up.........just ask

don't get me wrong.......i accept.......more then support Colin Kaepernick's right to protest what he feels is wrong......it is his right.......under the Bill of Rights .........i had a good friend who used the same freedom to protest something........i had a problem with what he protested....but not his right to protest.........
but with Colin's explanation he is protesting 'blue on black' issues.........which at most represent 1% of deaths that involve blacks........and ignore the fact that the majority of black deaths are black on black crimes.........i support his right to protest.......but what about the real problems........

i've been thinking today about some of the nutty things that have happened and came up with 2 beauts;
my brother and law and i were running a 20k race thru Binghamton NYS.........iirc it was the first competitive 20k i ran........so being inexperienced i didn't think to 'relieve' myself before the start......so just under half way i had a problem........i was in the middle of the downtown area at the time....and ahead of me were twin railroad overpasses with a narrow space between them.......took a detour between them and took care of the problem.......got back on course.......ran about 50 yards, a right turn and there was a water station, manned [as it were] by a bunch of girl scouts.......as difficult as it maybe while running.....i laughted for the next 100 yards......
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we where running a 20k in Phelps  NYS.......was running with this crazy dude from Rochester...passed an old bar......big front porch.......bunch of farmers in rocking chairs.....drinking beer....quote one 'you guys running from your wives'........responded my friend.......' no we're running from your wife'..........said i 'are you crazy' said he 'we can out run them'.......i replied ' they have pickup trucks'........his response was ' expletive deleted'.............

we are in tbe middle here of the driest summer i can ever remember........the grass is brown and only some of the deep rooted weeds are green........i've been very frustrated of late........my internet connection has been inconsistent........but i have no control over it........it's part of the package where i live.......so i just have to accept and chill out........not some of my best attributes.....

we really need rain bad......we had very little snow cover this winter.......and very little rain......the only thing green is weeds.........there is a number of canada geese around and they are really scrounging for fresh grass......the woodchucks are fine because they tend to eat the weeds.......but if we don't get some rain...........?????????

took a walk , well at this point mid afternoon yesterday.......it's one my longer walks, but there is this cool shop.......which has bulk spices......i was looking for simple bulk black pepper corns....have looked for them......no one stocks them anymore except in grinders........i've got 4 grinders i don't need another one........but i've always wanted to try the pink Himalayan salt........and they had it in bulk....as a finishing salt......i love it