More Useless Tidbits!!

For those of you new to my blog (WELCOME and THANKS!)

you may not know

that besides photography, I sometimes post some other blogposts

now and then for my meek attempt at humor.

One of the regular blogsposts I do

is

"Useless Tidbits"

along with

MY COMMENTS

in

bold italics.

Sometimes the Useless Tidbits

aren't that funny, and that's okay.

Sometimes they are just interesting.

It has been a while since I did one,

so

TODAY

IS

THE

DAY!!!

These are more interesting than funny today...

so grabba cuppa coffee,

and enjoy!

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1.  Spot, Data's cat on Star Trek: The Next Generation, was played by six different cats.

Oh, for heaven's sake!  Even cats have DOUBLES! Who knew? Maybe the first cat died? But what about the "cats have nine lives" thing? Wonder if it was a he or a she?

2. The longest U.S. highway is route 6 starting in Cape Cod, Massachusetts going through 14 states, and ending in Bishop, California.
I thought it was Route 66 or maybe Highway 41...which is by us...it goes from Copper Harbor Michigan all the way down to Florida...I know, because we drove it! And my butt knew it too!

3. The number of the trash compactor in Star Wars (20th Century Fox, 1977) is 3263827.
Wonder what the significance of this was? The director's prison number? Lottery ticket numbers? My measurements (32-63-82..plus size 7 shoes).  Okay, people, I am a slight bit on the wide hips side and my waist? Well, let's just say..blame it on the homemade apple pies from our orchard....

4. "Underground" is the only word in the English language that begins and ends with the letters "und."
Go ahead, get the dictionary and check it out. We'll wait.
 
(When, oh when, will you trust me?)
 There.
                                     Feel better now?

5. A full seven percent of the entire Irish barley crop goes to the production of Guinness beer.
Thank goodness!
I mean, who needs to EAT
when you have beer?
I think we should form a group to support 10 percent instead of 7...are you WITH ME people??

6. If you toss a penny 10000 times, it will not be heads 5000 times, but more like 4950. The heads picture weighs more, so it ends up on the bottom.
Do the football teams know about this?
Remember the next time someone says: "heads or tails?"..automatically say TAILS...(unless of course, they are proposing sex to you..then, well, you are on your OWN. It's all about preferences, people!)

7. The housefly hums in the middle octave, key of F.

Just in case you want to do a concert.....and especially if you are (ahem) spending some "quality time" in an outhouse....you'll have a CHOIR of

them humming in the key of F.

8. Mr. Snuffleupagas' first name was Alyoisus.
WHAT was his mother THINKING? Isn't this some form of child abuse?
 Here, I would like you to meet my son, his name is Alyoisus Snuffleupagas.
And, can you imagine Alyoisus's first day in kindergarden? 
"Today, children...we are going to learn how to write our NAMES."
And then he had that NOSE.....
I'd say both are good for twenty or thirty years of therapy.....

9. In the movie "the Right Stuff" there is a scene where a government recruiter for the Mercury astronaut program (played by Jeff Goldblum) is in a bar at Muroc Dry Lake, California. His partner suggests Chuck Yeager as a good astronaut candidate. Jeff proceeds to bad mouth Yeager claiming they need someone who went to college. During the conversation the real Chuck Yeager is playing a bartender who is standing behind the recruiters eavesdropping. General Yeager is listed low in the movie credits as 'Fred.'
That is a riot!  I wonder why he did that?
And, I think there is a urinal scene in the movie too...wonder who the dude is peeing next to him?  Probably the President of some third world country or something....(It's not like I looked at his FACE in the scene, you know what I mean???)

***********************************************************************

NOW HEAR THIS!!

TODAY
IS
THE

DEADLINE

for June's FREE PHOTO CONTEST!!

You have until midnight TONIGHT

to send me

a

FLOWER photo

following

these rules....

HURRY!!!!

More U.P. This and That

I have so many pictures yet to share with you that I have taken over the last month or so.

So, today, we will start with a collection

without a theme.

What the heck...

we don't always need a theme, do we??

Our apple blossoms

were lovely this year.

I wait every spring for them to blossom.

And to hear the buzzing of the bees in them,

pollenating away:

Someone once left a comment

that they had

never seen a

beaver hut.

So, here you are:

We had spied that huge one on a pond in the woods.

I think this is a female redwinged blackbird...but I am not sure. Does anyone know?:

When we were walking in the woods, trying to find Trilliums, we saw a tree that had "hung on" to its red leaves since last autumn! It was so pretty...just like it did last fall!:

Lovely, dreamy white Trilliums:

One trillium in the dappled sun on the forest floor:

We went to visit my brother

and saw this swan beside a mallard

at the head of the bay

on Lake Superior!:

She was so pretty.

But she was pretty far off shore for me to get clear closeups.

But I love swans so much...I was just happy to see her!:

I hope you enjoyed my "no theme" collection

of photos today!

***************************************************

Today is the 28th of June, folks!!!

ONLY TWO MORE DAYS

to

enter your

FLOWER photo

for

my June 2010 FREE PHOTO CONTEST following the rules!!

Just don't sit there....get busy!!

More This and That.....

We get out in the woods

whenever we can

to enjoy nature

and of course for me to take some photography.

So today, this is

a collection of some of the things we have seen

over the last month.

One of my favorite spring wildflowers

are Marsh Marigolds (commonly known as "cowslips").

They grow where there is a lot of water:

We were visiting my brother, and there is a marsh right on Lake Superior

where I can sometimes spot ducks or birds...

On this day, I got so excited!

I saw a blue heron in flight and hoped he would land close:

He

flew around...

and

around.....

and

around....

And finally landed!

This shot is a little blurry, as I hurriedly took it because he was looking at me

and thinking of taking off again:

I think I heard him humming: "Hit the road, Jack....":

So, even though I got some blurry shots, I was glad to get any of him at all.

because right after this one, he indeed

took off!:

Nothing prettier than

apple blossoms in the spring!

I am so lucky to have a small apple orchard in our front yard:

Except maybe

the gorgeous Trilliums!!:

Unfortunately, many of the spring flowers

bloom only a very short time

and then

go away.

I was so happy we got out into the woods

to see some animals and wildflowers on the day we went.

***************************************************************************

Did you send me a

FLOWER PHOTO

yet?

You only have FOUR days left to enter my June FREE Photo Contest!

Follow these rules

and get your picture into me ASAP!

More This and That from the U.P.

Today, I have a collection of photos

taken about a month ago.

 (I know, I am STILL behind..but it was a busy Spring, people!)

As mentioned in a previous post,

we had rosebreasted grosbeaks come to visit us, but only for about three weeks.

We  haven't seen any since then.

I sure think they are pretty.

The red on this one's breast looks like a little heart, doesn't it?:

Remember last month, when I was

ESTATIC

to see a moose????

You guessed it!

Less than ONE WEEK later, we were driving down the highway and up ahead there were about 30 cars pulled over.

I told my hubby, "there is either an accident up ahead or someone has spotted a moose!"...

 Then I yelled..."PULL OVER< PULL OVER...for the LOVE OF GOD...PULL OVER!!"

(Lucky for him, he PULLED OVER!)

(He's a love that man! A LOVE!)

I was blessed...

it WAS a MOOSE!!:

I don't know how long he was out before we got there, and there was a crowd of people by now watching him...I just got myself out of the car with my camera

and he gave one glance, ran behind this bush

and then....

LEFT!:

(They don't call me "quick draw McGraw" on the camera trigger for nothing. ha)

But I was thrilled to have seen another Moose...and thrilled I got a few more pictures of one.

I have lived up here for years and years and never saw a Moose, and now I have seen three

in one year.

I am one happy woman!!

We went in the woods for pictures a few weeks ago.

As I was snapping away at the Marsh Marigolds in one spot, I looked up and

saw THIS:

The license plate was IMBEDDED into the tree!

I wondered how it got there???!!

I mean, a  LONGGGG time ago, was there a car wreck

and the rest of the car rusted away?

Isn't that strange???

Here it is in black and white, which I liked!:

I tried it in Sepia but I didn't like it as much as in black and white.

One of my beloved Trilliums:

Crabapple tree blossoms!:

You can smell the blossoms from far away!!! Scrumptous!!:

Of course,

all the blossoms are gone now...

but they were lovely to see!

Join me again soon for more pictures...

I took a ton within a few weeks

because there was so much Spring beauty around....

***************************************************************
HEY YOU!
Don't forget to enter your

FLOWER PICTURE

into my June FREE PHOTO CONTEST!
You
only have SEVEN MORE DAYS
to get your photo in!!!

Follow THESE RULES!
(And please remember to give me your blog's name and your blog's address
when you enter your photo. Thanks!)

This and that from the U.P.: Birds and Flowers!!

Today's theme?

Birds and flowers!

Luckily, I have plenty of both where I live

and

I really enjoy both, too.

A patch of Vinca Minor...

I was lucky.

When we built  our house, they were growing wild in a patch by our trees, so of course I kept them!:

They are electric blue/purple in color.

Here is a closeup:

This one is a bit blurry, and I wasn't going to keep it.

But I did, because I do not know what kind of bird it is..

and I am relying on my blogger friends to help me figure it out!

I think it is a female, but I am not sure...

HELP ME???

What kind of bird is this cutie?:

And I WAIT....(impatiently!)

EVERY.
YEAR.

For my beloved Trilliums to burst forward from the forest floor.

They are protected wildflowers in Michigan.

I just love them:

(When they get old and are about to die, they turn pinkish purple. I will have more shots of them in future posts).

One day...

I was downstairs on my computer (imagine that!?)

and my husband hollered for me to come upstairs...STAT!

He sounded very excited!

Either he had won the lotto or something else (good) was happening.

He had spied a bright TANGERINE colored bird in the trees....

We had never seen that colored bird here,
EVER.

So I grabbed my camera to help me identify it.

He was only in the yard a total of about 60 seconds.....

I had to take the pictures through a window, so they aren't crystal clear...

but I wanted to share them with you.

I THINK this is an Oriole (which we NEVER have here).

Am I right?:

(Isn't he ADORABLE??? And LOOK at that red blush along its breast with the tangerine color! WOW!)

I was SHAKING, trying to make sure I got his photo before he flew away!:

He was one of the prettiest birds we have ever seen grace our yard!

I was smitten as soon as I saw his coloring!

But when I saw his chubby little body

and that impish face???

Well, it was definitely

love at first sight:

I hope my fellow bloggers can confirm for me that he is an Oriole? Is he a Baltimore Oriole?

We were also graced with four Rose Breasted Grosbeaks, but they

only stayed for about three weeks, and we have not seen them since:

I am so grateful that these beautiful birds took a rest stop in our yard.

I wonder if they knew

how thrilled we were to see them?

(They were probably saying to each other: "What is the big deal with that lady flying around inside her house to get that camera out? Gheesh, we can't even eat or hang out with out the Papparazzi trying to capture us!

Get a life, people!")

That's okay...

I don't mind stalking them.

It is a LOT more fun than following movie stars or rock stars around.

To ME,

the birds ARE rock stars!

More of the U.P. Spring!

Today, I will still continue to show pictures of

our beautiful Upper Peninsula of Michigan spring

as it unfolded...

This tulip was about to bloom...but I loved the promise of all of the colors about to burst in this one~!:

A grackle in flight toward the newly sprouted leaves on the tree:

A chipping sparrow with "that look" in his eyes..

(you know the one)..

the "don't you have more SEED for me?" look!:

Every spring I await the

apple blossoms.....

here they are,

just coming out!:

A fresh tulip!:

A geese family!:

I love those fuzzy babies!:

I bet they are a handful to watch every second!!:

But, worth every second of the care they take!

In future posts, I caught closeup pictures of these little ones as they grew...

stay tuned!!!

*****************************************

A reminder:

Don't forget to enter the JUNE Free PHOTO CONTEST.

June's theme is:

FLOWERS!

Enter your photo by midnight, June 30, 2010

following THESE RULES.

Anyone stopping by the blog..a note to you:

you don't have to be a blogger to enter, you don't have to be a semi-pro photographer..

we do this for fun! Go ahead and send me your best flower photo...

who knows? You might just win!

And WHAT do you win?

A widget that you can proudly display forever on your blog

that says you won!