More Dumb State Laws: Indiana!

Yes! It's time again for MORE DUMB STATE LAWS with MY COMMENTS in bold italics.

Up this time?

The wonderful state of INDIANA.

1. Waitresses may not carry drinks into a restaurant or bar.

It's going to be a little rough getting your beers, mateys! She may have to roll them on the floor to you! Watch that foam! She can always just tuck a few bottles into the cleavage. NOW I know why Hooters came about in Indiana! (The bigger the hooters, the more she can carry to the tables).

2. If any person has a puppet show, wire dancing or tumbling act in the state of Indiana and receives money for it, they will be fined $3 under the Act to Prevent Certain Immoral Practices.

So, no Muppets in Indiana. Boy, that is pretty harsh. Wire dancing may be a little too scary for me, too....they would have to pay ME to watch it. And I guess there will never be the summer Olympics in Indiana, because there is no tumbling allowed!

3. Anyone 14 or older who profanely curses, damns or swears by the name of God, Jesus Christ or the Holy Ghost, shall be fined one to three dollars for each offense, with a maximum fine of ten dollars per day.

Someone is getting very rich in Indiana....

4. A three dollar fine per pack will be imposed on anyone playing cards in Indiana under the Act for the Prevention of Gaming.

Again, someone in Indiana is getting very rich. And you can bet a few of the people that are playing cards are ALSO swearing and using God's name in vain, so it's a win-win for the fines!!!

5. The value of Pi is 3.

Evidently in Indiana, they just "round down" and forget all those mathematical theories....I want to see what the circles look like in Indiana. I bet they are a fraction or so less round? Wonder that the shape of their pizzas look like? Maybe THAT is where the companies that make their pizzas square came from?? (Unless their 90 degree angles in Indiana are like, oh, I don't know....89.1 degrees?)

6. It is illegal for a man to be sexually aroused in public.

Can I be the one to check for infractions? Please???? Can I do a body pat down??? PUUUHHHHLEESE??? (A girl has to have fun).
I guess there aren't any men that go to the beach in Indiana then, hmmm?
You might as well say it is illegal to breathe in Indiana then, right???

7. Baths may not be taken between the months of October and March.

This, obviously is to prevent WOMEN from being sexually aroused in Indiana.
I imagine it gets mighty RIPE between October and March in Indiana.
Wonder how this law ever got passed "back in the day"? Was all the water FROZEN so they had no water to take baths in?

8. Oral sex is illegal.

Not going to be a problem anyway, between October and March. I mean....EEE-WWWW. or Peee-uuuu.

9. A man over the age of 18 may be arrested for statutory rape if the passenger in his car is not wearing her socks and shoes, and is under the age of 17.

I say, get NAKED, but keep your shoes and socks on. There, problem solved.

10. It is illegal for a liquor store to sell cold soft drinks.

Just go straight for the hard stuff. No milk, no pop...just beer, wine and liquor. Because liquor is quicker.

11. Grocery stores may not sell any type of cold liquor.

Remind me not to get any wine coolers or beer in Indiana. Its gonna taste like crap all warm and stuff!

12. You can get out of paying for a dependent’s medical care by praying for him/her.

Did the President know about this when he was writing his healthcare plan??? All we gotta do is all pile our asses in a car and head for Indiana for our health care and say a prayer as soon as you hit the border! Damn those Congressmen and women for not sharing this with us sooner!

13. Smoking in the state legislature building is banned, except when the legislature is in session.

Oh, sure! THEY get to smoke, because they are under pressure and stress. It's ok...someone will pray for them and their healthcare will be free. Well, maybe not, because isn't praying illegal in government buildings?

14. Pedestrians crossing the highway at night are prohibited from wearing tail lights.

It's kind of hard to attach them to your trunk (pah-dunka-dunk) anyway...who wants lights on their junk? And besides, I am afraid to ask how you SIGNAL if you are going to turn right or left then....

15. No one may catch a fish with his bare hands.

And I do this so often, being as coordinated as I am.....

Heck, I say, if they are talented enough to DO this...they should be able to keep as many as they can catch!

16. Men are prohibited from standing in a bar.

It's going to be REALLY hard to pee in those bar's urinals then guys! Better practice by sitting down and aiming. It's only FAIR! WE have to do it that way!
What happens if there are no tables to sit at or stools to sit on? They aren't allowed to stand and have a beer? Gheeesh...how else are they going to check out the ladies?

17. You are not allowed to carry a cocktail from the bar to a table.

Just like the waitresses--you cannot carry any drinks. So, talk to the Hooter's girls and learn how to tuck and carry. Or, have that guy standing over there (who is going to get a ticket for just standing there anyway!) to bring it over to you. Who knows? Maybe he will turn out to be "your type"!

18. Drinks on the house are illegal.

I am DEFINITELY NOT going to go to the bars in Indiana.....WHAT??? NO 'on the house' there??? No fair! That is half the fun of celebrating with people at a bar! Gheesh!

19. You are required to pour your drink into a glass.

No drinking from a beer bottle? Well, they just are snooty in Indiana,aren't they?
Dang!

20. “Spiteful Gossip” and “talking behind a person’s back” are illegal.

I LOVE this law in Indiana...this should be in EVERY state! Wonderful idea, don't you think????? And just WHAT would your co-workers DO all day then???

21. All males 18 to 50 years old must work six days a year on public roads.

I love this law too, because if every man (and heck women, too) had to work a little on your state's public roads, think what wonderful shape they would be in!
And you can BET that people would be more careful in construction zones...because it could be your MOM out there!

22. In Beech Grove: Mustaches are illegal if the bearer has a tendency to habitually kiss other humans.

HAHAHHAAAAA...this one just made me giggle.
I have a "tendency to habitually kiss other humans", and I am post-menopausal. Do I need to say MORE???? Just please don't have those handcuffs too tight, ok? We postmenopausals tend to bloat too, so it isn't pretty...

23. In Elkhart: It is illegal for barbers to threaten to cut off kid’s ears.

Well, dang....what fun is THAT! Cripes, that is half the fun of being a barber for crying out loud!

24. In Evansville: While driving on Main Street you may not have your lights on.

Well, alrighty then. It's going to get verrrry dangerous on Main Street at night in Evansville.

Since its not allowed to put tail lights on as a Pedestrian, this is going to get down right entertaining, folks! Just line up your lawn chairs along the route and enjoy! (But if I were you, I wouldn't park it too close to the curb though, if you know what I mean).

25. In Gary: Within four hours of eating garlic, a person may not enter a movie house, theater, or ride a public streetcar.

I am liking Indiana more and more, folks. EVERY state should have THIS law too!

26. In Indianapolis: One may only throw a stone at a bird in self-defense.

Oh, for heaven's sake....what do you mean IN SELF DEFENSE?? C'mon...what is a little tiny bird going to do to threaten you besides poop on ya? The law should say you may NEVER throw a stone at a bird. They must have watched Hitchcock's "THE BIRDS" movie there?

27. In South Bend: It is illegal to make a monkey smoke a cigarette.

Again...Indiana is just NO FUN!! (Besides, I know plenty of monkeys that smoke! Don't you?)

28. In Warsaw: No one may throw an old computer across the street at their neighbor.

Again....Indiana is TOTALLY no fun.

I would LOVE to know why they had to make this a law in Indiana....there must have been a rash of drive-by-throw-your-computer-at-your-neighbor crimes goin' on......

I don't know about you, but I just may go on an Indiana real estate site and look around....
oh, never mind...
I forgot about the sex laws and the mustache thing...
but then again...
if you pray, you don't pay (for healthcare)...
hmmm...
it just may be a wise move.

*Please remember to enter the free MARCH Photo contest...enter by midnight, March 31st, 2010, following THESE RULES....don't forget!!!!

We interrupt winter to bring you this Spring MESSAGE....

I know I have been showing you a TON of winter pictures lately.

And, I still have MORE to show you.

But NOT TODAY!

Because we have had the most spectacular, warm weather EVER for this time of year over the last week or so.

So much warmth and sun, and so welcomed!

We went for a walk to the post office yesterday

and

saw

THIS!:

I couldn't BELIEVE that the crocuses were up and in bloom.

It is very early here for Crocuses....normally they don't come up until April here.

And, even MORE surprising?

I saw THIS in my yard!:

My tulips are coming up already!!!

IT IS TOO SOON!

Now, I am afraid they will all die. 

Because we will surely get more snow and freezing temperatures here yet.

I have over 500 tulips in my yard!

I don't want them to die before they are born.

So, I went around and told each and every one of them to SLOW DOWN!

(I hope they heard me).

Then?

I went to look at the crocuses some more!:

They were HEAVENLY to see!:

All day, we saw the cattails sending out their billowy seeds in the wind, too:

A bouquet of spring!:

Let's look at them closer, okay?

Because HERE?

They are going to be covered with snow again before REAL SPRING arrives.

I guarantee it!:

(There is even a bee in the lower left flower....do you see it?)

This one reminds me of a Q-tip!:

I will hold this dream in my thoughts for a long time....

until

our true spring arrives here!:

(Taking a deep breath)....

Now, let's get back to some more winter photos in the next blogpost, shall we?

Canyon Falls in the Winter: Part THREE

This is the third in my series on Canyon Falls. (If you missed the first two installments, just drop down below this blogpost a few and you will find Part One and Part Two).

I love the swirls and patterns the snow makes in the woods.

In addition, I love the ice patterns that streams make as they freeze and thaw.

You combine those, and I am in heaven with my camera.

Our trip to Canyon Falls provided me with so many pretty shots.

The River had several "open" spots with running rapids next to swirls of pristine white snow:

I just happened to catch a river splash, was even more dramatic in black and white:

And lots of these little lacy ice "shelves" next to the open water:

Some had icicles hanging down, almost touching the fast moving stream, like a curtain:

When we got to the precipice of the falls, we found a HUGE icicle WALL instead of running water! We could HEAR the falls UNDER this ice wall, but we couldn't SEE them!:

The joke was on us.

Here were were, hiking all the way into see Canyon Falls and did NOT find them.

They were under the ice wall!

But still, we loved the ice wall anyway!

And all the ice formations along the river. Like THIS one!:

And ice and tiny falls and bubbles. Oh my!:




And glimpses of ice caves hiding the river:






And huge, dripping icicles!:




Here is the ice curtain in black and white:

I still have more photos of this wonderful trek into Canyon Falls to share with you.

I hope you are enjoying the series.

It won't be long and all of this snow will be gone in the U.P.

I am pre-publishing this and on the day that I am actually writing it (3/6/10), we had a record 55 degrees with sun.

Not to worry, though.

By the time it gets published, we will probably be getting cold and snow again.

That is how it is up here in Northern Michigan.

But that is why I love it so much.

Variety is the spice of life!

******************************************************************************
Don't forget to enter my FREE photography contest for March!

The theme this month is:

"Something GREEN or Something IRISH"

Follow the RULES LISTED HERE and send me your entry by midnight on March 31, 2010.

Blogger Meeting!

I had the best day last Thursday!

I got to meet a fellow blogger and her husband!

Shelley from Birding in Michigan and Building a Log Cabin

and

her husband Greg.

Paul and I on left, and Shelley and Greg on right:

The four of us having a yummy lunch at Mackinaw City, Michigan

(Never mind Paul's hair and don't tell him I posted his picture, he will KILL me! :-} )


The Dymamic Duo of the Blogging World?:

Joan and Shelley
(Partners in crime!)

(Never mind that I look like I didn't sleep (because I got up verrry early to get there) and that my makeup looks like it was patchy (its menopause)....but that Shelley was a cutie!)

It was so great to meet another Blogger and just to visit.

I think we were talking a mile a minute.

I have camera envy of her camera.

We are going to try and go to Isle Royale together this summer, all four of us...

to take pictures of Moose and wild birds and flowers.

It's going to be GREAT FUN!

If you can ever meet up with a fellow Blogger--DO it!

It is so fun getting to know them in person.  It was like we were friends already because of our blogging comments back and forth.

She gave me a cute little tote bag, a greeting card with one of her fabulous pictures on it and a magnet for my refrigerator (which will make me think of her every time I see it and smile!) She also gave my husband some fly fishing flies (yes, it won his heart!) which was very sweet of her.

If you get a chance, stop by her blogs (by clicking on BOTH of the links above). She has the most amazing bird pictures ever and she gives wonderful glimpses of her cabin on a lake...which we hope to visit someday.

We're hoping they will take up our offer to come north to Michigamme to stay at our log home and fish on our lake, too....

Maybe Shelley will find our lake's hidden loons and show me where they are hiding....

Thanks Shelley and Greg, we had a great time and are looking forward to seeing you again soon!!!

Canyon Falls in the Winter: Part TWO

This is part of of a series of blogposts that I am doing on my snowshoe walk into Canyon Falls in Baraga County, Michigan.

If you haven't seen Part ONE, please drop below this post and give it a read!

So we continued down the trail, where we could see glimpses of the river under the snow and ice along the way.

The woods themselves were gorgeous, even without the river.

I loved this little bridge in the snow path:

We spied the neatest tree and root full of snow along the way:

Here is a close-up of the twisted tree root:

All along the way, there were little rapids and tiny falls, giving us a glimse of the river under the snow and ice:

The air was so fresh and the sun, so lovely:




I loved this little ice curtain on the riverbank's edge:







And the little ice "foot" sticking out of the icy bank (in the lower right side of this shot):



And a ton of tiny ice stalagtites hanging down over the river:

And frothy bubbles in the ice cold stream:

Stay tuned for more pictures of our snowshoe trip to Canyon Falls

in my next blogpost......

Canyon Falls in the Winter: Part ONE

On March 2, we planned a trip I had been wanting to do ever since I fractured my foot.

There is a waterfall about 20 miles from where we live that I have taken photos of before and posted on my blog.

But they have always been spring, summer or fall photos of this wonderful set of falls, but I have never been there in the winter before.

So when the Dr. said I was allowed to snowshoe now, I KNEW where I wanted to go!

Canyon Falls.

I know your weather is probably warm by now and all your snow is probably melted.

We are starting to get 30's and 40's F. with sunshine, too and things are beginning to melt, verrrrrry slowly.

But on March 2nd?

We still had plenty of snow in the woods.

So put up your feet and come with me, won't you???

As soon as we parked the car and donned our snowshoes, we headed down the path into the woods:

As you can see, it was a GORGEOUS, sunshiney day!

We hadn't gone too far and there was a peek at the river, bubbling amongst the ice!:

But a lot of the river was still buried under the snow. I didn't mind, because I love looking at the neat snow and ice formations along winter river banks:

Can't you just hear the loud babbling of the winter river over these rocks?

It was heavenly!:

I wish I could have bottled the freshness in the air that day. YUMMY!





And the ice formations, spashing stream and bubbles???? LOVED them!:






Ooooooo....and the ICE walls!!!!:





It was just pristine. The snow was brilliant white without any disturbance along its banks as we got a glimpse of a tiny waterfall shelf:

And of course, I had to play with icicle shots in black and white.

Because I am a drama queen like that....

Or if you prefer a quiet winter water hole in the forest, I found that too:

I found so much beauty out there.

Even in little water hole glimpses of the river with its sheet of ice trying to melt:

As usual, I took a ton of photos, so I will continue this series over the next few days.

I am so glad you got to come along with me on my trip to the falls!

Lovey Dovey

This winter, we have been blessed with several doves visiting our yard and feeders.

I didn't realize until recently that doves live a long life.

One article said the longest living dove recorded lived 31 years!

We have lived in our "new" house for 5 years this March.

We got three doves visiting us the first year.

We have had about nine doves the past few years.

This year?

We have FOURTEEN doves that have stayed here all winter.

They fly in once or twice a day and roost on our apple tree and take turns flying down and eating at our feeders.

Here are some shots of some of them, I couldn't fit all of them into one frame when all fourteen come to the apple tree!

Here are half of them:

I love how they fluff themselves up and are constantly preening themselves:

Some doze off, some are the "watchmen"...some just look around:

A pair of pretties:

Bracing against the wind and snow:






Taking an afternoon nap:





Such a lovely family:

I love the subtleties of their coloring:

Another one dozing:








All three of these beauties are doing something different:

A pair of twins?:

I think their faces are so peaceful.

I love it when they "coo".....

Sometimes we wake up to their soft cooing outside at daybreak....

I can't think of a better alarm clock. Can you?????