Grumbleeze

..dotPhoto - Tips. This article showed up in my email this morning. I have numerous albums stored over at DotPhoto and receive their newsletter. I have quit putting photos there only because we take hundreds of photos at a time, storing them on two separate computers. When we have enough to fill a CD, we copy them to one. I also have a copy of all my digital photos on an external hard drive. Compulsive? Maybe, but it's better than losing them, isn't it?

..Mea culpa... many times over! (Sorry, been watching too much 'Pope news' lately! I hadn't realized they still use Latin in the Vatican. Monday Madness

1. What season are you in right now?It's Springtime in Michigan! Anything goes. Last week we had temperatures in the 70's and 80's... people having barbeques and camping trips! This week we had snowstorms and temperatures in the 30's and 40's. Go figure!

2. Do you celebrate anything special this time of year? We had an Easter dinner celebration a couple of weeks ago. The most important springtime 'celebration' for me is... ta dah!!!!..... opening up the cottage for the summer! We always have to wait until there is no more danger of freezing temperatures because we drain the water pipes in the autumn to protect them from bursting. Turning on the water and general cleanup gets us ready for summer.

3. Name 3 things that come to mind when you think of spring (or your current season)? Hmmm! I'd say....(1.) Robins... (2.) Daffodils... (3.) Green grass.

4. In the current season, about how many hours of the day are daylight hours? Well of course they increase until the first day of summer, then begin decreasing again. Today however, we will have 14 hours between Sunrise and Sunset! My source?.....Wunderground.com of course!

5. Do you do any 'spring cleaning?' My mom used to do spring cleaning... which took forever!!! Then she did fall cleaning... ditto! Besides this she cleaned thoroughly once a week. When we stop by her home, even today, she will say, 'Sorry it's so messy...' Oh! What was the question? No I do NOT do spring cleaning or fall cleaning. My favorite 'cleaning lady' cleans for me once a month. I try to keep it tidy in between and when the mood strikes me... I rearrange furniture. When I rearrange furniture I get a more thorough cleaning done.

6. Do you wash your own car or take it to the car wash? I washed my own car once... a long time ago. We usually get my pickup truck washed for free when the husband takes it in for oil changes. If it needs it in between times, we drive through a car wash.

7. Do you hang your laundry out on a clothesline on nice days? I love the smell of clothes that hang outside in the sunshine, especially when there's a bit of wind blowing... but get real! Using a dryer is quicker and easier. I only hang a few special items that are better not dried in the dryer.

...and the following is optional; although I do encourage you to participate: 8. Post a picture that reflects the current season where you live.
I took this photo yesterday morning. It shows a typical Michigan springtime. The leaves on the lilac bush have begun to form... and you can see grass through the snow! I'm just glad I was able to mow last week or you would see lots more grass poking up through the snow.
Today I'm feeling

...so I decided to make it easy for myself. I'm keeping track online... at salascove... the blog Meanwhile... what a difference a day or two makes. Just a couple of days ago it was 'summer' and now it's 'winter' again. Yup! That's Michigan!

Looks like the lighthouse is right in front of the Coast Guard building... but it really isn't. Wednesday was a perfect day and really got me 'pining for the good ol' summertime! I've also submitted a picture for Theme Thursday this week... see it at sherle's photos, and as always, there's something new happening at Tittabawassee River Voice.

... Google failed me. In my last post I did the best I could but this evening I looked at the paper and there was a big ol' article about the new pyramid. Here it is...MyPyramid.gov. Check it out. It's pretty cool! On the first page, put in your age, sex and amount of daily activity... get your own personal recommended food pyramid... or at least amounts of items in the pyramid.

On a totally 'nuther subject, today we saw Sharba's latest production, 'The Emperor's New Clothes.' It was really fun to watch and photograph! Good job, Sharba! We got loads of photos. Hopefully we'll have time to put some of them together online soon. We still haven't put up pics from her last one, a musical, 'A Christmas Carol.'

... about 'normal' weight versus slightly 'overweight.' Have you ever thought the government weight charts were just plain wrong? This morning I heard somebody on the Today Show say that tests show people who are 'slightly overweight' are actually healthier than people who are 'normal.' Normal, of course, is defined as matching the weight charts that keep getting lower and lower!!!?

With that said, I remember seeing a new food pyramid so I googled it this morning. Couldn't find what I was looking for but found this article... THE NEW WAY TO EAT RIGHT. It really makes sense because the last 'new pyramid' had us eating gobs and gobs of carbs in order to stay healthy. You still need 6 servings of grains, etc. per day.

Today I'm feeling

... well! I figured out why my tagboard sometimes shows a 'commercial' instead of my tagwords. Today an ad 'popped' into it after I got here and by golly... it looked just like the popups I used to get before using a popup blocker! I'm thinking of getting rid of the darned thing. I usually forget to use it anyway.

On another matter, I went to listen to a speaker last night from the U.S. EPA, expecting her to be very anti- whatever I'm for... because she was sponsored by a local environmental extremist group. Was pleasantly surprised. She had some good common sense answers to the environmentalists who think they are in danger living here in the Tittabawassee River floodplain. She told them she would expect that our blood levels are no different than those in the general population. She also reiterated that humans get most of the dioxin in our systems from the fat in our diets, specifically meat and dairy products. Listen up, Kevvy!!!

My current favorite photo from recent trips... this one is from our last butterfly house visit in Midland. We went with Windy last week and a good time was had by all. Since I'm always looking for something different, I tended to focus on things other than the butterflies. The fish are always elusive, but this fellow was intent on getting a good meal, as he swam in and out of the lily pads.

We attended another dioxin meeting last night. Read all about it at http://tittabawassee.blogspot.com - If you're not interested in the meeting, just go there to see the photo of ducks swimming in our backyard last week.

...was from a demolished bridge right here at the base of the dam. See the cement in the foreground?
We could get no closer from down here. There is no way to define the enormity of impact when first observed. The waters are literally roaring as they rush foamingly downward and outward, devouring all the surrounding area, spreading through the wooded area surrounding the river.

We did get up close and personal to the dam... following footpaths from the parking area above this spot, up the hill to a path over to the dam. Thank God for modern medical technology and my brand new six week old knees!!! We took loads of pictures, from day one of the flood downstream in our backyard and into yesterday when the water receded. We actually walked in the backyard again. This was a small flood, more like the norm. It was obviously a good thing we had some flooding during the January thaw this year.

...March 8, 2004 (it did go up for two days after at our house.)
Just for kicks, here's a picture of our March 8 flood last year, compliments of Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. Thank you Cheryl. This is the sort of scene that enters our mind each spring as flood waters begin to flow... ever since the 1986 flood.

Actually the arrow points to our backyard.. surrounded by trees... click it to see a better size; the house roof sort of blends in with the water in the photo. The camera was up kind of high, after all.