Well, you know what I planned on doing on my vacation, right? Well so far I’ve only been working on the yard, that’s OK but I’ve not been able to work on anything else because my computer of 10 years have started to show its age, so my son said that I could have his old one. There’s nothing wrong with his old one it’s only 3 or 4 years old, he just got a new one because he wanted something bigger and better to play his games with.  He had put a better graphics card, sound card and a larger power unit in it, I’m getting a pretty good deal and I don’t have to pay for it.  So I’m left with reformatting it getting it hooked up to our network then downloading over 100 updates and fixes from Windows and Microsoft then start putting in my own software and the updates for them, transferring all my data, music and pictures not to mention move my printer over also. This can keep me happily playing on the computer for some time.

    Tomorrow will start another week of VACATION!!! I’ll have nine days off to do whatever I want to.  You ask what am I going to do. ‘ nothing’. Well not exactly nothing,

1. I plan on working on the lawn, cutting back some more of the bushes an things that have grown up around the house.
2. Cutting down at least 2 trees that are dead.
3. Seeing what’s up with the lawyer, even if I have’ta  go by his house and pick up the information that I need and get it to uncle Buddy myself.
4. If I’m able get the papers to uncle Buddy, take the papers to the courthouse and file my law suit against that logging company myself.
5. Work on Jason’s room, getting it fixed up for him.
6. See if I can get some gravel put in the drive.
7. Try to clean up the house.
8. See about buying another car or truck.
9. See about buying myself a new computer because this one is dying.
10. And see about going to Sixx Flags.

    Maybe not in that order but that’s what I’m going to try doing at least.

I’m tired just thinking about it. I’ll need a vacation to recoup from my vacation.

I can’t believe it my youngest (Jason) has graduated from ITT’s 2 year program and is going back to get his Bachelors. He wants to design computer games. The Graduation Exercises were tonight, they had about 35 graduating. I just didn’t like going downtown Birmingham for the exercise. It’s been so long since I’ve been to Birmingham that I had a hard time finding an on ramp for the interstate so we could get back home. All of the one way streets and they’re never going the way you want them to go.

My ex showed up, which surprised me, he was wearing and old hunting jacket, old blue jean’s with holes in them and an old t-shirt that said something about hunting, that doesn’t surprise me.  He never could understand that you should dress nice for something like your sons graduation. But at least he came and that make Jason happy.

I was using a new camera so I didn’t get many good shots but this is one of the better ones. I kept moving around and the pictures were blurry.

How fast they grow up.

This was his senior year in high school.

This was about 18 months.

     We all remember that old saying, right??  Well, it seems that anything and everything that could happen has been happening it my family and myself for the past couple of months. Starting off at the end of October when the car had to have the water pump replaced, costing just over $260 to fix. That took my house note to pay, so I think I’ll just use the next paycheck to cover it. Well, before I got that paycheck I got sick. Ran a fever of 102 for a couple of days, had to go to the Doctors, (even after insurance was $200) my prescriptions (other $100) and 4 days off from work, so I still couldn’t pay my house note. So I think I’ll get it with the next paycheck and make it 2 months right.  The day before Thanksgiving I fall. I mentioned that in ‘Prissymae thy name is Klutz’. I haven’t even seen all the bills from that yet. I finally get 2 month sent to them and that night my son is ran off the road. The only good thing about that is that my son wasn’t hurt. All I have is Liability so I have to paid to have the car fixed. The person who ran him off the road didn’t even stop. The car is to bad but I do need to get the window replaced.

     Do you know how much the dealership wanted for just the window?? This price is without installation, just the window. $289, can you believe that!!!! I found one at the junk yard for $50 and my nephew is going to put it in for me. Hopefully there’s nothing under the car that’s messed up.

     That’s it just call me Klutz, this makes the second time this year that I tripped over my on feet and hunt myself.  The first time was when I tore up my toe and banged up my knees. This time to try and stop my fall I put out my arm to brace myself, I’m lucky that I didn’t brake it, but man does it hurt. X-rays show that nothing is broken, all the muscles in my arm (from the hand all the way up to the shoulder) and the joints hurt a lot!!!

     I fall the day before Thanksgiving and the doctor said that I could go back to work December 1st.  Work said I had to be 100% to be able to come back to work, the doctor released me but I’m not 100% I don’t even think I’m 50% if even that much. I can’t lift anything with that arm, any type of resistant to that arm just hurts. It’s getting better but I have to keep it iced or it really gets to hurting. I only worked 2 nights before I had a day off and my arm was hurting so bad I was almost in tears and ready to take a lortab for the pain, and I don’t like taking any type of drug if I can help it. I ended up putting lots of ice on it. 

     Work is being a pain about it also, I can understand some of it but the rest they really need to get their heads out of their ass.  The company seems to change their policy to work against their employee. The company gives their employees 7 sick days, (that can build up to more if you don’t use them) that’s nice but you have to be off 2 days to be able to get 1 day of sick pay, and that doesn’t say if it’s approved or not, even if you have a doctors excuse. Management determines if it’s approved or not, if it isn’t approved it counts against you, get 4 of those and you get a verbal warning get a 5th you get a written warning  get another within a 6 month time you get a day off with pay to decide if you really want to work there or not.

     I’ve been off a lot the pass few months, I’ve been sick off and on, didn’t bother going to the doctor (it wasn’t going to be approved anyway) just got some over the counter drugs to take care of it save myself some money by not going to the doctor. But when I was running a fever of 102 for 2 days and coughing up a storm I took myself to the doctor, was off for 4 days with a doctor excuse but the company wouldn’t approve it. The company is trying to give me a written warning for being off about my arm, I’m fighting that because they sent me home the first night because I couldn’t work with it. I’ll just have to see what happens.

     This company used to be a pretty good company to work for, was good to their customers and their employees but now it’s just what the bottom line is.

While working in the yard I notice that one of the trees in the front had what looked like fruit in it. Nothing much, just about 3 or 4 (it's not a very old tree, about 14 to 17 feet tall, about 6 to 8 inches around). So I broke off a couple of leaves and a couple of the fruit so I could look for it on the Internet. (Isn't the Internet wonderful for finding out information when you need it?)  Well, I came up with 2 possibilities, one had me wondering how I could get rid of it and fast, Poisons -- Do Not Touch -- . Thank God it turned out to be the other one. See below

Leaf Characteristics

• broad, flat leaves
• simple leaves
• not lobed
• smooth margins, entire
• alternate leaves
• without needle-like bristles
• not heart-shaped
• widest toward tip or middle
• 4-7 inches long, edges wavy

• other fruit (not cone, winged, acorn, or in pod or capsule)
• without husk or capsules
• loose, not packed tightly together
• fruit with seeds
• seeds 1/2" or more in length, flattened
• fruit round, about 1.5" in diameter

In 1980, the Ohio Forestry Association recorded a 66-foot specimen of Persimmon in Van Wert County, Ohio. The Persimmon typically has a rather short trunk and a rounded or cylindrical crown of dense branches. Often, it sprouts from its roots and thickets of smaller trees surround a larger one. Sometimes the Persimmon grows as a shrub. The thick, brown to black bark is distinctively broken into small, square blocks. This tree probably is best known for its sweet, orange fruit in the fall. The Persimmon grows in light, well-drained soils. It can be found in a variety of places: in moist valleys and on drier uplands, along roadsides, in old fields and clearings, and in mixed forests. This tree ranges from southern New England throughout the southeastern United States, westward to Iowa, Oklahoma and Texas. Ohio is at the northern limit of its range, and the Persimmon occurs in the southern and southeastern counties. The wood of this tree is close-grained, strong and hard. Woodworkers use it to make golf club heads, billiard cues, and shuttles that are used in weaving. Also, workers use it for veneer and flooring. People eat the fresh fruit, and they make Persimmon bread, puddings and cakes. Native American Indians stored dried Persimmon fruit like prunes. Many animals, including turkey, quail, opossums, raccoons, skunks and deer, feed on the fruit.

Bark

Flower

     Well I finally went out and bought myself a new graphics card, nothing big or real powerful, just a nice little one. (My computer is older and only takes a PCI.) I followed the direction on installing it, it was looking good, rebooted like the directions said and came up with a black screen, nothing. **Turn off the computer take out the graphics card, restart the computer, removed everything that I'd just put in, reboot the computer again.** OK, so now I decided to let Windows install the software and drives, here I go again: ##turn off the computer, install new graphics card, turn on the computer, wait for Windows to show that it has new hardware, tell it to get the drives off the CD, finish loading that and the screen goes black.## Go back and read between the **----** Ok, now I decided to go to the makers web site get the newest drivers and try it again. Read between ##--## then read between **--**. I don't know how many times I tried, I finally just packed up the graphics card and took it back to the store. By the time I was finished with all that I was ready to pull my hair out. I'll just have to find another card someplace else.

Take a look at this guy, I found him hopping around on a tree branch, this morning when I got home from work, making a lot of noise. I can't remember see a bird like him before, have a look:

Pileated Woodpecker

Photo Credit: Jerry Green

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Dryocopus pileatus

DESCRIPTION: The second largest woodpecker species in the United States; thought to be the largest woodpecker until the recent re-discovery of an ivory-billed woodpecker in Arkansas, a species which had been considered extinct for many years.

Pileated woodpeckers are about 15 to 17 inches tall with a wingspan of approximately 30 inches. They have a predominantly black body with red and white on the head and white on the neck and wing linings. They have a conspicuous white stripe that runs from above and behind the bill, across the face, down the neck, and under the wings that connects with the white wing linings. The white leading edge of the underside of the wing is very conspicuous in flight. Both sexes are similar in appearance but males have a red crown and forehead and red in the moustachial stripes. Females have a gray to yellow-brown forehead with a black moustachial stripe. Pileated woodpeckers have a heavy silvery gray bill and yellowish feathers over the nostrils.

The ivory-billed woodpecker, once thought to be extinct, can be easily confused with pileated woodpeckers. Ivory-billed woodpeckers are slightly larger and have two white stripes on the underside of each wing that are very prominent in flight. They also have an extensive white area on the top of each wing that is lacking on pileated woodpeckers. Ivory-billed woodpeckers lack white coloration on the chin and also have an ivory colored bill as opposed to the silvery gray bill of pileated woodpeckers.

DISTRIBUTION: Pileated woodpeckers inhabit areas of the Pacific Northwest, much of Canada and the eastern United States. They are a common, breeding, permanent resident in all wooded areas throughout Alabama.

HABITAT: Prefers forested areas (deciduous, coniferous, or mixed) with trees large enough to provide adequate roosting and nesting. Often associated with mature and old-growth forests but can be found in younger forests if they contain some large trees.

FEEDING HABITS: Carpenter ants and beetle larvae are the primary food sources. They will also eat other insects, fruits, and nuts. Its large, sharp bill is used to remove bark or excavate rectangular to oval cavities in trees, fallen timber, dead roots, and stumps. After removing bark or excavating a cavity to expose ants and other insects, the pileated woodpecker uses its extremely long, sticky tongue to reach prey.

LIFE HISTORY AND ECOLOGY: Male and female pileated woodpeckers form long term pair bonds and will defend their territory from intruding individuals. They will occasionally allow intruders to temporarily use their territory during the winter months.

Both members of the pair assist with excavating a new nest cavity in a dead tree or limb each year. The nest cavity may take several weeks to excavate and is usually lined with wood chips. The female lays three to five glossy white eggs, usually four, that are then incubated by both sexes for up to 18 days. The male and female also share the brooding duties for seven to 10 days once the eggs have hatched, gathering food and regurgitating it to the young for approximately 24 to 28 days. After fledging from the nest, young woodpeckers stay with their parents for up to three months while they learn survival skills and how to forage.

I've been testing out the new Firefox for a couple of months to see how I like it compared to Internet Explorer, Netscape and Flock. I started using Netscape because I kept having problems with IE but I have to keep IE around because some sites require you to use IE. I like Netscape but it's not going to have anymore updates and their customer service said to try Flock or FireFox. Well I've been using Flock for months now and I really like it so I decided to try out the FireFox. At first I thought it was kind of plain until I found the add-ons, WOW. It's not plain anymore.

I started out getting some Themes, a Grocery List Generator (that's nice), Adblock (that's nice also) and a lot of other things. Right now I'm using the blog editor ScribeFire it is one of the add-ons for FireFox version 3. You can use with more that one blog site. I have been using the Windows Live Writer and I like it a lot. Flock also has and blog editor but I couldn't send to all of my blog sites. With the ScribeFire so far the only thing that I don't feel right about is that my Windows Space I had to change to be updated by email. You can even email a blog from you phone, that would be nice if you were out on the road site seeing or hiking, you could send a picture also. --- I just can't change things around with the ScribeFire the way I want too, so I've copied all of this to Windows Live Writer so I can move things around the way I want.

One of the things that I like about FireFox is the security, phishing email, we should all know what that is:  Phishing emails attempt to steal your identity and will often ask you to reveal your password or other personal or financial information. Will I've been getting emails saying that someone was trying to access my account from bank account to PayPal account even my Yahoo account. They tell you to click on the link and log in to check your account, then they have your information to get into your account. Well FireFox with the add-ons, Netcraft Anti-Phishing helps a lot, it stops you from going to the web site.

I've just been having fun trying out all the add-ons that I take a liking to. They're easy to install and just as easy to uninstall so if I don't like an add-ons no problem.

     Jason saw this snake around the back porch (playing with some chipmunks) and wanted to run out and kill it. Until he read about it and decided to catch it and make it a pet. (No way!!)  He should be a good snake the have around the outside of the house. See picture and information about the snake below.

Black Kingsnake

Photo Credit: Scott Gravette

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Lampropeltis getula nigra

DESCRIPTION: Lampropeltis getula nigra grows to 58 inches in length. It is black with traces of yellow or white spots, or bands above and has a white throat. Their heads are typically small and barely distinct from the neck, the bodies are cylindrical, the scales smooth, and they have a single anal scale. They are strikingly colored.

DISTRIBUTION: Black kingsnakes inhabit areas from southern Ohio, western West Virginia, southeastern Illinois and south to northeastern Mississippi, north Alabama, and northwestern Georgia.  

HABITAT: They thrive in many habitats including hardwood and pine forests, bottomlands and swamps, farmlands and suburban areas. It is strongly terrestrial, but inhabits areas close to water such as stream banks and swamp boarders. They are secret and are frequently found under boards, tin or other cover objects.

FEEDING HABITS: Black kingsnakes are active almost exclusively by day, but are most active in the morning during the summer. They are strong constrictors and consume a variety of prey including snakes, lizards, rodents, birds, and turtle eggs. Kingsnakes are resistant to the venom of pit-vipors and they readily eat copperheads, cottonmouths, and rattlesnakes.  

LIFE HISTORY AND ECOLOGY: The black kingsnake, like all kingsnakes, will frequently rattle their tail, release musk, and bite upon capture. They typically tame quick and are often kept as pets. This species mates in the spring and the female will lay  three to 24 eggs under debris or in a rotting log in early summer. The eggs hatch in August or September.

Some herpetologists are concerned that the eastern kingsnake is declining in some areas of the Coastal Plain and in Florida. They have nearly disappeared in several areas of their range while remaining quite common in other regions. The exact cause of decline is unknown, but habitat loss and degradation, imported fireants, or disease are potential causes.

REFERENCES:

Haneline, P., Fellow, A., and Dept. of Biological Sciences, Uni. Pittsburg. 1981. Harper and Row Complete Field Guide to North American Wildlife-Eastern Edition. Harper and Row, Inc. New York, NY. pp. 367

Virginia Fish and Wildlife Information Service. Accessed February 10, 2008 at http://fwie.fw.vt.edu/VHS/eastern_black_kingsnake.htm

     Well I was out cutting down some blackberry bushes, yes, cutting them down. They're just taking over the place and getting to close to the house. I walked out onto the porch and I scared a big water moccasin off. That thing was big! So, I've been cutting back the blackberries that they like to eat. Not having a bush hog means that I'm using a sling blade and is that tiring. I've run across a nice birds nest and a nice turtle. I even got a picture of the turtle. Well, you can't really see him that well but he's there. Can you find him? Hopefully now that I've got it cut back there want be any more snakes that close to the house again. I don't like snakes!!

    I'm still waiting on the settlement from when the logging company was cutting on my land. Can you believe that the lawyer called to asked if I remember what the date was when it happened?!?!?! It's been six months, I have a hard enough time remembering what I did this morning. It's a good things that I took those pictures with my phone, it had a date on them. From what I understand from him is that the logging company has not responded to any of his letters. It's still a wait and see thing. So that's what I'm doing...waiting.

     My computer has been acting funny for days, you know, slow, things not coming up, part of the screen not showing. Then it got to were nothing would come up. I tried going to a save point and it wouldn't let me do that. I removed the graphics card, I could see again but it still wouldn't work. I ended up doing a System Recovery, Ouch!!! I may have save my information but it took the system back to when I first got it (2002) Ouuuuuuch!!!! The system have slowly been putting in all the patches and update and has finally caught up to the here and now but now I'm have problems with software that I never had problems with before. It's going to be some time before I get it all running the way I like it again.

     Wouldn't a house be nice??? That's what I'm thinking about doing with some of the money I get from the logging company that was cutting on my land. OK, I don't know how much I'll be getting or anything like that but I can dream can't I?? I've been living in this run down trailer for to long and I don't want to replace it the just a newer trailer, I want a house. I've been looking around at difference web sites and found a couple that I liked. with no price attached to them I don't know if I could afford them or not but I sure have enjoyed looking. It's nice to dream.

     This one I really like Topside floor plans the bottom level would be like the boys own apartment. The little Living room on the first level would be the perfect room the all their games systems and thing. This company will do a free estimate, from what I can understand is that the house comes as a kit and you can do all or part of the building to keep the cost down. I don't what I could do but paint to help but I'd be willing.

     This one is really nice also Danehill Cottage click on the main floor for the floor plan, it's small but nice, I could just see walking in the front door around Christmas time, seeing the fireplace with stocking, Christmas tree in front of the window, yeah nice, nice and homey.

    Check them out and tell me what you think.

    Well, last night I fell. There was this cord that I tripped over, I ended up having to go to the Emergency Room. Banged up both of my knees and my left foot. They would have put stitches in my toes but they sort of glued them close?!  I'm hurting from head to toe. I really like the new x-ray machine that they were using, it was digital, they didn't have to develop the picture they just put the cassette with the picture in a machine and then it showed a picture on a monitor. My knees are black, blue, yellow and scrapped up, my toe was bleeding pretty bad. Having a hard time walking on the foot, as you can see that bandage makes it a little hard walking, they don't want me moving the toe around at all. I'm just very glad that I didn't brake anything. Well I'm feeling sleepy from the pain pills so I'm going to go lay down for a while.

Can you believe it? Somebody bought the land next to me, then without having a survey done, started cutting trees. These pictures were taken at the back corner of my land, as you can see he should have gotten a survey done. This will cost him. I don't want to use lawyers if I don't have to but I've already called Rick to see what he thinks, since he handled it the last time someone cut that logging road in the middle of my land. When I talked to the man who bought it, he wouldn't believe I knew were my land started and ended. He came back yesterday after he had and aerial picture taken that showed were my border was, I was right he's cutting on my land. He says he wants to make it right but he can't put the trees back and he was cutting the trees down so he could sale them. I won't know all the damage until we have a good hard rain to see if my drive doesn't get washed away.