Cat & Dog Adoption

25% of pet dogs put to sleep in animal shelters are purebred.
Approximately 4 million pet dogs and cats are put to sleep each year due to overpopulation.
Adopting a dog or cat from a humane society, an animal shelter, an SPCA, or a rescue group group saves a life!

One can easily google for the name and location of the animal shelter nearest you. Most shelters have an online photo gallery of animals available for adoption…look and share the choices with your freinds.

I DIDN'T GO TO CHURCH TODAY by Ogden Nash

I didn’t go to church today,
I trust the Lord to understand.
The surf was swirling blue and white,
The children swirling on the sand.
He knows, He knows how brief my stay,
How brief this spell of summer weather,
He knows when I am said and done
We’ll have plenty of time together.

quotes on aging

Any man who is under 30, and is not a liberal, has not heart; and any man who is over 30, and is not a conservative, has no brains.
Winston Churchill

The old believe everything; the middle aged suspect everything: the young know everything.
Oscar Wilde

"Its not over till it s over", jpr

Wisdom is the gray hair unto men, and an unspotted life is old age (Solomon 4:8).
The Bible

The old age of an eagle is better than the youth of a sparrow.
Proverb

Dexter Cows

Pound for pound, no bovine can match the diversity of Dexter cattle, one of the smallest cattle breeds. Standing just 36 to 44 inches at the shoulder, Dexters are the perfect old-fashioned, family cow; gentle, versatile and economical,

They are believed to have originated in Ireland, and were imported into the United States in the early 20th century. One Dexter cow will give about 1 to 2 gallons of milk a day and about 400 pounds of meat in he freezer.

jpr: at first glance pears to be Mikey in his backyard.

some humor

"My wife is on a new diet. Coconuts and bananas. She hasn't lost weight, but BOY, can she climb a tree now!"
-- anonymous

"The Swiss have an interesting army. Five hundred years without a war. Pretty impressive. Also pretty lucky for them. Ever see that little Swiss Army knife they have to fight with? Not much of a weapon there. Corkscrews. Bottle openers. 'Come on, buddy, let's go. You get past me, the guy in back of me, he's got a spoon. Back off. I've got the toe clippers right here.'"
--Jerry Seinfeld


"If God doesn't destroy Hollywood Boulevard, he owes Sodom and Gomorrah an apology."
--Jay Leno

my neighborhood is changing

These guys have moved into the heavy brush behind my house. ?????

ah what brandy can accomplish

El Nino

Water early……..Water midst ……Water late.
Water light……..Water heavy….....Water deluge,
Water puddle…...Water flow….…..Water fall,
Moist…………...Damp……………Wet.

Irene Jacob

See her in the French Film "Rouge", a superb movie.

Money for Puke.

The 2.4lb chunk of smelly whale vomit, found on a beach by a man walking his dog, sold to a bidder in France on Friday for $16,000.  Known as ambergris, its used mainly in making perfume.  Only the French .........

Wowwww.

Seal catching ride on a humpback.  

Pawnee quote

All things in the world are two. In our minds we are two, good and evil. With our eyes we see two things, things that are fair and things that are ugly.... We have the right hand that strikes and makes for evil, and we have the left hand full of kindness, near the heart. One foot may lead us to an evil way, the other foot may lead us to a good. So are all things two, all two.

appalachian red wolf

Seen me one'em dead on the four lane near my home.

baby woodchuck

One  be in my field in the back.

The Mingo Oak, Mingo County, WV.

The Mingo Oak was a white oak  in Mingo County West Virginia. Recognized for its age and size in 1931, the Mingo Oak was the oldest and largest living white oak tree in the world until its death in 1938. The tree reached a height of over 200 feet, its crown measured 130 feet in diameter and 60 feet  in height. The tree's trunk measured 9 feet 10 inches and the circumference of its base measured 30 feet 9 inches.  Estimates place the Mingo Oak's seeding between 1354 and 1361 AD. By the spring of 1938, the Mingo Oak failed to produce leaves, and on May of that year, West Virginia state forester D. B. Griffin announced the tree's death. The prevailing theory is that the tree died from the release of poisonous gases and sulfur fumes from a burning spoil tip in nearby Trace Gap.

A True Legend

• As a general comment on baseball: "90% of the game is half-mental."
• On why he no longer went to Ruggeri's, a St. Louis restaurant: "Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded."
• "It ain't over till it's over." In July 1973, Berra's Mets trailed the Chicago Cubs by 9½ games in the National League East. The Mets rallied to win the division title on the final day of the season.
• When giving directions to Joe Garagiola to his New Jersey home, which was accessible by two routes: "When you come to a fork in the road, take it."
• At Yogi Berra Day at Sportsman Park in St. Louis: "Thank you for making this day necessary."
• "It's déjà vu all over again". Berra explained that this quote originated when he witnessed Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris repeatedly hit back-to-back home runs in the Yankees' seasons in the early 1960s.
• "You can observe a lot by watching."
• "Always go to other people's funerals, otherwise they won't go to yours."

RIP

News Flash: Sarah Palin makes nearly accurate statement (about Ahmed Mohamed)

Ahmed Mohamed' "clock"

It's a clock but several engineers have looked at the photo and assert that "He Didn't Invent a Clock, He Just tore the Plastic off a Store Bought One".  If you magnify the pix you can see 1. a familiar attachment for a backup 9v battery; 2. a commercially sold circuit board :3 additional parts that make no sense if he invented it.  It appears that all he did was take the plastic off a store-bought clock.

He's flashing the "Gotcha" sign.

when and where do they go in winter?

 Hummingbirds will migrate to the southern United States to Mexico, Panama, and the Yucatan Peninsula for the winter. Hummingbirds are keen on the changes in daylight and the declining insect and flower population before migration. Before a hummingbird starts migration, they need to eat a lot of insects and nectar to fatten up. A hummingbird will gain 25-40% of their body weight before they start migration.


jpr: my H-bird hasn't been seen for almost a week.

Netted iris

Lightly-scented flowers are usually violet-purple, although white, yellow, and light-blue cultivars are available. Foliage is delicate and grassy. They multiply rapidly and are excellent for rock gardens and sunny borders.

One of the earliest irises, these low growing varieties are very early blooming, flowering from February through early April.

Easily forced in the house for Christmas flowers.

Bloom Time: Jan - Mar
Hardiness Zone: 4 - 9
Height: 3 - 9 inches (7.5 to 22.5 cm)
Planting Depth: 4 inches (10 cm)
Bulb Spacing: 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 cm)
Light Requirements: Sun to partial shade
Attributes: Fragrant

irish jokes

Murphy sat in a Belfast confessional. "Bless me, Father, for I have sinned," he said. "I've blown up three hundred miles of English railroad!" "All right, my son," admonished the priest. "For penance, do the stations!"


An English man and an Irish man are driving head on at night, on a twisty, dark road. Both are driving too fast for the conditions and collide on a sharp bend in the road. To the amazement of both, they are unscathed, though their cars are both destroyed. In celebration of their luck, both agree to put aside their dislike for the other from that moment on. At this point, the Irish man goes to the boot and fetches a 12 year old bottle of Jameson whiskey. He hands the bottle to the English man, who toasts, "May the English and the Irish live together forever, in peace, and harmony.'' The English man then tips the bottle and lashes half of it down. Still flabbergasted over the whole thing, he goes to hand the bottle to the Irish man, who replies: ''No thanks, I'll just wait till the Garda get here!

3rd marriage

" The first time u marry is for love, the second for money, the 3rd for companionship."
Jackie Kennedy

Jpr: hence the argument for polygamy.

a wife according to scripture

When one finds a worthy wife,
her value is far beyond pearls.
Her husband, entrusting his heart to her,
has an unfailing prize.
She brings him good, and not evil,
all the days of her life.
....


jpr: We have been collecting names of such ladies. No postings as yet?!

Appalachia's native americans

In the Virginias and neighboring states a regional grouping is made of the native americansskin own as the Appalachian Tribe. West Virginia was home and hunting territory to Shawnee, Cherokee, Delaware, Seneca, Wyandot, Ottawa, Tuscarora, Susquehannock, Huron, Sioux, Mingo, Iroquois.

Good night my Angel. By Billy Joel

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=h3iSaoKYNIg

Mara Does It.

Mara DeWitte, nee McDonald, takes her vows with husband Guy and family dogs as witnesses.

deer in late summer

Their bright summer coats are turning dark!

Jpr: they been at my portulaca again?

coming soon to Appalachia

Wintley Phipps

Wintley Augustus Phipps, Sr. (born January 7, 1955)  in Trinidad and Tobago. Phipps is an ordained Seventh-day Adventist minister, a world-renowned vocal artist, and  initiator of special projects such as the US Dream Academy.He features a "booming baritone" voice, usually singing inspirational gospel music

Love letter to a flight attendent

   Dear Lady — 

  There is something not quite definable in your face — something lovely, not pretty in a conventionally thought of way. You have something graceful and tender and feminine (sp). You seem to be a woman who has been loved in her childhood, or else, somehow by the mystery of genetic phenomena you have been visited by the gifts of refinement, dignity and poise. Perhaps you cannot be accredited with all that.

  Irrespective of your gothic aspects, you have passed something on in terms of your expression, mien and general comportment that is unusual and rewarding.

  It’s been a pleasant if brief encounter and I wish you well and I hope we shall have occasion to cross eyes again sometime.

  Best wishes

  Marlon Brando

Portulaca

Jpr: one of me grandmas favorites...me has'm!

Tony Azito

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7Sljlzn4bk



Won a Drama Desk Award for his performance as the Sergeant in "The Pirates of Penzance". Double-jointed, marionette-style dancer. Fabuluso performer from Julliard.

Date of Birth18 July 1948
Date of Death 26 May 1995,

Counter point

Jpr:  sees it as 'smarty pants' retort!

pheasant chick

Watch your step in the back yard!

cerina vincent

really fine actress!

Stone wall Jackson the singer

                               

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jq0pkUs7asA

Jpr:  he's a goodn

The Sick Rose by William Blake

O Rose thou art sick.
The invisible worm.
That flies in the night
In the howling storm:

Has found out thy bed
Of crimson joy:
And his dark secret love
Does thy life destroy.

jpr: This lament is for 7 of my 8 rose bushes.

Attending Religious Services health Benefits

"" The number of Americans who attend religious services at least once a week jumped nearly three points, to 27.5%, during the two years ended in 2004, according to statistics from the University of Chicago's National Opinion Research Center.

This leap could be good news for the nation's health. A growing body of scientific evidence shows that Americans who attend religious services at least once a week enjoy better- than- average health and lower rates of illness, including depression. Perhaps most important, the studies show that weekly attendance confers a significant reduction in mortality risk over a given period of time.""

~~WSJ

Skunk Water

Police departments in the United States have bought a foul-smelling liquid developed in Israel to repel protesters. It is a truly putrid stench. Palestinians who have been sprayed describe it as "worse than raw sewage" and "like a mixture of excrement, noxious gas and a decomposing donkey".  The secret recipe includes yeast, baking powder and water, which sounds innocent enough. But the scent can linger on skin and in the environment for days, sometimes longer.  Although it may induce a gagging reflex, the company says skunk is made "100% food-grade ingredients" and is "100% eco-friendly - harmless to both nature and people".

Photo taken the night before the attack.

I was scheduled to teach the morning of 9-11 at John Jay in NYC.  But a bad accident the night before made it necessary to cancel my classes.  A phone call immediately after the first strike alerted me.  Fifty three John Jay students and graduates, police and fire, died in the buildings, hundreds more were seriously injured, many succumbing to cancer in the years after the event.  The deaths included some of my students and former students, and the fireman son of a colleague.  The world will never fully understand the incredible acts of heroism by these men and women, and others working in the buildings. RIP

Remembering 9-11-11

I was in my office with two students working in the lab.....Ryan, and Mary.  As usual WQED classic radio playing. The report of the first plane into the towers came over the broadcast. I told the students some goof ball in plane crashe into building in NYC....we joked.. The the second plane was Announced...I informed the students...there was not but disbelief.

Every 9-11 Ryan and I connect. Have lost track of Mary ...she lives in center of Pa , has married and jworks as an administrator. in hospital.

The day is not remembered without thoughts of my students as we huddled together.

Quote

"if you tell the Truth you don't have to remember anything you've said."  M.Twain

olivia wilde

Dual US and Irish nationality facilitated her study at the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin, Ireland.

jpr i'm wild about Wilde!

Siobhan Flynn

A Welsh actress....most engaging creature.

Irish Myths: Cuchulain

Cuchulain, one of the greatest heroes of Irish mythology and legend, was a warrior in the service of the king of Ulster.  Best known for his single-handed defense of Ulster, Cuchulain is said to have lived in the first century B . C ., and tales about him  began to be written down in the A . D . 700S in a series of tales known as the Ulster Cycle. He had several magical weapons: his sword, his visor, and his barbed spear,  which inflicted wounds from which nobody ever recovered. When Cuchulain went into battle, he would go into a frenzy. His cry alone would kill a hundred warriors. His physical appearance changed completely. Cuchulain's hair stood on end, one eye bulged out while the other disappeared in his head, his legs and feet turned to face backward, his muscles swelled, and a column of blood spurted up from his head. His body became so hot that it could melt snow.  When swept away in a war frenzy, Cuchulain could not distinguish between friends and enemies. On one occasion, he was so full of the lust for battle that a group of Ulster women marched out naked carrying vats of cold water to bring him to his senses. He was  grabbed by warriors who threw him into three vats of cold water to calm him down. The first vat burst apart, the second boiled over, but the third merely got hot.  As with all Irish heroes he died young.

ilovejody!

This is a password for one of my students (girl). It's (almost) boundless in tone.

My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
My love as deep; the more I give to thee,
The more I have, for both are infinite.”

― William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

jpr: It kinda fits. Lucky Jody!

women are 'marrying down'

Female aspirations have changed over the past 50 years.  Today’s economically independent women in their late twenties and early thirties are increasingly marrying ‘beneath themselves’ by opting for men of lower social classes. 

Attributed to  more women than men getting COLLEGE DEGREES, and BIGGER PAYCHECKS.




jpr: 65% of college students are female and this stat has held for some time!

Their Here

A fireball in the sky over Bangkok has ignited speculation over whether it's a shooting star, exploding aircraft or falling meteor. In a YouTube video, the burning object is shown falling with a bright streak and blazing up into a larger ball before disappearing. The video was posted from the Nonthaburi area in Thailand. Nonthaburi is located near the popular Chatuchak market in Bangkok, and just around 20 kilometers from Don Mueang Airport, one of two international airports serving Bangkok. Or is it a crash landing of an alien ship?

See video at 

http://www.hindustantimes.com/audio-news-video/av-world/watch-mysterious-fireball-falls-through-the-sky-in-downtown-bangkok/article2-1388356.aspx

health benefits of faith

Medical schools are now beginning to teach doctors-in-training to take a spiritual history along with the patient's medical history.

An analysis of 42 studies involving 125,286 patients, published in the June 2000 issue of Health Psychology, found that those with some sort of religious involvement live longer.

The article "Church a way of life in Dixie," cites a Massachusetts Institute of Technology study that found that regular attendees to church have lower rates of divorce and welfare dependency; it also could have cited a raft of studies pointing to health benefits.

In a study comparing the associations between faith and health, a University of Pittsburgh Medical Center physician has shown the improvements in life expectancy of those who attend religious services on a weekly basis to be comparable to those who participate in regular physical exercise!

Hot poet of the day--Quasimoto

Bells


When I ring bells,
I hear bells.
Do you hear bells?


When I ring no bells,
I hear bells.
Do you hear bells?

George Gobel on Hollywood Squares

Peter Marshall: What are "Do It", "I Can Help" and "Can't Get Enough"?

George Gobel: I don't know but it's coming from the next apartment.

Peter Marshall: If you find someone lying unconscious in the street, should you do anything?

George Goebel: I'd probably crawl around him I guess.

Peter Marshall: True or false...a pea can last as long as 5,000 years.

George Gobel: Boy, it sure seems that way sometimes.

Peter Marshall: True or false, George...experts say there are only seven or eight things in the world dumber than an ant.

George Gobel: Yes, and I think I voted for six of 'em.

Peter Marshall: While visiting China, your tour guide starts shouting "Poo! Poo! Poo!" What does that mean?

George Goebel: Cattle crossing.

Peter Marshall: Back in the old days, when Great Grandpa put horseradish on his head, what was he trying to do?

George Gobel: Get it in his mouth.

Organized Riot ---Hurling

Hurling is a bruising, sometimes bloody sport more than 2,000 years old. In the Middle Ages the English banned the Irish from playing the game but in more recent times it has experienced a resurgence. On Sunday, a nation will be transfixed as Kilkenny and Galway fight it out in the All-Ireland final before a crowd of 80,000 + and a national TV audience.   Near impossible for a foreigner to understand “the clash of the ash  (sticks)’ is played with teams of 15 on a pitch that can be up to 145m long and 90m wide.  Goalposts are similar to those used in rugby. Players may strike the ball on the ground or in the air; they may also pick up the ball (sliotar) with their stick (hurley).  Players may also carry the ball in their hand for not more than four steps, after which they may bounce the ball on the hurley and catch it again (but not more than twice).  To score, the ball needs to be put over the crossbar for a point, or below the crossbar for a goal (three points).

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Mooses Come Walking by Arlo Guthrie

Mooses come walking over the hill
Mooses come walking, they rarely stand still
When mooses come walking they go where they will
When mooses come walking over the hill

Family News

Our Mara surprised us all last night by marrying her long time friend Guy, who is a nice guy, in a private ceremony overlooking her favorite beach at Cape Cod.  Guy is a nice fellow, low key, owns a great dog, and loves the outdoors.  A clan gathering will be held in October for those who can make it.  Please join me in wishing them well.

first known elf cookie

The recipe for this cookie was the first recovered from the on going Keebler dig:

1- neledh limpe
1- salpe tiuca
1- laban pore
6- lisse

modern Appalachian still

Worth the wait!

Laverne and shirely today

jpr: loved the show....not its like to be seen today!

ox eye daisy

Summer begins when these beauties of the field appear!

a reminder

wrath,
greed,
sloth,
pride,
lust,
envy,
and gluttony.


jpt: I have mastered only a few of these.

The Firefly

The firefly's flame
Is something for which science has no name
I can think of nothing eerier
Than flying around with an unidentified glow
on a person's posteerier.

Ogden Nash

Yaaay Mr Pope fellow!!!!

"brehon" laws

writ in 7th century by lawyers or berhons

Every third year roads must be cleared of brambles, weeds and water to prepare for the great assembly.

The harpist is the only musician who is of noble standing. Flute-players, trumpeters and timpanists, as well as jugglers, conjurers and equestrians who stand on the back of horses have no status of their own in the community, only that the noble chieftain to whom they were attached.

For the best arable land the price is twenty-four cows. The price for dry, coarse land is twelve dry cows.

For stripping the bark of an oak tree, enough to tan the leather for a pair of woman's shoes, the fine is one cow-hide. The defendant must cover the bruised portion with a mixture of wet clay, new milk and cow dung.

If a man takes a woman off on a horse, into the woods or onto a sea-going ship, and if members of the woman's tribe are present, they must object within twenty-four hours or they may not demand payment of the fine.

The husband-to-be shall pay a bride-price of land, cattle, horses, gold or silver to the father of the bride. Husband and wife retain individual rights to all the land, flocks and household goods each brings to the marriage.

Children shall be sent at an early age to distant members of the tribe to be reared in the hereditary professions of law, medicine, poetic composition or war, or of tilling the soil and wifeliness. Foster children shall be returned to their parents at the marriage age : fourteen for girls and seventeen for boys.

Whoever comes to your door, you must feed him or care for him, with no questions asked.

If your neighbour does not repay the debt he owes you, you may prevent him from going about his daily business. A white-tie ( for all see) goes on the blacksmith's anvil, the carpenter's axe or the tree-feller's hatchet. He is on his honour to do no work until he has righted the wrong.

February first is the day on which husband or wife may decide to walk away from the marriage.

When you become old your family must provide you one oatcake, plus a container of sour milk. They must bathe you every twentieth night and wash your head Saturday. Seventeen sticks of firewood is the allotment for keeping you warm.

Old Koran May Pre-date Islam

Scholars have suggested that fragments of the world's oldest known Koran may predate the accepted founding date of Islam by the Muslim prophet Muhammad.

Radiocarbon dating by the University of Oxford says the fragments were produced between the years 568 A.D. and 645 A.D. The man known to Muslims as The Prophet is thought to have founded Islam sometime after 610 A.D., with the first Muslim community established at Medina, in present-day Saudi Arabia, in 622 A.D. "This gives more ground to what have been peripheral views of the Koran's genesis, like that Muhammad and his early followers used a text that was already in existence and shaped it to fit their own political and theological agenda, rather than Muhammad receiving a revelation from heaven," says Keith Small of Oxford's Bodleian Library.