LIFE'S BETTER IN THE MOUNTAINS

Friday, September 9, 2016

We Love Lucy


It's September and we are once again plagued with much near-record high temperatures.  High school football games around here will begin with 87-degrees.  It surely doesn't seem like football weather.

We have so many things to worry about right now.  But our Lucy plugs along with few worries of her own.  One of her worries concerns anything unusual on the deck.  We have several sets of photographs of her looking intently out the window at the deck.  And standing in an anxious posture.


Looking out the window at dusk




 She remains focused


 And what has her attention for this long?  OK, sometimes it's a leaf twirled by the wind.  But more often it's a fallen bird.  And this time it's a hummingbird.  For reasons I will never understand, the hummingbirds spend more time fighting and defending the feeders than nourishing themselves for their long migration.  Like miniature helicopters, they twirl and twirl.  And every now and then they collide and one of them falls to the deck below.

Lucy stares at any fallen bird until it takes off again.  As if sending encouraging messages, she wags her tail each time the fallen birds moves.  She watches until the bird flies away, then settles herself back on the bed.  As if to say, "Well folks, I saved another one."

 The silly little hummingbird


North Korea has detonated yet another nuclear weapon underground.  A very frightening thing indeed given the evil and unstable nature of their leader.  Makes you think even more carefully about how to cast your vote in our upcoming election.

More and more pregnant women in the US and US territories are infected with the Zika virus, known to cause severe birth defects.  And what is our Congress doing about it?  Can't they, just this once introduce a bill that contains only the provisions about Zika funding?  Apparently not.  One party keeps adding amendments to a Zika funding bill that would de-fund Planned Parenthood and/or strip most of the Affordable Care Act, making passage of a bill less and less likely.  So our elected leaders are willing to put more and more women at risk, not to mention adding additional costs to our health care system.  Makes you think even more carefully about how to cast your vote in our upcoming election.

[BTW:  PLEASE contact your own Senators and Representatives, telling them you want a clean bill passed for Zika funding.  And asking them what specific measures they are taking to ensure passage of a Zika funding bill while they are in this short session.  You can find the contact information for Senators here or your Representative here.]

Our quote today comes from the late Russian painter, Elena Gorokhova whom seems to know a bit about American politics.

The rules are simple: they lie to us,
We know they're lying,
They know we know they're lying,
But they keep lying to us,
And we keep pretending to believe them.



So once again, I implore you to think even more carefully about how you will cast your vote.  Don't throw your vote away this very crucial time in our history.




HAVE A MOST WONDERFUL WEEKEND, EVERYONE

CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATORS


10 comments:

KGMom said...

I agree there is much to worry about. And when you said "Lucy"--I thought OH, NO! But then read on...whew.
I am practically terrified at the potential outcome of this election.

Lowcarb team member said...

Goodness ... 87-degrees, that is too hot! I pity anyone playing football, but of course it is the football season!

Lovely photo's of Lucy, and I especially like that she wags her tail each time the fallen birds moves, as if in her own way she is sending positive vibes...

All the best Jan

Vicki Lane said...

A great quote and a great reminder to push our congresspeople to act on Zika.

This hot dry weather is enervating -- and only a taste of what climate change has in store for us.

Cheryl said...

Delightful.....dear sweet Lucy. I love the little hummingbird and Lucy's watchful eye. What an enchanting episode.

Anonymous said...

Always good to see Lucy so entertained by the hummingbirds. You are so right about this coming election. I am getting very nervous about the outcome, and I don't even watch the news. It's just the wackiness of our country scaring me.

Nance said...

I, too, have noticed the hummingbirds being more bellicose than usual lately at our feeder. They do a lot of trash-talking, too. Why aren't they eating, fattening up for what will be a long trip to their eventual winter lodgings? It's almost as if they are infected with our Politics--more concerned with blabbing than real issues, even if those issues are incredibly important and have an impact on themselves, too.

What a slog this election season has been! In Ohio, we've never gotten a break; our Senate seat is hotly contested. We've had TWO YEARS of nonstop political ads from candidates and super PACS. No wonder my migraines are so bad.

Arkansas Patti said...

I am so happy the hummer recovered after getting its bell rung. Lucy's encouragement was so cute.
Great reminder and list. I all ready have my congressmen's email addresses among contacts and periodically give them a piece of my mind. I did mentioned to them about Zika. It is what we can do between elections to keep from feeling helpless.

KB said...

I always cheer when the hummers recover like that - I'm like Lucy, peering out the window not wanting to disturb the stunned hummer but wanting it to fly again. Good job, Lucy!

Our senators are split, D and R. Our R Senator sends me form letters back always saying (in so many words) that he's doing whatever the R leadership tells him to do. I am close to giving up but I guess that would mean that they win. I'll write again.

NCmountainwoman said...

Thanks for your comments, everyone

Donna - Like you, I am afraid, very afraid.

Jan - Yes, they have played and practiced in some miserable weather this year.

Vicki - I wish I could hold out hope that the legislators will do this one thing before they recess. But history has shown...

Cheryl - Thanks

Robin - We have a new Trump ad running today that makes me gag. No fun being a major swing state.

Nance - We are in the same spot as Ohio in that we are a very important swing state and our governor's race is getting more and more ugly. I try to avoid them but even the local news and weather is filled with noxious ads.

Patti - I fear they don't bother to listen to any of us who disagree.

KB - I'm with you. Both our Senators and our Representative are GOP. I know they don't listen, may not even bother to read anything I send. But I keep plugging. And I vote.

The Bug said...

We had a Hillary canvasser come to our door today & reminded us that early voting starts on October 12 - I put it on my calendar!