USMB Coffee Shop IV

[Big Black Dog]

The UPS guy just delivered my new phone. I've had a iPhone 5 for over 3 years and I just up-graded to a iPhone 7 Plus. I love new toys.

 

[Ernie S.]

We have got down to 32 degrees for several days with really cold strong winds.

We got down to 34 on Friday and 80 yesterday. The weather the last few days has been very unsettled with big storms missing us by mere miles. Last night there was a band of tornadoes just to our west.

 

[Foxfyre]

Tarantulas!!

They aren't as bad as you might think. They are huge among spiders and are mildly poisonous but not deadly. And they won't bite unless provoked. If you are gentle you can safely hold them in your hand. (So I've been told. I haven't actually done that and probably won't.) A lot of people keep them as pets.

I had a friend who had one as a pet. *shudder* I'll pass!

I have one that lives in my front yard. He keeps the bugs down around the front porch.
He's black and white, a very unusal color from the rest who are tan and dark brown.

Tarantula Facts

We don't kill or remove every daddy longleg spider we see in the house either for the same reason. They don't make huge webs and they are harmless to humans, but if they are around, we don't have to worry about getting any bad spiders in the house. So I can appreciate you having a 'guard' tarantula on your place. I wouldn't bother him/her either. For the same reason when we lived out on the mountain, we cautioned our house guests not to kill the couple of king snakes that lived somewhere close to the house. They are harmless to humans but deadly to any rattlesnake that happened to venture onto the property.

The highway from I-40 to Santa Fe that goes along the east side of our mountain--our road to town when we lived out there--is two lane traveling through really rugged country. I often drove it when we were still working as I worked in Santa Fe quite a bit.

One day I was headed to Santa Fe when I pulled over to watch a tarantula migration that happens now and then. Thousands of tarantulas all moving together across the highway. An amazing thing to see. And I was a bit amused to see how many people in vehicles will swerve to avoid hitting a spider.

Never saw that though I've driven those mountain roads numerous times on a motorcycle. I've seen mule deer, javalina, bear and scillions of snakes and little lizards, but never tarantulas.

They 'migrate' or more accurately 'march' once a year in the fall. In sparse years when conditions aren't favorable for large scale tarantula production, you will only see one or two spiders as they go looking for mates and so it is reasonable that most people never see one. But in a year that is extremely favorable for tarantulas, they can be in large numbers such as I saw that one time. It is quite a phenomenon because it will only happen once in a blue moon.

You would have thought it would creep me out, but it didn't. It was fascinating. Unfortunately a still camera didn't do it justice--I do have a couple of pictures but they didn't really capture it. And this was before smart phones with video capability.

 

[Foxfyre]

The UPS guy just delivered my new phone. I've had a iPhone 5 for over 3 years and I just up-graded to a iPhone 7 Plus. I love new toys.

Do you use all the features? I don't have a smart phone--we don't use one often enough to justify the expense to use one--but those who do really do love them.

 

[Foxfyre]

We have got down to 32 degrees for several days with really cold strong winds.

We got down to 34 on Friday and 80 yesterday. The weather the last few days has been very unsettled with big storms missing us by mere miles. Last night there was a band of tornadoes just to our west.

So happy when you have time to post Ernie. I've missed you.
34 is really chilly for you this time of year isn't it? And I saw that tornado outbreak this week and thought about you.

 

[Ernie S.]

They aren't as bad as you might think. They are huge among spiders and are mildly poisonous but not deadly. And they won't bite unless provoked. If you are gentle you can safely hold them in your hand. (So I've been told. I haven't actually done that and probably won't.) A lot of people keep them as pets.

I had a friend who had one as a pet. *shudder* I'll pass!

I have one that lives in my front yard. He keeps the bugs down around the front porch.
He's black and white, a very unusal color from the rest who are tan and dark brown.

Tarantula Facts

We don't kill or remove every daddy longleg spider we see in the house either for the same reason. They don't make huge webs and they are harmless to humans, but if they are around, we don't have to worry about getting any bad spiders in the house. So I can appreciate you having a 'guard' tarantula on your place. I wouldn't bother him/her either. For the same reason when we lived out on the mountain, we cautioned our house guests not to kill the couple of king snakes that lived somewhere close to the house. They are harmless to humans but deadly to any rattlesnake that happened to venture onto the property.

The highway from I-40 to Santa Fe that goes along the east side of our mountain--our road to town when we lived out there--is two lane traveling through really rugged country. I often drove it when we were still working as I worked in Santa Fe quite a bit.

One day I was headed to Santa Fe when I pulled over to watch a tarantula migration that happens now and then. Thousands of tarantulas all moving together across the highway. An amazing thing to see. And I was a bit amused to see how many people in vehicles will swerve to avoid hitting a spider.

Never saw that though I've driven those mountain roads numerous times on a motorcycle. I've seen mule deer, javalina, bear and scillions of snakes and little lizards, but never tarantulas.

They 'migrate' or more accurately 'march' once a year in the fall. In sparse years when conditions aren't favorable for large scale tarantula production, you will only see one or two spiders as they go looking for mates and so it is reasonable that most people never see one. But in a year that is extremely favorable for tarantulas, they can be in large numbers such as I saw that one time. It is quite a phenomenon because it will only happen once in a blue moon.

You would have thought it would creep me out, but it didn't. It was fascinating. Unfortunately a still camera didn't do it justice--I do have a couple of pictures but they didn't really capture it. And this was before smart phones with video capability.

Just south of Cape Canaveral there is a land crap migration like that. You don't want to drive A1A for a week after that. The aroma is less than pleasant.

 

[Ernie S.]

We have got down to 32 degrees for several days with really cold strong winds.

We got down to 34 on Friday and 80 yesterday. The weather the last few days has been very unsettled with big storms missing us by mere miles. Last night there was a band of tornadoes just to our west.

So happy when you have time to post Ernie. I've missed you.
34 is really chilly for you this time of year isn't it? And I saw that tornado outbreak this week and thought about you.

It's quite chilly for this early. We can depend on a few days of morning temps in the 20s but the ground never freezes and there are several crops that survive and thrive.

 

[peach174]

I had a friend who had one as a pet. *shudder* I'll pass!

I have one that lives in my front yard. He keeps the bugs down around the front porch.
He's black and white, a very unusal color from the rest who are tan and dark brown.

Tarantula Facts

We don't kill or remove every daddy longleg spider we see in the house either for the same reason. They don't make huge webs and they are harmless to humans, but if they are around, we don't have to worry about getting any bad spiders in the house. So I can appreciate you having a 'guard' tarantula on your place. I wouldn't bother him/her either. For the same reason when we lived out on the mountain, we cautioned our house guests not to kill the couple of king snakes that lived somewhere close to the house. They are harmless to humans but deadly to any rattlesnake that happened to venture onto the property.

The highway from I-40 to Santa Fe that goes along the east side of our mountain--our road to town when we lived out there--is two lane traveling through really rugged country. I often drove it when we were still working as I worked in Santa Fe quite a bit.

One day I was headed to Santa Fe when I pulled over to watch a tarantula migration that happens now and then. Thousands of tarantulas all moving together across the highway. An amazing thing to see. And I was a bit amused to see how many people in vehicles will swerve to avoid hitting a spider.

Never saw that though I've driven those mountain roads numerous times on a motorcycle. I've seen mule deer, javalina, bear and scillions of snakes and little lizards, but never tarantulas.

They 'migrate' or more accurately 'march' once a year in the fall. In sparse years when conditions aren't favorable for large scale tarantula production, you will only see one or two spiders as they go looking for mates and so it is reasonable that most people never see one. But in a year that is extremely favorable for tarantulas, they can be in large numbers such as I saw that one time. It is quite a phenomenon because it will only happen once in a blue moon.

You would have thought it would creep me out, but it didn't. It was fascinating. Unfortunately a still camera didn't do it justice--I do have a couple of pictures but they didn't really capture it. And this was before smart phones with video capability.

Just south of Cape Canaveral there is a land crap migration like that. You don't want to drive A1A for a week after that. The aroma is less than pleasant.

Eww......

 

[Nosmo King]

Who has two thumbs and just finished his Christmas shopping? This guy!

Now all I have to do is wait for Santa's sleigh decked out with a UPS logo and painted drab brown rather than merry red to deliver the goods!

There are two fleece pullovers that must get here before next Friday so I can take them to the embroiderers for customization. Those are for my board game night buddies.

A magic set is on its way for my six year old nephew, a smart lock should be delivered today for my brother and sister-in-law. That way their robot overlord can remotely lock and unlock their back door. Mom's heated throw blanket came yesterday and her new Roku device for her TV set will be here before too long. The Weber Smoky Mountain 18.5" smoker is in the back of my work SUV destined to stay there until Christmas Eve.

I think I remember where I stashed Daisy the Mutt's velvet jingle bell ensconced collar so she can make an even more impressive entrance at the Big House Christmas Eve. I'll buy the standing rib roast about ten days before Christmas Eve and dry age it in the refrigerator.

I mop off any juices and blood with paper towels then put the meat, unwrapped, on a dinner plate at the bottom of the frig. I change out the paper towels every day until the meat looks like a beat up old maroon handbag at the bottom of the lost and found box in a bus depot. It ain't pretty, but it does yield the juiciest, most flavorful prime rib available on this planet.

Gift wrapping still looms large on the horizon. I loved it when Macy's had a gift wrapping department. I could get everything expertly wrapped there while I enjoy a slice of pizza from Antony's. But, alas, Macy's doesn't gift wrap anymore.

I sincerely try to make my Christmas gifts look presentable at least. But I lack the skills. My gifts always look as if I am a much kinder soul than I am. They appear to have been wrapped by a blind seven year old girl born without thumbs. "Oh! Look! He had that little blind girl do his wrapping! He probably gave her a big Christmas tip too!"

Nothing could be further from the truth.

 

[peach174]

I had a friend who had one as a pet. *shudder* I'll pass!

I have one that lives in my front yard. He keeps the bugs down around the front porch.
He's black and white, a very unusal color from the rest who are tan and dark brown.

Tarantula Facts

We don't kill or remove every daddy longleg spider we see in the house either for the same reason. They don't make huge webs and they are harmless to humans, but if they are around, we don't have to worry about getting any bad spiders in the house. So I can appreciate you having a 'guard' tarantula on your place. I wouldn't bother him/her either. For the same reason when we lived out on the mountain, we cautioned our house guests not to kill the couple of king snakes that lived somewhere close to the house. They are harmless to humans but deadly to any rattlesnake that happened to venture onto the property.

The highway from I-40 to Santa Fe that goes along the east side of our mountain--our road to town when we lived out there--is two lane traveling through really rugged country. I often drove it when we were still working as I worked in Santa Fe quite a bit.

One day I was headed to Santa Fe when I pulled over to watch a tarantula migration that happens now and then. Thousands of tarantulas all moving together across the highway. An amazing thing to see. And I was a bit amused to see how many people in vehicles will swerve to avoid hitting a spider.

Never saw that though I've driven those mountain roads numerous times on a motorcycle. I've seen mule deer, javalina, bear and scillions of snakes and little lizards, but never tarantulas.

They 'migrate' or more accurately 'march' once a year in the fall. In sparse years when conditions aren't favorable for large scale tarantula production, you will only see one or two spiders as they go looking for mates and so it is reasonable that most people never see one. But in a year that is extremely favorable for tarantulas, they can be in large numbers such as I saw that one time. It is quite a phenomenon because it will only happen once in a blue moon.

You would have thought it would creep me out, but it didn't. It was fascinating. Unfortunately a still camera didn't do it justice--I do have a couple of pictures but they didn't really capture it. And this was before smart phones with video capability.

Just south of Cape Canaveral there is a land crap migration like that. You don't want to drive A1A for a week after that. The aroma is less than pleasant.

I knew there was a reason I'm a desert dweller.

 

[saveliberty]

Tarantulas kept as pets! Wow!
I can't do that even if somebody gave me 1000 tons of gold
I don't have anything against those animals but I have some kind of arachnophobia...

Keep them in the refrigerator.

 

[Ringel05]

It got down to the 30s this morning, went to Wally World Lite this morning, people walking around bundled up like they were visiting the North Pole. When I returned home and began hauling the groceries in the pigeons would follow me out to the car and back to the house with every trip....... Little beggars........

 

[Foxfyre]

I had a friend who had one as a pet. *shudder* I'll pass!

I have one that lives in my front yard. He keeps the bugs down around the front porch.
He's black and white, a very unusal color from the rest who are tan and dark brown.

Tarantula Facts

We don't kill or remove every daddy longleg spider we see in the house either for the same reason. They don't make huge webs and they are harmless to humans, but if they are around, we don't have to worry about getting any bad spiders in the house. So I can appreciate you having a 'guard' tarantula on your place. I wouldn't bother him/her either. For the same reason when we lived out on the mountain, we cautioned our house guests not to kill the couple of king snakes that lived somewhere close to the house. They are harmless to humans but deadly to any rattlesnake that happened to venture onto the property.

The highway from I-40 to Santa Fe that goes along the east side of our mountain--our road to town when we lived out there--is two lane traveling through really rugged country. I often drove it when we were still working as I worked in Santa Fe quite a bit.

One day I was headed to Santa Fe when I pulled over to watch a tarantula migration that happens now and then. Thousands of tarantulas all moving together across the highway. An amazing thing to see. And I was a bit amused to see how many people in vehicles will swerve to avoid hitting a spider.

Never saw that though I've driven those mountain roads numerous times on a motorcycle. I've seen mule deer, javalina, bear and scillions of snakes and little lizards, but never tarantulas.

They 'migrate' or more accurately 'march' once a year in the fall. In sparse years when conditions aren't favorable for large scale tarantula production, you will only see one or two spiders as they go looking for mates and so it is reasonable that most people never see one. But in a year that is extremely favorable for tarantulas, they can be in large numbers such as I saw that one time. It is quite a phenomenon because it will only happen once in a blue moon.

You would have thought it would creep me out, but it didn't. It was fascinating. Unfortunately a still camera didn't do it justice--I do have a couple of pictures but they didn't really capture it. And this was before smart phones with video capability.

Just south of Cape Canaveral there is a land crap migration like that. You don't want to drive A1A for a week after that. The aroma is less than pleasant.

LOL. I don't think spiders smell.

 

[Foxfyre]

Who has two thumbs and just finished his Christmas shopping? This guy!

Now all I have to do is wait for Santa's sleigh decked out with a UPS logo and painted drab brown rather than merry red to deliver the goods!

There are two fleece pullovers that must get here before next Friday so I can take them to the embroiderers for customization. Those are for my board game night buddies.

A magic set is on its way for my six year old nephew, a smart lock should be delivered today for my brother and sister-in-law. That way their robot overlord can remotely lock and unlock their back door. Mom's heated throw blanket came yesterday and her new Roku device for her TV set will be here before too long. The Weber Smoky Mountain 18.5" smoker is in the back of my work SUV destined to stay there until Christmas Eve.

I think I remember where I stashed Daisy the Mutt's velvet jingle bell ensconced collar so she can make an even more impressive entrance at the Big House Christmas Eve. I'll buy the standing rib roast about ten days before Christmas Eve and dry age it in the refrigerator.

I mop off any juices and blood with paper towels then put the meat, unwrapped, on a dinner plate at the bottom of the frig. I change out the paper towels every day until the meat looks like a beat up old maroon handbag at the bottom of the lost and found box in a bus depot. It ain't pretty, but it does yield the juiciest, most flavorful prime rib available on this planet.

Gift wrapping still looms large on the horizon. I loved it when Macy's had a gift wrapping department. I could get everything expertly wrapped there while I enjoy a slice of pizza from Antony's. But, alas, Macy's doesn't gift wrap anymore.

I sincerely try to make my Christmas gifts look presentable at least. But I lack the skills. My gifts always look as if I am a much kinder soul than I am. They appear to have been wrapped by a blind seven year old girl born without thumbs. "Oh! Look! He had that little blind girl do his wrapping! He probably gave her a big Christmas tip too!"

Nothing could be further from the truth.

As our family has progressed to the point that gifts are often more annoying or a pain to deal with because none of us really NEED anything, we have pretty well all agreed to just give more to charitable causes this time of year and skip most of the gift giving. So no more Christmas trees with colorful tantalizing boxes stacked all around them. No more curious anticipation of what that one really special gift would be. I will miss that. But I don't miss the stress of shopping, wrapping, the expense of getting stuff delivered etc.

Hard to say whether what I will and won't miss balance each other out though.

 

[Foxfyre]

It got down to the 30s this morning, went to Wally World Lite this morning, people walking around bundled up like they were visiting the North Pole. When I returned home and began hauling the groceries in the pigeons would follow me out to the car and back to the house with every trip....... Little beggars........

Do you buy them bags of popcorn?

 

[Ringel05]

Who has two thumbs and just finished his Christmas shopping? This guy!

Now all I have to do is wait for Santa's sleigh decked out with a UPS logo and painted drab brown rather than merry red to deliver the goods!

There are two fleece pullovers that must get here before next Friday so I can take them to the embroiderers for customization. Those are for my board game night buddies.

A magic set is on its way for my six year old nephew, a smart lock should be delivered today for my brother and sister-in-law. That way their robot overlord can remotely lock and unlock their back door. Mom's heated throw blanket came yesterday and her new Roku device for her TV set will be here before too long. The Weber Smoky Mountain 18.5" smoker is in the back of my work SUV destined to stay there until Christmas Eve.

I think I remember where I stashed Daisy the Mutt's velvet jingle bell ensconced collar so she can make an even more impressive entrance at the Big House Christmas Eve. I'll buy the standing rib roast about ten days before Christmas Eve and dry age it in the refrigerator.

I mop off any juices and blood with paper towels then put the meat, unwrapped, on a dinner plate at the bottom of the frig. I change out the paper towels every day until the meat looks like a beat up old maroon handbag at the bottom of the lost and found box in a bus depot. It ain't pretty, but it does yield the juiciest, most flavorful prime rib available on this planet.

Gift wrapping still looms large on the horizon. I loved it when Macy's had a gift wrapping department. I could get everything expertly wrapped there while I enjoy a slice of pizza from Antony's. But, alas, Macy's doesn't gift wrap anymore.

I sincerely try to make my Christmas gifts look presentable at least. But I lack the skills. My gifts always look as if I am a much kinder soul than I am. They appear to have been wrapped by a blind seven year old girl born without thumbs. "Oh! Look! He had that little blind girl do his wrapping! He probably gave her a big Christmas tip too!"

Nothing could be further from the truth.

As our family has progressed to the point that gifts are often more annoying or a pain to deal with because none of us really NEED anything, we have pretty well all agreed to just give more to charitable causes this time of year and skip most of the gift giving. So no more Christmas trees with colorful tantalizing boxes stacked all around them. No more curious anticipation of what that one really special gift would be. I will miss that. But I don't miss the stress of shopping, wrapping, the expense of getting stuff delivered etc.

Hard to say whether what I will and won't miss balance each other out though.

We put up a small tree and that's about it. Thinking about putting little "I wish I had" notes underneath the tree........

 

[peach174]

Hey everbody

I just got thru talking to Mr. & Mrs. Gracie on the phone.
They might have a place, still in the works.
Lets keep our fingers crossed for them.

She says Hi and to tell you all that they are doing alright.
She misses everybody and her computer.

 

[Ringel05]

It got down to the 30s this morning, went to Wally World Lite this morning, people walking around bundled up like they were visiting the North Pole. When I returned home and began hauling the groceries in the pigeons would follow me out to the car and back to the house with every trip....... Little beggars........

Do you buy them bags of popcorn?

No, we buy large boxes of Pop Weavers (24 pacs to a box). The wife pops a bag at night and only eats a couple of handfuls, the birds get the leftover stale popcorn in the morning. On rare mornings like this one there were probably about 40 birds and the left over popcorn disappeared in a matter of about a minute so after I hauled in the groceries I popped another bag an threw it out for them. They were contented after that.
One pigeon in particular will literally walk up to just an inch or two of me and pace back and forth and walk around me wanting to be fed.

 

[gallantwarrior]

Good morning everybody. Brrrrr--the sun has been up for awhile and it is still 27 degrees out there with a dusting of snow on the ground. Hombre and I aren't adapting to it very well either--we went from pleasant warm fall weather to what feels like bone chilling cold overnight. Once we get acclimated, it will be okay but wow. . .

27 degrees would have been toasty-warm here. It got down to 0 but went back to 9 degrees before the sun set. Still no snow, though. The white we have comes from mega-frost. I'd prefer snow, actually. My little Jeep did not want to keep running this afternoon, either!

Bummer. If you're going to have that kind of cold, I would insist on snow.

Snow would be welcome. First, the cloud cover provides some insulation and holds warmth, causing temperatures to rise. Second, the snow itself acts as an insulator which limits how deep the ground freezes. The deeper the freeze, the longer it takes to thaw out (normally) and the more damage the freezing temps do to plants, buildings, etc.

 

[Nosmo King]

I have targeted December 17 as the Day of the Tree. I've got a beauty tagged out at the Christmas tree farm. On the Day of the Tree, I'll drive out there, have my friend and owner of the Christmas tree farm cut it down, put it on the shaker to remove as many loose needles as possible (there's always some dried grass stuck in the tree and a few needles close to the trunk hang on desperately). then he'll toss it in the baler which wraps the boughs up and makes it easier to toss into the car for the trip back to the luxurious Pimplebutt Estate.

Time between the saw blade touching the trunk and the tree up in its holder filled with water: 45 minutes! You can't get fresher than that! The tree will be untwined from its wrapping and the boughs will unfold. Dozen strings of miniature lights later and we're ready for trimming. A silver Moravian star tops the tree, silver, red, gold and green ornaments adorn it and a garland of silver beads drapes elegantly from the boughs. An ivory and gold embroidered tree skirt is placed around the base. Then my tragically wrapped gifts are arraigned around that.

I know where the mistletoe is in the oak forests. I gather up some of that and make a kissing ball that goes in the center of the ceiling in the Great Hall. The arched doorways to the kitchen, front portico and bedchambers are decked with red berry and grapevine garlands. The mantle gets slabs of green Styrofoam into which artificial pine boughs, artificial red berry sprigs and small ornaments are stuck. The whole thing is topped off with miniature Christmas lights.

I'll begin vacuuming that day and repeat every day until mid April once all the errant needles have been removed from the floors. This season drives Daisy the Mutt absolutely ape as she and the vacuum sweeper do not agree on anything.