Pegasus's Daily News, etc.

[the flying reindeer]

Adopt A Greyhound Month
Good afternoon my friends
Hope really DOES spring eternal. Today is overcast like so many winter days, but it's April and I'm going to think about spring and birds and flowers. I've heard the sound of Canadian geese overhead and that means they are on their way back to their northern feeding grounds. Welcome Spring!!

12 newborns at Bayfront Baby Place on the Tampa Bay Rays' Opening Day were granted four tickets each to all future Rays home openers for the rest of their lives. Now there is a perfect gift for diehard baseball fans!! Rays reliever Heath Bell and utility player Sean Rodriguez presented the vouchers as part of the "Rays Fan for Life" program announced before Tampa Bay'€™s 9-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays at Tropicana Field to begin the season. In addition, balloons and baby baskets were presented to the mothers. A special day = a special prize from the country's national pastime. I hope they get to enjoy their prizes for many years to come.


Another shooting at Fort Hood leaving 4 more dead and 13 wounded. Not as bad as the previous tragedy, but definitely another incident to chalk up against our failure to do anything about strengthening gun control measures. The soldier-killer was able to buy a gun recently with no check that included his treatment for mental illness by the Army. Fort Hood forbids guns on the base but can't check cars to make sure that the edict is being followed. Fort Hood is home to America's armored units and numbers 50,000 people. To check each car would cause an immense traffic jam each day. Two Republican Congressmen want the ban lifted and everyone allowed to carry concealed weapons. So then we could have a shootout between the would-be killer and his victims with who knows how much collateral damage (people getting shot by accident). Now wouldn't that be a grand spectacle? NOT!! In this case, the killer committed suicide when confronted by an armed woman MP, shooting himself instead of her.

Queen Elizabeth and Pope Francis, two of the world’s most popular leaders, met for the first time during a private meeting at the Vatican. It was part of the 87-year-old queen's first foreign visit in two years. The queen and Pope Francis represent more than three billion people between them. Elizabeth is the figurehead leader of the Church of England, which heads the worldwide Anglican Communion, while the Pope leads the world's 1.2 billion Catholics. The Anglican church separated from Roman Catholics in the 16th century following the divorce of King Henry VIII in order to marry his second wife, Ann Boleyn. In support to improve relations between the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches. Queen Elizabeth has met with two other pontiffs at the Vatican during her reign — John XXIII and John Paul II — and met with Pope Pius XII in 1951, a year before she became monarch. The queen also has met with Pope Emeritus Benedict when he visited Britain in 2010. I'd love to be a fly on the wall and hear what the two said to each other.


Thought for Today:
"A man can fail many times, but he isn't a failure until he begins to blame somebody else."
--John Burroughs (1837-1921) American naturalist & essayist

Dating a royal bearded iris
Happy Thursday everyone

[the flying reindeer]

Car Care Month
Good afternoon my friends.
Another overcast day with some occasional sprinkles. At least it's not snow since the temp is 46F. But I wish I could see some sunshine.

Since the opening of the 2014 baseball season, there's been a brouhaha over Daniel Murphy's choice to take the 3-day paternity leave he's entitled to (part of baseball's negotiated player agreement). He chose to miss the opening series of this year's season in order to be at the birth of his first child. There have been some pretty insensitive things written and said over the radio about his choice. So today, there is an article about the birth of T.J. Oshie’s baby girl, Lyla Grace, who was born March 17. She had gastroschisis,” a serious birth defect that would need to be corrected surgically as soon as she was born. It's a condition in which an infant is born with the intestines on the outside of the body. In case you don't remember, T.J. Oshie was the St Louis Blues player in the Sochi Olympics who scored the Winning overtime goals against Russia. And, unlike Murphy whose playing season has just begun, the NHL is nearing the end of its regular season with the playoffs about to begin. Yet no one is expressing any outrage over his missing any NHL games. BTW baby Lyla has come through her surgery with flying colors and all is well with her.

New data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft suggests that an ocean at least as large as Lake Superior lies below a thick layer of ice on Enceladus, a small moon of Saturn, This discovery puts it in an exclusive club of extraterrestrial worlds in the solar system that appear to have a subsurface water ocean. The others are Titan, another moon of Saturn, and Europa, a moon of Jupiter. Callisto and Ganymede, also moons of Jupiter, may also have oceans under ice. Cassini found that fractures called "tiger stripes" in the south polar region emit water vapor jets rich in salt. Cassini has also detected organic molecules, which can come from biological or non-biological sources, near the tiger stripes and in dust grains in the region. Does this mean that this small moon may be a prime candidate for signs of life in our solar system? Unfortunately, I probably will never know.


Thought for Today:
"The scientific mind does not so much provide the right answers as ask the right questions."
--Claude Levi-Strauss (1908-2009) French anthropologist and philosopher

Bellis parade in memory of Sparkle
Happy TGIF

[the flying reindeer]

International Pillow Fight Day
Good afternoon my friends
It's another gloomy day here and is threatening either rain or snow. I just wish that spring would hurry up and come.

Vice Adm. Jan E. Tighe has made history with her appointment as head of the US Fleet Cyber Command and the US 10th Fleet, making her "the first female commander of a numbered fleet in U.S. Navy history," according to the US Navy. She's the fleet's third commander ever and had been its deputy commander since November.Born in Kentucky and raised in Plantation, Florida, Tighe graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, learned Russian at the Defense Language Institute and earned advanced degrees in electrical engineering and applied mathematics from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. Kudos to the Navy and all women should cheer her on.


MH370 UPDATE: In what may be a breakthrough in the search for Flight 370, a Chinese patrol ship in the southern Indian Ocean heard a pulse signal used by back boxes. "The characteristics reported are consistent with the aircraft black box," Angus Houston, the chief coordinator of Australia's Joint Agency Coordination Centre, said in a prepared statement, adding that a number of white objects were sited about 56 miles (90 kilometers) away. Neither the Australian Maritime Safety Authority's Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC) nor the Australian Transport Safety Bureau can verify any connection to the missing aircraft, the statement said. Other experts cautioned that no confirmation had been made that the signal was linked to the missing plane. "It ought to be easy to rule it in or rule it out, and they ought to go do it," said Mary Schiavo, a CNN aviation analyst and a former inspector general for the U.S. Department of Transportation. I really hope that they may finally have picked up some real evidence and can find the plane's cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder and give all the families some kind of closure.


Thought for Today:
"Absolute faith corrupts as absolutely as absolute power."
--Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American philosopher

Daughter of stars luminata bearded iris
Have a satisfying Saturday

[the flying reindeer]

National Beer Day
Good afternoon my friends.
Still gloomy even if slightly warmer. <<sigh>>

For once there's good news in cancer treatment. Pfizer has a new experimental drug that has shown encouraging results in treating advanced breast cancer, and may also be found good for treating other cancer forms. Pfizer, the world's second largest drugmaker, said the drug prevented breast cancer from worsening for 20.2 months in a trial involving 165 patients. Current medications do so for 10.2 months. The drug, known as palbociclib, is among a new class of cancer drugs that target specific proteins to block tumors. In case you don't know, breast cancer is the most common cancer to affect women. Let's hope that more extensive research proves as rewarding.


OMG, one Japanese island has swallowed another. NASA's Earth Observatory reports that Niijima island, a volcano which broke through the ocean's surface last November, has now merged with a nearby island that formed from a volcano which last erupted 40 years ago. According to observations taken at the end of March, they now measure about six-tenths of a mile across. And at its highest point, the new island is almost 200 feet above sea level. That's triple the highest point observed in December, according to the NASA report. The new island sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," which stretches from the coast of Chile north to Alaska and Siberia and then south to New Zealand. A cannibalistic island - will wonders never cease!!


Thought for Today:
"Each of us is meant to have a character all our own, to be what no other can exactly be, and do what no other can exactly do."
--William Ellery Channing (1780-1842) American Unitarian clergyman and author

Midday Flower [Lat. Gazania] in memory of Sparkle
Have a marvelous Monday

[the flying reindeer]

Golfer's Day
Good afternoon my friends
Finally, the sun is shining and the trees are getting a greenish fuzzy look. Its SPRING!!

Another case of violence in our schools happened yesterday in a community outside of Pittsburgh, Pa. when a 16-year-old went on a stabbing spree with an 8 to 10 inch knife in both hands. Alex Hribal, 16, will face four counts of attempted homicide and 21 counts of aggravated assault, so he didn't kill anyone. At least five students were critically wounded, including a boy who was on a ventilator after a knife pierced his liver, missing his heart and aorta by only millimeters, doctors said. Thank goodness he didn't have a gun when he assaulted 20 of his fellow students and a security guard at Franklin Regional Senior High School or we might have had another Sandy Hook, Conn. incident.

Another cruise ship is having problems. The Crown Princess, which has room for more than 3,000 passengers, left Los Angeles on Saturday for a seven-day Pacific cruise and now at least 66 passengers and 17 crew members came down with a quickly spreading digestive bug that may be caused by the norovirus, the ship's operator said. Norovirus is known for being readily contagious, causing nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, and is believed to have infected passengers on a number of cruise ships in recent months. At one time I wanted to take a trop on one of these ships but not anymore. If it's not lackluster maintenance causing problems at sea, it's infectious disease - the whole industry is having problems. I think I'll just stay home.

It seems that the Atlanta Braves wanted to put on a good show for their fans before their 2014 home opener. So they decided to try something new - shoot fireworks off from the top of the outfield scoreboard at Turner Field. A fine idea, right? Unfortunately, they miscalculated and one of the pyrotechnics got a little too close to the American flag above the scoreboard and set it on fire: Luckily, the flag was flame retardant and quickly put the fire out on its own. The team said that the flag will be replaced and that the Braves will no longer put pyrotechnics on the large scoreboard. I have a suggestion. The next time you get a bright idea, test it out first.


Thought for Today:
"A gentle word, a kind look, a good-natured smile can work wonders and accomplish miracles.”
--William Hazlitt (1778-1830) British writer, best known for his humanistic essays.

Dawn eternal bearded iris
Happy Thursday everyone

[the flying reindeer]

Keep America Beautiful Month
Good afternoon my friends.
Temp has reached 60s and the trees are very definitely budding. It's getting some of that renewal freshness that I love about the beginning of spring. Finally, I know that spring has arrived (even if we have some more snow).

Just what I thought was possible - geologists have for the first time linked earthquake activity in the Marcellus Shale basin to hydraulic fracturing, confirming the suspicions of activists pushing for drilling limits in the interest of public health. As a result, Ohio is setting new permitting conditions in earthquake-sensitive areas and has halted drilling indefinitely at the site of the March quakes. It seems perfectly reasonable to me that if you remove something from the underlying area of the earth, it cause the surface to move to fill in the blanks.

Finally, KISS has been inducted into the rock hall of fame. I'm really surprised that this has taken so long. Not that I was a KISS fan, but they are one of the iconic bands of their era. It is an honor 40 years in the making. KISS (the Demon, Space Ace, Starchild and Catman) announced their 42-city North American tour in honor of their 40th anniversary, where they will be joined by Def Leppard. They also are looking to hire two military veterans as roadies to work their 2014 Heroes Tour as part of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation and Capital One’s Hiring 500,000 Heroes campaign.


Thought for Today:
"The manner in which one endures what must be endured is more important than the thing that must be endured."
--Dean Acheson (1893-1971) American statesman, diplomat and lawyer,

Azalea [Lat. Rhodedendron] in memory of Sparkle
TGIF everyone

[the flying reindeer]

Drop Everything and Read Day (D.E.A.R. Day)
Good afternoon my friends
Another nice day - fair with temp in the 60s! I hope we've seen the last of winter 'cause I'm being spoiled by this weather.

The rare and nearly intact 38-foot-long skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex that roamed the earth 65 million years ago set off from the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, Mont, on a cross-country road trip to the Smithsonian in Washington, where it will be on loan for 50 years.. The so-called Wankel T. rex — named after Kathy Wankel who discovered it — was about 18 years old when it died and is considered second for extensiveness and preservation only to "Sue," the famed T. rex at The Field Museum in Chicago. Technology will speed the four-day road trip of the largest carnivorous dinosaur in the United States. Its hundreds of bones are packed in 16 crates installed in a 53-foot-long semi that hauler FedEx emblazoned with T. rex images. Amazing. I wish that I could see it fully put back together.

And then there's going to be total lunar eclipse Monday night, the fist in two years. When it happens, the moon takes on a reddish glow because of the sunlight refracted by Earth's atmosphere. Actually, this will be the first of a tetrad of four such events, dictated by a recurrence of the right orbital parameters. After Monday night's eclipse, the other three are due on Oct. 8, and then next year on April 4 and Sept. 28/ What is more - "The most unique thing about the 2014-2015 tetrad is that all of them are visible for all or parts of the USA," eclipse expert Fred Espenak said in a NASA preview. However, the blood-red moon is bringing out the crazies. Some doomsayers are selling the "Blood Moon" tetrad as an evil omen, but that's bogus. The only thing that's scary about this eclipse is what it might do to your sleep schedule: The moon won't start crossing into Earth's shadow until 12:53 a.m. ET Tuesday, and the total phase of the eclipse lasts from 3:06 to 4:24 a.m. ET. <<sigh>> I hope I'm awake at the time of totality. I often wake up around this time, but it will be just my luck not to do so on Monday night.


Thought for Today:
"I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones."
--John Cage (1912-1992) American composer

Dawn waltz luminata bearded iris
Have a wonderful weekend

[the flying reindeer]

International Moment of Laughter Day
Good afternoon my friends.
Yesterday the temp hit ()F! Today may do it again although probably not because it's back to overcast again, but the leaves on the trees have popped out all over and the grass has the distinctive new green color. I'm lovin' it.

And the killing sprees go on and on and on....Now it's in a parking lot at a Jewish community center in Greater Kansas City, where two victims fell to the shooting of a Hitler-loving crazy. The former KKK leader then drove to a retirement community and fatally shot a woman there. Frazier Glenn Cross of Aurora, Mo., is jailed in Johnson County, Kan. after being arrested in an elementary school parking lot. He has not been formally charged in the killings, but officials said more information about charges was expected. And the bodies keep piling up due to gun-toting idiots with some form of rage against their fellow humans deep inside.

OMG, have you read about the fire raging in the port city of Valparaiso. Fires they thought were contained 24 hours after they started Saturday kicked up again with Sunday afternoon's winds and raged out of control, threatening more neighborhoods. The blaze began in a forested ravine next to ramshackle housing on one of Valparaiso's 42 hilltops, and spread quickly. With no municipal water or fire hydrants to use, routes to the blazes blocked by narrow streets jammed with abandoned vehicles and countless embers being stoked, fire crews could do little but watch some neighborhoods burn. Gawd, how terrifying!!

update: is the total eclipse of the "blood moon" which should be a sght to behold. People in North and South America will be able to see the entire eclipse, while sky watchers in the western Pacific can catch only the last half. The moon will be setting in most of Europe and Africa during the eclipse, so residents there probably won't see much. For gazing geeks, NASA has set up a live web chat to answer questions about the eclipse starting at 1 a.m. Eastern Time.www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/features/watchtheskies/lunar-eclipse-2014.html The heavenly curtain rises on Tuesday's lunar review around 2 a.m. ET, when the moon starts to slide into Earth's shadow. It should turn into a blood moon -- a coppery red -- about an hour later and stay that way for over an hour, NASA says


Thought for Today:
"Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day's own trouble be sufficient for the day."
--Samuel Butler (1835-1902) English novelist, essayist and critic

Tulip in memory of Sparkle
Happy Monday to you all

[the flying reindeer]

Save the Elephant Day
Good afternoon my friends.
Well, it snowed last night and it's cold today. Winter has returned with a vengeance. We spent too much time on celebrating its end, maybe?

OMG, a South Korean ferry carrying students on a high school trip has capsized and rescue divers are searching for survivors. A South Korean government spokesman told reporters that there had been 459 people on the ferry, including 325 students, 15 teachers, 89 other passengers and a crew of 30. Four deaths were confirmed but one rescued passenger said that there were many trapped inside the ferry. Only 164 of those on board were confirmed rescued, and four dead - leaving 291 unaccounted for. Another ferry disaster in Asia. Memo - don't take any ferry rides anywhere in the area.


If you live in Denver, Colo., don't expect any quick help from the local cops. A Denver woman spent 13 minutes on a 911 call asking for help and ended murdered by her suicidal husband. It took the cops who had initially been sent to the house on a domestic disturbance call, were dispatched to the Kirks' at about 9:32 p.m. Richard Kirk was arrested at 9:55 p.m. - 23 min. The police claim that response times have gotten longer in recent years with the Denver police chief blaming budget constraints that have prevented the city from hiring any new officers since 2008.


The former mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, plans to spend $50 million this year through his new group Everytown for Gun Safety to counter the influence of the National Rifle Association. The organization will mimic tactics used by the NRA that have influenced elected officials, from local city councils to Washington. I don't know if his group will succeed, but kudos for trying. This country is gun crazy and seems to revel in violence. Places, towns and villages that haven't seen any violent crime in decades, are having to deal with murders, armed robbery, etc. I feel sorry for my country.


Thought for Today:
"If the world should blow itself up, the last audible voice would be that of an expert saying it can't be done."
--Peter Ustinov (1921-2004) English actor and author

Zinnia [Lat. Zinnia elegans] in memory of Sparkle
Have a wise Wednesday

[the flying reindeer]

Maundy Thursday
Good afternoon my friends
The snow of yesterday has all disappeared and spring is back, complete with sun and blue skies leading to a temp in the 60s. Hallelujah!!.

At the Buenos Aires Zoo in Argentina, Cleo, a captive Bengal white tiger, gave birth to two females and one male white tiger cubs on Jan. 16, 2014. Now the zoo is showing the cubs for the first time - 3 white tiger cubs with blue eyes and playful attitudes. The zoo has begun a naming contest for all children who visit the zoo. Every once in a while there is a nice news story among all the ills of the world.

UPDATE: Authorities believe 287 people -- many of them high school students on a field trip -- remain trapped inside the five-story ferry. At least some, authorities say, could still be alive more than a day after the ship rolled over. Nine people were known dead and, as of Thursday night, at least 179 had been rescued. Authorities are investigating the possibility the ship was off course when it ran into trouble, as well as reports that few of its lifeboats made it into the water. I suppose, as long as the ferry hasn't completely disappeared under water, there's a chance that some have survived inside it. I hope so.

And still another shooting - accidental this time. An assault rifle fired by a 5-year-old boy killed a 7-year-old girl. "All this violence in the world it just needs to stop," said the girl's grieving mother, Major John Allard from the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department said the bullet, fired from inside the trunk of a Chevrolet Malibu, pierced the trunk compartment and exited the passenger side panel. “Right now, it appears that the boy was grabbing a gun that he thought was a toy handgun from the trunk,” Allard said. “He was in the course of grabbing the toy gun when the rifle fired. He didn’t intend to fire it, he was just in the course of getting the toy gun.” It seems that the boy's mother didn't know the assault rifle was in the trunk, only her boyfriend (it was his car) did. The bullet, fired from inside the trunk of a Chevrolet Malibu, pierced the trunk compartment and exited the passenger side panel with enough force to kill. Why did this man have a Hungarian FEG assault rifle in his car? Why should any civilian have such a rifle? And how can the purchase of such a weapon be justified by an ordinary citizen? How many more have to die?


Thought for Today:
"God made the world round so we would never be able to see too far down the road.”
--Isak Dinesen [a.k.a. Baroness Karen Blixen] (1885-1962) Danish author

Dazzling intermediate amoena bearded iris
Happy Thursday everybody

[the flying reindeer]

Good Friday
Good afternoon my friends.
It's a mostly gloomy day but warming up into the 60s, so I can't really complain. Yet.

There's been another boat disaster over in Asia. This time it's Indonesia where a boat capsized leaving 7 dead and dozens missing. The fishing boat that was designed to hold only 30 people had more than 70 aboard when high waves capsized it..It was participating in a Good Friday ceremony that involves parading a Virgin Mary statue at sea before the passengers headed into a town in for prayers and processions. Unfortunately, boats and ferries are popular transportation in the Indonesian archipelago, and accidents due to poor safety standards and overcrowding are common. And so we have more watery death.


Good grief - Toronto's scandal-plagued mayor Rob Ford, who has admitted to binge drinking and smoking crack, has launched his bid for re-election. Ford kicked off his campaign for the October 27 election telling supporters at a rally in Canada's largest city Thursday that he was grateful to those who have stuck by him. Will Canadian voters really vote for this buffoon? I certainly hope not. What an ego he has - I can do no wrong. Yuck!!


R.I.P. Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 1982 Nobel Prize-winning Colombian novelist (One Hundred Years of Solitude, Love in the Time of Cholera) has died at age 87 at his home in Mexico City. He was one of the most revered and influential writers of his generation and brought Latin America's charm and maddening contradictions to life in the minds of millions to become the best-known practitioner of "magical realism" (a blending of fantastic elements into portrayals of daily life that made the extraordinary seem almost routine). He is survived by his wife, his two sons, Rodrigo, a film director, and Gonzalo, a graphic designer, seven brothers and sisters and one half-sister.


Thought for Today:
"I finally figured out the only reason to be alive is to enjoy it. "
--Rita Mae Brown (b. 1944) American author and social activist

Speedwell in memory of Sparkle
TGIF mon amis

[the flying reindeer]

Oklahoma City Bombing Commemoration Day
Good afternoon my friends
It's a fair day with some blue skies and sunshine and the temp is supposed to hit 60F. Now if it would just stay like this with no more freezing temps in sight.

A slow-motion disaster is unfolding in the Wyoming resort town of Jackson as a creeping landslide that split a hillside home in half inches toward more houses and businesses below. "As it starts to get moving, it will start to get faster," George Machan, a landslide specialist consulting for the town, said. Still, he said the ground was unlikely to liquefy and collapse suddenly like the March 22 landslide in Oso, Wash., that killed 39 people. The ground beneath the 100-foot hillside has been giving way an inch at a time since the movement was discovered on April 4 and the rate of movement was doubling every day. Authorities have speculated that the grading for roads and businesses in recent years may have weakened the hillside leading to the landslide. Geeesh, we have enough trouble with natural disasters without creating more for ourselves. I wonder if there are certain characteristics of possible building sites that could forewarn us of such things as landslides. It seems that over the years there's been enough, especially in California, to give us some feeling for the possibility?


Small underground nuclear power plants that could be cheaper to build than their behemoth counterparts may herald the future for an energy industry under intense scrutiny since the Fukushima disaster, William Magwood, the incoming head of the Nuclear Energy Agency, said. The modular plants could be about as big as a couple of semi-trailers - easily fitting on the dimensions of coal plants they're ultimately intended to replace in the U.S. They would have factory-built parts that are slotted together like Lego blocks and hauled by train or truck - making assembly possible anywhere. The US expects the first licensing applications to build one of the small, modular nuclear reactors in the second half of 2014, a key test to learn whether they can exist beyond the theoretical. However, in the US, the untested technology is competing with a shale gas boom that has upended the market. Robert Rosner, a physicist at the University of Chicago's Energy Policy Institute, cautioned against seeing the new technology as the solution for the world's energy needs. Rosner said the units are safer because they're protected underground against both internal accidents and external attacks, but the effects of nuclear meltdown are both far-ranging and long-lasting, as has been shown by Japan's Fukushima disaster. Nevertheless, I feel that the expansion of nuclear energy power plants, large and/or small, is the ultimate answer to the world's need.


Looking for something free to do this weekend? Check out a national park or monument or battlefield or historical sight. Entrance fees will be waived at all US national park sites this Saturday and Sunday, April 19-20, to kick off National Park Week, which runs through April 27. Visitors still have to pay the usual fees at campgrounds and concession stands. With more than 400 National Park Service sites covering 84 million acres in the United States, there are plenty of spots to explore. For instance, in my area is the National Women's Hall of Fame and historic sites.


Thought for Today:
"The risk of a wrong decision is preferable to the terror of indecision."
--Maimonides (1135-1204) medieval Arab, Spanish, Sephardic Jewish philosopher, astronomer and writer

Dazzling gold tall bearded iris
Happy Easter weekend everybody

[the flying reindeer]

Easter
Good afternoon my friends.
Today is another blue sky, white clouds and sun day. It's Easter and that usually means that the snow is over for now. No more until next November-December. Yippeeeeee!!

The NY Times has printed an article questioning whether the authorities in Florida did a complete investigation of the sexual assault charges against Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston or not. Enough is enough. These charges were investigated when they occurred but were brought up again last year prior to the vote on the Heisman Trophy. At that time the state's attorney looked into it and ruled that there wasn't sufficient evidence to warrant prosecution Winston. BTW no one mentions the fact that the woman involved withdrew the charges. Now as the NFL draft nears, the story rears its ugly head once more. It's interesting that nothing was said about a mishandled investigation at the time the state attorney made his ruling. Everyone was happy that it wouldn't cause him to be ineligible for winning the Heisman (which he did). Now it's the NFL draft time and this kind of accusation could affect his draft position. How many times must he go through this? Someone is now calling the Florida state attorney's office of being negligent and overly influenced by the popularity of Florida State football. Seriously? The Florida state government is going to whitewash the case? Seriously?

Today's killing rampage comes to us from Chicago where 7 were killed and 25 wounded this weekend. The weekend's latest shooting took place just after 5 a.m. Sunday when a husband and wife, both officers, were found shot to death in a Garfield Ridge home, police said. Around 2:40 a.m. two people were shot but both victims were being uncooperative and it was noted one has gang affiliations, so the shooting may be gang-related. It all began when a group of people were in a garage for an Easter party around 12:30 a.m. in far west suburban Montgomery when someone started shooting. The residents of the home had not had prior incidents involving shootings or gangs, but police plan to look into any activity at the home over the last few weeks while searching for a male suspect. Of course, we all know that Chicago is the hub of gun violence with incidents everyday. Just another weekend of gun abd games in our nation's heartland.

Mastodons, elephant-like beasts that lumbered across North America more than 10,000 years ago, are long extinct, but apparently it wasn't tooth decay that did them in. A 9-year-old Michigan boy stumbled across something -- literally -- that, it turns out, is a mastodon tooth. Affectionately called "Huckleberry Phil" in his neighborhood near Lansing because of his penchant for exploring outside, Philip took the lump home. Later, mother and son reached out to James Harding, a herpetologist -- an expert on reptiles and amphibians -- at nearby Michigan State, who told them it was from a mastodon. "Apparently (it is) the upper surface, broken off at the roots," he said. Now Philip's mother, Heidi Stoll, has a problem - "It's going to be hard to get him run around with shoes on or come inside to do his schoolwork," she said of her son. And who could blame him!!


Thought for Today:
"A room without books is like a body without a soul."
--Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 BC-43 BC) Ancient Roman lawyer, writer, scholar, orator and statesman,

Clivia [Lat. Clivia] in memory of Sparkle
I hope you all are having an extraordinary Easter

[the flying reindeer]

118th Boston Marathon
Good afternoon my friends
It's partly cloudy today with the temp rising into the 70s! At this rate I'll have to start up the fans (no a/c yet).

Have you read about the 13 Sherpa guides killed in an avalanche on Mt. Everest.? The disaster killed at least 13 Sherpas when a block of ice tore loose from the mountain and triggered an avalanche that ripped through teams of guides hauling gear. Three other Sherpas remain missing and are presumed dead and four are hospitalized. The community of Sherpa guides on Mount Everest are considering a climbing boycott after the deadliest avalanche in the mountain's history, a move that could seriously disrupt the rest of the climbing season. Without the guides, trying to climb Everest would be too dangerous. Nepal's ethnic Sherpa community relies heavily on the country's alpine trekking and climbing industry, with many making a living as climbing guides and others catering to foreign visitors by providing restaurants, equipment or transportation. The Sherpas have expressed anger that there has not been a bigger response from Nepal's government, which profits from the permit fees charged to the climbing expeditions. The government has announced an emergency aid of 40,000 rupees ($415) for the families of the deceased climbers. Over the years hundreds of people, both foreigners and Sherpas, have died trying to reach the world's highest peak. About a quarter of them were killed in avalanches, climbing officials say. Since the climbing industry seems to be the main source of income for Sherpas, I hardly think a real boycott will take place. Especially at the start of the climbing season with about 400 foreign climbers from 39 expedition teams on the mountain and equal number of Sherpas guides, along with many more support staff such as cooks, cleaners and porters in the base camp.

A rare snowy owl that was apparently hit by a bus in Washington, DC and sent to the Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota for rehab is back in the wild once again. It was released outside Superior, Wis., near the Minnesota and Wisconsin state border. Center director Julia Ponder said the owl flew off with strong, steady wing beats and hopes it will head north to its native Arctic territory. The owl was found injured in downtown Washington in late January and taken to the National Zoo before being transferred to a local wildlife rehabilitation center. It then came to Minnesota for rehab, because The Raptor Center has expertise in replacing damaged feathers. A feel good story in every way.

I've been watching the Boston Marathon and an American has won the men's race. It's the first American winner since 1983 and how fitting is that after last year's horror. 38-year-0ld Meb Keflezighi from San Diego. Rita Jeptoo of Kenya set a course record, winning the women’s field for the third time (she also won in 2006 and 2013). Congratulations.to both of them.


Thought for Today:
"Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death.
--Harold Wilson (1916-1995) British Prime Minister (1964-1970, 1974-1976)

Dearie reverse amoena tall bearded iris
Have a mostly sunny Monday

[the flying reindeer]

International Mother Earth Day
Good afternoon my friends.
Another gloomy day with a 20 degree drop in the temp. That's still in the 50s so not too awful for this time of the year. Rain is in the forecast, which is better than snow, I guess.

I[DATE: Nepal's government agreed to compensation demands for Mount Everest sherpas, after the single deadliest avalanche on the world's highest mountain killed at least 13 guides. Expedition leaders said tension was running high at Everest base camp after last Friday's incident, which has rekindled debate on the disproportionate risks that sherpas take helping foreign mountaineers reach the 8,850-metre summit. I'm glad that the government stepped up and gave the survivors the compensation they deserved. Now the climbing season, which is their main source of income, can continue unabated.


Thought for Today:
"A pedestrian is a man in danger of his life. A walker is a man in possession of his soul."
--David McCord (1897-1997) American poet and writer,

Magnolia in memory of Sparkle
I hope have a terrific Tuesday

[the flying reindeer]

In case anyone was wondering - I just got out of the hospital after 11 days. I have COPD and couldn't get my breath and had to be rushed to the ER a week ago last Wednesday.

[the flying reindeer]

Nurse's Week
Good afternoon my friends.
The day has definitely improved since I first got up. Then it was mostly cloudy but not it's blue skies and sunshine. Just what you would expect from May, except maybe warmer, like the high 50s or lower 60s! But I guess you can't have everything..

A Norwegian Cruise ship bound for Manhattan, NY has become stuck in the Hudson River due to a malfunctioning thruster that is part of its steering system. It had to wait for a change in the tide in order for a tug tow to Pier 88 on West 48th Street. The company's website states that the Breakaway is "the largest cruise ship ever to home port year-round in New York City." At least this time the breakdown didn't happen at sea and cause a lot passenger discomfort, but it strongly reinforces my belief in never going on a cruise ship for anywhere. At least if your car breaks down, you're probably not going to sink!!

Did anyone watch the Kentucky Derby yesterday? I did and my pick (plus millions of others') won - California Chrome. I don't usually like to pick the betting favorite but I couldn't resist the possible "rags-to-riches" story. He's the product of an $8,000 mare and a $2,400 stallion who has earned more than $1 million prior to the derby. His trainer, Art Sherman, is 77-years-old and the oldest trainer to win the Kentucky Derby. California Chrome's owners, Steve Coburn and Perry Martin, are no Kentucky blue bloods, who only own one horse. They're a couple of working stiffs who live near Reno, Nevada, where a trainer called them "dumb asses" for getting into the racing game, inspiring the duo to put the letters DAP on their silks, which stands for Dumb Ass Partners. "We're going to go down in history," Coburn predicted. And so California Chrome became the first California-bred to wear the garland of red roses in 52 years. Way to go, CC!! Now on to Pimlico in Maryland on May 17th for the Preakness.



Thought for Today:
"It is the first duty of a hypothesis to be intelligible."
--Thomas Henry Huxley (1825-1895) English biologist and advocate of Darwin's natural selection theory

Red dahlia in memory of Sparkle
Have a stupendous Sunday

[the flying reindeer]

I've been reading a thread on the botched Oklahoma execution and found it's been combine with another thread but which one? So I'm going to post my comment here.

1st - Have any of you advocating for the death penalty ever really watched an execution? So that you have some basis in fact for your opinion? I haven't but my father was an "official" observer and when he returned he was definitely badly affected by what he had seen. It turned him from an advocate to an opponent of the death penalty. That was good enough for me.

2nd - In all the arguments pro and con, not once have I heard anyone bring up the fact that anyone who believes in the Judeo-Christian religions should be against the death penalty. Anyone remember what the 6th commandment is - Thou shall not kill/murder†. There are no exceptions for state-sponsored killing in that simple rule. Thou shall not kill. "Period, Exclamation Point!"

[mmhmm]

Good to see you back with us, Peg.  I'd been watching for news on you as several of us were concerned.  So glad you're okay! 

[Tennesseer]

May 4, 2014 13:49:24 GMT -5 the flying reindeer said:

In case anyone was wondering - I just got out of the hospital after 11 days. I have COPD and couldn't get my breath and had to be rushed to the ER a week ago last Wednesday.

Glad you are feeling better Peg. Hang in there.

[the flying reindeer]

May 4, 2014 17:00:53 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

May 4, 2014 13:49:24 GMT -5 the flying reindeer said:

In case anyone was wondering - I just got out of the hospital after 11 days. I have COPD and couldn't get my breath and had to be rushed to the ER a week ago last Wednesday.

Glad you are feeling better Peg. Hang in there.

Thanks, Tenn. I'm trying!!

[the flying reindeer]

National Wildflower Week
Good afternoon my friends
It maybe somewhat chilly, but I don't care - the sun is shining in a nice blue sky and so it's a lovely day in May. And everything is so fresh and new. I love this time of the year.

The US Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that the content of the prayers is not significant as long as they do not denigrate non-Christians or proselytize. Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the majority, said the prayers are ceremonial and in keeping with the nation's traditions. The ruling by the court's conservative majority was a victory for the town of Greece, NY, just outside of Rochester. In 1983, the court upheld an opening prayer in the Nebraska legislature and said that prayer is part of the nation's fabric, not a violation of the First Amendment. Monday's ruling was consistent with the earlier one. For once I agree with the conservative majority. Any principle can be taken too far and this is one of those.

Watch out everyone, El Nino is coming. A spike in Pacific Ocean sea temperatures and the rapid movement of warm water eastwards have increased concerns that an El Nino weather pattern this year could be one of the strongest in several decades. El Nino affects wind patterns and can trigger both floods and drought in different parts of the globe, curbing food supply. Just what we need on top of everything else that's going on with our weather. NOT!!


Thought for Today:
"Far from idleness being the root of all evil, it is rather the only true good.”
--Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) Danish philosopher and theologian, generally recognized as the first existentialist philosopher.

Deliciously different tall bearded iris
I hope your Monday is mellow.

[the flying reindeer]

National Nurses Week
Good afternoon my friends.
Another coolish day but with sunshine nd blue skies. I'm getting spoiled with this fine weather that I hop keeps up for the foreseeable future!

As if we didn't already know, a new federal scientific study states that America the beautiful is turning into America the stormy, sneezy and dangerous. Climate change's assorted harms "are expected to become increasingly disruptive across the nation throughout this century and beyond," the National Climate Assessment emphasized. Warming and its all-too-wild weather are changing daily lives, even using the phrase "climate disruption" as another way of saying global warming. It goes on to warn that if the nation and world do not change the way we use energy, "we're still on the pathway to more damage and danger of the type that are described in great detail in the rest of this report," said study co-author Henry Jacoby, co-director of the Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Unfortunately, not much of the world seems to be paying any attention to the future we are probably facing - and the US can't do it all alone. I'm not sure what it would take to make the rest of the world take notice and resolved to do something about "global disruption".


Today the US Supreme Court has let stand a lower court of appeal decision stating that a strict New Jersey state law that requires people wanting to carry a handgun outside the home to demonstrate a "justifiable need." and that it is consistent with the Second Amendment. This is a defeat for the NRA which argued that the 2nd Amendment guarantees "the right to carry weapons for the purpose of self-defense -- not just for self-defense within the home, but for self-defense -- period." The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence welcomed Monday's decision, saying that "the corporate gun lobby has launched a nationwide legal assault in which they have tried -- and failed -- to deprive Americans of the gun laws they want and need to make their families and communities safe from gun violence, and keep guns out of the hands of criminals. "Courts across the country have overwhelmingly refused to expand the Second Amendment into a broad right for virtually anyone to carry any gun anywhere." At least one part of our government is still free of the NRA and it's like.


Thought for Today:
"A word, once sent abroad, flies irrevocably."
--Horace (65 BC-8 BC) ancient Roman poet.

Magnolias in memory of Sparkle
Happy Tuesday evryone

[the flying reindeer]

World Red Cross / Red Crescent Day
Good afternoon my friends.
Today started out as cloudy but the sun has come out of higing and the temp has reached 61F - Spring is here and glowing!!

A Missouri woman captured a incredible photo of a phenomenon that has been dubbed a "firenado" while she was driving down a country road near the town of Chillicothe last weekend. "This had to be the coolest/scariest thing I've ever seen," Janae Copelin wrote on her Instagram page. "A farmer burning off his field and as we stopped so I could take a picture the wind whipped up this fire twister." According to The Weather Channel, sights like this are more common than you might think: Firewhirls turn and burn. They are rapidly spinning vortices that form when air superheated by an intense wildfire rises rapidly, consolidating low-level spin from winds converging into the fire like a spinning ice skater, pulling its arms inward. The typical firewhirl can grow to about 100 feet tall, but is very narrow, on the order of a couple of feet wide. Whatever it may be, it is definitely scary. I hate fire.

Are you as tired of hearing/speculations about the NFL draft that begins tonight as I am. I've had it with all the pontifications by various analysts aver who may go where and why or why not. I remember the days when there was only one draft guru - Mel Kiper (Sp?) but now they seem endless. The only draft picks I'm interested in are the ones by the Buffalo Bills and New York Giants, none of which have figured in any of the endless hours of talk by the so-called experts.


Thought for Today:
"With love and patience, nothing is impossible."
--Daisaku Ikeda (b.1928) Japanese peace activist and leader of the Buddhist organization Soka Gakkai International,

Raphanus sativus in memory of Sparkle
Happy Thursday everyone

[the flying reindeer]

National Family Week
Good afternoon my friends
Today is mostly cloudy but warm, but not as bad as yesterday when the emp reached the mid-80s!! I was really so NOT ready for that. So far today is cooler but more comfortable.

OMG Spanish tax inspectors checking the contents of a safety deposit box discovered a painting believed to be by Dutch master Vincent Van Gogh that went missing almost 40 years ago. The painting was entitled "Cypress, Sky and Country" in English translation from Spanish and dated 1889. It had last been on view in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in the Austrian capital Vienna. The painting was found during an operation to seize the contents of some 542 safety boxes from tax offenders who owed around 319 million euros ($438.83 million), Wow, a lost Van Gogh, if authentic, will be worth millions. I wonder whose safety deposit box it was in and why? Spain's Cultural Ministry is trying to confirm its authenticity.



Just Friends, Really!
As the pair of Mallard ducks casually paddled by on a pond in South Bristol, this young deer found them intriguing. Photo by Nancy Jacobs.


The Sentry
A great blue heron sits at the end of a dock on Sodus Bay in search of some fish for his first meal of the day. Photo by Chris Trine.

Thought for Today:
"To live is to think."
--Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 BC-43 BC) ancient Roman lawyer, writer, scholar, orator and statesman,

Delta blues tall bearded iris
Have a scintillating Saturday everyone

[the flying reindeer]

Mother's Day
Good afternoon my friends.
It's a lovely day with the sun shining in a blue sky, fresh green color everywhere and the tulips are in bloom!! Definitely a Happy Mother's Day.

Police are upgrading their crisis negotiation arsenal and adding texting to their repertoire. With 6 billion text messages exchanged daily in the US alone, law enforcement officers are increasingly being called upon to defuse violent, unpredictable situations through the typed word. Experts say it's happened enough in the last five years to warrant new, specialized training. But there are drawbacks to this. Besides adrenaline rendering negotiators all thumbs on a miniature keypad, many of the typical skills officers employ to get people talking don't always translate, things like emotional labeling — telling someone "I hear sadness" or "You sound angry." "We're losing those verbal cues that we want to listen to to help us decide where this person is — if they're manic at the time, if they're in a state of depression," Red Bank, Tenn. Police Chief Tim Christol said. "Words are only 7 percent of communication." But the negatives, including the potential to be misunderstood and absence of emotion and real-time give-and-take, outweigh the benefits, he said. Just another tool for law enforcement to use in negotiations and one especially more familiar with the younger generation.

They're at it again out in Utah - seeking to directly challenge federal control of swathes of territory in the US West. Activists drove dozens of all-terrain vehicles into Recapture Canyon, protected land in Utah that is home to Native American artifacts and where such journeys are banned. They want the canyon trails reopened to recreational vehicles, so dozens of people, some of them armed with guns, set off down a closed-off trail that winds through the red rock desert. The canyon in the Four Corners region of Utah is home to the ruins of ancient dwellings and other cultural resources of Ancestral Puebloans. The Bureau of Land Management closed the area in 2007 after an illegally constructed trail was found and some artifact sites were damaged. So who's in the right? I don't know. BUT it is the business of all Americans to see that unique areas and artifacts of the past are preserved for all of us and future generations to see and appreciate.

Any Led Zeppelin fans out there? The British band that fused blues, R&B and rock 'n' roll for a new hard rock sound in the 1970s and disbanded in 1980? Well, it outstanding guitarist, Jimmie Page, has just been honored by the Berklee College of Music in Boston with an honorary doctorate degree. Anyone who heard him play cannot doubt that the degree was well deserved.\


Thought for Today:
"Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example."
--Mark Twain (1835-1910) in Pudd'nhead Wilson (1894)

Tulip in memory of Sparkle
Happy Sunday everyone

[the flying reindeer]

Children's Book Week
Good afternoon my friends
Another warm day, slightly overcast and humid but not uncomfortable. I'm really enjoy May 2014 except there are no more lilac bushes here. The trailer park management in their infinite wisdom destroyed them all (6 mature bushes).

Health officials have confirmed a second case of a mysterious virus, MERS, or Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, that has sickened hundreds in the Middle East. It is a respiratory illness that begins with flu-like fever and cough but can lead to shortness of breath, pneumonia and death. A third of those who develop symptoms die from it. Most cases have been in Saudi Arabia or the Middle East, but earlier this month a first U.S. case was diagnosed in a man who traveled from Saudi Arabia to Indiana. This is the only details about the newest case. Let's hope that we don't have any more cases here in the states. We have enough problems of our own.

So they want to remake the map of France. France's administrative regions — Normandy, Alsace, Burgundy, Brittany, etc. — have long been part of the identity of citizens of this diverse country. Now, merging some of them is seen as a logical way to save money on bureaucracy, and the French support it — as long as it's someone else's turf. The recent proposal of France's new prime minister to cut the number of regions in half by 2017 is somewhat like erasing the state lines between Texas and Oklahoma. I can hear the howls of anguish now - NIMBY!!

.
Thought for Today:
"Life is like an onion: you peel it off one layer at a time, and sometimes you weep/"
--Carl Sandburg (1878-1967) American historian, poet and novelist,

Denali dwarf bearded iris
I hope you're having a mesmerizing Monday

[the flying reindeer]

National Salad Month
Good afternoon my friends.
It's a warm and humid day but the sun is shining and the skies are blue, so I'm happy.

What is Alec Baldwin's problem? He's had another run-in with the NYPD which seems to be a recurring problem. This time he was riding his bicycle the wrong way on 5th Avenue. As usual, when he was stopped, he gave the cops a hard time, was handcuffed (he had no ID on him) and taken to the station where he was ticketed for his riding the wrong way and for disorderly conduct. I think he really needs to attend some anger management classes. In a city the size of New York, you can't expect to go your own way with no regard for anyone else's inconvenience. What may seem like a small offence could be a rather major upset in the city.

R.I.P. Malik Bendjelloul, the acclaimed Swedish film director behind the Oscar-winning music documentary Searching for Sugar Man has died at age 36 in Stockholm, Sweden but the cause has not been released. Searching for Sugar Man detailed the life and career of American singer Sixto Rodriguez, won the Oscar for best documentary in 2013..

Thought for Today:
"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something."
--Plato (427 BC-347 BC) ancient Greek philosopher

Dogroses in memory of Sparkle
Happy Tuesday everybody

[the flying reindeer]

Donate a Day's Wages to Charity Day
Good afternoon my friends
Today is fair with the sun shining brightly, somewhat humid and temps nearing 80, but with the fan going, I'm enjoying it. It's difficult to feel too down when the day is so fine.

OMG have you read about the coal mine disaster in Turkey where a blast has killed 247 and hundreds of miners are missing? Nearly 450 other miners had been rescued, the mining company said, but the fate of an unknown number of others was still unclear Wednesday. In recent years, inspections at the mine have uncovered multiple safety infractions, but no fines were ever issued. An opposition lawmaker’s proposal to investigate previous deaths at the site was defeated in Turkey's parliament just last month. In contrast, we haven't had a major mine disaster in some time because of safer tunnels and safety precautions. Our last one was in West Virginia in 2010 and three executives of the company are now serving time after admitting to conspiring to violate federal mining laws. Mining will never be a safe field, but it doesn't have to be as dangerous as it is in Turkey and elsewhere in the world. All it takes is a willingness of the government to enact safety laws and then enforce them!!

Today s the 150th anniversary of Arlington National Cemetery, formed from Gen. Robert E. Loo's plantation home that was confiscated during the Civil War. Army Pvt. William Christman, a civil war soldier, was the first to be buried at Arlington and today's graveside remembrance was held to mark the start of the cemetery's 150th anniversary commemoration, which will continue through June 16. Over that century-and-a-half, more than 400,000 active duty service members, veterans and their families have been buried there, along with presidents, astronauts, Supreme Court justices and other notable Americans. The initial property belonged to George Washington's extended family and then to Robert E. Lee, who left it at the start of the Civil War. Federal troops used it as an encampment, and the federal government purchased 200 acres in 1864 and established a cemetery. More than 600 acres now, Arlington is mostly known for dignified rows of white marble headstones that sweep down an expansive, rolling tree-lined slope where the hallowed ground almost touches the Potomac River.


Thought for Today:
"Yesterday is but today's memory, tomorrow is today's dream."
--Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931) Lebanese born American philosophical essayist, novelist and poet.

Devil's lake tall bearded iris
I hope you're having a welcoming Wednesday

[the flying reindeer]

Peace Officer Memorial Day
Good afternoon my friends.
Another warm and humid day with the sun is shining but according to the forecast we are in for rain and thunder and lightning later on. Rain in moderate amounts is a good thing.

The times they are a-changing and that includes the Vatican. A rabbi and a Muslim leader will join Pope Francis on his upcoming trip to the Holy Land, the first time an official papal delegation has included members of other faiths. The two are longtime friends of the Pope from his days as archbishop of Buenos Aires - Rabbi Abraham Skorka and Omar Abboud, a leader of Argentina's Islamic community. It is Pope Francis's way of showing the so-called normality of friends from other faiths. I must say that I find this a refreshing attitude coming from the Catholic Church which has always seemed to me to be more exclusive than inclusive. Good for Pope Francis.


Once again California is in flames as crews battle nine blazes in the San Diego area while thousands flee. At least 400 acres have burned in the city of Carlsbad since Wednesday, although the blaze there is about 60% contained. So far, it has caused an estimated $22.5 million in damages after burning at least four homes and an apartment complex, officials said. Elsewhere in the county, a wildfire in San Marcos grew from 450 acres to 700 acres overnight after the local Cal State university was evacuated. A blaze in the northeast section of Camp Pendleton has burned more than 6,000 acres and was about 20 percent contained early Thursday. And would you believe that the fire season isn't supposed to begin until October By then the way things are going, will there be a California as we know it left?


Thought for Today:
"The easiest kind of relationship is with ten thousand people, the hardest is with one."
--Joan Baez (b.1941) American singer and song writer,

Margeritas and daisies in memory of Sparkle
Have a tasty Thursday everyone