A Butterfly is Born
You can always tell when they are fresh out of the chrysalis; they are slower, they sit longer in one place, fanning their wings as they stretch and dry. They flit just a little, looking for something good to eat.
If you want to have butterflies, you want to have milkweed, to nourish the caterpillars, and then guara, hot lips, golden drop, pentas, etc to nourish the newly emerged butterfly.
I only know all this because AdventureMan is growing all these wonderful plants which attract Monarchs, Sulphers, Buckeyes, Gulf Fritillaries, hummingbirds, bees and more birds. 🙂
UPDATE: LOL, AdventureMan came to me and told me I had to change things to make them accurate, especially if I was citing him.
Happy Boy Swimming
“How did it go?” AdventureMan asked as I came in. He had a dental appointment and couldn’t take the Happy Little Boy to his swimming lesson, so I had taken him.
“It’s probably one of the best days of my life,” I told him. “Happy Little Boy had so much fun. He was really swimming on his own, using the ring, even floating on his back. He was really happy.”
A year ago, he was more fearful and clingy. He had his good days and bad days at the pool, mostly good, thanks to some really good teachers. To see him so happy, so confident, so joyful – now that is a really good day. I feel so blessed to have been a part of it.
This morning was his last parent-child class; now he will be joining the bigger kids swimming classes, where we take him and he and the other kids work directly with the teacher without us in the pool . . . so this is the end of an era.
My Mother was asking for some recent shots, so this morning AdventureMan took him in, and I shot some photos. These are for you, Mom 🙂
We have strong feelings about children learning as young as possible how to be safe in the water. As one of our swimming buddies said, “Florida is surrounded by water.” They had better know the rudiments of water safety. Thank goodness for the YMCA, Miss Donna and Miss Bonnie.
(Photos courtesy of adoring grandmother, LOL!)
Things to Love about Pensacola
1. The temperature this morning is 57°F. 🙂
2. Pensacola Ballet does wonderfully innovative and lively ballets.
3. Pensacola Symphony Orchestra has a fanatically and warmly loyal audience.
4. Sunday Brunch at Jaco’s.
5. Great international population.
6. Good restaurants of many varieties (only no Ethiopian restaurants)
7. Great festivals – Barktoberfest, Seafood Fest, DeLuna Fest are finished, but the Great Pensacola Arts Festival is coming!
8. Sugar white sandy beaches and Gulf waters all blues, greens and purples.
9. Wonderful bird life as they migrate south this time of year.
10. Also butterflies 🙂
11. Traffic so mild it hardly qualifies as traffic.
12. Christmas and Mardi Gras parades right around the corner.
More?
The War We are Losing: Assault of American Servicewomen
Shocking, and sad. What can be worse than serving your country and to be assaulted by a member of your own team? To double that shock and betrayal, to have the team captains bury your injury for the sake of the team?? I thank God for the gals that are taking their cases to civil court and making a stink. Sometimes, that is what it takes to make people pay attention.
I have a friend, a friend in her sixties. She has served in Iraq and Afghanistan as a civilian, and she has had senior officers stalk and attack her. She is disgusted that senior leaders could feel so entitled, and so free from constraints.
I can’t print this whole article here, but it is fascinating. You can read the entire article from Huffpost: HERE.
Active-duty female personnel make up roughly 14.5 percent — or 207,308 members — of the more than 1.4 million Armed Forces, according to the Department of Defense.
One in three military women has been sexually assaulted, compared to one in six civilian women, according to Defense. According to calculations by The Huffington Post, a servicewoman was nearly 180 times more likely to have become a victim of military sexual assault (MSA) in the past year than to have died while deployed during the last 11 years of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.
According to the most recent report by the Pentagon’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, 3,192 sexual assaults were reported out of an estimated 19,000 — roughly 52 a day — between Oct. 1, 2010, to Sept. 31, 2011. The department estimates that only roughly 14 percent of the assaults were reported. The majority of sexual assaults each year are committed against service members by service members, SAPRO reports. While MSA does not affect only women, the office characterizes the “vast majority” of victims as female junior enlists under the age of 25, and the “vast majority” of perpetrators as male, older (under the age of 35) and generally higher-ranking.
Last Tuesday, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta ordered a sweeping review of all initial military training across the services: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. The move resulted in part from mounting pressure at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, where at least 43 women have recently come forward as victims of sexual assault. Every aspect of training, from the selection of instructors who directly supervise trainees to the number of female instructors, is under consideration. And a day after Panetta issued the directives, Defense officials revealed that Jeffrey A. Sinclair — a brigadier general with five combat tours behind him — is facing possible courts martial on charges ranging from inappropriate relationships with female subordinates to forcible sodomy.
On Friday, Panetta called the military’s record on prosecuting MSA an “outrage.”
Panetta’s refrain for years has been heartening: “One sexual assault is too many.”
To which Havrilla responds, “This whole concept of ‘zero tolerance,’ it’s just words and no action.”
“You can’t leave. You can’t quit. You can’t walk away.”
We were in the military when the first women were sent to serve with formerly all-male battalions. There was a lot of controversy, and a lot of chagrin among the men. I think those first women were some of the bravest women ever. Almost forty years later, the battle is still being fought. Militaries attract the guys with high testosterone, the guys who don’t think the rules, laws and boundaries apply to them – and slowly, slowly, they have to be brought to understand that yes, the rules apply to them, and that forcible sex with another woman – or man – is OFF LIMITS. Bravo to those brave women who go public and create awareness and disgust for this problem. Evil whens men get away with this despicable crime.
Mediterranean Plus Doors Closed and Driving and Texting
Sigh. We went for lunch at our favorite local ‘Mediterranean’ food restaurant, the Mediterranean Plus, only to see a big “This Space For Rent” sign on the door. So sad. The last time we were there, we talked with the owner, who said that Chow Time (a Chinese Food Buffet), which had opened near by, was killing him. It is just so sad. We are hoping he is only looking for a more propitious location. We’d love for him to find another location closer to downtown.
On our way to church last night, we looked over at the guy in the blue pick-up next to us, who was texting. He was only going about 20 mph, but when the car three cars up slowed to make a right turn, he didn’t notice, and crashed right into the much bigger pick-up in front of him. CRASH! It made a horrible crunching sound, and his hood got all crinkled up.
Even if Florida doesn’t have any laws against texting, his entire front-end is all smashed to pieces, glass and plastic everywhere, sharp shards. Having to pay for all that damage will be a big penalty. I wonder if it will make any difference in his behavior?
Donna Leon and Beastly Things Made Me Cry
I can always count on Donna Leon. She gives me a good read, a solid mystery, a social issue, the louche damp atmosphere of Venice and the Venetian aristocracy, and my good friend Guido Brunetti, police commissario, with his lovely wife and dear children and great Italian meals.
This time, she fooled me.
A barrel chested man is found floating in the canals with no identification. When identified, he is found to be a veterinarian, separated from his angry and hostile and broken-hearted wife.
Then Donna Leon pulls me way out of my comfort zone – TWICE. First, there are parts of the book I can scarcely read, as she talks about the meat industry. I’m reading this book, dealing with the meat industry, and I’ve just watched the movie GreY posted on the devastation meat eating causes in your metabolism and blood; the passages in Beastly Things sealed the deal – I don’t think I can eat red meat again. I’m not sure I can even be around red meat. Leon is fearless; she spotlights issues few dare to tackle. There are issues here that are not for the faint-hearted. Read at your own risk.
It’s a tricky mystery, and at the end, Leon catches me by surprise again, as she describes the funeral of the veterinarian, a very unusual funeral, where his patients are also in attendance. It was hard to read. My eyes were blurring. If you like mysteries, if you have pets you adore, this is the sweetest literary funeral you will ever attend.
Gasp! Look What Happens to Your Blood!
I am reblogging this from my friend GreY’s blog. He is a Kuwait blogger; we both started blogging at about the same time. He is, sadly, now battling cancer of the bowel, and has gone totally vegetarian. He posted this YouTube video that is horrifying, and shocking, and is going to make a big difference in the future choices I make:
Reformed Meat – Yes, You Are Eating It
Have you ever noticed how perfectly and uniformly formed the chicken is in the Chicken Tacos at Chilis? How the chicken in the chicken sandwiches at Olive Garden Feel in your mouth? I think there are a lot of preformed meats on our menus at some of the larger chain restaurants:
Meat Additive May Make You Sick
Meat glue, also called transglutaminase (nothing to do with so-called pink slime), binds together bits of meat into what looks like a prime cut. But: When not handled properly, meat glue can seal in E. coli and other bacteria present on raw meat. Self-defense: Check package labels—glued meats must include the words “formed” or “reformed.” Glued meats are commonly used in high-volume restaurants and banquet facilities. To be safe, eat meat cooked well-done.
Source: Suzanne Havala Hobbs, DrPH, RD, is a clinical associate professor in the departments of health policy and management and nutrition in the Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Dauphin Island and BBQ!
We got up early, remember? We worked up an appetite walking through the bird sanctuary and exploring the park and environs. One last stop to see those butterflies and we really need to get something to eat.
Fortunately, we passed just the place on the way in . . . Dauphin Island BBQ 🙂
My friends, this is not a fancy place. There is no indoor seating. You order at a window, and grab your plastic utensils, and then you wait for your name to be called. You can fill little cups with condiments, including, of course, Tony Chachere’s special spices, and then you sit at a picnic table and eat out of a styrofoam container. This may not be your style. We like all kinds of styles 🙂
By the time we decided, cars loaded with grandparents, children, lots and lots of children, parents, aunts and uncles, cars and trucks and big RV’s started pulling up and people crowding into Dauphin Island BBQ eager to eat. Clientele lining up:
We got there just in time. We got a good picnic table in the shade. I tried to order oysters, but since Isaac, oysters have been hard to come by. I had fried fish. It was hot and it was delicious.
AdventureMan ordered the pulled pork and said it was delicious:
Not elegant, but tasty, filling, and delicious. As you drive onto Dauphin Island, turn left and watch for this . . . umm . . .lighthouse. Dauphin Island BBQ is located just past this lighthouse-looking building.
If you want to stay on Dauphin Island, there is one Motel, several condominiums, and many rentals. One place to look for beach rentals is Trip Advisor. Trip Advisor also has a few hotel/B&B listings here, but be sure to tell TA to arrange by distance, or you may end up in Gulf Shores or Fairhope, LOL!
The one motel, Gulf Breeze Motel, is nothing fancy, but it is the best there is. Reviewers on Trip Advisor say ‘it’s not the Ritz’ but the prices are reasonable, and people seem to like it.
Dauphin Island: Fort Gaines
Imagine you are a retired military man who likes birds and butterflies and gardens and photography and military history . . .
Now, imagine you can find all of the above on one island. Dauphin Island is a paradise for AdventureMan.
Imagine you are a woman who loves road trips, beautiful beaches, taking pictures, taking walks, beautiful scenery, especially beaches and wading birds . . .
And that is also all on the same island.
We can’t wait to go back to Dauphin Island. Birding season is just kicking up again, after the heat of the summer and the threat of hurricane season. The birds migrating south have their final rest on Dauphin Island, before heading out across the big Gulf of Mexico to warmer climates for the winter.
And there’s an old fort, too!
These forts were built to protect the American southern coast from a variety of enemies, including at one time, our fellow Americans. They are built solidly, with great big cannons.
So what is the fort defending against now?
There is another way to get to Dauphin Island from Pensacola, if you get there at the right time and there isn’t much of a line, because this little ferry can’t take a lot of cars. It goes to Fort Morgan, still in Alabama, but across Mobile Bay:
AdventureMan says the forts are built in the style influenced by Marc René, marquis de Montalembert, who is said to want to do for defense what Vauban had done for the attack.
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