One of the interesting things about Mothers Day, for me is the history of the family. My Mother was born and raised on Chincoteague Island, Virginia, with a few months, here and there over the years, in old New York City near the Fulton Fish Market. Mom was the second-oldest, and when her Mother died, my Mom raised the two younger kids, so my sister and I were Mom's second set of kids to raise. Several of the local Chincoteague men asked Mom to marry them, but Mom always said, "We've known each other since we were born. I love you like a brother, but I can't marry you." Then she fell in love with a deeply tanned man with reddish-black hair and green eyes from the Naval Air Station on the Mainland, while she was working in the PX.
My Mother's Mother, Aleda, was wooed as a 15 year-old by a waterman who was a boarder at her grandparents' house across the lane. I only know a few things about my grandmother - we have a postcard photo of her in a dress and holding a few flowers, and my cousin Aleda looks exactly like our Grandma Aleda... Aleda died almost 20 years before my birth, due to cancer. My Mom told several different versions to us girls - she told me that Aleda died from "cancer of the blood," which I thought meant leukemia; she told my sister that Aleda died from cervical cancer; and Mom told her sister, who told her daughters, that Aleda died of ovarian cancer... I should order her death certificate and find out. A week after her 16th birthday, Aleda "eloped" to Maryland with my grandfather, and they were married under the Marriage Oak, a huge tree just over the state line... But we do know that Grandma Aleda had a temper. Her father took contract jobs through various people and agencies - including the US Coast Guard, who were in charge of running and maintenance on both the Assateague Lighthouse and the Killock Shoal Lighthouse. Great-grandfather paid my grandfather, his son-in-law and Aleda's husband, a small portion of cash to take care of the lighthouses in his stead. Grandma Aleda and Cap'n Walt had four children, and scrambled pretty hard to make ends meet. It was right after the Wall Street Crash in 1929, when Grandma Aleda went to ask her father about payment for the lighthouse care. Great-grandpa wasn't at home, so Grandma started looking at his ledgers - and found out that her father was keeping three-quarters of what the US Coast Guard was paying for the lighthouse care, while only paying his son-in-law one quarter of the income. Mom said it took almost a year before Grandma would speak to her father again - and he ended up paying Grandpa 90 percent of the contract money because Grandma said she'd turn him in to the government... Wow...
Sunday, May 14, 2017
Thursday, May 11, 2017
Various Photos
On 8 May, Boulder had high winds and rain - Golden and Evans, CO had hail....
Golden
Hail in Evans after the snow plows came by...
Red squirrel
Bald eagle on duck blind
Toby, a yearling Chincoteague pony
2017 Chincoteague filly, by Ajax, out of Dream Catcher
Oooooooo My.....
Oh my scars and freckles! I have become a cable news junkie! I got up early yesterday morning and took the bus to care for Pip and Squeak; then I took the bus back home. By then, it was 8:30, and Bea and I walked the four blocks down to Turley's Kitchen and had breakfast, then walked back home. We then sat down and made our shopping list for the rest of the month, and set out in Christina's borrowed car. First we headed to Longmont to do shopping at both Sam's Club and the regular Wal-Mart - then home, each of us making 6 trips upstairs loaded down with boxes and shopping bags. We got that put away, then went to McGuckin's Hardware, the Neighborhood Market, and finally Safeway. Got home and brought that stuff upstairs and put away. By then it was time to go back to take care of Pip and Squeak; I used Christina's car for that second trip to see the cats. Then home again - to eat supper and be glued to MSNBC's news and political coverage, until I checked the incoming flight schedule for Denver International, and left the house at 10:30 to go pick up Christina from the airport. Back home and in bed at 1:30 this morning.... Then Pip and Squeak first thing this morning, again.
I do not like the fake President, who won a fake election with the help of Russia and Putin. I hate his guts and am afraid that, at any moment, he might start a nuclear war because he is so completely maniacal and narcissistic. However, I must say, quite honestly, that because of hos Presidency, I now know a heck of a lot more about our government and exactly how it is supposed to work. I have done a lot of research that I never thought about before regarding the checks and balances of our governing system, and the precise wording of the United States Constitution, its' amendments, and clauses. Thanks to the ineptitude of this administration, I now understand our government much better than before.
I was completely amazed by the firing of FBI Director Comey. And now the Deputy Attorney General has stated that he is not happy that the White House attributes it's decision to fire Comey to his internal Department of Justice memo. Apparently, the tiny-handed tangerine tyrant still believes that he is the COO and owner of the United States of America, and that this far-flung nation can be controlled by a 70-year-old fat man with orange skin and Big Bird colored hair. He is a complete and total joke. The United States, once a great nation, is now the laughing stock of the universe. - All because the Electoral College did NOT do it's job.
And one last, laughable item - 45 fired Comey on Tuesday night. Wednesday, he hosted the Russian Foreign Minister and the Russian Ambassador inside the Oval Office. He did not allow any journalists inside for the meeting, except TASS, the Russian government newspaper. TASS immediately shared their photos with news agencies around the world - and then the President lost his cool (not that I've ever believed he had any) and claimed that "the Russians lied to us." What a hoot! - I mean, think about it - here he is, hosting the Russian Ambassador,privately - the man whose connections with Paul Manafort, Mike Flynn, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions caused them to be (a) recused and/or (b) fired....
The stupid bigot is totally crazy.
I do not like the fake President, who won a fake election with the help of Russia and Putin. I hate his guts and am afraid that, at any moment, he might start a nuclear war because he is so completely maniacal and narcissistic. However, I must say, quite honestly, that because of hos Presidency, I now know a heck of a lot more about our government and exactly how it is supposed to work. I have done a lot of research that I never thought about before regarding the checks and balances of our governing system, and the precise wording of the United States Constitution, its' amendments, and clauses. Thanks to the ineptitude of this administration, I now understand our government much better than before.
I was completely amazed by the firing of FBI Director Comey. And now the Deputy Attorney General has stated that he is not happy that the White House attributes it's decision to fire Comey to his internal Department of Justice memo. Apparently, the tiny-handed tangerine tyrant still believes that he is the COO and owner of the United States of America, and that this far-flung nation can be controlled by a 70-year-old fat man with orange skin and Big Bird colored hair. He is a complete and total joke. The United States, once a great nation, is now the laughing stock of the universe. - All because the Electoral College did NOT do it's job.
And one last, laughable item - 45 fired Comey on Tuesday night. Wednesday, he hosted the Russian Foreign Minister and the Russian Ambassador inside the Oval Office. He did not allow any journalists inside for the meeting, except TASS, the Russian government newspaper. TASS immediately shared their photos with news agencies around the world - and then the President lost his cool (not that I've ever believed he had any) and claimed that "the Russians lied to us." What a hoot! - I mean, think about it - here he is, hosting the Russian Ambassador,privately - the man whose connections with Paul Manafort, Mike Flynn, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions caused them to be (a) recused and/or (b) fired....
The stupid bigot is totally crazy.
Monday, May 8, 2017
Various Assorted Photos
French President-elect Emmanuel Macron
Caroline Kennedy, President Barack Obama, and Michelle Obama
at the JFK Profile in Courage Award presentation
Lastest new baby (# 28) Sashay Lady and Prince (sex unknown at the moment)
Yes, indeed! Step right up - invest $500,000 and receive a visa for
the United States through the Kushner family...
White House beer party celebration for passing AHCA by 3 votes...
Five Native American tribes worked together with officials for 8 years
to have Bears Ears declared a National Monument
The EPA Administrator just announced he's replacing half of the members
of the Scientific Board of Counselors who oversee testing results.
A Few Personal Observations
I was happy yesterday to learn that Emmanuel Macron was the new President-elect of France, even though the young man was born three years after I graduated from high school, and while I was still in college...
I missed the first hour of the JFK Profiles in Courage Award presentation last night, but Caroline Kennedy's speech made me laugh and cry. Then her son, Jack Schlossberg, made me cry. And, finally, President Obama made me laugh and cry. I don't know about the first half of the program, but the last hour was truly incredible and extremely moving. I want to thank everyone involved in that presentation.
The count of new foals on the southern end of Assateague reached 28 Sunday. And each and every foal is remarkably good-looking. One little girl is a little over at the knees, but I'm pretty certain that will straighten out... And it looks like Surf Queen is pregnant this year. After the death of Surfer Dude, and the birth of Surfer Princess, she did not have a 2016 foal. I'm glad she took at least one year off from reproducing. The thing is, she was running around with almost every stallion on the north end last summer and fall, and then was leading an all girl gang - so who's the daddy? She is currently with Hoppy...
Forty-five and his cronies had a little beer party celebration in the White House Rose Garden to celebrate the House of Representatives passing of a "new health care bill" by three (3 !) votes. Has America forgotten that the bill now has to go to the Senate for voting, and then to the joint committees, and then back to the House, and again to the Senate, for approval before the tangerine tyrant can sign it into law? What the heck were they celebrating? It's something that would equal the weight of a mosquito - and it's just as squashable.
The orange and yellow pricktator spoke in New York City Friday and was greeted with thousands of protesters. He didn't even visit his wife or youngest son. He stayed the weekend in Bedminster, New Jersey, and tweeted that it was "saving the country money." If he'd stayed in the White House, it would have cost a hell of a lot less, but it was $1.5 million less than a trip to Florida...
Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke has spent the weekend visiting two National Monuments in Utah - Bears Ears and the Grand Stairway-Escalante - to decide on whether or not he'll recommend to rescind the National Monument protection for those two areas. There is an very rich and large coal deposit in the middle of Grand Staircase- Escalante; and there are multiple oil and natural gas deposits inside Bears Ears. I bet he'll advocate for mining and drilling - raping the earth, instead of preserving it.
I am looking forward to Sally Yates testimony before the Senate Judiciary committee this morning about her visit to the White House regarding ex-staffer Michael Flynn. I hope to hear new and impeachable things from the previous Attorney General.
I had thought that the antics of the family members of 45 could no longer surprise me - but learning that a few weeks ago, and this weekend too, of the Kushner family's presentations to monied peoples of Beijing, China and Shanghai threw me for a loop. If any of these people with a great deal of money invested in the Kushner real estate businesses in those cities, they could get a special visa (an EB-5) to come to America. Of course, one must invest $500,000 for each visa received. To me, that smacks of buying the right to a visa - not applying for one.
And, finally, it was announced last night that the new Environmental Protection Agency Administrator, Scott Pruitt, has decided to replace half of the current members of the 18 member Board of Scientific Counselors, which advises EPA's scientific arm on whether the research it does has sufficient rigor and upstanding integrity. All of the members being dismissed are at the end of serving at least one three-year term, although these are often renewed and not terminated. And all of those being dismissed had been told in February that their terms would be renewed. Pruitt says that this is to ensure "a clean break with the Obama administration." The Republican party and the Koch brothers are trying their best to kill Mother Earth - and she is not replaceable.
I missed the first hour of the JFK Profiles in Courage Award presentation last night, but Caroline Kennedy's speech made me laugh and cry. Then her son, Jack Schlossberg, made me cry. And, finally, President Obama made me laugh and cry. I don't know about the first half of the program, but the last hour was truly incredible and extremely moving. I want to thank everyone involved in that presentation.
The count of new foals on the southern end of Assateague reached 28 Sunday. And each and every foal is remarkably good-looking. One little girl is a little over at the knees, but I'm pretty certain that will straighten out... And it looks like Surf Queen is pregnant this year. After the death of Surfer Dude, and the birth of Surfer Princess, she did not have a 2016 foal. I'm glad she took at least one year off from reproducing. The thing is, she was running around with almost every stallion on the north end last summer and fall, and then was leading an all girl gang - so who's the daddy? She is currently with Hoppy...
Forty-five and his cronies had a little beer party celebration in the White House Rose Garden to celebrate the House of Representatives passing of a "new health care bill" by three (3 !) votes. Has America forgotten that the bill now has to go to the Senate for voting, and then to the joint committees, and then back to the House, and again to the Senate, for approval before the tangerine tyrant can sign it into law? What the heck were they celebrating? It's something that would equal the weight of a mosquito - and it's just as squashable.
The orange and yellow pricktator spoke in New York City Friday and was greeted with thousands of protesters. He didn't even visit his wife or youngest son. He stayed the weekend in Bedminster, New Jersey, and tweeted that it was "saving the country money." If he'd stayed in the White House, it would have cost a hell of a lot less, but it was $1.5 million less than a trip to Florida...
Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke has spent the weekend visiting two National Monuments in Utah - Bears Ears and the Grand Stairway-Escalante - to decide on whether or not he'll recommend to rescind the National Monument protection for those two areas. There is an very rich and large coal deposit in the middle of Grand Staircase- Escalante; and there are multiple oil and natural gas deposits inside Bears Ears. I bet he'll advocate for mining and drilling - raping the earth, instead of preserving it.
I am looking forward to Sally Yates testimony before the Senate Judiciary committee this morning about her visit to the White House regarding ex-staffer Michael Flynn. I hope to hear new and impeachable things from the previous Attorney General.
I had thought that the antics of the family members of 45 could no longer surprise me - but learning that a few weeks ago, and this weekend too, of the Kushner family's presentations to monied peoples of Beijing, China and Shanghai threw me for a loop. If any of these people with a great deal of money invested in the Kushner real estate businesses in those cities, they could get a special visa (an EB-5) to come to America. Of course, one must invest $500,000 for each visa received. To me, that smacks of buying the right to a visa - not applying for one.
And, finally, it was announced last night that the new Environmental Protection Agency Administrator, Scott Pruitt, has decided to replace half of the current members of the 18 member Board of Scientific Counselors, which advises EPA's scientific arm on whether the research it does has sufficient rigor and upstanding integrity. All of the members being dismissed are at the end of serving at least one three-year term, although these are often renewed and not terminated. And all of those being dismissed had been told in February that their terms would be renewed. Pruitt says that this is to ensure "a clean break with the Obama administration." The Republican party and the Koch brothers are trying their best to kill Mother Earth - and she is not replaceable.
Sunday, May 7, 2017
Always Dreaming Wins Kentucky Derby
Always Dreaming, a bay son of Bodemeister, won yesterday's Kentucky Derby in a time of 2 minutes and 3.59 seconds over a sloppy track. The colt, out of the In Excess (Ire) mare Above Perfection, began the race as the betting favorite. He hung back, allowing State of Honor to lead for almost 3/4 of a mile, then Always Dreaming moved into another gear for jockey John Velazquez, and won by 2 and 3/4 lengths. Lookin At Lee finished second, five lengths ahead of Battle of Midway. A length further back there was a photo for fourth through seventh place. The Irish-bred colt Thunder Snow, came out of the starting gate slowly, and then began to buck. He was pulled up by his jockey, but had no injury.
A $2 win bet on Always Dreaming paid $11.40; a $2 place bet on Lookin At Lee paid $26.60; and a $2 show bet on Battle of Midway paid $20.80. A $2 exacta bet paid $336.20; a $2 trifecta bet paid $16,594.40; and a $2 superfecta bet paid $151,949.00.
A $2 win bet on Always Dreaming paid $11.40; a $2 place bet on Lookin At Lee paid $26.60; and a $2 show bet on Battle of Midway paid $20.80. A $2 exacta bet paid $336.20; a $2 trifecta bet paid $16,594.40; and a $2 superfecta bet paid $151,949.00.
Always Dreaming galloping out after winning the 2017 Kentucky Derby.
The complete order of finish follows:
1 Always Dreaming
2 Lookin At Lee
3 Battle of Midway
4 Classic Empire
5 Practical Joke
6 Tapwrit
7 Gunnevera
8 McCraken
9 Gormley
10 Irish War Cry
11 Hence
12 Untrapped
13 Girvin
14 Patch
15 J Boys Echo
16 Sonneteer
17 Fast and Accurate
18 Irap
19 State of Honor
dnf Thunder Snow
Saturday, May 6, 2017
Abel Tasman Winning the Kentucky Oaks - Photo
Photo by: Rick Samuels
At one point in time, Abel Tasman, daughter of Quality Road, was last in the field of fourteen on the sloppy track at Churchill Downs. She came back with a roar, and won
by one and a half lengths....
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