The Heat is ON!!!

There were 5 days in a row with heat advisories this week. I've been staying indoors past the hour of 10 a.m. And, I must add, I'm getting tired of using my stationary bike and reading. LOL I wanna be outdoors more, walking, birding, enjoying the air.  Sure, I'm getting the exercise and burning calories, counting the bike activity with my phone app and getting up to near 5 to 7 miles a day.  I started reading the one 'new' book I found at Half Price Books. "Wesley The Owl". I tellya, I seriously did NOT want to put the book down. I'm an animal lover for the most part...to be honest, there are slithery animals that are not included here...like snakes...but Wesley? . . . He's a Barn Owl. This is a story that'll make you laugh, giggle out loud, expand your curiosity, cry, bawl, turn the next page and fall in love with him!! Stacey O'Brien, the author, tells the story. But Wesley is the character that will melt your soul with a literate affection that will astound you. His intelligence is beyond amazing. You'll find yourself, shocked, sometimes horrified by detail, yet...enjoying the humor.  But at the end, a warning:   the tears flow down your face and onto the book. The mutual devotion and relationship of the two, Stacey and Wesley, is like a love story of the ages. Filled with intrigue, suspense, buffoonery of words/reactions, passion...an affair of the hearts. Yes, I say hearts - as in plural - both the caretaker's and the bird's.  WESLEY the OWL is unforgettable.  WESLEY the OWL will leave you filled with awe.  WESLEY the OWL will put an indelible mark in your life.

The other book I found and bought the same day is Imperial Dreams.  I have been looking for an older published book in the birding section of the store, The Ghost Birds, that Marie mentioned to me a few weeks back. This book, the Imperial Dreams, is about another species thought to be extinct [or very rare]...in Old Mexico. The author, T. Gallagher, wrote another book I read last month and so enjoyed...about The Ivory Billed in our Southern states. But, I must admit, after reading and so enjoying the Wesley saga, finding another book that will be HALF as good just may be nigh-on to impossible right now.



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It is so hot here that:

...I saw a dog chasing a cat, and they were both walking!

...The Jehovah Witnesses have stopped walking from door to door and are now telemarketing!

...My seat belt can be used as a branding iron!!


...I had a dozen chicks in the egg carton by the time I arrived home from the store!

...consider the wind chill factor today, and the temp makes it only 112 degrees.

...Today, I saw a squirrel fanning his nuts!!


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Oh, I haven't been locked in the house all the time. We decided to drive to Padre Island [north!] and walk the beach one day. At least early enough before it became too hot to walk.


Two Black Skimmers along the shore...


A seagull high above the sand dunes...


Palm Trees against a cloudless sky near the residential area of Oso Bay...


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As with the aforementioned book being a true story, I watched a newly, factually,  released movie this week! I found myself cheering for every small victory along the way, and saddened by the tragic tale of the Holocaust and wrongful Nazi's behavior with the lives of the Jewish people and their lifestyles.  The movie...based on a true story....WOMAN IN GOLD. This was a remarkable film. In short, Dame Helen Mirren once again shines with outstanding acting abilities, portraying an Austrian-born woman who immigrated to America ...the movie focusing on the historical, overwhelming, robbery of her family's fortune and material wealth by Hitler's Nazi party during World War II.  Marie, portrayed at the age of 82, and her young lawyer, fight a long battle against the modern Austrian government to reclaim what is rightfully hers....one in particular, the gold [real gold filigree] artwork, worth millions today, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I. [the Woman in Gold] -- Perhaps another Oscar nominee in the future?  At least, if not for movie, Ms. Mirren's talent should be recognized.  The movie was well-cast, the direction was nearly flawless, the historical value was priceless...the outcome brilliantly done.

image source


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And to close my post for the day, I found this photo generator/editor online that promised me a bit of fun time. There are so many options. And it's free. You can save your pieces of work to your computer to send in emails, or post on a blog, etc. The first one, I uploaded a photo of my daughter and made this "Funny Face" clown. The second one...A ship in a bottle...from a shrimp boat sketch of mine:


Wanna play with some of your photos too? CLICK HERE