With all the wonderful rainfall we've been getting, the dragonfly population has exploded!! Early in the morning, our front yard is quite literally a massive invasion of them, and they're consuming all those nasty Texas-sized mosquitoes!! But, I must admit, if I see one from the corner of my eye, those dragonflies seem the size of hummingbirds; they're so huge...
...oh, and by the way, quite a while ago, I mentioned to Ginny that in our yard we have two hybrid hibiscus bushes [they're going bananas this year!] that have much smaller blossoms AND they have variegated leaves...from white and green dappled pigments to light pink, green, white and rose colored leaves. Ginny asked me to share them in photos. I finally remembered to get some pictures to give a show n tell ---
[linking up to TODAY'S FLOWERS]
SCIENCE TIDBIT: Did you know there are only TWO days in a year that the sun rises DUE EAST?!!! That is the on Sunday this year...the Autumnal Equinox and then next year on The First Day of Spring!!! - the Vernal Equinox
- from EARTH-Sky this is quoted: "No matter where you are on Earth, you have a due east and due west point on your horizon. That point marks the intersection of your horizon with the celestial equator – the imaginary line above the true equator of the Earth. At the equinoxes, the sun appears overhead at noon as seen from Earth’s equator. That’s the definition of an equinox: it’s when the sun crosses the celestial equator, as seen in Earth’s sky. That’s why the sun rises due east and sets due west for all of us on the day of an equinox. The sun is on the celestial equator, and the celestial equator intersects all of our horizons at points due east and due west. This fact makes the day of an equinox a good day for finding due east and due west from your yard or other favorite site for watching the sky..."
...and speaking of Texas:
Due to the large number of jobs moving from California to Texas, the Lone Star State has compiled a "Californian to Texan" translation guide...
CALIFORNIA
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TEXAS
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Delicate Wetlands
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Swamp
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Arsenal of Weapons
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Gun Collection
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Cruelty-Free Materials
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Synthetic Fiber
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Assault and Battery
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Attitude Adjustment
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Heavily Armed
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Well-protected
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Narrow-minded
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Righteous
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Taxes or Your Fair Share
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Coerced Theft
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Commonsense Gun Control
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Gun Confiscation Plot
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Illegal Hazardous Explosives
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Fireworks for Stump Removal
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Nonviable Tissue Mass
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Unborn Baby
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Equal Access to Opportunity
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Socialism
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Multicultural Community
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High Crime Area
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Fairness or Social Progress
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Marxism
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Upper Class or "The Rich "
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Self-Employed
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Progressive, Change
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Big Government Scheme
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Homeless or Disadvantaged
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Bums or Welfare Leeches
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Sniper Rifle
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Scoped Deer Rifle
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Investment For the Future
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Higher Taxes
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Healthcare Reform
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Socialized Medicine
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Extremist, Judgmental, or Hater
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Conservative
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Truants
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Homeschoolers
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Victim or Oppressed
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Criminal or Lazy Good-For-Nothing
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High Capacity Magazine
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Standard Capacity Magazine
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Religious Zealot
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Church-going
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Reintroduced Wolves
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Sheep and Deer Killers
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Fair Trade Coffee
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Overpriced Yuppie Coffee
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Exploiters or "The Rich "
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Employed or Land Owner
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The Gun Lobby
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NRA Members
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Assault Weapon
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Semi-Auto (Grandpa's M1 Carbine)
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Fiscal Stimulus
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New Taxes and Higher Taxes
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Same Sex Marriage
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Legalized Perversion
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Mandated Eco-Friendly Lighting
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Chinese Mercury-Laden Light Bulbs
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