What the (D)uck — a New Drama!

With my last “Random Friday Thoughts”, I was done writing for a while to prepare for the upcoming move.

However, I just had a duck drama that I have to share and a Facebook post would be too long.

As I await the heavy rains from Subtropical Storm Alberto to keep me inside the rest of the afternoon, I was out getting my 25,000 steps in this morning.

Walking across the complex, I saw a mama duck and an hawk fighting in the middle of the parking lot.

Obviously, the hawk swooped down to grab a baby for lunch. I scared the hawk off and the mother and the babies scurried away.

Well, one baby had fallen over onto its back and I flipped it over. It starts to head off with the mommy.

She jumps up on an embankment to go into the pond and the babies cannot figure out how to jump up there.

This same baby that I flipped over rolls over onto its back again and I went to help it again.

However, this time, the mother ticked off because of the hawk comes charging at me!

I swatted her with my magazine and it doesn’t hold her back. She was still charging toward my face!

Luckily, I was carrying a book, too, and I swung at her and three feathers went flying into the air as she flies away.

But, as that’s happening,  I fall backwards onto the pavement landing on both hands and my left butt cheek.

My biggest fear was that I was going to fall backwards and hit my head on the pavement!  I didn’t!

Now, where is TMZ and its cameras when you need this crazy video!?!?

So, now I’m walking off a very sore ass and two wrists just two days before I have to load a truck by moving everything down a flight of stairs and drive across the country!

This is the fourth duck drama that I’ve had since I moved here!  I’m too much of a treehugger wanting to help!!!

Hopefully you’re laughing along with me, even though I’m the one in pain!

Aren’t you glad that I only shared the photos of my wrist and the ducks? 😁

Anthony

Christmas, Did You Know????

The leftover Thanksgiving feast will likely be served many times this weekend and you’re probably gearing up for Cyber Monday if you didn’t finish your shopping on Black Friday.

Here’s wishing you a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy Kwanzaa.  If those don’t fit what you celebrate, happy holidays and Happy New Year.

While we haven’t put up our tree inside yet, our outdoor decorations are bright and festive.

Here are a few interesting holiday thoughts to dazzle your friends at parties this season.

The next time you buy Christmas stamps and get your cards ready to mail, you’re helping out a very financially stressed United States Postal Service.  At Christmas, I usually mail out more than 150 cards and that’s really the only time I use the USPS except when packages arrive that I order online.

It’s ironic that the USPS is about to go under because as early as 1822, the postmaster in Washington, D.C. wanted to limit the number of cards people could send at the holidays.

People were sending out so many homemade cards, since commercial cards weren’t available then, that an extra sixteen postmen had to be hired in the nation’s capital to handle the extra mail.

The Postmaster General would be ecstatic if that was the case today!

I guess this is my chance to say once again, stop Saturday mail service and save yourself a lot of money!

That is our Christmas dinner from a few years ago.  While some cook ham, some turkey, and some make duck, a traditional Christmas dinner in early England was the head of a pig prepared with mustard!

Sorry, early England, I’ll stick to my current traditions.

The National Christmas Tree Association reports that Americans buy 37.1 million real Christmas trees each year.  And, of that number, one out of every four are from the country’s roughly 5,000 choose-and-cut farms.

I did that back in 2000 and 2001 for Miss ABBA’s (my late golden retriever) first two Christmases.

And, since I’m talking about freshly cut trees, for every real Christmas tree harvested, two to three seedlings are planted in its place.

I asked Ray and Gretel if they’d like to do that this year, but I didn’t get an overwhelming yes or a resounding no, so I’ll ask again sometime in December.

California, Oregon, Michigan, Washington, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and North Carolina are the top Christmas tree producing states. Oregon is the leading producer of Christmas trees – 8.6 million in 1998.

And, while it isn’t one of my favorite holiday songs, crazy town’s Janice Dickinson’s version of the “Twelve Days of Christmas” is over-the-top fun.

However, the song was written to help Catholic children, in England, remember different articles of faith during the persecution by Protestant Monarchs.

Now, I found this online and didn’t take the time to verify it, but it’s still interesting.

In the song:

The “partridge in a pear tree” = Christ.
2 Turtle Doves = the Old and New Testaments
3 French Hens = Faith, Hope and Charity– the Theological Virtues
4 Calling Birds = the Four Gospels and/or the Four Evangelists
5 Golden Rings = the first Five Books of the Old Testament, the “Pentateuch”, which relays the history of man’s fall from grace.
6 Geese A-laying = the six days of Creation
7 Swans A-swimming = the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, the seven sacraments
8 Maids A-milking = the eight beatitudes
9 Ladies Dancing = the nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit
10 Lords A-leaping = the ten commandments
11 Pipers Piping = the eleven faithful apostles
12 Drummers Drumming = the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostle’s Creed

This was so much fun, I’ll share more facts before Christmas.

Happy Holidays!

Anthony