Good 44º clear sunny no smoke morning!
Yesterday another smoke free day and we topped at 94º.
I was doing some printing at my desk yesterday and I set paper on top of the printer and guess who comes along, jumps up, and decided to take a "bath" sitting on the paper!!!
Picture of the Day
Interesting about the American Coot....
With a duck-ish head, a body shaped like a chicken, and a pointy beak to match, the American Coot looks like the most impractical mash-up of birds—and that’s just in the water. On land, you can see another part of its wacky appearance: those feet.
The bird’s long, yellow-green toes have two to three fleshy lobes that are attached to its tall, sturdy legs.
The bird’s long, yellow-green toes have two to three fleshy lobes that are attached to its tall, sturdy legs.
While its shape might look strange to the human eye, the curious configuration of the coot's foot makes the bird adept at getting around both on water and on land, unlike most other waterfowl. Comparable to webbing on a duck's foot, the palmate toes help a coot push through the water. On land, the lobes fold back when the bird lifts its foot, which facilitates walking on a variety of surfaces like mud, grass, and even ice.
This medium-size wader is the most aquatic member of the rail family and can be found on ponds and lakes all over the United States and parts of Canada, dabbling and diving for food. Although it spends more time in the water than other rails, the coot also spends a fair amount of time on land, where it can be found hanging out on golf courses, in parks, and even around lawns.
In the water, the coot doesn’t just use those big feet for propelling itself; they are also important for getting airborne. To take flight, the birds run across the surface of the water and furiously flap their wings before they lift off.
The fleshy lobes are good for tussling, too. “If you spend any time watching a big flock of coots, you'll see fights erupt between them and they will sort of rear up and lean back and claw at each other with their feet,” Kaufman says. “Often, it’s just like teenage boys messing around on the schoolyard, but they will get really serious and birds will be injured in these fights.”
Coot parents employ an infamously harsh parenting style, aggressively shaking or "tousling" some of their chicks by the neck. According to Lyon’s observations, parents will tousle larger chicks more than their smaller siblings, which is thought to discourage them from hanging close by while ensuring more food for the smaller, weaker chicks.
Here is more information:
Reuben Macaroni Salad from Mr. Food......
If you're a fan of Reuben sandwiches, then you're going to love our reinvented Reuben Macaroni Salad. We tossed together all of your favorite Reuben ingredients to make this easy pasta salad recipe that's sure to make 'em all say "Mm!
- 2 cups bowtie macaroni
- 1/2 pound cooked corned beef, diced
- 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese
- 1 (16-ounce) can sauerkraut, drained
- 1/2 teaspoon caraway seed
- 1 cup bottled Russian dressing
- In a medium pot of boiling water, cook macaroni until tender; drain and cool.
- In a large bowl, combine corned beef, cheese, sauerkraut, caraway seed, and macaroni. Add Russian dressing and toss thoroughly. Chill until ready to serve.
Historically this date........
1789 – The United States Department of the Treasury is founded.
1901 – Vice President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt utters the famous phrase, "Speak softly and carry a big stick" at the Minnesota State Fair.
1945 – World War II: Combat ends in the Pacific Theater: the Instrument of Surrender of Japan is signed by Japanese Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu and accepted aboard the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.
1998 – Swissair Flight 111 crashes near Peggys Cove, Nova Scotia. All 229 people on board are killed.
... when visiting Nova Scotia a few years ago I saw the memorial that has been placed there. Peggy's Cove is a beautiful little town with one of my favorite light houses...
With so many tourists walking around it wasn't easy to get a shot of the lighthouse without peeps in the picture. I had to lay down in the rocks to get this shot.
And births this date include....
1838 – Liliuokalani of Hawaii, Queen of Hawaii (d. 1917)
1919 – Marge Champion, American actress
... during my ballet years in the '60's I took lessons from her father, Ernest Belcher. "trainer and coach of many film performers, including Beth Beri, Mary Pickford, Pola Negri, Ramon Navarro, Nanette Fabray and Shirley Temple".
1948 – Terry Bradshaw, American football player
1948 – Christa McAuliffe, American schoolteacher and astronaut (d. 1986)
1951 – Mark Harmon, American actor
1964 – Keanu Reeves, Canadian actor
1966 – Salma Hayek, Mexican actress
Later it was chair, wine, and TV.
All I know. Nuff said. Happy Sunday. Ciao.
xo Sue Mom Bobo
On September 2, National V-J Day (Victory over Japan Day) recognizes Allied Forces’ victory over Japan during World War II. Officials announced the surrender of Japan to the Allies on August 15, 1945. The official signing of surrender took place on September 2, 1945, officially ending World War II.
Six-years of sacrifice and horrors preceded this moment. All around the world, celebrations erupted. However, there would be years of reconciliations, discoveries and coming to terms with the damage done to relations and humanity.
HISTORY
The formal signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender took place on board the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. At that time, President Truman declared September 2 to be the official V-J Day. However, over the years, many citizens of the United States celebrated August 14 as V-J Day in conjunction with the European observation on August 15th.
Interesting that the surrender took place on August 15th which was my Mother's birthday and the treaty was signed on the 2nd of Sept, which is my birthday! Also, I was the first baby born in Los Angeles at 2:03am on VJ Day. My picture, being held by a nurse (top right) was with the other babies born the previous day was put on the front page of the Los Angeles Herald Examiner. No name of course, as I wasn't named Virginia Jane or Valerie June or some VJ name... Susan Leslie wasn't good enough! LOL.
