It’s a foggy, grey morning in the 303 and while we’re slow getting our brains to work, it’s Nature Friday so we’re still going to join our friends at Adventures of the LLB Gang for their weekly blog hop. Wilson here. Mum and I have been c-r-a-z-y and it’s not going to end any time soon but, as you can see, I’m working hard to help her out. {yawn, snore}
Let’s see now, Thanksgiving in the US is next Thursday. As you can imagine, I’m very excited about a day celebrating food. Woof, woof! My tail is simply giddy about it. {wiggle, wiggle} Anyway, let’s show what we managed to find in Nature around our ranch.
Wilson: The weather has been simply amazing all week long until today. We’ve enjoyed temps in the 70F’s (21C). Today our high will likely be in the low 40’sF with a potential for showers. I’m not keen about the wet but Mum says it’s welcome since we haven’t had any moisture since early September.
The Mum: Good morning, Floof…I share your blunted enthusiasm for today. With our foggy and grey skies, it felt good starting the day on the down-low rather than busting a gut dashing about. I don’t know about you, I just wasn’t into hustling out first thing this morning. With all the online difficulties I’ve encountered, I just didn’t have the bandwidth. In case you don’t follow us on Facebook or Instagram, our Instagram account was hacked and it’s been hell trying to wrest control over it. I have changed passwords daily but the low-life gremlin comes back in the middle of the night and switches it again. He keeps trying to sell a 2020 Honda. All fine and good but why not sell it on your own doggone account if its legit, which it probably is not. So if you do follow us, please accept our apologies and for heaven’s sake, don’t click on any links (if you’re so inclined you can report it as well). Of course we’ve contacted Meta repeatedly since they hold the keys to both platforms and all I’ve heard is crickets. Not surprising there. But enough energy on that. Suffice to say our picture taking is somewhat slim this week because I wasted way too much energy trying to fix it.
Wilson: Naturally I’m quite distressed when my Mum is unhappy but I don’t have thumbs and probably less computer savvy than she has (and, let me just say for the record, she doesn’t have a lot and will readily admit she’s a Luddite when it comes to her computer). We’ve got way too much going on to continually fuss about it…do you hear that, Mum? Ok. Let’s get started, shall we. We mentioned in a previous post that the “Christmas cactus” started to form buds and this week a few of them burst into full bloom. It’s such a striking hot pink shade and being in the kitchen window, it seem most happy and is a cheerful presence in the room she’s in a lot-so it makes her smile which makes me happy. We both wonder why it’s called Christmas cactus since it always begins to bloom before Thanksgiving.
The Mum: It’s one of life’s mysteries, I guess. But in this month of thanks, I know I’m very grateful for the shock of color when nature is at its brownest. With leaves falling everywhere and windy conditions, everything is very dry and dusty. Today’s sprinkles may help keep the dust down and this potted beauty will warm our souls.
Wilson: You’re so right about that, Mum. Were you as surprised to see some Globe thistle on our walk a couple of days ago as I was? This plant, native to southern and eastern Europe, from Spain east to Turkey, Ukraine, and Belarus, and western and central Asia east to Mongolia, is sparingly naturalised throughout various locations in Canada and the US. The blue color is quite pretty but it doesn’t particularly enjoy a sniffer like mine. It poked back but not so bad that I didn’t adhere to its subtle warning.
The Mum: Yes, I was pretty surprised. We were walking along at quite a clip and the sight of it took a moment for it to register in my little pea brain. I had to backtrack to photograph it. Blue being my favorite color, I always have to stop and admire blue flowers.
Wilson: Yes, you confused me by going back. I’m used to moving forward but I can see why you wanted to capture it. Let’s just call it like it is…pretty.
The Mum: I noted in previous posts the Christmas tree lot is now stocked with inventory and suspect it will open this weekend. What the actual…there just are no words. While they all look nice and fresh now, given our above average temps are up by as much as 15 degrees above normal, those babies are going to have a hard time staying green through the whole Christmas season. I haven’t had a cut tree for decades and nearly fainted at the price tag on closeup of the 5 footer. Is that a ‘normal’ price? I hope you can see the tag easily enough. If not, it says $79.99…almost $16 buckaroos a foot. Seems very high to me, but what do I know. I know prices are high everywhere for all sorts of things, but like I said, it’s been years since I had a live tree…in fact it’s been years since I put up any tree. I hope this year will be different but the next two weeks will determine that.
Wilson: Oh be still my beating heart. Look at all those trees that I could ‘water!’
The Mum: Down dude…notice the fence? That’s specifically up to keep the likes of you (and Christmas Grinches) at bay. You can only look from afar to appreciate. Got it?
Wilson: {sigh} Jeez, Mum, you’re taking all the fun out of the holidays. Well that’s it from me. I guess it’s time that we hit the trail and go for a nice long walk. We hope you have a great weekend and are able to get out and enjoy a spot of Nature. It’s good for your mental health to make time for it. Let us know if you’re doing anything fun and if you’re ready for Food Appreciation Day.
Live, love, bark!
Mee-yow what a lovelee Catmass Cactus flower Wilson an Miss Monika. THE Catmass treess look so lovelee two…youss’ allwayss find guud Nature to share with us. Miss Monika wee have issues with FaceBake an wee heerin cricketss two when wee try to contact them…Wee hope you can get Instygram back!!!
Pawss crossed BellaDharma an *crossess fingerss* BellaSita Mum
Thanks. It’s been blooming at Thanksgiving for over 20 years. Some Christmas cactus. 😂
I haven’t had a real tree since I and my three little sons were on our own. Christmas came. back then..I only made $9000.00 a year at that time, house car and kids, and food so…..and when I went to the lot to buy a tree for the kids, the prices had gone up to 25$ for that year here where I live. Too much for me then. The kids were with me of course, and the man refused to find a more runty one for me, or help in anyway, so that was our first year without a real tree I was so disturbed by the children’s hurt and my own, I paid for a little 3′ artificial tree and it’s been an artificial one since. Out of silly on-my-part-protest. I’ll never buy a real one again ever.
Don’t blame you one whit. What a Scrooge? Single moms try their darnedest, I know I was there too. It took me months to save up for a lousy waste bin-we used a paper bag and didn’t have a dining table and used to eat our meals picnic style. Those were tough times but even the kids wouldn’t have had it any other way. Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! Hugs and tail wags.
Java Bean: “Ayyy, you haven’t had any rain since September? Go home, Mother Nature! You’re drunk! It’s been raining here for a week, and it never rains in Southern California!”
Lulu: “Seems I’ve often heard that kind of talk before …”
That’s right…S-e-p-t-e-m-b-e-r. It was a small sprinkle, but anything to dampen the dust. Sorry you buy have been floating away.
I always enjoy both your talks and your photos of nature.
Aww, aren’t you sweet! Thank you. Hope you’re having a terrific weekend.
So sorry to hear about your social media woes Monika and I hope it can get resolved for you soon 🙏 The Christmas Cactus looks gorgeous and put a smile on my face too 😊💖 Wishing you and sweet Wilson a blessed weekend and a wonderful week of Thanksgiving 🧡✨️ xxx
Many thanks, Xenia. It was pretty frustrating for several days but…knock on wood…I haven’t had to reset the password for the last two days so I’m hoping that’s a good sign.
Glad you enjoyed that Christmas cactus. It’s been around the house for over 20 years and never fails to make me smile when it starts blooming. Here’s hoping it’s a great week for us all.
I prefer to call it anti-social media when it decides to act up like that. Ugh! I totally relate to this and apologies in advance mama. And Wilson? You are so lucky you do not have opposable thumbs, just saying.
The Christmas tree prices are insane. Firstly, we’re more than a month out so those trees are gonna be super lucky to make it to the big day without having dried up like a raisin. I know they can last up to six weeks but that’s the high side. These prices suck some of the enjoyment out of the holiday though.
Here’s to good food and lots of it! Hope y’all are having a great weekend at the ranch.
Thanks, Marc. It’s been a rough week but the last two days I haven’t had to reset the password so hopefully that’s a positive sign. 🤞🏼
I walked past the tree lot today and there were actually people buying trees there. I could only shake my head.
Wishing you and yours a wonderful Thanksgiving week!
Things are looking up!
It’s nuts how early it is for cut trees. I know they have farms for these but still, TOO early if you ask me.
Blessings and love today mama
Hope you’ve had a lovely Thanksgiving, Marc.
The same to you mama
So sorry to hear about your social media issues, yuck! I choose not to be on any of them because I’m very anti-social myself. Wilson looks so cute with his fur growing out!
Trust me I’ve considered chucking the whole thing more than once and ironically, it’s making me a whole lot less social! Meta has this attitude that if you want sympathy from them you need to look it up in the dictionary because that’s the only place you’ll find it. They can’t be bothered with responding to inquiries. We hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving week! Gobble, gobble.
“Look at all those trees that I could ‘water!’” Thanks for the laugh, Wilson, but unless you want mom to have to fork over $79 worth of future snacks and chew toys I’d look for a fire plug.
I hope you guys have a great week on the run up to Thanksgiving. Your weekly observations and photos are one of the bloggy things I’m thankful for.
He looked that lot over like he’d just been handed the keys to the Promised Land. It was pretty funny. We are in the process of moving and we went to the new neighborhood today to walk along the bike and pedestrian path along the creek, that boy was in hog heaven sniffing and taking it all in. I think we’ll be happy there. Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving week. With timing coming down to the wire, we may not be as available as normal but hope things start going a little better in the right direction. 🤞🏼 We’ll be v-e-r-y thankful if things go as planned.
A whole new neighborhood of sniffs – glorious! I hope you have a wonderful week and all goes well.
Thanks, Dan.
Thank you. That cactus has been brightening my days, especially lately. At this time of year, it reminds me that gratitude is a beautiful thing. Have a terrific weekend!
Your Christmas cactus is so pretty! I need one of them. Maybe I could keep it alive. LOL!
Ugh, on the hacker! So frustrating. Hope it ends soon for you!
Happy Weekend! I hope you and Wilson have a wonderful one
Thank you! It’s been brightening my spirits for over 20 years-it never fails to put a smile on my face. And thanks for wishing us well with the low life gremlin…aka hacker. I hope it ends soon too and that he gets his just desserts for years. Have a wonderful weekend.
Wow, on having the Christmas cactus for that long! Wonderful!
Yes, low life gremlin is a good name for the hacker, and another reason that you need Betsy to show up! She would give him his “just desserts!”😉
And a nice kick in the ____, I hope. 😉
YES! Will send him far far away! To be with Igor in the swamp!
That’s a good start.
😄
I have a few plants that are that old and even older, like a fig I received for a birthday 30+ years ago. Not sure how they’ve all managed to survive at time. Other than watering (and sometimes not as much as they needed), I’m a pretty dreadful plant owner. Nature must have taken pity on their bad luck being with me.
Haha! You obviously are a much better plant owner than I am. If they survive a month I am happy! 🤣😂
Guess I’m just lucky. Or perhaps they are the lucky ones. 😁
LOL!
What a pain to have to deal with scum who stole your platform as their own.
That happened to me, too…on an older unused blogger account, after I went to a combined one for both my cats and the dog. So the dude is from someplace in Europe, I think and is selling/repairing bicycles and all in a foreign language. I can access my own site from my new account, but no one else can. It’s so frustrating, and when I told the peeps at blogger, I got no help or advice. I let it go, since he’s not doing anything ease that I know of…but sheesh, it really is annoying. I feel your pain. I have a FB and an Instagram, but mostly only for being able to interact with others who have them actively and no blogs, etc.
I have not had a real tree ever in our house. The last real tree that was in our family was when I was in grade school, we had no money for ‘extras’ so I begged my teacher, and I dragged the classroom tree to our house! Then before we could get it in the living room the dog claimed it, BOL!
Your Christmas Cactus is so bright and pretty, indeed a happy spot of color in the season of drabness.
Have a calm weekend, take time to relax and enjoy the various wonders of this season. When we have fog and mist/drizzle here at this time of the year, though it may be miserable, we just grin and say, at least it isn’t snow!
Hugs!
Woofs & Wags!
There’s not enough bad that can happen to hackers or abusers of animals, in my book. It’s frustrating as all get out. And it’s even more upsetting when tech companies don’t take care of it, hiding behind the “it doesn’t violate our rules” mantra.
All of which has brought a smile to my heart whenever I see another bloom on the cactus. It reminds me there are things that make me grateful despite the ugly in life.
Here’s hoping you have a great weekend.
Oh, my…I just reread my note and it’s full of typos…they are all words but not the right ones. Silly auto correct. Another AI fail!! LOL!
No worries.I got the gist of it. I’m no fan of AI either for exactly that reason. Have a great AI-less weekend.
Beautiful photos. Have a nice weekend. XO
Thank you, Ellen. You’re always so kind. Hope you have a wonderful weekend.
Crazy times are sure catching on Wilson but I hope you and Mom have a terrific weekend!
Thanks, Terry. We hope you and the kitties all have a pawsome weekend!
Wilson, give Mum an extra cuddle for all of that nonsense she is experiencing dealing with her social media. It can be so frustrating for those of us with thumbs trying to navigate what sometimes can be a very cruel digital world. I know you’ll help her through it! I will report to you those prices are much the same here for Christmas trees. We get a real tree every year, and the costs have crept up substantially over time. Still, we love having one…even with all the post-tree clean-up. That Thanksgiving cactus is absolutely awesome. I bet that elicits a smile every time you guys notice it. Hope the weekend activities bring a ton of smiles at the Ranch!
Aww, you’re too kind, Bruce. Thanks. Your sweet comment makes Mum feel a lot better and I’m going to cover her in loads of cuddles and maybe even a little floof while I’m at it. Mum always admire anyone who puts up a real tree but with a house pony who drinks a ton, I think Mum will probably forego a real one, if she is able to get her house decorated. That still remains to be seen. We hope you have a totally pawsome weekend.
Sorry about all the trials you’ve had this week. I did report the car posting but got a response that it didn’t meet their criteria so I don’t think it’s been removed. 😩I hope your weekend goes better.
Yup…that’s Meta’ standard response. Contacting them is an exercise in futility-they won’t do much to fix things. Sigh. Oh well, I’ll just try to go in as much as time permits the nosebleeds it’s taken to remove it. Things are getting down to the wire…a race to the finish line and then hopefully things will be more relaxed. Wishing you a wonderful birthday.
We have not had a live tree for over 30 years. We do enjoy the decorations and BT (before Tempeste), we had trees that were not surrounded by playpen fencing. Now the fencing is a must because she just can’t control herself. Last year we put up the tree and then realized the flocking was viewed as a tasty treat. The tree came down immediately. The tree also found a lovely home elsewhere. This year’s tree will be surrounded by our equivalent of the Berlin Wall. Happy Thanksgiving to you and I hope you have a terrific weekend.
{snicker} Well it’s a good thing they celebrate Christmas in Berlin. LOL Have a wonderful weekend and try to keep the ‘munchkin’ safe.
Why don’t you just discontinue your Instagram site and maybe start a new one? I don’t do any social media but this, so I’m not sure how all these things work.
Prices are unbelievable anymore, so I can’t say I’m surprised at the cost of the Christmas trees. I may not have a tree this year. Our big “fake” one is buried behind a ton of stuff in our shed (that we hope to resolve the last two weeks of December) and I’m not buying another one. Have a good weekend!
If we abandon our account then the bad guy wins and we’d lose all our followers. I only do Instagram to benefit the rescue and to showcase our hospital work. It may come to that but hope we can figure out a way to evict the loser.
You could have blown me over with a feather when I saw that tree’s price tag. Eggs are still over $8 a dozen here, something I never could have imagined. Somebody’s benefitting but I think there are a lot of folks who are doing without on some items. Luckily I’m not a fan of eggs, using them only for baking. Good luck finding the tree whenever you can. Have a great weekend.
Yes, I suppose you’re right about the Instagram thing. And lots of eggs here at still under $5 a dozen, even the free range ones.
$5 eggs?!?! Yo Wilson, pack your bags, we’re heading to TN to do some shopping! Gosh that’s a great price compared to here. Lucky you!
TN is usually cheaper for everything, including gasoline and wages, LOL!
I’ve heard lots of people are moving to Tennessee for lower taxes too. One of our pet therapists and a former colleague at the law firm both said that’s why they moved there recently.
Yes, and lots of big apartments are being built and people are moving into them. Traffic has become much, much worse.
It started similarly after the state made recreational pot legal back in 2014. Loads of unemployed people moved here…and it went downhill from there. Despite all the calls for more housing, what is needed is affordable housing. There are apartment houses being built EVERYWHERE. I wish developers would stop building expensive units. Rents have gone through the roof. They took greed to a whole other level. 😬
Yes, it’s unbelievable how much folks have to pay just for rent!
I was beyond stunned at the amount they want to rent my soon to be old house for-more than my entire month’s income! It’s just insanely crazy.
Trees are so expensive! if it wasn’t for the great smell, we would get an artificial one. my grandma had a big white tree with red birds all over it. And red bows and red lights. As a kid I thought it was beautiful. I still like the white tree, but I’m not sure about all the red.
Oooh, a white tree…always a beautiful classic. My grandmother had one of those aluminum trees with the colored disk light and I thought that was the coolest thing back in the 60’s. REal trees do have that fabulous smell but these days there are nice essential oils that mimic the real thing. Hopefully I’ll survive these next two weeks to put it to use. We hope you have a wonderful weekend. Give Chester a nice belly rub from me.
Meta is hopeless. Someone stole my identity on FB a couple years ago, and connected it to some Instagram account – am I don’t have an Instagram account — and the only way to prove my identity was to log onto their instagram account and fight being kicked of FB. I gave up, and don’t miss it at all!!! And my Christmas cactus is blooming like crazy too. Such a bright spot in these gray days.
Hopeless and useless. They’re almost as awful as the bad actors that hijack accounts.
You’re so right about these Christmas cactuses being such a bright spot in the greyest month of the year. We wish you a wonderful and relaxing weekend!
North Americans here scouring the shops for turkeys…..first adverts from growers of Christmas trees……I shall hibernate!
Oh gosh, is there a shortage of turkeys? Hadn’t heard that. Probably in the category of other expensive foodables…like eggs which are still shockingly high. Enjoy a pleasant hibernation!
Sorry to interrupt but I heard that there was a 2020 Honda available? Could you tell me the price and how many miles? Asking for a friend…
Hahaha…trust me, I’d doing you a solid but using white out on all the posts whenever I come across them. Have a great weekend.
Christmas trees, even in our rural area where they grow are priced similarly, but I think ours are fresher. 😀 I’d guess ours run $10/ft. Kind of crazy for something we’ll throw out in a few weeks, as it sheds needles all over the living room. But they are so pretty all decorated and how can we not have one? 😉
Have a great weekend. 👍🏼
Exactly! That’s why I stopped buying them ages ago. Artificial trees have gotten so life-like over the years, I’d feel guilty buying a realy tree. Hope you have a terrific weekend!
Our Christmas, no make that Thanksgiving cactus is blooming too. It will bloom off and on until Valentine’s day!
Hurray for you! A nice ;pop of color during the dreariest month of the year is such an uplifting sight. Have a wonderful weekend, Kate.
Real trees are expensive, a lot of work, and make a big mess, thus our fake tree. Bummer with being hacked. We expect it will happen to us one day too and we will be in a mess as you are with the whole thing. Now we focus on Thanksgiving and that is about it. Have a fun weekend if you can.
Thanks, you’re so right. I actually don’t mind an artificial tree but not sure if I’ll have time to find one this year with our move. A lot remains to be seen. Hackers are the scourge of the earth IMHO. There’s not enough bad things that can happen to them. We hope you all have a nice relaxing weekend.
I’m so sorry that you are having trouble with your Instagram account. People can be jerks.
But good catch on the globe thistle. I don’t remember ever seeing one before. If it’s as invasive as it seems, I think that’s probably more about me missing it than it not being there.
Hang in there and stay strong.
Thanks Amy. Yeah, there are a lot of jerk gremlins out there. It’s just a fact of life. Software to detect them often seems one step behind. can no longer invest energy in it with everything else we’re trying to manage. We hope you have a marvelous weekend ahead of a great Thanksgiving.
That cactus! And so sorry you are dealing with this hacker. I was wondering about the repeated posts about selling that Honda… I swear, these hackers have nothing better to do than wreak havoc on unsuspecting folks.
Have a marvellous weekend!
I swear I was flabbergasted when I discovered it, especially since he kept repeatedly kept adding it. What a low life scumbag. Isn’t that cactus something else! It’s hard to be upset when I walk into the kitchen and see it. Wishing you a wonderful weekend.
Jesus. Talk about determined. So sorry you had to deal with him.
Thank you. Gonna be rather relaxed, methinks.
Relaxed and weekend just go together…don’t they.
I’ll get through this stupid gremlin business. It just makes me sad that some people are so willing to cause mischief and fraud.
That they do!
It is sad and maddening. I’ll never understand what these people believe in
I can remember having a “real” tree when I was a kid living at home but when I grew up (do we ever REALLY totally grow up????!) I got a non-real tree and have had those ever since. I love the smell of “real” trees though……not the needles falling off! Anyway, now that Thanksgiving is almost here it’s just a short hop to Santa. I hope all of you have been behaving – he doesn’t bring stuff to those who have been “questionable” you know….at least that’s what I tell Teddy!
Hugs, Pam
The same for me. In fact, we used to cut our trees in the national forest. The smell IS divine but it can be duplicated with a good essential oil and easy on the senses. The bonus is no dried out needles or a certain Floof drinking water from the basin. LOL Wishing you and Teddy a wonderful weekend.