Eastern Box Turtle
This is an Eastern Box Turtle who decided my driveway was a great place to hang out. I believe these are in every county in West Virginia so it is hardly rare, but still nice to see when out and about walking.
Although turtles can live to be more than a hundred years old most do not live that long. At least not in the wild where thirty to forty years is much more average.
Round here it is not unusual to see them trying to cross main roads and I am sure there is a pretty high death toll from roads alone. They don’t exactly run to get out of the way unfortunately, and it is all too easy to round a corner and not be able to do a thing in time to avoid them.… Read the rest
WV Flash Floods – July 11th 2015
The rain overnight of was positively biblical in its intensity. The road out of the hollow is impassible – I doubt even a 4WD truck would make it without damage – the road now has 18 inch deep gullies running along it. Nobody will be going anywhere until the department of highways decides to come and fix it.
We got off quite lightly but some of our neighbors were not so lucky. Even though several streams run through the area, they were not the problem. Yes, they are up significantly and we are acquiring an impressive range of debris from further up the mountain but the real damage was caused by the sheer volume of runoff from the mountainside.… Read the rest
Things Americans Believe…
My other half who is American – I’m English – and I have often talked about the different beliefs and cultures I have come across during my travels as well as some of the widely held and cherished beliefs Americans hold. I’ve been meaning to blog about that for some time, but she has gone and beaten me to it. Go and read it here – especially if you view life in America as the best thing since sliced bread.… Read the rest
An Elderly Man’s Weekend
An elderly white-haired man walked into a jewelry store one Friday evening with a beautiful young blonde at his side.
He told the jeweler he was looking for a special ring for his girlfriend.
The jeweler looked through his stock and brought out a $5,000 ring.
The old man said, “No, I’d like to see something more special.”
At that statement, the jeweler went to his special stock and brought another ring over. “Here’s a stunning ring at only $40,000,” he said.
The young lady’s eyes sparkled and her whole body trembled with excitement.
The old man seeing this said, “We’ll take it.”
The jeweler asked how payment would be made and the old man stated, “By check. … Read the rest
Redneck Joke
The 100 MPH Goat…
Two rednecks are out hunting, and as they are walking along they come upon a huge hole in the ground. They approach it and are amazed by the size of it.
The first hunter says “Wow, that’s some hole; I can’t even see the bottom. I wonder how deep it is?”
The second hunter says “I don’t know, let’s throw something down and listen, and see how long it takes to hit bottom.”
The first hunter says “There’s this old automobile transmission here, give me a hand and we’ll throw it in and see”.
So they pick it up and carry it over, and count one, two and three,and throw it in the hole.… Read the rest
Gotta Love The Differences In the Sexes
Sent to me by a friend…
Talking HER diary vs HIS diary
HER DIARY:
Tonight, I thought my husband was acting weird.
We had made plans to meet at a bar to have a drink.
I was shopping with my friends all day long, so I thought he was upset at the fact that I was a bit late, but he made no comment on it.
Conversation wasn’t flowing, so I suggested that we go somewhere quiet so we could talk.
He agreed, but he didn’t say much.
I asked him what was wrong; he said, ‘Nothing.’
I asked him if it was my fault that he was upset.
He said he wasn’t upset, that it had nothing to do with me, and not to worry about it.… Read the rest
What’s With The “All New?”
Having lived in the US for quite a few years now I am still somewhat bemused at the constant usage of the phrase “All New.” All new? As opposed to what? Partly new? Mostly new? Just a little bit new? New is a perfectly good word in its own right and has a very clear meaning and/or connotation. So when and why did someone think that it need “all” in front of it to get the point across?… Read the rest
Cheaper To Let Your House Burn?
I recently received my yearly “give us money” missive from our local fire department. Nothing too unusual there. I am sure that most Americans get similar letters too. This year though, there is an added twist. This year it’s not the usual “we need your help” type letter – it’s a “give us money or else” demand.
“Or else what?” I hear you ask. Well may you ask. My local fire department has now adopted the practice (totally illegal in many states but not West Virginia apparently – of billing anyone who uses their services who hasn’t coughed up the “voluntary” donation.… Read the rest
The Movie “Tripper” And Robert F. Kennedy Jr
Those of you who know me will know that I am a movie fan. I picked up a dvd a while back – The Tripper – and finally got around to watching it. I liked the movie. It was a fun little comic horror effort that appealed to my somewhat warped sense of humor. The movie had quite a strong political theme in some ways and definitely had a bone to pick with some of the “sacred cows” of American history. But what really got my attention though were the credits believe it or not. Usually the credits roll to music but not this time. They rolled to a speech. And it floored me. I am not used to American politicians telling it like it is rather than what they want you to think it is.… Read the rest
Hands Up All Those Who Want A Civil War!
I am always interested in reading through the comments that accompany many articles published by newspapers online. It’s always a good indicator of just how fucked up society in the US is. But, immune as I am to some of the crass points of view that get put forward, even I did a double take when I saw that someone was calling for a civil war in the US.
WTF? I thought to myself. He must be out of his tiny little less than average IQ mind. Apparently he wasn’t alone. Many posters were agreeing with him. The mind (well, mine at least) boggles that anyone in this day and age thinks that a civil war is the answer to America’s problems.… Read the rest