Thistle seed (Nyjer seed) does not make thistles!

WELL - seems like the garbage men came early and we will be stuck with 4 bags of rotting garbage for a week in the garage. AWESOME!
------------------------------------

Pandora - for Mary - Pandora internet radio is awesome - You start with a seed artist. For instance I have one station called Dire Straits.  Pandora looks at what kind of music Dire Straits is then it plays music that matches. HOWEVER - you can thumbs up or thumbs down each song and it learns from your likes and dislikes.  So each seed station progresses and it get's better and better as you go.

I have Fats Domino, Dire Straits, AC/DC (not that great), Jethro Tull, Beethoven, Sirena, Blackmores Night, Beatles, Lacuna Coil and Pink Floyd as my stations. It's free for 40 hours a month and I love it.

It's not do great on current music.
------------------------------
Friday I went on Balderdash's annual 36 hole golf extravaganza (I only went 18). Golfed The Oaks and while I did not conquer the course the course did not conquer me! VICTORY!!!

------------------------------------

Saturday my buddy Elwood was over and we were picking, weeding and drinking and we find out that our neighbors were a little miffed at me putting up a thistle seed feeder and feeding the yellow finches! Seems they mistakenly believe that thistle seed is what thistles come from. Totally different plant. And in fact thistle seed and Nyjer Seed are also different also.

Nyjer seed (Guizotia abyssinica ) - IF it germinated has yellow, daisy-like flowers but is heat sterilized to prevent germination.

It's a mystery how Nyjer seed and thistle seed became one as they are different seeds and NEITHER are linked to the common thistle. Nyjer is super high in calories and oil content unlike thistle seed. Birds DO eat common thistles but . . .that is the only link.

They have thistles because they used ground cloth and rocks which have proven to actually attack weeds. Rocks trap seeds and create a perfect protected growing envirement.

Of course once we heard about that then we heard AGAIN that our cat hurt their dog (for the third time but they yelled it to a golfer this time). Seems their dog chased Milo and hurt his leg - thus it is our fault for their dog chasing our cat. I like their dog but they are constantly yelling at her.
-------
We took Blake to the spa to get a washing and so forth and MAN - he is a different 14 year old puppy. A clean dog is a happy dog it seems LOL. He had his 5 pounds of under fur combed out!
-----------------------------------

I got my check for my contribution to Garden Gate Magazine along with a legal-speak cover their ass letter thanking me.

------------------------------------

It's a small world. I went on a baseball vacation once with a friend,10 ballparks in 12 days. We were on the east coast camping in Pennsylvania way back out of the way and the ranger drives by. We wave and about 20 minutes later he drives by again. Then about 20 minutes later here he comes again! OH OH - what have we done wrong.

He gets out and says "So you guys are from Wisconsin?" "yea, Madison" we say. "REALLY - you don't happen to know a guy by the name of Bob Anderson do you?" ...ummmmm, "yea" Chris says "He's my brother". Too Weird.

This story comes up because a woman at my former work who is on my MPI email list was looking at my last newsletter which had a image of the Madison Antique and Wooden Boat Poster that I did. She see's the poster and calls a worker friend and says "Hey, you have a wooden boat, check this out" and the friend says "THAT'S MY BOAT and THAT'S ME IN THE MIDDLE BIG PHOTO!!!"  Awesome!!

So she contacts me and I make a sale and deliver it and it's the best reception I have ever had.  Included a "hug-of-glee".
--------

I've been working on the Columbus Horse and Carriage photos and I'll create it's own mini-site as people have been asking to see more.  I think what I will do is donate 10% of every sale to the Columbus Horse and Carriage people since I did not donate anything this year (they never asked).  Here is my latest!

All are experimental. No real idea what I'm doing when I start on a photo. 

I love the horse in the back checking out the star horse. 

-------------------------------------------

Any computer geeks out there?    I have two computers on my desk.  One is an old old WIN98 which runs my weather station and there other is a new desk top.  The problem is the OLD computer only has PS/2 plugs.   What I want to do is set it up so I do not have to unplug the CRT from one computer to the other when I switch computers.  I THOUGHT there was a switch but the problem seems to be that one computer is nothing but PS/2 and there other is all USB.  They are not compatible?  BEST BUY GEEKS were stumped.
--------------------------------------------

HEY - McKay Nursery has an outlet store for another week. Sort of a overstock thing.  They have Red Chokeberrys for $20 and all sorts of stuff.   Just east of Waterloo on 19.  Open this week and again in fall. They have done this for a few years.  It's a non advertised word of mouth thing.

Storms this afternoon as a front goes through. Then typical summer weather.  it 'll get warmer every day this week until we hit 90 and then a front will go through to cool thins back to the low 80s

OH - I have heard rumblings about a Kurth reunion at some point - anybody interested?

Cheers

Rod