MORNING ROLL CALL L JUNE 2026

My second eye surgery is progressing well. I finally got a prescription for reading glasses. They are working well.

May you have a blessed day!

Winter making a last gasp here.  Brisk temps and windy.  Had to plug the cat palace back in for the kids (triple tap to assorted heated kitty beds), since wind chill in the 20s tonight. 🥶  Yes, @SpringIsHereSoHappy, that would be Queen Willie Mae and Prince Giorgio. Can't have them freezing their little toe beans off.

Last Thursday, a friend and I went to a nearby state park and followed an old road trace to a early 19th-century cemetery.  On the way back, we noticed a flash of white behind some brush just off to the side and went to investigate.  It was a dead eagle. 😢 It was upsetting to find.  I'll admit we didn't know the proper procedure about what to do.  Are we suppose to report it?  (Yes, I found out later.)  The Visitor Center was closed at this time, so our options were limited.  We didn't touch it or disturb it.  I didn't think about waymarking it until we had returned to my truck and I took no pictures, because no, just no.  I called the number, but just a recorded message.  I did shoot an email to the state park and they responded the next day and thanked me.  I do not know if they found it or what happened next.

We are looking at a mild snow storm here in Madison, Wisconsin with around 4" of new snow on the ground outside my window. Snow to end around noon. 

They are forecasting more snow Sunday and Monday. Then some rain as the temperatures warm up.

@Frozenoem , I don't live near SNP, but was there on Wed., when the fire started.  We were well aware of the high wind and fire danger warnings. Fortunately, for us, the fire started in the North District and we were in the South District slogging up a mountainside in search of another old family cemetery.  Found it!  About 25 uninscribed fieldstones and several depressions which had missing head/footstones.

Several of the fieldstones at the Calvin Morris cemetery in SNP

The wind wasn't really a factor for us until we emerged on a ridge where the cemetery was located. We had worked up a sweat on the climb up, but when that wind hit we chilled right out.  Not to mention another danger.  The trees were creaking and swaying and there were already a lot of fallen dead trees.

This shows a plethora of fieldstones, but note the deadfall and fallen trees. Not an ideal place on a gusty day!

Probably not a good day to be up on a ridge with all the leaning trees crackling and looking downright dangerous, but we escaped unscathed other than various greenbriar and wineberry gashes we suffered on the bushwhack in andout.

On my way home that evening, I did run into all sorts of fire engines and emergency vehicles and brush fires and smoke blotting out the sky in parts.  (This was outside the Park.)  It was downright scary. 😨 I began to worry I wouldn't be able to make it home, but I got through.  It was frightening how many fires there were and made you realize the wind was no joke.  I had also gotten traffic alerts about Rt. 1 in my county had been shut down due to fire fighting activities.  Fortunately, it was N of me (at Quantico), but it had apparently really messed up rush hour traffic since everyone was diverted to I-95.

@LaDolceVita , yep, I pulled out my first tick of the season last week.  I had used some red Repel from last year that had been in my truck and it was clogged and barely sprayed.  Obviously. 🙄 Pesky little buggers.

@LaDolceVita , may Claire run freely over the Rainbow Bridge. No matter how difficult they may be to take care of, it's more difficult to reconcile that they are no longer a part of our lives.  Claire lived a long life, longer than most, and it sounds like you made it a happy and easier one for her.

How true is this!

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