My dad called me a couple of nights ago and told me about Comet Holmes, so I went outside armed with my camera and tripod and took pictures. The night sky always looks so different than the charts, it gets a little difficult sometimes to know where you are, but I finally found the star that was closest and took pictures blindly.
When I looked at the photos they were pretty dark, but I increased the contrast and exposure a little and voila!!! Comet Holmes. I still didn't really believe I had it, so I sent the pictures to my dad who confirmed that it was indeed the comet.
Certainly not the best quality picture, but I was thrilled to have gotten this much.
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/home/10775326.html

We had Thanksgiving on Sunday this year rather than Thursday due to scheduling issues. Everyone brought their great food to my daughter's house and there were some wonderful dishes, but this one was the absolute best and I wanted to share it with you.

This is a stew that my son's girlfriend brought. The vegetables were roasted and some were strained a couple of times, last time through cheesecloth, others were left in chunks and the whole thing was cooked in a pumpkin. The entire process took some 9 hours, which was certainly a long time, but it tasted so amazingly good, it was worth it! We all hope that she either brings it again sometime, or shares the recipe!! Thanks Linda! We really appreciated all your efforts!

We made a trip this weekend to Lake George, Florida. I have heard so often that there are bears, and I wanted to see one (from the safety of the car or house, of course).
We needed a place to stay the night, so I thought perhaps a cabin as opposed to a hotel, thinking that there would be a greater chance of seeing a bear. We managed to get a beautiful place right on Lake George.
About 2 am, we heard dogs barking and something tipped over. It was actually a bear (someone else saw it), but we couldn't see it. Maybe if I had gone outside??? But I wasn't about to do that. So disappointing!
Second chance: This community is not permitted to leave trash out overnight because of the attraction to the bears, so all trash has to be taken to a secure dumpster each day. I went with with our hostess thinking that we might see one, and the dumpster guard said that there were some earlier, but we missed them. As an afterthought, he mentioned that there was a dead bear less than 1/2 mile from us. We looked for that too - no bear.
I guess I'm going to have to settle for looking at bears on the internet.
One thing I did capture was some pretty pictures of the sunrise over the lake.
Third picture is the same location, but with the light from the full moon. The spots are bugs on the screen. Last is a glimpse into the Ocala National Forest.

We're thinking that possibly because so many people got in over their heads with mortgages and are losing their homes, that this may be the reason we have so many "dumped" animals around here. Our guess is that people who lose their home, go into an apartment, find they can't have pets and release them "into the woods".

Contrary to their wonderful little ideas, these pets do not find mice and such to eat and live happily ever after in a lovely forest. They simply go without. They get very thin, they pick up diseases, they get attacked, they die.

I spent $135.00 this morning taking the second to last foundling to the vet. She had a large wound on her head, has double pneumonia and is so thin, you can feel every bump on her spine. This is the 5th time since the spring that I have had to pay vet costs for diseased cats. How many people can afford to do this? Not many. And so the animals die. The cost of having a cat put down is high too, I overheard a man getting a bill for $105.00 for this service. So people don't do it, they sometimes have no choice but to let the animal suffer until it finally dies.

While I was at the vet, I mentioned to the nurse that she just showed up at our house. Everyone in the waiting room said they have had cats and dogs dumped in their neighborhoods too, more this year than ever before. Some, they can care for, most they cannot.

I've lost count of the number of cats I've had spayed or neutered. Even with a partially subsidized vet, the cost is very high. So much so that when I took the cat to the vet this morning, I couldn't justify the cost of letting them do blood tests and X-rays "just to see". More important that they treat her with antibiotics and put the money to getting the other 7 cats neutered or spayed.

There are shelters all over the place. If you have a pet that you don't want, TAKE IT TO A SHELTER!! Or ask a friend or neighbor to take the animal.

A couple of weeks ago, we were working outside and saw a car slow down. When they saw us outside, they sped up and stopped farther down the street. Our neighbor said they let a cat out of their car, which ran into his yard. His dogs immediately attacked the poor thing before he could stop them.

I wish people could realize that this is one of the most cruel things you can do to an animal. Caring for it until it loses all ability to care for itself, then toss it out to try to fend for itself.

Many people get pets because they have children. What does this teach kids? I used our pets to teach my kids about relationships, how we have a responsibility to love and care for our pets and in return, enjoy their love and devotion. This forms the basis for relationships these kids will have all through life. Is it right to teach them that relationships are disposable? When I taught music, I often heard how an 11 year old child was too young to play Beethovan because they couldn't understand the emotion. I never had a problem pulling this emotion out of any child. I would teach them to relate the necessary musical response to the way they felt about their pets - love, sadness, bonding etc.

My son asked me one time if he could have a snake. My answer was no. He explained that his friend had a lot of snakes as pets but every time he did something bad, his father would make him release one of the snakes to live on it's own. I was amazed that this idiot would be teaching his son that when you're bad, you throw away something you love.
How long would it be before he came to the conclusion that it wasn't worth loving anything?

Of the 50 or so houses on my street, I am the only one who takes care of cats. When I move, who is going to do it? Anyone? No one?

We do all we can, but if you give the animal to a shelter, they will care for it. They will find a home for it if they can, or humanely kill it. Either way, the animal will not suffer as it does trying to care for itself.

OK, I've said my piece and vented enough for one day.