Cicadas

Locusts (Cicadas) are hatching out by the thousands here at the Boggy Thicket.  Hatching probably isn't the right term, but they are coming out of their shells, leaving the pupal stage for adulthood as a big noisy flying bug.  

Our dachshund, Tinker, is doing her part to control the population.  If she doesn't get them digging out of the ground, she'll knock them off tree trunks and walls.  She has actually dug a few up before they made it out of the earth.

Tinker has always been a hunter, but Cicadas are her favorite treat.  Her attitude toward them reminds me of my favorite Gary Larson Cartoon - 

Rainbow

Yesterday, two of my Facebook Friends posted that they had their dogs put down,  In each case, the pet, a long-time friend and companion was just too old and in too much pain to ask them to go on any longer.

I don't know either of these people well, and never met their pets, but my heart goes out to them.  

Here's the story of the Rainbow Bridge - maybe it will help:

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

The Nose Knows

For the last month or so, I have been doing Spring Cleaning/Maintenance on the 5th wheel - replaced the brakes, cleaned it up inside and out, etc.

Everything is great, except that every time Honey goes in the trailer, she says it smells moldy!  

I don't doubt that she smells something, but what really drives me nuts is that I can't smell it at all. That's making it very hard, if not impossible, to correct. So far, we've shampooed the carpets, wiped down all surfaces, even sprayed Clorox in the air conditioner, and she says the mystery odor is still there.

I subscribe to RV.Net, and it has been a great source of information in the past, so I posted the problem in their forum. So far, I've had a half dozen replies.  

The best of them was not necessarily helpful - but a guy from Pennsylvania said, "Good luck with that.  My wife can smell things over the phone that I can't smell right under my nose."

That Kind Of Day

Today is National Doughnut Day.  
It's also International Sex Workers' Day.
Probably just a coincidence, don't you think?

Loooong Eggs

Speaking of New Braunfels, as I was yesterday, reminded me of a mystery that has boggled my mind for years.  

The Biergarten where we would go in the evenings to listen to the band and dance the polka featured a 13-inch boiled egg on the menu.

That's right - 13 inches long, white on the outside with a round yellow yolk running the entire length inside. They were happy to sell you one but would say nothing about how it was made.

I tried Googling it today, and found only a couple of references.  One from a guy who worked at a salad bar that sold them in the 70s - he said they were two feet long and came in a plastic tube.  

The only current reference was to a company in Hungary that makes an egg that's 22 centimeters (a mere 8.66 inches) long.  They advertise them on their website but don't say anything about how they are made.