I got about 10' and no downspout work needed - just gotta take it down and put it up with a better angle - leaning TOWARD the downspout not away from it!

DEFINITELY a two man job. Fuck all that climbing.

Classic...that job would take about half an hour with a drill and a ladder being about the only things you'd need. Even I could do it!

Don't be a lazy arse!!! Get up there and do it this weekend!!!!!

Me gots no ladder - hehehe

If your house is lowset you could probably do it with a stool instead.

We sold our house!
Now we are down to one mortgage payment per month!
Whee!

thats great - finally!

Today, my 'rents have been married 49 years.

Over the weekend I said we would have to have a party next year "'cause I know you love that kind of stuff, dad." My brothers were saying it would be OK, the guys could hang out somewhere else. My dad said "OHHHH, we don't have to be TOGETHER?" My brother said "Well, how do you think you've been married for 50 years?"

It's kind of true: my dad travelled for many years for his job, and mom is just fine being alone (I get that from her) but they are really great together. They have fun, they get along...dad spends a lot of time in his mancave (his woodshop attached to the garage) and mom does her own thing, but they have always been completely committed to us kids, and they seem to kind of like each other.

Mom and Dad, have a blessed day! :p

Awesome!!!

Congrats to the rents!

Thanks classic! ;)

Congrats to both Pie and the rents.

Thanks sugar. :)

I just went to my last undergrad class ever! Waahooo! Graduation in 8 days. Good luck to those of you who are up to your eyeballs in final exams and papers.

Good on your Choco. :) Congratualtions!

congrats

Congrats, Choco! and to your parents, Shawnee. It's a rare accomplishment these days!

phones are back online

Mom says "they said it wouldn't last...no REALLY, they said that." :)

Certainly rare, and nothing I will ever be able to identify with!

Congratulations on selling your house ,Pie, and Congrats Choco!

Congrats to all those who require congrating. Shaws parents, I thought she was talking about renters, Graduating Cellars, Those connecting with old friends, and those with one less mortgage, and those in the gutter.

I just scored 4 tickets, row 10 to Buddy Guy and Johnny Lang.

Met a neighbor.
Just checking, this is a garter snake, right?

And I have new patio furniture!

Looks like one of the many species of water snakes. Keep it around. They do good work.

Edit:Common Garter Snake
Thamnophis sirtalis

E Distinctive pale stripe down middle of its back, and less prominent yellow stripes down each side (with black spots); greenish-brown to almost black background; 1-4 ft; moves swiftly Highly varied & most-frequently encountered eastern snake; found in lowlands, uplands, cities, farmland, wilderness; but requires moist habitats such as wet meadows, marshes, damp forests, rocky hillsides, old fields, margins of rivers, creeks, ponds; farm woodlots, quarries, suburbs, trash dumps, gardens, vacant lots in cities & suburbs 90% of diet is salamanders, frogs, and small snakes; the rest is small fish, bird nestlings, mice, young chipmunks, shrews, earthworms, slugs, snails, crayfish, millipedes, spiders, insects, & carrion Young snakes are eaten by mink, skunks, weasels, raccoons, foxes, cats, dogs, shrews, hawks, owls, herons, pheasants, turkeys, crows, assorted snakes, box turtles, bullfrogs, spotted salamanders, fish; rarely spiders and crayfish Defends itself aggressively; emits musk and feces; young snakes try to bite; though non-poisonous, handle large adult with care, as bite can lead to profuse bleading because saliva contains anti-coagulant.

http://www.fosc.org/Snakes.htm

http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/wildlif...tion/?s=030044

Or the:

eastern ribbon snake (Thamnophis sauritus sauritus)

Characteristics
This is a very slender snake with a tail that makes up more than one-fourth of the total length. The adult has a dorsal pattern of three bright yellow stripes on a dark background. The belly is plain yellow or greenish-yellow. This species is about 7 inches at birth and grows to about 36 inches. Juveniles are patterned as adults but are brown with bright yellow or white stripes. The brown dorsal color darkens with age. The female gives birth to as many as 20 live young in mid to late summer.

Distribution
This snake is found from the Blue Ridge Mountains and parts of the Valley and Ridge physiographic region east to, and including, the Eastern Shore. Thamnophis sauritus is semiaquatic, inhabiting a wide variety of habitats, including freshwater and brackish marshes, grassy floodplains, streams, and ditches with grass and brush margins, wet areas in meadows, spagnum bogs, and woodlands adjacent to wetlands. The primary requirement appears to be accessibility to permanent or semipermanent water. It prefers areas that are well vegetated with cattails, grasses, shrubs, and other plant life that offer good traction for quick escapes. This snake is frequently found basking on branches of trees, bushes, or grasses overhanging the water.

Foods
This snake eats frogs, salamanders, toads, small fish and leeches. Most predation occurs at night and prey are swallowed alive.


http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/wildlif...x.asp?s=030045

Ooh, nice, pie.

That's why he's under the "happy" thread. I like snakes. :thumb:

Way to go Choc! Bee-you-tee-ful patio Pie!
Got awesome tix to the Rockies/Dodgers game tonight, and it's T-Shirt giveaway night! WooHoo! TGIF!!!

Congrats Chocolat! woo hoo!

ooooo, pretty snake Pie! It looks like the ones my cat dragged in last year. We got it away from him and released back in the bushes.

Nice patio furniture too.

I dunno. Does it go with your stockings?

Garter snake.

Isn't that an oxymoron?

Awww. I remember when my Uncle Dave died, my auntie gave his garter snakes to my brother to look after. Babies. They were tiny. So small, but perfectly formed little snakelets *grins* wrapping themselves about a forefinger, like some great snake round a tree. Their skins looked jeweled.

Just gave tech support to a store in Cumming, GA. :rotflol:
I'm supposed to verify the city, but I was too busy holding back giggles.

Jinxie (cat) is back after a week long absence :D He's never been away before and I was really getting worried, but he's back and being spoiled rotten, so he might think twice about knicking off in the future.

I have buried a hatchet.

It felt really good.

Did you remember to wipe it for fingerprints?

Glad your kittiekat came back Ducks :)

I am finally getting to hit the water and take our boat out for the first time this season. The weather should be beautiful.

RFN:

http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/9440/img85052.jpg

It is pretty spectacular around here right now. *slides tomahawk under leaves*

Are you flying the Jolly Roger, Merc?

I always love your pics. When I see them I can smell the marshes of home sweet home.

I'm not jealous of your boat at all. No, not at all. ;)

Sounds great!

What, no name on that boat? Naming and painting that name on the boat must surely be one of the finest reasons for having one, I think.

I spent part of the morning watching snakes that were apparently on their honeymoon. Snake porn! And there is a snag sticking out of the water that has a changing population of critters: first cormorants, then turtles, then egrets, and now turtles again.

pssstttt.....

Take pics!

I did! New Canon Rebel XSi. Of course I'm going to take pix. I'll post a few in the image thread.

You really want to see the snake porn shots, don't you? :)

Today my housemate bought me a persimmon tree for my birthday. :) Very sweet of her, especially as I know that in my current emotional state I am not easy to live with.

In just a little while, my friend is picking me up and we are going to go assemble and paint her new beehive, in preparation for introducing her new honeybee colony.

Merc, Dazza would be totally jealous of your boat. It's exactly what he wants to get. Probably when Max gets a bit bigger now though. Boating is not at the top of the list just at the moment.

Except for these. :D


Attachment 23102

I'm Lazy.

Yea, it is called the Rugby Queen.

Not happy, but feeling justified:

The woman who took my old job has already put in a two week notice. Hmmph, couldn't even ride it out 5 months. Wimp.

HA! right about now they are realizing how good, err great an asset you were. Too late as usual - damn beancounters and mental midgets.

No one liked her, is the word I get. I'm sure the front line girls are very happy: I guess she treated them like crap and they had dubbed her "Lazy _____."

My best friend gave her the benefit of the doubt, but quickly found no such benefit was warranted.

Yeah, my ex cow orkers beg me to come back whenever I see or talk to them. Who knows what they will do now. The school is going through some really bad times: big to-do with the president vs academic senate, among other huge deals...

I'm so glad I'm here!

Many years ago on a visit to the Philadelphia Zoo, I got a nice shot of two Galapagos tortoises mating. (Regrettably, I can't find it now.)

That's why you were practicing your mug shot in the RFN thread!
>shudders< scary! :eek:

We're glad you're here too. :blush:

:)

what she said.

:)

I decided not to let the lack of eggs hold me back from making chocolate brownies...or at least chocolate brownie type slice anyway. I'm hoping the copious amount of chopped chocolate will give the chocolate slice biscuit base I've made that rich moist texture...along with the almost half a pound of butter.

Being appreciated.

Thank you.