Panda Fun

me sleepy...... zzzzzz

Peek-a-boo!

Hiding in plain sight.

Does my butt look big on this log?

On the count of three, lift!

Forgive me Father for I have sinned...

Look deep into my eyes...you are feeling sleepy...

OK mum, you can come and get me down now!!

Rare Parrot Plant/Flower

I had a former classmate to send me these pictures of a parrot plant, which bears flowers whose shape and coloring are strikingly that of a parrot in flight, originating in Thailand. It is also a protected species and not allowed to be exported. This may be the only way we will be able to view this beautiful and exotic plant/flower. Enjoy!

Emma at National Zoo in DC

Here's one of the Pandas at the Washington Zoo in DC!

This was my granddaughter's first visit to the National Zoo in Washington this past Saturday with her parents. She looks so cute in her yellow rain coat. I told my daughter to see if she would say "hi" to her Gran Gran while at the zoo ... see for yourself!

A Classical Medley by Buddy

I just love Buddy Green playing the harmonica! Enjoy!

Greg's Big Orange Tractor

Parting photos taken before Karen left to go and spend time with her brother Greg and family. Greg had just returned from Brown's Point Hunting Club north of Vicksburg where he hunts. She wanted to have her picture taken in front of his big orange tractor. We really had an enjoyable two day visit and she will be flying back home tomorrow to Santa Fe, NM.

Santa Fe Family Visitor

Karen with her Dad.

Karen and I.

Karen, my step-daughter from Santa Fe, NM, is visiting us for a few days. We are trying to cram everything in before she has to leave out on Sunday. She was here last year and spent some time with us and the year before that we had flown out for a weeks vacation. It's always fun to go to Santa Fe. So much to see and do there...a very artsy place. Her husband, Ron, has an art supply store there called Artisan-Santa Fe. Charming, Just Charming!

Happy Birthday Suzi

Today is my youngest daughter's birthday (Marian Suzanne) and she was born around 8:00 a.m. in the morning of 1972. She is 37 years old today. She is married and lives with her hubby and daughter in Fredericksburg, VA. Next month she will be taking a cruise to Nassau in the Bahamas with a bunch of other Moms. Sounds like a fun get-a-way to compare Mom notes! I love you very much and I'm wishing your birthday will be the happiest yet. Mom :)

Rain, pleasssse go away....

Rolling sky before the storm..

Storm coming in across the MS River from Louisiana.

U.S. Flag blowing in the wind atop old Hwy 80 bridge.

Train getting ready to cross the old bridge from LA before the storm sets in.

It has been raining almost non stop since September 20th when I took these pictures at the overlook by the Mississippi River at Vicksburg. This front has been sitting on top of us ever since and hopefully will be out of here by late Saturday. Rex over at Deer Camp Blog needs to finish up his deer food plots at the famous Christmas Place in the MS Delta before hunting season begins on October 1st. I would imagine it will be pretty muddy trying to get things done in time. Deer hunting is in the air!

Frank - The Trucking Duck

"Eat Mor Beef"

Picture of Otis courtesy of Janie of Southern Lagniappe

Last Thursday, September 17, I wrote a post on this chicken "Otis" who is a frequent customer at the KFC on Indiana Ave., not far from I-20 Interstate. Charlie Mitchell, who is an executive editor of our hometown paper, The Vicksburg Post, wrote an article yesterday about getting Otis the chicken a sign reading "Eat Mor Beef." I wanted to share his entire article with you because it's a very humorous read.

Well, the secret's out.

No, not Col. Harlan Sanders' spice mixture for his fried chicken. That's still in a safe in Kentucky.

The secret about Otis the chicken - as yet unfried - who frequently visits the parking lot of the KFC on Indiana Avenue.

To tell the truth, Otis wasn't much of a secret already.

All the KFC employees know Otis and are intimately familiar with his frequent struts past their drive-through window.

But a customer, apparently in line awaiting a serving of Otis' extra crispy cousins, snapped a photo and sent it to WAPT in Jackson, which, in turn, featured the perambulating bird on a newscast last week.

They say we newspaper folk have no conscience. It's not true.

At the Post, we've known about Otis, who spends most of his time on the south side of Indiana Avenue at the BancorpSouth branch, for quite a while. Our photojournalist have lathered the prospect of the awards they'd win for a photo of Otis strutting the lot with the big KFC sign in the background. What would be the heading? "The One That Got Away." (corny) "Have You Seen My Mother?" (cruel) Or, as a counter-punch to the cows in the Chick-fil-A commercials, the heading could suggest Otis get a banner reading, "Eat Mor Beef."

We could take his picture in front of the bank and speculate he'd gone there for a little scratch.

Nah.

The KFC shot would be better.

But discretion has been the better part of valor at the Post.

The way it was figured here was that if we made a big deal out of Otis, he might get chicken-napped.

Besides, between museums and casinos and tour homes and a national park, this town has plenty to lure tourist without adding a celebrity rooster to the mix.

Mark Buys of BancorpSouth said employees at the branch know about Otis, too. Maybe they consider him a watch-chicken. That branch hasn't been robbed in a while. Don't know if they feed him, but Otis has earned his chops.

And he must have something on the ball, too.

He does cross the road.

We don't know why.

We do know the place where he crosses is four lanes wide or wider. Cars and trucks zip through that area at a pretty good clip.

Although Otis, as of this writing, has managed to dodge the dangers, deer haven't been so lucky. I saw a fawn, still in spots, killed there about five weeks ago and I remember a larger doe was hit there a couple of years ago. Further west, a red fox was killed in 2008. The wooded terrain of the Vicksburg County Club golf course to the south and the woods behind the KFC and homes to the north are habitat for lots of wild critters. I once saw a deer safely make the crossing at high noon.

Chickens, of course, are not wild animals. Otis seems perfectly civil and civilized, not the least bothered by sharing his range with people or other animals.

But he's been on TV now.

That moves him up in the pecking order.

Everything could change...

Charlie Mitchell, Executive Editor

The Vicksburg Post

E-mail cmitchell@vicksburgpost.com

Kudzu, Kudzu, Kudzu

Kudzu near the Mississippi River Bridges at Vicksburg.

On the hills near the Mississippi River at Vicksburg.

The three pictures above were taken from the Vicksburg Chamber of Commerce building. The kudzu is on trees directly across the street. The magnolia tree seen in the above picture to the right is located on their property.

Kudzu is called, "The Vine That Ate the South" and is everywhere in Vicksburg. This vine could possibly lead to an inexpensive way to treat type 2 diabetes. The University of Alabama at Birmingham scientist have found that adding kudzu root extract to the diet of laboratory rats, the rats' cholesterol, blood sugar, insulin, and blood pressure levels were lower than those of rats that did not receive the extract, with no apparent side effects. I am interested in this because my brother is a diabetic and my father was. The next step is to test it on humans.

It's an Asian vine that can grow a foot taller every day and was brought to the American Southeast in the 1930s in an attempt to control erosion. Unfortunately, the little green visitor liked it here so much that in the decades since, it has colonized 10 million acres of farms, woods, and has become a massive and costly nuisance.

Kudzu is common in China and Japan and has long been used as a dietary supplement in Asian countries, most commonly as a tea or powder. Although the incidence of type 2 diabetes in those countries has increased as people have adopted Western-style diets high in processed sugars and carbohydrates, traditional East Asian societies have low rates of diabetes. It's possible that the consumption of kudzu extract could be a factor in that good fortune. (Some comments taken from DiabetesHealth.com)

Highlights of Lucy's B'Day Party

Got to kiss my great grandson, Ian, while in the arms of my daughter, Debra, Lucy's Mom.

Showing off her new bike from her parents and Grandpa Bob in recliner.

Invited guests!

Lucy - The Birthday Girl!

Lucy's Birthday Cake!

Lucy making a B'Day wish...

Kid School Laughter

TEACHER: Maria, go to the map and find North America.

MARIA: Here it is.

TEACHER: Correct. Now class, who discovered America?

CLASS: Maria.

TEACHER: John, why are you doing your math multiplication on the floor?

JOHN: You told me to do it without using tables.

TEACHER: Glenn, how do you spell 'crocodile?'

GLENN: K-R-O-K-O-D-I-A-L'

TEACHER: No, that's wrong

GLENN: Maybe it is wrong, but you asked me how I spell it. (I Love this kid)

TEACHER: Donald, what is the chemical formula for water?

DONALD: H I J K L M N O.

TEACHER: What are you talking about?

DONALD: Yesterday you said it's H to O.

TEACHER: Winnie, name one important thing we have today that we didn't have ten years ago.

WINNIE: Me!

TEACHER: Glen, why do you always get so dirty?

GLEN: Well, I'm a lot closer to the ground than you are.

TEACHER: Millie, give me a sentence starting with ' I.'

MILLIE: I is..

TEACHER: No, Millie..... Always say, 'I am.'

MILLIE: All right... 'I am the ninth letter of the alphabet.'

TEACHER: George Washington not only chopped down his father's cherry tree, but also admitted it. Now, Louie, do you know why his father didn't punish him?

LOUIS: Because George still had the axe in his hand.

TEACHER: Now, Simon, tell me frankly, do you say prayers before eating?

SIMON: No sir, I don't have to, my Mom is a good cook.

TEACHER: Clyde, your composition on 'My Dog' is exactly the same as your brother's. Did you copy his?

CLYDE: No, sir. It's the same dog.

TEACHER: Harold, what do you call a person who keeps on talking when people are no longer interested?

HAROLD: A teacher

Katie ~ Our Peek-a-Poo

This is our dog, Katie....she will be 11 years old on New Year's Eve. She has been such a joy to my husband and I over the years. Her favorite spot is laying in front of the stove near my bedroom doorway. I snapped these pictures this morning while she was resting. She is a very good watchdog and companion to both of us. We named her after Katie Couric on the TODAY SHOW. The name Katie fits her well and she is very spoiled and loves to get lots of treats. :)

Happy Birthday Lucy!

I want to wish my precious granddaughter a very Happy Birthday today. She turns 12 years old. Her mom will be giving her a birthday party this Saturday and I look forward to being there to celebrate. Happy Birthday Lucy....Gran Gran loves you very much! :)

Chicken Visits KFC

My friend Addie in Dallas, TX, sent me a link to this slide show yesterday and would you believe it is about a chicken that visits our KFC here in Vicksburg. This slide show is very popular at WDSU.com out of New Orleans, LA. A viewer, Guy Bezzeard, took pictures of the chicken and was shown on TV Channel 16, WAPT out of Jackson, MS. I have not seen or heard anything about this chicken at our KFC on Indiana Ave., at I-20. Click here to check out this unusual chicken who likes to hang out at our chicken restaurant! This chicken is either nuts or has guts!

Flying In A Gym - A Real Gem

My friend Dennis sent this to me yesterday and thought you would enjoy seeing it also.

Gibraltar's Airport - A Whole New Meaning

This puts a whole new meaning to the saying, "Never run a red light!"

Did you know Gibraltar 's Airport runway and vehicular traffic crossings intersect at the same level? (Click on pictures to enlarge)

“I can see why you don’t want to run that ‘RED’ light!”