You Can Pee in Virginia Again!

Thank goodness.  If you have to pee in Virginia, you can again use the public restrooms along the main interstates again.  Way back in May 2009 when the Virginia budget was diminished, the powers in Richmond thought it would be a great idea to shut down the public rest stops along Virginia’s hi-ways and by-ways.  You really have to wonder now, how much it will cost to get the stops reopened, rehire personnel, and get things working again.  Did it really save THAT much money?  I doubt it.  At least now, everyone can stop pee’ing in the bushes.

Meet Mako!  He is the latest addition to the family – the extended family that is.  He is a male Labrador Retriever and he belongs to my nephew Andrew.  They live in Ft. Lauderdale, so we haven’t met Mako yet, but we’re looking forward to seeing him in April.

Mako is what is known as a Dudley.  Its all very confusing if you’re not into labrador genetics, but it has to do with his lack of pigment around his eyes and on his nose.  They’re pretty rare, and cannot be shown or registered with the AKC.  That doesn’t mean that Mako can’t be the best pet in town though!

From what I have heard, he is an extremely high energy dog with some destructive tendencies.  Hah!  I bet he’ll get along fine with Clover!

Who goes there? And, What’s the Password of the Day?

I’ve noticed lately that Cosmo tends to run up the stairs ahead of me and Clover and he waits on the landing for us.  This is completely opposite of how I’ve trained them, which is for them to both wait for me to go up the stairs, and for them to follow – together.  Clover has been very hesitant lately, and will only follow me up the stairs after a few minutes.  So the order is Cosmo, me, and then Clover.  Clover’s behavior seemed a bit odd, but then she IS odd.

Yesterday, I left for work, and when I got to the car, I realized I forgot something that I needed to drop at the post office.  I was only gone for a couple of minutes, and when I approached the front door, I could hear Clover whining.  Clover is not a big whiner, she usually only does it when she’s sick, or if she wants back in the house.  I opened the door, and found Cosmo standing half-way up the landing, and Clover standing at the bottom of the stairs and whining.  It looked like he was blocking her from going up the stairs.

I called Cosmo back downstairs, made him sit and wait, and I tried to send Clover up the stairs so she could go hang out on her big chair, or in the closet.  She paced and whined for a minute or so, and then went into the living room and plopped down on her bed.

What the heck’s been going on around here when I’m at work?

I got  a photo of these flowers on the Ixora bushes in front of my parents’ house in Florida last time I was home.  I was thankful that I got the photo when I did, because the next day they were all gone!  The gardener decided to cut back the bushes and trim them up, and unfortunately the flowers went, too.

When my parents first moved into this house, my father had a devil of a time getting something to grown in front of the house.  The soil is very sandy and the spot very sunny.  I think it was about the sixth try that he decided on Ixora, and he planted about 8 shrubs across the front of the house.  They were tiny, but they hung in there.  Twenty-odd years later, they are a haven for geckos, salamanders, and small lizards.  Even the occasional garden snake hangs out in the Ixora jungle.

Ixora is a genus from the family Rubiaceae, consisting of tropical evergreens and shrubs. Though native to tropical areas in Asia, especially India, ixora now grows commonly in tropical climates in the USA, such as Florida. Ixora is also commonly known as West Indian Jasmine. Other common names include: rangan, kheme, ponna, chann tanea, techi, pan, santan, jarum-jarum, Jungle flame, Jungle geranium, and many more. Plants possess leathery leaves, ranging from 3 to 6 inches in length, and produce large clusters of tiny flowers in the summer. Members of Ixora prefer acidic soil, and are suitable choices for bonsai.

Ixora is a genus from the family Rubiaceae, consisting of tropical evergreens and shrubs. Though native to tropical areas in Asia, especially India, ixora now grows commonly in tropical climates in the USA, such as Florida. Ixora is also commonly known as West Indian Jasmine. Other common names include: rangan, kheme, ponna, chann tanea, techi, pan, santan, jarum-jarum, Jungle flame, Jungle geranium, and many more. Plants possess leathery leaves, ranging from 3 to 6 inches in length, and produce large clusters of tiny flowers in the summer. Members of Ixora prefer acidic soil, and are suitable choices for bonsai.

Red ixora flowers are commonly used in Hindu worship, as well as in Indian folk medicine.

It is also a popular choice for hedges in parts of South East Asia, like in Thailand. In tropical climates they flower year round.