Ill. governor proposes separating Great Lakes, Mississippi River to stop advance of invasive carp: apne.ws/16zNixS -SS
— The Associated Press (@AP) June 1, 2013

R.I.P.

JEAN STAPLETON

AGE: 90

I DIDN'T KNOW THIS, DID YOU?

You can tell which day a loaf of bread was baked by the color of its twist tie: Monday - Blue, Tuesday - Green, Thursday -Red, Friday -White
— UberFacts (@UberFacts) June 1, 2013

Donnie and Linda have had company all week so they've been on "tour" to take in the sights.

The folks in the picture are complete strangers but the view is the spot where people gather to watch the mysterious "Marfa Lights".

They didn't see any lights but here's a video from folks who did see the lights, at this spot, a few years ago.  Nobody knows what they are but, as you can see, they sure are there!

It's hard to put down Hidden America, the book I'm reading.  I just finished the chapter on America's air traffic controllers.  After reading it, you may never want to get on a plane again!

Jeanne Marie Laskas is one great author.

Update: 5 dead, at least 87 injured in tornadoes in central Oklahoma on Friday via @newsok
— Johnny Kelly (@stormchaser4850) June 1, 2013

HAPPY TRAILS DAY!

It's a good day to take a hike!

WEAU has some great pictures from the storms that rolled through the Eau Claire area yesterday.  CHECK IT OUT HERE

MARILYN MONROE WAS BORN ON THIS DATE IN 1926

40% CHANCE FOR RAIN TODAY

There will still be some isolated thunderstorms around today but nothing severe.

 

The worst problem, now, is the high water.  Many of the rivers are in flood stage or running high.

 

A lot of the farmers are starting to get worried.  Those that haven't planted their corn yet are afraid the growing season won't be long enough, now, for a good crop this year.  A lot of the fields are so flooded it's hard to tell the difference between the fields and the lakes.

 

We sure could use a long, hot, dry stretch but that doesn't look likely anytime soon.

JUNE IS ADOPT A SHELTER CAT MONTH

I just read about a new camera that's been developed by researchers in Singapore that can take clear, sharp pictures indoors, even in low light with no flash needed!!

The sensors in the camera are a thousand times more sensitive to light than current cameras.

That sounds exciting!

Isn't if funny how four legged animals have no problem getting along with other animals that don't look just like they do.

And, then there's the two legged animals whose first thought is to kill, enslave, hate, ridicule or fence in any other two legged animal that doesn't look, feel, act or worship the same way they do.

Most of the really good things I've learned, I've learned from my four legged friends.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY
CLINT EASTWOOD.

HE'S 83 TODAY!

 

WHAT DOES THIS SAY ABOUT OUR LIFE STYLE AND HEALTH CARE?

ACCORDING TO THE NEW YORK POST MORE THAN 53,000 PUBLIC SCHOOL KIDS IN NEW YORK ARE HOMELESS.

I'm thrilled to learn that Grammy Award Winner Bill Miller will be the first artist to appear at this seasons Noon Tunes in Riverside Park on June 12.  The show starts at 11:30.

Bill has written some beautiful music and this is one that's very special to me, "Dreams of Wounded Knee".

Guess what the weather forecast says.  THUNDERSTORMS!  Today it's a 50% chance.  Tonight it increases to a 60% chance.

And tomorrow? THUNDERSTORMS!  A 50% chance again.

But wait!  How about Sunday and Monday?  SUNSHINE!!!!!

So is this terrible stretch of miserable weather over?  Hell no.  Guess what the forecast says for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  THUNDERSTORMS!!

I'm ready to scratch summer and go back to winter.  The weather was much better then.

So, God made a dog....

Big doings in West Salem this weekend.

JUNE DAIRY DAYS STARTS TODAY!

A NOTE FROM DONNIE

"Austin is now the 11th largest city in the USA, and the fastest growing.  Within a year, or two, we could be in the top ten.  This is good news?"

One development is a new area code.  Our old 512 code will stay the same."

Carl found this and it's a great one.  These guys are really, truly nurse/Anesthesiologists from the Twin Cities.

They do their singing act for fun at various medical conventions and for other events.

They take great old musical hits, re-write the lyrics and make some great music that's lots of fun.

"We buy things we don't need with money we don't have to impress people we don't like."
~Financial author Dave Ramsey~

The Black Hills had a stormy Wednesday, just like we did.

Duane said, "5 inches of rain with flooding streets in the city and flash floods in the hills.  More today."

This one is going to surprise you.

Guess which world city most tourists are booking flights to this year.

IT'S BANGKOK! I told you it would be a surprise.  This is the first time an Asian city has been at the top of the MasterCard survey.

Here's the top 5:
1 Bangkok
2  London
3  Paris
4  Singapore
5.  New York

If you know anyone planning on camping, hiking or fishing in the BLACK HILLS this summer you might pass along a tip.

The Forest Service says the infestation of the Mountain Pine Beetles has caused trees on thousands of acres of the National Forest to decay and they are likely to fall quite easily, especially on windy days.  Stay alert in the forest areas.

FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE

AT 513 AM  LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS REPORTED THAT MINOR FLOODING WAS OCCURRING ALONG AREA STREAMS & CREEKS.

SOME LOCATIONS THAT WILL EXPERIENCE FLOODING
INCLUDE:
CALEDONIA, LA CRESCENT, LA CROSSE,  BRICE PRAIRIE, DAKOTA. FRENCH ISLAND, HOKAH, HOLMEN, HOUSTON, LA CROSSE AIRPORT, SPRING GROVE.

1 TO 2 INCHES OF RAIN TODAY WITH WIND GUSTS TO 45 MPH

Judy Garland left us with some good advice.

 

"Always be a first-rate version of yourself,  instead of a second-rate version of somebody else."

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WYNONNA JUDD!

She hits 49 today.  I love this song.

 

 

TODAY IS LOOMIS DAY it's the day we give recognition to Mahlon Loomis, a dentist in Washington, D. C. who received a patent for wireless telegraphy.  He showed how you could send telegraph messages without wires.  This was in 1872, before Marconi was even born!

Bob and Lynne have lucked out on the weather.  Lynne reports, "We had a sunny humid day, yesterday."

80% CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS TODAY

Yesterdays storms caused flooding on West Avenue, Mormon Coulee Road and Losey Boulevard and more storms are expected to move through the city this afternoon.  Large hail, damaging wind and heavy rains are the main threats.  The heavy rain could continue into tomorrow.

 

Time to start building the ark.

Only a Norwegian could really appreciate this.  I almost wish I had been there.

RT @theokeith: In Richland Center, the storm caused damage to at least one building on Highway 80.
— WISCTV News 3 (@WISCTV_News3) May 30, 2013

A wild evening around here.  Flash flood warnings, high wind warnings, severe thunderstorm warnings, tornado watches.  Mother Nature threw it all at us.

 

It's starting to calm down now.  It's still raining but no longer the downpour it was earlier that caused flooded roads and streets.

 

This has been the spring from hell!

Great story on ABC today about the oldest man in the world.  Jiroeman Kimura had his 116th birthday last week.  He's the last man left alive born in the 1800's.

 

And, we think we've seen a lot of changes since our youth.  Imagine the changes he's seen!

Peoples Food Co-op is holding a cooking class on cooking catfish, trout or walleye in a cast iron skillet on Thursday, May 30th at 6 PM.

 

I'm going to try cooking fish on my George Foreman grill one of these day.  Yesterday I used it to make hamburgers and they were perfectly delicious.  Thick and juicy.  Probably the best hamburgers I've ever made.

A SPECIAL NOTE TO OUR TEXAS FRIENDS

According to Bankrate, Inc., Texas is the state most likely to have a major disaster.  Texas reports, at least, 1 major disaster in nearly every calendar year.

The National Weather Service says we could get some severe weather later today.  The main concerns will be flash flooding, large hail and damaging winds.  A tornado can't be ruled out.

I'll run to the grocery and get a few supplies then come home and "hunker down" as the fancy haired TV folks like to say.

This is some raw video from the recent Rolling Stones concert in Chicago.

Now, answer me this; Mick Jagger is 3 years younger than I am.  So why do I have a pot belly and no hair and he has no belly and lots of hair.  Is it because he has a ton of money and I have none?

 

WARMER TODAY: HIGH 75

THE CATMOBILE



If this doesn't start your day with a laugh, you have no sense of humor.......or you're a Solberg.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

WISCONSIN

Wisconsin became the

30th State

MAY 29, 1848



I like this tweet.  It's sure been my goal in life!

RT @skipprichard: Let the world know your uniqueness. "You were born an original. Don't die a copy." John Mason #quote
— Kevin Green (@FixedOpsGenius) May 29, 2013

I'm glad I wasn't taking a stroll through Riverside Park yesterday afternoon.  Police were called when gunshots were heard and, sure enough, it was a drunk man with a loaded handgun on the north side of the park doing a bit of target practice in case some desperado comes tip toeing through the tulips.

And, I read there was a gunshot at a Minneapolis elementary school yesterday.  A gun in a students backpack accidently discharged.  Thankfully, no one was injured.

I'm beginning to think it must have been safer on the streets Dodge City, back in the days of Matt and Kitty, than it is, anywhere,  nowadays.

I think, in my next life, I'll plan a trip to the Maldives.  Located on 26 atolls in the Indian Ocean about 435 miles southwest of Sri Lanka.  I could really get into this!

I just read that Oprah calls Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan the king and queen of daily talk shows!!  (Gag).

I tried to watch it one morning.  About 10 minutes of that drivel was more than enough for me.  My thought was "Regis come home"!!!

DID YOU KNOW

THE NFL

HAS TAX EXEMPT STATUS?

I was noticing, coming home from the library, that the lawns are about as green as I've ever seen them this spring.  I may not like rain day after day after day but the grass is loving it!

IT'S RAINING AGAIN!  I just can't believe this.  Will it ever end.  Even for Noah, this would be TOO MUCH!!

HIPPOMOBILE

After seeing the picture of 78 year old Barbara Eden, one woman on Twitter says "There goes any excuse you ever had for not staying in shape."

Barbara Eden at 78 years of age was still able to get into her Jeannie costume for an AIDS benefit in Europe!!  That old gal is LOOKIN' GOOD!

Here it is folks! The navel that put NBC on edge! Barbara Eden, Sat. night at the Life Ball! twitter.com/Barbara_Eden/s…
— Barbara Eden (@Barbara_Eden) May 26, 2013

Happy Birthday to one of my favorite rockers of all time, John Fogerty (Creedence Clearwater Revival).  He's 68 today.

Does this strike a chord?

The older I get the more sound effects I make getting off the couch.
— Crazy Girl (@TrueTorontoGirl) May 27, 2013

Did you know that the Ford Motor Company uses recycled plastic bottles for the upholstery in their cars.

Got a note from Gladys regarding the terrible storms they had around Sioux Falls.  She said they had a lot of rain in Viborg but the suburb of Sioux Falls, Harrisburg, Really got hit.

Her grandaughter and family live there.  The school was flooded and the town diverted the water down the street they live on.

 

Around here, we'll see more thunderstorms today.  Temperatures will stay way below normal with a high of 61.

 

Thunderstorms will continue tomorrow but the good news is that temperatures will finally start to warm up with a high near 78 tomorrow and 76 on Thursday.

 

"Learn from the mistakes of others.  You can never live long enough to make them all yourself."
~Groucho Marx~

Rita and Roger have neighbors who moved here from Denver last fall so this is their first spring here.  Rita said, when they were there last night, that this spring weather is not a typical spring for La Crosse but, she said, "I don't think they believed me."

This is a nasty sight to see.  It's called a Super Cell Occlusion and this time-lapse was shot over the weekend on the east side of the Black Hills.

70% CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS TONIGHT

RITA'S TV TIP FOR THE EVENING:
"Roger's and my favorite show returns for the summer tonight.  "Longmire" is a great modern western and starts at 9:00 PM on A & E."

NOTE: If you use HULU you can also see all the episodes any time you want on the internet.

Too cold and wet to go to the Memorial Day Parade this year.  I'll just look at the pictures from last year.

Streets are wet.  Raining in La Crosse again.  I really can't take much more of this depressing weather.

Wisconsin had the 3rd highest number of accidents, in the country, involving drunk boaters last year.

I had forgotten how funny TV used to be.

A lawyer and a senior citizen are sitting next to each other on a long flight. The lawyer is thinking that seniors are so dumb that he could get one over on them easily. So, the lawyer asks if the senior would like to play a fun game.

The senior is tired and just wants to take a nap, so he politely declines and tries to catch a few winks The lawyer persists, saying that the game is a lot of fun..."I ask you a question, and if you don't know the answer, you pay me only $5.00. Then you ask me one, and if I don't know the answer, I will pay you $500.00," he says.

This catches the senior's attention and, to keep the lawyer quiet, he agrees to play the game. The lawyer asks the first question. "What's the distance from the Earth to the Moon?" The senior doesn't say a word, but reaches into his pocket, pulls out a five-dollar bill, and hands it to the lawyer.

Now, it's the senior's turn. He asks the lawyer, "What goes up a hill with three legs, and comes down with four?" The lawyer uses his laptop to search all references he can find on the Net. He sends E-mails to all the smart friends he knows; all to no avail. After an hour of searching, he finally gives up. He wakes the senior and hands him $500.00.

The senior pockets the $500.00 and goes right back to sleep.

The lawyer is going nuts not knowing the answer. He wakes the senior up and asks, "Well, so what goes up a hill with three legs and comes down with four?" The senior reaches into his pocket, hands the lawyer $5.00, and goes back to sleep.

DON'T MESS WITH OLD PEOPLE!

I was thinking about making a hamburger on the George Foreman Grill that Carl and Kathy gave me for my birthday.  Then I opened my email and guess what I found?  It was something that I'll bet Carl might like!

Willard watched the Animal Planet show about "new evidence of mermaids" in the sea.  He said there might be something in the water but it sure ain't a mermaid.

He added, "That show was preceeded by 'Alien Autopsy' which was obviously a hoax."

Wouldn't you think a channel devoted to the animal kingdom could find enough subject matter on the beauty of wildlife without resorting to filling the time between commercial breaks with trash?

Another South Dakota boy, Hubert Humphrey was born on this date in 1911.  Here is a very funny bit with Rich Little's impersonation of H.H.H.

Wild Fires are on the rise.

Another Stormy Day

As strong storms blast toward #KansasCity this morning, more will erupt this PM across the Plains. ow.ly/lqhtA
— AccuWeather.com (@breakingweather) May 27, 2013

Looking ahead to the big events of the week, it's Willards birthday tomorrow and Eric and Bert's anniversary on Saturday.

I've been complaining about our lousy weather but, when I get up and see up-state New York has 3 feet of new snow on the ground, I guess our weather hasn't been so bad!

Around here it's rain, rain and more rain.  We're looking at 1 to 2 inches of rain tonight into tomorrow morning  with more rain falling every day this week producting rainfall totals of 3 to 6 inches.

This, of course, would bring more flooding in upper Iowa, Northeast Iowa and Southeast Minnesota.

5 more days in May.  Pray that June will be dryer or get out your plans for the ark.

MEMORIAL DAY 2013

We never got warmer than the mid-50's today. 

Tomorrow we might get into the mid-60's.

This time of year we should be in the mid-70's.

Hey!  Mama Nature!  This is givin' me the "Summertime Blues"!

I see that Animal Planet will feature a program, tonight, that offers new evidence that mermaids exist.

 

Why don't you watch it and let me know what you think.....in 60 words or less.  Preferably less.

Remember "I" before "E", except in Budweiser -Anonymous
— Luv Beer (@Luv_CraftBeer) May 26, 2013

It's been a really nasty morning in Sioux Falls.  With up to 5 inches of rain in some parts of the city cars have stalled out on flooded streets.

What a great photo!  Courtesy of NOAA, this is the first known picture of a tornado that was taken in South Dakota in 1884.

GOING UP!

LET'S TALK ABOUT TERROR



My favorite Tweet of the morning:

Grey Goose vodka is distilled five times which seems like overkill, but on the other hand, you never see any feathers in the bottle…
— Red Velvet Sin (@DontTouchMyWine) May 25, 2013

AMEN.

@cochis3 the war on terror was lost the second the word #war was used.
— Leftferret (@leftferret) May 26, 2013

Here's another reason you'll never convince me that humans are the smartest animals on the planet.  These three "enemy's" have learned to live in peace.  Why can't we?

LETS EAT SOME BUGS!

The National Geographic Daily page has a great feature on Cicada recipes!  There's even a vodka recipe with Cicada's on a stick.

 

What do cicada's taste like?  Usually the answer to a question like that is "chicken" but not with cicada's.  National Geo says they taste like Asparagus!

CHECK OUT THE STORY WITH PICTURES HERE.

This is fun to watch.  A newsreel from the 1911 Indy 500.

Sioux Falls got hit with very heavy rain overnight and early this morning.  I'm seeing rainfall totals of 2 to 5 inches around eastern South Dakota.

Another week of lousy weather for La Crosse.  There's a chance for thunderstorms every day through Friday.

DAD DIED

MAY 26, 1958

55 years ago