Thanksgiving Ritual 2018

Fields burst with ripening fruits and vegetables, gorgeous gourds in a startling array of shades crowd fields with their vines and rotund bodies. Autumn time is a prodigious season for feasting, with so many varied crops coming to full harvest and abundance, well, prominently abundant. Given this state of affairs, and a particular set of historical myths and traditions built upon the mistreatment and forcible expunging of indigenous people from their homes in "The New World" by land and resource hungry Europeans, most citizens of the United States these days find themselves celebrating a holiday dubbed "Thanksgiving". Ostensibly, the holiday is a period of reflection and a time to pause and be grateful for the many blessings we may be so fortunate to have in our lives, which in and of itself is a nice message... There's nothing wrong with appreciating what you have and being mindful of it, but there are some issues with trampling over the historical facts leading to the situation for more euphemistic ideas. 

Anyhow, to celebrate this time of year, many Americans opt to roast, fry, or otherwise find a means of preparing a turkey. Antho and I wanted to partake in this ritualistic consumption of big birds since we had access to a full oven for the first time in quite a while, though it was just the two of us celebrating so we opted for a smaller roughly 8 pound bird. Still, that's quite a lot of bird to work through, but we had no issues eating leftovers on sandwiches or in soups over the next week! I always save the vegetable scraps and shrapnel from the bird's carcass, bones, and skin along with whatever leftover bits remain, as I use it to make stock/broth. This means my stocks and broths are always perpetually changing and evolving with whatever vegetables and meats we're eating the most, along with what's in season.  To each their own, but it works for us! Since I roasted the turkey with lemons stuffed into it's gaping innards cavern, they went in with the stock, lending it a nice citrusy tang along with boosting the vitamin and mineral content of the end result. Can't really go wrong with that when there are so many bugs going around, right? I've got a case of the sniffles as I write this, in fact... 

If you're traveling these days to go visit family and friends for the holidays, be safe out there! Happy holidays!

Vegas: People and pets on the Promenade

Winners and losers love Las Vegas, though for their own entirely different reasons. Those lucky few winners are able to amass gargantuan piles of cash, obscene quantities of paper power filling their happy hands eagerly, while the losers...well, what is life without hope? Without the glimmering of hope at the end of the tunnel life becomes meaningless, but dangle the proverbial carrot a sufficiently tantalizing distance away and that optimism will power a horse (or person) through otherwise insurmountable challenges. The homeless population of Las Vegas has plenty to hope for, in the city of Sin, after all one of our biggest sales points is the fact that you can go from zero to hero with one fortuitous spin of the slot's reels, all it takes is luck! While I, personally, would never wish (or wish for my enemies) to be homeless in this unforgiving desert climate, there are benefits to the near endless parade of sunny days to be sure, namely the constant flow of tourist's foot traffic that means crafty buskers can make a fairly decent chunk of untaxed income, especially when they have an outstanding talent or deformity. There's one fellow you can regularly find in front of the Bellagio's fountains who draws portraits with his mouth, due to his lack of hands. 

It's not just the homeless that are likely to gather in these large public arenas, of course. You will invariably encounter several superheroes in varying stages of accuracy, decency, and dress. These hopefuls will pose with their eager fans for an exchange of currency, so don't try to take their photos without their permission (unless their backs are turned), as you're likely to find yourself in an awkward confrontation with a pissed off Defintely-NOT-Ryan-Reynolds-Deadpool. Like it wasn't bad enough it wasn't the real Ryan Reynolds, but to get hostile too?! Not very X-Force, man. But when you're dealing with money-hungry imposters like this, instead of the anti-heroes themselves, what can you expect?   

But the people watching is something else, that's for sure. 

All photos in this post were kindly provided by Antho Jay, who has been my faithful photographer!

Vegas: May visit to the Springs Preserve part two

Invariably, another post about my much beloved Springs Preserve rears its head here upon my wee little blog. I apologize in advance for any this abundance of flowers and animals and things may upset, offend or otherwise make grumpy. This place happens to be one of my happy places here in the city of Las Vegas, a real escape without having to go-too-far, an oasis in the city of sin. Long story short, it's pretty here and there are lots of flowers and animals to ogle for your relaxation and optical entertainment. I've found no end to the amount of amusement I've been able to glean from this place, between their butterfly exhibit, the Origen museum, Boomtown and Water works, or the external wildlands where you can hike among the less-tended grounds. There's even a restaurant on site if you grow hungry and want a salad or tasty wrap! Not to mention the endless parade of different events they have going on throughout the year for all the different holidays. Such a fun place and really great to take the whole family! We go for date days out, because it's nice to stroll the grounds together and look at all the flowers and details. The staff has always been extremely pleasant and friendly when we've talked to them, and we've felt welcomed here. 

...at least, when it comes to the human occupants!

This little bird above didn't seem too pleased with our presence here, and while we were able to get some awesome photos of him, we eventually decided to leave him be and move along before he got too fed up with the attention. Thanks for your cooperation, little friend! Cheers.

It was a warm and beautiful day out and we enjoyed this visit immensely. There will be plenty more photos below, thanks in part to our little bird friend above being kind enough to model for us, along with my propensity towards taking an exorbitant amount of photographs on any given outing. Hope you enjoy this glimpse into our life!