The Republicans, the Yard, and Random Photos

It's been awhile!  I have intended to write about the latest depredations of the republican party and DeSantis (governor of Florida), but then I'm over taken by events with the latest stump stupid and venal thing they've done.  For instance, this is what Keven McCarthy (Speaker of the US House, third in line of presidential succession) said.

He did actually say that, there's video of him doing it.  So, I guess all of we senior citizens are going to have to get back in harness and find jobs.  Time and time again it has been shown that work requirements for food stamps (SNAP) and Medicaid do nothing except increase peoples' levels of misery and hunger.  Many people are on Medicaid because they can't work due to disability.  It's just a totally stupid thing to say.

Ron DeSantis said in a press conference, "With my signature, Florida permanently prohibits genital mutilating surgical procedures and experimental puberty blockers for minors. Minors given these procedures without their consent will now be able to recover damages for permanent injury or death caused by these medical experiments."  Did he just ban circumcision?  Inquiring minds want to know.

We're been doing more work in the yard.  Yesterday we were out cutting off pieces of the dead Arborvitae.  It was a massive pain in the butt.  Our neighbor with a chain saw came over and cut it off at the ground.  Then he cut the big pieces in to small pieces.  We were able to get most of the tree in the yard waste can, which was picked up today.

I do not know why so many of these trees have died in the yard.  We feed them, we water them, and they die.  We put that red twig dog wood and another one in last Tuesday.  Those will be the last two holes I ever dig in this yard.  There are stumps and roots from five dead trees out there, and it's just impossible to plant back there.  It these die, I'm petitioning the HOA for permission to put in a screen to impede my view of the neighbor's yard.

That's a Hemlock that was being leaned on by the dead tree.  The maple behind it is leaning on the other side.  That tree needs some serious trimming, but it's too tall and I'm not going up a 12 foot ladder to do it.

I know you are all dying to know that status of our tax return.  It came back to Spokane, and is now winging its way back to Cincinnati.  Allegedly the guy at the post office sent out a notification to be on the lookout for an envelope with many barcodes (from each trip there and then back here) and remove them and process it manually.  This will require an actual human to be alert enough to notice.  Monday we spent 90 minutes on the phone trying to talk to someone at the IRS.  We did get through to a person, but she put us on a "five minute" hold, and 30 minutes later that call transferred to the automated "where is my refund" menu pick.  So that was a complete and total waste of time. 

The round trips do seem to be picking up speed.

Here are some random photos.  This is growing on all of the pine trees on the road to the lake.

A dandelion.

This is a Bull Snake we saw on the road today.  He's a good sized snake.

Here we have a flowering Quince behind the camp host's site at the lake.  It's a pretty bush growing there without anyone feeding or watering it.

Other than this, I have not much else to say.