Splish, splash, Rocky was takin’ a bath in the “pond” in the photographer’s backyard...on a Friday...maybe the critter was getting ready for the weekend.One single frog has made our “pond” its home this summer.

Rocky gets ready for the weekend...and other stuff

Please Read This...

I’m not quite why it crossed it mind Monday evening, but there it was... We’ll come back to that thought in just a bit...

Meanwhile...

I know you can’t wait, so here is my latest Critter Sighting (and Smelling) Update...

Dead skunk out there. Somewhere. Probably in the middle of the road. Yup. Stinkin’ to high heaven. Six crows flying directly overhead on a Monday evening. Yup. Uncertain number of dragonflies flying around a pool of what resembled water. Yup. A live snake. Nope. Some folks have problems with snakes. No problems here. Shedded snake skin on the street. Yup. Monday evening. White-tailed deer. Yup. Again. Sunday evening. Once again enjoying dinner in a field full of soybeans. One of the critters had a really nice rack.  Rabbit running across the street, right in front of me while I’m driving home. Yup.  Butterflies and bees hanging out together on flowers. Yup. Frog sitting on the edge of the “pond” in our backyard. Yup. Just one. He’s our buddy. Raccoon taking a bath in the “pond” in our backyard. Yup. Once again, we have a picture to prove it. Bear? Nope. Still no bear...  

Al-righty then...moving right along...

Sunday night, I joined something like 27.7 million of my closest friends to watch the St. Louis...um, Los Angeles...Rams play a football game against the Detroit Lions.

There was a time, back in the day, when yours truly would have spent his Sunday afternoon watching his favorite NFL team(s) play. First, it was the football Cardinals. Then, it was the Rams.

Both the football Cardinals and the Rams, of course, used to call St. Louis home. They don’t anymore. Haven’t for quite some time. We’ve been down that road many times before. After the Rams left St. Louis, I pretty much gave up watching NFL games on Sunday afternoons. 

With that being said, I still had some interest in Sunday night’s game. I still have a little bit of interest in the Rams, even though most of their connections with St. Louis are long gone. 

Sunday night’s game, which actually turned out to be pretty good, was played in Detroit. The Lions would have been my first “hometown” team. Way, way, way back in the day. Same for the Red Wings (Detroit’s NHL team).  And the Tigers (Detroit’s Major League Baseball team, American League style). Can’t say that I follow the Pistons (Detroit’s NBA team) all that much.

My mention of the Tigers brings us back to where this little ditty started...

Monday night, as I was doing the dishes, the thought flashed through the dust bin between my ears that 2024 is kind of a special year, at least when it comes to my favorite Major League Baseball team.

I believe I have previously shared this story.  In the fall of 1964, while we living in Fort Wayne, Indiana, for reasons I do not recall, I happened to listen to the World Series. On a radio. People listened to ballgames on the radio back then. For free. The St. Louis Cardinals played the New York Yankees in that Fall Classic. The Cardinals won the Series, even though they weren’t “supposed” to. Again, for reasons I cannot remember, I became a Cardinals fan. Two years later, we had moved to the St. Louis area. The Cardinals were my hometown team.

The last couple of summers have been, in a word or two, tough for Cardinals fans. It’s kind of sad for me to think I’ve just kind of lost some of the interest I used to have in the Redbirds. Hope, of course, springs eternal. There’s always next year...    

I’m going to close this week with a “happy birthday” wish to my sweetheart. Birthday number...well...her birthday is next Tuesday. 

She is still my rock, which means a lot to an old guy who really likes rocks...and even some rock and roll. The past couple of years in our Journey Through Life have been interesting, to say the least. And, quite honestly, this week is bittersweet for yours truly. I don’t know how I would have done it without her...

The Gazette-Democrat

112 Lafayette St.
Anna, Illinois 62906
Office Number: (618) 833-2158
Email: news@annanews.com

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