Life on the farm
St. Isidore Division
A recent note (during our hiatus) from DebK of Rosemount: “The sun has finally returned to Rice County, banishing notions of ark construction and bringing to our feeders an enormous number and variety of hungry birds. Among the usual feathered riff-raff, this morning’s visitors included a pileated woodpecker — only our second (known) visit from this handsome bird. I suspect he’s checking to see if the cuisine has improved since his initial dining experience at St. Isidore Farm.
“On a less pleasant note, for the past three days a beefy male robin has been trying to evict us from the farmhouse. He’s clearly hoping to (or already has) set up housekeeping with a lady friend in a nearby location and doesn’t think Taxman and I are a credit to the neighborhood. If you haven’t experienced this kind of ill relations with a next-door neighbor, you cannot imagine how nerve-racking it is to hear the repeated and unending percussion of beak on glass, the constant protesting of your presence.”
Our birds, ourselves
Grandma Connie of Scandia: “From the big to the small . . . all beautiful.”
Why I write
The Journalist’s Daughter: “I write to remember, I write to express my opinions, I write to teach others, and I write because it is comforting. Mainly, though, I write because it is in my DNA!”
See world
Mounds View Swede writes again: “Dear Bulletin Board,
“Just a block away from my house are a couple of ponds of some sort that seem pretty wild in nature. I was curious to see what was blooming there this spring, so walked around them with my camera.
“I was happy to find blooming raspberry plants. I had to cut mine way back due to mold problems and may get only a fall crop this year, instead of summer and fall. Having another source nearby might provide the raspberries I like on my morning cereal.
“And there was honeysuckle blooming. We have none in our yard, so finding another source nearby felt good.
“I didn’t know what this was, and so asked a friend at Swedish class and was told it was Elderberry.
“I don’t think that I have ever tasted an elderberry so will have to try one when they ripen. These plants may add to our fruit harvest if the birds don’t get them first. The blossoms are really plentiful. It was fun to see what else is happening this spring and explore nearby ‘wild’ areas. I am grateful these areas are part of our environment, though I worry the deer will find my Hostas and enjoy eating them up. I had no idea deer liked them when I planted the some 51 varieties I have.”
Bulletin Board stands corrected
Gregory J. of Dayton’s Bluff writes: “The link in my post in the May 31 Bulletin Board is incorrect. I didn’t realize there was another Old St. Paul Facebook page. The actual name of the one I was referring to is ‘Old St. Paul minn,’ and the link is: https://www.facebook.com/groups/190978714441142/. It has more than 20,000 members and contains all sorts of info about old and not-so-old St. Paul.
“Sorry about that.”
In memoriam (responsorial)
Retired Hillcrest Snailman: “Gregory J. of Dayton’s Bluff described the plaques in the back of churches listing members who died in the wars. With all due respect to the fallen, I’m reminded of a joke I heard years ago.
“A small child asked his mother about the names on a plaque in their church.
“‘Those are the men from our church who died in the service.’
“The lad looked somber for a while, and then asked: ‘Was it the 9 o’clock or the 10:30 service?'”
Number 1,001
The Gram With a Thousand Rules writes: “The Aussie grandson who once told me that he had a hard time keeping track of my ‘thousand rules’ just posted this photo from Mount Everest.
“Silly me. What was I thinking? I most certainly should have had the foresight to add just one more little rule: ‘When you grow up, don’t even THINK about climbing up to the base camp of Mount Everest just so you can turn around and run a marathon back down the blankety-blank mountain!’”
Come again?
Another episode of creative hearing, reported by Friendly Bob of Fridley: “A little while back, I was up late working on a computer project (the usual, really). I keep the TV on for some background noise, and when I went to the kitchen to refill whatever I was drinking, one of those marvelous middle-of-the-night commercials came on, selling an outstanding product one can hardly live without. I knew it was a good product because they offered a deal to get a second one, if I would only pay a separate fee. (What ever happened to ‘Just pay shipping and handling’?)
“To make such a deal even sweeter, it sounded to me as if they claimed that getting this second item would allow each of the two of us (assuming that was a correct count for the listener’s residence) to have our own panty heater.
“Say what? I had to stick my head in the room where the TV was located to observe the rest of the commercial and see that it was for a ‘handy heater,’ a swell little device that plugged directly into an electrical outlet, producing heat and blowing away from the wall, hopefully toward a satisfied customer.
“Or perhaps their panties.”
Not exactly what he had in mind
Donald: “Subject: I only hope the ‘inflatable’ is a flotation device.
“From ‘THEY SAID IT’ in Sports Illustrated: ‘”If I had a nice inflatable and a Diet Coke, it would have been a lovely afternoon.” — David Wicks, Jacksonville University golfer, who dropped his ball into a water hazard during the NCAA regionals, stripped down to his underwear and dove into the pond in an attempt to retrieve the ball and avoid a two-stroke penalty.'”
BULLETIN BOARD SAYS: Outstanding Subject line, Donald (you rascal)!
Our community of strangers
Wet Behind the Ears: “Subject: Well, then.
“I did not realize how much I missed you — and the BB community — until you popped back into my inbox (figuratively, not literally, of course). Thank you for brightening my day mostly every day.
“Hope your sabbatical was restful or exciting, whichever you were aiming for.”
BULLETIN BOARD SAYS: Thank you. It was. Both things. We might show you some pictures, one of these fine days.
Band Name of the Day: Hungry Birds
Website of the Day: Everest Marathon 2017
Bulletin Board 