
This huge moth seems a part of the hibiscus it rests against. That’s my hand under it, turning it to the camera.
For Cee’s FOTD

This huge moth seems a part of the hibiscus it rests against. That’s my hand under it, turning it to the camera.
For Cee’s FOTD

This bouquet of Gerbera daisies, baby’s breath and alstroemeria was one of the nice surprises to pop up on my birthday yesterday. Here are some others. Click on the photos to enlarge and read captions.
For Cee’s FOTD
I can feel eyes on me in the dark, watching and waiting.
It is my baby, swaddled, from his bedside bassinet with bright eyes that reflect the glow of the nightlight, like two oil slicks on the pavement.
He is a caterpillar, tightly bundled, with his arms to his sides, wiggling and inching his way closer to me.
I watch the little bug with the face of a human, the sprout of a person, move and struggle against the confines of his swaddle, ready to break free and to unfurl his undeveloped wings.
Not yet, my little caterpillar.
His brother is made of stardust and this boy is of the earth.
Together, they are my universe.

This wonderful Twitter essay by Libby Jones was sent to me by my friend Ken Salzmann.
Welcome to the Freedom Cafe! We trust you to make your own choices if you want to wear a face mask. And, in the same spirit of individual liberty, we allow our staff to make their own choices about the safety procedures they prefer to follow as they prepare and serve your food.
We encourage employees to wash their hands after using the bathroom, but understand that some people may be allergic to certain soaps or may simply prefer not to wash their hands. It is not our place to tell them what to do.
We understand that you may be used to chicken that has been cooked to 165 degrees. We do have to respect that some of our cooks may have seen a meme or a YouTube video saying that 100 degrees is sufficient, and we do not want to encroach on their beliefs.
Some of our cooks may prefer to use the same utensils for multiple ingredients, including ingredients some customers may be allergic to. That is a cook’s right to do so.
Some servers may wish to touch your food as they serve it. There is no reason that a healthy person with clean hands can’t touch your food. We will take their word for it that they are healthy and clean.
Water temperature and detergent are highly personal choices, and we allow our dishwashing team to decide how they’d prefer to wash the silverware you will put in your mouth.
Some of you may get sick, but almost everyone survives food poisoning. We think you’ll agree that it’s a small price to pay for the sweet freedom of no one ever being told what to do – and especially not for the silly reason of keeping strangers healthy.
Stale Humor
A ubiquitous imagination is just like all the others
with no variation from your sister’s or your brother’s.
It does not twist or undulate. It runs a narrow course.
It has a sense of humor never varying from its source.
As Mother dreamed and Father dreamed, so does it dream as well.
It does not flaunt, cavort, carouse. It’s locked within a cell.
It doesn’t thrive on irony. It does not tease or bait us.
In lieu of furnishing fresh air, we flounder in its flatus.
God save us all from normalcy and those who are too dumb
to develop their own funny bone but who remain humdrum
by reciting age-old jokes to us and memorizing jokes
that haven’t drawn much laughter since they learned them from their folks.
Prompt words for the day are flatus, ubiquitous, imagination, carouse and twist.

Click on link below to see video of a lab test of masks vs. no masks for talking, coughing, sneezing! If you think you don’t need a mask, you just might change your mind. If you are willing to take the risk of going out without a mask, go ahead and risk changing your mind by watching.