Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!

I just saw one of these in the yard when I was picking blackberries. It was big and had the brightest red/orange head. It is called a Broadhead skenk - it's the largest skenk found in SC. Nice, huh?

By the way, this is a picture from Google, not one I took. I didn't get this close.

One that I see a lot around the yard that isn't quite as creepy is the Green Anole. We affectionately called them Recycles because we often see them by the recycling bins. They rangle in color from lime green to brown. When the cats get out on the porch, we also tend to see headless Green Anoles, which is gross.

We haven't had the first snake sighting yet. I'm beginning to wonder if it's still around - usually we've found a snakeskin in the garage by now, but so far, nothing.

You didn't know I was such a nature girl, huh?

Use the Instant Party Girl Alias Finder!

Your Exotic Foreigner Name
First Name: Your favorite spice
Last Name: Your last vacation spot

Your Socialite Name
First Name: Your silliest childhood nickname
Last Name: The town where you first partied

Your Fly Girl Name
First Name: Your first initial
Last Name: The first two or three letters of your last name

Your Rock Star Name
First Name: Any liquid on the bar
Last Name: The last name of your best bad girl celebrity

Brush with Millions

You'll love the e-mail message I received from my friend, Brian, who works at Eastman Chemical Company:

The young fella who won the Powerball this weekend washes out railcars for me.

Uhh, well, he used to.

Petites for Men!

Finding a suit that fits is getting easier for the shorter man.

National chains still don't offer many options, but legions of shorter men in the country are increasingly discovering specialty stores just for them.

For 5-foot-5 Josh Rogers, the first trip to Jimmy Au's For Men 5'8" and Under was memorable.

"It was a fairly typical clothing store, except everything was a possibility. It wasn't like I was going to have to settle for that one weird thing that fit," said Rogers, a New York City resident who wears a 36 short.

Another first for Rogers: The custom-made mannequins were eye level.

"I never experienced anything like that," he said.

Only a handful of stores cater exclusively to shorter men. But in recent years, the Internet has spread awareness of such shops and helped attract customers from around the country. Even those who live hundreds of miles away can track down the right fit with a click of the mouse.

Some make special trips to the stores.

The lack of choices in chain stores is partly a matter of economics. Buying too-big clothes and scissoring away sleeves and pant legs has long been the norm for shorter men, giving retailers scant incentive to incur the extra cost of stocking sizes for them.

Read more here.

Growl of an Engine

Truck owner lifts hood, gets scare of his life
By Kimberly K. Fu

When a Vacaville man's truck engine failed to purr as usual Tuesday morning, he popped the hood to administer a routine dose of chemical healing.

And got the scare of his life when he saw the glowing eyes and fierce growl of a female pit bull nestled near the engine block.

"Once I had a cat jump out at me," said Walter Witthoeft, in regard to critters being found reclining under the hood of his Ford F-150. "I wasn't ready for this this morning. ... My daughter works for the SPCA and I didn't know what to do. So I called her and left her a voice message. She called back and I said (to her), 'you're not gonna believe this.' "

Witthoeft made the discovery around 7 a.m. as he walked to his truck, which was parked near his home at the Alamo Garden Apartments. He encountered a male pit bull circling the vehicle and continued on, shortly deciding the truck needed a little power steering fluid.

So he popped the hood, and suddenly thought he was meeting his Maker.

"I seen eyes and it was growling at me," he recalled.

The dog nestled in the engine compartment wore no identification tag and seemed a bit put out regarding the situation, Witthoeft said. He could only surmise that the male pit bull and the one under the hood were together, possibly brother and sister, and were playing.

"When the female got stuck, the male jumped on my hood," he said.

Paw prints on his hood backed up his theory.

A probe later revealed that the imbedded dog had come up from under the driver's side and got stuck.

"It got scared and started chewing," Witthoeft said. "I was really angry."

The emotion was understandable, as Witthoeft had just gotten his truck back from his mechanic, who had replaced the starter. Then the truck had an unfortunate meeting with the dog, who chewed not only through the fuel line, but also some electrical wiring. The truck is now back at the shop, and Witthoeft is wondering how slim his wallet will become.

Vacaville Police Sgt. Rick Elm described the event as unique, the first he's experienced after 20 years on the force.

"I thought I'd seen it all. I rolled on this call and, sure thing, I hadn't," he said.

Elm said officers tried offering the dog water, but it wouldn't drink. Further contact was considered risky. Eventually, though, it crawled out from the engine to freedom.

"Once it got up on the hood, we could see it was more docile," Elm said.

A rope leash was placed around the dog's neck and Humane Animal Services led the dog away.

The dog appeared healthy, Elm said, and remains in the custody of Humane Animal Services.

Blogging from My New-to-Me Laptop

Last week, I won a refurbished laptop! I was at a recycling seminar, and I won! Of course, it's taken me until tonight to get connected to the Internet. (Thank you to my AT&T Agent for the wonderful assistance.) It's a Dell Latitude D600, whatever that is, and it may not be the latest, but it's definitely the greatest because I WON IT!

Happy Birthday, Jackie

Happy Cinqo de Mayo birthday to Jackie! Jackie, I can't wait to have lunch with you on Thursday!!! Hope you have a great day and a great year!

Great Find from Christian

I thought this was kinda cute, even though it does slam my man, Obama, a little.

By the way, I LOVE BARACK OBAMA!

Anyone Else Remember the Hager Twins from Hee Haw? Or even Hee Haw?

Jim Hager, half of country comedians Hager Twins, dies at 66

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Jim Hager, one of the Hager Twins who satirized country life with cornball one-liners on TV's "Hee Haw," died in Nashville, the show's producer said Friday. He was 66.

Hager was at a coffee shop when he collapsed Thursday, Sam Lovullo said. He said he had been told that by Jon Hager, the surviving twin. Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he had been taken, gave no details on the cause of death.

The twins, who were also guitarists and drummers, rose to national fame as original cast members of the TV show in 1969. With its mixture of music and country-flavored humor, the show was a huge hit.

The fast-paced use of one-liners was inspired by the hugely successful "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" — but with a rural twist.

"People laughed at themselves," Jim Hager said in a 1988 Associated Press interview. "They liked the chemistry on the show and the fast pace."

"They (the jokes) were not all platinum," Jim Hager said. "The writers count on the person delivering the line to pull it off. It was cornball, no denying it."

The Hagers had worked with country star Buck Owens and used his connection to join "Hee Haw" when Owens signed as the show's co-host with Roy Clark.

Lovullo said he was looking for male talent to match the young, attractive women on the show.

The Hagers left the program in the mid-'80s and continued to perform shows together.

"They still maintained that youthful look and carried on like young people," Lovullo said Friday.
"It is a big loss and a sudden one," he said.

The twins were born in the Chicago area. They said in 1988 that they had been together all their lives except for 3 1/2 years when Jon left Los Angeles and moved to Nashville. Jim remained on the West Coast, but finally followed.