I posted this on the book of faces this a.m., still confused how it all came to this:
My mornings now consist of a big white duck following me around the yard, squawking to be picked up and snuggled like a puppy. No longer happy to just get scritches. Once I pick her up and dutifully snuggle her, she’s happy to resume being a duck and waddles off when I put her down.
I just did not see this coming. I kept thinking she’d grow out of it.
smh
Penelope, mud-covered as always
She’s unique, that’s for sure. Luckily, Maddie and Mabel do not judge her for her weird obsessions, nor have they developed her habit of needing human interaction. They are happy for food, fresh pool water, and afternoon lettuce breaks.
Open thread
Keith P.
Some friends of mine recently got into chickens. 10+ of them in their backyard, all vastly different from one another (I can’t remember all the breeds). It is amazing how much time I spent just feeding them and watching them walk around the yard. One even jumped into my lap when I tried to finish feeding them sunflower seeds.
Baud
That used to be me, but the restraining order put an end to that.
Scuffletuffle
Penelope is awesomeness incarnate.
Mary G
That coffee cup. Aw, that’s nice…
BWAH HA HA snort.
Pearl/Penelope should be in one of your books. She reminds me of Louise Penny’s Rosa.
geg6
You can call her Penelope all you want, but she’ll always be Pearl to me.
And I love her. I just love her.
SiubhanDuinne
@Baud:
May I say, once again, how very happy I am to have you back!
Frankensteinbeck
@SiubhanDuinne:
2020 without Baud would be like 2020 without Baud.
Aleta
Gabriele Corno @Gabriele_Corno
A ride
Hummingbirds humming
Aleta
@SiubhanDuinne:
Of all the blogs in all the worlds in all the universe, you and Baud walked into this one. And Tamara and everyone here. Astoundingly good luck.
Patricia Kayden
Ducks as pets. Chickens as pets. This is such s as cool blog for animal lovers.
rikyrah
PEARL is the cutest duck. I just think it’s adorable her wanting to be cuddled :)
eclare
Penelope is so adorable!
Patricia Kayden
Gravenstone
Now Cole is gonna want his very own snuggle duck.
TaMara (HFG)
@Aleta:
@Patricia Kayden:
I wonder if some wayward wanderer stumbles on this blog, reads one of these posts (Pearl! Penelope! Snuggle ducks), and our non-sequitur rotating tag lines, shakes their head and moves along, wondering “who are these crazy people?”
spudgun
Aww, my gurl Penelope Pearl! Such a sweetie-
I delurk for pet pix ?
schrodingers_cat
I love this musical composition by Sukhwinder Singh, and he sings it as well. Chal Chal mere sung sung, from the movie Astitva (Existence) from the early aughts. On screen is Tabu playing the bored and neglected newly wed stuck in a loveless arranged marriage being seranaded by her music teacher (Mohnish Bahl).
You can tell she is a newly wed by all the prominent symbols of being a married woman (of soubhagya)
that she is sporting. The green bangles, the sindoor in her part and the red dot on her forehead.
* soubhagya == good luck
Married women are called soubhagyawatis (lucky ones)
zhena gogolia
Love that duck.
RAVEN
Here’s the photo exhibit my wife did for the event.She said “I don’t know why you have all these pictures if not for something like this”!
schrodingers_cat
@schrodingers_cat: Here is the link to the composition, which I forgot to add.
To this comment
* soubhagya == good luck
Married women are called soubhagyawatis (lucky ones)
schrodingers_cat
How big is Pearl or is she Penelope?
chris
“Lord love a duck!” as my Nana used to say.
Nicole
Awwww…. that photo made me remember working as a first-person interpreter at the local zoo, back in the 1990s, where there was a free-roaming Cape Barron goose named Lucy. Lucy didn’t like to be petted, but she really liked to stand next to you and keep you company, which was nice when things were slow. She also really, really liked Poland Spring water, and when I had a bottle of it with me, would wait for a quiet moment and then start to cough, as though she was dying of dehydration (mind you, she had a water dish in easy reach at all times). Being a sucker, I’d fill up the bottle cap, let her drink it, and then she’d be good… for about five minutes, and she’d then do the coughing thing again.
I fell for it every time. She had me super well trained.
Jay
Raven
@chris: Mollymuck
pat
@RAVEN:
OMG, what a lot of work! Congratulations!
I was going to say something about seeing similar displays (fewer pics, of course) at funerals but I decided not to .
RAVEN
@pat: We just had that discussion. “Well, you did a slide show for my retirtement”[email protected]
rikyrah
@RAVEN:
That is so wonderful. You are so blessed. Looks amazing.
dww44
@RAVEN: Wow. I knew you were a prolific photographer, but this is amazing. Exactly where and for how long is the exhibit?
pat
@RAVEN:
So I should add that it is great that you are there to see it. Relive your life, so to speak.
Enjoy!
dmsilev
WaPo banner headline right now:
I assume “people familiar with his views” really means “Bolton himself, but just a fig leaf of plausible deniability”. In any event, seldom has the phrase “root for injuries” been more applicable.
Jay
BC in Illinois
On a topic that no one was asking for . . .
Kathleen Parker of the Washington Post is here to tell you that
Clarence Thomas Is An American Hero.
She doesn’t really say much about him that is heroic – as in, anything that he has ever done or said that leads anyone into a better world, a better place. What she tells us is that:
1. Clarence Thomas grew up poor.
2. He is no longer poor.
3. He has some deep, heroic thoughts and qualities hidden inside.
4. He shared this hidden heroism with an interviewer, who made 30 hours of interviews into a two-hour film.
I’m sure.
And as for the heroism, which you may have missed seeing in his public life . . .
Raven
@dww44: UGH, White Tiger is right up the street in Athens and, apparently, it will be up until the 1st of Dec.
Jay
Elizabelle
Pearl was just socialized differently, perhaps. Or maybe it’s just her own little duck personality.
Consider yourself lucky. Some day you will miss the fuss and feathers.
Elizabelle
@RAVEN: Wow. It’s a Raven museum.
Glad the surprise gathering came off so successfully.
RAVEN
@Elizabelle: It wasn’t a surprise, it’s tomorrow night. I agreed to a birthday/retirement party reluctantly and she immediately invited family without considering it’s a home game and the inn is full! It’s going to work out but another weekend would have been better for out of town folks.
CaseyL
“Find someone who looks at you the way Penelope looks at TaMara.” That is so cute and sweet. Apparently, birds can imprint on humans at any age :)
@RAVEN: Holy cats, what an amazing exhibit! I would have loved to be able to see it in person. An amazing life, well-lived – and well-loved, too. Once again: congrats to you; Well Done! to your wife, and I hope you both enjoy retirement for many many years!
schrodingers_cat
@RAVEN: Is that your house? You should write a memoir/autobiography. You have the pictures!
chopper
@Baud:
you say “fuck a duck” out loud ONE TIME…
Jay
chris
@Raven: ??? Google is no help
Jay
NotMax
@RAVEN
Well hung.
:)
Dorothy A. Winsor
@RAVEN: Your wife is right. Also, holy cow, that’s a lot of pics.
Josie
I want a Pearl/Penelope of my very own. How could anyone resist that?
trollhattan
@BC in Illinois:
My dead tree paper, which has canned most of their op-ed staff, ran that Parker drivel today prominently in the LH column. Mr. High-Tech Lynching a “hero”? If you don’t think so you’re just a blind liberal.
She has also proclaimed Nikki Haley shall be our first woman president so, you know, she’s reliable on these matters.
rikyrah
Will someone explain Apple TV to me? I get from some people that it’s a streaming service. I google it, and I see a box that looks like another Firestick device.
Can I get the content on Apple TV without spending the money for the device?
Aleta
@RAVEN: She must really like you!
(Love is beautiful … so’s the wall.)
pat
@BC in Illinois:
This is the top liked response to that drivel.
NotMax
@rikyrah
Apple TV is a device, Apple TV+ is a streaming service. Two different animules. As for info on the streaming service, here ya go.
rikyrah
Holocaust survivor under guard amid death threats
NeenerNeener
@rikyrah: I have an Apple TV device. The remote is so bad the device is unusable. I think Apple is also starting their own streaming service and I suspect that you can only get it on their expensive device with the abominable remote, so I’m going to pass on it for now.
FlyingToaster
@Baud:
Dude…
Jeebus, I’m glad you’re back.
MattF
@rikyrah: There’s four different things that are called ‘Apple TV’.
rikyrah
Anyone from Kentucky wanna explain the whole MattJones situation?
Who is he? What does he have to do with the Senate race?
rikyrah
Thanks for the Apple TV info :)
Jay
Funny how Faux has all the Nazi Shows.
trollhattan
@pat:
Says it far better than I could have.
trollhattan
@Jay:
If Ingraham and Coulter are ever allowed to be at the same place and time, a singularity will open and we’ll all vanish in a “poof.” Too much vileness for one planet.
trollhattan
@rikyrah:
“I hate you for hating hate” is a really tough concept to wrap one’s brain around. Poor lady deserves better.
Jay
@rikyrah:
Matt Jones, a radio personna, is exploring running against Yurtle the Turtle, as a Democrat in the Senate race,
Because he has a popular ( 50 stations) radio gig, and has used it to attack Yurtle, and iHeart has paid for promotional tours for him and his show to “press the flesh”,
The Kentucky GrOPer’s are claiming that there is an illegal “in kind” Campaign contribution going on,
Even though Matt has not declared, filed paperwork, or is a Cantidate.
Just the ususal working of the Refs and riling of the base, in a rigged system for the GrOPers.
Anya
It’s amazing how pundits pretend election interference and third party votes didn’t affect the 2016 results. Also, looks like republicans’ voter suppression tactics are an accepted reality. Dem pundits should mention it every time they are asked to talk about election results or anything related to any election.
Tenar Arha
@rikyrah: I’m pretty sure I’m buying a brand new iPhone this holiday season, and it’s going to come with a free 1 year subscription to Apple TV+, so I’m holding off buying a 1 month trial or something bc they’ve got a few upcoming originals that look fun like See, For All Mankind, & The Morning Show.
Tenar Arha
@rikyrah: I’m pretty sure I’m buying a brand new iPhone this holiday season, and it’s going to come with a free 1 year subscription to Apple TV+, so I’m holding off buying a 1 month trial or something bc they’ve got a few upcoming originals that look fun like See, For All Mankind, & The Morning Show.
ETA oops, it looks like these all launched Nov. 1st…
Jay
rikyrah
Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) Tweeted:
!!! DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A top aide to Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer in Iowa has privately offered campaign contributions to local politicians in exchange for endorsing his White House bid, https://t.co/UCW2pCldsw https://twitter.com/ZekeJMiller/status/1192494858369425408?s=17
Jay
Oh no, Dolt 45 broke Daniel Dale:
MattF
@Jay: Fact-checking Trump is a hard road, not for amateurs.
Jay
Up and coming GrOPer,
Head of the official Latino’s for Trump Org and other GrOPer groups in Floridah!
Probably in charge of Floridah Man’s housewarming party.
Jay
trollhattan
@Jay:
Where’s a whistleblower’s whistleblower when we need one?
RAVEN
@chris:
RAVEN
@schrodingers_cat: No, it’s White Tiger Gourmet. BBQ and vegetarian “food without an attitude!
dexwood
@RAVEN:
Needs votive candles, looks like an altar. Well done Mrs. Raven and wishing you, Raven, many more years of new photos.
Jay
Duane
@chopper: You can’t be too careful. Baud could be an abduckter.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@Jay: Yes, Laura. The GOP lost VA because they got fewer votes from the people who vote. What’s your question? That’s how it works.
Nicole
So “Senator Warren” is trending on Twitter, because Mitt Romney tweeted a derogatory thing about Warren’s health care plan, in it referring to her as “Prof. Warren.”
It never fails to amaze me what petty dicks the GOP are. They cannot help themselves.
MattF
NYT article on Russian security force ‘invading’ a famous physics institute. Considering how Trump admires Russia, one feels a chill.
Jay
schrodingers_cat
@RAVEN: Thanks because it did look like a restaurant.
Raven
@schrodingers_cat: It’s an old time general store that used to serve “Cat Head Biscuits” and other southern goodies.
lafcolleen
Lurker but taking advantage of this open thread. just posted my first podcast on spotify. I’m co-host and we talk about “Legal Aid Matters” in Chicago. ur first podcast is with the new director of the Office of New Americans working from the Mayor’s office.
https://open.spotify.com/show/1c4tgMPjr6ozWPWJAXskUS?fbclid=IwAR0iI59dbRGamuX5cWz6m8HE4PJloU_BEJa_hghqF1wAP0-NuRr93P5TNUI
Miss Bianca
@lafcolleen: Wow, cool!
trollhattan
@Nicole:
So true. And consider that Willard is the new standard-bearer for Republican decency and centrism. They’re that far gone.
FlyingToaster
@Nicole: That’s weird, because most of us up here in the People’s Republic follow Charlie Pierce’s lead and call her “Senator Professor Warren”.
Oldie but still goodie
RAVEN
@FlyingToaster: I always want to be called “Private Doctor Johnson”!
trollhattan
@Jay:
The closing grafs of a Vanity Fair article about how “everybody hates Zuckerberg.”
We’re so screwed.
Gravenstone
@Jay: Because Trump getting literally billions in estimated free media air time during the primaries wasn’t an “in kind” donation…
Zelma
@RAVEN:
Wow! What a lot of work. Clearly you are family of shutterbugs. When we tried to find pictures of my husband, we had a hard time because he was the picture taker. I guess someone else had that job in your clan.
Nicole
@trollhattan: I was tempted to tweet back, addressing him as “George Romney’s Greatest Disappointment” but I held back because I’m a Democrat, and so I CAN help myself.
Raven
@Zelma: I’ve taken many in the last 30 years or so but I hung with a bunch of artists in Champaign Urbana and they were on it.
Jay
chris
@RAVEN: Wow! Thanks, I’ve never heard of this movie, looking for it now because it sounds like fun.
ETA: Cued up on Prime!!!
Jay
https://thetyee.ca/News/2019/10/30/Residential-School-To-Chief/
Aleta
(Longer thread) Greg Olear @gregolear
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Aleta: Or, in other words, Mr. “noun verb 9-11”.
rikyrah
Top U.S. diplomat to Ukraine ties Trump to quid pro quo
The top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, Bill Taylor, told House impeachment investigators last month that President Donald Trump directed officials to tie military aid to Ukraine to demands that the country open politically advantageous probes, according to his deposition.
rikyrah
Foreign Affairs member: ‘Republicans were scared’ of Bill Taylor’s deposition
Rep. Gregory Meeks tells Lawrence O’Donnell that Republican committee members feared that everything they asked William Taylor would just further confirm the whistleblower’s damning account. Meeks says that every transcript that has come out so far speaks for itself. Lawrence also discusses with Mieke Eoyang and Ned Price.
rikyrah
Indicted Giuliani associate willing to cooperate with impeachment investigation
One of Giuliani’s indicted associates, Lev Parnas, who helped dig up dirt on Trump’s political rival in Ukraine has indicated he’s willing to cooperate with the impeachment inquiry by testifying and supplying documents subpoenaed by Congress. Chuck Rosenberg tells Lawrence O’Donnell that “most defendants become convicted felons and most convicted felons look for ways to cooperate in order to reduce their sentence.”
germy
Reminds me of all those cartoon smiling pigs and chickens in chef’s aprons in the old newspaper ads for butcher shops.
rikyrah
I believe Barr put this out..trying to stave off his own impeachment.
WaPo: Trump wanted Barr to hold news conference saying Trump broke no laws in Ukraine call
The Washington Post reports that Trump wanted Barr to hold a news conference saying President Trump broke no laws in call with the Ukrainian leader.
Nov. 6, 2019
germy
Jay
rikyrah
Trump nominee worked on illegal plan to deny help to scam victims
Rachel Maddow reports on a memo that shows that controversial Donald Trump judicial nominee Steven Menashi helped craft an illegal plan to deny debt relief to victims of a scammy for-profit college.
Roger Moore
@Nicole:
You might also have thought about the Mittlings and Ronna
RomneyMcDaniel. It’s possible that Mitt is his father’s greatest disappointment, but he has some stiff competition.The Very Reverend Crimson Fire of Compassion
@lafcolleen: That’s awesome! Congrats!
mrmoshpotato
@Jay: And how much crime was involved with that $500K?
mrmoshpotato
@rikyrah: Ugh. I was kidding about all of these fuckers yelling at their Echos, “Alexa! Do all the crimes!”
Jay
@mrmoshpotato:
All of it?
dfh
Anyone know if that mug is for sale, and where? Excellent xmas gift I’m a’thinking.
rikyrah
@lafcolleen:
clap clap clap
mrmoshpotato
@Jay: There’s no way all the crime committed by these fuckers only amounts too $500K. Paulie Walnuts did crimes into the millions.
Jay
misterpuff
@Jay: That’s because all the information about Drumpf that might be disparaging is TRUE!
laura
@RAVEN: Raven, just a humble opinion, but that photo montage of Raven looks like a reflection of a man who lived a life among enough friends and family who cared enough to document him out doing the living, and if that’s not winning the non-monetary lotto, I dont know what is.
I hope that this party helps with the transitioning from working guy to the Pope of Loafer’s Paradise. Let there be cake and carrying on!
Jay
@mrmoshpotato:
For a mere $500,000 invested, you can buy at least $20,000,000 worth of criming. It’s seed money.
MattF
It’s hard to call this ‘news’, but (WaPo):
RAVEN
@laura: Aw thanks, I’m very lucky and I know it.
Mary G
EVERYTHING they accuse Democrats of doing, they’re doing themselves. But Twitler would still be scamming this if David Fahrenthold didn’t start asking questions, so hats off to Dave.
Mary G
@RAVEN: Wow, she must really love you. That’s a lot of work. You deserve it all. Fuck LBJ.
Ruckus
@Nicole:
They aren’t petty dicks. That’s an insult to them.
They work at being massive dicks – and are extremely successful at this one thing. Being massive dicks.
Jay
Jay
Why won’t no one weep for the poor, poor Billionaires?
frosty
@RAVEN: OMG Raven that is amazing! Your bride did an amazing job framing and arranging it all!!
mrmoshpotato
@Jay: Call now and we’ll throw in a set of stolen, dull steak knives absolutely free!
mrmoshpotato
@Mary G:
Yup. “No puppet. No puppet. You’re the puppet. You’re the puppet.”
Dan B
@CaseyL: O/T but I have some thoughts for retirement options. You’ve probably checked them out but here they are:
Anacortes or Whidbey Island north of Oak Harbor. There’s great all year hiking and easy access to Chukanut Drive and the San Juans. Just be sure to be east if the Navy planes flights and avoid the windiest spots. Anacortes has a growing arts and community festival culture. Also hikes in the North Cascades are amazing. And it’s not too far from Glacier Peak Wilderness. Three of my top ten hikes are there.
Bellingham has the university, lots of available properties and access to Chukanut, the San Juans, and mind boggling hikes around Mt. Baker. Access to Vancouver is fast enough for day trips. Mt. Baker area hikes include several in my top ten in the state. Avoid Lynden – Enumclaw north. Drawback is the winters are colder and wetter than Anacortes. Another drawback is my Koch related in-laws are there but they’re moving to Georgia soon.
Bend / Redmond, OR. My neice and sister in law moved there several years ago. They miss the big city but enjoy the variety of terrain – if you haven’t been it’s dazzling and nearly people-free. John Day Fosdil Beds and surrounding areas are stunning and there’s something new around every bend. The Sisters Wilderness is also world class. Winters are chilly but dry and mostly sunny. Avoid Burns, but they did rise up and drive out the Bundys and Malheur gangs.
mrmoshpotato
@Ruckus: Petty massive dicks?
rikyrah
@Jay:
Look at comment # 107. That’s who the segment is about. He also created an illegal scam that cheated thousands of students.
only the best people
Steeplejack
@dfh:
Google “apple picking impeachment mug” and you get a load of choices.
catclub
@Jay: Sen Kennedy of Louisiana actually stopped one of these extremely unqualified candidates one time,
but this time, although he first was leaning towards no, somebody got to him and he is now a yes.
Jay Noble
@trollhattan: Zuck has no Steve Jobs, Woz or Warren Buffet to challenge him. I think he crushed them all.