It's...Domesticated Wildlife!

I enjoy taking pictures of all kinds of domesticated animals: dogs, cats, rabbits, ferrets, and birds just to name a few, over the past decade and a half. I find them to be the easiest subjects to photograph, so there's no possible way that you can mess it up. I would like to share a few of my favorite pics with everyone.

circa 2010's

1} This is my very lovely and late cat Holly, who we unfortunately had to put down during the beginning of that nasty old panicky pandemic. I don't quite remember the specific year that I had taken this pic, other than it was during the 2010s and I had posted it previously on this particular blog. This particular pic is the first thing that you see when you visit my main blog I Have Stories!, as I wanted to created a lasting tribute to my favorite pet. Additionally, the spot you see her standing is the spot that her lovely wooden urn now occupies as the window sill was her favorite spot.

circa 2010s

2} This is one of the better group photos of our two Chihuahuas Oreo and Tina, along with the late Lucky, a mixed breed of something and something. While the former are still going somewhat strong in their mid-teens, Lucky sadly passed away a couple of years ago from a combo of old age and unknown medical issues. Let me tell you, this dog was absolutely fearless. For whatever reason known to him, he couldn't walk down the three steps from the deck to the ground, he had to absolutely launch himself from deck to the ground, often partially face-planting the concrete tiles. No matter how many times we would (gently) chastise him, it would go in one ear straight out the other.

10/16/2024

3} Our lovely chihuahuas make an appearance once again, this time in their Halloween sweaters/costume, with Oreo in his lovely Halloween sweater and Tina masquerading as a very lovely bumblebee. Sometimes when you start aging gracefully, you're not as grumpy when presented with a sweater or a costume for your person.

7/20/2023

4} Once again our lovely chihuahuas make an appearance, this time while they're frolicking around the backyard, which was cleared out of any other "interlopers" by Oreo, who simply couldn't stand the thought of any birds, rabbits or squirrels having the temerity to actually visit the backyard to like, you know, chill out. Now in his ye olden age, he's content to bark at the neighbor's dog, who is about 10x his size through the fence. This dog has absolutely no fear whatsoever.

circa 2020s

5} I like to finish up this brief trip down domesticated wildlife memory lane with a pic of my daughter's ferret Bubbles. She's been featured periodically in a few my now dormant blog, but while she was alive, she was a blast to have around the house. The photo above was one of the rare times she was brought outside, because we really didn't have properly sized collar or harness to walk her in. She was quite the curious little animal and she will be sadly missed.

(c) 2024 by G.B. Miller. All Rights Reserved

It's...Halloweenie Time!

I've taken some very unusual holiday pictures over the years during my various strolls around my immediate neighborhood, as well as my own house. Today's post features some of the more abnormal pics that had struck my fancy during my leisurely walks around this wonderful town.

{9/24/24}

1} People put up very strange decorations in the month leading up to Halloween. For example, this lovely spider couldn't decide if they were climbing up to the waterspout, or down to the ground to chill out on the brownish-green grass with his pumpkin friend.

{9/12/24}

2} My muse decided that she had better things to do than to watch over me 24/7/365, because you know, the Hawaiian surf is at an all time high and sun is just sending out some sensuous vibes....anyways, this is my new watch dog...I mean, my new watch skeleton, Bonesy McBones. He ain't got a brain, but he's looking to get back into politics, soo...

{9/9/2024}

3} Saw this dude waiting for either Casey Jones's locomotive or an auto traveling down the road to nowhere. In any event, he was basically chillin' to the sunny vibes of the neighborhood, where maybe, just maybe, this particular parade will entertain him in the meanwhile.

{8/3/24}

4} Not too sure what the main idea was in giving this gnarly looking tree the odd Pickachu face, but here we are. To be honest, I don't really remember what neighborhood I was trudging through when his gnarliness got hold of my short attention span, so there you go. Now that I think about it, the face does remind me of SpongeBob in an odd way. Kind of. A little. Maybe.

{4/20/24}

5} "Come closer my little pretty and let me tell you a story about someone who actually said 'okay' when the operator said, 'I want to talk to you about extending your car warranty.' His empty wallet was never the same. BWHAHAHAHAHAHAH!"

{10/18/23}

6} When a very large pumpkinhead skeleton says, 'respect my authority!', you can bet your sweet bippy that I will respect his authority. Certainly more than Kyle's or Chief Wiggins's authority.

{7/31/2024}

7} I'm including this picture at the end as another example of the Completion Backward Principle, in that retailers want to get a super early jump on the next holiday. As you can tell by the date of the picture, my local Dollar Tree store had Halloweenie schtuff out and on display more than three months prior to the official holiday. Trust me when I say that I have more photographic examples of starting the race three steps from the finish line when it comes to holidays.

I certainly hope that this small traipse through the holiday of pre All Saints Day gave you a small chuckle or two. Have a fantastic week and remember, the world indeed always revolves around you.

(c) 2024 by G.B. Miller. All Rights Reserved

Butterflies?

Howdy do and welcome fellow suburbanites to my picture blog! I thought for next few months, it would be a good idea to dust out the bunnies and the cobwebs and bring this niche blog back out amongst the living.

Today's fun filled post is about butterflies, specifically, Monarch Butterflies. From I understand, there has been a decline of the Monarch butterfly population in the past few years, and Monarch Watch is a good place to learn how you can help stop the decline.

My town is doing it's part to help with the decline, as I discovered over the July 4th holiday weekened when I went bike riding. I took well over three dozen photos that day, and for today's post, I would like to present a little montage of that Monarch butterfly waystation.

Here is the original sign describing it.

And I decided to get a close up so that you could read what is written on the sign.

The rest of the shots are of the various flower beds that they planted and developed. I will tell you that they did a very good job of reclaiming this land next to the public library and creating a little bit of an open space out of what used to be a couple of houses.

II

III

IV

V

VI

I did not see any butterflies that day, but I did see a few moths. All of these pics were taken on either end of the flowerbeds, as I didn't feel comfortable tying to walk between them. In all of them you can see that they planted all kinds of flowers and other assorted fauna, and in the bottom, you can see a partial pallet of soil and fertilizer for them.

Father Nature's Corner

(c) 2015 by G.B. Miller. All Rights Reserved.

Storm Nemo!!!

As most of you know, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island got their buttocks spanked until they were candy apple red this past weekend from the devil's spawn of the Blizzard of 1978.

For ha-ha's, I thought I would do an experiment by shooting before and after video's of my front yard and neighborhood. The video's that you're about to see should give you a sample on how badly Connecticut got bitch slapped from Storm Nemo. The first one was shot about 9a Friday morning, with the second being shot some 24 hours later on Saturday.

To put the second video in perspective, our esteemed Guv'nor closed the state to traveling around midnight on Friday, state DOT plows were actually pulled because they couldn't keep up with the snow, and late Saturday morning, a town plow that had chains on almost got stuck while plowing our street.

First, before Storm Nemo buried its butt ugly tentacles.

Second, after Storm Nemo had buried its ugly tentacles.

Book Trailer For My Upcoming Debut

My friends, this book trailer will knock your socks off, or at the very least, make you sit up and take notice.

This trailer was created, as well as the book cover, by the talented Kelly Abell and her graphics company Select-O-Grafix. Seriously, if you need any kind of marketing product created, be it cover or a book trailer like what you see, by all means please check them out. In addition to being a talented graphics artist, she is also a multi-published author.

Feel free to leave a comment here, or at the video itself, as it is searchable on YouTube.

Once again, major props to Kelly Abell for all of her fantastic work on my book cover and on my book trailer too.

Not This Blog's Usual Type Of Post, But Sometimes You Just Have To Improvise

I originally wanted to do a series of posts based on the very last disposable camera that I had sitting next to my computer for the past several months. Unfortunately, as of today (5/6), it has not arrived back at Rite Aid.

So in place of that, I thought I would plaster over here, the cover of my forthcoming novel (shooting for a late summer/early fall release date) from Solstice Publishing entitled Line 21. Granted, it is a redundant post, as it was Thursday's post (5/3) on Cedar's Mountain, and Saturday's post (5/5) on Books by G. B. Miller.

But I really wanted to update this blog, and since this is a photo blog about Cedar Mountain, Newington, Connecticut, as well as Cedar's Mountain, I figured this particular picture would fit in perfectly.

My friends, once again, here is the cover that will surely get me into some kind of trouble at work in the coming days and weeks, especially since I'd put in a new order of glossy business cards that features this cover on the front and back side.

As a bonus, here is the brief synopsis that was used in the query letter.



Playing the game of public sex is hard enough when you got the family loan shark bothering you for a piece of your action, but when your symbiont wants a piece as well, it can make you question your own sanity.

Flat broke with no job, Jeannie was terrified of becoming just like one of her uncle’s deadbeat customers. Even though she was able to smooth talk her way into a five day extension of her loan, she was still stuck in the same dead end with the same problem: no money. Still, God must’ve had an ulterior motive, because no sooner than she had closed her phone, a young man sat down next to her and began talking. A few minutes later, Jeannie was holding a business card that could just be her potential salvation from a world of hurt. After a brief, yet highly insulting conversation with her symbiont Aissa, Jeannie was determined to test her mettle as an adult performer. Not because she needed the money, but more to the point of proving her symbiont wrong as well as proving to herself that she could play the game of public sex and still have her morals intact.

Line 21 is not just a story about a young woman’s dilemma in reconciling her values to a new and exciting career, but it’s also a story about living with a free spirit that’s crying out for adventure.

As as an additional bonus, here is a five page preview of the book.

The Bad Thing About Storm Alfred

click here for companion video

As promised, here is the bad thing about "Storm Alfred".

Lots of damage. Although this video will show you a small representative sample of what went down on October 29th, I will tell you from my travels the next day, that the damage ran the gamut from what you saw in the video to quite a few houses having trees blown onto them (winds were 15 to 45mph, with gusts up to 70 in some parts of the state).

I won't say that you should enjoy this video, but keep in mind what I told you about the background in the first video, because that exact same background pops up early in this video. BTW, the video clocks in about 10 minutes, so feel free to skip around if you wish.

Many Days In The Life Of Yello Bear (5)

Oh shaddup will you? Until I get to the last picture in this post, this blog still belongs to Yello Bear, not you. So be off with you and let me entertain these good folks in peace. We're still hanging ten at the playground and as you can see, I's getting ready to do a little wall climbing. Or a little wall diving, take your pick. If my nose and face looks a little discolored, it's due to an overly affection doggy deciding to use me as a chew toy. Doggy breath...feh!

G's daughter Jenelle getting ready for a dance competition.

I's chillin' out on the bird feeder, which due to the fact that G is flat broke, hasn't been filled with birdseed since July.

I's love climbing trees so that I can survey my kingdom!

And now it's time for my siesta. I hope you enjoyed this small sampling of the many busy days in the life of Yello Bear, because I sure have enjoy spending my time with all of you. Take and have a fun-filled stress free rest of the year!

Done?

Yeah, I'm done.

Kewl beans. I thank you muchly, Yello Bear.

De nada.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And so we come to the end of not only this fascinating glimpse into the life of Yello Bear, but to the current incarnation of this blog as well. This fun filled pictorial blog is going on a well deserved vacation as yours truly tries to decide whether he should re-tool this blog into something a little different, or make the temporary vacation a little more permanent.

Many Days In The Life Of Yello Bear (4)

I is...ummm...G is loaded with money today and he decided to lend me a couple of Jacksons so that I could buy some gourmet honey imported from Ulee's of Florida. Damn good stuff that honey is.

"G here. Thought I would give everyone a brief respite from listening to the yellow mighty mouth and show you a little bit of the homestyle graffiti that has been gracing this particular bridge ever since I was a child of my daughter's age. This particular bridge is the one that brings you into Newington from points north and west and takes you out from points south and east. The road I'm standing on is one that should be familiar with everyone who has read this blog, as it has been featured at least once a month during this entire blog's existence. Anyways, this is one of only two spots that is heavily adorned with graffiti, with the other being directly behind me."

That's enough of G warbling his tiny little thoughts on my blog...umm...his blog. Back to me. I'm catching up on my suntan in this picture. Hoo boy was it hot that day!

And here I is going for a ride on a bicycle, courtesy of G's daughter Jenelle and her best friend E. Man I had a good time riding around on that bicycle.

And here I is getting ready to go down the slide at Jenelle's former school's playground. Jenelle is in 5th grade this year and has moved onto the middle school for her classes. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

And here I is riding on the playground zip line. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Many Days In The Life Of Yello Bear (3)

Hello dare! It is I, your old pal Yello Bear, who is none the worse for where. I've come through unscathed from Tropical Storm Irene last weekend and I trust that all of my good friends and readers have the same outcome as well. If you're all good and comfy, we shall continue where we had left off from two week ago.

Yello simply loves supporting his local businesses, and one of his favorites (as well as his left hand man G's) is Goldburgers. Goldburgers has the best dang burgers, hot dogs, fries, onion rings and daily specials that this bear has ever seen in his short lifetime. If you're in the local area, give Goldburgers a try. After all, their signature burger, the Goldburger, made the Hartford Courant's top ten list of best burgers in the state.

And here I is, checking out some fantastic concoction that G is about to sink his teeth into. I don't know what it is, but it sure does smell something good. And he's got some good old fashioned hand cut french fries as well (Goldburgers also features sweet potato fries too). Ain't nothing better than feasting on good eats in the spring.

And I's just chillin' chillin' on this nice oh-so-comfy roadside couch. Man, I bets you're just so jealous of me. I know G is, 'cause he has to lug me and this nifty camera around all day, with no rest for the weary. I'm telling you, I's just get worn out from telling him what to do and where to go all day.

I just loves pointing out all the local businesses that Newington has to offer.

And Yello Bear always likes eating Girl Scout cookies and..... What? You like to say something G?

G nods his head vigorously

Okay, go fer it.

"G here. If I could be serious for a moment. The local Girl Scout troop were selling cookies in front of the bank that day (the bank is heavily into being a genuinely good corporate citizen of the community) and in fact, I had asked permission if I could take a picture of Yello Bear surrounded by Girl Scout cookies. The scout leader happily and whole heartedly gave her permission, so I snapped a picture and then bought a box of cookies to donate to the military. So my friends, support the men and women of the military as much as you can. It doesn't matter what your political leanings are, just remember that these brave people are doing a job that they choose and believe in, and we should always keep that fact in mind."

Mother Nature Interruptus

For those of you who were expecting a new post here, it's been delayed a week, due to Mother Nature's temper tantrum called Hurricane Irene, which is expected to deliver a nasty drive-by to Connecticut this weekend (August 27th & 28).

Many Days In The Life Of Yello Bear (2)

After I had G take me to the post office to buy some money orders in which to pay my bills, I was feeling a bit peckish. So I had G take me to D&D to pick up a tasty munchie in which to quench my hunger. Now since I often like to share my tasty snack with my friend, this usually means I don't buy something with lots of sugar, like a cinnamon roll or a Boston eclair, or even a glazed donut (mmmm....donut). Instead, I buy a tasty bagel or croissant, toasted to a golden brown and dripping with butter (mmmm....butter). Yummy for the tummy!

A brief interruption as Holly the Cat was throwing a temper tantrum because she wanted to make an appearance and I didn't want her in my little pictorial journey. However, G prevailed because he threatened to make me listen to Robert Byrd and his magical banjo of bluegrass if I didn't agree to let Holly make an appearance. Since I, Yello Bear, is a diehard moderate Republican with hardly any leanings to the left side of the aisle, and the thought of listening to a moldy oldy politician playing music scares me almost as much as admitting to the fact that I voted for Slick Willie twice*, I acquiesced.

And what journey wouldn't be complete without making a stop at this blog's favorite park and front page header. G was complaining that he needed a breather, so even though I was full of vim and vinegar and roaring to go, I gave G the benefit of the doubt and made a pit stop at the Banks Corner Park. He sat on his butt shortly after taking this picture, while I decided to soak up a few rays of sunshiny goodness.

Our ultimate destination this day was the school playground, where G's daughter spent K-4 attending school. I just loves the swing, and the fortunate thing is that G does as well. So much so that short after taking this pic, he hopped on the swing and swung until he was about ten feet in the air. Naturally he didn't jump off, but instead gave me a boost and I jumped an extra fifteen in the air and executed a perfect 1440 before landing in the soft wood chips on my belly.

And unlike G, I is very good in geography, as you can see that I was able to pick out the fine state of Connecticut from this funky colored map on the first try.

G!
You bellowed?
You blithering idiot! How many times do I have to tell you that before you post a picture, you have to make doubly sure that it is facing in the proper direction!
What? It's facing in the right direction. Aren't you laying down to take a nap?
No, I'm not lying down taking a nap, you doofus! This is a picture of me sitting on the wall holding my walking stick! If I was lying down, do you seriously think that the stick would still be horizontal like that?
Ummm, yes?
WHAT? ARE YOU NUTS? DID YOU NOT EAT YOUR WHEATIES TODAY? DID YOU WAKE UP THIS MORNING AND DECIDE THAT BEING STUPID SHOULD BE THE FIRST THING ON YOUR TO-DO LIST TODAY?!
Ummm, no.
You and I need to have a seriously long chat in the backyard when we get home today. Do I make myself clear, crystal or otherwise?

G shuffles off towards home, leaving an angry Yello Bear to stew in his own juices

*Truthfully, I voted for Clinton twice, only because GHWB wasn't a viable candidate the first time, and Bob Dole definitely wasn't a viable candidate the second time.

Many Days In The Life Of Yello Bear (1)

No, it's not this particular fun-filled song (used for a theme song in a syndicated radio show called Flashback in the 80's), but simply a peek at the many days in my life.

Howdy everyone! Yello Bear here, with my trusty left hand man G doing the transcription and whatever else that I deem necessary to the stroking of my ginormous ego here on my new home. Forget about the fact that this blog is maintained by my trusty left hand man G here, this is Yello Bear's blog now. I may turn it back over to G if he stops doing his impersonation of the gimp and starts acting more like Sherman.

I usually like to start my mornings off with a little branch balancing. I need to keep extra flexible so that I can drink all of that honey flavored Mello Yello soda without getting sick. Just look how toned my arms and legs are in this picture. I tell ya, I am one hot piece of bear that the chicks go crazy over.

Hey G! Didn't I tell you not to take any pictures without me in them? Yes, I know its Old Glory flying at half staff. Man, that flag does look majestic flying in the wind, don't it? Okay, Old Glory is the only righteous exception that I will make to my egotistical rules. You did good and I'm proud of you.

I do all of my banking at Webster Bank, for two reasons: 1} it's best local bank in the state, which is saying a lot because most of the local banks have been swallowed up by very large corporations (Wells Fargo, Niagara), and 2} it ain't Skank of America.

I also like to have my morning cup of java from D&D, but G scoffs at my choice of liquid refreshment, so he goes to...yeech...Starbucks. And sometimes, he'll drink Starbucks sleazier offspring, Seattle's Best Brew. I mean, what kind of manly man drinks coffee from some yuppie-fied place that features healthy foods and c.d.'s from people who should've left the music biz 15 years ago?

After I get my caffeine crave satisfied at D&D, I next go to the post office to pick up a few money orders and stamps so that G can pay my bills for me. What? No, I don't spend MY money to pay MY bills. I spend G's money to pay MY bills. After all, isn't that what a left hand man is for? Exactly, a bottomless pit of money.

Now This Is Winter! (5)

And now, it's time to close out the 2010/2011 winter season with the final installment of our series. Starting next week, we'll be skipping right up to the mid Spring season with a very special treat for everyone. Why special? Because I get to share that silly side of me that most everyone here very rarely gets to experience.

But, enough about that. Instead, let's deal with this.

More melting snow and bits and pieces of brown grass and leaves and bare trees. Not really sure as to why I took such an odd shot. Unless of course, I felt like taking an odd shot, which in turn would explain this...odd...shot.

Hmmmm.

Holly on the window looking out. Judging by the decoration on the dining room table, I would say that this was taken in mid February.

Hmmmm.

Another shot of Holly.

Hmmmmm.

Okay, this one I can elaborate on. Jenelle is playing her PS2 game (at least I think that's what its called). Something she likes to occupy herself on long trips or during competitions when she has a lot of down time between performances.

Another shot of Jenelle, wearing one of her dance school outfits.

Lunch. Lunch that warm winter day was a ham and cheese half-grinder with onions, pickles and mayo. The bag of chips is from a local company here in Connecticut that is starting to make a splash coast to coast called "Deep River Snacks" and I would say that they're tied with Cape Cod as being my preferred chip of choice for lunch. The grinder is from a local shop called Tony Baloney's. This particular flavor of chip, Cracked Pepper and Sea Salt, definitely has a nasty kick to it.