Nadine, Our Little Feathery Oracle

Nadine started yelling her 'danger' call again non-stop tonight, so I knew we were in for another earthquake of size somewhere. She started in around 1AM and kept it up until about 20 minutes or so after the earthquake had passed around 2:10AM, a 5.1 about two hundred miles south of us. I was up anyway (got me a double dose of pain/insomnia the last few days) but in the other room, and when I had gone out to check on her around 1:45AM or so the baby chicks were also alert, standing around being still like they were all listening for something. Normally they are asleep at that time, or are in varying stages of eat/play/sleep. Not this time, they were ALL standing & listening. Creepy.

I stuck my head out the front door, listening for any bark/howling dogs (THEY had been going off around Midnight to 1AM) but everything was quiet. Except for our local mockingbird who was barking HIS 'danger' call along with Nadine. It was that eerie, too-quiet thing, too.

So far Nadine has pre-warned us of at least three bigger earthquakes--she's 4 years old this month and ignores smaller ones, only seeming to click in on either 4.3+ quakes that are right under us, or larger quakes farther away. Jake and Scout also react, but in a lesser way, not as vocal. Nadine also yelled about the 7.2 quake in Mexico on Easter Sunday, but that day she yelled for a longer time, about 2 hours beforehand--maybe Pwaves start happening earlier for bigger quakes, or are bigger and more easily sensed for bigger quakes...? She also had a strong, dramatic reaction for about 2 hours beforehand to the 4.3 earthquake March 17th that was centered right under us. I've never read up on P-waves, so I dunno.

It's pretty cool seeing the 'animals sense P-waves' thing in action, but I wish the damned earthquakes would have the common courtesy to not happen in the wee hours of the morning!

edit: Earthquake count for the week for CA/NV currently at 2,956, we're closing in on the big 3,000 mark!

I'm Not The Only One!

OK, people are acting and driving today like they've been pithed. Behind the wheel they are distracted, and when in motion are driving like they are being chased by the cops--reckless and not paying attention, and ALL in a big hurry.

Ditto for people NOT driving. Pedestrians are crossing streets at high speed without looking, we even saw a homeless couple having a walking screaming arguement right down the middle of a busy 6 lane major street, weaving in and around cars, throwing things and waving their arms. Everyone seems on edge.

Dunno if people are tensed up and waiting, maybe reacting to the P-waves of the earthquakes? Whatever it is, I'm glad to be home again from the grocery store and AWAY from it. Criminy.

Oh, and silly me, worrying about the local earthquake count nearing 2000.

It's just broken the 2,400 mark.

Imminent?

Yeah...don't like the larger earthquake clusters forming all around us at ALL. The saying of, 'When you have more earthquakes, you have more earthquakes' is whispering in my ear...

I thinking it's time for southern Californians to grin at each other and hold on. My animals seem to agree and are nervous and squirrely. Just for comparison this map, on any given day, normally shows about 340-360 earthquakes.

Today it's closing in on 2000.

Is It Halloween Yet?

Hehe...tonight we got a SERIOUSLY WICKED idea for our Halloweencam this year. The kid has agreed to be the star. I've been talking to her about the importance of posing the right way and being very still until the time comes. She's so excited she's about to pop. Between her and her dad, I expect to have at LEAST one trick-or-treater pee themselves this year. Last year J. did such a good job that the next morning there was a trail of trampled candy leading from our door...down the driveway...and down the sidewalk. Both directions.

Now I just have to get busy building the new graveyard headstones and learning the necessary makeup, as I am mostly Hero Support on Halloween.

A clue?

Whatever you do, DON'T BLINK!

It's County Fair Time! And That Can Only Mean ONE Thing...

...vomitous, deep-fried fair food!

Every year over the last few years, the Orange Country Fair in Costa Mesa, CA has introduced some new, weird, deep-fried food.

It's a bare-faced, shameless celebration of FOOD THAT IS BAD FOR YOU. First they take some commonly known junk food such as Twinkies, Oreos, and Coke--and then just to twist the knife a little they deep fry that sucker. Top it off with oh, say, chocolate sauce and powdered sugar and you're good to go. And if they can ram that sucker on a stick, and even better!

The problem is, now every year they have to come up with some new exotic treat, eternally forced to one-up themselves. So we've done the deep fried Oreos...Snickers bars...Twinkies...cheesecake...heck, even Coke, last year. What could POSSIBLY BE LEFT?

Here ya go.

Yeah, baby,
A Chicken & Krispy Kreme Doughnut sandwich!!!

But wait, stop those dry heaves, because that's not all!

Naturally, simply a hunk of chicken on a glazed doughnut isn't vile enough. We need MORE. Add raspberry jelly AND honey!!! Perfection!

As you can see from Chicken Charlie's menu, sadly, health food is not their forte.

Hell, even the promised 'Fresh Veggie Combo' on the far right, initially seeming an oasis of sane food in a freakish sea of grease...has the words, 'Deep Fried!' under it, cruelly yanking away any chance of escaping your arteries hardening. Under that, they laughingly list the innocent vegetables being tortured: asparagus, artichoke hearts, mushrooms and zucchini (Ok, I can actually get behind torturing zucchini). It's scary that the broasted chicken is the healthiest thing on the menu.

At any rate, J. decided to try one. Here it is, in all it's nasty glory.

They missed the 'deep frying' step here, but still, a more unholy union of foods I cannot imagine.

Here he is, trying gamely to swallow the bite he took.

All in all, J.'s verdict was, 'it wasn't bad'. N. opted for the deep fried cheese balls, but we took one look at this one and tried to convince her they were really deep fried slugs. Antennae, ahoy!

I just watched in horrified fascination.