Frankfort Loaded with Abandoned Homes

Posted on 08/03/2012 by Grumpa Joe

Walking the streets of Frankfort, Illinois makes one wonder what is going on. Everywhere, abandoned houses prevail. What is it about my town that causes alien residents to leave perfectly good homes to decay? In the coming weeks the aliens will return to feed off the area. No doubt, they will need new homes. Will they rebuild those abandoned last fall? Not likely. They will scrounge more material and hastily construct new ones. Some will look trashy while others will be neat and trim. Some will decorate the interiors with soft materials for lounging. Most will be under heavy cover and concealed from view.

The aliens arrive from places like Mexico, Costa Rica, Florida,, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Georgia. They come for the great conditions provided them by our Creator. They breed several families during the time they are here, and forage Frankfort to feed them. While they tend to their young, they stay solitary and territorial. When it is time for them to leave they crave socialization in large numbers.

One day, as if by rigid schedule the aliens disappear leaving Frankfort scattered with abandoned homes.

On Charrington Drive

On Old Plank Road Trail

On Pfeiffer Road

A skyscraper on Ginger Lane

This one came stocked with food.

The first alien of spring, freezing his butt off.

Filed under: Birds, family, Garden, Tree of Life | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments »

What is Wrong With This Picture?

Posted on 05/11/2011 by Grumpa Joe

I often brag about my garden titled 2011 Monet Vision. I am proud of the scene I’ve created in my own little piece of the world.

Today, I took another photograph for the record. Wait, what is wrong with the photo? Can you tell? This garden is in Frankfort, IL, and it is November 5. The trees are bare, the tall grasses are brown, many of the shrubs have dropped leaves. Dead foliage lays between plants waiting for me to rake and pile them on the mulch heap. The water lilies are dormant as are all the other aquatic plants. So what is different?

The begonias, marigolds, and lobelia are still blooming. Where is the killing frost? By this time in year’s past we have had a killing frost that would take out  the annuals. My breathing must be extra heavy and I’m exhaling too much carbon dioxide. Yeah that’s it. I’m watching too many young women (anyone under sixty qualifies for that) and they are making my heart go pitter-patter and raising my carbon footprint, thus warming the globe.

Yep, that’s it, too much CO2. I have to put the blinders on to make the weather behave more normally. What is normal for November in Frankfort? I Googled temperature records and learned that in 1977 it reached seventy-seven degrees in November. Wow! In 1977 I drove a VW that got 35 mpg. I must have breathed real heavy to outgas that extra CO2 to warm things up that much. The opposite occurred in 1958, the low temperature dipped to “ZERO.” I must have reversed the process and consumed CO2 during that year to effect Global cooling of that magnitude.

Record highs and lows don’t really give us a clear picture of November weather. Averages do a little better. November average temperatures range from 48F high to 32F low. This November has been slightly higher with more days in the fifties, but I’m sure that will change in a few days. Most likely we will catch up with degree days and freeze with colder temps.

So what does all this have to do with the picture? Nothing, it just means that I got lucky this year and got to see my flowers bloom a little longer than in past years.

Here is what 2011 Monet Vision looked like a few weeks ago.

2011 Monet Vision

Filed under: Garden, Memories, Satire, Warm and Fuzzy | Tagged: , , , , , , | 1 Comment »