Good on ya mates. Staff knows best.
People, Paris has more to offer than just the Louvre. Maybe stay home and help save the planet? And throw away that obscene bucket list.

#Tourism #Travel #Staycation #Paris #Louvre #Bucket List

ALT text: The image depicts a large crowd of people gathered in front of the Louvre Pyramid, a prominent glass and metal structure located in the courtyard of the Louvre Museum in Paris, France. The pyramid is centrally positioned in the image, with its apex pointing upwards. It is surrounded by the historic architecture of the Louvre Museum, visible on both sides of the pyramid. The museum buildings feature ornate facades with numerous windows and decorative elements.

In the foreground, a line of people is seen waiting, with some individuals facing the pyramid and others facing away. The crowd consists of people of various ages and attire, including casual clothing such as t-shirts, shorts, dresses, and hats. Some individuals are carrying backpacks or bags. The ground is paved with large tiles, and the area appears spacious, accommodating the large number of visitors.

“Look at all that driftwood! Let’s build something.” The tourists gather driftwood from the strand and construct a cool fort, castle or palisade. The tourist admires their handiwork and returns home. The story does not end there. A wild animal, child or playful dog wanders into the interesting construct and it collapses on them either killing them, pinning them for a slow death or injuring them while in the case of the child or dog its guardian frantically but methodically disassembles the death trap built by an ignorant tourist. Yes, build a castle or whatever but disassemble the structure before leaving, if not a deadfall trap is left behind to possibly kill or maim an animal or inquisitive child whose parent is too busy on their phone to safeguard their charge.
Leaving the driftwood where it was deposited and let nature continue its roll in mending the planet is a much better way to enjoy the strand/beach. The natural flotsom can be a temporary home for creatures. It is a living beach unlike the groomed and raked beaches at tourist resorts. Don’t know such a beach would be of any interest to an inquisitive mind. No beach combing. No driftwood to admire and pick out all the different faces hiding within. No creatures large and small dead or alive to pique interest in the children who may one day right our follies.
If nothing else destroy the driftwood castle. It’s easy for we are well accomplished in the destruction of the natural world. Let nature carry on.
(Made safe another flotsam fort this morning.)

brightswirl.com/ecological-rol…

#Log Deadfall Traps #Guardian #Dogs #Wildlife #Driftwood #Children #Tourist #Parent

ALT text: The image depicts a beach scene with a structure made of driftwood in the foreground. The structure is composed of various pieces of wood arranged in a conical shape, resembling a teepee. It is situated on sandy terrain, with the sand extending towards the ocean in the background. The ocean is visible with waves breaking near the shore, and the horizon line is clear, separating the sea from the sky. The beach appears expansive, with a wide stretch of sand leading to the water. There are additional pieces of driftwood scattered around the main structure, lying flat on the sand.

Do you block spam calls? Do you know who is calling? Is it important? You can listen to your voice mail.
You may need to actually answer one of them. We learned a semi hard way.

My wife was in hospital for an out patient procedure. Her stay was to last about four hours. So I checked her in took her phone so she wouldn’t have to worry about it and went to the dunes with Dabi for a walk and home for lunch. I still had about two hours before I could pick her up. I then received a call from my son asking if I had heard from Mom. She was waiting for me. WTF! The hospital had called and texted numerous times saying she had been taken early due to cancellations. I never received any notifications due to “blocking unknown calls”.

I had disabled Block Unknown Calls on my iPhone but later found they can still be blocked. Be careful. Your carrier may have controls to block them. That’s what happened to us. Our carrier enabled their block spam protocol. Apparently we were not aware of that capability.
Blocking spam calls can be a dangerous thing. What happens if a loved one is in an accident and an EMT or the hospital calls from an unknown number. If the call is blocked you will never know what has happened. Today I talked to someone who had that happen so they no longer block unknown calls. It could be a life or death situation.

Love this song.

youtu.be/iZndVv-jl-U?si=bXk_s2…

#Spam #PhoneCalls #VoiceMail #Unknown Number #Emergency

Springtime may bring thoughts of the garden. As usual we are late in our planning. Searching for plants to attract hummingbirds brought forth some very interesting “facts”. Apparently most plants suggested by many gardeners and bird enthusiasts to attract the tiny birds may be toxic to them. Beauty doesn’t mean friendly. I found five plants that are supposedly hummingbird safe.

Fuchsia
Columbine
Trumpet vine
Bee balm
Salvia

These sites note poisonous plants to avoid for a hummingbird safe garden. Rather puts a damper on doing the right thing in the garden for hummers. Chemicals produced in these plants may not be that harmful for hummingbirds still partake from this plants but now you know. Would they be healthier if they avoided these plants? Be more tolerant to the changes in climate? Not as simple as I thought. A conundrum.

positivebloom.com/toxic-plants…

wildbirdscoop.com/8-toxic-plan…

birdadvisors.com/hummingbird-p…

So be careful. Stand guard 24/7 to protect the birds and possibly numerous insects and mammals. Now looking for plants toxic to other pollinators which we should avoid.

#Hummingbird #Pollinators #Toxic #Plants #Gardening #Flowers #Chemicals #ClimateChange #Conundrum

I promised myself and wife I would not listen to, read or watch any political news for the next four years so as to keep my sanity and hers. Even with filters the Rump squeezes into my space. So I have embraced the circus with misgivings. There are atrocious happenings that are affecting individuals, companies, governments and policies. Hopefully this is just another blip in history. The consequences this time will truly change the world as we know it in innumerable ways. Some for the better as in new and stronger European alliances and new trading partners around the world. The environment will suffer. But there are individuals and organizations fighting hard to limit the damage being done on many fronts. They are heroes. For years I have said that the peak of USerlandia influence has been waning. The Rump has sped up the decline and even put several more nails in the coffin.
I watch this fiasco with a sadden heart but also at times sit back and chuckle at the greatest buffon the world has ever known. It is not a laughing matter but when given lemons make lemonade and spit the seeds back in his face.

#Politics #Abstinence #Environment #Heroes #Fiasco #Circus #Rump