What Shall We Make Today?

Food 1 Minute

This recipe looks so good, I can’t wait to try it!  Pretzel bark! (NOTE: I did try it–we loved it!)

Ingredients 

12-ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips

8 ounces mini pretzel twists, half of a regular 16-ounce bag

11-ounce bags Kraft Caramel Bits, or homemade caramel

flake finishing salt for sprinkling

Instructions 

Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

Melt Chocolate: Melt 8 ounces of the chocolate chips gently in the microwave (on low heat, stirring every 15 seconds) until smooth. 

Spread chocolate evenly over the parchment. Immediately add pretzel twists over the top (it’s ok if they overlap!) and gently press them into the chocolate. 

Melt caramel: Add caramel bits to a microwave safe bowl with 2 tablespoons water and melt according to package instructions (on high for 2 minutes). Stir well and drizzle melted caramel over pretzels.

Top with remaining chocolate. Melt remaining 4 ounces of chocolate and drizzle over the caramel. Sprinkle with flake salt.

Refrigerate until set. Cut or tear into pieces.

Enjoy!

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Published by pat frederick

Published

126 thoughts on “What Shall We Make Today?”

  1. Morning All!

    sun’s out and it’s 50*, so maybe a nice day on tap. When i took out the feeders I could still hear the water rushing out beyond the pond–there’s a small ravine cut into the ground by water runoff–it’s running high. Yesterday when we got to the stream, it was high–in fact every creek and stream were high!

    see what today brings…

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    1. Morning, Pat! Still partly cloudy here & 62- had a heck of a rainstorm come thru last night. I kept hearing loud banging noises in the wind and figured I’d find things topsy-turvy outside, covers blown off of the lope seedlings, hanging planters down, radio for the internet on the roof blown, etc. But no, nothing was out of place – just had to pour the rainwater out of the Oriole feeders. Still no sign of Wheezer – tbh, I’m thinking he’s on his last legs but we’ll see. He’s disappeared for long periods before but…..he hasn’t eaten anything the last 2 times he’s been here.

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      1. Good morning Filly. Still hoping ole Wheezer makes an appearance. 🐱‍👤 🤞

        Marica abandoning the blog? Heading over to see . . . Ya, you and Rodney keep it running. Take care, I appreciate you!

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      2. Morning Filly!
        that’s so sad about Wheezer!! hope he turns up!
        do you ever think about just getting another cat??
        I think about getting a puppy all the time or adopting one. sigh
        why do you think Marica is giving up???

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        1. I think it was a requirement put on her by her hubby, personally. If not an out-and-out demand, as close to it as you can get. Yes, I’ve considered it but I don’t want the mess or expense any more.

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          1. I do understand setting limits. I try to be here off and on all day till about 6 or so. Then I research/write the opens for next month and try to be off the computer by 7 at the latest. But during the day I am on and off all day–baking, cooking, crafting…

            My hesitation with a puppy is always hubby. he loves dogs and everywhere we encounter one, he pets and plays with it, but he just doesn’t want one here. sigh

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            1. Initially, during the puppy stage, they can be quite difficult & challenging, especialy potty training and chewing on the furniture. The secret is to find an intelligent pup, like a black lab (or blond or brown – any lab), Weimariner (medium size, short coats, smart) golden retriever (long hair, requires regular brushing), schnauzer (my sis had one that went with her in the truck all the time – someone stole her from her yard outside Baltimore) that is just past that puppy stage and already trained. Irish Setters are lovely and loveable but also tend toward being neurotic.

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    2. Good Morning, Pat!

      Sunny, 60ish, south wind. Time for yard mowing before it gets too warm out there 👍

      How nice to hear water rushing in your background. Take care, God bless, enjoy your day!!

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  3. Just The News: “U.S. forces struck missile launch sites in Iran and boats trying to “emplace” mines, a U.S. official said Monday night.

    U.S. Central Command characterized the strikes in southern Iran as defensive and said they were to “protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces,” according to The New York Times.

    “U.S. forces conducted self-defense strikes in southern Iran today to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces,” U.S. Central Command spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins said. “Targets included missile launch sites and Iranian boats attempting to emplace mines. U.S. Central Command continues to defend our forces while using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire.”

    Hawkins also said the strikes were conducted in the area of Bandar Abbas, where Iran’s main naval base is located.

    The U.S. sank two Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ships attempting to lay mines in the Strait of Hormuz and Iran launched surface-to-air missiles at U.S. planes, prompting the U.S. attacks on missile launchers near Bandar Abbas, officials said.”

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  5. Everything has gotten so toxic because of the insane leftists!!!! As for SCOTUS, they’ve put incompetent jurists on the court – WTH did they expect??!!??

    EXCERPT: “America’s political and cultural divisions are increasingly finding their way into the nation’s courtrooms. From bitter jury-room disputes to unusually public clashes among Supreme Court justices, the judiciary – long considered the most restrained and deliberate of America’s institutions – is beginning to reflect the same polarization reshaping much of American public life. 

    Courts were once the federal branch of government least likely to generate headlines for hot tempers or personal attacks. Increasingly, they are starting to look like everything else.

    A Warning Sign From the Jury Box

    A recent Wall Street Journal report by Corinne Ramey offers a striking introduction to the problem. 

    Trial lawyers, jury consultants and courtroom observers are witnessing growing levels of hostility, distrust, and dysfunction among jurors across the country. Deliberations once viewed as difficult but manageable exercises in compromise are, in some cases, devolving into shouting matches, accusations of misconduct, personal threats, and complete breakdowns in consensus.

    At the center of the Journal’s story is a Florida opioid lawsuit involving CVS, Walmart and Walgreens. Jurors deliberating the case reportedly endured two weeks of intense conflict – accusing one another of refusing to follow the law, ripping up presentation materials, improperly conducting outside research using artificial intelligence and even secretly communicating with attorneys. 

    One juror described the atmosphere as “relentless arguing,” while another compared the experience to the classic courtroom drama 12 Angry Men – except without the eventual reconciliation.

    Jury consultants and attorneys increasingly believe these incidents are not isolated episodes, but symptoms of a broader societal fracture. 

    Consultant Laurie Kuslansky told the Journal that “whatever you see in society at large you see in the jury deliberation room,” pointing to pandemic-era isolation and widening political polarization as forces making compromise and consensus more difficult. 

    Survey data collected by law firm Orrick and trial consultant J. Lee Meihls underscores the concern: 57% of surveyed Americans in 2025 said they distrusted the U.S. justice system, while 65% said they would follow personal beliefs or conscience over the law or a judge’s instructions.

    The data from the jury box is significant on its own. But it takes on a different dimension when viewed alongside what has been happening at the very top of the American judicial system.

    The Supreme Court: A Bench Divided…..”

    https://justthenews.com/government/courts-law/juries-justices-americas-courtrooms-are-seeing-decline-civility

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  6. Still working for Israel…..SMH

    JUST THE NEWS: “President Donald Trump said Monday that he has demanded that the leaders of six Muslim countries must join the Abraham Accords if they want to be part of the deal that is currently being negotiated with Iran, which Trump said is “proceeding nicely!”

    Trump stated that demand in a Memorial Day post on Truth Social. He said that during a Saturday phone call, he told the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Pakistan, Turkey, and Jordan that he wants them all to normalize relations with Israel by agreeing to the 2020 Abraham Accords, which were brokered by the U.S. during Trump’s first term as president. 

    https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116635193825443617

    “I stated that, after all the work done by the United States to try and pull this very complex puzzle together, it should be mandatory that all of these Countries, at a minimum, simultaneously, sign onto the Abraham Accords,” the post reads.

    The first two nations that signed on to the accords in September 2020 were the UAE and Bahrain, with Morocco and Sudan following in December and January, according to the New York Post. 

    “It may be possible that one or two have a reason for not doing so, and that will be accepted, but most should be ready, willing, and able to make this Settlement with Iran a far more Historic Event than it would, otherwise, be,” added Trump. He said he is “mandatorily requesting” the concession from those nations.

    “If they don’t, they should not be part of this Deal in that it shows bad intention.”

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    1. i sort of understand this though. he, putin and xi can keep the peace in their parts of the world, but the middle east must agree to keep the peace there–and that means getting along with israel and they must get along with them.

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  7. Just The News: “The Supreme Court has again postponed consideration of President Donald Trump’s request to review the $5 million civil judgment against him in the sexual abuse and defamation case brought by writer E. Jean Carroll.

    The case stems from Carroll’s 2022 federal lawsuit alleging that Trump sexually assaulted her in a Manhattan department store dressing room in 1996 and later defamed her by dismissing her claims as a “hoax.” A jury sided with Carroll in 2023, awarding her $5 million. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld the verdict in late 2024.

    Trump’s appeal to the Supreme Court, filed in November 2025, argues that the trial court improperly allowed testimony from other women who accused him of assault as well as the infamous 2005 Access Hollywood tape. Carroll’s legal team countered that any such evidence did not affect the outcome given the strength of the overall case.

    The petition has been fully briefed since January, but the justices have now rescheduled consideration of the case 11 times, most recently on Wednesday. The court has not provided an explanation for the repeated delays.

    Legal observers have speculated that the postponements could be related to a separate $83 million defamation judgment Carroll won against Trump, which he has indicated he may also ask the Supreme Court to review.

    The justices are currently scheduled to discuss the petition at a private conference Thursday, though the matter could be postponed again.”

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    1. the ridiculousness of her accusations–not knowing what year it took place, no security footage of them together anywhere in the store, not producing the dress “with evidence”, being infatuated with him, and on and on…and him not being able to present evidence….SCOTUS should throw this out.

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  8. Liked by 1 person

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  9. Both were/are absolute scumbags!!!

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  10. Liked by 1 person

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  11. SMDH – Murphy’s Law strikes again! As soon as I say I think Wheezer is gone, I turn to get up and, lo and behold – there he sits! Hunkered down on the patio rug. This time I gave him mostly tuna and he tucked right in. I’ve become a thorough skeptic in my old age!!!

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    1. I’ve always seen you more as a pragmatic person.

      and YAY!!

      the nursery owner yesterday had a tuxedo cat (if i remember that right)…black with the white bow tie marking. he was a male and just the sweetest little guy.

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      1. Ah, yes! A Tuxedo cat! I’ve had a couple of those. Yeah, pragmatic I am but these days, it is seriously straying into skepticism.

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  12. I’m testing a new recipe…Chocolate Caramel Nut Bars. It uses a German Chocolate cake mix, chocolate chips, caramels and nuts. It’s in the oven now, then it has to cool and go in the fridge. We’ll have a verdict after lunch.

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      1. Anything that smells like German Chocolate is going to be delish! That cake, with pecan/coconut frosting, was always the cake I requested for my BD when I was growing up. But then I tried carrot cake with cream cheese frosting as an adult and it has now become my favorite.

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  13. Well, I haven’t seen even one squirrel in my yard since my screamfest day before yesterday so I’ve put the seed block back on the hook. I ordered some squirrel repellant that will be delivered today – we’ll see if that helps when the squirrels show up. I have no doubt they will!!! Somehow, they know!

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      1. It has a very strong smell – peppermint, garlic and wintergreen is what is listed on the package. I put one at the top of the pole where the 2 hooks join and one on a steel stake at the bottom. So far, I’ve not seen any squirrels near it but I’ve hardly seen any in the last couple of days. Fine by me!!!

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  14. 🦖 Scientists Discover A New “T. Rex” Of The Ancient Oceans

    There’s a new apex predator in town:Tylosaurus rex

    A newly identified species of giant mosasaur measuring up to 43 feet long with skull-crushing jaws and serrated teeth. Basically a sea dragon with anger issues. Researchers found evidence that these creatures violently fought each other, which means the ancient oceans were somehow even more terrifying than previously imagined.

    Everything in prehistoric Earth looked like it was designed by a metal album cover artist.

    🔗 Source: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1129235

    🐦 Dead Seabirds Washing Onto California Beaches

    Marine heatwaves along the California coast are now being linked to mass die-offs of seabirds including:

    • pelicans
    • cormorants
    • murres
    • grebes
    • loons

    Ocean temperatures in some areas are reaching 4–8°F above average. Scientists warn the warming waters are disrupting entire marine food webs. The ocean is quietly changing in ways most people never see directly. Until wildlife starts washing ashore.

    🔗 Source: https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2026-05-18/ocean-temperatures-increasing-dead-sea-birds-california-shores

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  15. ☂️ Flying Umbrellas Continue Their Campaign Against Humanity

    A loose umbrella fatally struck a woman in South Carolina. Apparently around 3,000 people are injured by beach umbrellas every year. Humanity survived:

    • ice ages
    • volcanic winters
    • asteroid impacts
    • plague outbreaks

    Only to discover patio furniture has become an apex predator.

    🔗 Source: https://www.wistv.com/2026/05/25/loose-umbrella-fatally-strikes-woman-lake-marion-restaurant-coroner-says/

    🐋 Belugas Pass The Mirror Test

    Scientists now say beluga whales can recognize themselves in mirrors — joining a very small group of animals showing signs of self-awareness. This follows growing evidence that many vertebrates may possess far more advanced cognition than previously believed.

    We continue discovering that consciousness may not be rare at all. Humanity may simply be one weird branch of a much larger intelligent biological network. Which honestly explains dolphins pretty well.

    🔗 Source: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/belugas-can-recognize-themselves-in-mirrors-joining-a-short-list-of-non-human-species-that-show-signs-of-self-awareness-180988783/

    🪨 Woman Carried “Stone Baby” Inside Her Body For 30 Years

    Doctors in Vietnam discovered a calcified fetus — known as a lithopedion or “stone baby” — inside a 76-year-old woman after decades unnoticed. During rare abdominal pregnancies, the body can sometimes encase a deceased fetus in calcium to protect itself from infection.

    The human body is simultaneously:

    • miraculous
    • horrifying
    • efficient
    • deeply unsettling

    Biology remains the greatest body-horror writer of all time.”

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  16. SMDH – it took all of about 5 minutes for the squirrel to return after I hung up the seed block!!!! But at least he hasn’t tried to climb the pole yet – now he’s disappeared, thankfully.

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          1. In ANY car! That’s ridiculous!!! At least a personal car – I can understand race cars but for casual use? No fricking way!!!

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  22. Doing the Dance

    Extraordinary Entrance — meh! Kinda rough!

    Yellow lab, Pat – perfect for you guys!!! Smart, medium size, short haired and a love-bunny!

    Wet and Happy

    Comfortable Corner

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  23. so he’s get to keep raising money and if he decides not to run, does he keep it?
    FTA
    (The Epoch Times)—Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) on May 25 filed to run in 2028 for the same House of Representatives seat he now holds, days after he lost in a primary.
    Massie, 55, submitted paperwork to the Federal Election Commission that lists him as a Republican candidate for Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District.
    “This allows me to raise funds to continue my political operations supporting my position as a current office holder and as a potential candidate for federal office,” Massie wrote in a May post on X. “I haven’t made a final decision about which office to seek, if I run.”

    https://thelibertydaily.com/thomas-massie-files-run-2028-after-losing-primary/

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    1. Technically, no but…..you know how that goes!!!! This is the first link that came up on Google.

      EXCERPT: “When Vice President Kamala Harris raised over $1 billion in just three months for her 2024 presidential campaign, it begged the question: what happens to all that cash when the confetti settles and the race is over?For most candidates, Election Day is not just the end of their political aspirations—it is also the beginning of a complex financial unwinding process that, although is about as exciting as watching paint dry, is also incredibly consequential.

      In the high-stakes poker game of American politics, the house always wins—but the losers don’t get to take their chips home. Instead, they enter a labyrinth of regulations that would make even the most zealous accountant reach for an aspirin. The cornerstone of campaign finance law is crystal clear: no matter how much money you raise, you can’t use it to buy that vacation home you’ve been eyeing. The Federal Election Commission (“FEC”) prohibits candidates from converting campaign funds to personal use—a rule that has remained consistent even as other campaign finance regulations have evolved over time.

      Not surprisingly, the biggest rule for these funds is “no personal use.” However, this was not always the case. Before 1989, retiring federal lawmakers could pocket extra cash for whatever personal luxuries they desired, from new cars to pet grooming services. The Ethics Reform Act slammed that particular piggy bank shut. Now, candidates who find themselves with a cash surplus after the ballots are counted have several legal options: pay off any campaign debts and expenses (a priority for most), return contributions to donors (rarely the first choice), donate to charitable organizations (popular with retiring politicians), transfer funds to political party committees (no limits here!), contribute to other candidates (up to $2,000 per election), convert the campaign committee to a Political Action Committee, or keep those dreams alive and save the funds for a future campaign…..”

      https://www.avemarialaw.edu/when-the-race-ends/

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  24. my goodness. there is so much chatter about the iran deal…everyone claims it’s a bad deal for the US…too much $$ for iran…they’ll cheat anyway. sigh.

    they all claim to know what’s what, but they don’t know. but there’s currently no other news happening in the world it would seem.

    it’s all speculation!

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  25. Stephen Gardner
    @StephenGardnerX
    https://x.com/overton_news/s
    tatus/2059316322127777922/video/1
    https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/17.0.2/svg/1f6a8.svg WHOA: A New York Magazine correspondent stunned CNN after revealing Trump’s Walter Reed doctors told him Trump was healthier than Obama was in office.

    Ben Terris said one doctor answered “without skipping a beat” when asked who was healthier.

    CNN’s narrative instantly fell apart on live TV.

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  26. Phew, is it ever hot out there – 88 and I was working in the sun! I checked on my cantelope and I’ve got 10 plants that have come up! I’ll be giving a LOT of lopes away this year!!! It was time to take the hot-houses off but I had to rig up some screens to keep the bunnies from eating the seedlings. I have a big roll of screening material – Gage used some of it to replace the torn west window. I also still have the metal decorative fencing that used to be down the length of my front flower bed. So I zip-tied 3 of them together (2 sets – I already have the tomato cages with screening attached for the first 2 hills) and attached screening with zip ties – perfect! The sun will get thru and no bunnies causing issues. A seedling is beginning to peak thru on the 5th hill so I put one of the hot-houses over it – no loss if it doesn’t come up.

    I came inside and turned on the A/C, then saw the flashing “replace batteries.” Thankfully, I just bought some AA batteries this week-end. The A/C didn’t come on so I flipped the breaker and waited about 5 minutes, then flipped it back. Sure glad it came on – it would take a couple of days to get anyone out here to get it running.

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      1. Yeah, you’ve had a lot more rain than we have here, altho it rained a good bit last night. It was a little muddy but not too bad.

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        1. our pond is still muddy…a lot of ground washed in. BUT on the up side…the cattails certainly took a beating last fall when the pond was lower and hubby mowed a bunch down with the pole saw. doesn’t seem like many are coming up!! FINGERS CROSSED!

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      1. It IS legal to send it thru the mail as long as it’s not been cut and is dry. It would be better if I send them when they are still slightly green, I’m guessing. Let me know if you want some…..IF they produce as I expect.

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  27. “Uranium One and Iran”

    Clandestine, May 26, 2026

    “We were promised the US uranium from Uranium One would never leave the US, but it did. Some was sent to Canada, which was then sent to Europe and Asia, namely the UK, France, Germany, and Japan. After that, we don’t (officially) know where it went. Uranium laundering.

    I think Trump’s animosity towards Canada/EU/NATO, might have something to do with Uranium One. He’s been showing us they aren’t our allies for a reason. He’s been backing away from NATO for a reason. Trudeau feared Trump for a reason.

    This also might explain why the EU/NATO have been unwilling to help with Iran. They don’t want Trump to succeed, because if it turns out that Iran got their hands on US uranium from Uranium One, it wouldn’t just be Obama and his administration who are responsible, Europe and Canada have dirt on their hands also.

    Obviously Russia played a role as well via Rosatom, and perhaps this is why they have offered to take the enriched uranium in Iran.

    I think it’s safe to say Iran is about much more than just Iran. This potentially implicates multiple heads of state around the globe. The biggest crime in history.”

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  28. Idiots should have changed it to inside when they saw the forecast the day before! But, then, this is Tennessee so…..🙄😏😣🤨

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  29. Just The News: “The GOP-led South Carolina Senate voted down a measure that would have advanced a new congressional map. The vote brings to an end a last-minute redistricting effort in the state. 

    President Donald Trump urged lawmakers to pass a redrawn map, which would have eliminated the state’s single majority-Black district, NBC News reported. 

    Earlier this month, Senate Republicans refused to take up the proposal as part of the regular session, showing reluctance to redraw the state’s congressional districts. In the face of pressure from national Republicans and the White House, Gov. Henry McMaster called a special session for the Senate to consider the measure. 

    The South Carolina House approved the map last week, and supporters hoped to have the new map in place for this year’s midterm elections.”

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  30. whoa…very touching that she personally responded.

    comment image

    Tulsi Gabbard https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/svg/1f33a.svg

    @TulsiGabbard

    It was an honor to visit your husband’s grave today on your behalf, and to pay my respects. It was wonderful to see the beautiful flowers representing many others who did the same. Our nation owes a debt of gratitude to those who made the ultimate sacrifice, and to the loved ones they left behind. Thank you for your service and sacrifice
    @SharrellAnne2
    https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/svg/1f64f-1f3fd.svg

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  33. while i was exercising, I looked out, down the driveway. one side is mowed up to the treeline, the other side has a large patch unmowed (hubby keeps it that way). the deer hide their babies in there in the spring and the buck like to go there in the fall.

    I saw a mama doe and her little one! Barely sticking his head above the weeds and such. mama nudged him down and crossed the driveway probably for grass and the pond. We knew there was a pregnant doe visiting the salt block every morning just as we were getting up. It’ll be a while before she brings him out in the open.

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  35. “At The Ritz-Carlton, Rancho Mirage, guests arrived expecting the usual symbols of luxury – polished doors, elegant service, and a flawless resort experience. But one tiny visitor changed the rhythm of the entire entrance.

    A hummingbird had built her delicate nest right on an exterior door handle, choosing one of the most unlikely places at a high-end hotel to protect and raise her young. Instead of removing it, ignoring it, or treating it as an inconvenience, the hotel did something quietly beautiful – they closed the entrance, redirected guests, and placed a sign asking people to use another door so the little bird could remain safe.

    In a place built around comfort, prestige, and five-star service, everything paused for a creature small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. The moment went viral because it said something bigger than the scene itself – that real elegance is not just marble floors, perfect service, or luxury details, but knowing when to step aside for life. For once, the grand entrance belonged not to guests, but to a hummingbird and her tiny nest.

    The choice matches U.S. wildlife protections, which keep hummingbirds and their fragile nests safe from being disturbed. These nests are very small and easy to damage. If they are disturbed, they are often left behind. So keeping them safe is the best option when one shows up.”

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  38. “In 1921, the USS R-14 left Pearl Harbor on a straightforward mission: find a missing tugboat somewhere in the vast Pacific Ocean. About 100 miles out, the submarine ran out of fuel. The diesel engines shut down. The batteries began draining. Radio communication went silent. The vessel sat in open ocean with limited food, no mechanical power, and no realistic prospect of anyone knowing exactly where to look for them.

    Most crews in that situation would have done one thing: wait and hope. The crew of the R-14 decided to try something else. They looked at what they had. Mattress covers. Blankets. Spare canvas from the boat’s interior. Poles. The periscope supports mounted on the deck. None of it was designed for what they were about to attempt. None of it needed to be. They were not building something elegant. They were building something that worked.

    They fashioned makeshift sails from the fabric, mounted them onto poles and rigged them to the periscope supports, and turned a vessel specifically engineered to operate underwater using mechanical propulsion into something that had not existed before and has not existed since: a sailing submarine. The wind caught the sails. The R-14 began to move.

    It was not fast. It was not graceful. A submarine is not built with hydrodynamics in mind for surface sailing, and the improvised rigging would not have impressed anyone who knew anything about seamanship. But it moved. Slowly, steadily, in the right direction.

    The crew took turns managing the sails and navigating their course back toward Hawaii. They did this for five days. Five days of coaxing a submarine across the Pacific using nothing but wind, ingenuity, and the stubborn refusal to accept that they were stuck.

    On the fifth day, the USS R-14 returned to Pearl Harbor under sail power.

    The mission to find the missing tugboat had not been completed. But every man on board had come home, and they had done it using mattress covers and determination A submarine is not a sailboat. But 100 miles from Hawaii, with the engines dead and the radio silent and the ocean stretching out in every direction, close enough turned out to be exactly enough. They sailed home. Five days. One improvised rig. No fuel required.

    The USS R-14 remains, by any reasonable measure, the only submarine in the history of naval warfare to return to port under sail. It is unlikely to be surpassed.”

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  39. “Smoky was found in a foxhole in New Guinea in Feb 1944. The American thought she must have been a Japanese soldier’s dog, but when he took her to a POW camp, they found out she didn’t understand commands in Japanese or English. The soldier sold Smoky to Cpl. William Wynne of Cleveland OH for 2 dollars Australian.

    Over the next two years Wynne carried Smoky in his backpack, fought in the jungles of Rock Island and New Guinea, flew 12 air/sea rescue. She survived 150 air raids on New Guinea and made it through a typhoon at Okinawa, made a combat jump in Lingayen Gulf, Luzon in a parachute made for her. She would warn G.I.’s of incoming artillery and was dubbed the “angel from a foxhole.”

    Early in retaking the Philippines, combat engineers were setting up a telegraph line to an airfield. The joints collapsed filling them in with sand. Cpl. Wynne knew that Smoky could climb through the pipe with a new line and that is what she did. Smoky’s work saved approximately 250 ground crewmen from having to move around and keep operational 40 fighters and reconnaissance planes, while a construction detail dug up the taxiway, placing the men and the planes in danger from enemy bombings. What would have been a dangerous three-day digging task to place the wire was instead completed in minutes.

    In her down time, she preformed tricks with the Special Services to improve the moral of the troops and visited hospitals in Australia and Korea. Visiting with the sick and wounded, she became the first recorded “therapy dog.”

    After the war she became a sensation back in the states, had a live TV show, and often visited Veterans’ hospitals. Smoky’s work as a therapy dog continued for 12 years. Wynne had Smokey 14 years before she passed away. He buried her in a 30 caliber ammo box in Rocky River Reservation, Ohio.

    Smoky, the smallest war hero, weighing in at 4 lbs even and standing 7 inches tall.”

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  40. May 26, 1896: Nicholas II Is Crowned Czar Of Russia

    Nicholas II and his family, all of whom were eventually executed after the Russian Revolution.

    Nicholas II becomes the czar of Russia, a position he would hold for more than 20 years until his dramatic abdication. The last Russian czar, Nicholas was unpopular among many Russians for his resistance to reform and his ineffectual rule along with suspicions about the influence of Rasputin. In November 1917, Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks seized power, and Nicholas and his family were executed less than a year later.

    Tsar Nicholas II was the last emperor of Russia, reigning from November 1, 1894, until his abdication on March 15, 1917. His rule marked the end of the 304-year Romanov dynasty.

    Early Life and Family

    Birth: May 18, 1868, in Tsarskoye Selo, Russia.

    Parents: Tsar Alexander III and Maria Fyodorovna (Dagmar of Denmark).

    Marriage: Married Princess Alexandra of Hesse in 1894.

    Children: Had four daughters—Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia—and one son, Alexei, who suffered from hemophilia.

    Reign and Challenges

    Nicholas II’s reign faced significant challenges:

    Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905): His confidence in victory led to a disastrous defeat, which sparked domestic unrest.

    1905 Revolution: Resulted in the establishment of the Duma, a legislative body, but Nicholas retained autocratic control.

    World War I: His decision to take command of the army in 1915 led to further military failures and loss of public support.

    Abdication and Death

    Abdication: Forced to abdicate during the February Revolution in 1917 due to widespread discontent and loss of military support.

    Execution: Nicholas II and his family were executed by the Bolsheviks on July 17, 1918, in Yekaterinburg, marking the end of the Romanov dynasty.

    Legacy

    Nicholas II is often viewed as a well-intentioned but ineffective ruler, whose inability to adapt to the changing political landscape contributed to the fall of the Russian Empire. His reign is a significant chapter in Russian history, reflecting the complexities of autocracy and revolution.

    Coronation of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia in 1896

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  44. No squirrels so far – there was one earlier about 6′ from the pole but none have tried to get to either of the block feeders.

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  45. Tironianae Z. – Ultra Verbum Vincet
    @Tironianae
    https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/17.0.2/svg/1f6a8.svg BREAKING. Scott Bessent just announced the Internal Revenue Service is launching MASSIVE AUDITS of financial institutions that facilitated the laundering of Minnesota funds.

    Read that again.

    Banks. MSBs. Financial middlemen.
    Anyone who helped move dirty money is about to get TORCHED.

    For once, the IRS is being deployed FOR AMERICANS FIRST — not against working families.

    Follow the money.
    Audit everything.
    Prosecute whoever broke the law.

    Music to my ears.
    Thank you, Sec. Bessent. https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/17.0.2/svg/1f1fa-1f1f8.svg

    FOLLOW ME, THE NEXT DROP WILL BE SHOCKING

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  46. The law needs to stop these damned people!!!! Even better would be if parents pulled their heads out of their asses and did some fricking research before subjecting their children to this insanity!!!

    “Consultants Push HPV Vaccines for Infants, as Merck Tests Gardasil in Kids as Young as 4

    Consultants paid by Merck and the Gates Foundation want to give HPV vaccines to infants and toddlers. Meanwhile, in a trial that has no unvaccinated control group and a safety monitoring window of just three days, Merck is testing Gardasil on children ages 4-8. Lucija Tomljenović, Ph.D., author of more than a dozen peer-reviewed papers on the vaccine, called the trial “completely useless for any meaningful evaluation of HPV vaccine safety.”

    by Brenda Baletti, Ph.D., May 26, 2026

    scared baby and merck vaccine

    EXCERPT: “Consultants paid by Merck and the Gates Foundation are publicly advocating to administer HPV vaccines to children as young as 12-24 months — an age group in which the vaccine has never been tested and for which no safety data exist.

    Mark Kane and Eduardo Franco laid out the campaign to extend HPV vaccination to toddlers in an opinion piece published in Clinical Infectious Diseases — an official journal of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA).

    Merck, a “Silver” level industry partner, donates tens of thousands of dollars annually to the IDSA foundation.

    The push to vaccinate younger children comes as Merck — maker of Gardasil, the only HPV vaccine marketed in the U.S. — partners with major universities to run clinical trials of its HPV vaccine in children ages 4-8 in the U.S. and Gambia.

    Merck’s Gardasil vaccine is designed to protect against human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted disease. In the U.S., the drug is approved for children starting at age 9 — well before children are sexually active.

    Conflicts of interest ‘so thick’ they obscure the science

    In the conflict-of-interest statement at the end of the IDSA op-ed, Franco disclosed that he is a vaccine consultant who also holds a patent on a cervical cancer test.

    Kane reported no conflicts of interest. However, that claim omits these significant financial and professional credentials:

    • Kane is the former director of the Bill & Melinda Gates Children’s Vaccine Program.
    • Kane worked at the Gates-affiliated PATH organization.
    • Kane was a consultant for Merck.
    • Kane sat on the Merck Global Advisory Board for HPV

    “The conflicts are so thick it’s impossible to tell if this is a serious immunization policy suggestion, or a fact-pattern of Merck publishing Merck recommendations to use more Merck products,” said Karl Jablonowski, Ph.D., senior research scientist for Children’s Health Defense (CHD)…..”

    https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/merck-tests-gardasil-in-kids-as-young-as-4-gates-foundation-hpv-vaccine/

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    1. it’s terrible that people blindly trust doctors. I used to, but then i gave it some thought. I know asshole truck drivers, stupid cops, arrogant lawyers…and so on. so why the reverence for doctors? they can be assholes as well.

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      1. And corrupt! I’ve questioned doctors since HB was only a few months old in 1980 and they wanted to do invasive surgery on the base of her skull becuase her head was growing faster than normal. I put my foot down and said no, we’ll wait. The next check-up: everything was normal. Bastids!!!

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  47. Phew! Another 90+ day with bright sunshine and light wind. I need to mow again but not today! Still going to be 90 tomorrow and 87 on Thursday. Calling for only 79 Friday and partly cloudy. Much better day to mow!!! I’ll probably make my WM run early on Thursday, before the heat moves in.

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