Survivor: Cagayan - 'Chaos is My Friend' Blog Party - April 30

Well, Tony has that special hidden idol with the power to be used AFTER the votes are revealed. It's quite possible, with the way he's been playing the game, that he just might be forced to use it tonight. I guess we'll see!

As the show airs here on the East Coast, I'll update this entry with the major happenings. Refresh the page to get the latest news! But, as you all know by now, the real party is in the comments area. Come watch the show with us!

The latest blog pool standings from the esteemed Lifeguard Laurie:

Pool People
Jefra Bland - David, Sharon S.
Jeremiah Wood - LostChyld
Kass McQuillen -Delee, MikesGirl
Spencer Bledsoe - Becky and Monty924
Tasha Fox - DKNYNC, Rochelle
Tony Viachos - Lynn1, Zoetawny
Trisha Hegarty - Jackie
Woo Hwang - Laurie, SueGee

Jury People 
Sarah Lacina
Morgan McLeod
LJ McKanas

Survivor fans ready?

Tonight is the traditional food auction. Tasha, Tony and Spencer are all waiting out the food for the advantage which should be offered. If they bid the entire $500 on the advantage, they will need to draw rocks. Spencer and Tony draw rocks. Tony draws black and wins the advantage.

Tony's advantage isn't for the Immunity Challenge -- it's a clue to another idol.

Tony has the hidden idol. He showed it to all in his alliance, hoping any blindsiding thoughts would end.

Immunity Challenge time! Digging up five bags in sand, retrieve five balls from them, table maze. Ho-hum. 

Tasha wins Immunity AGAIN! 

Tony thinks the girls are in an alliance and the guys need to target Jefra. Woo, Spencer and Tasha are on board with the plan. When Spencer goes off to look for the special power idol, Tony starts having second thoughts.

Tony pulls out his idol and wears it on a necklace -- the normal idol, not the secret power one. 

The tally --
Spencer, Jefra, Spencer, Jefra, Spencer, Jefra, Jefra. 

Spencer lives to face another day and Tony's latest plan (Spencer's plan) worked.

The Amazing Race All-Stars: 'Accidental Alliance' Blog Party - April 28

Oh my ... it looks like three teams are going to team up against Brenchal. Too bad, so sad. Although they have been running a good race for the most part and are definitely more bearable in their latest 15 minutes of CBS reality show fame, I wouldn't be heartbroken if they were knocked off the racetrack!

As the show airs  ... and it's actually airing ON TIME here this week ... I'll update this entry with the major happenings. Refresh the page to get the latest! As always, the party is in the comments area. Come watch the show with us!

Here are the latest blog pool standings going into tonight's episode:
Jen & Caroline - Lynn1, Buzzmaam, DLA
Dave & Connor - Becky, Auntie Leigh, Rochelle
Brendon & Rachel (Brenchal) - Terry in TX, Brian
Cord & Jet (Cowboys) - ML, Nana in NW, Delee
Leo & Jamal (Afghanimals) - Jackie, Jennamom, Merrilee

Philiminated --
Mark & Mallory - SueGee, jonMD1627, Margo
Joey & Meghan - Brenda, Zoetawny, Dusty
Margie & Luke - Donna in AL, Monty924, PDXGranny
Jessica & John - Sharon S, David, Rbennie
Flight Time & Big Easy - Laurie, Donna in FL, nicklepeed

Teams are on their way to Switzerland. Uh-oh. All the teams are on one train except for Jet and Cord. They got lost and are on the next one.

Rachel quote: "Who needs friends?"

There's a bunching point at the William Tell clue and the cowboys show up. Now they're driving to Luzern. Heh. Brenchal got lost.

Teams have to rehab hotel rooms wrecked by rock stars. Um. Okay. Brenchal is still lost. All the other teams are at the hotel. Brenchal is now there. The cowboys finish first, then the Afghanimals. Now the girls and Dave/Connor are also on their way. Brenchal remains last.

Teams have to guess what a huge doohickey was used for (to drill a tunnel). Then they must figure out the year of their product placement Ford Mustang.

Cowboys still in the lead. Followed by Dave/Connor.

Roadblock has them delivering milk via dog sled and gondola.

Apparently there is no Detour tonight. It's the cowboys in the lead closely followed by Dave/Connor. Gah. Brenchal is now in third place. Oh my gosh, Dave and Connor have taken over the lead! The Afghanimals, Dave/Connor and Cowboys are now all bunched up in a gondola heading to the pit stop. I think the girls are still stuck at the Roadblock.

Pit Stop:
1. DAVE AND CONNOR! They won a 2015 Mustang/
2. Jet and Cord
3. Leo and Jamal
4. Brenchal

The girls are still at the Roadblock.

It's a non-Philimination leg. Jennifer and Caroline are still in it!

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - April 27, 2014

Good morning! It's Sunday. You know what that means. Welcome to my weekly off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photographs I've taken along the way. Later on tonight, I'll be posting The Amazing Race blog party. If you watch the show, come watch with us!

This past week? Let's see ...

It was definitely one of the better ones as of late. The severe cold or whatever it was I had finally stopped. I only had a four-day work week as I had requested a vacation day for Saturday due to expected train issues. And, on Friday morning, a local taxi driver saw me walking and gave me a free ride to the train station as he was heading to his office and I'm a "nice lady." He was one of the regular drivers I used over the winter when the sidewalks were so dangerous. That made my day!

I'm sure many of you will be upset to hear I have no snake photos again this week. Apparently the location at the Bridgewater Train Station might have been some kind of birthing den and they've moved on. It wasn't a good place for the garter snakes anyway -- too close to people. It was good for me as I got to take photos of them. But they need to be away from people.

Our weather here still isn't really "normal." Some of the flowering trees, such as the magnolias, have suffered from the overnight freezes. The gingko trees are just starting to develop leaves. I looked at photos I took in previous years and, every year, things were in full bloom by now with all the leaves on the trees.

Onto the photos for the week -- clicking on an image will lead you to a Photobucket page of the shot, clicking on the magnifying glass at the bottom right of the photo will make it larger. You can make it larger twice. To return to the blog, just close out the Photobucket window.

Welcome

Welcome to the middle of town, that is. This new electronic sign has been erected on the grounds of Plainfield's Municipal Court and Police Department. I think they were testing it as I watched. It rotated between this welcome and advertisements for the sign company. Then it went into the temperature in blue, jumping randomly from 69 to 73 degrees. Then my bus came. Corner of Watchung Avenue and Court Place.

Even more welcoming

Church Street (Plainfield) in the sunrise hour of a spring morning.

Also quite welcoming

Tulips in a planter on a porch on Berckman Street in Plainfield. I showed the other planter last week.

**CLICK THE 'READ MORE' LINK TO SEE THE REST OF THE PHOTOS**

Survivor: Cagayan - 'Sitting in my Spy Shack' Blog Party - April 23

Every week I've wondered if Tony's doings might be his undoing in the game. This week isn't any different. Perhaps it's even more likely that his paranoia and need to control the game will be his undoing tonight. We'll see.

As the show airs here on the East Coast, I'll post the major updates right in this post. Refresh the post to get the latest! As always, the real party will be in the comments area -- come watch the show with us!

The latest blog pool standings from that Lively and Lovely Lifeguard Laurie:

Pool People
Jefra Bland - David, Sharon S.
Jeremiah Wood - LostChyld
Kass McQuillen -Delee, MikesGirl
Spencer Bledsoe - Becky and Monty924
Tasha Fox - DKNYNC, Rochelle
Tony Viachos - Lynn1, Zoetawny
Trisha Hegarty - Jackie
Woo Hwang - Laurie, SueGee

Jury People
Sarah Lacina
Morgan McLeod
LJ McKanas

Survivor fans ready?

Tony makes himself a spy shack, reminding me of Tom Sawyer sneaking back to check out his own funeral.

Reward challenge has them divided into two teams of four. They have to row out, collect paddles, solve a puzzle. Tasha, Jefra, Spencer and Jeremiah are on one team. The other is Woo, Tony, Trisha and Kass. Reward is a picnic style lunch with chicken and chocolate chip cookies (amongst other things).

Tasha, etc. win reward. It's set in a stunning cave. The rewards crowd try to bring Jefra into their alliance and they all agree Tony needs to go. Oh! Jefra got a letter from her mother! Tears, tears. It's a SIGN! A final four pact is made.

Immunity Challenge time! Stand on a narrow beam while balancing a ball. Move to a more narrow beam. Last person standing wins. It's down to Woo, Tasha and Spencer. Woo is down. Tasha wins!

Tony knows he's in trouble. He scrambled looking for "iconic landmarks" for the hidden idol with special powers. And ... he found it. I swear he almost wet his pants!

The Tony alliance draws Jefra back into the fold. Silly Jefra tells Jeremiah.  Jeremiah lets go with his big secret that he's a fashion model. @@ Spencer tells Tash and Jeremiah that he has an idol.

Spencer plays his idol.



Votes: Woo, Woo, Woo, Jeremiah, Jeremiah, Jeremiah, Jeremiah, 

Jeremiah is gone.

Tony pretended he had a fake idol.

The Amazing Race All-Stars: 'Donkeylicious' Blog Party - April 20

Sure, it's the Easter holiday evening and many people may be partaking in family or church doings and the show is actually starting on time tonight. Go figure.

As the show airs here on the East Coast, I'll update this entry with the major happenings. Refresh the page to get the latest! I'm not sure how well attended tonight's party will be due to the holiday, but please join us in the comments section for some good times!

The latest blog pool standings from the Magnificent Margo are as follows:

Flight Time & Big Easy - Laurie, Donna in FL, nicklepeed
Jen & Caroline - Lynn1, Buzzmaam, DLA
Dave & Connor - Becky, Auntie Leigh, Rochelle
Brendon & Rachel (Brenchal) - Terry in TX, Brian
Cord & Jet (Cowboys) - ML, Nana in NW, Delee
Leo & Jamal (Afghanimals) - Jackie, Jennamom, Merrilee

Philiminated --
Mark & Mallory - SueGee, jonMD1627, Margo
Joey & Meghan - Brenda, Zoetawny, Dusty
Margie & Luke - Donna in AL, Monty924, PDXGranny
Jessica & John - Sharon S, David, Rbennie

Let's RACE! Teams are driving to find their next clue. Jennifer/Caroline and Dave/Connor are working together. Brenchal, since winning the last leg, are in the lead. This is the last chance for Jet and Cord to use their Express Pass. And, of course, there is a double U-Turn ahead.

Detour: Donkey Run has the teams in a donkey race. Donkey Build has the teams building a donkey out of wood and delivering it. Brenchal finishes, still in the lead.

Gah, Brendan wants to U-Turn Dave and Connor! Rachel wanted to do the cowboys. Brendan won. Gah. Dave/Connor said they needed to U-Turn someone. They let the cowboys survive and U=Turned the Afghanimals. They told them and apologized.

Roadblock: Who's got the write stuff? The team member has to copy old style writings perfectly.

While the two teams U-Turned have their own problems, it's the Globetrotters who seem hopelessly lost right now.

Heh. The Globetrotters are finally at the Detour. Big Easy is almost crushing his donkey! They have to switch detours. They're still running in last place.

Sigh. Brenchal is on the way to the Pit Stop. The Globetrotters finally finished the Detour after switching back to riding the donkeys.

The Pit Stop --
1. Brendan and Rachel - won $7,500 each.

Eek! Connor doesn't think he can finish the Roadblock and wants to take a penalty! No, don't do it, Connor! Wow! The Afghanimals helped Dave and Connor!

2. Jet and Cord
3. Leo and Jamal
4. Dave and Connor
5. Jennifer and Caroline
6. Flight Time and Big Easy -- Philiminated

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - Easter Sunday, April 20, 2014

Happy Easter Sunday morning to all! If you celebrate the holiday, I hope it's a fantastic day for you. Heck, even if you don't celebrate the day, I still hope it's fantastic! Since it is indeed Sunday, this is my weekly off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photos I've taken along the way.

Tonight, despite the holiday, there is a new episode of The Amazing Race airing. At approximately 8om EDT, I'll have the blog party post up for it.

This week took us from summer to winter and then back to spring here in the Greater NYC Metropolitan area. Right now we're back to spring here. Hopefully that will stay for a while now!

As this post is quite photo-heavy, I'm going to get onto those right now. Some of you will be happy to know I don't have any snake photos this week!

It's the Easter Bunny!

Yes! I found the REAL Easter Bunny yesterday morning on my walk to the train station! He was hiding eggs on the grounds of the Presbyterian Church on East Front Street in Plainfield. I was surprised that the Easter Bunny was hiding his ears under a retro-Afro!

Yes, tulips

Folks on Berckman Street in Plainfield placed a couple of planters of gorgeous tulips out on their porch. I think they must have brought them in at night when we had the freeze warnings as they held up so well through our wintry temperatures this past week.

After sunset last night

The skies looked as pretty as Easter egg pastels last night as I was arriving home from work. This shot looks down Watchung Avenue from the intersection with East Fourth Street in Plainfield.

Has he found an Easter egg?

Nope, but he has an acorn! East Front Street, Plainfield.

**CLICK THE 'READ MORE' LINK TO SEE THE REST OF THE PHOTOS**

Survivor: Cagayan - 'Bag of Tricks' Blog Party - April 16

Hey there, Survivor fans! Are you ready for tonight? Will Tony find his name written down a lot of times once again? I think he's going to get to the point where, unless he wins immunity, all will turn on him soon. That said, I do think he's playing a good game. But he's got a huge target on his back, methinks.

As the show airs here, I'll update this entry with the major happenings. Refresh the page to get the latest! However, as it always goes, the real party is down in the comments area. Come join us to discuss the happenings as the show airs!

The latest blog pool update from Lifeguard Laurie:

Jefra Bland - David, Sharon S.
Jeremiah Wood - LostChyld
Kass McQuillen - Delee, MikesGirl
LJ McKanas - Lorraine, ML
Spencer Bledsoe - Becky and Monty924
Tasha Fox - DKNYNC, Rochelle
Tony Viachos - Lynn1, Zoetawny
Trisha Hegarty - Jackie
Woo Hwang - Laurie, SueGee

Jury- Sarah Lacina, Morgan McLeod

Ah, the show has begun. Tony thinks he can turn everyone against LJ to get the heat off himself. I wonder how that will go.

The reward challenge has them dividing into teams of three, throwing sandbags, then trying to bounce the sandbags into baskets. It's a spa reward with a nice lunch, too.

Tony, Jeremiah and Spencer win Reward!

Uh-oh, LJ thinks Tony is loyal to him. Kasha would like to flip LJ and blindside Tony. But LJ thinks he owes his life in the game to Tony. Meanwhile, Tony keeps plotting against LJ.

Immunity challenge time! They're getting their memories tested by repeating back the colors of tiles shown to them. Hmm. Gah. Trish got the second color of four wrong and is out. Woo is next out on the third color.

LJ, Tasha and Tony are the last three. Tasha wins Immunity!

Tony is scheming to get rid of LJ, but Trish wants the alliance of six to stay. Going into tribal, Tony seems to be reconsidering his position.

Interesting tribal, but no fireworks.

The tally -- LJ, LJ, LJ, Jeremiah, Jeremiah, Jeremiah, Spencer, LJ, LJ.

LJ says, "Well played" to Tony as he goes to get his torch snuffed.

The Amazing Race All-Stars: 'The Gladiators Are Here!' Blog Party - April 13

Last week the country music award show preempted TAR, this week we're competing time-wise against a big golf tournament. I do have a golf channel on my cable line-up. I've watched it never.

Amazingly, tonight's episode is only going to be delayed about twelve minutes here in the NYC viewing area. Once it starts, I'll update this entry with the major happenings. Refresh this page to get the latest! Of course, as always, the real party is in the comments area. Come watch the show with us!

The latest blog pool standings from the Magnificent Margo. Remember, last time it was a the second non-Philimination --

Flight Time & Big Easy - Laurie, Donna in FL, nicklepeed
Jen & Caroline - Lynn1, Buzzmaam, DLA
Dave & Connor - Becky, Auntie Leigh, Rochelle
Brendon & Rachel (Brenchal) - Terry in TX, Brian
Jessica & John - Sharon S, David, Rbennie
Cord & Jet (Cowboys) - ML, Nana in NW, Delee
Leo & Jamal (Afghanimals) - Jackie, Jennamom, Merrilee

Philiminated --
Mark & Mallory - SueGee, jonMD1627, Margo
Joey & Meghan - Brenda, Zoetawny, Dusty
Margie & Luke - Donna in AL, Monty924, PDXGranny

Teams must fly from Sri Lanka to the "Eternal City." The Eternal City is Rome, but they need to figure that out. All the teams are on the same flight.

Detour - Gladiator or Charioteer. Done with the Coliseum in the background. The first is successfully learning gladiator moves, the second is by remote control.

Caroline and Jennifer have to complete their Speed Bump, retrieving a typewriter, finding where it goes and placing it on a pedestal. Yawn.

Brendon and Rachel are in the lead, starting off the Roadblock first. Lots of thinking, calculating, Roman numerals, etc. It's good thing Brendon is doing it, not Rachel! Brendon nailed it on the first try and they're heading to the Pit Stop. Dave and Connor are starting the Roadblock. The other teams are mainly lost.

Pit Stop --
1. Brendon and Rachel - won a trip for two to Australia's Great Barrier Reef and the Cayman Islands.

Dave/Connor are working with Caroline/Jennifer on the Roadblock.

2. Caroline and Jennifer
3. Dave and Connor (let the girls take second)
4. Jet and Cord

Leo and Jamal gave the Globetrotters and John/Jessica the answer at the Roadblock.

5. Leo and Jamal
6. Globetrotters
7. Jessica/John Philiminated after losing the foot race to the Pit Stop.

Next week teams will face a Double U-Turn. Eep.

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - April 13, 2014

I hope everyone is having a great Sunday morning! The weather here today is perfect -- dry, clear skies and an expected high around 70 degrees. Now, THAT is my kind of weather! Since it is Sunday morning, it's time for my off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photographs I've taken along the way.

Yet, I must mention a television bit first! Although I expect tonight's The Amazing Race show to be delayed due to the Master's Golf Tournament (whatever), I'll be posting the blog party post at 8pm EDT. If you watch the show, please come by and watch with us!

It finally turned spring here this past week. No winter temperatures, even the chill of the night time was no lower than the 40s. It's about time! The horrid winter this year wreaked havoc with my health. I can't believe a four-month bout with sciatica. Gah. My allergies are running rampant now. But that's a lot more bearable than sciatica and over the counter medicines actually can control it.

Spring fever seemed to affect co-workers with many calling out sick this past week. I really didn't feel well myself with the allergies and the lack of sleep caused by such. But I wasted too much of my paid time off this winter. So, I worked. And worked and worked. Sigh.

I'm not seeing the multitudes of snakes at the Bridgewater Train Station like I did when they first emerged, but there are still some hanging out. I shot a video hoping to catch the tongue flickering action. Being the curious person I am, I looked up why they do that. It turns out that garter snakes flick their red with black tips forked tongue as a sensor -- it picks up pheromones from other snakes, prey and food from the air. When they return their tongue to the mouth, they insert it in a Jacobson's organ (similar to what cats have) to "read" the results. Huh. Cool. Here I thought they flicked their tongues to look tough.

Here's the video -- no snakes or people were harmed in the filming --

How's this pose?

Perfect, Mr. Squirrel. Hold that pose for a moment, please. Thank you. You're dismissed now. Plainfield Train Station.

It's FINALLY SPRING!!

Heck, this week's spring weather made me use excess exclamation marks, something I rarely do. I don't believe we dipped below freezing not a once this past week, even in the overnight hours. Woot! The daffodils are in bloom on Berckman Street in Plainfield.

Yellow and white daffodils

Also on Berckman Street in Plainfield.

**CLICK THE 'READ MORE' LINK TO SEE THE REST OF THE PHOTOS**

Survivor: Cagayan - 'Mad Treasure Hunt' Blog Party - April 9

Come one! Come all! It's a mad treasure hunt ... or so they promise us, anyway. It seems from the promos that everyone is out searching for the hidden idol. Since both idols in the game were absolutely wasted last week, albeit displaying loyalties, getting the idol is better than a feather in your cap.

Huh. I really don't understand the worth of a feather in your cap myself. Maybe it's just me.

As the show airs here on the East Coast, this entry will be updated with the major happenings. Refresh the page to get the latest! However, as always, the real party is in the comments area. I hope to see you there!

The latest blog pool standings from the one and only Lifeguard Laurie --

Jefra Bland - David, Sharon S. 
Jeremiah Wood - LostChyld 
Kass McQuillen -Delee, MikesGirl 
LJ McKanas - Lorraine, ML 
Morgan McLeod - Donna in Alabama, ORKMommy 
Spencer Bledsoe - Becky and Monty924 
Tasha Fox - DKNYNC, Rochelle 
Tony Viachos - Lynn1, Zoetawny 
Trisha Hegarty - Jackie 
Woo Hwang - Laurie, SueGee

On with the PARTY! Er ... show ...

Okay, Morgan thinks Kass is jealous of her because she (Morgan) is cuter than her. Oh my gosh, shallow water alert!

The Reward Challenge has them split into two teams, swimming, dragging chests, puzzles. The reward is a Survivor Outback Steakhouse product placement trip. The split was random -- LJ, Spencer, Morgan, Jeremiah and Jefra win!

At the Outback, Spencer had a clue in his napkin. He went out in the rain to read it after they returned. Woo's suspicious. Woo stole the clue from where Spencer left it with his pants. Uh-oh. Pandemonium is surely to ensue.

Woo ran to camp and told everyone about the clue. Even though all searched, it was Spencer who found it.

The Immunity Challenge has them standing on their toes on a platform with a wood block on their heads they must hold against the frame. It was down to Spencer and Tasha ... Spencer wins immunity!

Spencer wants to flip Kass back. Tony wants Morgan out due to her uselessness around camp. Spencer wants to target Tony. Kass tells us she loves the ambush and she loves the blindside. Eep.

Sarah indeed is the first member of the jury.

The tally - Tony, Tony, Tony, Tony, Morgan, Morgan, Morgan, Morgan, Morgan, Morgan.

She's out and Tony dodged a bullet. 

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - April 6, 2014

Good morning, folks! Rise and shine! Up and at 'em! It's Sunday morning. You know what that means ... it's time for my weekly off television topic post reflecting on the week gone by in both words and photographs I've taken along the way.

Remember -- The Amazing Race will NOT air tonight! Instead, there's a country music award show.

In other news:
This week was a bit springish at times. I've had to rotate between my lightweight spring jacket and my least winter jacket. We had a lot of rain. We had some sunshine. On the really beautiful spring days with the sunshine, it was so windy that it felt cold. So far our April showers seemed more like November showers -- cold and unforgiving.

Today is supposed to be nice. We'll see about that!

It was another week of work, home, eat, sleep and spend a lot of time being a sofa for a certain cat. The weather must have been a real aggravating trigger for the sciatica problems as I've only had a few occasional twinges as the temperatures have finally gotten above freezing on a daily basis. Mind you, the evenings still dip way down.

I heard my downstairs neighbor was burglarized once again this week while he was away. I think this makes the third, possibly the fourth, time. I tried to tell him it has to be people he knows. He's allowed riff-raff friends in his place over the years. They know when he's gone as his car is gone. I don't believe he ever learned that you're not only known by the company you keep, but that riff-raff has no loyalty. The old upstairs neighbor was the same -- he let his street-ish drinking buddies in and, next thing you know, he ended up burglarized one day.

Without a car, no one knows if I'm home or not. Well, unless I have the stereo on. I also have a habit of not responding to knocking on the door when I am indeed home. If I'm in my pajamas or it's evening and I'm not expecting people, I don't answer the door. If I haven't buzzed someone into the building, they shouldn't be knocking! Any friends I have had over are certainly not of the street or burglar ilk. Most of them are the sort I would trust with the key to my apartment. So, I have no real fears of burglaries here. I'll admit I do keep the window that leads to my fire escape locked when I'm not home. That's just common sense.

While I know that more "innocent" burglaries happen, I can't help but wonder when a person is repeatedly targeted. It has to be the company they keep. I also don't allow Vincent to hang out with cat burglars! (Heehee)

Oh, well ... onto this week's photos. If you click on an image it will open up in a Photobucket page. Clicking on the magnifying glass at the bottom of the photo will make it larger. Then there's one more magnifying glass you can click on to make it even larger. To return to the blog, just close out the Photobucket window.

Dusk at the Plainfield Train Station

With the days getting longer, it was dusk when I arrived home from work yesterday. It would certainly be nice if they fixed all the burnt out lamps there. But they have worse things they're not fixing or, at least, not timely fixing.

Let sunning snakes lie

The garter snakes at the Bridgewater Train Station continue to catch my interest (as you'll see later in this post). What cool and intriguing critters they are! I've tried to catch one for a closer photo shoot. However, they've been much too quick for me. I really must be getting old. When I was a child, I could catch garter snakes with ease.

Look! Spring is finally HERE!

Of course, it felt like I needed my winter jacket coming home from work last night and I don't think the high on Friday got above 42 degrees. But, it seems the snow and real winter is finally behind us. I took this shot on Berckman Street in Plainfield.

**CLICK THE 'READ MORE' LINK TO SEE THE REST OF THE PHOTOS**

Survivor: Cagayan - 'The Head of the Snake' Blog Party - April 2

Aha! The episode title is 'The Head of the Snake'! Perfect! I took a photo a couple of days ago to go right with this one --

How's that? Of course, it's just a garter snake, not any sort of huge predator. And, since he was kind enough to pose for me, I'd rather he not be beheaded.

But it does sound like heads are going to roll in tonight's episode. The merge is one and it's each castaway for themselves ... or for the greater good of their alliance. Or, they might switch things up alliance-wise.

Here are the latest blog pool standings for that Lovely Lifeguard Laurie --

Aparri
Kass McQuillen -Delee, MikesGirl
Spencer Bledsoe - Becky and Monty924
Tasha Fox - DKNYNC, Rochelle
Sarah Lacina - Buzzmaan, Tammy
Jeremiah Wood - LostChyld
Morgan McLeod - Donna in Alabama, ORKMommy

Solana
Trisha Hegarty - Jackie
Tony Viachos - Lynn1, Zoetawny
Woo Hwang - Laurie, SueGee
Jefra Bland - David, Sharon S.
LJ McKanas - Lorraine, ML 

As the show airs here on the East Coast, I'll update this entry with the major happenings. Refresh the page to get the latest! However, as always, the real party is down in the comments area. Come watch the show with us!

Aparri decided to make a final six pact. But is the trust really there?

Whoa! The merge is ON. They're all moving into Aparri. The celebration includes food and wine ... and suspicions. They also got a note reading that another idol with "special powers" in hidden in the camp area. Tony wants to sway his ex-buddy cop friend Sarah back into the alliance to flip the numbers.

Sarah creates problems for herself with her six by arguing who they should vote off.

Immunity challenge -- the necklace is on a pole awaiting its first winner. They have to balance on triangular platforms in the water, moving up to smaller platforms. Last one standing wins. When they get to the top, few survive. It's Tony and Woo.

Woo wins the first individual immunity!

Sarah decides she's with the six and wants to vote out either LJ or Tony -- the latter being her cop buddy. She is really pushing the Tony vote. Kass is NOT happy about Sarah in charge. When Tony fails to get Sarah to commit, Trish tries for Kass to come aboard.

Ah, Solana agreed to vote for Sarah to go to get Kass aboard. Interesting indeed.

Tribal council time. Tony admits he has an idol and will use it for his tribe if needed. He claims it's a community idol.

Tony gives his idol to LJ (who has his own idol, but no one knows). Ah, LJ gives Tony his idol!

The tally -- Jefra, Sarah, Jefra, Sarah, Jefra, Sarah, Jefra, Sarah, Jefra, Sarah, Sarah.

Kass flipped and Sarah's gone. Spencer is shocked and bitter. Her tribe is stunned.