Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - September 6, 2015

Good morning! Welcome to my weekly off television topic reflection of the past week in both words and photographs I've taken along the way; This post is a year 'round "feature" on the blog. If you're looking for Big Brother posts, they can all be found at this link right here. If you're not interested in this particular post, please feel free to skip on by it. I'll be posting a Big Brother blog party post coinciding with the East Coast airing of the show and, late this evening, another live feeds post. Stay tuned.

Yes! Another week closer to staycation week! I have a short week ahead. I'm only working three days, plus going in for a couple of hours (like two) tomorrow. I so need the rest even though I'll still be covering Big Brother. But I can do that in my pajamas and slippers! My workplace's dress code frowns on such attire there.

A few random observations on the week gone by:

• No means NO. If you're a bum asking me for money or cigarettes, go away. No means NO. I should only have to say it once. Go away. Shoo. If you're peddling religion and I say NO, I mean NO. Shoo. Leave me alone. Don't act shocked. Don't be surprised. Don't argue with me. Just go away. Yes, I'm starting to get surly with these people. I work for what I have in life and I already have my own thoughts on religion.
• I'm starting to see a bit of color (other than green) here and there in the trees and bushes. But the temperatures sure have been screaming summer.
• I met the man who lives upstairs from me this past week. He's lived there over a year now and I've never seen him ... heard him now and then, but never a face-to-face. We met looking out the building's front window at the crime scene (below) Tuesday night. Pleasant enough guy. He'd be a bit thumpy had they not put wall-to-wall carpet down up there, though. I didn't tell him that. Nor did I tell him that I heard him vacuuming at 3:30am this past Christmas morning.
• Keebler Grasshopper cookies taste a lot like Girl Scouts Thin Mints cookies, but are a heck of a lot cheaper.

Without further ado, onto this week's photos! Clicking on an image will bring up a larger version.

The moon on Monday night

I always love the challenge of taking a good shot at the moon. Monday's moon wasn't quite full, but was like a golden globe large in the sky. And there I was, with a point and shoot camera (a decent one, but ...!) and no tripod. Yay, a challenge! I'm thrilled with the shots I got -- details of craters and all. Of course, I also got a lot of shots which called for the delete button. But that's the beauty of digital photography. It's not like I'm paying to process film which contains yellow-white globs in a sea of black!

Eek. A crime scene at my apartment!

Well, not really AT my apartment. At my apartment building, though. It was Tuesday night. There I was innocently watching the evening Judge Judy block on WLNY when I heard four gunshots which sounded like they were right outside my window. Eek! Vincent even jumped and he doesn't jump for fireworks! I thought someone was either shooting at cars in the parking lot or perhaps the guy downstairs's ex-girlfriend was shooting at him. (She's been coming around yelling at him a lot lately.) But I heard no glass breaking. Hmm.

I was going to call 911, but turned on my scanner instead. Aha, they were already chasing the guy, even broadcast his name. No sense calling 911. It turns out they had been looking for him for some sort of gun sale sting and he fled through backyards, ending up at my building. From behind the big tree in the front on my side of the building, he fired the four shots ambushing one of the police cars. So, not right outside my window ... but we're talking maybe 200 feet away. Much too close for comfort. No one was hit.

The news story is at this link. He ended up running across the street and into the brook, then getting caught about two blocks away. One interesting thing to note is the the police prefer to get paper cups, not Styrofoam ones, to mark bullet casings. The crime scene, all lighted up and lots of hubbub, lasted until the wee hours. It wasn't conducive to sleep.

Look, deer

As a friend and I hit the landing heading to the Bridgewater Train Station eastbound track, I saw these two fawns on the other side of the fence. I said, "Look, deer." three or four times until my friend gave me a puzzled look which seemed to say, "Why are you calling me 'dear'?"

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

You're still there?

"What's up with you? Have you never seen an adorable little deer before?" 

That isn't a gun, is it?

Hey, fawn, if it was a gun, you'd be venison. Then again, I couldn't bring myself to shoot a deer with anything but a camera. Thankfully, the area they're in isn't one approved for hunting. But the trains and cars remain a danger.

You can't hide behind that tree

The hibiscus were going crazy this week

Blooms seemed to be busting out all over the place!

The petunias got a second life, too

I wonder if they know autumn is around the corner and want to give us a last summer show.

The morning glories are sparse

But those remaining are glorious!

I think this is a peony

Not to be confused with a pony. These just started blooming this week but seem to turn yellowish within a fairly short time.

Hibiscus in the process of unfurling

I wish I had the time, patience and ability to do a time lapse!

They still stand ... kind of, sort of

The two homes on East Second Street destroyed by a fire last week have now been boarded up ... for what good that does. Entire sections are missing, so boarding a few windows wouldn't keep trespassers out. The fear of building collapse should be more of a deterrent! Note that while the leaves on the trees facing the homes died, there are still flowers on the tree in front of the house on the left. I was nearby when a young girl walking by asked her father, "Daddy, why are those houses broken?" I'm surprised they haven't been torn down yet. I wouldn't want to have those next door to me!

I'm ready for the end of hazy summer days

You can see the hazy (humid!) skies as one of our extended heat waves lasted through most of the week. While I'm not keen on ice or snow so much these days, I'd prefer the cold over sweltering heat. If it's cold, I can dress in layers and stay warm. But, when it's so hot and humid, even taking off my clothes -- which would cause people to point and laugh and me to get arrested -- I'd still be sweaty! I hate to sweat when I'm just standing waiting for a train! This is my train approaching the Bridgewater Train Station one day this week.

A happy hibiscus blossom

Vincent at rest

Probably too many cat treats and too much catnip did him in. He needs a catnap.