I have friends who spend all of the spring, summer, and fall months monitoring their lawns like those who live along a river watch the water levels during times of heavy rain. They make having a perfectly coifed lawn at all times a top priority.

I try to keep up with my grass, but believe me, when it’s 101 degrees outside, I’m not sweating over the lawn. It can grow tall…it’ll be there when I get to it.

Last weekend my old lawnmower conked out. We’d had several days of rain and the grass was pretty tall. When I cut the grass, I don’t bag it for a variety of reasons…environmentalists say it’s better to leave the grass clippings on the lawn, it’s more work, and it costs more to pay to have it hauled a way. So when I bought a new mower Memorial Day, it shot out large clumps of grass giving my suburban lawn that “farmer’s lawn” look. That works for me.

Last night when I pulled into the driveway, there was a nice bunny rabbit sitting oh-so-still about eighteen inches from the edge of the driveway. Instead of jumping out of the car, I sat there for a couple of minutes looking at the rabbit. She was sitting in front of a big clump of grass clippings. She didn’t move. I knew I had to get out of the car, but I didn’t want to disturb her. I had a feeling about that grass clump.

As I got out of the car, Bunny Rabbit hopped away. I walked over to the grass clump, peered in, and BIG SMILE saw two or three teeny little bunny babies. They were oh-so-cute. So I left them alone.

We had a big storm overnight. The big grass clump has been blown away completely. This morning I can count six sets of tiny little ears in a huddle. I just read on an animal rescue website that a healthy Momma Rabbit will visit her nest only for a short time each night to avoid predators, but she’s probably nearby. I hope so. I’ll keep an eye out.

I’m trying to think of something I can use to protect the nest. Rabbits are always welcome on my lawn.

The last time this White Chick voted for a Republican for President, it was Nixon. Of course, elementary school elections don’t count.

Now it looks like Obama is going to be the Democratic candidate. That doesn’t thrill me. It has nothing to do with race. I want to know what he’s done…besides run for President since he was showcased at the last Democratic convention as a possible front-runner in the future. The future is now and I don’t think he’s paid his dues.

I wanted Hillary. Is she perfect? No. But I wanted her when it came down to these two.

So here’s my question: How many of those primary votes cast for Obama were cast by Republicans disguised as Democrats? How many played “Democrat for a Day” because they figure Obama will be easier to beat than Hillary? I’m not the only one who has been thinking this for several months.

There are a lot of people who will vote for Obama just because he is black. The Democrats better hope they all show up at the polls. But how many people are NOT going to vote for an African-American, no matter who he is? There is still a lot of racism in this country. It may be below the surface…but it’s there. And the ballot box is one place where you are allowed to vote your conscious, no matter how well or ill-informed you are.

In the last election, candidates were scrambling for the Hispanic and other minority votes. The economy is in shambles. This should be the Democrat’s year without any question. But race will play a role. This time around, if Obama is on the ballot, the white people’s vote will be coveted by both parties. We will be the voters the two parties will be scrambling to attract.

I received this sad email today:

I must let you know that Yardman Lawnmower passed on today at 5 pm.

It was due to complications involving his magneto, and he went into spark plug arrest, a failure to create a spark to ignite the gasoline in his piston.

He had a wonderful 11 years of life, enjoyed the outdoors, and his winter vacations.

Don’t languish about his untimely demise. There are many Yard Machines like him at Home Depot. Why, I saw one today for $140….But, I know that there will be ONLY one Yardman that you will cherish the most and that was this one.

My Condolences

Maybe if I bury him in the front yard someone will cut my grass while I’m at a barbecue Sunday.

Dear Airlines:

I understand why you have to raise the price of tickets and start charging for luggage in an attempt to keep abreast of increasing fuel costs. But here’s what I would like to know: Are you still going to give away all those freebie flights for your employees’ family members?

Instead of passing along all of your higher costs to your paying customers, why don’t you stop letting employee’s parents, etc. fly standby for free? Let them pay for their flights. That will bring in some needed revenue.

Southwest Airlines still has discounts for senior travelers. Age doesn’t accurately reflect whether or not your pocketbook can afford to pay a full fare or not.

The other day I was listening to a couple of women talk about the high cost of maintaining a second home. Snowbirds. I had no sympathy for them. They should just be glad they can afford the option of a second home in their senior years.

There are many families who can’t afford gas to get to work and milk for their kids. These are the low level hourly workers who make it possible for the fat cats at the top to enjoy their vacation homes and other luxuries.

This country is an economic mess right now. How much worse will it get?

HR people come up with all kinds of ways to predict who they should hire for different jobs. They use trick interview questions, “personality” or “behavior” (psychological) tests, skills tests, etc.

The only one I totally agree on is the skills tests…but even these can be quirky. And usually if you point out some curious or funky aspect about the test to the HR Professional…you will get a blank stare or a stupid answer because they often have never taken that test or don’t have the skills to understand the job you are applying for.

My mom recently fell in a store with a well-known name. I have been receiving phone calls while I am at work asking how she is. Today they sent me a letter.

Apparently they employ psychics in the claims department. The letter is dated in April…the incident occurred in May. Furthermore, why are they calling….if they predicted the event, they should be able to predict the outcome.

And why not use psychics in the HR department and skip the stupid hoops they put you through. It makes about as much sense.

I hope American Idol contestant David Cook beats out Eddie Munster look-alike David Archuleta. Eddie is a great singer…I just don’t want him to win.

I haven’t wanted him to win ever since I saw something about him being in some other talent competition. I think all the American Idol contestants should be at least 18, too. Leave their parents at home. If he can’t vote, he should wait.

But really, if he does win, it won’t be the end of the world. In the grand scheme of things, it’s just a TV show. When it’s over, I can go out on Tuesday and Wednesday nites again.

Well since Theresa stopped by my blog again, I feel like I need to write something.

Today is Mom’s birthday. My sister and I took her out to dinner last night. My sweet niece and nephew came along. She showed us her newly minted driver’s license…she looks exactly like her mother in the picture! When the ladies at the license bureau asked her how much she weighed, she said she didn’t know. So they looked at her and typed in 95 pounds. When she weighed herself later, they were off by 5 pounds.

Only two more weeks and I will be relieved of Idol Watching duty. I wonder if David Cook likes older women? I sure hope he wins.

Are they ever going to have a Middle Aged Idol? I might try out. Mom always said I couldn’t sing, but at karaoke, some people tell me I have a good voice. Most people do not encourage bad singers to keep on singing, so either Mom was wrong, or these people are tone deaf. If I ever win the lottery, I’m taking private singing lessons.

If I win enough money, I could host Middle Aged Idol. Of course by then, I might be Elder Idol.

It it’s late, and I’m tired. I’ll think of something tomorrow. Maybe American Idol will inspire me!

I haven’t written anything since Sunday….four days ago. Too tired to write anything after working all day. Started something two days ago, but didn’t finish it.

I’m yawning now. Gotta figure out what I’m going to eat for dinner. Stop by again.