Tuesday, September 01, 2015

Ah! Evolution Fresh™ inspired by Dannon® Yogurt

I am a BzzAgent. As an agent, I get to sample products for free. many are Kroger Family products but, not all. This blog is about one that is available in many stores but, Kroger (for me Ralph's Grocery) has great prices and often Club Card Savings too. Available in 4 flavors. Pineapple Mango, Black Cherry, Blueberry and Raspberry. ALL are made from real ingredients, nothing artificial. The list of ingredients is simple too. Most flavors have five ingredients. That's it! The containers are clear (after you remove the wrapper). You can see the REAL fruit at the bottom. This yogurt has real pieces of fruit too, not just a puree or jam-like layer. I love the whole blueberries and the BIG chucks of cherries. The yogurt itself is smooth and thick. It is not quite as tart as most other Greek Style yogurt that I have tried. SO, get out and give this fresh new yogurt a try. I think you will enjoy it.

Thursday, June 04, 2015

Jezebel

Last month a post on YMBAG (You Might Be A Geocacher (if)... ) It had to do with a Mystery Cache in Florida that has d been UN-FOUND for EIGHT years! Well, a flurry of activity began to happen. Many cachers started chating with Jezebel, a Chatbot. She and she alone (her creator and placer of the cache also knew) knew the location of the hidden cache. The cache and the Chatbot were named "Jezebel".Jezebel, A Mystery Cache  The cache is now archived. This is because one cacher persuaded Jezebel to give her the "exact cords" to the cache location. She had been "chatting with" Jezebel on and off for several years. With all the activity, I guess something finally clicked and she was able to string together the correct words in such a way the they triggered Jezebel's program to finally reveal the mystery.

Since I am in California, even if I HAD figured out how to chat with Jezebel I doubt I would have made the trip to be FTF. The finder actually lived in Florida and drove some 400 miles to be FTF and ultimately THE ONLY finder of Jezebel.

It was great to be part of the final flurry of activity. I even have my our Chatbot now. I have much to learn and I suppose that IF I ever figure out how to program it, I might figure out HOW the creator of Jezebel hid the information within her code.

Tuesday, June 02, 2015

Julie & Julia - Why can't I blog every day?

So I finally saw the movie. wish I had known about the blog. I have Julia's cookbook. It is large and VERY heavy. I used to watch the TV show. I learned many things from that show. I always wished I had a kitchen like Julia's.I still do not have a copper bowl to whisk my egg whites.

As for followers to my blog, I doubt that I have any viewers or readers other than those who visit the blog through Waymarking.com so I know where Julie was coming from. I would be shocked and delighted to learn that someone actually reads this.

I should commit myself to blog daily. I geocache daily so why can't I blog? Mostly because I don't have anything "interesting to blog about" on a daily basis. I don't do anything interesting. I get up every day, walk the dog, get my daughter to school, find a cache or maybe two and come home. I do some house work (which is boring) read email and play games on FaceBook. Pick up my daughter and find something to make for dinner on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. None of that is "interesting".

My daughter and I monitor Western Bluebird Nesting boxes in O'Neill Regional Park and I have a few boxes in three parks near home. It has been a strange year.  Our best box in O'Neill has fledged 4 chicks already and today when I checked, Momma is sitting on 5 new eggs!  



Our box by the creek has momma and 5 eggs as well. I am worried about that one as I think they SHOULD have hatched by now. Her first clutch died and we don't know why.







 



Our box in Monte Vista fledged at least 4 chicks and they too have another five eggs as of yesterday.  AND the box I hung from the eaves of our HOUSE has a nest in it too! Sometime between last Tuesday and yesterday, they little birds built a nest! The female was sitting on the box yesterday when we were leaving for school. She had her beak FULL of grass. My husband saw the male on the bird house when he was leaving for work.







We placed a new geacache in honor or memory of the TEN trees (and that box location) that were removed last November to make way for a NEW Park Monument sign. I made it a Multi Cache with in the field puzzles. "For Ten Trees" http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC5WBAZ_for-ten-trees?guid=ab5fa02c-3a29-491b-8dc9-77beef010d61  I am very happy with the fishing leader that I used for the final as it is nearly invisible!  I also like having a cache so close to home. If another cacher has trouble, I am usually home and can go help them if they need help.

I have had some cachers comment that they wouldn't have figured out this "puzzle" with out a hint form myself or a fellow cacher who had already firgured it out. It makes perfect sense to me. But, I was the one who came up with it. I don't mean for this cache to be difficult, I just want to point out the corner where TEN trees were cut down so that the City could have a "Landscape Enhancement" for the park.

I will try to blog more regularly.  I continue to wonder how blogs get discovered and then become popular.

Until next time - watch for the bluebirds and cache on.











Wednesday, January 21, 2015

M122

I was at our monthly Girl Scout Service Unit Meeting a week ago.  We had a Guest Speaker from the Irvine Ranch Conservancy. She told us about the programs the agency offers, concentrating on the ones geared towards kids. On page 15 of their "Activity Guide" book "IRVINE RANCH Natural Landmarks ~Let's Go Outside!~"  was a box for OUR HIKES! Yes, the ones my daughter & I have lead for nearly 18 years. My daughter will be turning 18 in September and SHE has been on most of the hikes with me. She has never lead one but, she is always there to help out.

Well, I had to tell all the leaders that if they wanted to do THAT activity, that we are the Docents on the 2nd & 4th Saturdays. 

After the meeting one of the Leaders came over to me to get my information and to show me some pictures and a video that a friend of hers had posted to Facebook.  The video wouldn't play but, the pictures were of a collared (radio collar) cougar!  OH! MY! Her friend had set cameras out and captured this cat on video! 

Last September, we lost a dear Ranger and friend.  She had taught me almost everything that I know about these beautiful cats including how to read their tracks.  The weekend after she passed away my Girl Scout Service Unit was camping out in O'Neill Regional Park. I toll my troop on a hike to find a Geocache in the park. We took Hoffman Homestead Trail out to the Monastery.  Along the way, we found cougar tracks.  I have lost my calipers that I used to measure the tracks when I'd find them. So, I took pictures.



I felt the presence of Donna even thought it was a Cougar track.  I don't know but, perhaps these tracks are from that same cat.

At her Celebration of Life service we met some of her colleagues. Some who she worked with in the Cougar Studies that placed the collars on the cougars. 

I contacted one of them and asked him if he might know which cat had been captured on the camera.  He replied to me that he indeed knew.  M122.  He's a 2 to 2 1/2 year old male.  He covers long ranges trying to find a place to call "his own". 

I was able to get the guy with the camera connected with the guy who placed the collar. They are now exchanging information about M122. The data from his collar transmits about once an hour. Having him on video adds much to his information.
It was a great week.