The Wild Life and Times of a Botanical Geek

Once upon a time, a weester Ru went with her family to the Matt Brewing Company in her home-region of Utica, NY and took the brewery tour. For the most part, the weester Ru was uninterested in the tour, more concerned about Barbies than beer, although was still fascinated by the fact that there was a pile of broken glass at one point in the tour. At the end, everyone emptied out into the on-site bar for samplings. Everyone in the tour got a voucher to get a glass of something at the bar--for the adults, there was the requisite beer, but for those who were weesters, they were given a voucher for a glass of root beer. The weester Ru subsequently redeemed her voucher, and was treated to the best mug o' root beer in her short little life. Sampling by her parents comfirmed what the weester Ru already knew--this was not your ordinary root beer.

Fast forward several years. A slightly older Ru walks into the grocery store and finds a six pack of Saranac root beer. Her parents are once again the voice of confirmation--upon looking at the brewer, it was determined that this was in fact the same root beer that the slightly older Ru had had as a weester Ru. It was purchased and enjoyed with much relish. However, Saranac root beer soon disappeared from grocery store shelves in her area, and the slightly older Ru was sad. She began a search for the elusive root beer, forever checking the soda section of new grocery stores she ventured into.

Fast forward to today. A much older Ru walks into a wine store with her family. Being uninterested in selecting a wine, the much older Ru wanders around a bit, chuckling to herself at amusing wine labels, like 'Herding Cats'. From a distance, she spots a six pack of Saranac shirley temple soda, something which she has never seen. Intrigued, she moves closer, examining the surrounding area. Her eyes fall upon a little red six pack, and her heart momentarily stops from sheer excitement--it is the root beer that she had searched for for so long! Practically dancing with joy, she purchases the two six packs that are present, hoping that the area will be repelenished with more soon. She takes it home, chills a bottle, and proceeds to enjoy the best root beer she has had in a while.

The End

HOLY CRAP BLUEBIRDS.

Casually gazing out the window not fifteen minutes ago, my Dad noticed something blue perched outside the birdhouse we put up a couple months ago. Five minutes of debating and a pair of binoculars later, we confirmed that it was a BLUEBIRD OMG. Cue Mom and I lapsing into fits of happiness. All three of us turned into horrible voyeurs as we watched it inspecting the property. It kept sticking its head in, then poking it out again, over and over. I can just imagine Mrs. Bluebird (who I believe was sitting in the tree above it) going "Honey, is there a lot of space?" "Yes, dear, there's plenty of space." "What about the floors, are the floors in good contiditon?" "Yes, dear, there are good floors." "Have the walls been painted?" "*sigh* No, dear, the walls are fine." And so on. XD

We're a little concerned, though, because we know some chickadees took up residence earlier in the spring. We haven't seen them in a while, so we're not certain if the chickadee chicks grew up, or if they abandoned the nest, or what, but we haven't cleaned it out, so we're worried that the bluebirds might seek housing elsewhere. So, we figure the easiest thing to do, just in case the chickadees are still there, is go to the nursery and get another bluebird house. So we're going to a plant store. Oh DARN. XD

Either way, the bluebirds are still around. Joy and bliss! <3 <3 <3

Also, first we had Star Trek vs. Internet Cats, now we have Star Trek vs. The Python Boys! I'm so easily amused. XD