Look who is ATOP THE LEADERBOARD of the local sports radio station bracket in Austin! Not to brag or anything lol. RCJH

I didn't know that DP wasn't playing until right before tip off and honestly thought we were just going to be over powered, but for the final 6+ minutes I was standing in front of my tv and seeing how wrong I had been. I thought our HEART, more than anything, was going to be the deciding factor and boy did they show it. What a memorable game, intense feeling, so much pride and giddy happiness all rolled up in one! So proud of the team. I haven't see Coach that happy since Muck Fizzou! We deserve all of these emotions considering what we saw the last few years. The chip is back @drgnslayr !!! #RockChalkJayhawk

Now I know why our band was wearing his Jersey!!

KU's Samis Calderon is not here for the first round game. His dad passed away and he traveled back to be with his family. Dad's name was Luis Calderon and he lived in El Paso.

My shirt today and my #Jayhawks quilt.

Did you ever ponder how one miniscule aspect of life has such a great impact on our planet? I have and still do.Thought of what Jaybate would have added to the conversation. I love, love, love Sir David Attenborough and what he has done for our planet...making us aware that all life is connected and we have to care for it. I used to watch a PBS show with Marty Stouffer called Wild America back in the early 80's as well as Marlin Perkins and Jim Fowler on Wild Kingdom. Mike situated the string lines for our house 3 different ways in order to sit the house between the trees so that we only had to take one out when we built the house. He had a wide knowledge for outdoor living and so we camped out a lot here and made our plans. We bought our first 2 lots on a contract for deed basis and paid $75 a month for each lot beginning in 1981 and saved our money while living in a dump $150 duplex in Central Austin. We started the house in Sept. of 84 and moved in 4 months and 2 days later, on our wedding anniversary. He put up the 40' x 60' metal building all by himself (with the help of a crane) in 2009. All the other outbuildings he would draw out, we'd go over it, and then one day I would come home from work and it would be done!

HAPPY EARTH DAY!!!!! I was a sophomore in high school in Leavenworth in 1970 when the first Earth Day was celebrated. I remember Robert Redford being a big part of this endeavor to wake people up about the connection we all have to making sure our planet is happy, healthy and keeping the environment rather than paving everything with asphalt and concrete. Robert used to vacation in Austin as a young boy and was in awe of the Barton Springs pool, which is fed by a natural spring. He narrated a documentary on it and the activists that were demanding construction be limited at the Spring's beginning started a years long fight by the Citizens of Austin to protest the development upstream by a "less than caring individual", Jim Bob Moffat, who with all his money thought he could rape the land to gain a profit. At a City Hall hearing that went on for over 24 hours, the City of Austin denied his development permit and the Springs were saved. From time to time they have to close it due to runoff from the other developments that were allowed upstream and it is a never ending fight to keep the Springs healthy. It's a constant 68 degrees and people swim in it year round, even in winter, and it is a shock to your system when you jump in on a 100 degree day! There is a salamander that is on the threatened species list and a cave cricket that was also found and were able to declare it a federally protected habitat. One of our clients owned a 2,700 acre ranch where the headwaters for Barton Springs began and I got to help the ranch owners protect their land with conservation easements with the City of Austin and The Nature Conservancy, whereby their land will never be sold for commercial development and is monitored yearly for control burns, hunting, grazing and wildflower restoration. Each year this family had an open house and Mike and I went to several, which included hiking to the beginning of the Springs and seeing the flora and fauna. Just breathtaking. We all can do our part to keep what we have before it is too late. That's why I plant so many polinator flowers. My wild sunflowers are a haven for the migrating Monarchs and this year I didn't even pull up the dandelions because before all the spring flowers have bloomed, the dandelion is one of the few plants out there when the bees need it the most.

@approxinfinity Glad to hear!!!! I have been battling a tough cold and just now feel better. Missed all of you.
MERRY CHRISTMAS KUBUCKETS!

Today's photo is a varigated form of the Helianthus annuus "Ring of Fire" (Common Sunflower). It's a striking sunflower variety, with large flowers, 5 inches across, boasting a unique pattern of fiery red and gold petals surrounding a dark center. Ideal for adding bold contrast to gardens, it reaches maturity in about 70-80 days and is a magnet for pollinators. They grow in a raised bed in the corner of my garden.

This caught my eye!

How 'bout them #Jayhawks taking the Big 12. Happy for them and the ladies. Go Spurs Go! Will have to beat OKC. Tough out.

Today's photo is of a what I believe is a Gloxinia. They are hybrids that can breed quickly and produce many blooms. The display last about two months and rarely return after fading. But mine came back after covering it this winter and it does have a lot of blooms. I got it for $0.98 couple of years ago. Not bad.

TGIF Here's the little bit of Kansas that I still have left in me from my garden here in Texas. For the birds and the bees

The wonder of nature comes alive in these "cottonball" clouds! I am one of those that can look at a cloudscape and see images.

Today's photo is of a patch of my garden that is dedicated to all the pollinators in my life! It's cover for the ground and provides lots of nooks and crannies for bees, butterflies, lizards, hummingbirds, and lady bugs! Waiting for a couple loaves of banana bread to finish baking. Smells so good.

36-inch max vert for Darryn Peterson.
https://x.com/i/status/2054265714450559032

Darryn Peterson, 19-25 spot-up 3s
https://x.com/i/status/2054276205042393399

Today's photo is a rare visitor to my bird bath. A Scarlet Tanager stopped by to take a bath! Prior to this, I finally spotted the male Painted Bunting at the bath but wasn't quick enough with my phone. We've seen the Scarlet Tanager the last couple of years. However, a pair of Painted Buntings and their chicks have been around for a dozen or so years. I know where they nest on one of my lots. I always look forward to be able to see one.

From a site called Basketball University:
One of the most efficient off ball shooters in NCAA history. 6’10 wingspan. Hyper-smooth athlete. Low turnover. Soft touch. Strong defensive metrics. Perfect 2-guard.
https://x.com/i/status/2053926966945009790

Bob Marley left us on this date 45 years ago. His music lives on and will for eternity. Woke up to this little ditty in my head after ferocious storm last night that knocked out our electricity. There were 50+ mph winds and had to pick up limbs and the tomato cages that I recycled to block the deer from the front porch. Whew. Lots of lightning and another 1/2 inch of badly needed rain. People in Austin had trees crash on top of cars as the storm gained strength after leaving us. We didn't have the hail that some had so this song has been my mantra for 50 years.

https://youtu.be/HNBCVM4KbUM?si=mxHpVxJ9pnonf72E

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY !! My heart is filled with love from the girls and all you Bucketeers! No better way to celebrate than to show you our first fawn of the season. Her mom took a drink and then the fawn laid down by the stack of firewood while she went away. Fawn stayed there the rest of the day and I came in from the she shed at 8PM and we were making coffee and saw the mom come back but the fawn didn't get up and we were wondering what if Hattie came. Next thing we see is the mom take off running and she drove Hattie wide around the fawn and just stood there. I went to get feeders and when I was heading into the house I walked over to the west side and looked around the corner and there was Hattie on the sidewalk by the back gate waiting for me. Figured we could give her the crusts from our pizza earlier and get her mind off the fawn. We had a similar incident last year with the male fox kinda nipping at a fawn. I put out the crusts and she would take a crust, jump down from the bench, eat it behind the bench, and then get back up and take another. I looked for the fawn this morning but didn't see it. There have been 6 deer that I could count laying in the front yard close to the road in the high grass all morning.