Another great day with my two little buddies.

Cole decided completely on his own to find the vacuum cleaner, plug it in and clean up the family room. Little brother Nicholas of course had to help (by the way, notice where he tosses the guitar. Cleans like his grandpa!)

Next project? Build a sandbox.

More from Courtney

Today while I was typing a story about beetles that Courtney was dictating to me, she abruptly stopped, looked at me and asked, "Grandpa, how come the hair in your nose is so gray?"

Her older sister, Brooke, who was listening to all of this burst out laughing.

I replied that the reason was because I was old and that I guess I had better do some trimming.

Grand children.

Warning! Lunatic at large.

Spotted at 3:30 P.M. on Friday, June 22, a lady in about her mid thirties running up a steep grade in 98 degree/75 percent humidity weather.

She was visibly struggling, beet red and gasping.

I almost stopped but figured my concern may not be well received.

This is not the weather to be engaging in such activity--unless, of course, you want heat stroke.

A busy weekend

July 15 thru 17 was a very busy period for the Stockwell household.

Grandma & Grandpa hosted Cole & Nicholas for 3 days while their mom and dad, Pete & Jen, went to a wedding in Buffalo (which Peter grumbled about for several days).

When they returned Sunday evening, Mike & Becky and the girls were here.

The girls wanted to play with the boys and Mike helped me put longer poles around the garden so the fenced could be made higher.

It seems the deer have figured out a way in so it was time for a new plan.

They ate most of the lettuce, some of the squash and cukes.

I'm hoping to salvage the rest.

And now, Monday morning, it's off to do grocery shopping with the girls.

Why is it I always seem to spend more money when they go with me?

The Death Penalty

Every time I start having doubts about the morality or value of the death penalty, something comes along to complicate the issue.

The latest horror was a story about an eight-year-old Hasidic Jewish boy who got lost walking home from a New York City day camp.

He stopped to ask a man for directions. The man took him to his apartment, killed him and dismembered his body. But, incredibly, before doing that, he stopped at his dentist's office to pay his bill and then took the boy to a wedding.

From there he took him to his apartment and did the rest.

The killer's attorney is arguing insanity. If found to be legally insane, he'll be institutionalized until deemed sane enough to stand trial--in other words, never.

Make no mistake about it. Too many innocent people have been put to death. But with modern forensic techniques such as DNA testing it is now possible to be more certain than ever that someone is guilty.

The killer in this case was identified through a surveillance camera and he later confessed. The boy's body was ultimately found in his apartment.

The whole argument regarding his sanity is absurd. Of course he's crazy. But I don't care. He's not fit to inhabit the earth with the rest of us.

Honey, I can't find the ...... (fill in the blank)

Lucky for me, yesterday was a warm sunny day here. As such, I was able to get out into the yard and get the mowing and various chores done.

The reason why I needed to be outside was because inside there was a veritable storm going on.

You see, it seems my wife decided to 'reorganize' and 'rearrange' the shelves and closets.

This bodes ill for me because now I have to go through another round of not being able to find anything.

Oh, she always makes sure she tells me the new location of various necessities but I've been on automatic for so long, it doesn't sink in.

By the time I remember what she said, it will be time for another round of 'reorganization'.

It's for this reason that men can never find anything. Whatever we're looking for, you can be sure it's been moved.

Here are some of the things I've had to spend extra time searching for:
camera, glucose test kit, old hat, old sneakers (which I fear are destined for the trash heap given the fact they're the source of the odor in the closet that we thought was a dead mouse in the closet walls), notebook where I jot down random thoughts, spare reading glasses...well, you get the idea.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go grocery shopping but I can't find my wallet or key fob...

An Observation about the Casey Anthony trial

I am not going make any judgments regarding whether or not justice was done in the Casey Anthony verdict.

I was not there, day in and day out, listening to the testimony and neither by the way were any of the talking heads you hear on TV and radio decrying the horror of the verdict nor were any of the outraged people criticizing the jury.

Rather, my observation is about the judge.

I feel very uncomfortable watching him. He speaks very slowly, mispronounces words and generally looks and sounds very nearly incompetent.

For example in watching the televised sentencing, he repeatedly pronounced the word 'specifically' 'pacifically'.

Does anyone else have a problem with that 'specifically' or the judge in general?

One hundred forty eight years ago today...

July 3, 1863, exactly 148 years ago was the 3rd--and last--day of the Battle of Gettysburg, the deadliest battle of the civil war.

Most historians regard it as the turning point of the war which until then had been going largely in the Confederacy's favor.

But the Battle of Gettysburg broke the spirit of the Confederate army.

The famous Pickett's Charge was the final straw, so to speak.

The ill-fated attack resulted in the following exchange between General Robert E. Lee and General George Pickett:
Lee: General, assemble the rest of your division.
Pickett: Sir, I have no division.

Total combined losses after the 3-day battle were in excess of 50,000.

Have a happy July 4th.