google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, April 1, 2014 Gail Grabowski and Bruce Venzke

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Apr 1, 2014

Tuesday, April 1, 2014 Gail Grabowski and Bruce Venzke

Theme: Graze on This - Where your herd may be.

20A. Collegian's specialty : ACADEMIC FIELD

39A. Retire : PUT OUT TO PASTURE

57A. Kitchen appliance : ELECTRIC RANGE

Rabbit, Rabbit. Argyle here, no fooling. No fooling with the puzzle either. Straightforward with three long theme entries and a preponderance of 4 and 5 letter words. A pleasant start to the month.

Across:

1. Bart's mom : MARGE. Simpson.

6. Pooch in whodunits : ASTA

10. Super-fast fliers, briefly : SSTs

14. Multiple choice options : A, B, OR C

15. Tater : SPUD

16. Poi base : TARO

17. City on Spain's southwestern coast : CADIZ

18. School semester : TERM

19. Some Neruda poems : ODES

23. Take home the trophy : WIN

24. '70s-'80s TV role for Robin Williams : MORK

25. Bawl out : RAIL AT

28. Make illegal : BAN

29. "Love __ Madly": Doors hit : HER



30. Actor Wallach : ELI

31. "I __ sorry" : AM SO

34. TV athletic award : ESPY. Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly(ESPY) Award is presented by the American cable network ESPN.

37. Surgical beam : LASER

42. Practical joke : PRANK. And 41D. Practical joke : ANTIC. Some concession to the day.

43. Prince William's alma mater : ETON

44. Chooses, with "for" : OPTs

45. Escape : LAM

46. Sound system part : AMP

48. Lid for a lad : TAM

50. Rio Grande city : EL PASO

52. City north of Pittsburgh : ERIE

54. Tank or tee : TOP

60. Turn over : CEDE

62. Reagan secretary of state : HAIG. (General Alexander Haig)

63. Megastars : IDOLS. Could this be the last season for "American Idol"?

64. In excess of : OVER

65. Footwear insert : ARCH

66. Former midsize Pontiac named for a native Mexican : AZTEK. Considered 'ugly' in most reviews.

67. CancĂșn cash : PESO. "CancĂșn cash", fun to say.

68. Tiff : SPAT

69. Skeptical : LEERY

Down:

1. Colorful parrot : MACAW


2. Counters with beads : ABACI

3. Flying '50s film monster : RODAN. Both Godzilla and Rodan would fight other Monsters, although initially they had their own spats.

4. Graph paper design : GRID

5. Itchy skin inflammation : ECZEMA

6. Up and about : ASTIR

7. Bit of dust : SPECK

8. Gang land : TURF

9. Look up to : ADMIRE

10. Casual vodka order : STOLI. (Stolichnaya)

11. Prepares for the cattle drive : SADDLES UP

12. Three, in Turin : TRE

13. Distress letters : SOS

21. "Water Lilies" painter Claude : MONET. "Water Lilies" is a series of approximately 250 oil paintings.


22. Ranks below marquises : EARLS

26. Fully attentive : ALERT

27. Loses energy : TIRES

28. Timely benefit : BOON

29. Source of a shot : HYPO. (hypodermic needle)

31. Orchard tree : APPLE

32. Work on a wall : MURAL

33. Cattle drive concerns : STAMPEDEs

35. Ladder lead-in : STEP

36. Greenhouse container : POT

38. Physics particle : ATOM

40. Decree in imperial Russia : UKASE. Used once in LAT back in '08, much more often in NYT.

47. Coffeehouse orders : MOCHAs

49. Old reception aid : AERIAL. (antenna) Still in use.

51. Last Olds made : ALERO

52. Writer Jong : ERICA

53. "Correctomundo!" : "RIGHT!"

54. Govt. security : T-NOTE. (Treasury note)

55. One with an unsettling look : OGLER

56. Irritating : PESKY

58. One may be on a woodpile : TARP

59. Wood-shaping tool : ADZE

60. Badge bearer : COP

61. One who succumbed to a serpent : EVE


Argyle


57 comments:

George Barany said...

Today's puzzle by experienced constructors Gail Grabowski and Bruce Venzke reminded me of the farmer who was outstanding in his field (the joke works better orally). Counting 11- and 33-Down, that's 5 theme entries in all, and to have each of the two downs cross two of the acrosses is quite a feat.

However, after reading Argyle's explanation, I wonder if the above is over thinking.

For a puzzle that is more geared to today, you may want to try Stacked Dreck by Martin Ashwood-Smith. After completing it, be sure to check out the corresponding midrash.

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

I was expecting something a bit trickier today, but the only wounds today were self inflicted. Not sure why, but MYNAH was the first thing to occur to me for 1D, which made YES/NO fit at 14A. It didn't take too long too realize something was wrong, however.

Everything else was smooth sailing today. I even remembered UKASE!

TTP said...

Rabbit Fools Day ! Something like that...


SADDLE UP ! There's a STAMPEDE, and the beeves are running ! Made me think of my great grandfather, a cowboy and baptist preacher. His book, From the Plains to the Pulpit, has been digitized by Google.


Shout out to Abejo !

Thanks Gail and Bruce, and you too Argyle. Liked your write up and listening to the Doors.

Hahtoolah said...

White Rabbit, Argyle and Friends. There were also two other "bonus" clues and answers to the Down on the Farm puzzle. Don't forget to SADDLE UP and worry about STAMPEDES.

I really wanted NOVAE instead of IDOLS for the Megastars. I was reluctant to let go, and this, along with thinking the AZTEK was spelled with a "C" gave me some trouble.

I also thought that a LIFT might be a Shoe Insert instead of an ARCH.

Look very, very closely at this MACAW.

QOD: Dogs are our link to paradise. They don’t know evil or jealousy or discontent. ~ Milan Kundera (Apr. 1, 1929)

Lemonade714 said...

Rabbit Rabbit and be careful out there with April fool's day.

Sometimes simple is elegant and I thou g by GG and BV really accomplished that today. Fitting AZTEK and ECZEMA in the fill was cool. I have no recollection of UKASE but it filled easily.

The Marlins are undefeated and the sun shines. Happy April all

Lemonade714 said...

The woman/parrot is amazing.

Argyle said...

i felt the two long downs were auxiliary entries with only a strong connection to RANGE.

desper-otto said...

Hare, Hare!

Nice puzzle by Gail and Bruce. UKASE flowed trippingly off my pen. Are you sure we haven't seen that since '08? I recognized ESPY, but thought it was named for a person. Thanks, Argyle.

Amazing photo, Hahtoolah. Took me a long time to see her.

CSO to Manac with the TARP on the woodpile. Tin even managed to get some ice-free STOLI.

Now off to my taxing day...

thehondohurricane said...


Good morning everyone,

Smooth run today with only a couple of delays.
For 5A I began with Endema, but CADIZ helped right the ship. Then I had to decide if it was Exzema or ECZEMA. Guessed correctly.

Other problem was in the SE corner. Was it Pescy/Aztec or PESKY/AZTEK. I decided the K was the correct fill.

Only other slowdown was lack of attention on my part. I entered Emmy for 34A. but quickly corrected it to ESPY.

The rest was filled in without any issues.

Thank you Gail and Bruce, always enjoy your puzzles. Thank you too Argyle for the write up.

Yesterdays snow almost all gone, but lawn is so wet, it's impossible to begin the yard work. And more rain on the way later in the week. I have a hunch spring cleaning will take part in the early summer this year.

Yellowrocks said...

Interesting puzzle for a Tuesday. I liked the way Gail and Bruce crossed the theme answers with SADDLE UP and STAMPEDE .
I knew UKASE right off, too. Its amazing so many of us knew it. I am sure I have learned it from CWs.
Great MACAW/woman picture, Hahtoolah.
JzB, lovely family pictures yesterday. Thanks to Tom and his family for serving so many dangerous tours.
PUT OUT TO PASTURE usually has a negative connotation. But for me it is like being a wo0rk horse who is unhitched and is allowed to roam free in the pasture and kick up her heels. Isn't retirement grand?

kazie said...

My first day back to the puzzle was yesterday but I didn't have time to come here until today. I actually found today's easier than yesterday, but maybe I was just out of practice.

We made a month long trip home to Australia for March, with stops at either end to visit my cousins in Honolulu. The rest of the trip was mainly visiting rellies and friends as well, starting in Brisbane and working our way south as far as Berry on the south coast of NSW. Had a wonderful time, many we'll probably not see again. Our photos aren't even uploaded yet, but few would be of interest here, since most are of said relatives and friends.

Lovely new pic of your granddaughter, Lemonade!

Dudley said...

Rabbit Rabbit

Hello Puzzlers -

Easy enough, the only unknown was Ukase, which I will promptly forget.

Ah, the Pontiac Aztek. What an ugly automobile! I realize it was meant to be really mission-adaptable, but I contend such horrible looks weren't necessary. The "face" of that car looked evil. GM's own Bob Lutz admitted that some of the company's cars looked like angry kitchen appliances, and I take it for granted he was including the Aztek.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Got through most of it straightaway. Got the theme fill ok without fully focussing on what it was. Only knot was in SE wondering between c-note or some other - finally settled on T-NOTE to go with tank or tee TOP. No searches needed.

In keeping with the theme, here is a short bucolic tail from Ireland. (5:29)

Qli said...

I liked "Rabbit Fools Day", TTP. and the macaw picture and dog quote were wonderful, Hahtoolah.

I enjoyed the puzzle too! UKASE was a total perp for me. My misspelling of ECZEMA made this a technical DNF, as ABORX could have made sense..sometime....or not.

We only got a few inches of snow; missed the blizzard by 40 miles or so. Thank goodness!

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-The RANGES, FIELDS and PASTURES are very dry around here
-ABOR_ was not ABORT
-My undergrad school had 15 week TERMS (trimesters) not 18. Not an iota of difference
-Getting your book “BANned in Boston” used to sell a lotta books
-Remember when you got that RYAN tattoo when you were drunk? LASER it out (1:00)
-A friend of mine thought he was on the cutting edge and bought an AZTEK. Oops!
-This unique option was supposed to be a selling point for the AZTEK
-All MACAWS (and cockatiels, budgies, parakeets, etc.) are parrots but not all parrots are macaws. More
-Good biblical advice about a SPECK even if you’re not religious.
-The oft-referenced, fictional EARL at this site is fighting to save a dying lifestyle at Downton Abbey
-The use of fracking has been a financial BOON to North Dakota
-My wife’s sister found their mother’s “hidden” key under a POT Sunday when MIL was not home. Gee, a burglar would never think to look there.

HeartRx said...

Rabbit, rabbit!

I tried to tell DH that he had to get out of bed and help me shovel the foot and a half of snow that fell overnight. Unfortunately, he had already been online with his iPad to check the weather, and was on to me immediately. So my April Fool's joke fell flat. Ba-dum.

Fortunately, I had a very nice puzzle to keep my mischief-making at bay. I'm pretty sure that Victor and Gail intended for 11- and 33-Down to be adjuncts to the theme, but I could be wrong…

Hahtoolah, that parrot image is amazing. What an imagination on the part of the photographer, to be able to think of something like that, and then actually create the image he had envisioned.

Spitz, I watched that entire video of the mama cat and her stepchildren. Awwwwww, so heart-warming!

Have a nice day, everyone!

LaLaLinda said...

Hi All ~~

Fast and fun today ~ I really enjoy puzzles by Gail and Bruce. Like others, I sailed smoothly through this one with the only blip being 'Aztec' before AZTEC, since LEERY wasn't yet in place.

Nice write-up, Argyle. I, too, noticed PRANK and ANTIC and thought maybe they'd figure into today's theme. Nope.

I wondered about 11 and 33D but agree that they are theme-related, but not theme answers.

Well, the Red Sox won't finish undefeated this year. ;-)

Both UCONN men and women are headed to the Final Four!

Welcome back, Kazie!

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Great fun puzzle, Gail & Bruce! Great expo, Argyle! The music suited my mood this morning.

Didn't know UKASE or RODAN. Wasn't into monsters in the '50's. Or any other time, for that matter.

Spitz, loved the duck & kitten tale. Animals are so interesting. My kids tried to give a tiny baby bunny to a nursing mother cat once. She looked so insulted. After we went into the house, the bunny disappeared. The kids were small enough to be upset. I told them baby bunnies can run fast and it probably went home to its mama.

Spring is here. Over 70* two days in a row. Cooler again today. Daffodils and forsythia blooming in my yard. The yardmen came yesterday and cleared a pickup load of small branches which had blown down over the winter from my maples. My mailman had been kicking them out of his way when he came through.

Kazie, good to see you back. Wondered where you were. Sounds like a great trip.

Hahtoolah, QOD, maybe dogs aren't jealous, but I've seen some feeling pretty "left out" if another animal was getting more petting or play time.

Montana said...

Thanks, Argyle, for the excellent expo. Except for needing perps for UKASE, I sped through this puzzle. I did read both across and down clues as I went, however.

JzB, great pictures yesterday. I should be in your shoes in just a couple years. My son has 2 or 3 years left in the AF to reach '20.'
PK, my son will not be allowed to take the early retirement incentive, either. There is a shortage of crew chiefs on the planes he is certified for, so he was told no early out for him.

I can't remember the last time I saw the sun, but there are patches of blue sky out my window, so maybe today. That would be a wonderful start to April.

Montana

TTP said...

FWIW, it was Chapters 3 through 6 that my great grandfather writes of the beeves, the cowboy job, the abundance of wild cattle and horses on the range, and describing a stampede and the like. As in, how a rabbit can cause a stampede (page 33).

If you open the link I posted earlier, you can use the Jump To window to go right to page 28 (the start of Chapter 3). Not sure why the online book has "navigation to sections" rather than chapters... Just previewing the Table of Contents got me to read the book the first time I picked it up.

Lucina said...

Hello, all!

I just don't get the "Rabbit, rabbit" thing.

I believe that MARGE is the only Simpson I hadn't heard of and that is also my sister's name.

Smooth puzzle today, thank you, Gail and Bruce.

If we've seen UKASE before it completely escaped me. I'll have to check my crossword dictionary. And I must be the only person not to have heard of the AZTEK which I initially ended with C until PESKY came along.

It seemed to me, also, that SADDLE UP and STAMPEDE were related to the theme.

CADIZ is at the southernmost tip of Spain and is the departure point to Morocco, a 20 minute ferry ride.

I hope no one falls prey to any PRANK or ANTIC today.

Welcome back, Kazie! I wondered where you had been and I'm glad it was a good trip for you.

Have a fanastic April Fools' Day,everyone!

Chickie said...

Hola Everyone, Except for spelling Eczema Exzema I had the rest of the puzzle all correct with no lookups today. A B or X looked okay for Multiple choice options-right?

Rodan and UKase were unknowns, but the perps filled those in nicely.

My wounds today were self inflicted per Barry!

Rabbit, rabbit, is what the Calif Coven declared last evening as today is a luncheon date for at least three of us. Garlic Gal, JD and I will get together in Morgan Hill(closer to Garlic Gal)
and hopefully Melissa Bee, will be able to join us this time.
We'll let everyone know what kind of tricks we've played on each other today.

Kazie, your trip sounded wonderful. How nice that you were able to visit relatives all along the way.

Have a great day, everyone.

Misty said...

Love a Tuesday speed run, especially on April Fool's Day--so, many thanks, Gail and Bruce. Sweet pastoral theme with cowboys and cattle. Nice MONET pic, Argyle, and that MACAW is pretty nice too.

MARGE and MORK are two of my favorite TV characters of all time.

We're looking forward to a bright sunny day today, and hope it's a sign that we'll have a lovely April. I'm ready to see our roses bloom.

Have a great and safe day, everybody!

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

A nice, easy offering from Gail and Bruce. I, too, associated saddles up and stampedes with the theme. Nice expo, Argyle.

Welcome back, Kazie. Your trip sounds wonderful.

We have lots of bright sunshine and temps in the 50's. Could Spring be here, finally?

Spitz, loved the kittens and ducklings clip.

Happy April Fool's Day.

Chickie said...

SpitzB, The Cat and Duckling tale was amazing. Thanks for finding that to share.

Nice bit of rain here yesterday. Still in a drought mode on the West coast, but at least our thirsty garden got a nice drink. More to come today, I'm told.

Our golden retriever was a surrogate Dad to some baby rabbits that my daughter was raising by hand. He would carry them in his mouth and try to keep them all together when they strayed from each other. Mama rabbit had died and my 4-H daughter raised all 5 of the litter without losing one single one.

OwenKL said...

The pond, a bullfrog did inhabit
And the first of each month, 'twas his habit
To proclaim out loud
To the gathered crowd.
For luck, he croaked: "Ribbit, ribbit!"

It's April the first, for kids still in school,
Time for the PRANK and ANTIC to rule!
But we cannot rule out
Beyond any doubt
The adage, "there's no fool like an old fool!"

Neat having different but related types of theme clues for across and down. Have any of you seen that before? I had PESTY first, otherwise WEES. The puzzle was a slog, with more than a normal Tuesday quota of write-overs. I think this week is going to be as much tougher than normal as last week was easier.

George: I didn't have a poem related to the puzzle theme for today, but your quip leads me to rerun one from my Limericks & Haiku Yahoo group:

A tree farmer by the name of Stan
Of baseball was a number one fan.
He hired a combine
To clear out some pine
For a diamond; now he's outfielding in his stand!

Haht: Great photo! Wish I had seen the photo before the title giving it away, though. :(

Jayce said...

Hello everybody. Fun puzzle. WEES. Also misspelled ECZEMA, giving me A B or X. Thank you, Hahtoolah, for the MACAW link. Best wishes to you all.

oc4beach said...

This was an April Fools joke. It was really a Monday puzzle. Nice and easy and a lot more enjoyable than last Saturday's (or was it Friday's) puzzle. Using the newspaper and a pencil (with no eraser) I was able to make one pass through the Across and the Down clues and I was done. It doesn't happen very often.

Hahtoolah: The Macaw was really neat. I downloaded it and blew it up so that I could see the girl. Once I could see the girl it still looked like a Macaw.

Everyone: Here's hoping no one pulls any nasty April Fools jokes an you.

Tinbeni said...

Pinch, Pinch ...

Gail & Bruce: Thank you for a FUN Tuesday puzzle.

My faves today (of course) were STOLI & POT ... though I'm thinkin' of the other kind ... just sayin'.

A "toast" to ALL at Sunset.
Cheers!!!

Anonymous said...

Thank you Gail and Bruce for a rather crunchy but enjoyable puzzle.

Thank you Argyle for your most wonderful and thoughtful blog. Always enjoy it.

Thank you Hahtoolah for that awesome picture of the Girl Macaw. Now, the question remains, as to whether I should risk showing it to my wife, hopefully to fascinate her - after which she will upbraid me for wasting my time looking for / or at the opposite sex ...

Thank you Spitz, for that charming video of the goslings and the mother cat. Suckling with a duck's beak, must have been painful for the cat, but she bore it with such love ... as they say,' God could not everywhere, so He made mothers'.

Have a nice day, all.

Lemonade714 said...

KZ

It is so good to have you back from your trip. Thank you for noticing my Charlotte as she grows and becomes even more mesmerizing to me. She knows I am Grampa (when they ask here where is grampa, she pints at me) but she still says, "Hi baby." when she sees me.
The theme seems so random and inconsistent if the two long downs were part of the plan.

Ol' Man Keith said...

I learned UKASE years ago from a script we were playing.
Funny: this pzl contained two words that made me re-write a "C" to a "K." This was one, where I needed the perp PRANK to set me straight, and the other was AZTEK. I would have gone with the usual AZTEC if PESKY hadn't popped up.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Cannot, repeat CanNOT shake the image of that Macaw.

Lucina said...

Hahtoolah & spitzboov:
Those are two remarkable videos! Thank you for posting them. It took me a short while to see the woman/parrot but it's quite definite and I loved the story of the cat & ducklings. It's living prof that motherhood is universal, don't you agree?

Lucina said...

TTP:
What an incredible book by your grandfather! You must have some fascinating family lore connected with all that history.

Maci45 said...

I was expecting something tricky as well, but not this year. Didn't have any idea about STOLI and UKASE, had AZTEC at first, for some reason was thinking wedding reception rather than TV reception.
Always feel a sense of comfort when ASTA shows up.

Still not sure about the 'rabbit rabbit' thing, but I guess it's an insider thing.

OwenKL said...

Was just browsing through shoeboxblog.com, and ran across these:

Haht: Re:QOTD, here's something else that dogs don't know.

Marti: here's one for you, too. :-)

kazie said...

Thank you to those who welcomed me back today. It sometimes is like having a whole extra family here.

I did put our photos on the computer today and now see that we have many of colorful birds that may be of interest as contrast to the macaw of our puzzle. The people there seem to all feed them in their back yards. We saw many cockatoos, king parrots, and cockatiels as well as the non avian: wallabies and possums equally well cared for in back yards.

CrossEyedDave said...

Thanks Spitz for the Cat/duckling Video. I have seen pics of this before, but never the whole story...

Graze on this...

Oh well,, bring on the Wednesday puzzle...

Poor April 1st Rabbit...

Wait a sec, Spitz, I am not sure what I originally saw was the same cat?

Oh, I almost forgot! Today's (April 1st) Newark Star Ledger TFT (Thought For Today...)

"Our wisdom comes from our experience, and our experience comes from our foolishness." - Sacha Guitry, Russian-born French actor-writer-director (1855-1957)

PK said...

Montana, interesting to know about your AF son also being denied retirement benefits. My son has been in 15 years come June. If they count the five years he was in ROTC.... I guess it is good to be indispensable. He loves to fly.

STAMPEDE: In the 31 years of being a cattleman's wife, I never saw cattle stampede. I wish I had video footage of me trying to herd eight of the beasts out of my yard and back into the pasture. I was seven or eight months pregnant at the time and assisted by a dachshund who was nipping at their heels. We did it and I even managed to fix the fence well enough to keep them in until my man came home.

I saw a STAMPEDE of the neighbor's buffalo herd once. We were standing outside the fence with our Mexican exchange students. The buffalo were bunched up looking at us. Sudden noise! The buffalo were suddenly running the other way with their tails in the air over the hill. Awesome sight!

Argyle said...

Oh my! I would not have wanted to be on the other side of that hill.

Anonymous T said...

Hi all,

Welcome back Kazie!

Another fun run, but WEES re: PESKY T's and Z's. Only write over was TNOTE not Tbill/Tbond. Oh, and the i in RODAN... I kept seeing ACiD_MICFIELD - who's this Collegian guy? Oh! - V8! That hurt.

TTP - I look forward to my next plane ride to read the book.

Thanks Gail, Bruce, Argyle et.al. for helping me to keep my mind off my back -- No, no joke, my back is killing me.

Cheers, -T

Lemonade714 said...

Mary Keller, hers is one view of Rabbit, Rabbit which as a child growing up in New England was common

RABBIT, RABBIT .

TTP said...

Welcome back Kazie ! We had NAURU while you were away, and I recall one of your posts mentioning that you had met a man from Nauru.

Lucina, wow, you are a fast reader ! Glad you enjoyed it. I had been thinking about linking it, but I was hesitant. I thought that there would be some in this group, like yourself, that would enjoy it. Today's puzzle by Gail and Bruce, along with Argyle's summation, helped me decide to go ahead and link it.

I get fascinated every time I read it. A brother and sister each have hard copies, and I think my brother may have the original and a later edition. You probably noticed the original for the digitized copy came from Princeton.

My great grandfather was born 100 years before I was, so I never met him. He died in 1923. If alive, I think he might see many signs of the devil in me. :>)

Anon-T, I hope you enjoy it as well.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Fibber McGee used to say, "Dad Rabbit" when things got the way things get. Old radio scripts transcribe it as "Dad Rat-it," (as in "Dad rat-it, Gildersleeve!") but just watch your Closed Captions the next time Fibber shows up on a TCM show.
It's fun in your mouth too, almost as much fun as exclaiming (along with Lee-roy), "Oh, for Corn's sake!"

Lucina said...

TTP:
No. Please don't think that I read the whole thing. I merely skimmed it for content. Right now I am knee deep in books to read. It can go on my list.

I just think it's fabulous to have a family member who wrote a book!

HeartRx said...

OwenKL @ 2:56, hilarious pics of animals trying to adapt to human furniture. And thanks for the skier cartoon: it brought back an “oh crap!” skiing memory of getting caught in an avalanche…

Kazie, I figured you were on a great trip somewhere when we didn’t hear from you. Australia and New Zealand are on my bucket list. I can’t wait to see your pictures!

TTP, I have read a few of the chapters in the book, and it is an interesting look into the mind of a western preacher at the turn of the (last) century. What a different life back then.

HG, CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley has a segment on the sandhill crane migrations right now. Neat!

Ol' Man Keith said...

Fibber McGee follow-up:
Check for yourself. Listen to Fibber at 4:29.

Abejo said...

Good afternoon, folks. Thank you, Bruce and Gail, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for a fine review.

Started this on the way to gardening class and finished it on the way home.

Hahtoolah: Great Macaw shot!

TTP: Thanks for the shout out. I assume you meant the answer ERIE. It has been a while since I have seen my home town in a crossword.

Also, I will have to check out that book. Looks interesting!

Liked the theme.

Had YELL AT for a bit. EARLS and ADMIRE fixed that to RAIL AT. OK.

I also had AZTEC. I believe that is the correct spelling for the Mexican ancestors. IF GM can't spell, well OK. PESKY fixed all that.

Can never remember if it is ERICA or ERIKA. Arch reminded me which was correct.

ECZEMA is an irritation I used to get every winter. Finally went to a dermatologist who told me to quit taking hot showers so much. I quit that and my eczema never came back.

Finished my Master Gardener Class today. Went all winter. I am now a Master Gardener Intern. I have to put in 60 hours of volunteer service and then I become Certified. Really enjoyed this.

Yesterday I planted 225 onions and 50 feet of peas. Looking forward to this year.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

(8886344 5541)

Manac said...

Don't ever remember seeing Ukase before so that was a wtf moment. The rest went easy enough.
D-otto, ALL the tarps are folded and put away and the piles nothing more than a memory... Rough winter.

Anyways....

Academic Field(trip)

Out to pasture, I got nothing( nothing I can link here that is).

Electric Range?

And one for Tin,
A man
out standing in his field

Bill G. said...

I enjoyed the puzzle. The theme was pleasant but bland. Thanks Argyle too.

Spitz, I liked your cat/ducklings video. Good stuff.

I just picked up my new (antique) pocket watch from the jewelers. It is a Hamilton 992 railroad watch. There no particular reason for it; it's just something I wanted.

CrossEyedDave said...

manac! LOL @ Electric range!

Where can I view your link for Out To Pasture,,, ( I really need a belly laugh!)

Bill G., OK, like this scene, either the scene before it, or after it was really hilarious. which are you loading the Blog for...

Manac said...

Dave,
Check your E-mail

CanadianEh! said...

Straight sailing through this puzzle (which was nice after working all day).

WEES. I had never heard of UKASE or RODAN but perps filled them in.

I had FLIP before CEDE.
BOON is a great word which is not heard much any more.

YR @ 7:41 - I love your retirement analogy!

Welcome back Kazie - sounds like a great trip.

CrossEyedDave said...

OK, I can't deprive the Blog of Manac's Email....

also, the scene before Sheldon's pocketwatch...

The scene after Sheldon's pocketwatch...

PK said...

TTP: I read a few pages of your ancestor's book. Very interesting. Thanks for sharing.

TTP said...

Hi all,

I can't believe I am still up this late.

Lucina, sorry that I misunderstood. I think you will enjoy it when you get to it.

Marti, the first time I read it, I bounced around different chapters. Later, I realized that he was truly a cowboy first, and that only later in life did he become a Baptist preacher.

That explains a lot about my grandmother and mother ! No disrespect intended.

Abejo and PK, you two were among those that I thought might like it.

Our Houston and Texas contingent, especially those around Houston, would surely recognize some of the areas and towns he talks about, such as Addicks, Hockley, Goose Creek and others.

Have a good night all.