Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters, respectively, in the Greek alphabet, or so I’m told. That just sounded like a good title for this post since I have a feeling that the blooming season is about over for the Cereus cactus in our garden. The First Flower popped out around the end of May, leading up to a Profusion of blooms a couple of weeks ago.

This little bud may be one of the last blooms of the season. It looks formidable surrounded by spines, but it is destined to be another gorgeous flower. Click on the image at the left for a really close-up view.

Warmed by the morning sunlight, this nice Cosmos flower shows its symmetry and order that prompted the Spaniards to give it the name Cosmos, which means “ordered universe.” This one is the first from some starter plants we bought a few weeks ago, and is quite large - about four inches (10cm) across.

Last week when I took possession of my new Glock 26, I ran across this YouTube® video while looking at another video showing how to field strip my new pistol. The Glock 18 video shows this dude, “DangerousBob,” putting 298 rounds through a Glock 18 in fully automatic mode. His assistant feeds him a number of 33-round magazines which he empties in a second or two. The last magazine he empties is a very-high-capacity drum-type which takes him a few more seconds to exhaust.

It looks like it would be fun, but alas, our California politician moonbats won’t let us have cool toys like this.

This hard-to-describe beetle perched on a basil leaf in the patio, so I grabbed the camera and got a couple of shots of it. I couldn’t quite describe it to Bob, so creepy or not, a picture was in order. This Halloween-colored critter certainly doesn’t blend in the foliage like other more stealthy bugs.

I’ve posted about my favorite flower, the Stargazer Lily, before. For whatever reason, the flower concession at our local supermarket has been devoid of ‘gazers. Over the weekend, however, we went to another store and found a nice bouquet of three stems for under $10. This one opened over the weekend and is so pretty. It’s nice to see ‘gazers back on the dining room table.

From FloraPedia:

The stargazer has added a new layer to the already rich legacy of lilies, which have been a significant floral symbol for centuries. In ancient mythology and in folklore from around the world, the lily has appeared as a deeply spiritual and philosophical metaphor. Developed in the latter part of the 20th century, the stargazer lily is a recent addition to the lily family, but this unique and rather exotic hybrid has rapidly risen in popularity to become one of the most adored and sought-after of all lily varieties.

I ran across this yesterday as I was checking out the news feeds. Embedded in the article “Media Aim at Gun Rights with Loaded Coverage” published by CNS News, is this description of four things that the media fail to present when covering issues involving the second amendment.

From CNS News:

» Comparisons between countries are not useful. Unfortunately, direct comparisons based solely on crime rates and gun laws tell very little about whether gun control actually works. Social scientists believe that gun control is only one of many factors that influence rates of violence.

» Guns are frequently used to stop crimes. To the Founding Fathers, the right to bear arms for self-protection was essential if citizens were to be truly free, but this essential fact rarely saw the light of day in the mainstream media.

» Most guns used in crimes are illegally acquired. Like it or not, banning guns only takes them out of the hands of law-abiding citizens, making it easier for people with no respect for the law to attack their victims.

» Gun control laws have no proven effect. At worst, gun control laws leave law-abiding citizens defenseless before rapacious criminals, and at best, they may not affect violence at all.”

If your objective is to stop gun crime, then these four facts must be considered. If your objective is to take guns away from law-abiding citizens, then these facts will be ignored. Clearly, the big media’s objective is the latter.

Counter to the gun-grabbing Brady Campaign’s National Day of Protest, we’re posting our latest “On the Range” video to encourage gun enthusiasts to buy guns and/or ammunition tomorrow August 28th.

War on Guns posted an article calling for a blog swarm on this last week. In the article, David links to The Firearms Coalition who are calling for National Exercise Your Rights Day. It seems that not only are the Bradys protesting tomorrow, but also the Jesse Jackson lemmings.

So, show your support for your second-amendment rights. Check out our video and see how much fun we’re having with our guns at the local firing range. Then, tomorrow, go out and buy a gun or some ammo or some reloading supplies or any combination of those, and encourage the Brady Campaign to notice that 66 percent of Americans are against new gun laws.

From NRA-ILA:

A recent Zogby International poll question conducted for Associated Television News found that 66% of the American voting public in a recent poll of 1,020 Americans from August 8-11, 2007 (margin of error of +/- 3.1%) found that the American public rejects the notion that new gun control laws are needed.

Unusual for August here, we had a couple little rain squalls move through thanks to the remnants of Hurricane Dean. A little sun broke through and lit up these beautiful hibiscus still bearing the raindrops from the gentle showers.

After reading news accounts about the contribution of pigeon dung to the collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis, I was reminded about how pigeons similarly factored into the destruction of the famous “RENO - The Biggest little city in the world” sign that spans the entrance to the downtown gambling district. I recall reading a the story in the 1980’s about how the old sign became inhabited by pigeons that roosted or nested in the sign. They got in through gaps in the sign and, of course, pooped while they were in there.

Image right: Reno sign, 1980’s - click to enlarge

Eventually, despite having been evicted several times by the city’s maintenance crews, the pigeon problem persisted until one day there was an electrical short-circuit in the sign. The methane from the dung ignited; there was a minor explosion and a fire afterwards that damaged the sign beyond repair. The sign was removed and subsequently replaced by a newer Vegas-style beauty which electronically beckons visitors to the downtown district. While it’s a beautiful sight, the new sign doesn’t have the old sign’s charm and breaks the promise for a “little city” beyond. Recent visitors to the new Reno, if they knew the old Reno, will know what I mean.

Image left: New Reno sign - click to enlarge

As for pigeons? They’re just rats with wings.

The flower concession at our local supermarket had a special on Phalaenopsis orchids this weekend. I put this beautiful spotted Phalaenopsis in the shopping cart and it now sits with our exotic tropical plant collection on the kitchen counter under the skylight.

We added this nice two-tone Santana Hibiscus bush to our backyard landscape today. We’re running around getting all the shopping and chores done because tomorrow is the gun show!

While in the garden taking pictures, I spotted this little green arachnid crawling about on one of my morning glory flowers - sorta creepy and pretty at the same time. Mostly creepy.

This might be a green lynx spider which are hunting spiders that spend their lives on plants, flowers and shrubs. Nimble runners and jumpers, they rely on their keen eyesight to stalk, chase or ambush prey.