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It seems that the news travels so fast these days that some news people are reporting the news before it happens. Take for example the effects of global warming.  The hurricane experts had said that with great certainty that the frequency and severity of hurricanes would increase due to global warming.  Fortunately this "news" has not yet occurred in 2014.  Here it is one week past Labor Day, the point of maximum hurricane frequency, and there has not been even one hurricane this year---only a couple puny tropical depressions, those even stretched to be glorified with a name.

Having been observing nature for some 65 years, this week turned up two new observations--at least new to us. First, one of those rather large spiders had caught a small songbird in its web and was busy devouring it.  The spider was one of those we commonly call a banana spider, but an investigation shows that it is not correct to call it a banana spider. (even common names can be wrong!)  These spiders are common in the Texas gulf coast, less common in central Texas.  Their web is a giveaway to their identity----it always has a zigzag stitch in the center.  The spiders name is an argiope---one of three varieties, this one probably Bruennich's Argiope.  Well that's one for the book. Second, a road runner was on the back porch ravenously devouring a small songbird.  At first, I surmised it was the one from the spiders web, but no it was another bird.  I have always known that road runners were carnivorous, but not to the extent of hunting small birds....

Making cookie cutters and using a ammonium carbonate instead of sodium carbonate goes back at least 60 years, and in fact probably much more than that.  Better said, making cookies with this recipe has not occurred, at least in our family, in the last 60 years.  Making cookie cutters for Christmastime cookies and then making these cookies with a very big event. Here's a story that goes back those 60 years. Takes  some time, its two pages, big file. Now to the end of the story.  D found a lady who was a cookie cutter collector, gave the cookie cutters to her, along with the story, now the cookie cutters are in the permanent collection in the Cookie Cutter Museum in Joplin, Missouri, along with the story you just read. Cool, huh?