Elderly man was ordered to stop mowing grass because it's too tidy

A pensioner has been ordered by his council to stop mowing the grass outside his home because it makes the road look too tidy.
Brian Hubbard has regularly cut and weeded the small patch of grass outside his three-bedroom home since he moved in four years ago.
He also picks up any litter, rakes the leaves and cleans up after the council contractors have left their grass cuttings.
But he has received a letter accusing him of "encroaching" on council land and been told that he must stop tending to the grass and "return the area to its original state within 28 days" or the work would be carried out at his expense.
He said: "I like the place to be tidy and attractive and I know the council's contractors cannot do it all so I decided to help out.
"I find it grossly irritating that just because I have taken pride in the area where I live and made it more attractive I have had this threatening letter.
"Whoever would have thought that cultivating the grass, cutting it regularly and raking the leaves off could be described as encroachment? Do they want me to put daisies and dandelions in?
"The other day there were people smashing glass over the road. I got a broom, went over and swept it up. Is that encroachment?
"This is a perfect example of an overzealous council wasting taxpayers' money. I'm going to ignore the letter and carry on."

Lost dog doesn't speak English

A heartbroken dog owner is appealing for the safe return of her beloved pet.
Eva Stadaniova is fraught with worry after Nikita, her cross breed American Staffordshire and bull terrier, was stolen from outside the Grand Arcade. She is also worried because the two-year-old pooch only understands Czech.
Nikita arrived in the UK two weeks ago after six months in quarantine.Eva, 23, moved to the area from Prague in the Czech Republic three months ago and is distraught about being separated from her again.
She said: "I am very worried about my dog, she is like my child, my darling, and I am afraid for her because she doesn't understand English. I don't know who these people are and I am scared they won't look after her."
Eva, who is originally from Slovakia and now works in a factory in Skelmersdale, bought Nikita two years ago while she was living in Prague.
Eva left Nikita, described as black and brown and wearing a brown leather collar with her name on it, tied to a post outside the Grand Arcade. When she came back the dog had gone.
A frantic search ensued and ended in Wigan Police station where Eva discovered CCTV had captured the dog-napper, a female dressed in a pink hooded top and jeans, on tape.
Eva, of Alderley, said: "I have been looking for her everywhere, I have put up posters all over Wigan and I have been into all the pet stores. I just want her back safe."CCTV footage showed a female approach Nikita, untie her and lead her away to an unknown location and police are treating the incident as a theft.

It seems like yester-year to me

Baby Laugh-a-Lot Commercial

Spooky Halloween Food Ideas

Spider Cakes

Here's a collection of recipes for spooky Halloween dishes

Can I touch them? Wow!

A little fella getting excited about lobsters

About 40 people filled up in Wisconsin for 35 cents a gallon

WISCONSIN RAPIDS, Wis. — Sure, gas prices have come down lately. But to 34.9 cents a gallon?
That’s what Kelly Joosten and dozens of other motorists paid at a Citgo station Monday. The sign advertised $3.43 for a gallon of premium fuel, but the pump cost read $0.349 a gallon. "That was amazing," said Joosten, who normally spends about $100 to fill up her 1998 Ford Expedition.
Joosten proudly showed off her receipt for 25.36 gallons at $8.85. She said she saw other motorists filling gas cans, too, at the discounted price.
Station owner JP Raval says the attendant on duty couldn’t figure out why the station was suddenly so busy.
Raval estimated 30 to 40 customers fueled up at the incorrect price — 300 gallons worth — for about 90 minutes. "People kept coming, so fast," Raval said. "Everything was crowded; it was like a fairground."

You'll be Ok!

Jumbo Size Watermelon

Rockin’ the boat

Did You Know.......

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It would take 1.2 million mosquitoes biting you simultaneously to drain all your blood.

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Mosquito - The Little Blood Sucker
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Mosquitoes are insects that have been around for more than 30 million years. And it seems that, during those millions of years, mosquitoes have been honing their skills so that they are now experts at finding people to bite. Mosquitoes have a battery of sensors designed to track their prey, including:

Chemical sensors - mosquitoes can sense carbon dioxide and lactic acid up to 100 feet (36 meters) away. Mammals and birds gives off these gases as part of their normal breathing. Certain chemicals in sweat also seem to attract mosquitoes (people who don't sweat much don't get nearly as many mosquito bites).

Visual sensors - if you are wearing clothing that contrasts with the background, and especially if you move while wearing that clothing, mosquitoes can see you and zero in on you. It's a good bet that anything moving is "alive", and therefore full of blood, so this is a good strategy.

Heat sensors - Mosquitoes can detect heat, so they can find warm-blooded mammals and birds very easily once they get close enough. Something with this many sensors sounds more like a military aircraft than an insect. That's why mosquitoes are so good at finding and biting you. As we'll see later, one of the only ways to stop mosquitoes from finding you is to confuse their chemical receptors with something like DEET. Like all insects, adult mosquitoes have three basic body parts:

Head - This is where all the sensors are, along with the biting apparatus. The head has two compound eyes, antennae to sense chemicals and the mouth parts called the palpus and the proboscis (only females have the proboscis, for biting).

Thorax - This segment is where the two wings and six legs attach. It contains the flight muscles, compound heart, some nerve cell ganglia and trachioles.

Abdomen - This segment contains the digestive and excretory organs. So you have a sensor package, a motor package and a fuel processing package -- a perfect design!

Little FlyThe word "mosquito" is Spanish for "little fly," and its use dates back to about 1583 in North America (Europeans referred to mosquitoes as "gnats"). Mosquitoes belong to the order Diptera, true flies. Mosquitoes are like flies in that they have two wings, but unlike flies, their wings have scales, their legs are long and the females have a long mouth part (proboscis) for piercing skin.