The Pups (Awww Monday), Inspiring Quote of the Week, and Garden Explosion (Poetry Monday)

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Awww Monday is hosted by Sandee at Comedy Plus.

Join us every Monday for Awww...Mondays.  Post a picture that makes you say Awww... and that's it.

Make sure you get the code from Sandee's site, linked above, and leave a link to your post so we can visit you.  What better way to start the week than with a smile!

A couple of photos of the pups/grand-dogs we were blessed to care for last week:

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Sparks is the brainchild of Annie of McGuffy's Reader, who wanted us to post something positive and uplifting at the start of the week.  While she no longer blogs, i like to post an Inspiring Quote of the Week in her honor.     

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Poetry Monday was started by Diane at On The Alberta/Montana Border.  We hope Jenny at Procrastinating Donkey will feel up to participating in the poetry again soon, her verses are missed.   Charlotte/Mother Owl participates, and now Karen at Baking in a Tornado is jumping in at least once a month, too.  Anyone else is welcome to join in the fun, just let Diane know!

This week the theme is Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor's Porch Night.                        

Some of us can't grow gardens

or any kinds of plants, you see,

we have to resort to buying

our produce from artichoke to zucchini.

Some of you can grow gardens,

by this time of summer, they explode,

you've got produce coming out the wazoo,

a bountiful mother lode.

While zucchini in bread's great for breakfast,

in garlic sauce it makes a fab lunch,

by the time zucchini parmesan is for dinner,

i'm starting to have a hunch

You're soon going to tire of zucchini,

and all those other veggies, too,

if you need a place for your excess,

i'm giving a hint to you.

Just sneak your excess veggies

on your neighbor's porch at night,

in the morning they'll be thankful

for the bounty so fresh and bright.

In fact, those of us with no talent

for growing a single thing

would love some home grown produce

to gives our meals fresh zing!

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Today is:

Anjin Matsuri -- Ito City, Japan (commemorations William Adams (1564-1620), a naturalized British shipwright, called "Anjin Miura" in Japan, a great contributor to the early development of Japanese ship-building industry; through the 10th)

Ashura -- Islam (optional day of fasting that ends at sundown, local observances and national holidays may vary)

BaBa Day -- Taiwan (ba ba is Mandarin for both "father" and "8-8")

Bonza Bottler Day™

Carnival Monday -- Grenada

Dalek Day -- on the birth anniversary of the creator of these Scifi baddies, Terry Nation

Festival for Venus -- Ancient Roman Calendar (sunset to sunset)

Finest Fairy Finals -- Fairy Calendar (Do only the finest fairies take finals? How do the others get a final grade? :D )

Fourteen Holy Helpers' Day (Patrons against diseases)

Happiness Happens Day -- sponsored by the Secret Society of Happy People, to encourage sharing happiness and discourage parade raining; on the anniversary of their founding in 1997

Heroes Day -- Zimbabwe

Kranti Diwas -- Mumbai (former Bombay), India (a/k/a Freedom Day or Quit India Day; anniversary of Gandhi's Quit India speech to the British authorities in 1942)

Namesday of the Queen -- Sweden (Queen Sylvia; an official Flag Day)

National Frozen Custard Day

Odie Day -- Garfield's pal Odie, who first appeared in the strip on this day in 1978

Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor's Porch Night -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays, and i love the stuff but can't grow plants to save my life, i'll leave the porch light on for you if you will bring me some!

St. Cyriacus' Day (Patron of the eyes; Altidona, Italy; against diabolical possession, eye disease, and temptations, especially temptations at the time of death)

St. Dominic's Day (Founder of the Dominican Order[Friars]; Patron of astronomers and astronomy, falsely accused people, scientists; Batanes-Babuyanes, Philippines; Bayombong, Philippines; Dominican Republic; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; Santo Domingo Indian Pueblo; Valletta, Malta)

St. Mary MacKillop's Day (First native-born Australian saint; Patron of Australia; Wagga Wagga, Australia)

The Date To Create -- can't find anything on this one, just listed at a couple of sites, but go have fun creating something!

Wakulima ya Nane Nane -- Tanzania (Peasants' Day/Farmers' Day)

World Cat Day / International Cat Day -- begun in 2002 by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and other animal rights groups 

Birthdays Today:

Roger Federer, 1981

Michael Urie, 1980

Drew Lachey, 1976

The Edge, 1961

Deborah Norville, 1958

Randy Shilts, 1951

Roberta Cooper Ramo, 1942

Keith Carradine, 1949

Connie Stevens, 1938

Dustin Hoffman, 1937

Mel Tillis, 1932

Esther Williams, 1923

Rory Calhoun, 1922

Dino De Laurentis, 1919

Russell Markert, 1899

Fredric March, 1897

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, 1896

Emiliano Zapata Salazar, 1879

Matthew Henson, 1866

Emperor Horikawa of Japan, 1079

Today in History:

The Romans destroy the Tower of Antonia, 70

Otto I (The Great) crowned German king, 936

Vijayanagara Empire is rebegun with the crowning of emperor Krishnadeva Raya, 1509

The cornerstone for Tycho Brahe's Uraniborg observatory is laid on Hven, 1576

John Davis enters Cumberland Sound in search of the Northwest Passage, 1585

The first known ascent (indoors) of a hot-air ballon by Bartolomeu de Gusamao, 1709

Jacques Balmat and Dr Michel-Gabriel Paccard become the first to ascend Mont Blanc, 1786

Metal bullet cartridges are patented by Smith and Wesson, 1854

Mimeograph is patented by Thomas Edison, 1876

Wilbur Wright makes the brother's first public flight, at a racecourse in Le Mans, France, 1908

The millionth patent is filed in the United States Patent Office by Francis Holton for a tubeless vehicle tire, 1911

The German airship Graf Zeppelin begins a round-the-world flight, 1929

The United Nations Charter is signed by the United States, the 3rd nation to join, 1945

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is founded by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, 1967

Richard Nixon announces his resignation as President of the United States, effective the next day, 1974

The lights go on at Wrigley Field for the first time, making it the last staduim in the majors to host a night game (which was subsequently rained out!), 1988

Iraq occupies and annexes Kuwait, leading to the Gulf War to liberate Kuwait within a couple of weeks, 1990

Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley is raised to the surface after 136 years on the ocean floor, 2000

Archeologist excavating the Templo Mayor, one of the Aztec's main temples in their capital city of Tenochtitlan (now Mexico City), make an unprecedented find - the skeleton of a young woman surrounded by piles of 1,789 human bones, 2012

The Walt Disney Company announces plans to create a new streaming service and cut ties with Netflix, 2017

Australia's most populous state, New South Wales, is declared to be 100% in drought, 2018\

In a "Wright Brothers Moment" (key achievement), the National Ignition Facility of the Livermore Lab produces 1.3 megajoules of energy through nuclear fusion, 2021