Laura Peebles
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arvafan55.bsky.social
Laura Peebles
@arvafan55.bsky.social
680 followers 290 following 320 posts
Baseball, cats, gardening, and occasional baseball or parody verse. Associate Editor for the SABR Game Story Project.
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arvafan55.bsky.social
Here's to the memory of my great-uncles, Don and Van Carlson, who served with the Canadian troops in France in WWI. They both returned, although Van had a lap full of shrapnel. Van lived long enough for me to get to know him. He was a prankster and kids' party magician. #veteransday
Sepia-toned photo of two handsome young men in their army caps. One is wearing a heavy wool jacket over a wool uniform with metal buttons. The other is wearing a similar coat, but over a white shirt and dark tie.
November 11, 2025 at 12:29 PM
arvafan55.bsky.social
Frost coming—tome to harvest some of my crayon radishes ! Time to make braised radishes with their greens.
A bunch of seven radishes with their greens still attached on a grey countertop. Radishes are red, pink, yellow, and white.
November 10, 2025 at 11:28 PM
arvafan55.bsky.social
Yes, #caturday was yesterday, but today is “look, they’re both playing with the ball tower” day. Clancy on the left and Lucy on the right.
Two orange tabby cats playing with a blue ball tower. The left, darker orange one, is sitting up. The right, lighter one, is on her side grabbing the ball in the lowest tier. Grey carpet underneath. Various cat toys in background.
November 9, 2025 at 3:01 PM
arvafan55.bsky.social
Lucy says” You woke me up just to take my picture for Caturday ?”
Orange tabby cat curled up in a carpeted cat scratcher tube. The scratcher has a flat top above the tube. Books are stacked on top. Cat look slightly annoyed.
November 1, 2025 at 5:04 PM
arvafan55.bsky.social
Six years ago today, Howie Kendrick hit this ball off the foul pole in Houston (yes, there is still a yellow mark on it from the paint). Six months later, I'm in West Palm to celebrate--and boo the Astros (except Dusty, of course!).
Two baseballs rest on an ice chest in a display in Cooperstown. The left baseball is "Juan Soto's baseball" which is the home run ball he hit onto the railroad tracks in the Astros stadium in Game One of the 2019 World Series. The Howie Kendrick ball is the one he hit off the foul pole in Game Seven, putting the Nationals ahead. In the stadium at West Palm Beach Florida, a man stands wearing a white t-shirt with the words "I was going to make a sign, but the Astros would have stolen it." A woman is wearing a t-shirt saying "Bang foul poles, not trash cans" beside a picture of the foul pole screen with the Howie's ball hitting it. Both people are smiling broadly.
October 30, 2025 at 12:23 PM
arvafan55.bsky.social
Went out to water this morning. Found an eastern honeybee sleeping on a late zinnia flower. I know he was sleeping because he was still there when I came back with the phone.
A single pink zinnia on a green stem with a couple of small leaves. There is an Eastern honeybee clinging to the underside of the flower. Concrete tiles, parapet, and balcony railing in the background.
October 26, 2025 at 1:13 AM
arvafan55.bsky.social
Not what I was expecting on my green tea, but I’ll take it!
Plastic bottle of green tea from Oi Ocha. Label includes a photo of Ohtani swinging a bat and the MLB logo. In small print it says Oi Ocha Global Ambassador.
October 17, 2025 at 2:38 PM
arvafan55.bsky.social
My Virginia wildflower mix is still blooming.
Five bright pink flowers with yellow centers fill the photo. Two buds are also visible. Portion of a purple t shirt and a sliding patio door in the background.
October 16, 2025 at 5:44 PM
arvafan55.bsky.social
My flowers are liking this weather. See alt text for names.
Flowers: orange coxcomb celosia in the center, yellow and orange lantanas in the back, a few purple celosia peeking in on the left side, and some purple succulent with pink flowers on stalks. Got the succulent at a garage sale years ago so have no idea what it is.
October 5, 2025 at 2:23 AM
arvafan55.bsky.social
FYI, if anyone is trying to make a COVID shot appointment on the Kaiser Permanente website, it may give you a "you are not eligible" message in error, as they just updated the website this morning. Just call the appointment line and sign up.
September 17, 2025 at 1:38 PM
arvafan55.bsky.social
I picked tomatoes yesterday. This is this morning’s harvest (with two lemon cucumbers). Looks like time to make roasted tomato salsa!
Strainer basket with two lemon cucumbers and sixty or so small orange tomatoes.
September 14, 2025 at 1:08 PM
arvafan55.bsky.social
Variegated Fritillary Butterfly on my celosia this morning (pineapple lily in the foreground).
Orange and brown butterfly on fuzzy pink and white flowers. Large green lily plant in the foreground.
August 31, 2025 at 7:30 PM
arvafan55.bsky.social
A peaceful scene for #caturday : Clancy (left) and Lucy sharing the couch.
Two orange tabby cats on a grey couch. One is curled up asleep on a leopard print mat. The other is in a loaf position next to her.
August 30, 2025 at 3:04 PM
arvafan55.bsky.social
Lucy on the desk. Want to guess how much of this hit the floor when she got down?
August 26, 2025 at 11:03 PM
arvafan55.bsky.social
Now here's something that doesn't happen too often in baseball--a catcher hits an inside-the-park grand slam! Just published from the SABR Game Stories:

sabr.org/gamesproj/ga...
August 30, 1990: White Sox catcher Ron Karkovice huffs and puffs to sink Twins with inside-the-park grand slam – Society for American Baseball Research
sabr.org
August 23, 2025 at 11:27 AM
arvafan55.bsky.social
I didn't write this SABR Game Story, but I'm glad someone did! Here's some serious baseball shenanigans!

sabr.org/gamesproj/ga...
August 17, 1947: Phillies attempt to negate Dodgers’ lead via Sunday ‘Blue Law’ – Society for American Baseball Research
sabr.org
August 16, 2025 at 3:38 PM
arvafan55.bsky.social
A fledgling starling parked under my tomato plant for a couple of hours today.
Small grey and black speckled bird sitting on an overturned pail sitting under a tomato plant. Two ripening tomatoes in the foreground.
August 12, 2025 at 2:08 AM
arvafan55.bsky.social
Apparently it’s International Cat Day. Lucy and Clancy think everyday is International Cat Day.
Two orange tabby cats relaxing in a cat tree. Baseball bobble heads and baseballs in cubes are in the background.
August 8, 2025 at 3:11 PM
arvafan55.bsky.social
First cucumbers!
(Heirloom lemon cucumbers—taste just like the green ones).
Two round yellow cucumbers on a grey and white granite countertop. Cucumbers about 3 inches diameter.
August 2, 2025 at 6:46 PM
arvafan55.bsky.social
I knew the finches were pulling the petals off the zinnias and eating the seeds, but tonight is the first time this year I've caught one in the act!

I don't mind the birds eating the seeds and flowers--there are plenty to go around, and the cats love watching them (safely from inside, of course).
Female goldfinch (about a 5-inch-long bird, brown with yellow accents) sitting on the stem of a zinnia plant. Her weight has bent the stem over as she is posed to eat the zinnia seeds. There are six other pink zinnias in the pot. There are three other flower pots in the background with plants but no flowers. The grey roof parapet is in the background.
July 12, 2025 at 11:30 PM
arvafan55.bsky.social
Happy Caturday from a catnip-drunk Lucy.
Orange tabby cat on an oriental carpet. The cat is laying on her side, clutching a green catnip fish.
July 12, 2025 at 3:24 PM
arvafan55.bsky.social
Very orange harvest this morning!
Two small orange sweet peppers and two dozen small orange tomatoes. Grey counter as background.
July 10, 2025 at 12:23 PM
arvafan55.bsky.social
Best fireworks show I ever saw was Ft. Collins, CO, 1977(!). That city funded its fireworks by collecting donations from the crowd in the park viewing the fireworks. So the 1976 ones were fine--but they spent every dollar they collected in the very-well-attended '76 show on an all-out '77 display.
July 5, 2025 at 5:39 PM
arvafan55.bsky.social
Tried growing a new flower this year: gazania. Recommended as full-sun and drought-tolerant. Figured perfect for my 16-hours-of-sun terrace. So far, so good!
Brilliant orange flower, similar to a daisy. One level of petals, shaded light in the center to darker orange at the tips. Center section of the flower shows pollen, also orange. About 3 inches across. Foliage in the background.
July 5, 2025 at 4:28 PM
arvafan55.bsky.social
Lucy and Clancy at the terrace door during a break in the weather: watching the garden and hoping for birds (no, they aren't allowed outside, but they can dream). From left to right, the plants: tomato, celosia, pineapple lily, lantana, with zinnia in the background.
Two orange tabby cats are sitting on a wooden step, looking through a screen door at a container garden on a terrace. The fence around the terrace is visible as well as a brick office building in the background. The plants visible are a tomato, a celosia, a lantana, a pineapple lily, and pink zinnias in the background.
July 2, 2025 at 4:33 PM