Category Archives: Quick Hits

July 23 is World Whale and Dolphin Day

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Whale‑watching tour boat with humpback whales surfacing beside the vessel as passengers watch and photograph the marine wildlife.

 Good Morning

 

Fresh from the Feline Desk at WMEO (We Meow, You Listen) Correspondents Banner and Balboa are here with an update on World Whale and Dolphin Day.

 

Banner:

July 23 is World Whale and Dolphin Day. Concerned that commercial fishing had reached such a level that several species of marine mammals were at real risk of extinction, international conservation groups pushed for quotas and a total ban on commercial whaling on July 23, 1982. In 1986, July 23rd was officially designated World Whale and Dolphin Day.

Balboa:

dolphins. Whales play a crucial role in maintaining a healthy ocean and even help combat climate change by supporting natural carbon removal. There are other observances too, like World Whale Day on February 19.

Banner:

Whales and dolphins have become beloved worldwide thanks to their intelligence and unique behaviors. Orcas can live 30–60 years in the wild, while dolphins—among the smartest animals on Earth—have demonstrated remarkable communication abilities and even therapeutic benefits for humans. Learning more about these incredible creatures helps us protect them.

Balboa:

Whale and dolphin watching has grown into a major ecotourism industry, bringing visitors and revenue to coastal communitiesBreaching Whale while promoting conservation. A good trip offers education, excitement, and the unforgettable experience of seeing these magnificent animals in the wild. Humpbacks feed off Alaska all summer, gray whales cruise past California bluffs in winter, and the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale still passes close enough to Cape Cod to spot from a boat.

Banner:

Celebrate Whale and Dolphin Day with a whale watch adventure. You’ll almost certainly see whales—and maybe some energetic white‑sided dolphins racing alongside the boat. Humpbacks may breach, feed, and sometimes even bring their calves over for a curious hello.

Balboa:

In Massachusetts, you can enjoy a day on the water with:

Cape Ann Whale Watch

7 Seas Whale Watch

Newburyport Whale Watching

Dolphin Fleet, Provincetown

City Cruises Whale Watching

Captain John Boats (Plymouth & Provincetown)

Celebrate Whale and Dolphom Day with a Summer Day on the Open Ocean.

End of bulletin. Please resume your regularly scheduled scrolling.

 

A National Parks Sweepstakes Alert

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Breaking News from the Feline Desk 

Live from WMEO- We Meow, you listen

Balboa reporting live from the newsroom (the sunny patch on the floor): Attention, human readers. Mom has discovered a very important annual sweepstakes from the National Park Foundation. The prize includes airfare, a customizable National Park vacation, and $10,000 in travel funds. That’s… a lot of treats.

 

 

Banner adds: You can pick any park you haven’t visited yet — Yosemite, Channel Islands, Bryce, Zion, Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef… basically all the places Mom talks about while we pretend to listen.

Adventure Awaits Sweepstakes promotional graphic featuring scenic national park landscapes and text announcing 500,000 American Airlines miles plus $10,000 cash prize.”

National Park Sweepstake

Balboa again: Entry requires a donation unless you send a postcard. Mom says this month’s budget is already spoken for, so she’s bookmarking it for next year. Very responsible human behavior.

Banner’s closing statement: We fully support Mom entering next year. More parks = more photos = more chances for us to photobomb her blog. Also, we would like to ride in the red convertible she keeps mentioning. We promise not to shed. Much.

If you enter this year, we wish you luck. We would love to hear that one of our readers won the trip.

End of bulletin. Please resume your regularly scheduled scrolling.

 

It’s National Ice Cream Day- Who Wants to Party?!

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Children walking outdoors in cool weather, happily eating ice‑cream cones, with buildings blurred in the background.

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream!

Do you know what day it is? It’s National Ice Cream Day! A totally legitimate excuse to pig out on your favorite frozen treat — cones, sundaes, cups, bars, whatever makes your inner child happy.

A Little Nostalgia

Let’s get nostalgic for a minute. Do neighborhoods still have ice cream trucks? They used to cruise the streets with jolly jingles and ringing bells, and we all came running. We had to get our ice‑cream bar or our little “hoodsie” cup.

Anyone remember the old ice‑cream counters, or am I really dating myself? They were usually tucked inside the local drugstore or a Woolworth’s. You climbed up on a stool and ordered a shake or a cone, and life was good.

Right now I’m craving some Caramel Cup ice cream… and of course my freezer is empty.

Freebies for National Ice Cream Day

A bunch of ice‑cream companies are celebrating with deals and giveaways:

  • Dairy Queen: Rewards members get a free Dilly Bar with any order of $1 or more using the DQ App.
  • Baskin-Robbins: Rewards members get $5 off an order of $20 or more, plus a buy‑one‑get‑one free single scoop next week.
  • Friendly’s: Every guest gets a free cone or dish — no purchase necessary.
  • Dippin’ Dots: Participating locations are giving away free mini cups during a designated two‑hour window.
  • Häagen-Dazs: Rewards members can get a Buy One, Get One Free sundae at participating shops.
  • Insomnia Cookies: Get a free two‑scoop ice‑cream cup with any $5 purchase.

And while Boston isn’t hosting an official Ice Cream Day celebration, plenty of shops are scooping happiness today.

So… What Are You Doing for National Ice Cream Day?

I think I’m going to go buy a quart of my favorite flavors. Maybe two. It is a holiday, after all.

 

To Deep Fry or Not to Deep Fry

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Golden, crispy onion rings piled on a wooden surface with a small dish of red dipping sauce in the background.”

Onion Rings & Other Adventures

I almost never deep fry anything, but the craving for onion rings hit hard this week. So I broke down, hauled out my trusty cast‑iron skillet, clipped a deep‑fry thermometer to the side like I knew what I was doing, and went for it.

They were pretty good — crisp, golden, and absolutely worth the trouble. The only downside? By the time I was done, the oil looked like a snow globe full of batter crumbs. Since I fry with Crisco, I had to strain it before it cooled or it would turn back into a solid brick. I remembered my mom straining hers through cheesecloth, which sent me on a whole mental scavenger hunt wondering where people even buy cheesecloth these days. (Answer: apparently everywhere except my kitchen.)

And now, a brief report from the Feline News Desk at WMEW — All Meow, All the Time:

Banner: “We observed the frying operation from a safe distance. The sizzling noises were concerning, but we remained brave.”

Balboa: “I would like to formally request onion rings be added to the treat rotation.”

Rocky (retired, reporting from the Rainbow Bridge editorial suite): “Deb, next time take pictures. The readers deserve visual proof of this chaos.”

No photos this time — just a craving, a skillet, and two cats who think they’re culinary experts.

 

Look! 100,000 views

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“Deborah sits between her two cats, Banner (orange tabby) and Balboa (black cat), with a softly glowing, ethereal image of her retired editor‑in‑chief cat Rocky in the upper right corner.”

The Dustyroads Team — Banner, Deb (aka Dusty), Balboa, and Editor‑in‑Chief Cat Rocky (retired)

Hello my friends, loyal readers, and family.

Today is a very special day at Arounddustyroads. It feels like I’ve been writing forever, but this morning we crossed a huge milestone: 100,000 all‑time views. My little blog — this one‑woman column from Taunton that started with a camera, a keyboard, and a stubborn posting schedule — finally hit six figures. And we couldn’t have done it without you.

Along the way I had a finicky editor‑in‑chief cat who kept nudging me forward even when the going got tough. Rocky may be retired now, but his legacy lives on. Banner and Balboa have big whiskers to fill.

Here’s to the next 100,000 views.