The bluebirds spent a lot of time flying from trees to rooftops to the ground and water sources. They also checked out nesting boxes. Here is one pair with a yellow-rumped warbler a drink in the garden.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Visitors
A mixed winter flock of American goldfinches, yellow-rumped warblers, eastern bluebirds and others spent some time in the yard this morning. After snow showers last night and early this morning, it's mostly sunny, chilly, but pleasant and it appears the weather will be about the same for at least the next week.
The bluebirds spent a lot of time flying from trees to rooftops to the ground and water sources. They also checked out nesting boxes. Here is one pair with a yellow-rumped warbler a drink in the garden.
The bluebirds spent a lot of time flying from trees to rooftops to the ground and water sources. They also checked out nesting boxes. Here is one pair with a yellow-rumped warbler a drink in the garden.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Snow! (is gone...)
As noted in my last brief post, we had a glorious 10 inch snowfall over the weekend. The perfect snow for shoveling or snow blowing. The forecast was for about 3 to 6 inches, but with the ever tricky dynamic of ocean enhancement (moisture from the Atlantic) with the storm we ended up with almost double.
My trusty old snowshoes. My Mom got these for me in the late 80s. I sent them off to Vermont a few years ago to have them cleaned up and re-dipped to protect the wood and rawhide webbing. They are so wonderful to use in the snow.
Harry concentrating hard and pouncing into the snow.
Harry burying himself almost completely in the snow. He was having a blast!
Mrs and I got a chance to use our snowshoes on Sunday. I was pleased to be able to get out on them after reinstalling the bindings. Last season I had difficulty with one of them turning outward with each step making it difficult to walk in them. We took Harry out to his usual spot at the local wildlife management area where he had great fun bounding through the snow, pouncing on what we assume were mice or voles and burying himself in the drifts trying to get to their nests. I have watched him come up with and tear apart several nests, and luckily the ones I have seen have been empty.
We were treated to the sight and sound of horned larks flying over our heads and landing nearby. A treat on an already wonderful walk.
I am typing this post up after 2 am on Wednesday. Most all traces of the snow storm quickly melted away on Monday night and Tuesday as temps hit 50 degrees and we had some liquid precipitation. I walked at one of the conservation areas I monitor on Tuesday afternoon and found dandelions in flower and also a lone (and very unstable) honey bee buzzing around here at the house. It really is an odd winter.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Snow!
We finally got some appreciable snow here on the upper Cape today. Started at about 6 am and ended around 8 or 9 tonight. Moderate snowfall throughout the day with several heavy bursts enhanced by moisture brought in from the Atlantic. Last night the forecast was 3 - 6 inches. We ended up with a Winter Storm Warning being issued today and a total of 10 inches or so, possibly pockets of higher accumulation. I'm hoping to get out snowshoeing tomorrow with Mrs and the dogs. Should be a pretty day.
My view on the way to work this evening.
My view on the way to work this evening.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Short Weekend
I somehow managed to pull off a double shift on my last night on this last week. Technically speaking the OT shift fell in this week... I have not worked an overnight shift in some time, and going into one of off my regular shift is a challenge. Turns out, it went very well and I had no issues with feeling like I wanted to pass out, drooling on the desk. Mercifully, 3 am came quickly, 6 am came more quickly and by 8 am I was ready to go home, but felt ok. No horrible calls to deal with. By this time I had been awake for about 25 hours. Certainly not as easy as it was when I was in college 20 years ago, but all is ok. I came home and slept for about four and one half hours and Mrs woke me as requested so I would not lose my day off completely. It was a fairly relaxed weekend, save for the extra shift, but it was night time so not a major loss.
Monday was fairly relaxed. We spent most of it at home after a night of clear, cold weather with temps in the single digits. Winter is here, but it seems it will be a brief appearance. I took the dogs for a walk this afternoon at a nearby wildlife reservation. Harry really loves it here and spends a great deal of time pouncing and digging through the grass. Up until recently I could only assume that he was after some type of mouse or vole nest. The other day I was able to confirm this when he was digging through the grass near me and came up with a complete round nest. It appeared to be empty of any little critters, thankfully. I am SO hoping that the classes we will begin in February will help me and him get on the same wavelength. He must come to me when I ask, no matter what he is doing. At the moment I have to trick him by walking off the field n a path in the woods. Here the path is narrow and I can grab his collar. I am head over heels for this dog.
This is what he spends a lot of time doing. Note the wagging tail!
Harry catching up as we leave him behind.
A good (but short) weekend all in all.
Monday was fairly relaxed. We spent most of it at home after a night of clear, cold weather with temps in the single digits. Winter is here, but it seems it will be a brief appearance. I took the dogs for a walk this afternoon at a nearby wildlife reservation. Harry really loves it here and spends a great deal of time pouncing and digging through the grass. Up until recently I could only assume that he was after some type of mouse or vole nest. The other day I was able to confirm this when he was digging through the grass near me and came up with a complete round nest. It appeared to be empty of any little critters, thankfully. I am SO hoping that the classes we will begin in February will help me and him get on the same wavelength. He must come to me when I ask, no matter what he is doing. At the moment I have to trick him by walking off the field n a path in the woods. Here the path is narrow and I can grab his collar. I am head over heels for this dog.
A good (but short) weekend all in all.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
First Storm, 2012
This is one of those days when you wake up, listen to the wind and rain pounding the house and pull the covers over your head. No one was in a hurry to get up this morning. I pushed Harry out the slider and after being hit full on by the wind, he turned and almost crawled back to the door. He's not a fan of rain. So, we tried again at the mudroom door where I stood on the deck and made him go far enough out to at least pee.
After feeding them and getting some more suitable clothing on, I let him and Bella out again while I fed the horse and let the chickens out (they also turned around and stayed in the coop). It's not that bad. Honestly. Bella really doesn't care much about bad weather. She's pretty happy all the time. Harry quickly got used to it and I think having his big sister out there with him helped. I don't want this guy to be a spaz like his predecessor, cowering and/or barking at every little thing that comes along.
This is a minor storm; an annoyance, really. Rain and wind out of the east currently at 20 to 30 mph. There may be gusts to 55 later on. I'm hoping for Harry's first snow soon, if we even get any this year.
This is a shot from the other day of a couple of the raised beds. The little bit of frost that was in the ground melted off so I decided to amend the soil with some of our compost; one or two wheelbarrows full depending on the depth of the bed. It's looking very nice and with luck and the hope of good weather we should be able to make the land work for us again. Anxious to get my hands in the soil.
After feeding them and getting some more suitable clothing on, I let him and Bella out again while I fed the horse and let the chickens out (they also turned around and stayed in the coop). It's not that bad. Honestly. Bella really doesn't care much about bad weather. She's pretty happy all the time. Harry quickly got used to it and I think having his big sister out there with him helped. I don't want this guy to be a spaz like his predecessor, cowering and/or barking at every little thing that comes along.
This is a minor storm; an annoyance, really. Rain and wind out of the east currently at 20 to 30 mph. There may be gusts to 55 later on. I'm hoping for Harry's first snow soon, if we even get any this year.
This is a shot from the other day of a couple of the raised beds. The little bit of frost that was in the ground melted off so I decided to amend the soil with some of our compost; one or two wheelbarrows full depending on the depth of the bed. It's looking very nice and with luck and the hope of good weather we should be able to make the land work for us again. Anxious to get my hands in the soil.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Winter Reassess...
New Year's Day was the last time I donned my running shoes. That was to be the start of the next 8 week session in my cycling and running program. One thing has gotten in the way. Money. Or lack thereof. More accurately I guess would be to say using that money elsewhere. I had already decided I would dump the indoor cycling for the winter to save (or redistribute) a little bit. The loss of the running clinic was a last minute decision - literally the day before and I e-mailed the coach after midnight the day we were to start. It's annoying, but I should be able to get myself through the winter with a couple runs every week and some time in the home gym in our basement, if I can clear enough junk away to comfortable access the equipment. It will also give the body a little time to recover from any minor aches or strains I may have had.
So, the money that would have gone to my training will be going to Harry's. I met with a trainer last week for an evaluation and we will be starting in a basic obedience class in early February. Harry is too old and already has the basic puppy stuff down, so we're going right into class with the older pups. This is more for me than him, really. My main goal is to get him to snap-to and come to me instantly. If there is anything he is lacking in, it's that. That could be the difference between life or death if, for example he were to get away from us in the driveway and head for the road at full speed. He must stop, turn around and come back. No questions asked. I don't care if the mailman is standing there covered in raw steak and chicken.
SANS TV & PHONE
I think I mentioned in an earlier post that we are attempting to break free from the chains of cable TV. So far, we do not miss it. In fact, I feel amazingly liberated. I am fairly certain the TV causes me stress because I have to listen to the crap TV only at work now and it grinds on my last nerve. We wonder why we are so screwed up in this country? I think TV brainwashing is a big portion of it. Gone are the days of a news man just reading the news of the day and moving on. Now we have to sit there through hours and hours of talking heads blabbering on about why this is this and why that is that and usually misleading or heavily biased in the case of one particular "news channel" and it's local affiliates. Even local news is like this now. Just read the story, and move on. I am particularly glad to be rid of it in an election year.
For a while I had the same feelings about the Internet. Mostly it was from people forwarding or posting fake stories or information as a way to cause panic and fear. I spent a lot of time replying with proof that these were made-up or only partially true stories. Thankfully a lot of that crap has gone away. I have even stopped replying unless the misinformation was so egregious that I could not ignore it.
Last night Mrs and I sat in our 'lounge' with the dogs and cats reading. True, we did have our devices connecting us to the Internet there, but we spent a majority of our time reading. It was so peaceful and wonderful. It made me think maybe working day shift for a while would not be such a bad thing.
We have also shut off all of our land line telephones in the house. We went back to the phone company rather than using the cable company. We intended to keep it for 9-1-1 only, but Mrs decided to keep the number unlisted (my only request) and with a few extra dollars we kept local unlimited long distance calling. It's so nice to not have the phone ringing in the house again. I think every time it would ring my blood pressure would go up. Now, when the house is in near silence we will all of a sudden hear my voice on the answering machine if someone happens to call the number. Serenity now.
I played a little in the gardens the other day. More on that later.
So, the money that would have gone to my training will be going to Harry's. I met with a trainer last week for an evaluation and we will be starting in a basic obedience class in early February. Harry is too old and already has the basic puppy stuff down, so we're going right into class with the older pups. This is more for me than him, really. My main goal is to get him to snap-to and come to me instantly. If there is anything he is lacking in, it's that. That could be the difference between life or death if, for example he were to get away from us in the driveway and head for the road at full speed. He must stop, turn around and come back. No questions asked. I don't care if the mailman is standing there covered in raw steak and chicken.
SANS TV & PHONE
I think I mentioned in an earlier post that we are attempting to break free from the chains of cable TV. So far, we do not miss it. In fact, I feel amazingly liberated. I am fairly certain the TV causes me stress because I have to listen to the crap TV only at work now and it grinds on my last nerve. We wonder why we are so screwed up in this country? I think TV brainwashing is a big portion of it. Gone are the days of a news man just reading the news of the day and moving on. Now we have to sit there through hours and hours of talking heads blabbering on about why this is this and why that is that and usually misleading or heavily biased in the case of one particular "news channel" and it's local affiliates. Even local news is like this now. Just read the story, and move on. I am particularly glad to be rid of it in an election year.
For a while I had the same feelings about the Internet. Mostly it was from people forwarding or posting fake stories or information as a way to cause panic and fear. I spent a lot of time replying with proof that these were made-up or only partially true stories. Thankfully a lot of that crap has gone away. I have even stopped replying unless the misinformation was so egregious that I could not ignore it.
Last night Mrs and I sat in our 'lounge' with the dogs and cats reading. True, we did have our devices connecting us to the Internet there, but we spent a majority of our time reading. It was so peaceful and wonderful. It made me think maybe working day shift for a while would not be such a bad thing.
We have also shut off all of our land line telephones in the house. We went back to the phone company rather than using the cable company. We intended to keep it for 9-1-1 only, but Mrs decided to keep the number unlisted (my only request) and with a few extra dollars we kept local unlimited long distance calling. It's so nice to not have the phone ringing in the house again. I think every time it would ring my blood pressure would go up. Now, when the house is in near silence we will all of a sudden hear my voice on the answering machine if someone happens to call the number. Serenity now.
I played a little in the gardens the other day. More on that later.
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