Birds and Stuff

Meanwhile during the snowstorm. 

We spotted a bluebird!

The bird never turned around for me and I had to get this hind end shot.

I couldn't help myself.  I had to go out and mess around looking for some fun in the bright white snow.

I thought the guy who plows would have showed up, but he didn't. The snow was supposed to melt quickly. Under the white snow, we had dirty slush from the dust in TX I think. This is the second time we've had dust and dirt in our snow/rain.

I decided the driveway might be too iffy for the visiting Home Health person to go up and down, so we cancelled that for this week.  My 'Ru could handle the hill and the snow, but maybe not the cars they have for Hospice workers. Though, I did notice that three of them drive Subaru CrossTreks. 

While I let Charlie wander the yard looking for mice or voles, I thought it would be fun to 'shoot' this Pegasus on a snow covered stump in the yard. White on white.

The hood of the Subaru provided a nice ski slope for my minifigs. They enjoyed using it over and over again!
I wish I had their energy.

While my minifigs were playing, I heard a 'goose' like sound in the sky east of me. I looked up and saw swans! I've missed many opportunities this year to go watch the Eagles on the Mississippi or hunt for Sandhill Cranes and Swans at the KVR.

So, I was quite tickled to watch these guys fly overhead.

With nothing on my schedule, I waited for hubby's afternoon nap to take a walk.  Charlie is being such a good boy, but he does need some hiking time too to keep up his musculature and health.

We went east through my favorite woods and ended up in a round about way in the valley and then followed the creek back up to our land and up different trails to get back to the house.

~~~~

So the day before the storm we had this going on in our yard! I never really saw until I shot this series ... that Robins actually get airborne to dive into the ground! Like a fox catching a mouse under the snow!

Such a common bird, but still so great to see them appear to let us know spring is near...

The snow melted quickly and when I went out to check the meadow and the fence, I came across dozens of Cedar Waxwings.

The photo isn't great, but I didn't have a long lens ... but there you go. Birds are moving about and it is so pleasing to hear all of their songs again.

....

I still have to get to the rest of the fun photos I am doing for the new minifigs that arrived from Aurora!

Here is a taste...

Surprise surprise SURPRISE!

Sometimes I get surprised out of the blue. I went to the mailbox to collect my mail. I'd had a notification that a package was delivered. I just figured it was some of hubby's meds from the VA. I was curious, there was a box on our mailbox.

I should have taken a shot of the box and the multiple layers of brown paper bags. I'd shaken it when I picked it up. Oddly enough, it did not feel like a bomb but sounded like Legos. I glanced at the return address and didn't recognize it. My brain was on another Earth. I grabbed it and headed to town to pick up my groceries.

When I got home, I handed the package to Rich and he shook it too. "What in the heck is it?"

I tossed groceries into the freezer and put other things away. 

"It's Legos."

"Huh?"

"Legos! I know the sounds they make. I've ordered enough sets to know what they sound like."

[No argument there.]

I had to find my box cutter and used that along with scissors just to peel the tape and paper back. I saved the return address so I could remember to thank whoever sent the package.

Inside where little blue boxes tied up with strings and a little heart. Each heart had a date on it and the note said:

Sometimes I don't know what to make of people's kindness and thoughtfulness. In a million years I wouldn't have thought to do something like this.

Each box had a surprise 'blind' box minifigure in it with a note.

"we do not need magic
to transform our world.
 We carry all of the 
power we need inside
of ourselves already.
~~J.K. Rowling

This morning I opened the last box as soon as I got up.

I've got a few new minifigures which I will set up later today and photograph after I take care of some of the heavy wet snow we accumulated yesterday. We got quite a bit more than was predicted so that is going to take up most of my morning along with chores.

However, I have to say how fun and wonderful it is to be so lifted up and surprised by a box in the mail.

Thank you Aurora!

You are so kind, creative, and thoughtful. The minifigs are impatiently waiting next to their boxes for me to come over and play with them!

Happy Spring Day!

Let 'er rip!

Okay not like pant rips or other things like that.

Snow. It went from an Advisory to Winter Storm Warning. Color me happy as a lark.

One. I don't have to drive in it.
Two. I can play in it.
Three. I don't have to plow it. We hired out for that.
Four. The first snow is always pretty.
Five. I like snow. Except when it covers up ice by the mailbox.

Charlie and I had to make a trip up to the mailboxes at noon. We'd had about 5" of snow by then. Our UPS guy and I have an understanding. He always always comes to the house. But I told him not to come down the drive if the weather is bad and to leave the delivery in the big orange tupperware container.

Some meds that hubby gets from the VA have to be signed for and handed to an adult at the residence. Tom called us on his cell phone and I trudged up the drive. I didn't want to delay on the meds and Tom didn't want to risk our long hill. Talk about cooperation from a delivery service! I've know this driver since 2008 when I did Security work way back when.

I got the meds in hand and....Boom- bang- slip- butt smack on the ground!
I forgot about the ice right by the mailbox that never melted off. So I started to get up again and whoooopppsyy! I was snow swimming.

I did not hurt myself but had cold snow go up my coveralls sleeve and on my wrist. Ick. I like snow but not down my cuff!

Too much excitement for me! 

Charlie just stuck his nose under the snow and paid me no mind at all. By the time I got back home, I looked as if I'd been out doing snow angels.

The girls were comfy and out of the wind. They had their snow blankets on and later they took snow baths.

It sure is pretty out, I do love our first real snow.

I hope to get to tromp around in it more on Friday.

Update:

Whoo hoo! The plow guy showed up!

April delivers

 

It didn't look bad when it started on Tuesday morning. But roads immediately got bad and went to much worse as Wednesday went on. The shot below was taken Tuesday afternoon of our road through the woods.

One could still see where the road was. Even with the forest on both sides of the road, the winds were blowing snow through the trees! It was fierce!

This was the view in the afternoon of the 2nd just after my neighbor had gone to pick up her son from school as they closed the schools early.

The snows were wet and heavy.

I walked up the next morning to see what I could see. Olive reported high winds on the ridge and whiteouts.

She was not kidding.

Back home I thought I'd take a peek at the woods across the pasture and...

This is what I saw from the porch. The line on the left is a porch support.

Soon reports of businesses closing on Main Street filtered in. Most of the stores and even the DQ in town closed up. The company that does garbage collection pulled their trucks off the road.

Our township grader got stuck in a drift and had to have other equipment dig it out.

The mules had plenty of hay and warmed water. They hid out in the deep woods for most of the time except when they came up for water.

It wasn't particularly cold, as the snow was very wet and very heavy. I was surprised that the wind could actually blow the snow around. At our municipal airport, they clocked 48 mph winds, so I guess that answered that question.

The worst part of it all was knowing that I had an appointment in town that we surely could not miss. I had called for my plow guy the day before and waited and waited and waited. He didn't come. It was probably a good thing too as the roads were so bad.

I did rearrange the appointment for the next morning and by late afternoon, I texted my plow guy to forget it....and started my own snow removal project.

I decided just to work on the hill part of the driveway and get two lines so that the tires would have a good grip on the gravel while going up the hill. I pushed the snow and yes, it was heavy. By late afternoon though, it was starting to melt.

My neighbor at the top of the driveway walked down and asked if he could help. His wife had let the dogs out and saw me shoveling. 

Justin go out his 4 wheeler and cleared a path up the hill for me. 

In truth? I could probably got out with my Subaru without shoveling. I'm glad I didn't try with hubby in the car though. After all the reports of vehicles in the ditch and even town plows having trouble? Why chance it?

This morning I can get hubby in the car and drive safely to the appointment we thought was written in stone. 

Then last night I got a phone call from our plow guy. Frank was just gushing with apologizes and everything else for not getting out. He didn't make excuses, he just admitted he messed up.

You know what? I can deal with that. He said it slipped his mind because...well, his brain was dealing with other things. He told me if that ever happened again to keep calling his cell over and over and over. He sounded so upset that I ended up telling him it was OK. 

April always seems to deliver some sort of frightful weather. I recall April 20 in 2018 when we had a blizzard. 

So there you go. Hello April, you sure know how to deliver weather!

From Sun and Warmth to...

This is Olive's little boy Aiden, we got to do some play time in the yard on Saturday afternoon.

Olive stopped by with fresh Eggs from her gals.

We had some rain and a lot of nice weather on Saturday. The daffodils even enjoyed it.

By chore time Sunday afternoon, they were not Happy Daffies.

The pine trees in front of the house were laden with ice and snow.

By Monday morning the snow was 5 inches deep at the bird feeder under the pines and knee deep on the hill behind the house.

The iris plants were partially buried.

I walked along some branches that were overhanging the hot wire they were drooping so I shook them and they rattled with ice. Some snow came off but not much.

I knelt down to get a shot of the Bluebells that were ready to bloom...

I went in the house to do something and suddenly the mules were running and snorting. One of the large box elder sections of a tree came down where I had been.

I shut the gate to that area and decided I'd deal with that issue when things warmed up which it is supposed to do this week.

I might have to check in with a couple of my ridge neighbors to see if I can barter or trade for some chain saw work.

From the extended forecast of rain from Tuesday through Thursday, it looks like I might just have to take hand loppers and and see if I can get the stuff off the at least one fence.

Perhaps I'll just ignore it today and just have some tea with Miss LaFleur.

Well now

Let's talk about the weather! It is in all the news.

Wild Wicked Winter Weather.

What a perfect time to be without a heater! 

We saw Dan from a company called 608 Plumbing [&heating]. He said he could get a motor to fix the intake fan and inspected the heater. He says it is in excellent shape and it is too bad we got a bum fan motor. 

He presented us with another idea. I'd never heard of a Mini Split before. I knew about Heat Pumps from years ago when my mom and dad built their retirement home and had one purchased for their house. At that time I think it was brand new technology. They had a heat pump and a furnace for those very frigid winters. 

A Mini Split would probably save us gobs of Money over using our old window air conditioner that only fits upstairs in a room we don't use. We use fans on the stairs to blow cool air down on hot days. It has worked for years for us, but I've never felt it was very efficient.

However, the Mini Split would cool down the house where we actually live! And until it gets extremely cold, it would heat us too for far less than what we are paying for now.

A huge draw back is the price. However, I'm looking at rebates, efficiency, and tax credits [I am aware of the limitations on all of these--but hey, it is a selling point]. Plus this company will maintain the system. 

608 Dan looked the house over and then made said this:

"Here is what I want to do for you Rich, I want to make you comfortable in the winter AND the summer and save you money in the long run. How's that sound?"

I laughed and replied, "That is a pretty good sales pitch. Make the man of the house comfy and worry free!"

So what about the weather? It is happening all right.

A good day to make soup and cut up my fruit for snacking.

Yum! Fresh fruit on a gloomy wintery day. Turkey soup with dried wild mushrooms along with dehydrated veggies and carrots.

The space heater is actually keeping the house nice and warm.

The snow this morning was ferocious. The winds on the ridge were wicked and several times we had some blowing snow down in our hollow. Charlie and I went to get the mail. He loves snowstorms! 
As long as the snow isn't too deep for him to bound out of.

This afternoon, it has alternated between snow, sleet, and rain.

The mules have been alternating between eating at the feeders ...

and standing way down in the woods with their mule butts to the winds....

The birds have been busy at the feeders and have been taking turns sitting in the pine tree or the hickory tree.

On the ridge, it looks like this.

Our dead end road:

I'm hoping the ice/sleet/rain that is falling doesn't cause us to lose power.