Welcome the Rain!

Our snow-pack, up in the mountains, is at a little over 100%, which is great.  But I certainly welcomed the rain that began to fall last night, and which has just begun, again.  Even with several inches more snow-fall than usual last month, we still need more precipitation.  It's been very windy, and the topsoil is extremely dry.  This light to moderate rainfall is wonderful - not enough to cause flooding, but enough to dampen and slowly penetrate the top strata of soil.  The farmers need this, livestock in pastures need it, and our wonderfully varied wildlife need it, too.
   Bertrando, our local male squirrel, has been eating Brazil nuts while perched on the top of his telephone pole this morning.  He left a few minutes ago, just before the rain began to fall.  I need to re-fill the bird feeder - the critters (birds and squirrels) have eaten half of the shelled sunflower seeds in just a couple of days.
   Friday, while walking Rosie in a treed residential area, I was amazed at the surround-sound calls of nuthatches.  I felt as if I was in the center of a flock numbering more than 50 - and they didn't stop singing for several minutes.  And even though the nuthatches have a very nasal meek-meek call, I could have easily been in heaven.  It was a fantastic, glorious symphony.
   Just sitting out on Lynn's deck the birdsong is almost overwhelming.  I can listen to robins, chickadees, flickers, woodpeckers, mourning doves, a multitude of sparrows, jays, magpies, warblers, buntings, blue birds, meadowlarks, a few owls, and juncos.  Add the sounds of squirrels, an occasional flight of ducks or geese overhead, and the sound of bees busily buzzing, and I think one has just about found perfection...

Contemplating Navel... - er- Nature

In between running around from house to house to house yesterday, I spent three hours sitting in a large yard, and contemplating (while observing) nature.  My parents usually called the time I spent doing that my "contemplating my navel" time.  It's very relaxing, and I'm always astounded by things that I see and hear.  I was out for an  hour this morning, in bright sunshine, and I felt as if I were caught up in a time-lapse photography experiment.  I was sitting in the grass, next to a dandelion plant; and, over the course of one hour, I watched a bud open from tightly closed sepals to an open half-cup that was clasping bright yellow petals that slowly stretched themselves up and out into the sun.  When I returned several hours later, there was a perfectly formed flower soaking up the sun's rays. I did not see every bit of unfurling and opening that happened with this single blossom - I kept looking elsewhere, and then looking back at the bud.  My only unhappiness in that idyllic atmosphere was the lack of bees.  Normally, at this time of year, the dandelions and a few other early blooming flowers are the only food available for bees and wasps, and normally the yard would be swarming with bees at this time - I saw only one large bumblebee, and no honey bees.  There used to be multiple hives in the neighborhood, and the sound of humming, busy bees was almost narcotic.  Most hives are completely empty this spring.
   This afternoon, while checking out the progress of the dandelion bloom, I had several butterflies land on top of my head, and was amazed at the loud rustle of wings that I heard from them.  I also cataloged bird songs in my mind, and realized that I could hear over 20 different calls coming from the yard and those on the three sides.  Raising my eyes, I could see all kinds of small birds flitting among the trees and bushes.  I watched a pair of warblers gather small withies from the willow tree; it seemed almost as if they were comparing the length and circumference of the small green twigs, dropping some, while keeping others.  Flickers, nut hatches, woodpeckers, robins and magpies were around in abundance.  I looked beside me and saw a tiny spider bumble off a piece of grass and into the path of an ant.  The ant attacked the spider, and I last saw the ant carrying the spider away - I presume back to the nest.
   I then had to laugh while standing at the corner of Redwood Avenue and 19th Street.  I was, as usual, waiting for the 204 bus.  Hector, a friend who is from Peru, is the usual driver, and I also normally see my friend Adolfo, on his way to the Pearl Street Mall.  They let me practice my Spanish, and I tell Adolfo the American words for certain things.  Yesterday, I reached the bus stop about ten minutes later than I normally do.  As I came to a halt beside the bus stop sign, a large crow flew over my head, from across the street, and landed on the roof of the house behind me.  My husband told me many times that he would come back and visit me (or haunt me) as a crow or raven.  I turned to the crow, and said, "Good morning, my love. You look extremely handsome and sleek today."  A bicyclist was approaching me, and he slowed down and stopped as I spoke.  The crow bobbed its head, and cawed at me.  Then he flew up, and circled around me three times, each time getting closer and closer.  The bicyclist looked as if his eyes were going to pop out of his head.  I could hear the wind whistling in the crow's feathers, as it arced around and over me.  I kept my face turned toward it, kept laughing, and said, "I love you, too, sweetheart!"    The bus stopped, the crow settled onto the road verge less than a yard from me, the man on the bike said, "I thought it was going to swoop down and try to carry you away!" And Hector and Adolfo were looking out the open door with their mouths hanging open.  I  looked at the crow, and said, "Sorry, honey, but I have to go home now," and I got on the bus.  The man with the bike started to ride away.  The bus began to move, and the crow flew up, dove at the front window, and then flew away.  Hector and Adolfo  are now convinced that I am a witch and have special powers over animals.  I just laughed.

Spring Is In the Air

It is a beautiful day - the sun is shining in partly clouded skies, it's 64 degrees and winds are calm.  I have the window and patio door wide open - and, because some yard work is going on, both kits are inside and not unhappy about it.  I've returned my due library books, and have walked Rosie and Lucy.  I also purchased a couple of lottery tickets on the way home.  Whenever the lottery gets to a certain level, and, especially in springtime, I start dreaming of buying a home on Chincoteague.  I'll need to win the lottery to be able to do so.  I know there's an extremely faint chance that I might actually win, but hope springs eternal, and this is my pocket money I'm playing with...  All bills are paid and current, and the kits and I have plenty of food and supplies for the rest of the month...  Ever since a certain set of "townhomes" was built on East Side Drive, facing the Assateague Lighthouse, I've wanted to live there - and one of the homes is available.  But I also like some of the older homes that have been remodeled with central heat and air conditioning - I just wouldn't know exactly what I'd do until the money was in my bank account....
   Butterflies are appearing, and Lynn Thore's bees and the Chandler bees are busy throughout the neighborhood - most of the open blooms are currently dandelions, but that's OK - we need the bees as pollinators; hopefully the apple trees haven't been damaged so far.  The squirrels are definitely feeling Spring in the air, as are the ducks and geese.  This morning I saw a male house finch feeding a female a tasty worm, and I gave him a thumbs up for his courting manners.  One of the joggers going by asked why I had made the gesture, and when I explained, she seemed amazed; she said she sees the birds when running but she never focuses on what they're doing.  I made the comment that I believed that what I saw and enjoyed was called "stopping to smell the flowers, and/or looking at nature."  She thinks I'm a little strange, from the look she gave me...
   I really enjoyed watching The Blacklist last night on NBC.  James Spader keeps getting better with age!  And the story lines are always well written and intriguing.  I wonder what is shown on the photos that Lizzie looked at last night - the ones that turn her completely against Red.  Are they true photos?  Are they fake?  Have they been photo-shopped?  Do they show Red smothering her father with a pillow in the hospital?  What?  Tonight I have NCIS and Person of Interest to enjoy, and then I'll be waiting for Vikings on Thorsday night.  But I'm sure that Rosie and I will have a lot of fun in between times!

Busy As a Bee

I am currently watching honey bees moving from blossom to blossom in bright sunshine.  It's hazy less than a mile away on the foothills, and was very overcast this morning.  I'm house-sitting at Rosie's, taking care of my kits at home, and have a new client that consists of two cats and two dogs.  The dogs were both rescue dogs; Cooper is a black and white English Springer Spaniel, Lola is a black mutt with rust points who has trust issues.  The cats are an older white and orange patched guy named Pounce, who takes thyroid medicine; and a brown tabby Maine Coon.  Tipsy, the second cat, has white paws, a white nose, and the extreme tip of his tail has a white spot of fur.  I feed and water all of the critters twice a day, medicate Pounce in the evening, walk the dogs twice, gather the mail and newspapers, and water the plants and garden...  So I'm staying busy.
   I also had an enjoyable day yesterday - besides doing all of the above, I had lunch at Mimi's Cafe with Bea, and then we went shopping for a new work wardrobe for her.  Bea has seniority in the grocery chain store where she works; as she earns more pay, the manager keeps her working short hours.  She finally started looking for another job early this summer - and starts next week.  But she now needs a new "working wardrobe," so we went out and got her a few new outfits.  Then we watched a bunch of mysteries and laughed ourselves silly making off-the-wall predictions.  It was pretty fun.
  I know that the South Carolina Gamecocks beat the Tar Heels yesterday; the Broncos lost; and Tim Tebow passed for two TDs to help win the game for the Patriots.  I hope that Mr. Kraft's liking of Tebow results in his being kept on the team, and results in some play for him!
   

Bees Harvesting

Yesterday morning I took an easy amble through Githen's Acres.  Along the western edge of the neighborhood, I encountered several stands of chicory that ranged between three and six feet in height.  Here, there were dozens of honeybees hard at work, gathering pollen.  I sat down on a nearby boulder and watched them.  It was amazing to watch the pollen build up on their legs as they went from flower to flower, harvesting the white gold.  They looked as if they had donned old fashioned pantaloons, and with each new harvest, the pantaloons ballooned out around their legs even more.  I had a very relaxing and enjoyable peek into their lives.  And we have 4 bee-keeping families that I know of in the neighborhood, so I have no idea if I was watching a group from one specific house, or if there were several different colonies visiting the pretty blue flowers.

My kits were ecstatic to see me again this morning, and my conscience is really beginning to bother me about being away for so long.  But I will be back, sleeping at home on August 29, unless something dire happens.  I'm looking forward to my own bed, shared with Lovey and Nedi. Poor, poor little Boo!   The illness and pain from her radiation treatment was supposed to be worse last weekend, after her treatments were ended.  She didn't seem to be any worse until Tuesday; and now the poor girl is plain old miserable.  And to top it all off, Jim kept her upstairs to keep her separate from the other dogs yesterday, and on her way down the stairs, her bad leg gave way and somehow got stuck in between the railings.  She pulled it out herself, but in doing so, removed all of the skin on her radiation site - so she has this exposed raw meat open to the air.  She has her cone on, to keep her from licking the leg, but will just lay the cone on top of the injury and lick the inside of the cone, which is almost as bad as licking the wound itself.  I'll be stopping by this afternoon and evening to sit with her and give her pain meds, since this is the Pike's Peak Double Marathon weekend, and Jim is running in it.  Mike will be at home over the weekend to care for all three of the dogs, but is going to a concert tonight.  Rosie and Remy and Cloudy and Shady are all well, and the Rs were on their best behaviour when we met a new Bernese Mountain dog this morning.  ....  Watched the Steelers beat Phillie last night - cheered the team on while still disliking Roethlisberger immensely.  Looking forward to a good game tonight, and Verne Lundquist will call the Broncos game Saturday.  -  Football!  I love football!!