Pileated Woodpecker Came To Visit

I got home a little later than usual tonight and was rewarded with a pileated woodpecker sitting on my deck railing.  The woodpecker was staring at my suet feeder.  Gosh, those birds are huge.  I knew they were big but until I saw him sitting there in the same spot where the chickadees, chipping sparrows and goldfinches sit, I really couldn't appreciate their actual size.  This one was a male.  His red crested started right down at the beak and he had a red mustache.  I've always had a thing for mustaches.  He was beautiful.  After a few minutes, he tried to fly to the suet feeder which is suspended from a cable across the back yard.  The cable dipped down with his weight and that must have frightened him off because he didn't stay to eat.  What a nice treat to see such a large and odd yet beautiful bird so close.

Letter on the Mailbox

I had a note attached to my mailbox yesterday.  The note is from a woman who lives about a block away.  I have never met her.  The letter says she found a feral kitten living in her yard last summer.  She provided food and shelter for the kitten last winter and planned to live-trap her and have her "fixed."  Before she could live trap the feral kitten, she had a litter of four kittens.  The neighbor live trapped all 5 cats and had them spayed or neutered and vaccinated.  We shouldn't worry about the cats reproducing or spreading disease.  She said the cats are feral and not suitable as pets.   She enjoyed the cats as part of her routine. She fed them and provided them with food and a heated, predator proof shelter and plenty of straw.  The letter says that as of Tuesday the cats are missing.  The mother is a calico. Two of the kittens are gray tabbies, one is gray and orange with white feet and the last one is rather homely mix of gray and orange.  The neighbor says she realizes that nature must take its course and they may not all survive.  She just wanted us to be aware of the situation.  I'm not quite sure what I think about this.  The woman seems to be an animal lover.  But in her animal loving, she is being rather hard on the songbirds around here.  I could tell her about the gray fox that has been hanging out on our block but I doubt that would give her any comfort.  She sounds like a very nice and reasonable person and I think it's cool that she is reaching out to her neighbors like she did.

Thanks to Ed

Thanks to Ed I now have my saddlebags on my bike.  No more heavy backpack to wear.  Although on a day like today, when it is cold outside, the warmth and weight of the backpack was helpful.  I'm lucky to have friends who like to help me out.  In that way, I am a very rich person.  The backpacks will be helpful in storing my lunch, my work out clothes, and rain gear.  When I arrive somewhere, I can throw my jacket in there instead of carrying it around.  I'm really glad to have the backpacks on again.



Changing Definitions

I was talking to a friend today at work. He's my age or maybe a little older.  He told me about his granddaughter.  She is 16.  She finished with high school early and is now attending college.  He tells me, "My granddaughter, she is 16 and going to college, she is hooking up with these college seniors.  They are showing her things and helping her out."  He looks at me with a big smile, like he is happy about it. 

I debate with myself.  Should I or shouldn't I?  He's a good guy.  I decide I should.  "Listen (insert name here), you may not know this but hooking up has a newer definition than it used to have.  I just think you ought to know." 

He looks at me.  "Really?  What is it?" 

I gulp and spit it out, "Sometimes hooking up refers to sexual behaviors."

He turns red.  "Really?"  Another coworker in the same room skedaddles out of the area after hearing me say this.  He calls after her to confirm what he has heard but she pretends she didn't hear him.  "I never heard of this.  When did this start?  I use hook up all the time.  I tell my friends we will hook up here and there.  What am I going to do?"

I say, "Be careful who you say it to."

"Seriously," he adds, "how long has this definition been going on?  Six months maybe?"

I tell him I'm not sure but I suspect it has been longer than six months.  Funny how definitions change over time.  How is a person supposed to keep up?  How does the average person know these things?  Hooking up used to mean meeting someone at a predetermined place and time or plugging a phone line into a wall or attaching a disabled car to a tow truck.  Hooking up used to be so innocent - just like the letter X.  The letter X was  naive and innocent until these movie ratings came along.  It was the only letter that could be the same on all four sides; a balanced and sturdy letter; and now it stands for perverted and pornographic.

What will be the next innocent word or letter to reference something sexual?  Wallpaper?  Telescope?  Calendar?  I hope someone sets me straight if I fall out of the loop and use unwittingly use a word with a newer definition.

Karma?

I came home from a busy day this afternoon.  I was about to do some outdoor chores and give the chickens a chance to roam the yard with my protection.  I let Pamela and Meredith out and was sitting in a lawn chair enjoying a popsicle before I filled the bird feeders.  Three out of the five bird feeders were empty and I was going to fill them as soon as I finished this delicious popsicle. Pamela and Meredith were having a dust bath in the sand next to the house.  I sat relaxing under the white oak tree when I heard something fall through the leaves and hit my leg.  An acorn?  No.  Not an acorn.  Bird crap on my pants leg.  I got a 2 and half acre lot and the bird has to go right now?  Right here?  Seriously?  Is this some comment on the empty feeders?



Could Be An Easy Rider

Today the motorcycle was the main mode of transport. I had a knitting/picnic get together with some friends in a park this morning. After that I met my offspring for a birthday lunch at a Thai restaurant in Uptown.  The timing was tight so I had to take major roads like 169, 694, and 100.  I had a birthday present and a birthday cooler attached to my motorcycle seat with two bungee cords.  At one point, on 694, I was sure the boxes had slipped and fallen off.  I said a bad word as I thought about the card with money inside the box.  Why hadn't I thought to put the card in a safer place?  I finally got off to a parking lot and lo and behold, the boxes were still there.  They had slipped to one side and could not be felt with my left hand when I checked.  Whew!  I strapped them up tighter and proceeded on my way.  I would have made it in time but I forgot to allow an extra ten minutes for parking in Uptown.  After a delicious lunch, I headed to the health club to work off those pad Thai calories.  Something in Asian food makes me so thirsty.  I stopped at Cub Foods to buy my second soda of the day.  It was delicious.  Since Cub Foods and my fitness club share a parking lot, I did a dangerous thing.  I moved my bike without wearing my orange vest, gloves or helmet.  In first gear, I tooled through the parking lot in first gear with a bare head and bare hands.  I still had my boots and jacket on though.  I felt so free!  I felt like that Honda feller in Easy Rider.  No, no, that is an exaggeration.  I didn't feel that naked but it did feel good to feel the wind in my hair and to be able to hear everything.  I can see better without the restrictions of the helmet.  Now I can totally see why people ride without helmets.  I get it now.  It's a lot more fun to dress appropriately for the weather instead of the arctic like I always do.  I wish Minnesota would bring back the mandatory helmet law.  Then I wouldn't even be tempted.

Last Day at the Farm

The paddleboat - a great way to exercise.

A gull (aka Jesus bird) appears to stand on water but is actually standing on a mostly submerged log.

Aaargh. Pirates live here.

Lots of algae in the water. Spider webs on a low hanging branch.

The fruit trees in the yard were heavily laden with apples and pears.  The limbs were straining with all the weight of the fruit.  We tried to lighten the load.  I think we picked 30 pounds or more of apples.  The lower limbs looked relieved but the top of the tree was not.  The fruit looked great although the pears were hard.  One of my nephews gave us and the paddle boat a ride to the lake.  While they prepared for bow hunting, Offspring #2 and I paddled around the lake.  We started with the Stoney Point resort side.  We had the entire lake to ourselves today.  I guess we saw one man sitting in a chair reading a book but other than that, we were alone.  We saw turkey vultures, a bald eagle, cormorants,  and gulls.  We disturbed one kingfisher several times near the cabins by the dam.  We disturbed another kingfisher on the north side of the lake by the farm property.  We tried to maneuver up to the edge of the dam. Unfortunately so many reeds and cattails surround the area that the gates of the dam are hidden.  Foamy clumps of wicked stuff floats on top of the water back there and smells really, really bad so we quit looking for the dam gates.  We saw lots of fish jump.  A large and beautiful brick house is on the north side of the lake.  They had a black flag flying on a flagpole.  I guess there are pirates living there because they fly the skull and crossbones flag.  When we got to the last corner of the lake, where the two roads intersect, we texted our driver.  By the time we made the boat landing, we had only a few minutes to wait. I've spent a lot of time on this lake and I like it very much.  I only wish it wasn't so green in the late summer and fall.  Some parts on the north side looked so green that it appeared you could walk on it.  The algae was so think it looked like a manicured lawn.