All the Colors of the Rain

Although it was gloomy and rainy yesterday there was much to see.

Swamps are still leafless, but twigs have begun to glow as they prepare for spring. The leftover cattails provide a charming contrast to the Addams Family atmosphere.

Even the stark and lichen-covered trees provided a fanciful foreground for the fog.

I took more photos of landscape than of birds....and you know me.....

Rainy Day People

This doesn't look all that bad, but there wasn't much road left unflooded. It looked a lot more intimidating from the other side....just room enough for a car to pass....I walked back to get these shots.

We set off yesterday in hot pursuit of some ducks Liz saw at Bowmaker Pond. She sent photos, but they were so blurry we really couldn't be sure just what they were. Of course they were gone when we got there.....

Although there is a wild and gloomy beauty about the rain drenched countryside, the alerts popping up on all my devices and feeds are unsettling. I have a Google alert set to Gilboa Dam for obvious reasons. It has been showing up a lot lately, although not in reference to flooding. However, this morning flow measurements began to appear.

Our trip took us places we rarely visit and netted us the first Belted Kingfisher of the year, although not here in Montgomery County where we are doing most of our looking.

It also showed us how much water was out there then....and it rained all night...I hope it lets up for today!

Schoharie Henge

We took a different path on Sunday and saw some new views of the old Erie Canal aqueduct at Schoharie Crossing....

It's the Little Things 2

Yesterday's little thing is a plastic shepherd's whistle, dedicated to directing distant herding dogs in their pursuit of wayward livestock. I have carried one since there actually were three collies, although none of my pups was sophisticated enough to actually work on whistles. 

More on loud yells and frantic screaming sometimes. They did come to one though...you can hear the shrill screech from a long ways away.The two old dogs knew their "sides", "come bye" and "away to me". Mostly minded "That'll do." And "lie down" and "stay" and "walk up". "Get back" or "get out" were harder. Oh, how Mike loved to be too tight to the stock. Worked well with cows, where sometimes he had to swing off a nose to get his point across......but he utterly terrified sheep.

Anyhow, for years and years I never seem to have a whistle with an intact "handle". They still function perfectly well without one, and it's not like my dogs do any work other than studying and shredding newspaper. I do use it to get the boss's attention when he is driving the noisy skid steer sometimes. I should buy a metal one, which would prolly stand up better, but just color me cheap.

However, I was utterly delighted to find the intact, complete, and in fact almost perfect one in yesterday's post, in the upstairs bookcase of all places. Becky and I are culling books for donation, sale, or discard, and there it was lying on the shelf.

I was pleased indeed.

Today's little "things" are little girls. One of them comes to the backdoor screen to call in "Gramma, I need my horse." (Stick horse...a great little traveler that one, a palomino with incredible stamina.)

Or, "Gramma, I need my milk." "Gramma, Where's mommy?"

Upland Sandpiper

The other photo I came across while looking for photos of Upland Sandpipers for eBird. She is a manager at a local restaurant now.....

Aunt Becky BITD

It's the Little Things

A Great Honor

As you know, we added a Border Collie, Finnbar, to our pack last summer. And yes, I did spell his name wrong at first.

He turned out to be quite a dog. He can fetch toys, jump up on the snowmobile trailer when asked..... 

.....as well as when not asked. He can paw you on the head when you try to sit there with him, because he is a big boy for a BC, and he is over endowed in the paw department.

He can also bark.

Play bitey face with his brother. And eat newspaper. His hefty fur coat can collect mud like your best sneakers when you have to go to the barn to calf check after you go out to dinner.

However, what we haven't mentioned is his degree in veterinary medicine. Finnbar Friers, DVM. 

He already had his Masters degree when we got him, majoring in Cow Control, along with minors in house breaking and kibble cleanup. It was astounding to bring such an astute dog into the household. Mack was resentful at first.

However, like all Border Collies, he was bored without a job.

Thus he has been sharing my computer to do online classes in large animal medicine. He also took extra courses whenever he could in artiodactyla obstetrics. That is not an easy elective but he aced it. 4.0 across the board!

His grades were so outstanding that he has been given a singular honor. He has been asked to observe and attend when April the Giraffe finally delivers that long awaited baby. Although he is not qualified to assist they want his opinion on technique. 

He is much calmer about all this than we are! Just lying in his kennel chewing a Milk Bone.

It all seems so fitting. Her name. The name of the month the baby is expected. Today's date. It's like karma, serendipity, and fate all wrapped up in one big taco.

****Update, alas and unfortunately, Finn was forced to decline this singular honor. Turns out  I need the exercise he offers with his mud. I get a lot of steps toward my 10,000 sweeping the kitchen after he comes indoors. Mack needs him to wear him out playing bitey face when they can't be out on the cable and in the run because of said mud.

And what would the House Sparrows do without him to keep them honest by barking at them and chasing them? Sadly we will never know what fame he might have attained.....

BTW, someone stole all our ducks, so we are not making the big bucks like we thought we would. The police have been aggressive in their hunt for the culprits as in the wrong hands they could do terrible damage! Do go read about them if you missed the news last year. They were very special to us and we miss them....although judging by the weather there are at least of few of them hanging around still. And there are a LOT of mallards down on the river....

On the Other Hand

Out like a....

As we all know March came in like some kind of mythical monster, wind storm after windstorm, staggering depths of snow, and just plain cold, bad, weather.

We were hoping it would go out in a somewhat more gentle manner but alas, I awoke to sirens and fire whistles on this, the last day of the month.

I am not sure what you might call it. No lions involved, but no lambs either unless you count the one down in the barn, which has grown big enough to move into the pen the pig vacated when he went away to freezer camp.

I guess there are wires and trees down all over town and not surprisingly. The snow that fell earlier is heavy and wet and now some sort of rain-like substance is falling in great soggy blobs that soak you before even the first of the doggies is properly drained.

Poor man's fertilizer be darned...enough is enough....

And you thought....

That farming was boring. Zombies? Spooks? ZOMG!   

Seen on the way back from birding Yankee Hill Lock, where we found Buffleheads and many other goodies, plus meeting a nice local birder that I had been hoping to meet.

On your Mark, Get Set

Go!

Click to enlarge

Habituated

Went out birding as the sun was rising, since I didn't need to watch Peggy today. Didn't even bother with a sweater or jacket....just went out crunching around in the snow and slogging through the mud.

The first Eastern Phoebe of the year obligingly showed itself right in the honey locust and the ducks and geese were busy over the river. It is pretty cool to be able to pick up waterfowl right in your backyard, Common Mergansers, American Black Ducks, and Mallards, besides the Canada Geese this morning.

But talk about getting used to winter. I didn't even get cold and it was about 35 degrees. You know it's been pretty cold lately when that feels downright balmy.

Or maybe I'm just balmy. You never know.

Anyhow, it's great to have the sun shining for the first time in lo these many days.

Lost Valley Birds and Perils

We were birding  exploring this morning when we found this guy on the side of the road, just mindin' his own.

He gave us a good looking over.

And then warned us to get the heck off his road, as best he could within the limitations of his species and size.

 Suitably chastened we hurried away.

Off to brave the terrors of Lost Valley Road. This road circles a small community, which was pretty much devastated during the floods of recent times. You can still see many signs of the damage. I had only been down there once or twice many years ago. The road loops around some buildings right next to the mighty Schoharie. I didn't take photos of the unprotected drop right off the edge. The photos I did take are of the good part.

I was afraid to look away from the road down at the bottom for more than a second even though I wasn't the one driving. However, it is listed as a county hotspot on eBird and from the birds we saw it deserves the designation. However, I think I will stick to Schoharie Crossing.....