Update

 

Mom is still in ICU but has shown some comforting improvement, as of yesterday. However, the enforced isolation is making her very anxious. We are going to try to get her tablet, glasses, and possibly cell phone if I can find the charger, down to her today, so at least she can read.

I am still here with Dad. Haven't been home since Saturday when this all began. The boss took me out for a short trip to Lowe's and Mayfield Lake, but Dad fell again while we were gone, so we raced back home. I haven't dared leave, even to go walking in the field behind the house, since. 

He is having such a hard time getting around the house and at first was not willing to let me lend an arm. As his condition slips downhill in that respect he has let me be a leaning post a little bit, but it means following him every step he takes. He does like to wander around.

I want to thank everyone who has helped, offered to help, or provided prayers, good thoughts and words of encouragement. My sister-in-law, Lisa, the boss and the girls, have done every single thing that has been asked of them and more. Other family members have offered to bring food, run errands, etc. What we really need is someone who is versed in setting up appropriate care for people who have been singularly independent right up until last weekend and can't be independent any more. Maybe more independent than they should have been, but I guess that is a common issue.

Meanwhile, I am tired and discouraged and miss my home and people. I hope you will continue to keep mom and dad in your prayers. I truly believe that the many prayers offered up for mom have made a magnificent difference in the course of her illness. so please and thankyou for continuing.

Love to all

Side Effects

 

This ugly virus can be blamed for much more than the mayhem it causes directly. We have the joined the ranks of who knows how many thousands or millions who have loved ones in medical and long term facilities and can't visit to offer comfort or be involved in care.

You know it's horrible when you read about it. You feel compassion and deep sadness for those facing it. However, nothing can prepare you for what it is like to have no contact but telephone calls to overworked nurses and doctors who barely speak English. To be utterly helpless, prisoners of covid laws.

My poor mom, whom many of you know well from Facebook, is in ICU in Amsterdam and struggling against the treatment she needs to live. She does NOT have covid. The nurse says they explain to her why she needs the mask, but the low oxygen the the mask should correct makes her confused, and she won't let them keep it on her. I am beyond certain that if one her children or their families could be there holding her hand and reassuring her she would relent. 

Instead the best they can offer is an iPad chat when she feels better. Or should I say if?

 I would like to yell at someone or pound on something, but there is no one directly involved here that is responsible for what is happening. Distant lawmakers, distant criminals in distant countries, people with no dogs in our personal fight, have decreed that this is how life will continue or end and there isn't one damned thing we can do about it. That does not help with the stress of the situation.

Meanwhile I am staying with Dad, which is a struggle I don't discuss right now. Let's just say I need my home and the outdoors and my own bed and my peeps. I just sneaked out to walk up the field behind the house for a few minutes in the first hour of the sun and that helped a bit. Out seems to be my natural environment.

 At the same time it unleashed a cascade of memories of when this was home...mostly of winters, as the fields were in crops in summer. We slid down the big hill on boards strapped to our feet with bits of leather that were loosely known as skis in those days. Raced like mad down the same hill with more kids piled on toboggans and sleds than could be easily imagined. Tumbled off at the bottom losing boots, finding our socks full of snow, and sporting new bruises that didn't slow us down a bit.

Getting "lost" in the tall corn that grew almost up to the house in summer. As county kids we always knew our way out but it was fun to pretend.

I could go on and on about football, dummy training rifles and war games that were okay then, and yes I had one, and yes, I played too.

But I won't right now. It just was a shock to have all those bygone days come racing into my poor tired brain. I wasn't going to write about this personal battle we are facing, but I find that I need to put my thoughts into words, and many of us in the far flung internet community rely on one another in times like these. I would be most grateful for any prayers or good thoughts you could offer. And it makes me feel much better to "talk" to you.

Love to all.

Every Morning I move the Elf

 

It's one of the best parts of my day. A bright spot in the gloom soup that is life these days. Our elf is a non-judgmental little soul, and not only spends no time seeking out naughtiness, but also brings small gifts...some days just a chocolate. Some days little activity things. These are challenging times for small folks too.

Every day I check the York Beach Maine rare bird alert. We spent the best weekend of the year in that neighborhood with family. Seeing the place were I got to have real clam chowder and walk around admiring the shops and ships and lobster boats and all on the little rare bird map takes me back there to a better time and place....and I am only mildly envious of the folks who see the little Rock Wren in Ogunquit....okay, that's a lie. What a cool bird!

Later in the day I check the ABA rare bird alert too...always keeping watch for the single American Flamingo seen quite often in Florida. If there are flamingos there is hope.

I do a bird list every day, partly because it what I like best, and partly because I enjoy watching the streak of consecutive days reported inching upward...1434 as of this morning before daylight. Pretty soon I can fill the feeders and do one for today. Yesterday we had a single Evening Grosbeak on the feeder by the window over the sink. It was missing most of its upper mandible but still managed to scarf its fill of seeds. I stayed away from the window after grabbing a few photos to let it eat its fill.

High spots happen and then the day is spent just creeping along through the dark of the year, hoping for better things, but not optimistic. Hope you are getting by as well. Have a good one. 

Goodbye November

 

Happy Thanksgiving

 

To all our friends and family.

Here at Northview we are well fed, delighted and comfortable with our companions, and thrilled that the Blue Bomber rides again.

Hope you all are having a safe, wonderful day. 

If you see this guy today

 

Wish him a very happy birthday today.

Do you Hear what I hear?

 

Research is fun.

And even though I no longer work for the paper, I still love finding out things that I didn't know before. I just found some cool stuff, thanks to a group I joined on MeWe.

So please give these a listen.

Amazing

Even Better

Utterly Astonishing (an kinda sick and wrong)

Best yet.

Hope you enjoyed these as much as I did.

And I would like to actually own either one of the first two, as I just love listening to ours even though they don't take things to quite that level. In fact I threatened just last night, but was loudly shouted down.

Have a great day.

Happy Birthday, Dad

 

Hang in there...better days are coming, it says here in fine print......

Love you!

Suspicious Characters

Black-capped Chickadee at the gym.

A photo of a Snowy Owl on top of a truck at the Target/Beechnut complex made its way to me the other day. We had a short window of time open to go birding this morning, and thanks to high winds and hungry eagles the river was bare.

Thus we and the trusty, rusty, battered old Durango tottered down there to do some perusing.

 Like typical birders, we drove slowly and erratically, stopping often to peer through binoculars at objects that needed to appear closer than they were.

Found a nice northern Red-tailed Hawk perched on the side of the town water tower, huddled up against the biting wind. Discovered a cute little flock of Snow Buntings right down by the Beechnut plant. They are adorable, like little winter toys, and I wasted a good bit of time trying to get decent photos of them, way down away from all the other cars.

We didn't find any snowies, but I sure enjoyed myself. However, I remarked to the boss as we drove away that we were probably on a dozen security cameras and if anybody looked at the feed they were going to wonder what the heck we were up to.

Snow Buntings

Fast forward a few hours. Scanner feeds on Facebook announce that the road outside the complex is lined with tractor trailers and the lots are full of police. It's a madhouse.

Seems there was a bomb threat there today, or so people are saying. 

Wanna bet we got looked over a little bit?

Fortunately we are well known to quite a few local LEOs because we drive around acting suspiciously all the time. At first when the boss stopped at Stewart's for gas or milk they would ask, "What are you doing down at Schoharie Crossing parking lot every day?"

After a while that changed to, "Seen any good birds lately?'

So I expect we will be okay. I sure hope so because I want to go back there again soon and look for those owls. Perfect, windswept, tundra-like habitat, and it is always a thrill to see them. 

Red-tailed Hawk with a much wider, darker belly band
than local birds usually sport.

Goose Bond

Been perusing the large flocks of Canada Geese that stop at the confluence of the Schoharie Creek and the Mohawk River to rest on the gravel bar there. (Sometimes that activity is rendered somewhat challenging by the Bald Eagles that also like to peruse...and dine al fresco...there).

Yesterday, with only about ten minutes to spend, I was rushing to scan, and then photograph, and then scan some more. At one point I caught a flash of pale yellow, and thought immediately, neck band. Then I couldn't find it again.

However, upon returning home I found that I had caught, not one, but two neck banded geese, standing side by side, with very similar tag numbers.

I submitted both to the USGS band reporting site and discovered this morning via the report from there that they have been together for at least, four, probably five years, and that they were banded up near Lyker's, which is one of our favorite birding spots. One was a male, the other female. They may well be mates.

How cool is that?  I love spotting and reporting bird bands and learning a little bit of their stories. There is more to goose lore than honking in the night sky and pests littering lawns for sure. 

The video below was taken after a Bald Eagle strafed the flock feeding on a corn field adjacent to the boat launch. Another one was already eating something on the gravel bar, while being harasser by a number of crows.

The Haunted Buck

 

Already abnormally close

What with the changes COVID and the resulting economy have made in our lives, the boss and I have to fit birding expeditions in among a number of sometimes conflicting schedules....so we go when we can....

Day before yesterday we stole a couple of hours to hit the river. Good birds are being seen there so we wanted a look.

We did the Crossing, no Greater White-fronted Goose, alas, then went down to the Yankee Hill Lock to look for sea ducks. That corner of the river seems to attract them for some reason and we have seen White-winged Scoters there a couple of times, as well as Long-tailed Ducks.

We see this odd duck daily...appears to be a decoy someone lost
now anchored in the center of the channel

Nothing interesting was showing on the water, so I ambled up to the bike path to look for sparrows and Winter Wrens. Have seen a single Fox Sparrow elsewhere, but they have been being seen there regularly and I need a photo.

Lots closer

As I looked east, I thought about how I see turkeys down the path that way sometimes, and lo and behold, there was a brownish lump right where they often show up.

I put the bins on it and to my astonishment it was a good-sized buck lying beside the path.

Hoping for a better picture in the early morning fog, I sneaky-sneaked a little closer. 

No reaction.

Closer still.

No reaction.

And closer yet.

Nada.

Along about that point I decided on discretion over valor and turned my back and sauntered away. Deer can and do hurt people and this one's behavior was abnormal to say the least. He let me get way too close.

White-winged Scoter

As soon as I turned around he stood up (I kept checking behind in case he came after me).

He stood in a kind of an awkward pose and never moved...even after I went west a ways on the other side of Queen Ann Rd. still looking for sparrows.

So eerie was his behavior that I hiked back to the car and we came home.

Yesterday we returned and he was gone.

Was he wounded some place I couldn't see? It is bow season, maybe there was an arrow on his other side. Rabid? I have seen several reports of rabid animals around the region, and this guy sure acted in an abnormal manner. He was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed enough though.

Or maybe he was just tired from chasing girls. We saw a number of does just down the road and his neck was swollen for the rut.

But then again perhaps he was a ghost from back in the days when the place was a lock on the Erie Canal. Maybe instead of seeing me he was observing men and mules and horses dragging boats along Clinton's Ditch and stopping for supplies at the grocery store there.

I guess I'll never know. But I swear I could have counted coup on him had I wanted to.

Thank you

 

Remodeling

 

Not bad for 72

Yesterday Ralph, Becky, and I rebuilt the stalls in the pony barn. It took the three of us all day and there are still a few bits that need attention.

The stalls were built 34 years ago when the boss got his Belgians as colts. The first two were Dick and Dan and they were beauties, but useless. Later we sold Dan and bought Tim, who was the nicest, and my favorite of the three. Dick on the other hand lived up to his name and was the only horse who ever kicked me. (Cows more than made up for that.) Tim I got along with okay.

Eventually, along about the time they tore down the fence and half killed a filly I was raising they went on their way. We kept saddle horses and my driving ponies in the stalls when I was still riding horses and driving ponies.

They were altered many times to fit their occupants until now they hold two registered Shetland ponies, and magical wee Jack, purchased for fifty bucks some many years ago. He's well over 20 now, but fit as a knight's charger and about as athletic. Wish you could have seen him when we turned him out to work on his house. All four feet off the ground and a lot of daylight under there. I wouldn't want to ride that buck.

Please excuse the burdocks

Anyhow, the big uprights of the stalls had moldered away to powder and the stalls were about flapping the in the breeze. The entirety of Jack and Diamond's stalls had to be taken down, the bottoms of the uprights cut off, repositioned in their respective holes in the floor, and walls rebuilt.

Not being wired that way I couldn't envision how that job would progress. The boss, however, had it all planned out in his head, and other than time spent looking for tools and running to Glen for nails and the like. it went smoothly. One pole had to be concreted in place and even that is done. I can't lie...I am out of shape. Woke up a couple times in the night with throbbing shoulders and had a hard time going back to sleep.

Very satisfying though. When we were farming with cows we undertook jobs like that without a second thought...all the time. Heck, we built the original stalls in an old garage, built chicken houses, calf pens, cow sheds and all manner of such. It was a great feeling to be doing it again. We work pretty well together, which I suppose we should after all these years. 

The biggest frustration for me was a couple of bird phone calls. A friend was after the White-rumped Sandpiper we found day before yesterday and got a Greater White-fronted Goose and a couple of Snows as well. I have both for the year and actually saw the same Snows a couple of days ago, but the temptation to chase was strong in me. We did go down during one of our nail getting trips, but missed the GWFG.

All in all a very satisfying day though. Maybe today we will cement up those holes in the foundation.....

White-rumped Sandpiper

Recommended Reading

 

I'm reading this for about the fourth time I think. Maybe fifth. Other books by the same author used to be available in our local library and I read them too. Looks like a romance, doesn't it? And there is certainly a thread of that through the story.

However, mostly it is historical, in a fictional kind of way, but well-researched and interested as heck.

Set in 1798, it deals with the Alien and Sedition Acts, the Pirate Wars, and the operation of  Pennsylvania iron furnaces to create stove plates, pig iron, and cannon balls from locally-mined ore. 

Although I am again enjoying the storyline, despite the tiny print, the main takeaway is what many people are saying today. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it....or to watch others do so. 

This story is so uncannily like what's happening today that...well....it's uncanny. If you're local and want to read it I could maybe lend you my copy....

Spyder

 

Because, yeah, it was as big as one.

I like to shower early in the morning...start the day all nice and spiffy and no competition for the hot water. When you heat your water with a woodstove, trust me there is competition.

Anyhow there I stood, clad in my reindeer bathrobe, distributing towel, washcloth, and Japanese Cherry Blossom lotion conveniently around the room and there it was.

Literally the biggest spider I have ever seen outside of a pet shop or Google. Mat black, not exactly hairy, but more rough and rugged, and did I mention that it was huge? 

You know how they always talk about spiders the size of a quarter? This specimen could have carried a quarter in each pocket and had room for change. It was more the size of a hubcap. Could've eaten a hummingbird whole and not needed an antacid. 

It was in the tub, but it was in a hurry to get out of the tub, and headed straight for me.

Now you know I'm a nature buff and you might expect that I might do the touchy-feely, nature-sciencey thing and give it a nice tray of tea and crumpets before escorting it outdoors...or maybe to the attic or cellar.

Instead I grabbed a few sheets of that heretofore much hoarded commodity, the collecting of which which may see a resurgence if we get shut down again, swathed it like a mummy, and gave it a swirly.

Like any kid in a middle school bathroom, it protested mightily. It went down, down, down in a gush of flowing water...

And came right back up again, minus a leg but fighting valiantly.

Three flushes and it finally vanished...for good I hope...but I left the lid up so I could watch for it...

Just in case.

And then, just as I was about to step into my personal stream of nice, hot, water, I saw another one on the tub mat. Horrified, I reached for the roll to offer it the same fate. 

Fortunately though, that one, a smaller, more normal-sized specimen, (big as a quarter, but at least not a hubcap), was already dead and didn't reappear. (#What happens in the bathtub doesn't stay in the bathtub).

The whole time that I would normally have spent enjoying the knowledge that no one was going to run cold water for the horses or hot water for dishes, was instead spent hoping that the creepy feeling from the special, shaggy, non-slip tub mat, was water flowing through the pointy things, not more spiders, reaching up to grab my toes.

I will not be telling Peggy about this event. Even after a summer of introducing her to beautiful orb web spinners in the garden, she is not a fan of spiders. 

Meanwhile, sorry/not sorry.....