Bloody hell.

“Please stop staring at my butt.”

 I showed the GHO nest to Lorelei today, and since the sun was ACTUALLY SHINING, I couldn’t resist getting a picture of that glorious sun beaming through the owl’s ear tufts.

 The dogs are enjoying each other.  They also are attention-hounds and if one is doing something, the other has to be in on it.  Even when I try to get a smooshy-face picture.

Did you know that we actually had snow yesterday?  It was the kind of snow I like…big fluffy flakes that didn’t stick to the roads.  And I couldn’t resist leaving my mark at Kelley’s Nature Preserve.  Got a life bird, too.  A hermit thrush, who didn’t want his or her picture taken. 

I must be doing something wrong.  Pictures are not easy to post on WordPress.  I have read the forums and FAQ’s and resized them, and it’s such a chore. 

Sorry that I am not doing posts like I used to.  I get too bogged down fighting with these pictures and all the inspiration leaves me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love it when persistence pays off

 I have been checking a great horned owl nest at Lake Isabella for weeks…and today, it finally paid off:

 The wind was blowing so hard, her ear tufts were sideways.

For anyone in the area, here’s how to find the nest: 

In the park, there is a playground, with a house behind it.  To the right of the house, there is a large sycamore with a blue steel can about 30 feet up. 

This nest has been used for at least a few years, and I got to see the babies last year…baby GHO’s look like stacks of dryer lint.  And you know I will be posting photos when they arrive.  For anyone worried about me “disturbing” the nest:  The pair (I assume it’s the same ones) have nested here before, and they are very tolerant of visitors, as long as you don’t throw things at them.  I hear the banders have a fun time…they have to wear hard-hats.

 I am learning about WordPress, and having trouble with the photos…I will be back with more, hopefully later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello world!

I activated a new blog, and since WordPress promises that I can import my Blogger posts, I thought I would give it a whirl.

Guess who’s back (for now)?

Recognize that chin?

Boomer.

Here’s the story:

I got a call yesterday from the rescue who found a home for Boomer. The family didn’t want him anymore, and the rescue had to return him to us. (I had no idea that was an option…when I said goodbye to him, I thought it was forever)

The adoptive family said that he “tore up their laundry room” and had “separation anxiety” and “escaped from his crate” and “wouldn’t eat”. I don’t buy it. These people obviously didn’t know how to deal with a Boston Terrier (high energy dogs who need mental stimulation as well as exercise), and he has eaten 3 cups of food since he has been here today.

So I guess we are back to the “fatten up Boomer” diet. He’s not quite as bony as when I first saw him at the shelter, but he’s not healthy.

We are back to where we started. The cats are back in the basement, Boomer is sleeping on our bed right now (he loves Geoff) and we still have to find him a home…the rescue suggested a trainer who could help us introduce Boomer to cats and maybe help them all co-exist. I doubt it.

So here is what Boomer needs:

A home with no cats. Ever.

A family who knows about Bostons and their needs (exercise, companionship, brain work).

A lot of love.

What he has going for him:

He is a wonderfully loving little dog.

He is neutered and up to date on all his vaccinations.

He is micro-chipped.

He is ready for play at any time, or being a couch potato anytime.

I am willing to drive as long as I need to to get him to a new home. Anyone want to give him a try? He’s so wonderful. And he deserves a second (and third) chance.

He remembered me, obviously…he just about tore a hole in the woman’s car when he saw me.

I added this picture just because I was proud of it. I made homemade pizza tonight, and Isabelle helped (but she ate more pepperoni than she actually got onto the pizza) and I made a smiley face on it for her. And it was so delicious…an obscene amount of cheese on this bad boy.

Sigh…I love Boomer. The girls love Boomer. Nellie loves Boomer. Geoff even loves Boomer. (Geoff told me that he can stay as long as I can handle the cats being stuck in the basement)

Someone help!

Taking the long way

I’d like to think that my sense of direction is quite good.

I wanted to go back to the dam and estuary I visited a few days ago ( I hear there are peregrine falcons at the dam, and even though I work with Lucy all the time, I can’t count her). A morning bird excursion with Katdoc got rained out, so I thought I would roll the dice and see if the afternoon would be drier. I thought of a new way to head down to the estuary…Rt. 222.

I saw that Rt. 222 ends right at the estuary, and I knew where it started, up at Rt. 50. So I thought, “Hey. I’ll go down 222 and maybe it will be shorter.”

*Insert maniacal laughter from Kathi, who sees just where this is going*

Well, as it turns out, 222 goes right where I thought it did, but it took twice as long. And it’s not a short trip to start with, anyway.

Rt. 222 meanders through farmland, up and down hills…I was laughing out loud about it eventually.

I did get the opportunity to see some interesting road names.

“Bethel Hygiene” was a good one…but the one that made me almost run off the road:

“LAYCOCK CUT OFF”. I kid you not.

I didn’t get any life birds today, but it was a nice trip.

American kestrel: 2

American crow: 15

Turkey/black vulture: a lot

Pigeon: 50?

Pied-billed grebe: 6

Ring-billed gull: 20

Eastern bluebird: 4

A rest area near Point Pleasant has some info about Ulysses S. Grant, who was born across the street. And a list of all the presidents born in Ohio. I found my first “wild” pellet…presumably an owl’s. I couldn’t really tell what the animal had been, but it had dark fur. It was a BIG pellet.
And when I turned it over with my shoe, I found a pretty orange spider.
I watched and watched the pigeons on the dam, waiting for a peregrine to come rocketing out of the sky and pick one off.
You are here.

Two things meme

From Laura at Somewhere In NJ:

(I didn’t know what to blog about tonight,

and this meme saved me from blathering…thanks, Laura)

two names you go by: Susan and Mommy
two parts of your heritage: German and Irish
two things that scare you: Tall bridges over water and bears
two everyday essentials: Frappuchino from Starbucks and a shower
two things you are wearing right now: Life is Good T-shirt and leopard print jammie bottoms
two of your favorite current bands/artists: Blue Oyster Cult and KISS
two things you want in a relationship (other than love): Balance and joy
two favorite hobbies: Birding (dur) and reading
two things you have to do this week: Make a doctor’s appointment and remove residue from Christmas
two stores you shop at: Target and Truly Blest (a second-hand children’s clothing store)
two favorite sports: Birding and birding (that’s a sport, right?)
two shows you like to watch: Degrassi the Next Generation and ER
two things you’d buy if money were no object: A hybrid car and lots of land
two wishes for 2007: Improved mental health and happy kids

A day I needed to happen

I had a wonderful day. Thank goodness for the Cincinnati Nature Center.

1025 acres of re-established forest, lake, wetland, prairie and streams…and I had it mostly to myself today. I wasn’t out to go for extreme exercise, but I got it anyway. I went up a trail I have never gone on before, because the girls would have staged mutiny. I hiked for two hours, up and down valleys, across streams that smelled like they should (clean and bright), marveled at the silence, interrupted only by a dry leaf rasping against a trunk or the irritated call of a red-bellied woodpecker or white-breasted nuthatch. And lots of Carolina chickadees…and titmice…and robins…and golden-crowned kinglets.

At the Learning Log (a fallen tree at the Visitor’s Center, allowed to decompose and invites children to discover all the life that can exist on an old log) a red-bellied woodpecker showed off his pretty red head.

Pam over at Nature Woman gave me the word for these little sprouts that I have seen before but didn’t know their name. Seta.

A natural stairway, made of mossy stones.I officially love fungus. And need a field ID guide. Blue fungus. BLUE.
A seashell, or a rack line on the beach, or stacks of clouds at sunset. What a beautiful surprise.
I got a life bird 10 minutes into my walk. That makes for a nice time, doesn’t it?

A brown creeper.

I never thought I would actually see one. Reading my Birds of Ohio guide, I assumed that they would be so camouflaged it was pointless to even hope. Guess again, Susan. They look like mice, scuttling up the trunk of a tree, then when they reach the top, they flutter down like a leaf to the base of the next tree.

I finally got lucky photographing a golden-crowned kinglet. These little pips are about as small as our largest hummingbird. And fussy and flitty. But there were a large number around me suddenly, so it was easy to get a good shot.

What a relief to find a stream unspoiled by human trash and slime. It even smelled good, like moss and wet stone and winter.

I was so inspired after my walk, after the girls got home from school, we made chocolate chip cookies. Well, one BIG cookie. I couldn’t find my square pans, so we plopped it into a 9 ” round cake pan. Gooey and delicious.

HAPPY DE-LURKING WEEK!

I didn’t know it, but this is National Delurking Week (found out through John’s blog, who found through another blog, blah blah blah.).

Lurkers are folks who read a blog regularly, but never leave a comment. I’m sure I have some lurkers…on my SiteMeter, there are folks who come around daily but aren’t making their presence known.

So, if you read my blog alot but don’t speak up, now is the time to start. I like comments. I like the people who visit my blog , as long as they mind their manners and act like they have some sense.

Time to come out of the closet!

Antsy boredom

Very little happened today.

So I am sitting here trying to blog about nothing.

I did get a few nice pictures today:

A male and female house finch, with just the head of a goldfinch below.

Call me immature, but a song came into my head watching them…

“boy bird and girl bird, sittin’ in a tree,

K-I-S-S-I-N-G”

A good shot, if I do say so myself.

A starling partaking of some “Bluebird Nuggets”

A troubling image: We have elderly neighbors to the north, and an ambulance and EMT vehicle showed up and took Leo off. A few minutes later, a car came and picked up Annette, his wife and off they went too. Oh, dear.

Is it me, or are the white-throated sparrows brighter this year?

The cat with many names:

Lorelei calls her Miss Kitty, Isabelle calls her Sprite, I like the name Praline…Whatever her name turns out to be, this is one neat cat. She is calm but playful, her coat nearly takes care of itself, she uses a litter box without problems, she is vocal without being annoying, and she fetches like a dog. I have a spare lead and jess set-up from my days of bird-handling training, and I started teasing her with it. I got bored with the game and tossed it across the floor. Next thing I know, she is bringing it back and placing it at my feet. Over, and over, and over again.

Cute little fur ball.

More pics from today

A flock of Canda geese flying down the Ohio.
The Ohio River always makes me feel small. The West can keep the Colorado and the south cacan have the Mississippi. I love the Ohio for its part in my history. Dad spent most of his summers jetskiing and boating on this river, and I learned to ski on it.
More fungus…A shelf.
If you look close at the underside on the right, you can see someone’s fingerprints (not mine) like someone just had to grab it and see what it felt like.
Here’s my sapsucker picture. Cute little guy. I knew I had something different from a downy because of the red chin and “dirty” appearance of the back.