Friday!

Great Spring Storm

We had an incredible lightning show last night and got 1/2" of rain. It was great. The pond is a little more green each day. The birds are becoming very active but not much else is visible yet.

The Languages of Children

I have been listening to Camron "wave anchor and hoist the sail" on his pirate ship for the past hour, and now I'm betting that his hypno-bean project is actually a hypno-beam (although he does have that Mexican jumping bean circus). Toward the end he came over and asked if I had any lava that he could use to turn something into a laser. I told him that I have some basalt, which is the solid form of lava, and when I got it for him he asked if pouring water on it would turn it back into lava. I told him we would need heat to get that done and he said, "microwave?" "No, molten core of the earth." I was working in his front yard cutting metal with a skill saw, and louder than that noise were sounds like cats were being tortured in his house. The saw burned out and so did I, but the horrible noise continued, and when I asked what it was he said it was the baby talking. That blood-chilling, finger-nails on a chalkboard sound can't be good for humans. What kind of baby is she?

And by the way, the potion turned the peanut into a leaf, not a human being. He's going to work on that.

Hypno-Balls

Just heard an erie, irresistible whistle coming from the pond, and when I investigated, it was Camron. He has been creating Hypno-balls all afternoon. These are magically transformed fishing bobbers that shoot hypno-beans which can turn most animals into their "prehistorical counterparts". We should never use them on humans or pets or it will turn them prehistorical also. When I asked what it would do to Rat-dog, I was told that it will turn him into Rat-dog-asauras. And if we were to do it to one of the horses (the most powerful animals in the land) it will turn them into Castigator, a beast that can knock you all the way to Japan with one kick. And finally, if we find an elephant, the hypno-balls will turn it into a wooly mammoth. When I finally got a chance to leave, he said that he will be in the van working on potions. This morning he created a potion that will turn a peanut into a human being.

Spring Came and I Missed That Day

Not sure what I would have done differently if I had a calendar, but I do like to at least mentally acknowledge seasonal milestones. A little more green every day, but nothing explosive. Spring Break is almost over and Camron has been desperate for company. He spent several hours parked in front of my gate today, which kept Kilo enraged, and when I finally looked he actually had binoculars focused on my back gate. One good thing, he has lost enough teeth that he can now whistle incredibly well, and does so constantly and very loudly. Not that I always hide from him, but now I hear him long before he spots me and at least have that choice.

Sometimes I do wonder what "perfect day" actually is, but in the meantime, this really seems to be another perfect day.

The Cold is Almost Gone

Beautiful day. Cold but not freezing. No ducks or herons today, but lots of red-winged blackbirds moving around.

A Thursday in March

Very cold this morning, probably 15 degrees below normal (and what would that be? Nothing is, or never has been consistent, which would make a norm). My sister will be leaving this afternoon and we did not really have much time together. When we were together Bill had the television so loud that we couldn't have any sort of conversation.

The pond is nice and I could see fish moving around for the first time in months.

Neat Trick

Very cold and Wintery. It really isn't that unpleasant to walk through because it smells wet and fresh. I just have to remember to take the heavier coat. I almost got a picture of the ducks today. It the camera had been in my hand and turned on, I would have had them.

Hours Later

The clouds came back again and it rained for a while. Not a lot but it was very nice. Almost got a close-up of one of the red-winged blackbirds. These move up into the trees when I get close.

I love this Day

Almost 2PM and it has been a great day so far. It was sprinkling when I woke up so we waited until it almost stopped before we went walking. I love the colors of the prairie grasses when they are wet. Incredibly vibrant. It's starting to clear off now, but smells and looks very good.

The neatest little bird was sitting on my fence this morning. Probably an angel of avian flu death but it was beautiful. It was very small and had a bright red head and crest. The wings were a general brown but the under body was a different shade of bright red than the head.

Saturday before the official Spring

Strangely beautiful day. Probably because we have had almost zero humidity for months and it's up considerably right now. The pond has a "ready to run" look (that song just played). Kilo is a bundle of energy on mornings like this. She has been up and checking my pulse since before 6 AM. She doesn't bother me, she just watches to see if I might be getting up, and if I do, she bounces on the bed and wants to wrestle.

The walk was nice but strange dogs appeared and tried to be aggressive. It's odd that if she were loose she would bounce right on them, but on the leash she barly acknowledges that they live. If dogs can feel snubbed, those should.

Some More Winter

After several days of warmth (with lots of wind - and some of the heat was from prairie fires) it is cold this morning. Our walk was less ambitious than usual and Kilo is kind of bummed out right now. I have accomplished something at the pond each day for several days, and it is starting to look better. It got into terrible shape this winter and I am ashamed to have been the caretaker. Yesterday Bill gave orders that I have to stop the leak from under the waterfall that floods his hobby room, or he is moving the fill line. That will be complicated.

I moved the azalea and whatever that other thing is to my back fence. Have decided to put annuals in the planter/ditch that runs to the garden. Also, I broke a stem on the Jasmine plant and it is still alive.

The red-winged blackbirds are back in full force. I haven't taken the time to find out about their lives. Are these the originals from the past five years, or offspring of the originals, or just more of the same species?

The weather shows that we could experience severe thunderstorms between now and Sunday evening. That would be nice.

Clear, Warm, and no Wind

It was absolutely beautiful today and I almost finished working on the East end of the pond. I trimmed the dead reeds off even with the edge of the bank and didn't go farther since they seem to create a kind of protective barrier for the bird nests. It might not work against snakes or raptors, but I don't think cats and skunks can climb out on them now.

Full Moon

Drove South to a class early this morning and the fire was as intense as the reports I heard. The old post office that I remember from my first trip down that road when I was five years old, is a crumbled ruin. And the nice brick house just South of that is the same. I could see how the heat came in fingers that engulfed some places and went around others. This morning the wind was intense again and there was a dust storm starting at the beginning of the burn that continued along the entire burned out area. That was strange because the grass that burned was so pale and drooped that it was barely visible to begin with, but obviously even in that condition it was very important. This afternoon on my way back, enough sand had been moved that in large areas the burned appearance had disappeared.

When I got to the house I finally went to work on the pond. It wasn't nearly as hard as I expected but I couldn't get the boat out of the water after I filled it with plants. I couldn't even row it back to the usual docking area. That has happened before but I thought I overcame it. Have decided to just clip the dead reeds that are hanging over the berm. And also, The penny wort was creating a kind of island. The main roots are actually anchored to the side of the pond and some of the tendrils are 20' long. Anyway they are all interconnected and the space between the shoots has been filled in with moss and algae topped by leaves and twigs, forming a kind of mat that other things were starting to grow out of. I used a long bread knife and cut long strips that I rolled up and pulled onto the boat. It only took a few hours and was way easier then when I tried to cut them out with clippers. I did that too many times and ran out of energy, and then there were those high waves and strong currents coming right at me, so I just had to crash into the first shore that came along and tie the boat off for the night.