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.

Huge Prairie Fire #2

The wind today was incredible. We couldn't even walk very far this morning and by 10AM the sky was filled with dust. It actually felt ominous. By noon, emergency sirens were going off. When I got to work at 2PM, the South highway out of town was closed and within 2 more hours so was the U.S. highway East of town. Visibility was already almost zero because of the dust and resulted in several serious accidents, then the smoke started. I heard of several houses, a post office, lots of barns and storage sheds that burned, and many of the ranchers to the East and South of town lost a lot of cattle and horses. I've never really been in the general public when these things happened before and it's different.

More of Today

Kind of Warm Today

The wind wasn't as impressive today as it was yesterday (WIND), but still had a significant punch. I can hear ducks on the pond and am sure that the heron is there, but hate to bother them even to make myself appear credible. I do have proof that the algae is starting to back off. Oh yes, the gophers seem to have moved (or something). Ron brought a bottle of peppermint oil to me. My sister saw a man on tv who was relating sort of an alternative pesticide regimen and said that gophers and other rodents are allergic to peppermint oil and to put pure peppermint oil (not extract) on a cotton ball and put it in their newest open hole (I think that covering the hole would also be a good idea) and they will move away. He said this also works on mice in houses and anywhere else that rodents become a problem. I haven't actually tried it yet because they had moved before he got here.

Weather Change

It is overcast and trying to rain right now, but the air is so dry, and the surface winds are so intense (33 mph sustained with gusts of 50-60) , that nothing is hitting the ground. I was just sitting outside with Kilo, and the trees are almost laying down, but the clouds are barely moving.

My sister told me that Captain Bird (the bittern) lands on the boat about 6:15 each afternoon. This could be his lucky day (blog photo).

Yesterday was Nice

Ron came by and he and Kilo played frisbee until he had to leave. She regards him as her friend, and wants him to only play with her while he is here. When we sit in the house she will bring frisbees to him and bark constantly until we go outside. I'm glad she has long-lasting and very good relationships with her people.

Big Wind Day

Yesterday was beautiful and very warm but the wind woke me this morning. It is almost too intense to walk through and not very pleasant in general - but still warm.

It's Spring

What was I thinking? Spring comes in it's own time, not according to our calendar. A beautiful day. Light breeze, 80 degrees, and the birds have come to life.

Some Winter

Cool morning with interesting, Fall-like spells. I didn't get up until 9:30 and the birds were either gone for the day, or just gone. Our walk was invigorating to the point of being pleasant. Even at 12 going on 13, Kilo is a bundle of energy on days like this. My friend never gets any exercise because he is stuck with a lazy dog that just wants to stay in the house and watch television all day. I hate it when that happens and have begged him to get a companion with some energy.

Perfect Day (Weather-wise)

Last night I was sitting in the backyard with Kilo and watched an owl make several passes over the pond. It must have been an owl. It was flying in the dark, it was big, it had raptor-type wings (I could see the silhouette against the lights in the Western sky), and each time it flew back to tree that is surrounded by a lot of owl activity evidence. This morning when we went walking, a great blue heron (and it is huge) and two ducks took off. I can't prove any of this, but it happened, and tomorrow I am planning to get up early and take pictures of them (unless they moved today - stranger things have happened).

Wednesday

83 degrees and absolutely beautiful. The elm trees are starting to bloom and the leaves came out today on some of the honeysuckle vines. I'm sort of impressed that the thyme (maybe), curly parsley, and lavender plants have kept growing through the winter. The Albuquerque news just said that as of midnight last night, this is the driest Winter since 1903-04, and it may even be drier than that Winter once all of the data is tabulated. That's actually pretty exciting - we may have just witnessed the driest 3 months in the recorded history of a large city. It has been really dry here also, but that rain the other night may have just snatched a record right out of our hands. El Nino - La Nina. But there is always next year.