As Our Life Goes On

We have never seen our yard as wet as it has been this year. There is water on top of the ground throughout the yard. It is mushy and muddy making boots a necessity.  The weather forecast is for very cold weather, wind and snow. Maybe we will look back and just wish for only a very wet yard again. 

It was just after lunch when I noticed two deer at the feeder behind the house. A doe and her Spring fawn were after the corn and other bird feed that had been scattered for the birds.  The young deer did not seem to notice me taking pictures from the living room window.  They stopped to look when Russ drove up the drive towards the other side of the house.  They stood near each other watching carefully as he came into the house.  Mother keeps watch as the young deer feeds. The young deer continued to eat as the mother watched from a short distance away. The large doe did see me but did not seem terribly concerned. She was looking right at me as I shot the pictures from the side window.  We really enjoy seeing the wildlife in our yard. 

The cheap bird feed that I found at the Aldi store has a lot of millet seed and small cracked corn pieces in it. There is an occasional sunflower in the mix too. The snowy cold weather of the last few days prompted many more visits from hungry creatures of all kinds. This black squirrel kept an eye on me while he fed on some of these feed mill floor sweepings this afternoon. 

Ice comes, then some snow falls and tops the pine needles. Cold Winter is here.  -Caroline

Cold rain falls lightly. Muddy puddles grow larger. Then they go away.  -Caroline

A late brunch with friends from my Silver Sneakers exercise class and  a few other people made this day just fly by.  One of our class members who had moved out of town was there. I wonder if it is good genes or the exercise that has kept him looking so young at the age of 93.  The holidays will soon be behind us. I am looking forward to the new year. 

Merry Christmas Everyone!

It's Christmas Eve and it will not be a white Christmas. The cardinal seems to be waiting for the black squirrel to lay down the piece of bread. Actually the squirrel did not finish this piece and many birds came to feast on what was left. 

It was still dark this morning when this squirrel perched on the feeder to chew on a piece of  nutritious white bread. It did not take too long for the squirrels to figure out how the scale the long metal pole that holds the feeder. I did find a 20 pound bag of fairly cheap birdseed at the store this morning so the creatures will receive some better feed for the next few days.  Red flash in spruce tree At evening you come to feed Hungry cardinal. -Caroline

Just a few more days and holidays will be over and the new year  of 2012 will begin. Long lines, long waits too! Talking to strangers makes the line go much faster. -Caroline

The record rainfall continues but the rain ceased falling around noon today and the bright sunshine warmed us into the low 60s. The ground squished under my feet as I took a long walk around the yard. The water is laying on top of the ground and large murky puddles changed my path as I walked. The small toadstools above were in a very wet area on the steep hill beside the house. Two hours of the uplifting sunshine ended with clouds and drizzle. Tomorrow is the first day of Winter. 

Busy days seem to fly by and that is what happened today. There was a lot of busy work to catch up on and though this type of work  is not terribly physical it can be tiring. That is how it was on this snowy, rainy, windy and cool day. 

It is always nice to get together with friends during the holiday season. We attended a gift exchange dinner party last night and fun was had by all. It may take me a couple of days to recover as I don't usually keep late hours. I am more of an early to bed early to rise person. Christmas is coming soon. Do you have all your baking done? Baked gingerbread men  raisin eyes nose and mouth lay waiting for Santa. -Caroline

Paw prints on back steps! What busy creature left them to melt in the snow? -Caroline

Frosted ferns stand still. Crunchy snow under my feet ends the silent day. -Caroline

The large wet area on the other side of the bike and hike trail behind our house is adjacent to a very large house on a private drive. We have had very little interaction with the owner. A few years ago Russ and an arborist were checking some of the trees in the back yard and shots rang out. The bullets were hitting the foliage in the trees just over their heads. They hopped into a truck and drove on over to the house. The owner said he was doing a bit of target practice but our house is quite a bit higher than his so that was not quite believable. He said he would shoot the other direction. There are houses in all directions from his house plus the bike trail is very close. We still hear shots but have not had any holes in the house or seen any evidence that he is shooting our way. 

Puddles are everywhere.  We're running up the rainy leafless path God made until the end comes.  -Caroline

My husband tries to keep on doing everything that needs done even when he does not feel well. He is dragging himself to get through the day. He came home from a trip last Saturday with a terrible cold. At this time he may have a secondary infection. Thankfully he laid down and fell asleep for a while today. It is probably true that many of us keep on going when we don't feel well but there needs to be a cutoff time when we start to take care of ourselves. 

The bird bread that I got at the thrift store is all of the white variety. It is not too tasty or nutritious but the birds and squirrels seem to like it. We got the post bird feeder set up yesterday. I can see it from my computer. The squirrels will have to renew their pole climbing skills. There is plenty of natural feed in the wild right now as there is no snow cover. The bread should attract more wildlife when the snows come and start covering the ground. I am really liking this weather. 

There is little to be said at the end of this day except that it was a good one.  The sun was shining and there were no issues that caused out of the ordinary concern. Yea!

Last year around this time we were covered with snow and more was on the way. The snow cover stayed on most of the Winter with additions to the total being made on a regular basis. It is way too early to think that we might get off easier this year but the forecast is good right now. 

The stores and highways were loaded with shoppers today. It was very busy everywhere I went. The wait at the post office was necessary and the line was long.  I often wonder though if all the people buying gifts do other nice things during the rest of the year or just reserve it for Christmas and the holidays.  I checked out the local Goodwill store and bought several old paintings that I like really well. There was a young boy in the store who looked to be around 8 or 9 years old. He seemed inquisitive and chattered constantly and actually seemed to be having a good time. His questions remained unanswered and finally his dad strongly reprimanded him and left the store leaving him with his mom. His mother seemed very tolerant and nice to him. After his father left the store the boy sat alone in the back of the store and he was completely silent. When his mother asked him about the silence he said that he did not like how his father treated him and he thinks about that treatment

It's a winter wonderland. The wet snow coated tops and sides of trees, weeds and shrubs this morning. It was mostly gone by early afternoon. This is the part of the season that I do like.  Thank goodness the roads were not terribly affected so I was on the go most of the day.  One of my trips involved going to the thrift bread store in Cuyahoga Falls. Bird bread is only 12 cents a loaf and most of it is only a few days past date. I bought just 3 dozen hamburger buns and 7 large loaves of white bread for $1.20. Storage is a problem until the weather gets colder or a new freezer is purchased. The squirrels are and birds are enjoying this bread  already. The 3 bun packages were not punched. I am not sure that the birds will get all of those. If you buy 100 loaves the price drops to 8 cents a loaf or package. Larger amounts are even less.  After pricing bird seed and corn in a few different stores it seems clear that the wildlife in my back yard will be getting this cheaper alte

I need sunshine in order to feel good. Unfortunately Northeast Ohio is not the ideal place to live if you need a lot of sun. Today was cool but the sun warmed me and my uplifted my spirits all day long. I will sleep well tonight. 

I understand that bread for feeding wildlife is available at a local  outlet bread store if you ask for it and sign a form to say that it is not for human consumption. A lot of loaves are available at a very small price. The price of seed has gone pretty much out of sight so I will look into this and plan to keep the bread in a covered plastic bin as the weather is cold enough now so that the bread will be refrigerated if kept on the breezeway or in the garage. We do enjoy watching the birds. 

The dried stalks of the golden rod plants still sport a fluffy plume. They are very pretty but if I bring a bouquet into the house it would probably continually shed and I am not into cleaning around it everyday. There is always enough to do. 

Though the day has been dark and dreary I refuse to let myself become teary. A call from my sister and a kiss from my mister made me as cheery as one could be on a day that had turned to night.  Silver Sneakers class offered exercises to strengthen me and improve my balance. Calls from other friends kept the day from seeming to long. The muddy rain is backed up in the French drains and a thick fog caused a very early darkness. We are safe and warm. 

An evergreen shrub in front of the house has turned a very pretty color of red. It usually stays green but I think it is very pretty. The same kind of shrub that is next to this one has stayed the usual green. Perhaps the ultra wet weather has cause this event. It is very festive looking for the holidays. 

As I walked near the edge of the back yard the sound of this Hairy Woodpecker tapping on an old wild cherry tree caught my attention. I tried to get a picture but it kept moving higher and moving around the tree as I moved to get a better look. Finally it took the upper hand by flying to a lower branch and scolding me with a high pitched loud squawk. I abandoned the game after taking  a picture and then left the annoyed bird alone. It was nice to walk in the warm sun today. There are always small branches and sticks to pick up from under the many trees. 

My energy is fading fast at this hour also. It has been a very busy day. Time to kick back and relax now. 

We heard the churning of a motor in our drive as we walked out the door for an afternoon walk. One of  our 86 year old twin neighbors had swung up through the drive to see why the International Harvester Travelall had a charger on the battery. This time it was Harold who was visiting. His brother Harry visits from time to time also. He was taking advantage of the sunny day by collecting beer cans from the sides of the road. He had filled the banana box on his hood with crushed cans after driving only a short distance. We are pleased to have him as a neighbor. 

The snow brightened the sides of the trees and branches this morning and the weeds along the roadsides had toppings of the cold white stuff. It actually was quite pretty. Those dark clouds to the North finally disappeared and only blue skies with puffy white clouds remained. Cool breezes are still present and the brightness is deceptive. We need to enjoy the fact that we can still see the ground. 

The precipitation has broken the all time record this year for our area by many inches. As I walked around the mushy yard the drizzly air and strong wind made me feel cool even though it is almost 60 degrees.  I was struck with the thought that the rain over the last day could have amounted to at least 10" of the white stuff.  I'm glad that it is too warm for that to happen today. My boots did not protect me from the very watery mud that splashed up as I walked. The bottoms of my jeans are damp with specks of mud.

There are several old tree stumps behind our barn. We think of them as wildlife habitat. The stump grinder man has not been around here for quite a while.  Most of the old wild cherries around the yard seem to be dying off so every once in a while one falls down or dies. We cut up the wood for firewood. Chipmunks, insects and other small animals find these stumps to be great homes. 

May this dark dreary day find you less than dark and dreary!

We stopped what we were doing to visit with an old friend yesterday. He is the proud owner of a 1937 Buick that was previously owned by his dad. Both the car and the friend are survivors. We were very happy to see him. The car is a very dark green color and it is low mileage. The interior is almost perfect.  Our vintage cars are not quite this nice. We use them everyday for our transportation. 

The top picture shows one of the two yellow daisy type flowers remaining in my little garden behind the house. The second and third flowers show late blooming dandelion plants. They are my flowers too. There has been no really heavy freeze yet so these slightly warmer and sunny days has caused these pretty flowers to brighten my yard. I think they are much like me. I was a late bloomer and I am very persistent.  On another note I saw a good size coyote trotting through the pine trees in my front yard late in the day on Thanksgiving. The cars were slowing in front of my house to look and that is what caused me to peer out and see this large canine. There are quite a few of these animals in our area. There was no time to fetch the camera before it passed through the yard. 

It is a day to be thankful for friends and family but that should be everyday.  Happy Thanksgiving!