I Could Get Used To This

We've enjoyed a run of fine days here at the Aerie. If you discount the brief but heavy showers that moved through the area late Saturday afternoon, there's hardly been a cloud in the sky. Over night the temperatures have fallen to around 40 degrees and during the day they have been in the 65 degree range.

As a result, I've been spending time putting seeds and plants into the garden. Several rows of string bean and cucumber seeds have been sown and sixteen zucchini plants have been put in. If we have any success at all, we should have plenty of beans for the freezer, cukes for pickles and relish, and cukes and zukes for salads and the dinner table. And, if the zucchini do their usual thing, there should be plenty for zucchini bread as well. Maybe even some to annoy the neighbors.

The lawn I thought I had done a good job of clearing dandelions from has sprouted a host of yellow flowers that bears witness to the fact that I was sadly mistaken. Perhaps I should start harvesting some for a foray into wine making.

All but one of the shrubs I put in are looking pretty good. The one exception is a burning bush. It's looking droopy every afternoon despite a heavy dose of water. Both burning bushes had the weakest of root systems when they came out of the pots so it doesn't surprise me too much. If it doesn't recover in a week or so, I may have to go back and make a claim against Lowes' one-year guarantee.

I had planned on heading up to the Bolt Hole early in the week, but with the weather so nice, I've postponed that trip until Wednesday. That will allow me to do a little more yard work and attend the Grand Canyon Photography Club meeting Tuesday night.

******

The cats have had assistance in their early morning wake up alarm system the last few days. One or more Hermit Thrushes have taken to adding their voices to the early morning cacophony. They, the Robins, the Towhees and a very persistent Yellowthroat make for quite a racket just outside the window at 5-5:30 AM. Perhaps these birds have also been waking the cats.

******

I've not been putting the bird feeders out and that has pissed off the squirrels. They've been coming to the door and window of the Aerie pretty much demanding I get with the program. This has excited--and provided entertainment for--the cats who race from door to door to window following the squirrel protest marchers.

Without the attraction of the feeders, the number of daytime avian visitors has decreased considerably. Either they are out foraging on their own or they've found another sucker source of seed.

So far as I can tell, the lack of spilled seed and/or forgotten feeders has also cut back on our bruin visitors. We've had nothing on the deck since I pulled the feeders on Thursday night. That's a good thing. Mr. Bear has got to learn to find his own source of food elsewhere. Hopefully it won't include beans, cucumbers, zucchini, and onions.

We did another bird walk this morning. Today we visited Colton Point State Park on the western rim of the Grand Canyon of PA. The idea was to see all the warblers that typically stop off there as spring time rolls around but while there were numerous individuals of select species, things weren't as happening as we thought they might be. Most of the trees have yet to leaf out and the warblers typically like the young leaves and the insects they attract. We tallied only 18 species in a two hour walk along the canyon rim. The highlights included many Blackburnian and Black-and-white Warblers as well as a Red-eyed Vireo and a Blue-headed Vireo. Here's the entire report I submitted to eBird:

Location: Colton Point
Observation date: 5/7/11
Notes: First time at Colton Pt. this year. Mostly sunny with temps starting at 45 rising to 60 degrees. Many trees have yet to open their buds or are just barely starting...seems late.
Number of species: 18

Canada Goose X
Common Merganser (North American) X
Turkey Vulture X
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker X
Eastern Phoebe X
Blue-headed Vireo X
Red-eyed Vireo X
Blue Jay X
American Crow X
Tree Swallow X
Black-capped Chickadee X
Hermit Thrush X
Northern Parula X
Black-throated Blue Warbler X
Yellow-rumped Warbler X
Blackburnian Warbler X
Black-and-white Warbler X
Eastern Towhee X

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

More Plantings at the Aerie

I spent the better part of Friday afternoon planting six more shrubs along the edge of the Aerie's lawn. Two Spirea, two Lilacs, and two Burning bushes went in the ground with the help of the backhoe on the tractor. If I had had to dig the holes by hand, I'd still be at it. Lots and lots of rock, including one doozy that made me change the location of a planned hole because it was too freakin' huge!

Still have to do some seed planting but, after a morning of birding, I'm looking at some very, very dark thunderstorm clouds heading this way. We've already had a couple of very short but drenching showers--interspersed with bright sunshine, just to be interesting. Planting is off for today!

The forecast is looking good for the next few days--after 8 PM tonight. Once this front moves through, we should have mostly sunshine until Wednesday or so. The same is true up north at the Bolt Hole, though and I may opt to head up there for a couple of days to see if I can finish the rewiring. Or I could stick around and take advantage of the good weather to put some string bean, zuke and cuke seeds in the ground.

Bear Visitor at the Aerie--Again

I was a bit late getting the bird feeders in last evening. Instead of 7:30 or so, It's as more 8:30 when I went out to get them. And that was too late. Something had beaten me to the task. The suet feeder was gone and one of the stick feeders was on the ground with its top off and all the seed gone. The other stick feeder was still on the shepherd's crook, but it was empty also. As was the larger metal feeder hanging on the telephone pole. Since one of the shepherd's hooks was bent, I figured the culprit to be a bear. Again.

Later around 10:30, while Terry and I were watching an early episode of

NCIS

on USA (yeah, it IS addictive), I thought I heard something on the deck and all the cats suddenly went on high alert--i.e. their curiosity got them to stare intently in the direction of the deck with their ears cocked for full reception. I grabbed a flashlight and sure enough, Mr. Bruin had come back to empty the tray feeder on the deck. He wasn't too concerned about the light but, discovering there was nothing in the tray, ambled off the deck and back to the spilled seed on the ground by the feeder station. There, he plopped himself down and started to wish for a full feeder instead of having to sweep up the food from the ground.

He's a decent sized bear. I was able to get an idea of his size as he leaned on the rail of the deck and looked over the side and as he slow walked past the sliding door to go back down to the yard. I would estimate he's about my size and would probably tip the scales at 225-250 pounds. But his snout is still elongated. I thought thin and pointy (more like a German shepherd's) snouts usually indicated a youngish bear. I couldn't be sure, but his coat was either matted with sunflower seeds (or suet) or he had several wounds on his flanks and back. There were distinctly lighter marks smaller than a dime in several locations.

I'll hold the feeders in for a couple of days and let the birds, chipmunks and squirrels act as clean-up crew to get any uneaten seeds off the ground. I'm down to my last bag of sunflower seeds anyway and this might help stretch things out.

So far having Mr. Bruin around is only a nuisance and I would like it to remain that way. I can excuse a few damaged/destroyed bird feeders. I shouldn't be leaving them out over night anyway.

Plantings at the Aerie

A beautiful spring day here at the Aerie. The sun was shining all day and the temperatures rose to around 58 degrees. More importantly, things were able to dry out considerably under the sun and a steady 20-25 mph breeze.

I went out to Lowes this morning to pick up some shrubs for around the Aerie. I got four Rhododendrons, two Burning Bushes, two Forsythias, two Spirea, and three Bleeding Hearts. I also picked up three bags of potting soil (32 quarts each) and two bags of soil modifier (1.5 cu. ft. each). As you might surmise, my afternoon was planned for me.

After lunch I dug four holes for the Rhodies just off the covered deck. Digging necessitated the use of a long handled shovel and a 16 pound steel bar. Have I ever mentioned that the hill (and consequently the fill) upon which the Aerie is constructed is stone and clay? The stone was hard and the clay was wet.

The four holes produced about four cubic feet of a mix of stone and clay--a 50-50 mix. I screened that to get the larger stones out and mixed it 50-50 with a bag of soil enhancer. The four plants went in, the mixed soil was placed around them and tamped down and then all four were given a generous drink of water.

It took almost three hours by which time I was a hurting puppy. My back ached. My knees ached. My arms ached. With luck, however, those Rhodies will grow to descent size and produce lovely pink blossoms in late May early June. Each currently has 5 or 6 buds that will open this year--and they are only about 16 inches tall.

Terry planted the three Bleeding Hearts near the front door. That area gets almost no sunlight which is perfect for these shade loving plants. We already had three there and they are loving it! There had been a fourth, but when we had the stone applied to the foundation last year, Don couldn't help but stomp on one and killed it.

Tomorrow I get to plant the other six plants. I think I'll get the backhoe out to assist.

Big Brother is Watching!

We've all seen it in use on TV shows. Government agents hit a few keys and they can pin point exactly where and which computer a suspect is using. Or they can trace a cell phone call to within a few feet anywhere in the world.

Well, I was recently sent a link to a site that can accurately locate me!

It's really unbelievable. I was surprised to learn that such technology was available to just anyone already..

You don't need a GPS, a tom-tom or tom cat or whatever ---

It uses your IP address and finds the exact location of any internet user in seconds. It uses a sophisticated time based algorithm to do so. Try it and find your own location on the earth.

Your location will pop up in a new window in about 10 seconds or so.
Click on the link below......

http://www.darnay.com/iec/features/locator/index.html

What the Hey?

(h/t Theo Spark)

I don't know, but wouldn't this make you want to go out a purchase a Scion. (Or go watch lots of Benny Hill videos.)

More Aerie Birds, May 4, 2011

Just a few bird photos from the backyard.

Red-breasted Nuthatch

The smaller of the two nuthatches in the region, this little guy is a darting piece of dapperness. It will swoop in to snatch a bit of suet or a sunflower seed and then head for the trees to eat its treat. Like it's larger cousin the White-breasted Nuthatch, it will forage along the trunks of trees looking for insects, spiders and their eggs by hopping down the bole of the tree head first.

Chipping Sparrow

The smallest of sparrows, this little bird sports a rusty red beret and a clean grey breast. It's a ground feeder and will be found scratching for seeds beneath the shrubs or along the sides of trails.

Eastern Towhee

This used to be called the "Rufus-sided Towhee" for obvious reasons. The bright red eye is a distinguishing characteristic shared by both sexes--which is good because the female is much more drab in appearance being mostly an earthy brown. Another ground feeder, it will scratch for seeds and insects by kicking both feet simultaneously. It has a very loud and distinctive song that commands that you "Drink your tea!"

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

This rather stubby, chubby robin-sized bird with brilliant black and white plumage with a bright red bib is a welcome visitor in the summer.

American Goldfinch

The male's bright yellow and black highlights make this a welcome and colorful summer visitor. Large flocks can be seen at feeders and along the side of the road where weeds have grown tall. We've so many that it looks like we've decorated our trees with yellow Easter eggs.

One other recent and notable visitor is the Indigo Bunting. One appeared on the deck yesterday as we were eating our lunch. It stayed only long enough to grab a couple of sunflower seeds before heading off into the trees. We've had them around the place every summer so there's no reason to believe he won't be back.

Birthdays. We got 'em!

Terry is celebrating her birthday today. She's "O my God!" years of age.

Her cousin (and my good fishing/hunting/all-around) buddy, Joe is also celebrating his birthday. He's five years younger than Terry. (For a long time, she thought he was a birthday present since they grew up just one block apart in Linden, NJ.) And, no, I won't say how old he is because you could then calculate how old she is and I would be in deep doo-doo.

Then Way Up North in Alaska, Rev. Paul is also celebrating a birthday today. I'm not sure how old Paul is but he is younger than dirt and probably closer to Joe's age than Terry's and is somewhere between. After meeting him this last summer on our trek to the 49th state, I can truly say he is good people. Too bad he's like 5000 miles away!

From the Aerie, May 2, 2011

Not much to report today.

The rains didn't come as predicted (that's a good thing). Seems the weather that was supposed to cause some drenching today broke up into isolated and widely scattered rains (almost) none of which hit here.

The sun actually came out for a few moments this afternoon (another good thing).

And, it seems, a group of Navy SEALS gave Osama bin Laden the old heave-ho from both this mortal coil and the deck of a U.S. warship. That's a Very. Good. Thing. Though I would have preferred a little old 7th Century justice in this case. Dragged through the streets. (Broadway in Manhattan would have been my choice.) Head on a pike. (Ground Zero is available.)

As to the last item:

Clarence Darrow once said, "I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure." (Earlier on Facebook I attributed a similar quote to Mark Twain but have been unable to verify that.)

Twain DID say, "I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying that I approved of it."

******

Terry spent the better part of the morning fielding phone calls from SAGA members wanting to sign up for the Smocking Arts Guild of America national convention. She had one of her EGA friends here to help enter data into the web site from people who had mailed their forms in to here. I set up a couple of spread sheet to keep track of the financial end of things once they had finished processing the information about classes and such. From 9:50 AM (a couple of early birds--registration didn't start until 10 AM EDT) until 1 PM the phone was ringing off the hook. Remind me to never, ever volunteer for a phone bank!

Now that the first day is over, things will slow down considerably. Many of these women wanted to be sure to get the classes they wanted during the convention and so were in a rush to get things done--yesterday. They didn't not want to be closed out of the classes. (As it was, by 1 PM five of the classes were closed.) Yeah, they could have done it all themselves online, but there were those with special vouchers and others that didn't trust (or understand) PayPal.

I should have either gone turkey hunting or to Cabela's. Maybe tomorrow.

Oh. Wait. Tomorrow (May 3rd) is Terry's birthday.

If I went to Cabela's tomorrow, she would want to go. And then I would have to buy stuff for her. (She got all the cool stuff from Cabela's last time.)

Okay. Maybe Wednesday!

******

Roads around the Bolt Hole continue to be in rough shape according to the pages of the local news sources. Oh, I could get there, but the route would be--shall we say--circuitous. I'm in no hurry, especially since the forecast for the next couple of days is rain, rain and--oh yeah--rain.

******

Well, that is all for now from this little bit of Heaven. Time for one more little toast to the Navy SEALS before I head off to bed. I read that they pulled a number of computers and flash drives from Osama's hidey hole--if you can call a mansion a hidey hole. Got to be some pretty nervous people in al Quida--and Pakistan. I wish them all a peaceful and long--a very long--sleep (well, maybe not peaceful).

More Rain On the Way *sigh*

First day of May and it's shaping up to be just like April--WET! And cool.

The weather gurus are saying we'll get about 2.5 inches of rain this week (Sunday through Thursday). The average for the entire month is just 3 inches so we're off to a quick start! We got more than twice the average rainfall during April. The 10-day (weather.com) and 15-day (accuweather.com) show most days with a high temperatures of about 60 degrees and many of them only in the 50s. Oh, and they both show more rain next week.

******

This morning I went down to get the Sunday newspapers and saw that the Exxon station had a price of $3.94 for a gallon of regular. Haven't seen prices that high since immediately after the hurricanes hit the Gulf coast a few years back. Then it was the weather that caused the disruption of supplies. Once the weather ended and damage assessed/repaired prices came back down. Now, it's the fed printing money reducing its value and, of course, an energy policy(?) from the White House that's preventing the production from resources right here in the USA. Instead, we have windmills. And corn being turned into fuel instead of food and feed.

******

When I got back to the Aerie, I pulled out the lawn mower, checked the oil level, filled the gas tank and gave two slow pulls to prime the engine and one hard pull and the Briggs & Stratton engine fired right up. No excuse now! So off I went mowing the lawn. It was just starting to get scraggly looking but was at that stage where it was easy to mow. Doing it now should encourage better growth. besides. the forecast being what it is, I may not get another chance until next weekend.

Once finished, I grabbed the Round Up and went around spraying some of the dandelion, thistle, and other weeds I had spotted. It won't eliminate them, but it should thin them out a bit.

Then, it was on to planting some carrot seeds. The soil needed to be turned again since the very heavy rains after the last digging had compacted it a bit too much for carrots. That's a scene likely to be repeated this week, but what the hey!

Finally, I did a little tree trimming, removing a couple of oak and maple branches that were either rubbing against other trees or had been broken by delivery trucks or ice.

Then it was time for a late lunch as the drizzle started.

Followed by a book and a nap.

******

Terry was in New Jersey for a SAGA stitching class over the weekend. (Luckily, her little Aveo gets 35 mpg.) She had a good time with some of her buds learning new methods, drinking wine, going out to dinner, drinking wine, sittin' a stitchin' and--did I mention--drinking wine. Tomorrow, she and a few helpers will be occupying the Aerie to do some work in registering folks for classes at the SAGA national convention.

Don't know what I'll do during that time, but it won't be heading to the Bolt Hole just yet. Last I checked, the roads are still a mess up there from last week's storm. I could get there by a rather circuitous route, but I've a few time.

Saturday Morning Briding

Yesterday was one of those steps back to early spring and maybe winter. It only reached 42 degrees beneath cloudy and occasionally spitting skies. (We actually had some hail late in the afternoon.) I was forced to go around and turn the heat back on although I'm not sure it ever did actually kick on overnight. It did get down to 38 degrees at 6 AM when I got out of bed.

******

Terry went to New Jersey again this weekend. This time it was for a sewing thing being held south of Trenton. She reports it was pretty nice there and the trees were all in leaf.

Here, the maples and poplars are in bloom and, down in the valley anyway, the shad bush (also know as service berry) have opened their white flowers.

******

I went out on a bird walk over at Hills Creek State Park this morning. We had 11 people show up and, even it started overcast and chilly, things warmed up and cleared up nicely. The adverse weather may have actually helped us out a bit. There are still numerous water fowl on the lake and an abundance of yellow-rumped warblers flitted about in the trees. Over all, I counted 36 species on our three-plus hour walk around the lake. Here's my list:

Location: Hills Creek SP
Observation date: 4/30/11
Notes: The day started chilly (40 degrees) with misting rain and overcast skies. Cleared and warmed to 52 degrees and bright sunshine by 10 AM.
Tons of yellow-rumped warblers in the newly flowering trees. Dozens of buffleheads on lake.
Number of species: 36

Canada Goose X
Mallard X
Ring-necked Duck X
Bufflehead X
Common Merganser X
Ruddy Duck X
Double-crested Cormorant X
Great Blue Heron X
Osprey X
Bald Eagle X
American Coot X
Mourning Dove X
Belted Kingfisher X
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) X
Eastern Phoebe X
Blue Jay X
American Crow X
Tree Swallow X
Cliff Swallow X
Black-capped Chickadee X
Tufted Titmouse X
Red-breasted Nuthatch X
Brown Creeper X
Eastern Bluebird X
American Robin X
European Starling X
Yellow Warbler X
Yellow-rumped Warbler X
Common Yellowthroat X
Eastern Towhee X
Chipping Sparrow X
Song Sparrow X
Dark-eyed Junco X
Northern Cardinal X
Red-winged Blackbird X
Common Grackle X

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

Gary tries to get an actual count of each species while I tend to merely run a check-list of species. I think Gary got a bit overwhelmed by the number of buffleheads on the lake and especially the number of yellow-rumps in the trees.

******

I actually saw a few other species on my way to and from Hills Creek SP. There was a ruffed grouse along the side of the road. A brown thrasher dove across the road in front of me. The ubiquitous rock pigeons circled the barn yards at several farms along the way. A pair of wood duck on a small beaver pond.

And then there was the turkey one successful hunter had slung over his shoulder as he walked into the sporting goods store in Mansfield. (Today was opening day. I saw several vehicles parked along the side of the road, but only that one guy with a nice big tom.)

On my way down to Route 6 from the Aerie, I had to stop for a red fox in the road. And then, coming home, I spotted five deer in the hay field of one farm and, closer to home, a white squirrel ran into the woods from the road's edge.

Another wedding

No. Not the one in England.

A week ago tonight my eldest niece, Kristen, got engaged to the fella she's been dating for a year, Rich. In fact, they were out celebrating their 1-year dating anniversary when he popped the question. (Rich, when she brought you to Christmas Eve, it was just a matter of time.)

When I heard the news, I began to wonder when they would tie the knot. All the suitable holidays had previously been taken for this year. We've got one wedding in Milwaukee Memorial Day weekend, one near Portland, Maine, on 4th of July weekend, and one in Springfield, New Jersey the Friday after Labor Day. (Labor Day weekend we've a clam bake at the base of Cape Cod, but that's a different story and not family related.) Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas I dismissed as being unlikely times to wed. So when, I wondered would they get married?

I had forgotten a couple of possibilities still available in 2011: Flag Day (to small a holiday), Columbus Day (possible although neither is even half Italian), and Veterans' Day. They opted for the latter's traditional day of 11/11--although neither has any connection to the military, it is close to her Mom's (and my sister's) birthday (11/13). And for a very small, town hall ceremony with a reception to follow.

I wish Kristen and Rich all the best.

So that's four weddings this year...so far. Two years ago it was three.

Still think the best plans would be a ladder before and a post card after.

Two Bears

An email from my Florida cousin:

Two bears were sitting at the side of the banks of the Potomac in D.C.

The smaller one turned to the bigger one and said, 'I can't understand how you can be so much bigger than me. We're the same age; we were the same size as kids. I just don't get it.'


'Well,' said the big Bear, 'what have you been eating?'


'Politicians, same as you,' replied the small Bear.


'Hmm. Well, where do you catch them?'


'Down near the parking lot by the Capitol Buildings.'


'Same here. Hmm. How do you catch them?'


'Well, I hide under one of their Lexus cars and wait for one to unlock the car door. Then I jump out, grab them by the leg, shake the shit out of them and eat 'em!'


'Ah!' says the big Bear, 'I think I see your problem.

You're not getting any real nourishment. See, by the time you finish shaking the shit out of a Politician, there`s nothing left but an asshole and a briefcase!

Weather follow up

Still waiting for today's round of T-storms to start. But we do have a tornado watch (possibility) in effect until 10 PM and a tornado warning (stronger possibility in the immediate future) issued for the northwest corner of the county. Luckily. we're on the eastern edge of Tioga County. Looking to the northwest from here, things do look...well..interesting.

Almost forgot, the area still has a flash flood watch in effect until tomorrow.

Got up to 82 degrees this afternoon in what would otherwise be considered a lovely day.(Except for those nasty T-storms and tornadoes j-u-s-t over there.)

I grabbed a shovel and went out to play in the dirt, rock and flowing water. Hey, it's a guy thing. First I did some altering of water flow along the sides of the road. Some pretty bad erosion in spots where larger stones or a small delta of stones forced the water toward the middle of the road. Then I went and did some work on the upper driveway. Good thing I only need to take the ATV and/or tractor up there, I'm not sure the Tundra would handle the new gullies. After that, I dug a small, shallow channel along the edge of the lawn to allow the water still seeping out of the hillside to drain off instead of pooling up right behind the house.

Sweaty work in the high humidity and climbing temperatures. And that humidity and warmth as sparked the appearance of the Black Fly--and I've a few bites to prove it. On a positive side, should the temperatures remain in the 80 degree range, the Black Flies should rush through their life cycles and become less troublesome.

Once more into the breech!

Again it rained. And thundered. And blew.

Actually, Tuesday started out pretty darn nice. There was a light breeze and the sun was shining and things were definitely looking summery. So much so, that I even went and pulled out some screens, cleaned them and the windows they went into and put them up in anticipation of airing the house. I even went so far as to go around and turn all the thermostats to the "OFF" position when the outside temperature surpassed the inside temperature (68 degrees vs 65 degrees) around 11 AM.

After lunch I grabbed the shovel and went and dug up all the strawberry plants (and weeds) in an 8' x 8' raised bed prepping it for some lettuce, carrots and zucchini. This bed hadn't been dug over since I built it and put the strawberries in in the summer of '07. The number of earthworms I uncovered was amazing! I guess the decaying leaves from the strawberries provided some good food for them.

While I was working, I heard a turkey gobble across the road and my head went on a swivel as I wondered if he would come my way. I didn't hear another sound from the tom until five minutes later when he snuck past me on the downhill side just 20 yards away. His movements created just enough noise to get my attention as I was still bending over picking out strawberry plants. It was big old tom with a long beard, reddish snood and a blue head. He was all decked out for breeding season. I watched as he continued to circle my position and head out to the small open field on the back end of the property. He never uttered another sound after the one gobble.

The temperatures rose to 80 degrees just after 1 PM, but then the sun quickly disappeared between 2 and 3 o'clock in the afternoon and the winds started to shift about as the clouds rolled in from the southwest. Off in the distance there was an ominous rumble of thunder. Here we go again! I thought.

Sure enough, the weather service had issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the area and it (the storm) was literally just around the corner. I sat on the deck beneath the covered porch, watching it approach. Actually, a goodly portion of the storm slid past us to the west along Route 15. I could watch the dark clouds and the lightening strikes along that area as it moved through Mansfield. Counting seconds between light and sound, I figured most of the action to be some 3 miles or so away as the crow flies. Terry and I watched and counted seconds as lightening lit up the sky but we continued to have no rain at the Aerie.

That soon changed as a bank of thick black clouds boiled up above the ridge to our southwest There was a flash and a boom--with virtually no time between them--that indicated that particular lightening bolt had struck just beyond the edge of our property. We watched as a curtain of water moved across the landscape in our direction from the west.

The rain arrived with a vengeance. It fell so swiftly and heavily that the earth couldn't absorb it. Even the recently dug raised beds soon became pools of brown water and streams gushed out of the downspouts and ran along the edge of the yard. Then it briefly hailed. Pea sized little balls of ice landed on the deck for just five minutes or so. Which was long enough for me! (The weather service had warned of the possibility of one inch diameter hail stones so these little ones were a relief.)

THIS round of storms didn't last too long and things were calm again by 4:30 or so. But it wasn't the final round of the day. More arrived at 6 PM and again at 8 PM. These too were accompanied by warnings of strong winds, hail and even tornado. (Those warning's on the local TV can be pretty darn annoying, but useful for those who need them, I suppose. But every 15 minutes?) Luckily, we must have been on the eastern fringe of all the serious activity. Before it got too dark, we could see some oily, greasy looking clouds with slate blue coloring to our northwest but they were already beyond us heading for New York state. What we got was another light show and rain. Lots of rain.

This morning the report is we had over 2 inches of rain last night. The Tioga River is over its banks and flooding sections of old Route 15 in Covington (just south of Mansfield).

Our second driveway has been severely eroded and there's been a slump of soil and rock just behind the house. I spent a little time this morning trying to divert some of the water on the upper driveway to mitigate the erosion/gullying that has occurred. I'd get the tractor out to move some earth, but there's little point. Today's forecast is a carbon copy of the last two days. There will be rain again this afternoon and evening. Probably in the form of thunderstorms.

******

On a positive note: We had our first sitting of the year of the beautiful Rose-breasted Grosbeaks between thunderstorms yesterday. Two males showed up at the feeders as we were eating our evening meal. They are still here today enjoying a repast of sunflower seeds shared with about 50 or so Goldfinches.

Heck of a Show!

"It was a dark and stormy night," or so Snoopy writes endlessly.

Yesterday was a whirlwind of changing weather here at the Aerie. After several days of strong winds we finally had a calm morning but that was accompanied by thick, thick fog across the land. Water was dripping off the roof from the condensation of that fog alone for a few hours. Then, as the fog (remember fog is no more than clouds in contact with the ground) lifted, it began to rain. That continued fro a n hour or two before the clouds thinned and the ever elusive sun started to sneak a peek between them.

Still the wind was virtually nonexistent. The windmills across the way would occasionally spin lazily and then pivot to face a new direction only to spin slowly once more. High above, it was a different story. Way, way up there, clouds appeared to be on separate layers of swiftly moving air. Air moving in different directions as well as at different speeds. They would slip and slide over one another in a scene reminiscent of the battle between Kirk and Khan in the cloud of ionized gas. Watching, you kept waiting for a collision forgetting to think in 3-D.

The clouds continued to get thicker and darker and more ominous while still having huge gaps of blue(ish) sky between them through which the sun would occasionally blaze. Around 5:30-6:00 in the late afternoon, the clouds suddenly let loose and the rain poured forth in torrents so dense that the windmills were lost to sight. Now the water did pour off the porch roof--in a sheet! Water pooled everywhere it was flat enough to do so and, sometimes, even where it only had a small obstacle blocking its way down hill. Above the cascading waters you could hear a distant rumble of thunder and sometimes see a flash of lightening.

Meanwhile, off to the west, northwest, the sun suddenly began to shine beneath the clouds and through the rain. It was low enough on the horizon to get a sneak peek under the clouds. I imagine, somewhere over in Mansfield or Wellsboro, folks looking this way were going to see one hell of a rainbow! Despite the favorable conditions, I didn't. See a rainbow that is. The best view is 180 degrees from the sun and that would be Armenia Mountain on which the Aerie is perched. Oh well.

That rain lasted about an hour and things were calm again by 7 PM. Not dry, not clear, but calm. That didn't last long, however. I used the break to get the bird feeders in.

By 8 PM the sun had set but the sky was darker to the west-northwest for another reason. Thick, dark clouds filled the horizon. Beneath them it must have been pouring rain for the hillsides were obscured. Then the lightening began in earnest. Cloud-to-cloud lightening like nothing I have witnessed before. Every few seconds bolts of blazing white and yellow light snapped and zig-zagged their way across the sky. Not down or up, but across. And at different altitudes. One could imagine the old gods at war. Zeus, Odin, Thor, Vulcan smashing their hammers and tossing their lightening bolts at one another as the clashed in battle royal for domination.

It began to rain around the Aerie, but nothing like what we had earlier. The electric lights flickered a time or two but--except for the hypersensitive microwave, nothing lost power. (I had unplugged a few things, including my 'puter in a precautionary move.) The sound and light show continued in spectacular fashion for a couple of hours before it toned down enough for me to fall asleep around 10 PM.

This morning the sky is mostly clear. The windmills are facing southwest and spinning happily. The ground is thoroughly soaked. The onions I put in the other day have had the soil around them tamped down. The sunflower seed hulls beneath the feeders has been washed across the lawn and lies in little dike -like structures retaining pooled water behind them like miniature rice paddies. The robin who built his nest under the eaves on the top log end of the garage is probably feeling pretty damn cocky right about now. HIS nest remained high and dry during the entire storm.

The temperature outside was 67 when I came down this morning. It had reached 75 yesterday. I believe I shall have to get a few screens out of the attic and think about putting them in before too long. Meanwhile it's just 65 inside the Aerie. A temperature inversion has occurred. Perhaps one that signals the arrival of summer?

Raining--Again/Still

It's another one of those days.

Terry and I were awakened by the sound of heavy rains sheeting against the south and west windows in the bedroom--at 5 AM. The weather gurus had predicted we would get heavy rains along with rising temperatures overnight and they were right--mostly. The rains they did fall and the winds they did howl. Rising temperatures? A little. It got all the way up to 38 at 7 AM. (It was 32 when I went to bed at 9:30 PM.)

Gary and I were supposed to do the weekly bird walk at Hills Creek SP this morning. I called to tell him I wasn't coming. Since he lives only a mile or so from the park headquarters he said he would drive over just to see what idiots--if any--did show up. It was blowing and raining hard there, too.

I took advantage of a brief lull in the rain to hang the bird feeders out and the Juncos, Goldfinches, Chickadees, Nuthatches, Titmice, Purple Finches, and White-throated Sparrows were there immediately.

The Downy Woodpeckers didn't show up and I imagined them in their tree-hollow homes erecting miniature awnings over the opening to keep the rain out. Or they would be asking why they didn't build on the other side of tree.

The temperatures have risen into the 40s now (noon) and the rain has slackened off even if the wind hasn't. Looking at the weather.com radar, there's no rain in the area at all and just one kidney-bean shaped splotch of green--right over Armenia Mountain and the Aerie. That might explain why, when I look out the window, I can't really see anything. We are IN the clouds. Only the fact that we are on the lee side of the hill (the winds are out of the southwest and we are on the northwest side of the ridge) has caused the cloud to lift enough that there's a smidge of clear air immediately around the Aerie. Even the tops of the trees around the clearing are swathed in cloud cotton.

Good day for a nap.

Latter.

Oh Well....

Not having learned from the past, Terry attempted to make some babka tonight. It's a yeast bread. The house temperatures are not conducive to the growth/activation of yeast. At least not during the cool time of the year--you know, when heating the house up with the oven baking bread would be okay.

I had tried this several times right after we moved in with some sourdough bread and ended up with doughy bricks for my troubles.

Well, we learned that even Fleischman's can't do the job.

Back to using the bread machine for any home baked goodness.

Earth Day 2011

A chilly, overcast day that seems to be perpetually threatening to do something but just can't make up its mind as to what. At 42 degrees it's just plain raw outside.

******

I celebrated Earth Day by planting my onions today. About a pound of whites, half a pound of Spanish reds, and one bundle (forty to fifty plants) of sweet whites. We had good success last year with our onion sets. They grew all by themselves over the course of our long absence and supplied us with lots of good eating once harvested in October. I've never tried growing onions from little plants but there was a gentleman at Agway who told me these were sweet enough to eat like an apple and get about the size of a baseball (or larger) if you pull the earth off them as they grow.

I also spread the top soil around the larger bed. It's amazing how wet that stuff is when it comes out of a bag. Perhaps because it was sitting out in the rain for a week or more. I certainly hope they weigh it dry when they package it up. Regardless, even though it probably costs more than having a dump truck of the stuff delivered, the 40-lb. bags are easier to carry and there's no heaping mound sitting int he yard that has to be spread out. And at $2.50 a bag, it's not going to break me.

******

And now for something a little different:


First we have a faux retro flick from Weird Al Yankovic: Our Friend Dirt




And then there's George Carlin on Earth Day and Environmentalism:(WARNING: Some bad language is involved. But you probably figured that out as this IS George Carlin.) Listening to Carlin's take on many things, I find I agree with him an awful lot. Especially on this topic. Which is kinda weird for someone who has a BS in Environmental Science and MS in Ecology.