Wordless Wednesday

What are the crows mulching?

They are mulching their nest.

Through our kitchen window I noticed a couple of crows picking up beak fulls of mulch from a broken bag.

That is a large chunk to carry back to your nest.

The mulch is what grass seed is mixed with, along with water in a large hydro seeding machine, before being sprayed onto a lawn area, or any other place a person needs it.

The bag of mulch belongs to a landscaping friend of ours, who left it on our property.
I am sure the crows are happy to have the mulch to line their nest.

Thursday humor

John & Bill were fishing down by the Ohio River on different sides of the riverbank at night. John was catching a whole bunch of fish for his family, but Bill hadn't caught any and was frustrated and called out to John, "How come you've been catching all them there fish and I ain't caught a single one?"

John replied, " I don’t know.... why don’t ya come on over here?"

Bill replied, "I don’t know.... I don’t see a bridge, and their ain't no boat, and I don’t swim to well."

John picks up his flashlight, turns it on, and replies, " Why don’t you walk across this here beam of light?"

Bill was outraged and replied, "Do you think i’m stupid? When I get half way you'll turn it off!!!"

It was supposed to be a fun weekend

Not one plagued with problems.

I am talking about our weekend getaway. Friday morning we had our RV loaded and ready to pull out so we could catch the 10:30 ferry from Keystone to take us across to Port Townsend. We were heading over to Silverdale to shoot in the first official Western Washington Steel Challenge match, the KRRC club was to put on.

We pulled out of our roadway onto the road leading to the main highway, when there came a strange whirling/grumbling kind of sound from, I thought near the stick shift of our RV. Mr C. and I looked at each other and said "what now?" We were very close to our mechanic's workshop, so we pulled in. After Mr C and Mechanic Mike, took the RV for a short drive, it was decided that perhaps the speedometer was going out, so they unhooked the cable. Yes indeed, the noise stopped, but now we did not have a way to determine our speed, and getting a speeding ticket was not in our plans.
We drove the quarter mile back home and picked up our GPS which shows your speed.

On the road again, we had an uneventful crossing on the ferry, and a pleasant drive until we had almost reached our destination. We stopped at an intersection and the engine died. Another look at each other, and another WHAT NOW!!!!!
Mr C. Got the vehicle started, and we limped to the range, where he popped the hood and looked to see if he could find what was causing our distress.
As Mr C. was nose down under the hood, I went about changing the fridge over from 12 volt to propane, and turning on the furnace, as it was very cold out side. I pushed the furnace thermostat over onto heat, and waited, and waited, and waited. Not a peep out of the furnace.
Sheesh! I was afraid to tell Mr C. we had yet another problem. It turned out there was a faulty connection on the battery and the house battery was not being charged (simple version) We borrowed a battery charger from a friend, and not to bore you with the details, we had heat for the rest of the day and during the night. Thank goodness for that, as I can be somewhat cranky when I am cold and miserable.

Saturday, the day of the match, was sunny but cool, and the match went well. Mr C has 'tricked' out my gun and it sure does shoot very nicely. Did I mention that it also looks way cool *grin*

After a day of shooting, we decided we had best limp our way home, instead of camping out at the local State park, as we had planned. Our RV got us home, and yesterday Mr C worked on it all day. Poor guy was so sore and tired at the end of the day, and we still don't know if the problem is solved. Grrrr!
Mr C says, "when you win that lotto, we will......................."
Well, at least dreams are free.

Now on a high note, we just received the scores for the match. I placed 5th over all (40 shooters) then was third in my division, with Mr C in first place.
I am tickled that I did so well, as I have not competed in a match since last July.

Tuesday humor

A musical director was having a lot of trouble with one drummer. He talked and talked and talked with the drummer, but his performance simply didn't improve.

Finally, before the whole orchestra, he said, "When a musician just can't handle his instrument and doesn't improve when given help, they take away the instrument, and give him two sticks, and make him a drummer."

A stage whisper was heard from the percussion section: "And if he can't handle even that, they take away one of his sticks and make him a conductor."

This says it all about our weather today

Rain, Rain, Go Away

1. Rain, rain, go away,
Come again another day.

2. Rain, rain, go to Spain,
Never show your face again.

3. Rain, rain, pour down,
But not a drop on our town.

4. Rain on the green grass,
And rain on the tree,
And rain on the housetop,
But not on me.

5. Rain, rain, go away,
Come again on washing day.

6. Rain, rain, go to Germany,
And remain there permanently.

7. Rain, rain, go away,
Come on Martha's wedding day.

8. Rain, rain, go away,
Come again another day;
Little Arthur wants to play.

9. Rain, rain go away,
Come again some April day,
Little Johnny wants to play.

10. Rain before seven,
Fine before eleven.

11. Rain on Monday,
Sunshine next Sunday.

12. Rain, rain go away,
Come again on Saturday.

from http://www.mamalisa.com

You are a bunch of bullies

I don't know if this cat who often hangs out in warm spots in my gardens is feral, I have my doubts, as it isn't all that afraid of me. Anyhow, it was curled up trying to nap in the sun when I walked by with my camera, taking pictures of flowers in the garden for a blog post. He/she gave me one of those "clear out and let me be, looks" so I went about my business.
Later on, I was spreading fertilizer on the vegetable garden, when I noticed the cat sneaking up towards the rabbits who were eating the food, I had put out for them earlier on in the morning. I had, on previous occasions, seen the cat eating some of the bread I feed the rabbits, and I am sure it was after some of the same. However, this time the rabbits were not going to share, and they hopped towards the cat who turned tail, and beat a hasty retreat.

"Isn't there anywhere a cat can take a nap, without being disturbed?"

"You rabbits really are a bunch of selfish jerks."

My patience is being rewarded

Around last November, I was given this orchid by a friend.

She was going to throw it in the garbage, but the gardener in me could not let that happen, so I brought it home to see if I could coax a bloom or two out of it.
After a month or two, I was excited to see a couple of buds, then as the weeks went by, I eagerly watched as they grew, and grew and grew. I thought I would never see any flowers.

Yesterday the first fat bud popped fully open, to reveal this gorgeous bloom.
I guess I do have a green thumb after all.

Too cute

The baby rabbits are not much larger than the quail.

Spring is wonderful, for many reasons.

Hairy woodpecker

I just love this time of year, as all the birds have returned after a long winter. They are staking out their territories, singing for mates, and setting up home. This is the first time I have had a Hairy woodpecker visit the suet feeder, although I have often seen the little Downy woodpecker.
I went back and took a look at the differences between the two woodpeckers, and I may have been mistaken, I think this may be a downy woodpecker as it seems to have shorter bill.

I got my exercise today.

Today I enjoyed the company of folks in the Meet Feet group, as we walked Mistletoe loop and Zaggy's loop in Putney Woods.

We are so lucky here on the island to have so many wonderful trails we can hike.

We walked close on two hours and as my pedometer was not working as it should, I am not really sure how much distance we covered, but I am guessing about 4 miles. I know I was tired when I arrived back at the parking area.

Spring is here

Friday Humor

A cowboy appeared before Saint Peter at the Pearly Gates.
“Have you ever done anything of particular merit?” Saint Peter asked.

“Well, I can think on one thing,” the cowboy offered.

“On a trip to the Black Hills, out in South Dakota, I came upon a gang of bikers who were threatening a young woman. I directed them to leave her alone, but they wouldn’t listen. So, I approached the largest and most tattooed biker and smacked him in the face…. Kicked his bike over, ripped out his nose ring, and threw it on the ground. I yelled, “now, back off or I’ll kick the s--- out of all of you!”

Saint Peter was impressed, “when did this happen?”

“Couple of minutes ago.”

Thanks Gail

Saturday stroll

It wasn't exactly a stroll. The walking group started out from the parking area of a church and immediately started down a fairly steep road to the beach.

As we walked along a narrow concrete walkway, a cormorant with outstretched wings was drying off after it's dip.

Along the first part of the beach front, we walked behind the houses, where we were able to look into the yards of the homes. This little patch of different colored heathers made a striking display.

The walkway then took us along the front of the houses which looked as though they were some of the first to be built here. The name on the front of the building is "Drift Inn"

I think that is a wisteria growing on the arbor of this quaint little beach house, and can imagine how lovely it will look when in flower.

This beach house has seen better days.

I sure would like to have some driftwood like this for my yard, but it would take some heavy equipment to get logs this size on our property.

After our nice leisurely stroll along the beach front, we were then faced with this steep road to traverse. It is a lot steeper than the photo depicts.

Looking back down to where we started up the incline, which is just below the house.
I am only about a quarter of the way up the road before it leveled out and we could catch our breath. After reaching the top we started out on another road which had some nice inclines to give us a workout.

We walked through some lovely wooded areas and this tree covered in ferns caught my eye.

The gardener in me could visualize a fern covered tree like this one, in my garden.
Even though there was a light rain for most of our walk we all enjoyed our time together and look forward to meeting again.
According to my new pedometer, I walked 3.457 miles, burned 281.6 calories, and took 10432 steps. That is if I calibrated the pedometer correctly.

BLAH

It has been one of those kind of weeks. It must be this dreary weather which has me feeling out of sorts, although the sun has been out a couple of days, there has been a very crisp wind which was way too cold to allow me play outside in my garden.
I know I should get up off my tush and exercise, I am not inclined. I know I should get out and walk every day, I am not inclined, I can't seem to get motivated to do much of anything.
I also find it depressing, and my feelings are bruised, that there are people I have known for years, all of a sudden seem to not want to stay in contact with me. I have emailed them and get no reply, I have invited them to be my friends on face book so I know they are still around. If I have done something to offend them I sure would like to know what it is, so I could set things straight.
Blogging has fallen off as there is nothing going on worth talking about. I go to work, come home do my chores, cook meals, then start the whole process over again the next day. Sheesh! I am in a funk.

"Bun" says

I wonder if we can train our bunny to open letters

"Ya gotta be kidding"

Bunny letter opener

The Great Blue Heron

Here on Whidbey Island we have the privilege of seeing this magnificent bird on the shore, or in flocks in fields.

For weeks I have been trying to capture some good photos of the birds, but they were always way off in the distance, as in this first photo taken several weeks ago.

Today was a different story. The birds, about fifteen of them, had gathered in the field they like to frequent, much closer to the road. This time I was able to get better pictures.

Aren't they fabulous?

This one decided to perch on the fence post, and keep an eye on me as I photographed his buddies in the field.

A wonderful hike

Saturday was sunny, the temperature around 51 degrees, a perfect day for a hike on the trails at Greenbank.

The group, nine of us plus two dogs, walked mostly through a wooded at area for close on two hours. To reach the trail through the trees, we had to hike a short distance on a trail through the fields. The trail was damp underfoot, and in some places very muddy, but we all were wearing sturdy shoes so a little wet mud did not bother us at all.

The ferns were about three feet tall, and I sure would like to have some like these growing under the trees around our house.

We passed through this lightly wooded area and on up the trail entering into a very dense and much darker wooded area. The tranquility under the canopy of trees as we walked the trail was very soothing.

It is hard to tell from the photo, but this part of the trail has a fairly steep incline and I found I was almost breathless by the time I reached the top. I was about halfway up looking back down, when I took this photo.

Little Samantha, a senior doggy of 13 years, walked the trail with us. The other dog, a black Labrador was called Duke

When we arrived back at the car park, someone asked if anyone would like to go to the restaurant for pie and coffee. Ohh! YES I would love pie and coffee, wait a minute, pie is out of the question, so I will have to settle for the coffee, all this conversation was going on in my head. I did go with the group into the restaurant and I drank my coffee while the others ate pie with theirs. Way to go Keewee, what will power you have!

It is easier than I thought it would be

The sunrise was so beautiful this morning, heralding a lovely day ahead.

Tomorrow it will be one full week of my diet and exercise program. So far I have pretty much stayed on track and have lost 1lb which is enough for one week.
I am still playing around with menus, and every evening I plan ahead for the next days meals and snacks. At the end of the day, if I like the food I have chosen and feel full and satisfied, I print out a copy so I can repeat the menu in the future.I am not one to eat the same foods day after day, as it becomes very boring and will eventually lead me to look for something new, and usually I eat some thing which is convenient and not on my plan. I then get upset and scold myself for falling off the wagon.
Today, I am joining a group for a two hour hike. Saturdays will be a good for me as I do not work on the weekends, work does get in the way of play *chuckle*
I will let you know tomorrow how the hike goes.

It is time, actually it is way past time.

Over the last five years my lifestyle changed and so did my weight and fitness level. At first I did not pay too much attention, but now I know I have to get back in shape, and lose about 10lbs. I will give it my best shot. I know I am not a young thing any longer, and it will not be easy, but I have to at least try.
The biggest challenge is the exercise I hate to exercise.

The Internet is a grand thing when you are looking for tools to help in your endeavors. I came across MyFitnessPal, which for me, is going to work the best. I can enter all the foods I eat for each day, including all the nutritional stats, log all exercise I do, track my weight lost every week, and have the support of others in the program, and it is all FREE.
A feature I really like, is that I went in and planned menus for a whole week, then printed them out, so every day I know exactly what I will have for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Having the menus planned and printed, also tells me what foods I need to purchase.
I started my new lifestyle changes yesterday and liked all the food I had chosen for the day, and, I actually got on my stair climber and put in a "little" time which was not as easy as I remember it had been in the past. This tells me I am really out of shape.
So, wish me luck, and stop by now and again to check my progress.