...along with our butts, bodies, arms, and heads. Brrr, baby it's cold outside! Below freezing temps, -6.7 degrees f at one point, hit us last night and will be repeated tonight.
Birds continue to come in to our feeder. The bodies of many of them, especially Chickadees and Juncoes, seem too small to maintain their life forces through cold periods but they thrive. We set up our feeder three summers ago and have been waiting and watching the birds come to it. Last year I saw a male Cardinal for the first time and this year he's been joined by a female. We hope they stay and raise many families.
Blue Jays are colorful and raucus but fly away when we're outside. Last year I spotted a bird colored similarly to a Jay but with an odd behavior. It would hold onto a tree trunk like a Woodpecker, also a frequent visitor, but with tail up and head down. We identified it as a White-breasted Nuthatch and hope it comes again this year too. Normally found in woodlands, they like the security of trees and I didn't think it would ever visit us. Friends frequently have them at their feeders and I am a bit, well more than a bit, envious of them.
We've planted many shrubs, trees, and perennials in groups in different areas, creating transition zones to encourage the birds. Birds feel uncomfortable flying across large open spaces and prefer having islands and blocks of plants to provide safety and refuge. At least that's my theory but I think that it's true. I'm hoping it will encourage them to nest and rear young. In the future I am planning more berry-producting trees and shrubs to bring in other types of birds and not just the seed eaters. I'm hoping to attract Cedar Waxwings, beautifully toned birds with jaunty black eye masks, but knowing they can be pesty too.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Cooling our heels...
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Tennis: The Peters Sisters
One of the tennis blogs I read - yes, there are such things - is Off the Baseline and a couple of days ago a great story was posted. If you're curious about the women in the picture you can read their story here. And I can't end this without another dig at the Williams sisters: if only they had as much class.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Scooping up some ice-puppies
Cold weather settled into the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest while an ice storm was engulfing regions south and to the east of them. Temperatures were well below freezing, including a -16 in Minneapolis. The ice storm passed through us with a minimum of effect, trailing the arctic front in its wake. Although we didn't get that cold, our low upon waking up this morning was 0.5, a seasonal low, hitting our high of 16 in the afternoon.
in front of a neighbor's creek on a pleasant, warmer morningIt was 2 degrees when Beth took the dogs out for their morning walk and they returned sooner than expected because it was too cold for them. We call it "walking on 3 legs" when they slow down and start lifting their legs, drawing them away from the cold surface. They quickly recover inside and seem to forget their discomfort, eagerly hoping to be asked to return outside in minutes. Saying it was breath-taking and chilly doesn't begin to describe how it feels. Winter is back.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Our dog Ruthie
Beth's favorite picture of RuthieWe put our dog Ruthie down today. There are other euphemisms for death: putting to sleep, no longer with us, gone to heaven, the suffering is over, and euthanize are some of them. I would have given up a great deal in my life to never have to face this day and to keep myself from using any of these words.
I've owned a lot of dogs in my life and known many more. Some of these dogs have been whip smart and others not the brightest bulb in a room of one. Some have been outgoing and friendly while others needed to have their trust earned. I've known ones that were great play mates and others content to be loving companions. Some have been big and some have been small and many have been medium. Some have been clowns and others have had a dignified air. Some have been great pains in the arses and others have been capable and helpful.
Ruthie has been the most unique dog I have ever known. I don't know if I will ever have the language or the words to describe to you in a way that will convince you of this but I am inalterably set in my conviction of it. My sister described her as sweet and that is part of her essence. I will probably write more about Ruthie in future posts, but I don't have the heart for it just now.
Theologians and other religious scholars have been endlessly debating whether animals have souls. Most reject the notion, trying, I think, to reserve a special divinity for humans and separate us from animals. Every dog and cat I have lived with and known has had a personality that helps to distinguish and identify them as individuals. And when they die, the special little spark that animated the body is gone, never to be realized in my lifetime again. It is this fact of an individual personality that convinces me that animals have souls. It is a Jewish tradition to light a candle at sundown to honor the deceased and on the anniversaries of their death. We will light a candle tonight and in future years but they aren't necessary to remember Ruthie.
Ruthie, Mochie, and us way back in Watsonville. It took many months for Ruthie to look at or warm up to me but eventually she did.
Beth and Ruthie with my nephew Hunter and niece Alena when we lived in Watsonville
Mochie and Ruthie. We found the perfect companion for Ruthie when we adopted Mochie. There was never a time when they squabbled or even growled at each other.
Mochie and Ruthie basking in a slant of sunshine in our dining room in New York.
Beth enjoying the fresh air with the dogs. There was an instant establishment of a special bond between Beth and Ruthie during the moments they first met. Ruthie always kept herself in close proximity to Beth, almost annoyingly so at times, making Beth the center of her universe. 
my favorite picture of RuthieFriday, January 05, 2007
Horse Racing Game
click the picture to playGames for computers or gaming systems are usually in 3 genres: shoot-em-ups, avoid being eaten or squashed while you are eating or squishing, and racing. I am terrible at the first two and almost as bad at the third. Until, that is, I found this game. Most gamers of expert or middling ability will laugh at this one. It has a slow style of play, the animation is decidedly 2-dimensional, and the action is less than riveting. All of these make it perfect for me except the music starts to irritate after 30, no make that 15, seconds. This is for Ronda.
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