Sky Fire

Sunset clouds in Grand Portage, MN on August 8, .

Visitors From the East

The week of awesome bike riding weather continues. Little chill in the morning, but rising to the 70s with sunshine and very light wind. Could stay like this for a while.

Kept the cell phone handy today as I was expecting a call from high school buddy and his wife - traveling thorough the area. They called just as I was about the head out on my bike ride. They expected to be in Council Bluffs in a little over 1.5 hours.

Perfect for my ride - Wabash Trace Trailhead to and around Lake Manawa, and back to the trailhead. I was NOT happy to see that it was gonna be another ride with my heart in A-Fib. Drank a little extra water and headed out on my ride.

Great ride. Racked and locked the bike onto the car and headed over to Village Inn at I-80 & Madison Ave. Don't you know - a detour. Delayed me a couple minutes. My visitors arrived at the restaurant a little before I did. My cell was ringing about the same time I saw a Wisconsin vehicle near me in the lot.

Had a nice visit and lunch with Theo & Pete Knigge. The were driving into Nebraska to attend the Wisconsin-Nebraska football game. Great to see you today!

Welcoming Fall

Hello fall! I love you! I love you! It's my favorite season.
Darcie and I celebrated last night by having her favorite chicken salad (with grapes and celery) on a croissant. I know that doesn't sound very "fallish", but she won't eat the stew I had made. I was in an indulgent mood.
For dessert we made Smores in the microwave. I know that's lame, but who wants to start a bonfire when it's 75 degrees outside? Not I!
The thin, summery clothes are put away. No whites after Labor Day around here! I'll swelter for a few weeks in my fall clothes until cooler weather gets here. I'd rather mark the seasons as I remember them growing up than adapt to this hotter climate I live in now. Call me stubborn. Yes, I am, but that's how I roll!

Kettle Moraine State Forest

The weather cooled off a bit yesterday. And, the humidity dropped - actually a comfortable day. A bit windy, so headed to the Kettle Moraine State Forest, North Unit to get my dirt fix.
What ended up getting fixed was my bike - more on that later.
I checked the Wisconsin State Parks web site and noted that Kettle Moraine is a unit of the Ice Age National Scientific Reserve. As such, my National Park Service Senior Pass was honored. Saved me the $10 vehicle fee. Still had to pay the $4 bicycle trail fee.
From the Forest Headquarters, it was down to New Fane trails area. Rode the 1/2 mile warm-up loop. Mosquitoes were nasty so stopped at the car to spray bug juice. Off on to loop 2.
Heading into that trail, it seemed that there were more "baby head" rocks on the trail. Lots more than I remembered from November. I know the trail is new, so all the rain this year might have exposed the rocks.
Pedaling up a hill, I quickly remembered that the Fuel EX7 was having shifting issues. Was skipping the chain the last time I rode it (back at Tsali). I should have headed back to the car, but kept on riding. On to Loop 3. The problem was getting worse so took a short cut back. 1.7 miles in my ride the chain broke.
Hike-a-bike back to the car. Now, I had ridden 1.2 miles into loops 2 and 3, but walking back on the hiking trail took me 1.7 miles to the car. Of course, the mosquitoes a swarming over me. Was a miserable walk back.
Once back to town, called a local Trek dealer - Grafton Ski and Cyclery. They said they were not too busy and could look at the bike. Replaced the chain and adjusted shifters. Told me the bottom bracket bearings are going bad.

Oregon Weather in Texas

Talk about a difference a day makes! On Oct. 14, the high was 87; Oct. 15, the high was 86; today started out at 58 and it is now 60 degrees F. at 1:30 p.m. The difference? Oregon weather has stalled out over Texas. Yep, that's right folks, south Texas is gray, gloomy, rainy, and chilly. I feel right at home. LOL.

This morning, I had follow-up for my lab tests and results of my bone density test and mammogram. Lab tests showed my LDL (bad) cholesterol dropped from 141 to 115 and my cholesterol dropped from 207 to 184. Really good! All our healthy eating is paying off.

The bone density test is normal. The mammogram, however, apparently needs to be re-done on the left as there is a 1.8 cm "focal asymmetry;" right is normal. Does focal asymmetry mean they didn't focus correctly? Don't know. Guess I'll find out.

After the doctor's office visit, I met Bob for an Indian cuisine lunch which was yummy, but I would have liked mine a little spicier. After lunch, I shopped at Costco, then headed back to the 5er.

You would not have wanted to be my cats when I returned home. The African violet plant that Bob bought for me a few months ago, which was finally starting to grow well with numerous new leaves, had been chewed almost to the dirt. Three leaves remain. A heap of leaves and dirt were sitting on the counter. Grrrrrr! I'll see if I can save it. That's an awful lot of trauma for the plant. Anybody want a couple of cats? Just kidding.

Box with a Bow-ie

Sunnie the Sunshine Cat.

In a few minutes I'm off to Planet Fitness to work out with weights. Walking is not enough...I'd like to develop additional muscle to burn fat more efficiently. I'm waiting for my lunch to digest a bit more before I go.

The new birdseed I purchased at Wild Birds Unlimited is doing the trick at keeping away the squirrels, just like the sales lady said it would. Since I have bought this different seed, the squirrels have not come near the feeder, but the doves and cardinals are loving it. Good purchase.

Tonight on TV I'll be watching Survivor and CSI. Survivor has been excellent so far this season.

Feels like I'm going to have to turn on the heat, it's rather chilly in here. Indoor thermometer says 64 degrees.

Happy Hump Day. Travel Bug out.

Avalon's Trip to the V-E-T - Vegetative Matters...

Avalon had to go to the V-E-T today. After we played at McInnis Park with the grandkids, Avalon sneezed about 100 times and coughed like she was gonna upchuck or something. Momma was quite alarmed and we all packed up and went over to Dr. Bill. He wanted her to stay there until he could really give her the once-over. I told her not to get anxious - that Dr. B. was totally cool in all ways. We went on about our day, but Momma was watchin' the phone.
Finally... around 4:30, we found out that Avalon had "inhaled" some vegetative matters (plants that grow above ground) up her right nostril and it had made her nose interiors very raw and also her tonsils, poor pupper. We piled into the Sammiemobile and raced over to get her. This is the vet tech, Vickie with Ava.
She looked okay - Mom gave her oodles of hugs and loves...
She was all over the cookie that Vickie had for her!
We are supposed to keep her quiet (ha ha ha) for a week or so, but that isn't working out too well. To get the "vegitative matter" out, Dr. Bill used a saline solution. Avalon's poor eyes and right side (of her face) are very tender. We wish she would sleep, but she would really like to get outside and play, making noises to indicate this.
Avalon is very good at making faces that elicit sympathy!

Here's Avalon with a smile that displays her resilience! Hopefully, with her Benadryl-like medicine, she'll be better totally soon! Friends all: CAREFUL of all "vegetative matters" and especially foxtails that are out there in force!!!

Meet the Pandion Haliaetus Family of Mid-Bay Shores

Mid-Bay Shores, Maxwell-Gunter Rec Area — Niceville, Florida
Temps: Lo 52F / Hi 77F (11C / 25C)

Like yesterday morning, we woke up to a reading of 57F (14C) on the thermometer — just a few degrees higher than the day’s low at 6:00a. No al fresco breakfasting for the second day in a row! It didn’t take long for the day to warm up, however. By the time I set off on my 1.6 mile (2.5 km) beach walk, I was happy to have a gentle breeze to cool me off as the sun continued to raise the temperature.

Where was Mui while I was walking? At the dentist for his 6-month check-up. I think I got the better end of that deal ;-)

Red-breasted mergansers resting on a comfy bed of beach wrack.

My friend the great blue heron was nowhere to be found, but in addition to the mergansers, one of the green herons from a few days ago was at the boat canal to greet me. And just a few feet away, a mourning dove flew in to look for breakfast. Off to a good start!

Green Heron

Love the attractive blue eye-ring on the otherwise dull-colored mourning dove.

Once I reached the area fronting the campground, the birdlife dwindled. Not good for the camera, but great to keep the pace of my walk at exercise-level. Once I rounded White Point, my pace slowed again and the shutter clicking increased.

Comb Jelly (??) — anyone out there who can help with the ID?

I found one photo on the web that identified the above jelly as being infused with oil from the BP spill. Sounds unlikely to me. After all, considerable time has passed since that incident, but what do I know. It’s creatures like this — not to mention the one in the photo below — that keep me out of the water ;-) Actually, the shallows all along the beach were filled with hundreds of these jellies a few days ago. We asked a couple of guys who were fishing in waist-deep water at the time and they said they weren’t stung by them, so that was a good thing.

Sea Nettle – just look at the length of those tentacles.
The tentacles contain toxins used to paralyze and capture prey.
these jellyfish also cause painful stings to swimmers.

You definitely don’t want to be swimming with the sea nettle.

The Dragonfly is one of the insects nicknamed Mosquito Hawk.

OK, ready to play a game? It’s called find the great blue herons. I walked by the dead tree in the center photo of the collage, saw the obvious GBH, took a photo, and walked on. Then, I stopped and looked back, and from my new vantage point I saw another one. Perhaps I missed that GBH the first time because it was sleeping with its head tucked into its body. What do you get if you find both GBH? Nothing but the satisfaction of knowing that you are an observant individual ;-)

Can you find both herons in the tree in the middle of the collage?

Now for the best part of my day — and the title of this post. Avid birders will already know that I am referring to an osprey family. You might recall that I came across an osprey nest a few days ago and commented that I thought there was at least one chick in the nest because of the way mama osprey was bending her head down periodically as though to feed it. I was right, and I got to see the chick today. From what I have read, the eggs in an osprey clutch hatch about five days apart. So, I’ll keep an eye on the nest to see if another one (or two, or three) chicks hatch before we leave. But this one looks more than just a few days old to me, so it just might be the only one.

Meet the Osprey Family of Mid-Bay Shores.

Since my first sighting, I’ve learned enough about ospreys to be able to identify them accurately (I hope). The adult osprey on the branch is the male (white chest); and the adult in the nest is female (developing brown necklace on the chest). She’s larger than he is; that’s another indicator. Also, until the chick is six weeks old, the male does all the hunting. No need to introduce the chick — I don’t know the gender, so I’ll refer to it as junior.

I didn’t know if I was going to be privy to any osprey action, but I decided to wait around for a while. Rather than stand out in the open, I moved around to the other side of the nest and stood under the welcome shade of some trees. I wasn’t trying to hide from the osprey — impossible to do that since they have such keen eyesight. But by standing at a distance and under the trees, I was hoping to eliminate any stress they might feel from my presence.

(Apologies in advance for the clipped wings; not only was the movement sudden, but I didn’t have my DSLR camera with me.)

With mom and junior watching, papa suddenly takes off from his perch …

... drops into the nest for a second or two ...

… and takes off again for parts unknown.
Doesn’t it look like mom’s telling junior to be patient and dad will be back soon?

Mom and Junior staring me down.

The next half hour of my visit with the osprey family was uneventful. Junior would disappear into the depths of the nest, popping up like a jack-in-the-box every so often. Mom kept a keen eye on the goings on below her … and there was plenty of that. Mostly anglers driving up in their cars and carrying their stuff to the beach; a few people stopping by to eat lunch in their cars.

I didn’t see papa fly back and perch on a pine tree behind me. It was his high-pitched calls that alerted me to his presence. And then mom joined in. It sure sounded like they were carrying on a conversation and she was telling him to hold off returning to the nest because there were people around.

When I finally spotted papa, he was eating lunch.

At this point, I figured papa wasn’t going to return to the nest if I stuck around. Time for me to leave so that mom could get on with the business of feeding junior, who needs to gain strength in order to fledge when the time comes. Chicks take their first flight when they are seven to eight weeks old. I have no idea how old junior is, so not sure when that will happen. (Any avid birders out there have a guess as to junior’s age?)

My 1.6-mile walk took over two hours — about 1½ hours was spent with the osprey family. Standing the entire time, and worth every minute of it.

As I left, I spotted two red-headed woodpeckers fly in and perch on the same tree where the ospreys are nesting. One flew off right away, but I managed to capture a photo of the other one just before it disappeared into its nest hole. (If you look above the head of the bird in the photo to the right, you’ll see the small, round hole.)

I have to say that I am delighted with the way my PowerShot SX50 HS performed today. All of the osprey photos I shared were hand-held at full zoom. I cropped some in post-processing with no loss of quality. If anyone out there is considering this camera, I say “go for it.” Just remember that it has a shutter lag, so action shots can be hit or miss.

Later …

Why later? Because we lost power for about three hours tonight and I had to take a break from writing. It was time to exercise the genny anyway, so we weren’t overly concerned about being without shorepower. We ran the generator for about an hour, and then went on battery power for another two hours or so, with another short stint with the generator so Mui could run the microwave and make some popcorn to snack on while we watched a movie on TV. We were hoping the AGM batteries would perform well — and they did; there was no appreciable drain on the batteries. Boondocking here we come — but not right away ;-)

Over and out for today.

FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS - Hidalgo, Texas

Hidalgo Festival of Lights is the largest Christmas lighting display in Texas with more than 2 1/2 million lights and more than 250 large lighted displays on a 3 mile trail through Hidalgo. We went with a group of 10 from the Park. $10 got us dinner at Town Hall . .





a narrated Trolley ride thru town . . ..





, and entertainment by the Rio Grande Valley Sweet Adelines . . .

and Washboard Willy!The Lights were spectacular. The town square iscovered with lighted displays and there are lots more throughout the town.

































Getting ready to board the Trolley

Ramón Ayala is an accordion player and singer of norteño music from Nuevo León, Mexico. The King Of The Accordion and 4 time Grammy winner, featured in 13 movies, and has recorded 105 albums. He is known for his great generosity and annual Christmas party for children at the annual Posado in Hildago. He provides toys for thousands of children along with a concert and food.















Would like to go back and check out the Christmas Displays at the Pump House

In 1910, an irrigation pump house was established on the banks of the Rio Grande in Hidalgo. Water from the river was pumped into a canal system, at a rate of 400,000 gallons per minute at its height, to irrigate thousands of acres of chaparral, which were then cleared and sold for the growing of sugar cane, cotton, citrus and vegetables in the semi-arid land.

The Beauty Experiment

While I admire the premise of this book, I wasn't too impressed with it. Maybe I'm just getting impatient in my old age, but it seems like she took a lot of pages not to say very much. I do admire her for finding her own way with regard to her hair, makeup, and clothing. I, too, am tired of seeing ultra-made up faces everywhere you turn and photoshopped bodies in magazines. And don't get me started on plastic surgery! Our culture is obsessed with an unattainable perfection. At least she's willing to look natural and real. I've shared her angst with trying to find the perfect dress for a party only to be frustrated in those 3-way dressing room mirrors with how many bumps and lumps can be seen.

My 14-year-old daughter and I have been doing a lot of shopping lately to find her something to wear to a school masquerade dance. We found it fairly quickly, but just walking into a store and being confronted by all the choices almost makes me hyperventilate! I HATE shopping. Add in the stress of trying to agree with a teenager on dress length and top coverage and it's a wonder I don't break out into hives!

We did agree on one thing. We've both noticed how before you walk into the store you feel pretty good about yourself, but as soon as you walk through those big glass doors, you feel dowdy and inadequate. The clothes are so perfect and the salespeople are the same. And then to add insult to injury, you have to confront the dreaded 3-way mirror in the dressing room. Shopping online eliminates all the negative aspects of shopping for me. I can look at the garments one at a time and not have my senses assailed by too many selections. And I can shop in my pajamas and no makeup. Shopping bliss, I tell you!

An Author, A Project, and the Oscars

Last Friday night, Amy Stewart came to Book People, and four of the Austin Garden bloggers were there to greet her. I’m so glad that I went – her talk was great, Book People is a wonderful local bookstore, and it’s always fun to get together with friends.

Book People had copies of Amy’s new book Flower Confidential for sale as we walked in, so I bought mine then went upstairs, meeting MMS of Zanthan on the steps. We found seats and were soon joined by Pam/Digging and Julie of the Human Flower Project, and we had some time to chat and catch up before Amy arrived and we started waving at her. Amy was so much fun and so enthusiastic, in spite of her hectic schedule.

Amy brought in fresh flowers she’d found at a nearby Whole Foods. She used them to illustrate points in her presentation, giving us glimpses of what she’s written about in her book - plant breeding, the way flowers are bought and shipped, and how safety and ecological concerns are impacting the consumer decisions.
After the talk, she personally thanked us for coming out and then a swarm of people brought their books up for inscriptions, followed by clerks bearing stacks of books bought by people unable to attend, but who'd requested signatures.
We garden bloggers were in no hurry and waited until the line had gone down. With her tumbled curls and delicate skin, Amy looks so Elizabethan that she should have used a quill instead of a pen. She signed my copy and told me to take a flower home - I couldn’t resist one of the pale apricot tulips.

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Amy Stewart with the Austin Garden Bloggers.If you’ve been to Pam’s blog recently, you’ve already seen this group photo with Pam from Digging, MSS of Zanthan Gardens, Amy Stewart, ‘Annie in Austin’ and Julie from the Human Flower Project. Yes, we are now revealed, so if you’re in Austin and you recognize us – please say hello! [What are the odds this first happens at a nursery?]

Although I’ve only had time to read the first 30 pages of Flower Confidential, it’s fascinating so far, and I’m glad I bought it.

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There's a story about how the 'Stargazer' lily became such a big hit, partly for it's packable qualities. Just reading about oriental lilies was enough to send me to old photo albums, to find a picture of these beauties growing in my Illinois garden back in 1997. The one I loved most was not 'Stargazer', but 'Casablanca'.
But this was not a reading kind of weekend, with warm, dry temperatures and the garden calling. We’ve been constructing a new border, and had the preliminary work done. One Saturday Philo and I went to GardenVille, shoveled compost and decomposed granite into sacks and hauled the stuff home. We went to pick up some free rocks; we stopped at Pam’s house and swapped a few plants [the advantage was all on my side ~ thank you Pam!], and shopped at the Natural Gardener, finding shrubs for the new border, a palm for the patio, and some perennials. The wind was fierce on Saturday afternoon, and local fire departments struggled to put out fires that had started in fields and soon threatened homes. Sunday was a calmer day – and we made more progress on the border.
On Sunday night I watched the Academy Awards show, because it's still fun, even when you don't care much who wins. Of the movies nominated for direction, story, performances etc., we’d only seen Little Miss Sunshine, Babel, An Inconvenient Truth, The Devil Wears Prada, and The Illusionist. We’ll eventually catch up with many of the others, like The Queen, Children of Men and Little Children, but although I’m glad Scorcese got his Oscar, it’s doubtful that I’ll make an effort to see The Departed – my pick of Scorcese movies is Bringing Out the Dead. Among my favorites this year were the wonderful, imaginative Science of Sleep, the biting and relentless Thank You For Smoking, and the supposedly unfilmable Tristram Shandy, A Cock and Bull Story – with not a nomination among them. No wonder I have few movies to cheer for at award shows!
And at the risk of alienating those of you who love "American Idol", and even though I think Jennifer Hudson is darling, [and my cousin works with Jennifer Hudson’s sister so I'm just a few degrees of separation from this Oscar-winner], the current style of singing doesn't do much for me - listening to more than one song like those from Dreamgirls gives me a headache. Cranky old Annie prefers Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin as the singing Johnson Sisters in A Prairie Home Companion. That’s the movie that earned my money in .. – both at the box office and when I bought the DVD.