Lunch in the Park

After church up to 9 of us women go to lunch somewhere.  It is our time to visit and catch up and just enjoy lunch with Sisters in God.  Today we had 4 of us that went to the park and brought our lunch.  We watched the goose family with 2 hatches of goslings, dogs being trained, kids on bicycles, and just enjoyed the beautiful weather.  It was so nice to just sit and visit and enjoy the day.

This morning I had a visitor on the deck.

We Have Babies

 The have hatched, but hard to tell if there are 5 in that puddle of cuteness.

 This is a jack fruit and costs $24.99. Never heard of it and look how huge it is.

This is the sunset after all the rain we got the other day.  I love it when the sky is all pink like cotton candy.

 I went to get the mail and found this beautiful bee on my salvia. 

I usually get in the Poison Ivy at least once a year, so if I do I hope this helps.  We shall see.

Black Cloud

That black cloud in the sky today is from me.  My mom had a dr apt at 10:30am.  Last week the lady from the dr office called to confirm and told me the new rules.  Only mom can come in.  They will call me on my cell at 10:15 and she goes in gets her temp taken and a mask and escorted upstairs.  OK. We got there at 10:05.  At 10:30 i told mom to go in and see what was going on, she came back out and said they were running behind, ok back to the parking lot to sit. Good thing it is a nice day to sit in the car. FInally at 11:30 we went across the street and walked through Hobby Lobby and back to the front door, dropped mom off to see how long they were gonna be.  Well they told her she missed apt because you did not fricking call me.  They told her to go upstairs and find out what was going on. The idiots called my mom's home phone.  Really how did you expect her to get from her home 20 minutes away to the dr office in time.  So she got another apt for 2 weeks from today and she made sure they had my cell phone and to call it.  So if they do this again I am going in and I will need bail money.  I am beyond pissed. 

It is raining today off an on a light mist and it is cool, but oh so muggy. I need to work off this anger and find something to do, maybe some cleaning in the basement or some ice cream. 

Coordination

This morning the oldest eaglet is practicing flapping those massive wings.  He is trying to hop and lift those wings at the same time.  Coordination and knowing how to maneuver them will get lift off.  Reminds me of trying to learn to spin get the feet going and the hands and you will get yarn, I am not quite there yet.

This morning the camera operators found a goose family and look  they have babies as well by the retention pond. I am sure they are very careful when they see Mom and DM2 come their way. However, I think a gosling would not even be a snack and not worth the trouble, at least I hope.  You might need to click on the picture to see them between mom and dad. I counted 3.

There are actually 4 goslings. Sorry the pics are not real good but in order to get them i had to get real close to my pc.

Memorial Day, a time to reflect.  Thank you to all those who served and lost their lives so we can be free.  My father's whole troop was killed and he always felt bad because he had got in a fight the night before in a bar and was in the hospital with a broken nose. 

Soft Opening

We had a "soft opening" at church today.  I have no idea what that means.  We had 16 total and we all kept our distances. I got under my fan cos it was warm and muggy and the a/c was NOT on.  We had a regular service, however no bulletin, no attendance sheet, no screen with songs, etc on it, no communion,  and for those not there there was Facebook live. Have no idea how many were on there.

I went cos I miss some of my friends, there are 9 of us women who do lunch after church.  There was 3 of us there today.  We decided we would do a picnic lunch in the park instead of going out to eat, so we are bringing a lunch and have our lunch in the park afterwards.  Next week we are doubling the size and the next Sunday we will be Full House.

You can take me away from the building but you can't take me away from my walk with God.  I don't need to attend church in a building to be close to God, in fact I feel closest when I am working in the yard.  There is green grass, trees, flowers, bees, birds, butterflies, bunnies, squirrels, and at night deer and often coyotes and an occasional fox.   

I have been working on a commission project, a Unicorn for a little girl, yesterday I got the head done and today I am working on the body.  Dad always told me Sunday was for a day of rest, so knitting and hanging out with my friends counts as resting right?

Had a Zoom for one of my knit groups. 

I came across this article on pincushions.   https://www.acsilver.co.uk/acsnews/2018/12/23/the-art-of-pin-cushions/

Glad No One Saw That

Since it was nice out this morning and no sun but plenty of humidity I decided I needed to get that 2nd application on the yard.  Brought my new spreader in and started looking for the handle. The instructions I got were not the model I have.  OK so they cleverly put the handle on the bottom to be able to stack them, so take the handle off and put it back on.  OK fill with application and start.  Well I put the handle on backwards so back into the garage with the door down of course and re-do the handle.  The handle is low even for me being short, I can only imagine how a tall person would be.  I like the spreader it is wider, holds more and shoots the stuff all around so I don't have to walk as much. 

I saw 3 blooms on my tomato today, now it just needs some sun. 

I have a flower bed in the front I call the beast, for the last 4 years taking care of parents it has got way out of hand, there are trees growing in there, so I cut them down just to see where I am.  There is also this grass that you can't pull out it has to be dug out, it grows out of control.  So next week I am spending at least one hour a day getting it back under control. I have cardboard to put down and then cover with river pebble.  I am putting pots of flowers instead of trying to plant anything in the ground so the trees and grass won't be able to grow back again.  This is my summer project to get that bed under control, the rest are smaller and I am able to keep them under control. 

Is It Too Early to Work on Christmas Gifts

So i do get my kits Christmas gifts and yes they have stockings. My mom made them felt mice where the tummy holds the gifts.  I saw this pattern and since they like to all sleep on my furniture I thought maybe if they had their own couch I could get mine back, so I am gonna give these a try. I do love the little afghan and pillows.

Checked the nest, still just 5 eggs, so that may be it for this hatch.

More Eggs

Well seems mom finch is gonna break her record of 4 eggs. That nest is so small I am not sure how 5 are gonna fit, but it will be fun watching them. It is cold and cloudy today, hope they are staying warm.

Had Fiber Follies on Zoom.  We are going to meet in the court yard of the Irish Center in a couple of weeks cos it has been almost 3 months since we have been together.  My niece got to join us as well. 

I see Ken Osmond aka Eddie Haskell died.  When I was a kid I watched Leave it to Beaver, one of my fav shows.  He was such a jerk on the show.

The Cross Stitch World has a Loss

Frank Bielec half of Mosey n Me has died.  Now that I see a picture of him I recognize many of the male characters in the patterns. I do have several of the patterns, I need to get them out and work them up.  Here are many pictures of the patterns over the years. I had no idea he did a lot of other things as well.
https://www.google.com/search?q=mosey+n+me&tbm=isch&chips=q:mosey+n+me,online_chips:cross+stitch+pattern&client=firefox-b-1-d&hl=en&ved=2ahUKEwiFxJGPzbvpAhUKkqwKHWrJBegQ4lYoAHoECAEQFg&biw=1286&bih=666

Went to grocery store for mom and I.  No yeast, not many items of anything, hamburger was $8 a pound and chicken was $7.  How are poor people supposed to eat.  I can afford it I just won't pay that price cos I know the  farmers are not getting that money.


And then there were 4:

Now What?

So now that we have been sort of set free what do we do?  My mom is still in quarantine and who knows for how long.  At least she can walk around the parking lot to at least get out and get some sun and fresh air.

I have looked at my calendar while I had a free couple of months with nothing but set the trash out and a couple Zoom knit meetings.  I find they reason I don't get as much done as I want is because there are too many outside activities.  I have to admit I did not really miss most of the stuff I did outside of the house, so my goal for the rest of the year is to keep my calendar as empty as possible so I can do what I want to. 

I went back to Menards and got 20 bags of rock to put down next week in my flower bed, supposed to be perfect yard weather and no rain, in the 70's and low 80's.  Early morning yard work will be done and then come in and work inside.  There was no one to help me load the rock in my car, I asked for help but kept waiting.  Finally a guy came and backed up as he was getting bags of rock right next to what I wanted and asked if I needed help. I told him I was waiting on someone, and he said I'll get it for you. So he loaded my car so I could just pull them out and lay them in my garage and then filled his truck.  I really appreciate his help because I could have still been there.

We have 3 eggs:

I ordered a pattern for making an oval rag a muffin rug.  I remember my dad talking about making rugs out of bread wrappers to put on the floor because they could not afford to buy one.  He would take the wrappers and crochet rugs for the house.  I have a lot of fabric I was going to give away but I think I will just take it and make scraps rugs for the house.  They can be thrown in the washer and should last for a very long time and who cares what color they are. 

I also ordered a book that came with a DVD to learn how to tat. I started a class 4 years ago but my mom had a heart attack before the 2nd class and therefore I never finished it.  I have wanted to learn this craft as well, and why not.  I have a whole shelf unit full of crochet thread and I can only use so many doilys, yes I still use them, I love them.  I really dont' need any more crafts but...

We are Free

Well sort of.  WE still have the 10-10-10 order whatever that all means and we have to 6 feet and some places require a mask.  So what opens up and what doesn't.  I don't think anyone really knows.  People are going to go crazy for the next couple of weeks, so I think I will just continue to stay home.

And then there were 2:

Another trip to Menards.  Still did not get much on my list but I found a tomato plant and some marigolds.  I brought home a bag of rocks to see if that is what i want in my flower bed out front.  So tomorrow I will go get a car load more cos they are on sale and it is still 11% rebate. 

So since I was sort of close to CFA I stopped and then remembered they sold the CFA sauce in a tub, so guess what jumped in my bag.

My mom called and said an employee on the assisted side was tested positive for the virus.  I hope that person was no over on my mom's side or touched anything that mom may have touched as well.  They better be scrubbing that place like crazy.  Not what I wanted to hear.

Another Facebook Zoom night of knitters. 

Day 52

We have turned the corner, Bucky is back to herself this morning wanting to eat everything in sight. Whatever it was really knocked her on her butt.  So light eating today and I will keep an eye on her. The other 2 aren't eating, I know Groucho does not eat for a day or two when one goes to the vet, but not sure why BB is not eating.  Maybe he smells vet as well.  Cats can be weird.

The sky is beautiful this mornings, several shades of storm gray waiting for a big storm to hit this afternoon.  It sure warmed up over night and the muggies are here. OH goody. 

Oh look we are starting batch 2 of the House Finches, they have only been gone a week but as soon as they were out I notice mom and dad hanging around the nest.  Wonder how many new baby finches I will have this year.  Last year I only had one batch, but this year well the yard will be full of finches.

Day 51

It is that time of year again, Camp Loopy.  If you are not familiar with this camp hop over to the Loopy Ewe website and check it out.  They have all kinds of groups going and someday I hope to visit the store in person.  I just finished my first year of my Loopy Master program, I am doing socks, and for those of you who know me that is a duh. 

The theme this year is Science so for June we are to mix things together.  I found a scarf/shawl pattern with beads I am going to make my aunt for Christmas.  It is a very pretty cable and lace pattern with beads.  I chose a pretty marshmallow color with beads that I hope match.  They will make sure they do or find some that do match.  If you want to stretch your skills this summer, go check it out.

Another cloudy day with rain on the way and I am off to the PO to mail my niece's birthday gift.  That was the quickest trip ever in the PO. Only 2 ahead of me and they were both being waited on. I wasn't in there 5 minutes and boy has postage gone up. 

My kitty is eating this morning, so let's hope she keeps it down and is on the mend.  I hate when they are sick cos they can't tell me except when they lay around and are quiet and don't eat I know they are sick.  She ate again at noon but around 2 sniffed it and drank some water. Whatever messed with her system has hit her hard and may take a few days to recover.  Poor baby, she is my active kit and usually driving me crazy with her antics.  And we are not eating this evening but she is drinking a lot of water, so what is up. Normally when she eats something she shouldn't she bounces back but not this time.  Wonder what is up cos her tests all came back ok.

Day 50

Will it ever end?  Today is dark and cloudy waiting for the rain to start for the next few days.

Up at 3am with the middle kit hacking all over the house. She is at the vet now, probably something she ate, she is a goat if there is something on the floor she will eat it.  I can't watch her 24/7.  She is getting fluids and will come home with some meds and me a large vet bill.  Oh well they are my children and if you have a pet you need to take care of them.  I left the house a little after 7 this morning to drop her off and the traffic was almost non-existent.  It was rush hour and the interstate should have been packed starting to back up where I got off to head to the vet.  But nope.  Just weird.

I hear baseball will start up in July, no fans allowed and games will be regional.  Really how am I supposed to watch my Dodgers if they don't play in this area?  I think my neighborhood pool will open but I don't care as I don't swim and little boys pee in the pool.  EWWWW.

Rumor has it church starts back up June 7th with a soft opening, what does that mean. The building is so small and with our average 75 we can not 6 feet apart.  I am Liturgist for June so maybe I won't have to do that and we get a new preacher.

My kit is home and wandering messing with the other two cos she is the bully of the 3. Whining for food, just a bit not too much to make her sick. She had fluids so there will be lots of peeing this afternoon.  All is right with the house once again.  Well her feeling good did not last long, half an hour after she ate it was back up.  She just came downstairs after 3 hours upstairs just laying around.  Vet said it may take her awhile to get over what she ate and her system did not like it.  Once again the lack of traffic is just weird and kind of creepy.

D27 sent a postcard, remember she has a transmitter on her.  From RRP:

Where is D27? The just-over three-year-old eaglet sent a postcard from the Frankville, Iowa area a couple of days ago! Brett wrote: "D-27 completed a cool loop heading ESE into WI for a few days, definitely out of her typical winter range, and eventually returned to the east side of her winter range near Frankville, IA. The visit to Patch Grove, WI was curious, as that is the farthest into WI she has ever been. I wonder if she saw some other eagles foraging off to the east and went to check it out?"
Could D27 see to Patch Grove from the Mississippi River? At a mile high, the horizon is about 89 miles away. At two miles high, the horizon is about 125 miles away. D27 made a series of short flights - the longest was 29 miles - south and east: first to the Mississippi River and then to Patch Grove. Her journey from the river to Patch Grove was just five miles: well within the limits of the horizon and just close enough to see a group of eagles foraging and in flight. I also wonder if a kettle of turkey vultures might attract her attention. Vultures follow Tawny and Steppe eagles. Would a hungry, wandering eagle follow vultures?
My guess on D27's migratory departure date has already passed. Feel free to make your guess in the comments. As always, we wish her favorable winds and clear skies. Wherever and whenever you leave, D27, don't forget to write!


How did they get so big?

Day 49

Another week starts and another week at home.  It would be great if the weather cooperated so I can get yard work done but not this week, hopefully i can get my 2nd yard application down next week.  Everything is so pretty and green with the bulb flowers about to expire and the others are starting to pop out of the ground. My milkweed looks great this year and I want to plant more seeds and get a huge patch going.  The hostas I transplanted look good and they are getting the morning sun and will get plenty of rain this week.  My Honeysuckle is finally blooming but it got bit a couple weeks ago and so not as many blooms, same with the Bleeding Heart.  The Honeysuckle will get a good trim next week as well.

This week looks like a great week to work in the basement and attic.  Hopefully one day soon the thrift stores will open and I can get my car loads of stuff to them and out of my house for further cleaning.

Today I am packing up my niece's birthday stuff and take it to the PO tomorrow.  It is a relief to finally have all that done.  I will post pics after she opens her gift.

I got this in an email this morning and it is very appropriate for our quarantine time:

“You can become blind by seeing each day as a similar one. Each day is a different one, each day brings a miracle of its own. It's just a matter of paying attention to this miracle.”

—Paulo Coelho

Day 48 Happy Mother's Day

It is one of those crisp Fall days, but wait it is May 10th.  The sun is out and everything is so sparkling clean.  We may have a slight frost again tonight, really mid may and we have frost.  Seems anymore we have a few weeks of Spring, about 3 months of Summer and the rest is Fall running to Winter.

Happy Birthday to my brother as well.

I took my mom some lunch and her masks and some other things today.  I can't go inside so I handed her stuff through the side door.

I miss my dad a lot today, we would fix mom a lunch with some lemon dessert. She loves lemon. Dad does not but he liked lemonade, go figure. He would always eat a piece of dessert just because it was mom's fav.  When they lived in their house we always went got her a rosebush or hosta or some plant for her flower garden.  When they moved into the facility we went and got a container of flowers for her deck.  Now the stores are closed and I could not get her anything.  The masks will have to do for now.

I made myself some masks today, the bottom 2 I don't really like the pattern cos they are too open at the bottom, I am going to pleat them. 

Day 47

I opened the dining room curtains and saw a nest on the ground.  It is a Robin nest very well made and quite large. NO eggs, then beside it was a very small nest with a broken blue shell and you could see the yolk in it.  I have no idea who made this nest.  What is odd is they were side by side on the ground.  Was the small nest part of the larger one and when it fell it came apart? or?  Anyway better to lose the possibility of a new bird when just laid than when they are grown.

Had to go to the bank this morning, 4 lanes and 35 minutes later I was done.  If you are sitting in your car and you see 4 lines of cars and they are backing up then get your stuff ready, don't wait til you get to the machine and then start filling out forms, etc.  Seriously people you are lucky someone did not try to hurt you. And to the asshole you was out in the drive blocking traffic, you are lucky the guy who got out of his car to yell at you did not shoot you. 

My mom said the other day she did not have any masks, what the facility is not providing them, she said they have asked but no. I wish she had said something earlier but then she is stuck there, still.  So I have taken 2 patterns and put them together and made a pattern I like. This afternoon I have washed and dried and ironed fabric and will be taking her some masks tomorrow.  I got these done tomorrow will make more this next week.

Day 46

We had rain overnight.  This morning the air is crisp and clean.  The sun is out and very bright. It is as if everything was cleansed overnight.

I made this cake today, it is good but not real sweet.  I used 1/c dried cranberries because I did not have raisins and added a 1/2 cup sliced almonds and traded cardamon for the cinnamon.  It needs vanilla ice cream.

https://www.themediterraneandish.com/italian-olive-oil-cake-apple/

I had a really fat hummingbird this afternoon.  He must be sampling the nectar too much.  We are to have a frost tonight so I need to cover my plants. 

I spent the day working on my niece's book, almost done.

Day 45

I was up way too dark early to go to the bathroom.  As I sat I noticed someone standing in the front yard of the house behind me by the cars.  That creeped me out.  When I got done I noticed he was gone and then out of the corner of my eye I saw him walking around in the back yard down by the trees (they have a long back yard).  He eventually walked up to the back of the house. I hope it is the renter that stays in the basement, however I will be talking to her to see what is up.  Scared me so I stayed up and now I need a nap.

I found a baby Robin in the middle of the street that looked like it had been burnt, wonder if it got caught in a grill, fire pit, fireplace, etc.  It's wings were the size of an adult with a very small body and barely enough red on the chest to know it was a Robin, not sure what happened to it. I will bury it in the yard today. 

I have had enough creepy things today already.  It is errand day for mom and myself, so as soon as the first store on my list opens I will be out and get back as soon as I can cos I still need to finish my niece's birthday gift. Yesterday I had to take a lot of steps back and start again, so...


Who is buying all the yeast?  The shelves are so empty.  Dollar Tree does not even have mops, what are people doing with all the mops and there weren't any brooms there either. I wanted to stock up on liquid soap ( I love the Dial pink one) but the shelves were completely empty not one bottle at all.  The grocery store is now saying no more than 4 meat packs, really that won't last a week for a family.  Produce is minimal.  I did get eggs but they were only in 18 packs, not a dozen.  So I got 2 and they should last a while. I did score 2 bags of flour.  I found canned and dry beans so I snagged some of them as well.  I am building my pantry even more wondering what the summer will be like for finding food.  I scored some can tuna for the kits as a treat in water, not oil.  It is just a shame what has happened in less than 2 months.

Day 44

It is cloudy and cold today but at least the wind has died down.

The front yard is full of yellow finches this morning and the deck is full of the baby finches learning where the bird bath and feeders are. They are very vocal this morning.

My stylist hooked me up with the color kit yesterday so my hair is colored this morning, it will last for a month and then who knows cos she is due in a couple of weeks.

Still working on my niece's book and hope to have it finished today, can't post pictures until she gets it. I had one last clothing item to make and I stuffed the item too fat so I am now back pedaling and making a sweater instead of a shirt. 

Had another Zoom knit group meet with a Facebook Knit group.  Tomorrow I will finish the stuff for her book.  I need to make my mom some masks.

They are talking frost Saturday morning, really isn't it May? 

Day 43

My state increased 400 cases over the weekend we are heading towards 9000 cases with almost 400 deaths.  There is a "soft" opening tomorrow whatever that means and we will are still on lock down til the 15th.  This has got out of hand.  The natives are restless and we the people have had enough.

I asked my mom what she wanted for Mother's Day, she is locked down til who knows when. She said all she wanted to go out for a really nice lunch. So when she gets to get out and feels like venturing out we will go. Meanwhile I was trying to think of what to get her and am gonna make her some masks to wear out as she has some dr apts coming up soon.

So today I am working on the characters for my niece's book. It is very wet out and the mold count is high so no outside work today.

I miss seeing the finches in the nest, I have empty nest syndrome.

It is a another perfect weather day, went out and worked a bit in the garden waiting for my stylist to bring me my color package for me to do my own hair.  I will have to wait for a hair cut, it is not too bad yet.  Dad Lizard is enjoying the sun.

I found a pattern for masks without elastic, I am cutting out fabric and making some for my mom and myself.

My silly boy:

Day 42

It is raining this morning, they said we were to have 80mph wind and big hail but nothing so far, I hope we just have rain. It is cool out this morning and there is a chance of frost at the end of the week, really.  Go away Winter you are drunk.

I am working on my niece's birthday present. Hard to believe she turns 30 in a couple weeks, where did those years go.

The nest is empty this morning, so sad to not see them peek over the edge but then Nature does it's thing.  There was a bright yellow finch feeding this morning and I notice sparrows eating the suet this morning, did not realize they ate suet.  Food is out there for all of them. 

Day 41

It is raining this morning.  As I walked out the front door to feed the feral one of the little birds decided it was time, and he flew off to the Maple tree in the side yard.  I have enjoyed watching them and I hope they have a safe long life.  I know I will see them in the yard and I hope they stay around.  I do see the Robins have a nest going so off to watch it as well. 

Went to Grass Pad to get my 2nd yard application hopefully to get it down this week. The place was packed everyone itching to get out in the yard and play.  I got my hostas all mulched and move one out front that does not get enough sun.  I am thinking a hosta flower bed around the house would be a good move once I get them all cleaned out.  They are pretty maintenance free and get mulched and just hang out and bloom. 

Another perfect weather day.  I was working in the front flower beds and got buzzed by a hummingbird, first sighting this year.  They are home.  YEA!

Day 40

I don't even know what day of the week it is anymore.  This is all so surreal.  People are restless and starting to react because of it.  Some of these governors are out of control and people aren't having any of it. 

It is very muggy today, rain is on the way.  A day of laundry and scrubbing floors this morning.

Finches are up peeking over the edge of the nest but as soon as they see me in the window they pop back down.  They are so cute.  I was so engrossed in watching them peek over the nest and when I looked down at the flower bed I find a headless bunny.  That makes me sad one of the ferals caught one but it is nature and nothing I can do about it. So i buried him. 

Mom:

 Mrs Wilson's Knitting Circle was online on Zoom again.  It was all about knitting.  Did you know there were almost 3.6 million pairs of socks made and other totalling over 8 million items during 5 years.  That is a lot of knitting and a lot of yarn all provided by the Red Cross.  We are to get the lecture and other information from today so will post it when i get it.  One of the best lectures so far since they started in 2014. 

Day 39 May Day

I wonder if anyone still celebrates May Day anymore.  So here is what it used to be:
May Day. May Day, in medieval and modern Europe, holiday (May 1) for the celebration of the return of spring. The observance probably originated in ancient agricultural rituals, and the Greeks and Romans held such festivals.
 In some parts of the United States, May baskets are made as part of the May Day tradition, a celebration of Spring that can include activities like a maypole dance and crowning a queen of May. May baskets are small baskets usually filled with flowers or treats, left anonymously on someone's doorstep.
 The tradition was supposed to be that if you caught the person who left the basket they had to give you a kiss, but everyone we knew took the candy and ran back inside the house! It was a sweet ritual of spring that has origins in Roman times, when it was the Festival of Flora, the goddess of flowers.
 For a fun springtime tradition, make a colorful handmade May Day basket, fill it with candy or flowers, and set it on a neighbor's porch. On the first of May, sneak up to a neighbor's front door and surprise him or her with a cute basket filled with a fresh flower arrangement, candy, or small gift.

I caught the tail end of the sunrise this morning, the sky was on fire.  It was breathtaking and by the time I got my phone it was pretty much gone.


Today the city starts taking over trash pickup. What could possibly go wrong and how much is my bill going to increase?  They can't maintain the water lines what makes them think they can handle trash pickup.  We shall see.  

Finches are getting antsy to get out in the world or just waiting for lunch:

So now the airlines are requiring everyone to wear a mask.  Well then I am requiring you to sanitize the entire plane between each flight.  We all know the airplane is a petri dish for germs and that people take their shoes and socks and pants off, that is just beyond ewwwww.  So until you clean the plane I won't be flying.


Another lizard on the feral cat bed, this one is not full grown yet.

More Irises:

Where is D27?  remember she has a transmitter on her.  From RRP:

Where is eagle D27? Her latest ping put her over by Palisades Park on the east side of Decorah. She's been busy criss-crossing the area, flying over or not-far-from beloved landmarks like Mabe's Pizza, Luther College, and (on April 15) the hatchery. We'll see if we can order D27 a fish pizza to go before she starts her journey north!
When will D27 leave? Last year, she started wandering widely on May 11 and headed north quickly on May 20th. May is a popular time for non-territorial young eagles to leave for their summering grounds, although local conditions and ice/snow cover can influence timing. With the arrival of warm weather and other migratory birds (my yard is full of passerines as I write this), D27 may be spurred to act sooner rather than later! I'm partial to May 4th or 5th, myself, and someone else mentioned May 11 as a possibility once again.