Why I Don't Chase Birds*

* Yeah, please note that there may be exceptions to the following story.  For example, if a California Condor showed up and was able to be reliably seen in an hour or so drive, yeah, I'd chase it.  Or maybe a Harpy Eagle, or a flamingo in Ohio . . .  but otherwise:

Chasing birds is a waste of time, talent, and treasure.

There. I said it out loud. My objections to chasing can also be applied to Nascar fans, sports nuts, rail-fanners, wolf watchers, and anyone else who is obsessed with something.  And yeah, I am equating bird chasers to Nascar fans.

Yep.  That's a Mountain Bluebird, right here in Ohio.  Third state record.

Did I mention..Ohio Yard Bird?  No chasing needed.

This topic comes up all the time in birding circles.  And I'm in the no-chase camp.  Some folks call this listing, but I'm going with chasing.  I do keep a life list.  Right there in my very first 'grown up' bird book, Roger Tory Peterson's Field Guide to the Birds of North America. 

I pencil check birds I've seen that I'd never be able to re-identify without a lot of help, and I mark with ink those birds that I really know.  I usually don't date the find, although my Lil' Sis writes the dates on the bird's page in her Peterson's.  Wish I'da thought of that years ago.  I don't keep a yearly list or monthly or weekly.  Or a state list, although living in two very different states would make for interesting lists.  So if I check off Great Grey Owl, I can be pretty sure it wasn't in Ohio. But whodathunk I'd ever see a Mountain Bluebird here in the Oaks??  We sorta keep a yard bird list.  I'm pretty sure I could name most of the stuff we see/hear here.  I have lots and lots of other field guides, but my list in in my Peterson's.










So let's address my three objections to chasing: Time, Talent, Treasures.

Time.  I don't have 3 hours to spend driving to see a bird that may or may not be see-able when I get to the location, and then drive 3 hours back.  I have a real life.  Laundry to be done, meals to prepare, yard to tend, family care, you know, mundane stuff like that.  Now if I were driving 3 hours to see an entirely new ecosystem (especially one with geysers) or museum or city and can multi-task along the way, it bears some merit. I do plan trips like that.  We, in fact, are trying to plan a trip to our state Capitol, since the boys have never been there.  (Been to capitols of a dozen or so other states, but not our own.  Sheesh.) Along the way, we'll find something of interest to all of us--trains for DD, caves or something like that for FTD, quilt shops for me (I wish), and friends to visit.  It will be a Big Deal, not a lark to see one single thing, hoping for a glimpse and then turning around to come home.

Chasers who don't have family responsibilities or jobs or whatever would better serve the planet by spending those three hours teaching a child to read, taking an elderly friend out for a walk in the park, working at the local animal shelter or re-hab center, or feeding the homeless.  With all my heart, I believe chasing is a waste of precious time.  All that, to make a checkmark in a book? I think not.

Um, that would be Talent, OR.

Talent.  This lines up with my concerns about wasting time.  Again, chasers would better serve the planet by teaching children about the wonders of our local environment in those 3 hours, by using their own love of birds (and hopefully) nature to share their knowledge.  And it doesn't count to say, "But I do all those things, too."  It's like playing the carbon offset game.  See below.

Treasure.  This is the biggie.  Talk about a waste of fossil fuel.  And even if gas were cheap, you're still wasting it.  I could see maybe loading the car full of chasers, but then you're back to wasting all that time and talent in multiple numbers.  And even if you "offset" your carbon foot print, we ain't gunna get that fuel back.  The whole offset issue has issues of it's own.  It's like paying at church to light a candle for someone.  And that is a waste of treasure, too. (Light a candle at home for free and say your prayers.) (Better yet, walk to your local park and say your prayers--candle optional.)  I won't go to the grocery store (nearest from Ohio home is 4 miles, nearest from Wyoming home is 14 miles) unless there's a whole slew of stuff on the list.  I just can't see using the fuel for extra trips.  If I have say, a doctor's appointment coming up, I'll plan shopping/visiting/etc. around that.  Yeah, sure, a good chunk of the reason I do it this way is that I'm cheap.  But now that we're also on a fixed income it's even more important.  But even if I had all the money in the world, it still wastes fuel. It's fuel we won't get back in my life time or my kid's or ......

I write this knowing how many bird chaser friends I have.  But you could replace the words bird chaser with Nascar fan and my same objections hold. (Yeah, DH did take DD to see time trials at MIS once.  And yeah, Nascar is a super-duper waste of fuel, and time, talents, and treasures. Big Time.)

And yep, I'm a hypocrite.  I have chased animals.  I turned around and drove back a hundred yards to get a good look at the Great Grey Owl this fall.  And yep, I've driven miles to try to see wolves and bears. And I drove 3 miles to see the Ohio Mountain Bluebird, and three miles to see a Pine Grosbeak. And of course the 3 miles back home.  But would I drive all day just to see one bird?  No, not really.

I'm not nearly as adamant as many of my more 'science research' based birder friends. I know one woman that comes totally unglued every time you mention chasers and listers--and I mean really unglued.  I'm more of a roll the eyes sort of objector.  To each his own and all that.





And after all this ranting, I might just go chase a snowy owl in Wood County tomorrow.  My Mom and Dad are buried in a cemetery near where a snowy has been seen.  I like to go down and leave some greenery every year, and I don't have anything else on the schedule for tomorrow.  'Course I'd rather go down on a nice snowy day, but maybe it will turn out to be a nice snowy owl day instead.

An Alleged Birding Trip & a Pillow Party

We drove over the the Lake Erie Marshes today-- the Magee Sportsmans Migratory Bird Center and the Magee Marsh Bird Trail and beach.  It's too early for the warbly's~~mostly, although Loopy says he saw his first yellow rump of the year (sounds like a personal problem to me).  I did see a robin.*  Wowza.



And my first butterfly of the year. I tried looking it up online, but that was a bust.  I have a butterfly book here somewhere, but it might still be packed up from last summer.  Anybody know what this is?

(Not my pic)

Also saw three ginormous dragon flies.  I was telling FTD about how my friend Rick N. takes pics of DFs and Damsel flies by catching them, cooling them in a cooler, taking their pic, and then they warm up and fly away.  Whadoyaknow, up walks Rick N. right at that moment.  I told him I saw the whoppers and he said he'd been looking but didn't see any.  I saw three!  I believe he said they were Green Darners--the big boys.  They are migratory and just arriving here.

The last time all four of us were in a good pic together. At Acadia, 2005.

This was the last chance all four of us will get to do something fun together.  It's not all that much fun when DH is complaining that he could be out splitting wood (like that woulda happened), FTD spends all of his time searching the car for a power cord for his DS, and DD spends all his time saying he's hungry then smacking FTD for no reason.  Yeah, we know how to have fun family trips.  They like it when we're there~~sorta~~but it's a pain to pull this off.   We did have a nice supper at Blackberry Corners, a local tavern frequented by birders, fisher and hunter persons.  Danny's favorite thing for the day were the dead birds on the beach.

Since I'm leaving early this year, I'll miss the Biggest Week In American Birding, as well as the waves of cool stuff that goes through here.  (Past posts about the BWAB here.)




*Okay, we also saw loads of mud hens, goosi, a couple of egrets, GBH, buzzards, a wren, and three birders who had all the answers.  I just didn't ask them any questions.  They did talk about the white Wagtail that folks are chasing up in Monroe Co. Mich.  If it weren't for the 6 mile hike I'd go up there for the hellofit.  It can usually only be seen in coastal Alaska or the Bering region of Russia.  Cool.  This is the third MI report.  One of these day's I'm going to figure out my life list. Yeah, sure, I'll get right on that.

I did see no fewer than 4 kestrels driving home from camp on Saturday.  We also had 2 hawks, probably coops, screaming at us in camp.





Crafty Time, Too.

I also got a little bit of sewing in before running away to Girl Scout Camp Libbey Friday and Saturday.  I love the way this turned out.  I'm making bigger wall hanging versions of this for retired ranger friends.  I had tons of strips left of some of the fabric so I made several extra blocks. I bought some pillows when they were on super-sale, not having any clue what I'd do with them, and this worked out.  I'm thinking Christmas presents already.  I went ahead and quilted the top--batting, backing the works, then sewed that to the back piece.  Worked out perfectly.  Even DH really likes it.

Hey, I just read about the Pillow Party! And looky here, my first pillow in ages.  I can't say much more because the aforementioned retiring rangers might be sneaking a peak!


And my friend Barb is the winner of the "When will the snow finally melt in the Duv's yard Contest."  Sometime Friday while I was at camp it all went bye-bye.  We'll get some more April snow, but it will melt quickly.  Then when we get to Madison Junction, we'll have to shovel our way to the laundry room.  Oh, well.  Today's hot, muggy weather reminds us why we go through the hassle of packing up and moving twice a year.






P.S.  I'll also be happier when I can actually put pictures and text where I want them in the blog.  I'm sorta picky about this kind of stuff, and it's frustrating to be so close and yet so far to getting the look I want.  Like it matters in the Big Scheme of Things.

Crafty, Snowy, Birdy Days

First, I need a yard or so of Royal Stewart Tartan in shirt weight. For the life of me, I can't find any in the US this week! I googled it every which way I could and nada, zip, nuthin'. So if you've got some in your stash, I need some a.s.a.p. to finish a quilt for a really-coming-up-quickly wedding. ::begging begging begging:: Fun facts to know and tell: a real tartan has the same stripe pattern in each direction. When tartans are registered, the designer only submits the pattern in one direction. When they don't match, it's a plaid. See what you learn going to a liberal arts college where the mascot is the Scot?

Next, it's snowing again. Between doctors appointments, snow, ice, and Presidents Day, my boys have only been in school for 6 hours this week. Crap. That really puts a dent in my crafty time.

Also spent the afternoon yesterday with the boys' current caseworker and their next caseworker (they change when the kids leave school~~since we're considering pulling them from the glorified babysitting thing they call school now...... ) well, let's just say we're looking at options. More on that later. And if any of you are involved with using Ohio Waivers for your adult kids with disabilities, lemme know how that's working for you.

And birders~~you should see the feeders of NW Ohio this week. We picked up a new feeder bird for us~~Purple Finches. Because our deck is also the bird feeder, it takes some of the birds a while to find our feeders. Lots and lots of folks get Purple Finches (and their infamous twins, House Finches) at their feeders, but this is a first for us at this house. My sis lives 4 miles east of us on the other side of the park. She has a large grassy lot and water-feature mini-pond next to her house, along with 3 more acres of pines, and you should see the cardinals! She can easily have 15 or 20 at a pop. She also had a beautiful little Carolina Wren visiting a suet feeder right up at her window. I suppose if I were to stop reading all of the birder blogs I'd have more birding time.

Today, I'm hoping to get some sewing time in. I suppose if I were to stop reading all of the sewing blogs I'd have more sewing time. Sheesh.

Birding the Blues .. and the Crafty Greens

You can probably tell that my interests are all over the map. Oh well. I have a blogging Ranger Peep who has about 400 blogs, so he can separate all his interests. Too much work. Anywho, here's today's mixed up offering:

Got Yarn? My darling daughter, BadAmy is at it again. This time is green and sparkly. She has this posted on her Etsy store (there's plenty of it, not to worry~~just an Etsy quirk there) and I think it will be available at the Black Swamp Fiber Arts Fair in Bowling Green, March 26. I love that she's found this great niche in life.

Next up: The Bluebird Winds have arrived!

One of the best ornithologists in the country, the late Mr. Lou Campbell, used to tell us to look for the first bluebirds of spring during the first southwestern winds after Valentine's Day. Well, looky here. Those warm, moist southwesterly winds have brought incredibly high temps to our area--a real teaser, since it's only mid-February and we know winter will hammer us again. And more bluebirds, too. But more interestingly, there are hundreds of bluebirds overwintering in our area these days. In past Audubon Society Christmas Bird Counts, we'd have a couple. This year we had literally hundreds, and often in flocks of 15 to 20.

I suck at bird photography (I blames it on lack of great equipment, as opposed to lack of great skill), but I do have one good bluebird pic. Ha! Tricked you! This is BirdGirl Sherrie's pic: Ha! Tricked you again. This is the now famous Western Bluebird that put in an appearance two years ago.

And this is Pat, a local birder who had the chutzpah to say out loud, "I think I saw a Western Bluebird at the Oaks." That whole episode was a blast.

Okay, where was I? Oh, yeah, the Bluebird winds of February. Next up on the bird watch list is Buzzards. I love buzzards. Did I ever mention that we call our place Buzzard Crest? Not to be confused with Falcon Crest? True, dat. And around the same time as the buzzards, the woodcocks will be back. More about them and my hero, Aldo Leopold, in a couple of weeks.

And I shouldn't have mentioned anything yesterday about us all being healthy. I'm not sick yet, but the 'tells' say I soon will be. Now where did I put that vitamin C?

Birding and Beavers

I must be sort of a grown-up or something. I was turned loose on my own to count birds on the Grand Rapids-Waterville, aka Oak Openings, Christmas Bird Count. My skills pale when it comes to my friends~~I'm lucky to know so many awesome birders. Compared to my non-birding friends, I'm pretty darn good. But whoa, when some of the best birders in the country are leading counts around here, I feel like a complete ninny. But this year, I got to put my skills to the test.

I opted to stay in the park this year, because two friends, Laurie and daughter Annie, decided they'd like to spend some time birding with me. This wonderful family has "followed" us around the country as I work. Vince, the dad, and Matt, the son, have been closely involved with FTD's Scout Troop. Vince and Laurie are both Really, Really Smart People, being professors of pharmacy stuff. Both of the kids are also Really, Really Smart and Talented. And the whole gang is rib-tickling funny. Anywho, they visited us when I worked at Acadia, and then totally surprised me in the middle of a program at YNP. Annie wants me to get a job in Hawaii next, figuring they'll come visit us there. I haven't got a handle on the logistics for that one, sorry Annie.

Laurie and Annie said they could meet me on Birding Day around 10 a.m., so I took the time between sun up and then to scope out the new beavers at Evergreen Lake in the Park. For years, one of our naturalists sort of joked about bringing beavers home with him from his camp in Michigan. We were never sure if he'd really do it or not. He swears he didn't do it, but the beaver are here and taking up residence. They were first sighted about 3 years ago--a road kill actually--then on Swan Creek just outside of the park. They've worked their way to Evergreen Lake, and have found a nice quiet spot to build.


I'll have to do some research, but I'm guessing beavers haven't lodged in this area for close to 100 years. Awesome. And the rest of the good news is that they're in an area where they won't bother anyone else's property.


Meanwhile back to the birdies. . . . .

We three birded from 10 to about 3, finding darn few birds, although many of the ones we did see were "lifers" for Laurie and Annie. Bluebirds in winter~~always a crowd pleaser~~cedar waxwings~~lots of 'em~~Golden Crowned Kinglets, and lots of the usual suspects. We walked a section of the Wabash Cannonball Trail in the park and were treated with red-headed woodpeckers, but missed the pileated by moments. One of the most noticeable things on this count were the low numbers, not only in species but also in individuals. Our section was no different. But driving back, we hit pay dirt. I was driving on the Parkway, when whoosh, a "flying cinder block" by Laurie's description, zoomed past, being chased by a nuthatch and a really ornery blue jay. This was Annie's first encounter with an owl in flight. It landed and took quite a squawking-to from the jay. (The first pic is for you, Loopy.)



Then the Barred Owl did us the favor of turning around and winking in the ever-so-brief sunbeam.

This event pretty much cements my title of World's Laziest Birder. They come to me.

Sa-weet.

Owling with the Lil' Ripper

If you want to have a magical night, take a seven year old owling.

Last week, Tuesday, the Lil' Ripper (my great-nephew) spent the day and night with us. We first went to the Toledo Zoo for the Lights Before Christmas, where my younger son, DD, was running his trains with the Swanton Area Railroad and Model Club (or something like that). DD is "in charge" of the display each Tuesday. He takes his responsibility seriously--in his own DD way, of course. Any who, all four of us and the little guy all went over. The highlight there was the octopus, which was actually moving~~and moving a lot! Big hit with kids of all ages.

When we got home, we were all bundled up and I asked Lil' Ripper if he wanted to go owling. Now mind you, he kept telling me over and over how tired he was while we were driving home. But he re-energized as soon as we hit the driveway (my guys all three crashed).

Some time ago, I had told LR how to walk silently in the woods, so we did. But somehow, with him in the lead, it morphed to "walk like a penguin--they're very quiet you know, Anna." I had a hard time being quiet since laughing out loud was what I did after he told me that. But dutiful grand-auntie that I am, I walked like a penguin.

I took him over to the scout trail across the street. For a kid who wants a night light when he sleeps, he was completely fearless walking in the woods in the nearly pitch black. I had my headlamp on as we started, but on the way back he told me to turn it off--it might scare the animals. Huh? and Wow! He also told me we had to stop every now and then and be sure to look back for animals, too. What a hoot.

After walking in a few dozen yards, I told him I'm try to call for owls. Have I ever mentioned that my calls suck? Try as I will, I never seem to get it right. But to a 7 year old with a high, squeaky voice it mattered not. I told him he should try it with me. We went for Barred Owl, as it's the easiest for a kid to remember. And what a joy to stand in the silent woods with darling kid and calling for owls~~and to savor the companionable silence in-between. Not a thing stirred or called back to us, but the fun is in the trying.

It really was cold, and I really was tired, even if Lil' Ripper wasn't, so we walked home. The Christmas lights were still on at home, and they gently lit our way. Of course, for a bedtime story it was Owl Moon by Jan Yolen, followed by North County Night by Daniel San Souci. Being a too-cool 7 year old means being too cool to snuggle for books very often, but that night we did. It might be the last for he and I, but if it was, it was the best.

Birding Time Again!

While most folks think of a nice relaxing Christmas break, lots of crazies are gearing up the the annual Christmas Bird Counts. Here's the deal.

Over 100 years ago, somebody said, "Let's see how many birds there are in the world." And thus began the Audubon Society's Annual Bird Count Census. It's organized now, as opposed to folks just running around the countyside yelling out, "Six creepers!" and stuff like that. We now have Count Circles--areas that are deemed to be birdily important or just plain fun (like the Rudolph Ohio Count--get it--Christmas count????) NW Ohio has several very important count circles. The North Coast, aka northern Ohio along Lake Erie, is a Big Time Birding Area. The Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge is there, along with Magee Marsh State Wildlife Refuge, East Harbor State Park, Maumee Bay State Park, and the Crane Creek area. We, of the Oak Openings, are west of the Lake, having been left behind by the ancient Lakes Whittelsey and Warren. And though it sounds like there is lots of land left on the lake, don't be fooled. Most of the marshland/wetland is gone. Conservation, as usual, was too little too late. But I digress.

Back to count circles. A point is picked and a circle with a diameter of 15 miles is drawn on the map around that point. Ta-daa, a count circle. Teams of birders go out on a given day, from mid-December to early January, and count all the birds they can find. We count species and number of individual birds--it's a census.


NW Ohio has several count circles: the Toledo, the Islands, the Refuge, blah blah blah, and the Big One: The Grand Rapids/Waterville Count. The other name for this one is the Oak Openings Count. Birders spend their holidays scoping out where the good stuff is, and I ain't talking candy canes here. Maybe Sandhill Cranes, though. With or without this rotten head cold, I'll head out with my fellow birders for a day full of chickadees, titmices, hawks, and who-knows-what else on Sunday.

Kidding aside for a moment, this is an incredibly important chunk of research. Because of the longevity of the counts, we can use this citizen science for important longitudinal studies, not only of a given species, but of trends. For example, the trend toward having more boreal species in more southernly locales was among the first research-based evidence of global climate change.

Now back to the funny stuff. Oh, wait, I'm all out of funny stuff--the head cold does that. Anywho, there are birders all over the place scoping out what may or may not be here, and any rarities that turn up a week before or after Count day are tallied, so it all counts.

But here's where I need your help. Yes you! Fill your bird feeders, and if you live inside the Oaks Count circle, check your feeder on Sunday to see what and how many of the whats are there. Email or text me, so we can add your numbers to our tally. It really is important.

And if you don't live in my count circle, contact your local Audubon Society to see if there are still counts going on in your neck of the woods. Really, get out there and get birding.

Thanks for the Birthday Wishes!

Wow, it's been overwhelming, really. First, more than 60 folks show up for Tom's birthday party last week and now dozens of folks sending me greetings on fb. Say what you will about fb, I find it to be fun. I love being part of my friends' lives again, keeping up on issues that are important to me, and just plain goofing off.

DH and I had dinner last night at the best restaurant in NW Ohio--Mancy's Blue Water Grill in Maumee. Perfect dinner, once again, beautiful venue, awesome staff, the complete package. If you haven't been there, you've really missed out. All of the Mancy's restaurants are simply the best. And I'll bet it's been more than a year since DH and I sat down together for dinner~~just the two of us. And after all these many (many, many) years, it's still a nice time. (And we went out last night because I had a couple of cavities filled today--not such great planning on my part.)

We had some birding fun this week. A friend posted on Rarebird that the students in one of his classes wanted to go owling. I volunteered the house and GL volunteered his awesome owl-finding skills. We've had weeks and weeks of warm, pleasant nights~~until Tuesday when the class was here. It poured and poured a nasty, cold, pounding rain right out of the north the whole day and night. Now mind you, we really really needed the rain. But it could have waited another couple of hours. And believe it or don't, GL wasn't able to call in one single bird. Some folks thought he got an Eastern Screech, but I didn't hear it. We did hear a huge tree fall in the woods--answering the age old question. I've gotta hand it to the students for putting up with this deal. Several of them were just wearing sneakers--I guess they figured we wouldn't actually go tramping through the woods. Surprise! We birders are a tough breed.

So thanks, Friends, virtual and otherwise, for making my birthday bright.

Another Birdie Day

This could become addicting--siting on the back deck while the birds buzz my head. It was so warm again today that I spent as much time outside as I could. That included catching up on some reading on the back deck. The birds must really be hungry because they just couldn't stay away. This is a pic from last winter, by the way, but I don't have any with no snow. I was quite surprised at the activity~~almost frenzied. And the birds really could have cared less about me sitting there. In the winter we let the kids sit on the deck with seed in their hats and wait for the chickadees to dine. I've rearranged the feeders in my never ending attempt to keep the squirrels and raccoons out. So far--no coons. They must not be desperate yet. But now the chipmunks have invaded. If they weren't so dang cute.

Later in the afternoon I was doing some computer work on the front porch, and saw the hawk cruise through the woods just across the street. Couldn't id it, but I'm guessing red-tail. It's been hanging around so I'm hoping it stays all winter.

On another note, the Whitehouse Library Holiday Home Tour is one month from today--had to believe with such great weather. And Sunday we set up the trains for the Toledo Zoo Lights Before Christmas. Way before Christmas this year!

Sometimes the Birds Beckon

I've had a feeling of ennui today. Partly its the adrenaline let-down from DH's party~~which was tons of fun. So many good friends gathered altogether. The sun has been shining and the weather pleasant. I should be in the basement sewing, but I can't seem to drag myself to a room with so few windows. I tried working on some graphic projects on the computer sitting in the sunshine but I still couldn't concentrate. So I packed it in and headed out.

Our yard is 90% mature trees, with some brushy understory. In the summer, it's so thick we can barely see anything, but its nice and cool. The reflection of light off the leaves turns every room in the house to green. This time of year is among my favorites. I can see the landscape and the trees make interesting and ever changing shadows. Today I was hoping to see birds.

Our birds are awfully dang smart. If I'm in the front yard, I hear something out back and vice versa. Today was no exception. A hawk was calling from the back, maybe over in the neighbors property. I looked and I looked and I looked. Even with few leaves to block my view, it eluded me. I was also looking for the noisy thing that must live in the brush in the neighbor's ditch. It just kept telling me to "DO-it" over and over. But I sure couldn't find it.

All was not lost though. A small buck white tail was crossing the neighbors field when he realized I wasn't a tree. We looked at each other and I took one step forward. Off he went in that beautiful run, run, leap-soar that deer do. He stopped back at the tree line, and must have wandered back onto our property, but I couldn't spot him again. He was a young buck, just 2 tines on both sides with bit of another on one side. I don't think I've ever seen a buck on our property before, just does and fawns. It's not like out west, where the wildlife--elk, bison, wolves, and bears--wander through the yard. Deer are much more skittish, so this was quite a treat.

Just me and the deer and the birds. Ennui gone.

Updated Links I Like

I had a couple of minutes today for maintenance and repairs on the blog. Yikes!!! Glaring error on the link for RareBird! It's fixed now. If you're planning a trip to NW Ohio and birding is on your agenda, check with RareBird first. I've also added several links to other NW Ohio birding stuff. Seriously, this area is one of the "must go birding there" places on the continent.

Glowing October Days

The colors of the trees this year has been simply indescribable. The closest thing I can say is they glow this year. You just need to be here to believe it. I've taken several pictures, but they don't capture the feeling that comes over me when I'm out walking the woods. And since we've had very little sun, I haven't yet figured out why the trees are glowing! Very, very cool fall show.

Along those lines, there are very few pine cones and acorns on the ground. Last year when we walked the path in the back woods, it was like walking on ball bearings. And every morning when we came out, the yard was covered with cones from our white pines, no matter how many we picked up the night before. DH figures that the year before last the trees must have been stressed. The good news from that was the finches were here in record numbers. I suspect we won't see many crossbills and such this year.

I went berserk and bought some more rocks. This morning I loaded up 500 lbs of field stone into my car, then drove home and unloaded the things. I also shoveled the last of the river rock into the cart on the mower, so I can get those placed around the window well in the back. I spent several hours a couple of days ago beating back the weeds in my "back yard." This is barely more than a ribbon of grass around the back deck, but dang it! I want it to be a ribbon of domesticated, well behaved grass. The environmentalist in me is rather disgusted with the home owner in me that wants said ribbon of grass. We've got 3+ acres here, and most of it remains in it's natural state and I love that. But we have to grow domesticated, well behaved grass over the leach field, which takes up our whole front yard. And when one has grass growing, it needs to be cleared of the leaves in the fall, or it will cease to be well behaved grass. I bought a leaf sweeper that goes on the back of the mower, so DD can cruise around and sweep leaves to his little heart's content. And again the "green me" is yelling at the homeowner me about using so much gasoline to get rid of leaves. I guess October is just going to remain a month of my internal selves yelling at each other.

And homeowner me would dearly love for the spiders to either move back to the trees or at least stop pooping all over my porch. Can't a girl have a little space to herself that doesn't need to be cleaned all the time!!!!!! Is that asking too much?