On the long drive over the rivers and through the woods to (and from) grandmother's house, I entertain myself by counting roadside hawks. Michigan and Pennsylvania usually yield more birds than oHIo, since I-80's wide and fast, but a wee detour past K's brought oHIo's count up this time.
I don't record my count, so I've forgotten it already. Most of the hawks present clear field marks as red-tailed hawks, although with a blurry fraction of a second for identification, I probably couldn't pick out a rough-legged unless one shook its feathered shank at me.
Although the hawks are definitely in the rain today, I changed my photo to a wintertime hawk in the snow. Besides, someone told me my other picture looked like Ann Landers peeping through a mail slot.
27 November 2005
23 November 2005
21 November 2005
The Red-Breasted Nuthatch is Fearless!
The merry little band of freshly black-and-white chickadees hung out in the lilacs while I hung out the window to refill the feeder with sunflower seeds, safflower seeds, cracked corn, and those oh-so-delectable peanuts. The red-breasted nuthatch, on the other hand, hung off the feeder while I filled it, just to get first dibs.
Last year one landed on my hand. Quite bold little birds.
Update, 4:36 pm: Now the nuthatch is sitting on the windowsill, eep-ing softly, totally unconcerned that there's a cat going ballistic on the other side of the glass.
Image from What Bird
Last year one landed on my hand. Quite bold little birds.
Update, 4:36 pm: Now the nuthatch is sitting on the windowsill, eep-ing softly, totally unconcerned that there's a cat going ballistic on the other side of the glass.
Image from What Bird
20 November 2005
Unbutton Your Pants
Here come the holidays.
Forbes has a visual feast of a slide show on the world's most fattening holiday foods (complete with recipes, so you can totally blow the diet). Despite having just eaten brunch, I'm drooling over the Norwegian Julekake and the roast goose. (But the Austrians can keep their fried carp - ew.)
Forbes has a visual feast of a slide show on the world's most fattening holiday foods (complete with recipes, so you can totally blow the diet). Despite having just eaten brunch, I'm drooling over the Norwegian Julekake and the roast goose. (But the Austrians can keep their fried carp - ew.)
18 November 2005
How Ap-peel-ing (har har)
Okay, so here I am, innocently checking my Yahoo! mail when...when...this thing starts jiggling on the right side of the frame. It's...it's getting bigger...it's jiggling towards me, right at me. It's...it's a banana...with...with fruit on its...head? Does a banana have a head?
And is that a teeny-tiny skirt it's flouncing around in?
I watch in horror as the banana stops vibrating, only to drop its fruit and...strip...to reveal full, firm, succulent...mortgage rates. Gah!
Sadly, I managed to break my trance and take a screen shot only after the banana ceased its obscene dance. Now I keep clicking "Refresh," trying to get it to come back instead of getting back to work.
See what moral corruption stems from dancing phallic-symbol x hoochie-mama bananas?
And is that a teeny-tiny skirt it's flouncing around in?
I watch in horror as the banana stops vibrating, only to drop its fruit and...strip...to reveal full, firm, succulent...mortgage rates. Gah!
Sadly, I managed to break my trance and take a screen shot only after the banana ceased its obscene dance. Now I keep clicking "Refresh," trying to get it to come back instead of getting back to work.
See what moral corruption stems from dancing phallic-symbol x hoochie-mama bananas?
17 November 2005
Freeway Blogger in Ann Arbor
It's about time. I finally saw my first Freeway Blogger sign in Ann Arbor tonight.
Sadly, I'm not sure what it said - I didn't even see it until I was right under it. It's not a huge sign, and it had a lot of words. The first was "Impeach," and "Congress" was on there too. Also, night had fallen, snow flakes were blowing sideways, and I was travelling at 76 mph with a Ford Expulsion on my bumper.
The sign hangs over I=94, between 23 and State Street. Just where all the red-state Buckeyes coming into town for the game will see it...
Sadly, I'm not sure what it said - I didn't even see it until I was right under it. It's not a huge sign, and it had a lot of words. The first was "Impeach," and "Congress" was on there too. Also, night had fallen, snow flakes were blowing sideways, and I was travelling at 76 mph with a Ford Expulsion on my bumper.
The sign hangs over I=94, between 23 and State Street. Just where all the red-state Buckeyes coming into town for the game will see it...
16 November 2005
Compare and Contrast
Today's headlines on Yahoo! News:
Woman Weds Teen, Spends Honeymoon in Jail
Tornadoes Barrel Across Midwest, Southeast
San Francisco Passes Sweeping Dog Laws
Harriet the Tortoise Turns 175
Today's headlines on CNN International:
Sunnis demand Iraq torture probe
Iraq official admits detainees abused
U.S. admits using white phosphorous
Human bird flu in China, one dead
Woman Weds Teen, Spends Honeymoon in Jail
Tornadoes Barrel Across Midwest, Southeast
San Francisco Passes Sweeping Dog Laws
Harriet the Tortoise Turns 175
Today's headlines on CNN International:
Sunnis demand Iraq torture probe
Iraq official admits detainees abused
U.S. admits using white phosphorous
Human bird flu in China, one dead
15 November 2005
13 November 2005
Only 41 Days 'Til Christmas!
Can't find that perfect gift for a special someone? Check out the fine quality goods available on the Internets!
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Incredible detail!
Not available in stores!
No need for watering this desert beauty!
02 November 2005
I Miss My Brother
On this day, the day of my 100th blog post, I am thinking forward to Christmas shopping, prompted perhaps by retailers cramming it down our throats and a radio station already playing carols.
Honestly, I don't know if I can take 55 days of Andy Williams...but I digress.
My grandmother is really the only family member I enjoy shopping for any more. My mother says my grandmother is hard to buy for, but I don't think so. She's interested in her garden and the animals in the yard and in puttering around the kitchen, and she enjoys kitschy home and garden stuff. It's the other family members who are difficult to buy gifts for. Mom buys all her own Rosamund Pilcher and John Grisham books before anyone else even knows they're out. Dad doesn't fish or golf as much as he used to, and then again, he has everything already. My sister puts together wish lists of Chanel perfumes, pashmina sweaters, $40 tweezers, and cosmetic surgery, but I usually just get her a basket from The Body Shop.
The gifts I wind up giving seem generic and impersonal. I mean, I could do a $25 basket from The Body Shop for a Secret Santa operation.
Now my brother was the one who was fun to shop for. He was so much more engaged with the world and appreciated the weird, wild, and wonderful. When he experimented with Asian cooking, I special-ordered a rice steamer and some Chinese straw sandals. When he developed an interest in heirloom vegetables and seed preservation, I got him a do-it-yourself seed collection kit.
Last Christmas I found the seed kit, unopened, under the bed in what is now the guest room. My heart flinched - he didn't like it? Then I remembered that that particular Christmas was a month before he died, that he didn't live to collect any seeds, and that was why he didn't use it.
I slid it back under the bed.
This year, I want to get him this carnivorous plant terrarium. No one else in the family would think it's cool the way he would. The way I do. I've lost my ally, the other family member who thought like do, the one I could sit at the holiday table with and whisper snarky remarks to about the others.
I know the Salvation Army gets a lot of crappy toys from the dollar stores as donations. This year they're going to get a couple of carnivorous plant terrariums.
Honestly, I don't know if I can take 55 days of Andy Williams...but I digress.
My grandmother is really the only family member I enjoy shopping for any more. My mother says my grandmother is hard to buy for, but I don't think so. She's interested in her garden and the animals in the yard and in puttering around the kitchen, and she enjoys kitschy home and garden stuff. It's the other family members who are difficult to buy gifts for. Mom buys all her own Rosamund Pilcher and John Grisham books before anyone else even knows they're out. Dad doesn't fish or golf as much as he used to, and then again, he has everything already. My sister puts together wish lists of Chanel perfumes, pashmina sweaters, $40 tweezers, and cosmetic surgery, but I usually just get her a basket from The Body Shop.
The gifts I wind up giving seem generic and impersonal. I mean, I could do a $25 basket from The Body Shop for a Secret Santa operation.
Now my brother was the one who was fun to shop for. He was so much more engaged with the world and appreciated the weird, wild, and wonderful. When he experimented with Asian cooking, I special-ordered a rice steamer and some Chinese straw sandals. When he developed an interest in heirloom vegetables and seed preservation, I got him a do-it-yourself seed collection kit.
Last Christmas I found the seed kit, unopened, under the bed in what is now the guest room. My heart flinched - he didn't like it? Then I remembered that that particular Christmas was a month before he died, that he didn't live to collect any seeds, and that was why he didn't use it.
I slid it back under the bed.
This year, I want to get him this carnivorous plant terrarium. No one else in the family would think it's cool the way he would. The way I do. I've lost my ally, the other family member who thought like do, the one I could sit at the holiday table with and whisper snarky remarks to about the others.
I know the Salvation Army gets a lot of crappy toys from the dollar stores as donations. This year they're going to get a couple of carnivorous plant terrariums.
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