Me or a book?

 Copper's mom sent me these pics to show what he thought of her trying to read a book.  Doesn't your heart just go out to him?  You would never guess that he is spoiled rotten.

He says, 'But if you must read, I will be right here on your knees.

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I had to run to the grocery yesterday evening just to pick up a couple items.  I decided to run to the strip pits before I came home.  

The Snow Geese are passing through...and were on the biggest pond/strip pit.  

The strip pit is huge and they almost covered it from end to end...minus maybe a hundred feet on the end near me.

Other pics will be posted at my other blog tomorrow...I hope you enjoy these.

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And today's video:

Friday happenings and more

I got this in the mail yesterday...a good friend sent it to me...she is someone I met through blogging.    It is hard not to sit and read it all at once.  I sat right down and read yesterday's devotion when I got it, and then today read today's and they both were/are so fitting for how I have been feeling.  I searched for it on line and when January ends I am going to order it.  It is published bi-monthly and I think if I ordered it now, I bet I would still get this current issue.  At least that is what I have had happen with quilt magazines.
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Another friend showed her thumb on her blog...so I tried to take one of my thumb....it is my right thumb so had to take pic with left hand.  Not an easy task for me but I did get one good enough for you to see.   I did this at the end of August...that dark spot was down at the very base of the fingernail when it was first done.  It is taking its slow sweet time growing out.  My hand slipped off a wrench, and I hit this metal edge on the power washer.  It hurt....

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More not so great photos and video...the ones that I take are just taken with my little P&S camera. I am on one road and those buildings are over on the next road...at least half a mile away.  Maybe more.  And those geese are about midway between the farm buildings and me.  If  you expand the view, notice that big old red tractor! 

You might want to turn the sound off or way down on this video....



While the videos don't look so terrible on my computer, I don't know what happens to them when uploaded to youtube...they become even worse than they really are.  Still you can get a feel for how they were today.  This time they were over in some farm fields.
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I keep meaning to tell that my current read is

The Good Earth by Pearl Buck... it has been years and years since I read it though I have looked at it several times and thought about starting it again.  If I knew, I forgot that it is the first of a trilogy.  I don't know if I have read the others.  The second one is The Sons, and the third is A House Divided...and that title sounds so familiar but I honestly don't think I have read it.

I hope you have a good weekend....

Hope you aren't tired of geese....

We decided to run to Super Walmart to pick up a few things there that our little Walmart doesn't carry.  We went through one end of the strip pits as we headed that way...



The day was actually just a gray day.  Just so much fog and mist...have your sound on to hear them.  You might want to try half volume to begin with.



My hands had started to try to tremble with the fist video I showed...I thought if I paused it would stop but as you can see they still trembled some.  It all happened so quick that I didn't even attempt to get my mono-pod out.



I so wish you could see them all in person...these videos just do not do them justice.  Down at the south of of this pond were several swans but so far you can barely see them with the naked eye.

 

From the strip pits

First this bird...I am not sure what it was.  I know it was not a vulture, and if it was a hawk, it was a HUGE hawk, but by the same token, if it was a juvenile bald eagle, it was on the small side.  Also, the underneath side was not white like most hawks. I have a hard time zooming in and tracking with my little point & shoot camera.

This is way down at the end of a pond...I was surprised this photo turned out even this good...again, trying to zoom in and track the two swans was difficult.

 I managed this capture as these swans passed over right in front of us.

 There were several Canada Geese...this group was near us on the north side of the road.

This is the pond on the south side of the road...and this is showing just a small portion of the geese that were up on the bank.  I have never seen the quite like this before.  I have seen them in the fields near other ponds, though so guess it amounts to the same thing.
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Roger's BP was fairly high again tonight.  I don't know why.  He had had a coughing spell right as I took it...I waited a couple minutes to take it and it was still 163/88.  In the hospital and rehab they wanted to keep the upper number 140 or below because of the fact that he had had the bleeds.  Again, I gave him a whole BP pill instead of the normal half a pill...it came down quickly tonight so maybe the whole pill was not needed.

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I have told some of my blog friends of the things Roger is having to relearn but haven't shared them in detail on here.  Simple things we all take for granted.  Things like telling the time.  He can read a digital watch, though sometimes numbers pop out of his mouth that are not what he means to say.    It is almost as if he just has to say something...but I can say not it isn't 3:00...and he will look again and say, oh, it is 1:00.

As for a clock with a dial...he is having to learn to tell time all over that way.  But is really improving with that.  As long as I don't ask him to do too many times in a short period. 

But don't ask him what year it is...he seldom gets that right.  

He cannot just sit down and read...he has to spell out words and then can usually tell you what they are.   But what is funny, a lot of times he can read longer words.  

He can write words a lot easier than he can print them, though he still has some trouble with a few letters in writing.  But nothing like when he prints.  And I have him print the alphabet most days. 

I won't put it all in this one post, but will continue to tell some of the things he deals with as time goes on.

From the Heron Viewing Station

This pair of geese were the first to greet us at the Heron County Park...north of Danville, Illinois.

Next we spotted this pair.  They were quite a distance away.

The photos are a bit bleary.

We had to use the binoculars and spotting scope to identify them.   I took these with my little Canon SX700 HS at full zoom.  Before I could put it away and get my other camera situated, they took off, and one came right over us and tried to nab something from the water  maybe a hundred yards from us.  I couldn't believe it, couldn't react quick enough to get a picture.  There were ducks and geese there, but I somehow felt it was after fish.  And Lorelei got to see it all.

All the time we were seeing a heron or two fly in or leave, plus other waterbirds in the distance.

Finally, a heron close enough to get a half decent shot.

And Lorelei found this goose fascinating...I had to show her daddy a pic of it when he came to get her....

Slow....

I have been trying to get photos together for this post, but I keep getting detoured by the birds outside my window.  I finally saw Mr. Red-bellied woodpecker but he did not hold still long enough for me to snap a shot.  I was beginning to wonder if he existed.  Hopefully I will be able to capture him in a day or two.

Anyway the other day when we were getting ready to go to Sarah's house, we were actually getting in the Rav and I heard geese.  I kept looking all around, and finally glanced in the right direction to see these.  You need to click to expand the view...

Snow Geese!

  This is a first for them to fly over our house.  Well, at least the first I have seen them.  I was so excited to see them.  I snapped a couple shots before we left.
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I am working and working making the last border for my crumb quilt.  I searched through my scraps to find pieces big enough for me to get 5 ½ inch strips from...have cut and cut and cut.  Hopefully in the not too distance future I can at least have a finished top to show.  I am about afraid to say that cause things have a way of happening and delaying my progress.

Wildlife up north

One evening while we were up at Shipshewana, we took off in search of a little wildlife. We found the Pigeon River Fish and Wildlife Area...we were not disappointed. First we saw the geese near this bridge. It was the perfect place to fish and of all times, we did not have our fishing gear with us. It was late and lots of shadows...so this was the best shot of one of the geese. While there we heard sandhill cranes but could not see any.
We left there and not sure which came first without going and looking at the number of the image...but at one point looked down the dirt road and there were the turkeys and their babies. I don't know if it is two moms and their children, or one mom and her friend and children. If you look close there are ten of the babies...there are three in one blob right in the middle.
Then we came out and saw a couple of the cranes...I don't know how many shots I took and not one is decent. I have fooled with this one to try to make it more presentable but did not do very good.
That is all I got to photograph, but we also seen rabbits, deer and their fawns. And that was just in one short drive.

We hope to go back another year and actually do some fishing....

Wildlife report....

Night before last I made a run through the strip pits....I went through the first time kind of early...right around 3:30. Right after entering the area, there is a strip pit...and it was covered with geese. They were walking on water ice....and sitting on ice as if they were sitting on water. I could not help but think how cold that would be!
I paused and took a few pictures, and continued on through...I seen one single Northern Harrier, and not any other life of any kind. No birds flying, no ring-necked pheasants, no deer.

I decided to head on over into Illinois...originally thinking I would go to Paris, Illinois to take a few pictures in town just to have something different to post. However, I took off through the country to see if the geese were feeding in any of the fields. Other than one right there close to the strip pit, I just seen a few others too far away to photograph.

And did not see anything else in the wildlife department to photograph while out. So, I headed back home, and finally had three deer run across the road in front of me. This led me to run back through the strip pits on my way home.
This time there were red-winged blackbirds...so at least they are moving back through. There wasn't a lot of them, but sure more than when I had passed through earlier. So, I went on, trying to keep an eye out for pheasants....no luck. Looked for short-eared owls...no luck there either.

I finally spotted a herd of deer on a far hill...at least 8, maybe more. Too far to count. After seeing them, I finally spot a single, solitary male pheasant, and next were three Northern Harriers. Not a lot to see compared to other times, yet it was good to see what I did see.

After I left the strip pits, the first thing I saw was another herd of deer. I guess you would say herd. Just on down the road a mile or so from the red barn...four deer ran across the road and I could see 4 more deer waiting in the weed patch....I slowed down and was going to try to take a photo but a dog on down the way started barking at a truck that was coming from the other direction...so they ran back the other way.

So, I continue on my way home...by then there is a vehicle behind me. Soon as I could, I pull to the side of the road till they can pass me. I want to go slow. I am out to this farm field by then...there are 6 deer out in that field, plus two turkeys. So, I am thinking well, that is probably the end of what I will see...

But I continue on...just creeping along. I thought just maybe I might see a heron at this little creek I had yet to pass...but before I got there there is this woodsy/weedy patch and in there are more deer! I counted at least 6, two of them are in the photo above....but it was getting really late and I have a feeling I missed some. They blended in so well with their background it was hard to spot them.

So all in all it was a good evening...

Life at the strip pits

We had sunshine....ALL DAY LONG! I didn't quite know how to act...of all the days to have it, it was a good one. Sarah and Lorelei were planning to come up today, but due to unforeseen circumstances, they didn't come. However, one of the guys Roger used to work with came and spent a good part of the day here.
A while after his friend left, we decided to run out to the strip pits to see what we could see. On my Time Stand Still I have featured the prize capture, but I thought I would show these as well. Yes, if you click the photo above, I think you can tell that that is a cat! I thought it made a fairly good photo.
There were not too many birds, we seen more mallards than anything. The geese and the mallards seem to be pairing off to start their families.
We saw some other deer, but this was the only one that I captured with the camera.
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I just discovered something about ScribeFire...the Firefox add-on to manage blogs. The pictures that I upload with it cannot be enlarged. Another negative thing was that only one photo at a time could be uploaded. Though I would have lived with that if the photos had enlarged. Anyway, I probably won't be using it.

I think it would be fine if you didn't publish photos to enlarge...but even on my Time Stand Still blog, my photos can be enlarged. Except for these few I have published with it. and the more I think about it the more I am thinking I will go and redo the photos with the regular publisher.

Original Cougar, geese, and strip pits...stated randomly

I often do posts from the strip pit area...this one among them. But in the end, there is a more intimate tale involved this time. First off, we drove around out there last night till the sun was setting...the first thing we noticed were the geese...they are back in larger numbers. The sound was incredible. I wondered aloud if I lived close, would I get tired of their incessant honking.
Even if you click and enlarge the above photo, it appears compressed. It just does not show how big the strip pit is, nor can you get the full impact of how many geese are there.

Below, is an image from google earth that shows the area out there. The strip pit above is marked...it is in the upper left-hand corner of the image. BTW, it is in Illinois. I really hope you will click on it at least...one of these days I am going to think and see how long that strip pit is by hitting the odometer on the vehicle I am in. I am pretty sure it is at least half a mile long, and probably longer. Just east of the strip pit is the road we take about half of the time to enter the area.

We have been going out there for years, though originally, it was being mined so we only drove through it every now and then. If you will look in the lower righ-hand corner, I have a strip pit marked as where we got our original cat named Cougar. Before the mining stopped, we could get permits to fish that strip pit.... I have spent more happy hours fishing there than any place else on earth. I never once got to stay as long as I wanted to stay.
Anyway, that is one long strip pit...it doesn't show it here so much, but it was big and it was deep. Where the arrow is pointing, there was a pump house close to there. The part of the strip pit to the east of the arrow is where I fished the most....but I did fish on south also. Right where the arrow is was just a narrow strip of water leading from one part of the strip pit into the other. A boat could go through, but it would have been close for two boats to pass each other, though I am not sure they could have.

Anyway, one evening we were out there fishing and kept hearing this sound. Over and over. Right there where that arrow is. Well, we fished for quite a while, and before we left, for my sake Roger went across to find out what was over there. I think he could wade most of it chest deep, but had to swim a few strokes...
Anyway, he got over there and found it....a little tabby cat. Its voice was so hoarse from meowing so much. As he held it above the cattails for me to see, he said, "Do you want it?" Dumb question...I had never seen a cat I didn't want. Just some I didn't need.

Anyway, so the kitty went home with us, to become Cougar Lee. He was literally on the point of starvation...I have only seen one other animal in my life as bad off as he was. You could see almost every bone in his body. His backbone was just so prominent... And he was SO sick....congestion and his little eyes all matted.

There was never any doubt that he was my kitty...from day one. It was a weekend so no going to the vet....and besides that I don't know if we went right away or if we waited a few days. I do know that right away, I made warm salty water and wrung a washrag out in it and would wash his eyes 3 or 4 times a day. Salt water will do miracles for some things...and it did help.

But his cold/congestion was another story. I don't know how many times he was to the vet to get rid of it. It was over a period of a few weeks, and at one time he and I were on the same antibiotic....only his was just once a day and not as strong as mine. It was this antibiotic, ampicillin that finally cleared his congestion.

Cougar was sure an original...when he was little, if I was standing washing dishes or doing something in the kitchen, he would climb up my jeans to my waist and just hang there till I got to the point where I could stop and hold him a few minutes. He slept with us/me, at first he laid across my forehead and I wondered how in the world was I ever going to get used to that.

You would not believe how quickly I became accustomed to it, I would have to feel my head to see if he was there or not. As he got older, he gradually stopped doing that very much, but graduated to curling himself around my head, or somehow till his one paw would be across my neck. Honest to goodness. He had to be touching me.

What is so funny, he jumped on Roger when Roger was asleep and it startled Roger and made him really mad at Cougar. From that time on, Cougar never, ever touched Roger unless Roger was awake. He would sniff towards Roger and somehow or other could tell if Roger was awake. If Roger was awake, he would put a paw out and touch him.

As Cougar got older, he was neutered, of course. He loved to spend time outside in the summer...we always thought when he laid in the garden under the tomato plants, that he thought himself in the jungle. He was not much of a hunter...which was fine by me. He loved all of us, and was never afraid of strangers, but I was always his favorite. He could be sitting with anyone else, and all I had to do was say his name and he would come to me.

Cougar was the smartest cat I have ever known...though I am trying to think of examples and having a hard time. He did know his name...if he was out in the yard...all we had to do was open the door and call his name and he came. He knew what the word 'no' meant, also knew what we meant if we said 'get down.' I also think he showed how smart he was by not bothering Roger when Roger was asleep.

He loved tomatoes or things cooked with tomatoes. If we had spaghetti, he literally came running. He always got a bite or two of it. He really didn't want much, but had to have a taste or if we had a pizza, he had to have a bite. If I cut a tomato in half and left it laying, he would lick the whole inside of it out. Even if it was a medium sized tomato.

If I was sick and sleeping on the couch, he watched over me...he would sleep on the back and talk to me if I was awake. Oh, that is the other thing. He would really try to carry on a conversation. Not the constant meowing that some cats do, but an exchange. We could say something and he would say something back...with what we called a meow-purr. Not loud and disturbing, more like, hey, what are you doing. And he would stop and wait for our reply.

He also was a guard cat...did not like other cats or dogs in our yard. Even though he was neutered, he would fight any cat that came in the yard. Yet if the kids brought one home, he wasn't jealous. And luckily, all the dogs he chased out were so surprised to have a cat come after them, that they ran.

During the last years of his life, he started to sleep under the cover...always against my side with his head resting over my arm. And always between us...never on the outside edge.

A couple times he almost died. One night he was fine, begging for hamburger. The next morn, I happened to be up and about to leave for work and went downstairs for something. Cougar was sitting down there...he never sits down there. Just never. I could tell he was dieing.

I called the vet, and got him in that evening. We never really knew what happened to him...the vet kept him a couple days and did find that he had inflammation but could not find what was causing it. He gave him a vitamin B shot, and that did the trick. That was the strangest thing...he was perfectly fine the night before and I am positive if I had not taken him to the vet the next day, he would have died. No doubt in my mind.

And we had a repeat of that episode the following spring. Went through basically the same scenario. Again, the vitamin B shot brought him out of it.

During the last few months of his life, he lost weight...and he never had any weight to lose. We always assumed it was from being almost starved to death in his youth. Cougar just stayed a long, lanky cat. So, with losing the weight, he really was skin and bones. I had him to the vet, and it was just basically old age.

I knew I needed to make the decision, but could not do it till one morn, I heard him hit the floor. I will not go into details, I will just say I promised him then he would not have to go through any more. When the vet opened, I called and made arrangements to take him to be put down once Roger got home from work....I dug his grave in the garden so he could have his final sleep where he had spent so many enjoyable hours.

For two or three years, I did not even want to pet a cat...just didn't even want to look at one really. His spirit stayed with us. In the two or three years between losing him and getting the kitties we have now, Roger and I both felt him. There were a couple times we both, at the same time, felt him jump up in bed with us, and we both moved apart and started to raise the cover for him to go under. This was not right after he died, but months later.

Another time I had one of those colds where I coughed and coughed and coughed, so was trying to sleep sitting up on the couch...Cougar was there with me. I heard him talking...and looked to talk to him before I thought. Even after I realized, I kept hearing him.

His spirit doesn't visit us any more, not since we got the cats we have. Except my new Cougar loves tomatoes...does anyone else have a cat that likes tomatoes? I have never heard of it before...so I think it sort of strange that I have had two that likes them.

edited to add: I wanted to add that Cougar, the original, lived to be approximately 17 yrs. old

At last

Click to enlarge and maybe see the geese!

Yesterday evening while Neal was here, we made a run through the strip pits and seen a few more geese than we have been seeing. We decided to head on west just a few miles. There were a few fields of corn stubble left, and in these fields were the geese. Not as many as I hope there will be....I know there was only a drop in the bucket compared to what we usually see, so I am keeping my fingers crossed.
And of all times, we had went out to eat so I didn't take my camera. But I did have Roger's P&S in the Rav4, so it is what I used to capture my first sunset pictures of the year 2010.

Enlarge this, please

I want you to enlarge this till you can see it better, and just look.  We ran through the strip pits yesterday and stopped at the strip pit seen here.  I was busy capturing some butterflies at the edge of the pond and Roger had his spotter scope out checking out the birds/wildlife.  He told me to take the time and look at the geese....you will have to enlarge this to actually see what I am talking about.  I am assuming they were sleeping...they were not preening their feathers or anything.  They were just standing like this the whole time we were there.

These are some of the first we have seen come through this fall.  In fact, I don't think as many as usual hae stayed the whole summer.  I usually hear a few pass overhead here all summer long and I don't think I have heard a single one.  I am looking forward to their arrival and to hearing their honking as they fly overhead.
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We had a wedding to go to this evening...ignor the 2008 on the picture.  I didn't go but had Roger take his Point and Shoot to snap a few pictures.  I would show the wedding couple but I didn't think to have him ask if they cared, so instead will show a pair I am sure don't mind.

Even though the quality of the shot isn't the greatest, I think you can see that a good time was had by all.

Do you realize I haven't seen Lorelei since Tuesday?  I have heard her though, in the background when I am talking to Sarah.  I would love to have seen what all she did at the wedding...I guess she was vocal but there was so much stuff going on that she didn't really interrupt anything. Sarah says she is completely over her congestion, and has been laughing and laughing at Keesha and Otto.

Here and at home, the least little thing distracts her when we go to feed her.  It is almost as if she looks for something else to focus on.  And Sarah says if Otto is anywhere around, Lorelei is reaching out for him.

Last leg

We have went for walks the past couple of days, and taken our rod & reels...we walk, and then fish for just a few minutes. And we went from one strip pit in Universal that is actually for the public, I think owned by the little town, to another one that is owned by Indiana DNR over by West Terre Haute.
This tree caught our eye almost immediately...I think if you enlarge it you will like it better. With all the wind that we have, it is amazing that it is still standing. One just across the way had fallen.
Then, there were a couple pair of geese...I really got the feeling that it is mating season. Each pair was off to itself. Normally, there are several geese at this old strip pit all year long, but day before yesterday there were only the two pair.
As for my fishing, I fished a few minutes two different days, and each time I caught one little Largemouth Bass....about 10 inches long. It's mouth being the biggest thing about it.

The strip pit area...again

I cannot resist going to the strip pit area if I get the chance...no matter what time of day. I would even like to go out there on a moonlit night. I took the one above some time back...just to show you one of the strip pits...the one above is looking south and the ones below are looking north. I thought I had better pictures but I cannot locate them now.
This is the same strip pit area(north view) taken Wednesday, after the major snowfall. A big proportion of it is frozen over as you can see. But see the dark areas--they are not frozen. And they are so crammed full of geese and a few swans that I don't think another could fit in.These are not good pictures...I am not sure if it is operator errors or the cheap lens I have. But being that I sometimes get good photos with it I tend to think it is me. It is very hard to focus sometimes...hard to fine tune it say when I am trying to focus on eyes.
Still, the ones above give an idea of how tightly packed the water was with birds.

And I just have to show you a couple that I really like. I thought about saving the above shot for sepia scenes...it has not been altered at all. Do you think it would have fit the theme?
And here is one looking down the road...isn't it beautiful?

Today has been a busy day for us! Our older daughter moved out to her own apartment. We moved most of her small stuff and clothes last night after she got off work. Then I went with her grocery shopping--I won't tell you how much she spent. Lets just say it was a lot...but she was buying spices, and just stocking up on the necessities.

Being that Friday and Saturday is her days off, she wanted to get all the moving done today...so a friend of ours took the day off to help move the furniture. He is just one of the best...my husband has a knack for picking some really good friends. They start out as his friends, but always end up feeling like family.

And I guess I should mention what good neighbors we have also...we had shoveled the sidewalks that are used...the ones out back and the ones in front for the mailman. But yesterday evening here came one of the guys across the street on his 4-wheeler cleaning off the sidewalk here at the side...there was just a small portion of it that we hadn't done. Then he tells Roger that if Roger doesn't care, he will clean out Rachel's parking space better!

I really and truly think all news shows should have to feature at least one uplifting story like this every time they air.....about the good that people do. Does anyone else remember Charles Kuralt and his show On the Road? That was one of my favorite shows. And if they aired them today, I would be glued to the TV to watch them again.