Friday, March 16th, 2007

Posted on Friday, March 16, 2007 at 02:24

Good TGIF everyone. Hope all are well. Weather has turned cold again. Sometimes I wonder if the frost will ever lift from the ground. The trees here have small tight buds on them. Like they are waiting for the time they can bust out of hiding. No signs of green yet. Just mud and dirty snow. I think that's one of the most depressing things about spring. Dirty snow. It makes things look so dingy and dirty. You really have to look hard to look past it. Fortunately, with a couple more nice days, there won't be much to look at. I heard robins - haven't seen any yet but know they are there. I wonder if they will decide to try to nest above my porch light again. They seem to find it as prime realestate every other year so this would be the year for it. It's a battle that they always win. They have a bunch of "stuff" laying on the light, I clear it away - of course placing it where they can find it again, they redo plus add a bit more and it seems that they wait until I have that one 3-11 or have to work late one morning and bam! I go check and it's a completed nest  including "family".  Still haven't seen the cardinal but am hopeful. The squirels are getting quite "heafty" from eating the seed from the bird feeders but I don't mind. They are fun to watch. What get's me is the way they get into the back of my pick up and chow down on the feed corn I have back there for ballast. Uff da, I think I have more duct tape than bag! I had the pleasure of watching two rabbits playing in my back yard yesterday afternoon. They were sure having fun. Caught a gilmps of our neighborhood deer back there as well (it was dusk at that point). Yes, we have deer in our fair city. Funny, they say they see more deer in town during hunting season than out in the woods. In one yard I counted an even dozen one evening. We have bear mosey on thru our neighborhood every so often. A couple years ago, there was a pesky mama that really gave the DNR a run for the money. She kept avoiding the live traps they set up. It was October and everyone in our area couldn't figure out what happened to all the pumpkins that lined the street on doorsteps and driveways. Weeeeellllll. Looked out one morning to the sight of Mama bear chowing away and baby across the street. My dog didn't care for that at all and watched out my bedroom window - just had a fit LOL. The DNR caught them first week in November in a live trap next block over - re-located them 100 miles north and do you know she was back last summer??? They had tagged her and she transmitted back by us. I didn't see her but my neighbor watched her take a nap in my back yard one day. She's about 350lbs they figure - oh, and a black bear. Never did catch her last summer. I think she holed up not to far from my home in a vacant lot with a "cave" dug in the side of the hill. DNR hasn't picked up anything as of late. We'll see. Raccoons are a rather big nusance but fortunately for me I live in a "clean" neighborhood. I did have a sick one decide to camp out in my garage for a day or so. I'd been camping and was putting stuff away when I found it. Looked rabid. I called the Police and the DNR but you know nobody ever showed up??? They didn't believe me when I said it was sick. they said to leave the garage door open and it'd leave when it was ready. I was steamed!!! The poor thing was blind sick - any idiot could have figured that out by looking at it. We have quite a few small children not to mention pets in our neighborhood and I was so afraid someone would get bitten. It did wander in the vacant lot at the edge of a neighboor's friends yard next block over and did die. A bunch of us got together and burned it. I felt bad but nobody wanted to take a chance on a child or pet finding it and "playing" with it. I think my neighbor and I dug a hole a good 6 feet just to be sure and scrapped a good foot of the ashes and surrounding dirt into that hole. See, even us "urbanites" have adventures LOL.

I made that huge pot of hamburger/veggie soup. Turned out excellent if I say so myself. I brought some in for the RN I'm working with tonite. She loved it. I told her I'd can a couple pints for her. She loves soup and her husband doesn't care much for it.

Weekend plans are spring cleaning and getting at those gutters if it warms up enough. I've got my peat pellets soaking and will plant the pear tomatoes tomorrow. Will start soaking other seeds this weekend. Most folks don't dare planting much of anything until last week of May, early June. Just too easy to get hit with a good freeze. I also have the pleasure of babysitting my 5 week old niece Saturday night. I can't wait. We've bonded so nicely. She knows my voice and loves to sleep on my lap. It'll be a much needed relaxing evening. They live way out in a quiet area about 13 miles from me. They also have cable - nice treat for me as I only get 2 local stations on a good day. I refuse to pay $79/month for basic service. I'll bring a book to read too.I may make my brother some cookies since I'm in a baking mood with no oven yet. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate my toaster oven, but you can only bake on so big of pan that you can only fit so many cookies or some such on. I'll also make "Milk Bones" for Taffy. She's very low on those treats. Shoot, I forgot the recipe. Sorry, I'll do a search and see if I can find it.

Ok, how wrong is this. One of the Paramedics came in and said it's snowing. Apparently we're suppose to get a couple inches. So much for the gutters!

Well, have a great weekend everyone. Stay safe and healthy. Grab a warm fuzzie on your way out and thanks for stopping.