The promise of a meteor shower

As I got back from my walk, I remembered that tonight was the night the Leonid meteor shower. I leaned back against my car and looked into the sky. I scanned the heavens not knowing what area to look. Suddenly in the south eastern sky, I saw a flash and a streak of light fall toward the horizon.

With that, and the promise of more, I hurried into the house, grabbed my Snuggie (my mother-in-law gave me one for my birthday)off the couch, turned off the porch lights and tried not to trip as I went down the steps to the yard.

I dragged an Adirondack chair across the lawn and settled in looking toward the south, but with a clear view of the east. The night was more alive with sound than meteors. Dogs barked and I tried to guess which direction they were coming from and who those barking dogs belonged to. The horses were blowing as they worked on the pile of hay I left for them to eat on this chilly night. Tree frogs in the autumn have a different call than in the summer, sort of a click, click, click but with the resonance of a wooden percussion instrument. I smelled Daisy's foul breath as she came over looking for a scritch on the ears. Time for a cleaning, I think to myself. Gatsby, the clumsier of the dogs, knocks into my knees as he comes looking for his pat on the head. Suddenly the two take off barking after some unseen prey. I wait to see if I hear the crashing through the brush that would mean deer were trying to settle in on the long grass out front. I don't hear it so I think it must be a rabbit or something small and quick.

It is quiet for a moment. I see another flash of light in the sky and a long streak of light falling toward the ground. Not bad, I think to myself, two sightings. I wrap the Snuggie around me tighter, and stretch out my arms to catch two furry dogs heads. They are planted under my hands enjoying a good scratch. In the distance I hear a coyote howl, then another joins in. Soon the whole pack is howling and yipping in a frenzy. They must have caught something for dinner. I continue to pet the dogs hoping they don't decide to join in. Soon it is quiet again. Dewey is running around the pasture. The cold must be making him frisky.

I keep scanning the sky for more meteors.

Nothing.

I am getting chilly and sleepy. The dogs trail along eagerly as go back in the house, like I am the meteor and they are my tail disappearing into the house.

Mating Season

rat-a-tat-tat-tat, rat-a-tat-tat-tat. What is that? I thought as I tried to catch a nap while my son watched cartoons in the bedroom. There it goes again! Then a noise that sounded like someone started heavy machinery to tear up concrete. Geez, this is insane!

I rolled out of bed and wandered downstairs to the hubby's office. He had the tunes going and the bass roaring. Ahhhh, that is it. I told him I could hear his bass upstairs. He grinned and nodded in bass heaven.

As I left his office, I heard the heavy machinery again. What was my neighbor doing? I went outside to be nosy. HE was just cutting his lawn. hmmmm.

rat-a-tat-tat-tat, rat-a-tat-tat-tat. There it was again!!

I looked up at the chimney where the noise was coming from. A woodpecker! I waved my arms and he flew away. As I was going back inside, he came back.

rat-a-tat-tat-tat, rat-a-tat-tat-tat

Now I adore woodpeckers. I love the warbly chirp they use to call to each other. I like the chipper red heads. I love that they eat bugs. Did I have termites in my chimney? What had I been paying an exterminator for? Oh yeah, we terminated our service a month ago.

I scared him off again and went up to have my nap. No such luck.

rat-a-tat-tat-tat, rat-a-tat-tat-tat

I opened the window and climbed onto the roof looking for something to throw at him. He hopped around to the other side of the chimney and discovered the chimney cover again.

Bang bang bang...heavy machinery when you are inside. Cymbals when you are outside.

Well the nap was not going to happen. I let the cat out on the roof. He meowed and was curious but the woodpecker was too high to be bothered.

Went outside to weed in the shade. Between weed pulling I was throwing ricks at the chimney. It was enough to scare him away but he always came back. I was starting to see where he was tearing up the trim. I have a bad arm so there is no chance that I would actually hit him. I starting thinking about making a slingshot, something I have not done since I was about 11. Finally after an hour of our feud, he took off.

This morning he was back.

rat-a-tat-tat-tat, rat-a-tat-tat-tat

SIGH

I went online to see what folks have done in my case. I learned that you need a Federal permit to "control" them. They use the hammering to claim territory and attract a mate. They look for things that resonate and carry the sound. Once established, they go back to finding bugs in trees.

My only thought was, "So find a girlfriend already!!"

I got on the roof and scared him away a few more time but it was time to go to work. I needed to get going.

I think I need to buy a fake owl and some rubber snakes to fling onto the roof. Maybe that will help. I truly understand the Woody Woodpecker cartoons now. He was such a pest and knew it!! I am convinced this little guy and his buddy who likes the chimney flashing, know exactly what they are doing. I am just happy I will not hear that laugh.

Runaway feeling

I was coming in this morning from feeding and heard a loud hummmmmmmm. I followed it and saw purple sage was in bloom, thick with purpley pink blossoms. As I got closer, I saw it was also a bee buffet. There were large bumbles, small bumbles, honey bees all over it. The buzzing was amazing. I stepped back to see that many of the blossoms had fallen on the ground creating a pink path through the yard. From under the feathery leaves of the mesquite tree, it looked like a fairy path. I dreamed for a moment that I could walk down that path and enter a new beautiful ethereal world.

I grabbed the camera, captured the scene and went inside.

Later, my son wanted to hear Pat Metheney's "Last Train Home" on the way into work this morning. The song's main groove sounds like a train. I could just image watching the countryside passing by as I looked out the train window.

As the song played I drifted off into my imagination and wondered about running away. Just not going to work. packing some clothes and driving until I saw a place that looked interesting enough to stop and look around. Not taking highways, just back roads through small towns. Not telling my family where I was going, maybe leaving while husband was out of town. I think I'd like to take my son. We would have this adventure together.

I have this fantasy often. I imagine the panic as people try to find me/us. I imagine the peace of having no schedule or responsibilities. Of course I would need money but that is just too practical to dream about.

I need to run away.

It's a Beautiful DAaaayyyyyyyy

I opened the door this morning to surprisingly cool temps. What a difference it makes feeding the horses at 6:15am instead of 7am. They greeted me with a chorus if whinnies, nickers, and Sahil's trademark scream. If I had one more horse, I could have a barbershop quartet. Bailey is the bass, Dewey is the tenor and Sahil the soprano. I just need an alto.

Got them fed and checked for new scrapes or bruises on the young ones. Treated Bailey's thrush with this purple stuff that looks like my pen exploded on my hand. Counted the hay, I have 33 bales left. Since we are having a drought, I need to figure out how to conserve and plan. I have 50 bales on order and I get alfalfa from Rachel's supplier. That should get me through at least 35 weeks.

Finished up and headed back into the house. Saw four roadrunners playing in the side yard. I wondered if it was momma and daddy teaching youngsters how to catch food. I have been seeing 4-5 of them together for a few days now.

Noticed that Daisy was chewing on something on the front lawn. It didn't look like a stick and she looked like she was actually eating something. Upon closer inspection I found that she was in fact eating something. It took me awhile to figure it out but it looked like a rabbit sans head and skin. I kept saying we had fat bunnies and that we should be hunting them. I guess Daisy (the coyote dog) had the same idea. I wondered if this is what the dogs caught when they went out last night at 3:30am.

I went inside and told husband. He noted that we had a Warner Bros. cartoon, except the roadrunners were being left alone by the coyote, who was dining on Bugs Bunny.

Baby birds

We have a bird's nest in a hanging planter by the front porch. I used to water the baskets regularly until one day I watered and a small bird darted out of the basket and angrily twittered at me.

I stopped watering. The basket was too high for me to check everyday without taking it down. I had been curious to see what the bird family was up to.

Yesterday when I got home from work, I got my answer. I saw a tiny baby bird dead on the front walk. I am not sure what got it but it was clearly dead. I buried it nearby not even thinking it came from the hanging basket. I was looking straight up into the oak tree looking for the nest.

I sadly walked up the front porch steps thinking about poor momma bird missing her baby and perhaps poor snake who didn't get his dinner either. Pondering the cruelty of nature, I saw baby bird #2. This one was not dead and was right under the hanging basket. It looked at me blinking its big baby bird eyes. It was pretty ugly. Bald in spots, gray fuzzy feathers in other spots boney and awkward.

Not being sure if it was true that you should not pick up a baby animal because momma will reject it, I looked for a way to get baby back into the nest. I found a magazine insert and an old bubble wand. I carefully scooted the baby bird onto the insert. it pooped in fright.

I got the basket down and saw 2 other babies in the nest, just as ugly, helpless and small. The baby slid off the insert into the nest head first. I was hoping it had enough strength to turn around.

I have been trying to keep an eye on the nest to see if momma has been coming back. I think she has been because the basket swings a bit when it is not windy. I have not heard them peeping though. I hope they do it when I am at work. I hate to think of taking down the basket with 3 dead baby birds in it. Blech.