Hello There

During the summer, I tried to keep this bird feeder filled. But I got busy and couldn't find the seed I'd purchased and stored away where it wasn't in the way. My bad memory. I hid it too well, at least from myself. When I found it in early December, it was three-quarters gone; gone to mice which I was sure I'd eradicated and prohibited from getting into the house. One bag had been completely emptied and the other bag was half full. I dumped it on top of the stump where I put the squirrel blocks.

There was an after-Christmas sale at Ace Hardware so I bought another bag to attempt a refill. There was reasonably nice weather right after Christmas so I didn't need a lot of heavy clothing to refill the feeder. It took 3 days for the vermin to figure out it was filled.

Now the reason the windows are foggy is because the guy who does my lawn is also studying to be an HVAC technician as well as lawn maintenance and landscaping. He offered to clean the furnace because it's something he's studying. He noticed the humidifier part; which was why I bought the furnace in the first place; wasn't working. No, it hasn't but the quote to fix it was hundreds of dollars and I was kind of okay without it. He had his instructor come look and diagnose the problem. Then, he bought the part and fixed the furnace for minimal mark-up. He's going to use me as a reference, which I'm happy to provide because this guy is great.

The humidifier part works great, but points out just how bad my ancient windows are. At the time of this photo, I hadn't covered this window with an insulator kit. Still, this provided the kitten with amusement.

The squirrels haven't completely cleaned out the seed, but I don't think they like all of it. The birds haven't discovered this and you can see one of the suction cups on the right side came loose. I will be filling this again. I fully expect to come home some time this winter and find the thing on the ground. I have another suction cup feeder which just doesn't survive squirrels landing on it. I need to get a step ladder so I can put it where I think they won't get to it; where it's visible to the cats; and where it's not a chore to fill.

Squirrel TV is the best.

Beverage:  Assam

Deb

Spring Has Arrived

It started with the crocus at the beginning of the month.

They weren't up and then, suddenly, they were up and blooming. It's been a gradual warm up with 70 degree days and then back into the 50's. It's like a spring I remember from years ago. It's way too dry, but things are blooming.

There's the dogwood in the neighbor's yard.

When the breeze kicks up a bit, it showers the ground with pink.

There's a couple tulips in the back.

I need to spend time clearing this out. Now that the mulberry that was back there is gone, I can get into the area and clear, at least, that's what I tell myself I'll do.

I washed some of the windows today.

I have a dozen windows around the house. I washed the insides of four of them. I'll do more in batches. I must remember to pace myself; decide which project I will tackle and break it into smaller steps; rest and move on to the next step.

While washing the windows, I saw this.

I'm going to need to pull this. It doesn't belong where it's at. But, the green shoots are another indication that spring is coming.

You can't really say geese in the parking lot at work is a harbinger of spring since geese tend to be around all year. But we usually don't see them at any time other than spring. They were around for only a day and have moved on. That's just fine.

Lastly, the windows are open.

There is a lovely light breeze. I don't really have to worry about Pilchard jumping off the deck. She goes out for a bit and then comes in when the outdoor noises spook her. Mija is not at all interested. She's curled up in the recliner. "Outside? Nope. Nope. Is it time for treats, mom?"

Ah spring. After such a cold February and a frosty March, we are ready. Now, if it would just rain.

Beverage:  tea mix

Deb

It's Coming

Next Monday, Autumn begins. There have been changes in the yard to remind me that fall is coming.

It's too chilly at night now to have the windows open. I have to remember to open them before I leave or the house seems close when I come home. Funny how it doesn't feel that way once November comes and I have all the windows covered in plastic. I know some people love it when the night temperatures dip into the 50's. I think good sleeping weather is mid to upper 60's. So, I go around closing windows at night and opening them during the day.

The other thing that's happening is the spiders are coming inside. I came home from work yesterday and decided to open the windows. We've had rain and a threat of it enough that I had been keeping the windows closed. But yesterday, the temperatures were in the 70's and there was not a reason to keep the windows closed, even though I have to shut them at night.

I go to open the living room window and my hand hits a mass of spider webbing. You can see one long strand in the photo but trust me when I say the whole bottom of the window was a mass of thin webbing. I opened the window and then got the broom to remove it. The girls usually sit over by this window because squirrels will go up and down the pine tree just outside it. I wondered why they hadn't been in the window. They didn't want to deal with it either.

And, on Monday, as I was brushing my teeth before bed, I felt something fall into my cleavage. Thinking I had misjudged a glop of toothpaste, I looked down to see a spider crawling across the inside of my pjs.

Now spiders don't necessarily bother me. Their benefit to the outside world in removing harmful insects is well known. If I find one, I usually chase it onto a piece of paper or the fly swatter and drop it outside. The operative word in all of this is "outside". That's where they really need to be and to stay. Crawling across the ceiling of my bathroom and then deciding to drop onto whatever they can find is not my idea of a beneficial insect.

I did not scream but I removed that pair of pajamas in record time. If there ever is a pajama removing contest, sign me up and tell me there is a spider in the top. I saw it later, crawling across the floor. before I could crush it, it darted into the pile of dirty clothes, which included the pajamas. I just scooped the whole pile up and dropped it into the laundry chute. Maybe the weight of clothing, including pairs of jeans, will crush it.

This morning, we had fog, another harbinger, at least in the Midwest, of the arrival of fall.

I don't remember when the last time was this year that weather conditions produced morning fog. I love how it makes the world smell. There were minor delays at the airports because it kind of rolled in unexpectedly but it wasn't that heavy.

We haven't had a heavy, can't see your hand in front of your face type, fog in years. I'm wondering if that's a product of global warming. Conditions are just not right anymore to develop that kind of "peering through waxed paper" fog. The world looks so different when it's foggy. We see more of this as fall approaches.

I need to buy more hot cocoa and some pumpkins and some apples.

Beverage:  Water

Deb

Arriving in 2013

Holding down costs is a major struggle at any company. Mine is just as concerned with expenditures versus intake as any other company. You make do and make do and make do. Sometimes, employees can see cost benefits to spending a few more bucks to upgrade with the knowledge that new can make you more efficient. Maybe there has to be an outlay of a couple thousand dollars for better and more efficient hardware. In the end, the hassles of work-arounds to use the old are just not worth it.

Windows XP has been the operating system of choice through three company IT guys. While I prefer Apple computers, I'd learned my way around the operating system. I'd also learned the quirks of my circa 2007 computer. There were only so many windows I could have open at once before the whole thing froze and I'd have to do a restart. Saving word documents would, on some days, be a hit or miss affair. I had myself trained to save every 15 minutes because the previous 15 minute save might not have happened. I think we all had some virus or malware on our computers in spite of our best efforts to keep them clean. We'd long complained that getting new computers would greatly speed up productivity. But the company didn't want the huge expenditure.

Microsoft sort of forced us to examine our computing capabilities. With the cessation of support for XP, the company had to decide what to do about computers. The decision was to upgrade everyone. I went from this

which had 2 damaged disc drives and a bent front panel that we removed so I could turn the thing on, to this.

We got new keyboards and mice, too. Fast? It's not as fast as my mac at home, but compared to what I was using before, I've gone from a bicycle to a car. The best part is being able to keep multiple windows open and know that my computer won't suddenly crash. The only downside is that the hard drive sits at an angle. I kept the hand soap, the picture Patt made for me and the fake candle on the top of the other drive, since it was flat.

We're using Windows 7 which is just different enough from XP that I still can't quite find all the things I know are on here, but then, I don't use all the mac's bells and whistles. I know what I want or need to do and I can do those things. Perhaps there are faster computers out there, but I'm happy to be computing as one does in 2013. It's a huge step up from 2007.

Beverage:  English Breakfast tea

Deb