Goldies!
last update: 01/19 @ 17:19

The goldfinches have discovered the Bird Buddy.

They just came back to the feeders a couple of days ago and we think we have gang of 7 now.

The woodpecker has also made a couple appearances lately, but so far not at the Bird Buddy when it’s ready to photograph.

And the most fun, interesting, impressive return is one of the Cooper’s Hawks, but it flew off before I could get a decent picture. Before I spooked it, it was on the porch railing (as it has been before).

I’m sure that explains why the bird seed is lasting a little longer this week and why we’ve seen a bit less of the birds.

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Back on the Potomac
last update: 01/13 @ 23:18

It was a little it higher (around 3 feet on the gauge) today; just over 50 degrees. And no ice to be seen; I’ll take it :)

I saw a surprising number of other boaters out today (including Robert Gue, from Asseteague) — pretty much all in dry suits, which made me feel a little under dressed. But I stayed conservative and just played around a bit in the sun.

12 months in a row with at least one day per month on the Potomac. I had fun and feel good about being able to get out on the river.

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I really miss precedented times
last update: 01/11 @ 17:06

Sarah and I added our voices and faces to this afternoon’s anti-ICE protest in Alexandria (again). It really is appalling to see what can happen in our country. I wish I felt like there was more I could control about the actions our government is taking; supporting and voting (for sane politicians who seem to understand the Constitution) does not seem like enough.

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Not Kansas
last update: 01/11 @ 11:07

We just came back from a Celebration of Life for David’s Aunt Betty in Phoenix. While there, we did a bit of hiking around in the desert. It was a beautiful, memory filled time and there are more photos in the trips section.

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Christmas photos
last update: 01/10 @ 14:08

We had a trip right after Christmas (more on that later) and so I’m a bit late in posting Christmas photos. It was a very nice, mellow, family-focused holiday in Alexandria. More photos in the trips section.

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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
last update: 01/01 @ 11:47

The Christmas present that cried wolf:

Panzer did his job keeping all mice still. And we had a lovely Christmas at home.

However, the flu hit the next day and we’ve been slowly recovering for the last week. Fortunately, with all of us vaccinated, the flu has been only bad, not the super terrible that is making the news.

But back to crying wolf: I saw a news story which convinced me it really would be good to have a NOAA weather radio and so both Sarah and Robert got these Midland radios under the tree.

We might have taken heed when the alarms went off and the lights started to strobe the morning after Christmas. It seemed to be a test of the emergency broadcast system.

But we did not take heed, we took that as a sign that the emergency function works well.

However, we did not need to be alerted to the snow squalls in the foothills to the west of us at 3:00 this morning (as we were tucked into our cozy beds and getting the sleep needed to recover from the flu).

Nor did we need to know about the special marine warning at 4:15am.

So now, the radio is quiet, with the battery (which seems pretty beefy) removed. And we’ll have to think about when we want to be more aware of weather emergencies and when we think sleep is preferable to knowing what might be happening outside and unlikely to impact us.

It is reassuring to know the emergency function works, and it’s plenty loud and flashy to wake us up.

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