Scattered Seed

There was something different about the neighborhood today. We heard no lawn mowers. I thought of this, as our lawn needing mowing, not having been touched in almost two weeks. George went off to the gas station late morning, to fill my car, and just one little gas can, $55. It’s so obvious why the lawn mowers around here are idle. Usually it’s a steady buzz on a Saturday. He mowed with the rider and the push mower, just finishing as a thunderstorm came in. Now we will see how long we can go before doing that again.

We spent the day quietly. I caught up with some blogs I like to read, did some chores around the house, and sat down to read a chapter of a book I bought at the used book sale last month.

I took inventory of our food supplies, and checked out some new recipes I would like to try. Today’s newspaper said that food prices are up 5.1% over a year ago. My paycheck has remained the same for the past five years, so more home cooking is in order. It’s so easy to eat out when I have come home tired from work. Tonight George cooked some pork ribs on the grill, we had leftover potatoes, and a carrot-broccoli-cauliflower mix.

Between the day’s rains, we have been out tending to the bird bath and feeders. We hung a new peanut feeder, but found that an acrobatic squirrel was jumping up from the ground to it, so that was moved, along with its baffle.

There was an abundance of birds through the day, but most consistently I see the young house finches that just sit as a group on the tray of the nyjer feeder, and consume the seeds that collect there.

We both came straight home from work tonight, to meet with our contractor. I call him our contractor, as he renovated our kitchen two years ago, and we decided then, that we would call on him for future home improvement projects. As the kids have left home, we have been doing a project at a time – the laminate floor, a new roof, our deck, a new furnace, our kitchen. This year we will concentrate on the bathroom. We have lived in the house twenty-two years, and it’s time.

Mr. B. came and listened to our wish list, took measurements, and gave us some suggestions. We want a new tub/shower, toilet, vanity and sink, paint, and floor tile. I was concerned that we would have to make some quick decisions, but his schedule is full, and it will be September before he can begin. That is fine with us, as it will give us time to chose styles and colors. We also need time to figure out how we will spend five days without access to our one and only bathroom.

It will be an adventure.

Wow. It was so hot yesterday, it was almost uncomfortable. The temperature rose to 86. I wore shorts, and a short-sleeved shirt. When we headed out this morning, it felt muggy, and it seemed it would be another warm day. By the time I left work at 4:30, it was downright chilly, and I wished I had a jacket. The temperature had dropped 32 degrees in twenty-four hours. I closed up the windows, and pulled on a sweatshirt. It was a good evening to watch the birds from indoors.

The first sighting I had when I returned home, was the killdeer, flying through the side yard. A crow was overhead and it seemed the killdeer was trying to chase it away from the babies. I finally saw all three of them again. They have been hanging out near the road, which would cause me much anxiety if I was their mother. They walk back and forth across the pavement, and fortunately we have very little traffic on the circle. We were worried when we hadn’t seen them for a few days, so I’m glad they are alright.

Here is a picture of my first hummingbird of the season. We hung the fuschia over the weekend, and it came to the deck soon after. I happened to have my camera set up right as it first appeared.

I’ve noticed several scruffy little house finches, which I assume are the young ones. They seem fearless when I watch them from the window, and four or five of them will sit on the base of the nyjer feeder and nibble on the seeds, not minding the overcrowding.

Of course there are the red-winged blackbirds, a cardinal, a song sparrow, the downy, the house sparrows, a few goldfinches, a grackle or two, an occasional blue jay, the crows, and the cute little chipping sparrows.

It was supposed to rain today, with a front moving through mid-afternoon. We thought we would head up to The Windmill (a farm and craft market) to walk around and see what was new this year, and get back home before the rains came. My niece has a booth there where she is selling items that she and her husband have made, so we checked that out and came home with a little bear for out front.

We bought our lunch of chicken barbecue, and enjoyed that at a shaded picnic table with my sister. By the time we headed home, the sun was beating down, and the temperature had risen to the mid-80’s.

There was no sign of rain when we returned home, but we could feel a change in the air. As a precaution, we tied up the canopy to save it from the winds, and brought the fuschia indoors so it wouldn’t take a beating. The clouds gathered, and the air cooled a little, but the rains passed to the north of us, and it turned out to be a pretty nice day.

What a perfect day we had. We headed out to the cemetery in the morning, our trunk full of flowers. We spent a bit of time in both Ithaca and Interlaken, tidying up grave sites, placing our flowers, and taking a moment to remember each person who had an influence on our lives.

It was lunchtime when we finished up, so I suggested we head over to Cayuga Lake Creamery nearby. We drove over, and had our lunch, followed by the ice cream. George ordered the pistachio, REAL pistachio. The owner came out and visited with us on the deck. We shared our sighting of baltimore orioles in the trees there, and she shared that they import their pistachio paste from Italy. We will definitely stop back!

On through Trumansburg, with a quick stop at my niece’s, then on to Treman State Park.

A great blue heron swooped down across the roadway just in front of us as we drove in, obviously headed for the creek. Hiking through the woods, we saw tent caterpillers in abundance, seemingly dripping from the trees. Birds were harder to find, as the park was busy with people and dogs. George, ever watchful for oddities on our nature walks, spotted this mushroom, which we haven’t been able to identify yet.

After a couple of hours, we called it a day, and reluctantly headed back home. It was the kind of day we wished didn’t have to end.

It’s Saturday of the long weekend, and George decided we would put up the canopy on the deck this morning. Things were moving right along, as he has worked out a system for erecting it in a timely matter. However, when he started to open the canopy itself, we heard a RIP, and it was a good ninety-degree tear in the fabric. Last year we had troubles too, requesting a replacement after a tear developed. We hoped to get at least another year from this one. So, we did a little mending job, and the canopy is up, but we’ll have to wait and see whether it will last the season. I enjoy it so much, as it allows our fair skin a break from the summer sun, and we can be on the deck more often. It’s also an excellent place to sit and watch the birds.

We had our picnic dinner out back, pork and vegetable kabobs, long grain and wild rice, deviled eggs, and lemonade. For dessert I made a lemon poppyseed loaf, as a treat. I rarely bake for the two of us anymore, and since it was so yummy, it reminded me of why I shouldn’t bake anymore.

I asked George to take my camera out back, and see if he could get a picture of the new house sparrows. I had stood on tiptoe, and could barely see them.

We’ve noticed the adult killdeer still scoots around the neighbor’s backyard, but it has been a couple of days since we have seen any of the little ones, and we hope nothing has happened to them.

It is still staying pretty cool as we come to the last part of May. I even turned the furnace on earlier this week, the house just felt so cold and damp. George asked if I was interested in going to the drive-in tonight, and that didn’t appeal to me with the chill in the air. Maybe another night this long weekend.

We played quite the waiting game today, not the way one would wish to spend a day off. First, we headed to Binghamton to the car dealership. The check-engine light had been coming on again, so George wanted a re-check. How frustrating, and we still don’t know if they are going to take care of it. We stopped in Apalachin on the way back, had our lunch at the diner, which is always a good meal, and enough that we could eat lightly for dinner. Our next wait was at the eye doctor’s. It was a busy place today, and it took awhile before I was called back to be fitted for my new glasses.

We finally arrived home about four o’clock. I was anxious to get out in the yard (the sun was shining by this time), and see how things are going and growing. First, I checked the two nest boxes. The bluebirds and tree swallows had lost out on both counts to the house sparrows. The baby house sparrows, their beaks just visible, their voices barely audible, occupy both boxes at opposite sides of the yard. I filled the birdbath, and feeders, then took a walk around the yard to check the little trees, which are all doing well. The hollyhock are coming up, the iris, the clematis. I planted a few sunflower seedlings that had sprouted in planters on the deck. Wednesday before he left, Albert gave us a fuschia which I am anxious to hang up. The hummingbirds are sure to love it.

I don’t feel that I accomplished very much today, but the break from work was needed. It was a nice day for a drive (although gas went to 4.07), and the time spent in the yard was relaxing.

We were on our way to Ithaca soon after George and I arrived home from work. The bus to New York City was leaving at 6:45. Morgan and Albert are currently en route to Port Authority, and I will listen for the little door chime on my cell phone about midnight, that will be the text message saying they have arrived safely.

It was a pretty drive to Ithaca, with blue skies off to one side, and dark skies on the other. As we arrived at the intersection in Alpine, there was  a bright rainbow crossing the road in front of us, as though it was making a bridge for us to pass under.   It took our breath away,  to suddenly see it after rounding the curve,  and Morgan and I pulled out our cameras to see if we could capture it.

We had our quick dinner at Moe’s Southwestern Grill, where Albert was able to try out his new bottle-opener hat, amazing us with his dexterity.

All too soon we were making our way to the bus station, where Morgan and I have shared numerous goodbye hugs. Albert got a heart-felt one too.    It was such a pleasure to have them both here with us,  a chance for us to get to know Albert,  and to enjoy the light and laughter they share.

We’ve been enjoying company the past couple of days. Morgan and friend, Albert, have come up from the city. They arrived in Ithaca yesterday afternoon, and return to New York tomorrow evening. It’s a little getaway for them, and a nice treat for us. Since George and I have had to work while they are here, we have had indoor picnics to celebrate our evenings together – grilled chicken last night, and london broil on the grill this evening. Of course, Morgan doesn’t participate in our meat-eating, so we have had other picnic foods like potato salad, baked beans, fruit salad, vegetable kabobs. It would have been nice to have our picnics outdoors, but it has been cold and damp since they arrived.

They are off visiting friends tonight, but I have put a rhubarb crisp in the oven for them to enjoy when they get in.

The cats have found Morgan’s suitcase to be the most pleasant resting spot. It would appear that Picasso is entertaining thoughts of a return trip to the city…….but if you ask me, she’ll think twice about it.

It rained most of the day, but that was okay, because we had a lot to do indoors. I finished up my cleaning chores this morning, then we went grocery shopping in the afternoon. Laundry was a never-ending chore, as I caught up with afghans and bedding. Finally a break seemed in order, so we sat down to our Netflix movie, and about halfway into it, the sun came out. It still remained cool, I’m not even sure if the temperature ever reached 50. I have turned on the furnace once in the past week, just because it was so damp in the house, but I’ve resisted that today. Instead, we each had a cup of cocoa, with marshmallows, for a warm-up.

Even with the windows closed, I can hear the killdeer. I saw the adult, patrolling our side yard, as we headed out to the store. This morning as I came back in from the feeders, there were three little killdeer scurrying about the neighbor’s backyard. It’s a trick to keep track of them, they are so small and the grass gives them good cover.