Scattered Seed

It’s quiet here tonight.   Morgan and Albert caught a bus back to the city late this afternoon,  and we sent them off with wishes for safe travel.   The roads are not good tonight,  with rain, sleet,  and snow mix.   Garrett is staying over,  and will head back towards Buffalo in the morning.   I think he’s doing that for my benefit more than anything.   I would worry the full three hours it would take him to drive home on treacherous roads.

Despite the busy-ness of last minute cooking and visiting,  I managed to keep track out back for the few bird visitors who stopped by on this Feederwatch day.    House finches,  house sparrows,  mourning doves,  chickadees,  a few juncos, and a hairy woodpecker were the only birds to stop by.    I threw some seed on the crusted snow at one point,  so that I wouldn’t have to walk out on our slippery deck.   They seemed to appreciate that.

The pumpkin pie is just out of the oven,  the cranberry pie is set aside, and the chocolate pie’s in the freezer.    Pumpkin bread is thawing,  as is the 16 lb. turkey.

Tonight we are all gathered in the livingroom watching Wall-E,  the video.    Garrett is curled up on the floor with Martha.  Morgan is snuggled under the granny square afghan.  Albert doesn’t seem to mind the chill of this cold November night.

It’s so nice to have them here.

That’s me.

The house is cleaned,  the food’s in the cupboard/freezer/refrigerator,  and we are ready.   Morgan and Albert are en route by bus from New York City,  and Garrett headed out from Orchard Park about a half hour ago.     All three should arrive about midnight.

It’s hard to be a mom and wait while your kids are traveling.

This is what I’ve done this evening to keep busy.

Carrot cake to celebrate birthdays…..Morgan’s day was last week, Albert’s was two days ago.    Even if I fall asleep before everyone arrives,  there will be food to greet them.

I had the day off,  needing to ready the house for Thanksgiving.   I cooked and cleaned and caught up with the laundry.   George mopped the floors, cleaned the ceiling fans, and carted off some extra stuff to the Salvation Army.   At the end of the day, it seemed a good day’s work was done.   I think we can relax now and look forward to having company.

Not wanting to waste a weekday’s bird activity,  I peeked out back as often as I could.   Here are some of the visitors.

This house finch appears to have eye disease.

The daily squirrel count seems to be three.   This one scurried to the top of the tree,  and stayed there for the longest time.

Late afternoon the snow started.

Five juncos took turns at the tray feeder,  poking around in the new snow to get to the sunflower seeds.

It’s still snowing lightly,  as we settle in for the evening.

This was the third weekend of the season to count for Project Feederwatch.   I usually do my counts on Saturdays and Sundays,  as I’m not around during daylight hours during the week.   I never know what birds have been frequenting my feeders Mondays through Fridays,  so the weekends can bring surprises.    In my feeders I have suet,  peanuts,  nyjer,  sunflower seed,  cracked corn and millet.

The weekend  visitors included:   5 mourning dove,  26 house finch. 3 dark-eyed junco,  2 black-capped chickadee,  6 house sparrow,  1 blue jay,  2 American crow,  1 downy woodpecker,  1 American goldfinch,  and 2 white-breasted nuthatch.   Truthfully,  I should add 2 squirrels,  who make it a point to stock up for the winter.

No pictures today,  as I replaced my camera with cleaning supplies.   I’m pretty good at cleaning my kitchen and tidying the bedroom,  while keeping an eye on the backyard feeders.    We’re getting the house in order for Thanksgiving visitors.

Today we traveled to Auburn to celebrate Dad’s day.   It was a day to be mindful of the weather,  as we had heard that heavy snows were occurring up north.     There was very little snow to be seen when we first started out.

Forty-five minutes north,   as we neared my sister’s house,  we could see that they had some accumulation, but nothing to worry about at that point.

Cheryl joined us for the drive up to Dad’s.   We made a stop for supplies in Seneca Falls,  then headed on to Auburn.   It was especially pretty driving past Montezuma,  with a new snow stuck to the tree branches.

When we arrived at Dad’s, the parking lot and sidewalks were covered,  which made us think that their snowfall was recent.    Cheryl and I both regretted not wearing boots as we made our way to the front door of the apartment building.   As soon as we were inside and had our coats off,  we heard the plow go through.

The apartment was warm and cozy,  with the smell of a stromboli,  that Evelyn had made,  just out of the oven.   Kathy arrived and we all sat down to a nice lunch.

It was nice to get together and enjoy good food and good company.

Our special gift to Dad this year was not really available to give to him.   A few months ago Cheryl,  Kathy,  and I ordered a brick to be engraved and installed in the courtyard at the Sampson Naval Museum,  where he received his basic training.     The brick was placed a couple of weeks ago,  but the museum is officially closed for the season.   Cheryl made an appointment to get in for a picture this past week,  and assembled a collage, which we presented to him for the time being.

For now,  it is near winter,  too cold,  and we will think towards a spring day when we can all get together and see the brick in person.

This is the scene of the long road home,  on a very cold night.   Temperature 15 degrees.

Dad has always told us that,  when my mother died,  he prayed that he would live long enough to see his girls to adulthood.   Cheryl was fourteen at the time,  Kathy was four,  and I was eight.

It was a difficult time for all of us,  but especially for Dad,  as he juggled extra jobs and single parenting.   He never skipped a beat,  always there for us,  always encouraging and supportive.    He was the constant in our ever-changed lives,  and I considered him my hero.

I’ve heard other fathers described as strict and unapproachable,  but that was not my Dad.     He was guided by a most generous heart that allowed us to grow and change,  and become the adults we turned out to be.    We tested our wings,  sometimes we failed,  but there was never any question that he would be there wherever and whenever we landed.

Dad’s prayer was answered.   He now has grandchildren and great grandchildren,  and today he turns 81 years old.

Happy birthday Dad!    Thank you for all your love through the years……

Our snow has arrived.   It has been pretty watching it fall and add up slowly.

I am not a big fan of the cold,  but I love the first snows.    My mind wanders back to my childhood and the holidays,  a good feeling of warmth and closeness with family.

At this time of year,  I appreciate my automatic car starter, and our programmable thermostat which warms the house before we return home in the evening.   Flannel sheets are especially nice,  as are long nightgowns,  heavy bathrobes and warm slippers.  Add to that fuzzy sweaters,  crocheted afghans, and a warm cup of cocoa,  and I’m set for the winter.

I am thinking this cold November morning, of another cold November Monday,  twenty-eight years ago,  when you came into our lives.    Our world has never been the same……

Happy Birthday Morgan!

We finished up our electricity challenge today.  Two days of normal usage,  followed by two days of cutting back.  Rhonda,  at Down to Earth suggested the challenge,  and we gladly signed on to see how we would do.

We used 28 kilowatts during the first two days.    With a little dedication,  and a lot of mindful moments,  we cut our usage to 23 kilowatts during the next two days.

I thought we might do better than this,  but we already had many saving principles established.   A couple of years ago we changed all of our light bulbs over to compact fluorescents,  and that saved us about $20 a month easily.

Even 2.5 kilowatts a day was rewarding though.   That equals $2.45 a week,  or $10.50 a month, or $126 a year.

Some of the efforts we made to reduce our usage:

Turned off lights not in use

Listened to the radio instead of the TV

Hung clothes on wooden racks to dry

Unplugged laptop and phone chargers

Turned off the computer printer

Cooked a meal in the crockpot

Ate dinner by candlelight