Of cloudy days

It can’t be sunny all the time and sometimes a little rain must
fall. Last night the family was at the hospital as my brother
recieved last rights, he was taken off life support, and he
breathed his last.

I remembered the good times as he slipped away and will miss
him more than he would know. Now, it’s all over but the crying
and I have to believe he’s in a better place. Goodbye John.

This is short but my mind is elsewhere. We’ll get back to a
semblance of normality tomorrow. Or at least as close as we’re
able.

Enjoy our Friday.
Comments are always welcome.

Advertisements

Just another day…

Here on our part of the east coast of Iowa we just got some
rain and the foxtails cried. Well, they didn’t actually cry but
the drop of water at the bottom made it look like they did. We
are in a drought area so any rain is appreciated about now.

Even this feral cat looked sad, and dusty. Not sure what he was
rolling around in but he wasn’t his usual sharp dressed self.
The feral cats came out in bunches yesterday which made me think
they must have been looking for food before the rains came.

This little guy was sitting on the edge of the alley waiting
for the bigger cats to finish eating so he could get his turn
and looked clean as a whistle while doing it. Being feral cats
they don’t let us get too close, except for mama cat. She stays
so close I can’t get a picture.

Even the birds came out to play before the rain and this bunch
seemed to be having a good time landing then taking off from a
nearby oak tree. They got acrobatic at times which made it fun
to watch.

Later we’re told some storms will pass through that hopefully
help bring some moisture back to lawns and trees. The grass is
still green but it almost crunches when you walk on it like
after a frost in the winter.

There were more critters but I figured that spider pictures
shouldn’t be posted too often and possums just look too strange
in others. So enjoy our Thursday as Friday is only a dream away.
Now for some coffee and leftover pizza to keep my
strength up.
Comments are always welcome.

A short update

I left the hospital yesterday evening and came home to this
sight in the western sky. Some may say it is an ominous looking
sight while I think it was a nod from our God telling us that
everything is going to be fine.

Arising at 5 am once again, minus the burglar alarm going off,
it felt like it would be a good day. The wife broke her fever,
her blood pressure was coming back up, and she had been awake
for 22 hours when I came home.

We’d like to thank everyone for the kind words and prayers as
they mean a lot to us. The wife didn’t want a Chaplain to come
visit as she felt she wasn’t that bad off. So here shortly,
after the critters are fed, I’ll go find out how the wife is
doing.

It’s looking like we’re going to have storms for the next 3
days along with the return of higher temperatures so be careful
out there.

Enjoy our Thursday as I know we will. Now I need more coffee
before feeding and watering the critters and visiting the wife.
Comments are always welcome.

More distractions

Yesterday I did more yard work than I have since October and
when I put the tools away the sun was going down. Then I went
into the kitchen to eat and attend Cowboy Church on RFD-TV
while scarfing down supper.

Since I managed to sneak a few pictures yesterday and shoot a
few today it’s time to share. The bird above has a disappointing
name, at least to me. It is a house finch. When I looked it up
I expected something like crimson crested variegated tolanger or
some such regal sounding name.

The cardinals were out and some were brightly colored instead
of drab winter coloration.

A brown thrasher was in the thick bushes again and we managed
a shot of that elusive critter. And I thought blue jays were
skittish.

Today some white American pelicans did a flyover and it was
something to see. Hard to believe these birds have a 9 feet
wingspan.

When I looked in on this tulip last night it was all closed
up and my thought was the party is over. Imagine my surprise
went I went out this morning and discovered it was only taking
a break.

Enjoy or Monday as it’s looking to be a great day here on the
east coast of Iowa. Now for some more coffee and a bag of
Donettes.
Comments are always welcome.

Interesting days

Lately there hasn’t been much going on with the wildlife in our
area, and that makes it hard to get pictures of the critters.
Yesterday it got busy and the neighborhood had more than its
share so we’ll show you a few now.

The squirrels were in the bird seed again but it looks like a
new bunch have taken over. At least they are easier to scare off
so the birds can get some.

049.jpg

A few crows have been squawking and fly around but haven’t been
in our neighborhood, until yesterday. This is a bigger bird that
makes enough noise to get your attention. It was something to
see them in flight.

071.jpg

072.jpg

And I finally saw my first robin of the year. So on top of
getting a few pictures we now know spring is getting close.

089.jpg

The cardinals came back around after being missing for a few
days. Always good to see them around.

112.jpg

Finally, the fireworks went off in the western sky again last
night and I got some pictures of that also. Here are just a
few examples of what that was like but the pictures don’t really
do it justice.

132.jpg

139.jpg

142.jpg

Yes, I was outside most of the day, had a great time, and even
got these pictures to share. Enjoy our Thursday as we won’t see
another until next week. Now I’ll get some coffee and grab my
camera.
Comments are always welcome.

More non-news

Today students walked out of schools across our nation to
demonstrate for gun safety. The talking head network news person
made that clear at the beginning of a ‘Breaking News” segment.
They said the walkouts were about gun safety and had nothing to
do with gun control.

Yeah, I’ll trust them about as far as I can fling them. It does
smell fishy though as it did when ‘global warming’ turned into
‘climate change’. We’re not buying the bull they’re shipping.
While it is commendable to see kids getting involved in
something we think it would be nice if that involved seeking the
truth before blindly following others.

Since I haven’t been following this it does beg the question;
gun safety for whom? Are they advocating gun safety classes for
potential shooters or gun safety for all the kids who are
opposed to guns? I admit to being confused.

It also has my inquiring mind wanting to know what’s really
going on behind the scenes they don’t want us to hear about. The
dog and pony show had gone for long enough. How about someone
come up with a solution.

If nobody is talking solutions, nothing is being done about the
problem. Plus all the hot air from all the speeches may just
contribute to our planet heating up. Enjoy our Wednesday as a
day without an ‘r’ is as good as any with one.
Comments are always welcome.

Bird day

The high temperature today almost reached my age and I just had
to get outside again and enjoy the east coast of Iowa. So I
checked out any critters flying about. This cardinal perched on
a branch and tried to figure me out.

After watching her watching me I looked up to find 2 flocks of
geese heading north. I took that as a good sign that perhaps
winter is almost behind us and spring is getting closer.

Then imagine my surprise when a huge flock of American White
pelicans flew overhead. There were too many to count and they
got here earlier this year. They were headed east, but hey,
they’re here. As always, you can click on the pictures to
enlarge them.

And finally, after these huge birds were done flying over a
bird of prey decided to take over the airspace. I believe it’s
some sort of hawk but not sure.

So I spent the day outside, missed all automated calls, and got
to relax. I’m working on figuring out how to get the coffee pot
to work while walking around outside. Perhaps a power inverter
and a small cart.

Some may call it wasted time, or avoiding work, but in my case
it’s therapy. No matter my mood, when the camera is in my hand
and a few pictures snapped I’m smiling. Having a nice day to
take pictures is an added blessing.

Enjoy our Tuesday as it has been a great one here.
Comments are always welcome.