Thursday, July 30, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
The Patio that finally is!
It took just under 40 hours for our oldest son to install this beautiful patio in our back yard. He sand set it right over the old broken and crumbling cement we put there 32 years ago. It is made of Pennsylvania Blue Stone and is just lovely.
I have been wanting this project to begin for over 4 years and was told over and over again "we'll do it." I guess I finally decided to take the bull by the horns and make it happen. My youngest son and I went to the stone yard to pick up the already ordered stone, and after much planning on how to deliver it to our back yard, finally had it brought out and moved into place.
The stone came on two huge pallets each weighing approximately 3000 lbs. Getting it off of the delivery truck and placed close enough to the patio for ease of access was a challenge. We finally opted for renting a fork lift from a nearby rental store, but wondered how we'd get it to the back yard? The man who delivered the fork lift said to go ahead and run it on the lawn, but expect a few tire tracks. We didn't know whether the side yard would support so much weight, and the fork lift did get stuck at one point, so we hooked a line up to it and attached the other end to the Van and pulled it out. After all was said and done, the fork lift did very little damage to the lawn.
Once the stone was in place, there really was no choice but to get the details worked out and install it. Because our oldest said he'd get the job done by Father's Day, he worked around his day time schedule and made it happen.
We'll be planting some plugs from the already established Pinks, and Ajuga we have scattered in our landscaping around the edge. We think the combination of silver blue foliage and pink flowers of the "Pinks" and the blue flowers and dark foliage of the Ajuga will really look nice together against the backdrop of the stone.
We will be using the patio a lot more..........no one wanted to even get near the old one it was so disgusting......to eat our meals on the table and to rest on our new patio loungers. We may even move our portable fire place to the patio so we can sit at night and be comfy and cozy while we watch the stars above.
Thank you Bobby, Dale, and Mike.
I can't tell you all how pretty it is other than to say it is such a pleasure to walk out the back door onto the deck and see this patio.
Thank you for making Mom happy!
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Happy Spring!
Spring brings much opportunity and much work. We're fortunate that we have what is called an "established landscape", but that doesn't mean it doesn't take a lot of work to maintain.
I find myself outside more and more enjoying the beauty of what we've planted. From tremendous Rhododendron and Azaleas (all of which have some sort of significance attached......a birth, a death, a marriage) to Poppy, Chamelia, Rose and Iris. All of the plants in our bountiful yard have been put there with loving care in hopes that they will thrive. And although I get sore muscles, an aching back and sunburned feet making sure that they do, it is all worth it just so we can enjoy the color these plants bring to our world.
I find myself outside more and more enjoying the beauty of what we've planted. From tremendous Rhododendron and Azaleas (all of which have some sort of significance attached......a birth, a death, a marriage) to Poppy, Chamelia, Rose and Iris. All of the plants in our bountiful yard have been put there with loving care in hopes that they will thrive. And although I get sore muscles, an aching back and sunburned feet making sure that they do, it is all worth it just so we can enjoy the color these plants bring to our world.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Life and death and lessons learned!
I just can't get enough of birds this time of year.
I have 5 nest web cams opened on my computer at once on a normal day and I love watching the babies being born and cared for by their parents. There is much joy in watching these fine adult birds nurture and care for their babies.
Along with the joy comes a bit of sorrow once in awhile. Two weeks ago one of the two eaglets at the Hornby Island nest became "attached" to his mother's underside. The mother Eagle did just about every thing she could do to dislodge "Echo." She bounced and hopped but she could not get him loose. She even took off and flew away for a few minutes, only to return with Echo still attached........a miracle in itself. Out of exhaustion, she dug a deeper hole in the nest and laid down to rest for awhile, when suddenly she got up and took off.
Approximately 100' from the nest, Echo fell.
This nest is 120' up in some kind of coniferous tree on Hornby Island B.C. Needless to say the viewers......myself included.....were stunned, shocked and extremely worried. The owner of the cams lives nearby and was also watching. When he saw what had happened, he rushed to the base of the tree. Echo was lying peacefully and was, as we all feared, dead.
This was a tragic loss of a beautiful eaglet. It took me days and days to overcome my sorrow.
After examination, there is still no explanation as to why Echo was stuck to the underside of his mother. The biologist at the Hancock Wildlife Foundation posted a short note and explained that he had seen a chick become stuck to a nest from a combination of feces and pine pitch, but had never seen it happen in the wild and said he found nothing unusual about this bird. No markings or residue of any kind.
I watched Echo hatch and then struggle to survive his first two weeks on this Earth. He would push his way forward to get his share of food provided when Mom or Dad arrived with one of their tasty offerings of fish, rat, possum or duck. He would peep and make a joyful trilling sound like no other eaglet I'd ever heard. He was tenacious and would do everything a baby Eagle should do. He'd push his tiny little self in closer to a parent when the skies overhead opened up with rain and gusting wind, competing for a warm spot with his sister.
I still mourn for Echo, and I'm so sorry his first and only "flight" was to his death.
Echo is buried in a shallow grave in the garden of a very special man.......Doug Hancock. He was lain to rest between a rhododendron and an azalea in view of the waters of the Straight of Georgia.
A fitting place!
We take risks when watching nature in the raw via web cams, and Echo proved that sometimes things don't go the way we wish they would. He had everything going for him until that tragic and mysterious event unfolded.
Another person on one of the Eagle cam threads posted this video, and I found it to be quite special, so I thought I'd share it with you.
In memory of Echo.
I have 5 nest web cams opened on my computer at once on a normal day and I love watching the babies being born and cared for by their parents. There is much joy in watching these fine adult birds nurture and care for their babies.
Along with the joy comes a bit of sorrow once in awhile. Two weeks ago one of the two eaglets at the Hornby Island nest became "attached" to his mother's underside. The mother Eagle did just about every thing she could do to dislodge "Echo." She bounced and hopped but she could not get him loose. She even took off and flew away for a few minutes, only to return with Echo still attached........a miracle in itself. Out of exhaustion, she dug a deeper hole in the nest and laid down to rest for awhile, when suddenly she got up and took off.
Approximately 100' from the nest, Echo fell.
This nest is 120' up in some kind of coniferous tree on Hornby Island B.C. Needless to say the viewers......myself included.....were stunned, shocked and extremely worried. The owner of the cams lives nearby and was also watching. When he saw what had happened, he rushed to the base of the tree. Echo was lying peacefully and was, as we all feared, dead.
This was a tragic loss of a beautiful eaglet. It took me days and days to overcome my sorrow.
After examination, there is still no explanation as to why Echo was stuck to the underside of his mother. The biologist at the Hancock Wildlife Foundation posted a short note and explained that he had seen a chick become stuck to a nest from a combination of feces and pine pitch, but had never seen it happen in the wild and said he found nothing unusual about this bird. No markings or residue of any kind.
I watched Echo hatch and then struggle to survive his first two weeks on this Earth. He would push his way forward to get his share of food provided when Mom or Dad arrived with one of their tasty offerings of fish, rat, possum or duck. He would peep and make a joyful trilling sound like no other eaglet I'd ever heard. He was tenacious and would do everything a baby Eagle should do. He'd push his tiny little self in closer to a parent when the skies overhead opened up with rain and gusting wind, competing for a warm spot with his sister.
I still mourn for Echo, and I'm so sorry his first and only "flight" was to his death.
Echo is buried in a shallow grave in the garden of a very special man.......Doug Hancock. He was lain to rest between a rhododendron and an azalea in view of the waters of the Straight of Georgia.
A fitting place!
We take risks when watching nature in the raw via web cams, and Echo proved that sometimes things don't go the way we wish they would. He had everything going for him until that tragic and mysterious event unfolded.
Another person on one of the Eagle cam threads posted this video, and I found it to be quite special, so I thought I'd share it with you.
In memory of Echo.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Eagles
I have been watching Eagle cams for 3 years. Thanks to the people at the Hancock Wildlife Foundation thousands of people all over the world are getting the opportunity to view the raising of Bald Eagles. This site is viewed by school children in class, residents in Nursing Homes and just about anyone else who ends up finding the link on line.
I thought I'd post the url here for the enjoyment of everyone who visits my blog.
Just click on "Eagles" below and then on one of the three links at the site and start following the progress of these magnificent animals.
It is especially instructive for little children and big people who still have the imagination they had as a child.
Eagles
I thought I'd post the url here for the enjoyment of everyone who visits my blog.
Just click on "Eagles" below and then on one of the three links at the site and start following the progress of these magnificent animals.
It is especially instructive for little children and big people who still have the imagination they had as a child.
Eagles
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Solitude
I've been busy with all sort of chores and projects this Spring. One of my favorite things to do is get away with friends that I rarely get to see. I recently went to a lovely place in Sequim with a very dear friend for a few days so that we could catch up.
Cindy and I try to get away once a year together. She to get away from the hustle and bustle of a full house and a full time job. I for the pleasure of going somewhere new with a dear friend.
This year we really studied hard and used the Internet to scope out our destination. We chose Sequim because it is close, and we wanted to be near salt water. After doing quite a bit of research we finally decided on Sunset Marine Resort. Our choice of cabins was The Boat House. It was the view out the windows that really clinched the deal.
From every window in the cabin.........which was very beachy, full of antiques, retro eBay purchases, extremely comfortable furniture and a wonderful ambiance was a view of the water. When the tide came in, the water was literally under our cabin because The Beach House has piers for a foundation.....right ON the beach. It was called the Boat House because it was the original boat house for the old Sunset Marine which was the very first marina on Sequim Bay.
We were lucky enough to be able to go mid-week so there were very few people and lots of peace and quiet.
We went to The Three Crabs for a great Captains Plate our first night there, and then chose to spend the rest of our visit at the resort exploring the beach. This beach had more marine life than any other inland beach I'd ever visited.
It was a wonderful experience.....one I'd gladly do again and again.
I highly recommend this wonderful little secret get away.
SunsetMarineResort
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Follow up to Earth Hour
H/T Tim Fowler
Earth Hour, candles and carbon
There's one thing in particular that bothers me about Earth Hour - these people who electric lights and then go and light up candles, and think that they're helping do something about anthropogenic forcing of climate change.
The widespread practice of misguided eco-Luddites turning off their lights for Earth Hour and burning candles as a source of light is grossly misguided and actually contributes to increased carbon dioxide emissions.
Yes, I know candles are nice and romantic - but you're taking paraffin wax, in the form of a candle, and burning it, very inefficiently, at a low temperature. This stuff is pure hydrocarbon - it's a heavy alkane fraction distilled straight off crude oil. This stuff is getting so scarce that nations are prepared to go to war just to secure it, remember?
A candle flame burns at a low temperature - so it's a thermodynamically very inefficient source of energy - and most of the energy released in a candle is wasted as heat, anyway.
Even if 80% of your electricity comes from coal and fossil fuel fired power stations, as it does in Australia, burning candles is very polluting and certainly very greenhouse gas and carbon dioxide emissions intensive, even more so than electric lighting...
...Therefore, for every candle that is burned to replace electric lighting during Earth Hour, greenhouse gas emissions over the course of the one hour are increased by 9.6 g of carbon dioxide.
If the light output from a 40 W light bulb was to be completely replaced by candles, this will lead to the emission of an extra 295 grams of carbon dioxide per over simply using the electric lights - if the equivalent of one thousand 40 W bulbs are replaced by candles, that's an extra 295 kilograms of CO2 emitted.
In places where a greater proportion of the electricity supply is generated by nuclear energy or hydroelectricity, this increase in greenhouse gas emissions is even larger.
Link
Earth Hour, candles and carbon
There's one thing in particular that bothers me about Earth Hour - these people who electric lights and then go and light up candles, and think that they're helping do something about anthropogenic forcing of climate change.
The widespread practice of misguided eco-Luddites turning off their lights for Earth Hour and burning candles as a source of light is grossly misguided and actually contributes to increased carbon dioxide emissions.
Yes, I know candles are nice and romantic - but you're taking paraffin wax, in the form of a candle, and burning it, very inefficiently, at a low temperature. This stuff is pure hydrocarbon - it's a heavy alkane fraction distilled straight off crude oil. This stuff is getting so scarce that nations are prepared to go to war just to secure it, remember?
A candle flame burns at a low temperature - so it's a thermodynamically very inefficient source of energy - and most of the energy released in a candle is wasted as heat, anyway.
Even if 80% of your electricity comes from coal and fossil fuel fired power stations, as it does in Australia, burning candles is very polluting and certainly very greenhouse gas and carbon dioxide emissions intensive, even more so than electric lighting...
...Therefore, for every candle that is burned to replace electric lighting during Earth Hour, greenhouse gas emissions over the course of the one hour are increased by 9.6 g of carbon dioxide.
If the light output from a 40 W light bulb was to be completely replaced by candles, this will lead to the emission of an extra 295 grams of carbon dioxide per over simply using the electric lights - if the equivalent of one thousand 40 W bulbs are replaced by candles, that's an extra 295 kilograms of CO2 emitted.
In places where a greater proportion of the electricity supply is generated by nuclear energy or hydroelectricity, this increase in greenhouse gas emissions is even larger.
Link
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)