Saturday, April 4, 2009

Day Ninety Four...

Purple Martins! We have Purple Martins, too! About a month ago, I finally got the second Purple Martin house up, but I thought we were most likely too late in the season to attract any Purple Martins for this season. Jody and I were sitting out by the pool last night, watching the hummingbirds fight over the feeder, and low-and-behold, there were Purple Martins swooping in and around the two houses we put up back towards the pastures. I love the sounds the Martins make, and I love watching them fly around and circle around overhead. The fact that they eat mosquitoes is not a bad thing either. Just one more reason to love them! We had lots of wildlife at the old farm, one thing I miss a little bit (but not a lot) is squirrels. Squirrels can be pretty darn entertaining, BUT they can really play havoc with the bird feeders, so a little bit of squirrel action can go a long way. Now if it is barn swallows you are looking for, look no further...we have plenty, and they are obviously of the Catholic faith, because they do not believe in contraception. They are multiplying at a frenzied pace. I actually think they have two broods per season, and there are not wasting any time about it. They have nests in every possible corner under every eave of the house. Once they go away later this spring, we will remove the mud nests and paint the ceilings of the eaves a lovely sky blue color, hoping to deter them from another season of connubial bliss.

One thing I really miss from the old farm is the woodpecker. We had a woodpecker there that would come and jump down the side of one of the trees and get drinks of water. I liked looking at that old guy, but there do not seem to be any woodpeckers around here. Also, we do not seem to have any painted buntings here. They were truly beautiful birds, but so far I have not seen any in this area. I will keep a watchful eye open for any sightings, and report back to you.

The yard maintenance guy just left, and he will be back on Wednesday or Thursday to finish up (yeah, whatever). So far today, I have emptied a couple boxes that we brought into the house last week, scooped dog poop from the BIG DOG's yard, re-arranged a little bit of furniture, trimmed an Oleander at the side of the house, and cut back most of one of the palms by the pool. It is already putting up new fronds, so we want it all pretty for spring. And it is not even 9:30 AM. I wonder what the rest of the day will bring? I am anxious about the wind energy guy coming to do the evaluation...

He showed up late, but everything worked out. I handed over a bunch of money, and in about 35 days we will be doing our best to harness wind energy to reduce our carbon footprint. I think that alone will put us head-and-shoulders above many in the effort to prevent global warming and the wasting of our resources. I hope so anyway. As always, I will keep you informed as we progress.

I have no real idea if anyone reads these daily entries or not, but it certainly does keep me amused. It is like, I try to find things that are interesting, things that we otherwise would just either drive by or walk past and not pay any attention to it. Today's photo is one of those things. It seems the Taylor Jaycees are going to have a rattle snake sacking contest, although no dates or times were included on the signage. I can hardly wait! I guess I have lived a relatively sheltered life, but I have never been to a rattle snake sacking contest, not a local one or a national one. So, I hoe I do not become too jaded by attending a national contest before I have actually paid my dues and worked my way through the local circuits. We shall see...

So, be kind to yourself and to others, and it will come back to you. And if you see any rattlesnakes along the way, advise them to steer clear of Taylor!

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