Refuse to jostle with bigrigs on I80 and I5. Took the scenic route through Elverta and down Powerline. Pink-breasted hawks, wide wet flatlands, Telegraph Road... A nest of pylons, a herd of yellow earth movers, and the only traffic on mist-covered 99 which traversed my quiet route. See you again soon.
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Friday, January 29, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
A few mild days
We had rain, and temperatures a few degrees above freezing... and all the birds and beasts have come out to play. Raccoons in the garbage. A team of about twenty young deer hanging out on street corners and getting into trouble. Squirrels running on roofs and finding ways inside.
We startled a blue heron this morning: he was fishing in the water by the side of Forest Road. He flew a little further up the street, eyed the ditch there, then scooted off, legs trailing.
The swans are grazing the wetlands: we have about ten of them this year who are staying close. Juveniles, as big as their parents, but still dirty-grey; the ugly ducklings ready to be beautiful.
We startled a blue heron this morning: he was fishing in the water by the side of Forest Road. He flew a little further up the street, eyed the ditch there, then scooted off, legs trailing.
The swans are grazing the wetlands: we have about ten of them this year who are staying close. Juveniles, as big as their parents, but still dirty-grey; the ugly ducklings ready to be beautiful.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Monday morning in Mastic Beach...
... and it's cold, and it's winter, and it's the start of yet-another work week... and then I look out of the window and see this. And think... wow.Monday, January 04, 2010
Saturday, January 02, 2010
Reflecting on the new year
Living by the water, we have plenty of opportunity to reflect... let's use it for the best in this new year, new decade.
Wishing you all a very healthy, happy, friendly and successful 2010!
Friday, January 01, 2010
... and why don't I shop at Pathmark???
Needed a reminder this afternoon. Somehow, I had forgotten. Decided to "nip in" to Pathmark to pick up some eggs and a couple of other things. Forgot that the more of a holiday/restday/Sunday it is, the more Pathmark is packed and unnavigable and impossible to escape, assuming you want to leave with paid-for shopping which of course means that you have to get to, and through, a checkout.
There were no shopping carts and no shopping baskets, and the guy that was pushing a truck's worth of Coke through the store couldn't help because he didn't work there. Despite the fact that he was working a sweat up pushing Coke into place. Or maybe that's what he does for fun. In Pathmark. On New Year's Day. Human version of a computer game, squishing shoppers with a cart of Coca-Cola.
We met some other interesting people.
Ozzy Osborne was very polite as she (yes, I said she) apologised for squeezing past. The Frankenstein family were blocking one aisle with their three full-to-the-brim shopping carts, and the Adams family were hanging out at the end of the freezer aisle. The cast of Six Feet Under (both dead and alive) were waiting, waiting, waiting to be processed through the checkouts...
I was so hungry I ate half the bag of grapes while we waited half an hour in line, before surrendering and leaving for Stop'n'Shop. Ooops. Pathmark I owe you about $2 but if you compare that to my hourly rate, you owe me a lot more.
In comparison, Stop'n'Shop was calm and tranquil... didn't have the Amy's RiceFlour GlutenFree pizza, but I can live without it.
Another resolution for the list: remember why you do NOT shop at Pathmark on a holiday or Sunday...
There were no shopping carts and no shopping baskets, and the guy that was pushing a truck's worth of Coke through the store couldn't help because he didn't work there. Despite the fact that he was working a sweat up pushing Coke into place. Or maybe that's what he does for fun. In Pathmark. On New Year's Day. Human version of a computer game, squishing shoppers with a cart of Coca-Cola.
We met some other interesting people.
Ozzy Osborne was very polite as she (yes, I said she) apologised for squeezing past. The Frankenstein family were blocking one aisle with their three full-to-the-brim shopping carts, and the Adams family were hanging out at the end of the freezer aisle. The cast of Six Feet Under (both dead and alive) were waiting, waiting, waiting to be processed through the checkouts...
I was so hungry I ate half the bag of grapes while we waited half an hour in line, before surrendering and leaving for Stop'n'Shop. Ooops. Pathmark I owe you about $2 but if you compare that to my hourly rate, you owe me a lot more.
In comparison, Stop'n'Shop was calm and tranquil... didn't have the Amy's RiceFlour GlutenFree pizza, but I can live without it.
Another resolution for the list: remember why you do NOT shop at Pathmark on a holiday or Sunday...
Happy New Year! And I resolve...
Fell asleep to the sound of fireworks: woke to the sound of shotguns, I hope they eat what they shot out in the wetlands.
Reading Monty Don's Ivington Diaries (you will have to order it from Amazon.co.uk, it's not available in the USA until later in 2010, you'll receive it within a few days from .uk):
Monty Don's Ivington Diaries at Amazon.co.uk
One thing that always comes across from Monty's work is how he gardens "with" nature, and not against it. I have to remember that... and so here are my gardening resolutions for 2010, made public so you can check up on me and squish me if I dare to complain once about mosquitoes.
- Build a bat house, paint it black, and put it somewhere sunny so that many bats will come and live here and eat all the mosquitos
- Build a house for the purple martens, so that the ones that take their summer vacation under the siding can bring their cousins and they can eat all the mosquitoes that the bats miss while they are sleeping.
- Find and plant even more Japanese irises and other irises that love having their feet wet
- Continue seeking-out hellebores and plant them in the shade
- Either remember to dig up the non-hardy bulbs, or accept that they will only last one season
- Stop stockpiling things that might-be-useful-in-the-yard-one-day, call Jack and make space for that greenhouse. Or coldframe. Or lower patio. Or all three...
- Don't pontificate any longer about the pond/pool/concrete tank. Sort it. By end of March.
That's enough for now...
Reading Monty Don's Ivington Diaries (you will have to order it from Amazon.co.uk, it's not available in the USA until later in 2010, you'll receive it within a few days from .uk):
Monty Don's Ivington Diaries at Amazon.co.uk
One thing that always comes across from Monty's work is how he gardens "with" nature, and not against it. I have to remember that... and so here are my gardening resolutions for 2010, made public so you can check up on me and squish me if I dare to complain once about mosquitoes.
- Build a bat house, paint it black, and put it somewhere sunny so that many bats will come and live here and eat all the mosquitos
- Build a house for the purple martens, so that the ones that take their summer vacation under the siding can bring their cousins and they can eat all the mosquitoes that the bats miss while they are sleeping.
- Find and plant even more Japanese irises and other irises that love having their feet wet
- Continue seeking-out hellebores and plant them in the shade
- Either remember to dig up the non-hardy bulbs, or accept that they will only last one season
- Stop stockpiling things that might-be-useful-in-the-yard-one-day, call Jack and make space for that greenhouse. Or coldframe. Or lower patio. Or all three...
- Don't pontificate any longer about the pond/pool/concrete tank. Sort it. By end of March.
That's enough for now...
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