Nesting

Our fledgelings have left the nest, but before the whole family flew the coop, I managed to snag a blurry picture of Mom and Dad hanging out on a nearby branch to catch a breather between feedings. On this particular day I was working from home at the kitchen table and had the chance to notice the comings and goings of these hard-working parents as they made their way back and forth to the nest with worms, caterpillars and miscellaneous flying bugs. After each feeding, they would fly back to this same branch outside the kitchen window and preen, side by side. The next day, the whole family was gone. I'm glad I had a chance to watch the these tireless little wonders!

With all the bird activity, I decided to start one of my back-burner projects and make Clementine her very own indoor tree perch. Not being a very confident bird with her footing, I'm not sure how she'll take to something so jungle-gym like, but we'll see. I thought it would be nice to keep her big old cage in the office and have the tree out in the family room for her to sit on while we are home. It takes less space and it would give her a different place to be so it's not the same old, same old. I used one of the fallen branches in our yard and bought screws and bolts to construct this tree of perches. I had to strip the bark and will give it a douse of bleach water to kill all bacteria, fungi and bugs.

The tree was still not completely debarked because the outdoor temps soared again, so it had to remain outside. But after the neighboring birds got used to it being on the deck, some adventurous ones came by to make sure it was sturdy enough.

It's been turtle-nesting season, I'm thinking, because they are on the move just lately. Sadly, many get run over on the roads because they are trying to get to wherever they are trying to get to on the other side of the road, and they are not quite fast enough. Plus, they just ball up in their shell when a car comes their way. I have had to pull over and hitchhike a few to the other side.

This guy was cruising the perimeter of our veggie garden and was making a hasty retreat when I came by. Luckily, even at his fast pace, I was able to tap on the window to get Paul, he got his shoes on, found the camera and came out to grab a picture before the turtle could make the large 10 foot journey to the underbrush.

Even I am nesting. It kicked in and my gosh the projects that can be accomplished when focused! Curtains for both family room windows are nearly done after a few weekends of hard work (I've had the fabric for about a year), and wow are they orange! I love the color but they are orangier hanging than they were flat, so I'm working on ways to blend the colors in with the rest of the room and I think painting the walls will be key, along with some accessories.

Bluebirds at Home

After many false alarms, a nesting pair of bluebirds finally decided to close escrow and move in. They were indecisive house hunters that kept coming back every month, fly in and out of each apartment, look like they were going to buy and then they'd disappear.

But to my surprise, I saw some grass sticking out of one of the apartments when I was mowing last weekend and then closely monitored and found the shy little birdies coming and going in the mornings and evenings. It's been really hot the last few days, and with no air-conditioning in this upscale apartment built by Dad, the homeowners (dedicated nest sitters) are sitting the nest with their beaks out to catch the occasional breeze.

Awwww how cute!

Unhappy Truths

The big event of fall season here on the east coast, is naturally, the fall leaf color debates. One popular phrase is "Since it has been unseasonably dry this year, the colors won't be very vivid." Others say, "The height of color can only be seen in the mountains, but wait another week or so before you make the trip." Some say, "You better go this weekend or miss the display entirely!" Everyone has some tidbit of information to add about the leaf coloration and when and where to see the best display.

What better time to be outside doing field work? None that I can think of. And lucky me, I've been out for 3 weeks already and have enjoyed every bit of it (when I've been smart enough to dress warm enough).

But amidst the leaf excitement, last week I was in the field with my boss who happens to be a (self-proclaimed) expert on deciduous trees. I didn't know this because he's a geologist not a biologist. But get him outside and he's pointing out hickory trees here and maples there and live oaks yonder. So we were sitting and sampling a well and admiring the surrounding tree coloration when I saw a tree that looked the spitting image of Mavis the Maple who Paul and I have fondly raised from the wee size of 6" tall. I proudly stated, "I have a maple tree just like that one." He smirked and said, putting on his Agent C cap, "Actually it's real identity is a sweet gum tree." I didn't dare tell him that I have even named my sweet gum tree "Mavis the Maple." I just concealed my disappointment and said, "oh."

Meanwhile, Mavis the Makeshift Maple is enjoying her new home, transplanted in our backyard a few weeks ago. She has decided not to change colors yet, and it's probably because she's suffering from an identity crisis.

Working in Hendersonville, NC

It was a long 10 day shift installing wells, but you can't beat the location. The mountains around the Asheville/Hendersonville areas are beautiful and I often had to pinch myself to make sure I really had it so good! This is what a drill rig looks like:

A lot can happen in ten days and we had it all: lightening and thunder, misty rain all day, hot weather, and a bloom of mushrooms of all kinds.

One day we were out in a field that must have been a favorite hideout for yellow jackets. We saw the area where they must have had an underground nest so I made sure the drillers set up away from the nest. I was writing notes in my field book and minding my own business when I got stung on the back of my neck by an angry yellow jacket that got stuck in my hair. It's been a long time since I was last stung, and it hurt, so naturally I screamed. Before I could say, "That hurt like a son of a gun, and it was a yellow jacket, I reckon," the driller's helper was pressing a wad of chewing tobacco onto the welt on the back of my neck. He says it pulls out the poison, and he did say, "reckon" a lot. We are in the south, and the hospitality does come with charm.

Now, this is one of the coolest aspects of doing work up here besides the wildlife. We get to stay at the Waverly Inn, a bed and breakfast run by a couple who treat you like family. They gave me the best room in the house, a beautiful room with an adjoining sun room since I was staying a piece (pretty much all month minus a few days).

Downstairs on the front porch they serve snacks and drinks so people can chat and meet other guests, while enjoying the peaceful event of rocking in the rocking chairs and enjoying the birds. Every evening they greet me by name and ask how work was, bring me a ice cold glass of coke and pull up a rocking chair for me. Afterwards, I enjoy a hot bath get something to eat at a nearby restaurant within walking distance and then come back "home" to grab a slice of homemade cake that John and Diane have in the kitchen. I mosie upstairs with my cake and herbal tea and watch a bit of one of the movies I brought. It was like working really hard for 12 hours and having 4 hours of vacation afterwards. Not bad!

On Saturday night after work, I went to see a play, Unnecessary Farce, at the Flatrock Playhouse. I laughed for 2 hours and came back to the Waverly and slept like a rock. It was a fantastic comedy, and I needed it after a few stressful days at work that followed the bee sting.

My sun room adjoining my bedroom at the Waverly.
There was a nearby nursery that has loads of cool shrubs and so on my drive home I loaded up to start working on our backyard.

I have 4 days off starting today and then head up to Hendersonville again for another 10 days. Have a good weekend!

Chilling Out in the Backyard

We've had a pretty mild summer, averaging in the80s-90s I would guess, and so we've spent more time outside than I would have predicted. However, the humidity is still higher than we are used to from California. Notice in almost all pictures of Paul that I post he is without his shirt. There's a good reason for this: he doesn't like having a shirt stuck to his back in the humidity.

Anyway, we've been spending a lot of time outdoors for another reason. Fairy has been driving us crazy. She's been squawking and squeeking and screaming to be held and everytime we leave the room she amplifies. I took her to the vet a few weeks ago and the vet thinks it's part hormonal and part we've been catering to the squawks. So she has become like a whining child used to getting her way. Solution: to ignore it or get out of the house. So, here we are eating dinner outside, and see my camp chair in the background for lounging and studying.
This was another delicious crockpot recipe that we tried on the weekend- very good.


Then with all the outdoor time, we discovered a few turtles roaming around our backyard. Here is Ted, probably in search of Cynthia.

Visiting Family in Tucson

Tucson is the prettiest desert I've been to. It's gorgeous! Even if you aren't a desert person, you'd have to admit Tucson has a dramatic beauty. I went out to see Grandpa, Eleanor and my aunts Linda and Janis during the last part of the week before Labor Day. I got to spend some good quality time with family that I rarely get to see, and at the same time got to relax and recharge.

Here we are at Grandpa's house! Grandpa, Eleanor and I won 6 games of bingo combined, out of 10 games played, at the local community center. I thought for a minute we were going to get kicked out! Competition was fierce and the air was thick with envy.

I'm a little behind on my blog, just catching up from my hiatus of studying. I won't bore you with the dreary details, but the long and short of it is that I am out in the field again, and won't be back until 2 days before the test. I realized I just plain wasn't going to be ready. Rather than waste the money, I post-poned taking the test until March. They give us one grace post-ponement, so I have to take it in March ready or not. But I will be ready then! So back to blogging and doing the things that I like. I will keep studying, but at a more relaxed pace spread out over 6 months.

A Visit from Laura

It was over two weeks ago now since cousin Laura was down from Virginia, so here are a few pictures at last. We ended up going to the Daniel Stowe Botanic Garden which was in full splendor for the summer.

We saw some different plants...

..and more bugs on the plants than we thought could possibly exist!

It was a mild day for the summer, but still hot and humid. Luckily there were lots of fountains in the garden keeping everyone cool. We parked by one fountain to eat our picnic lunch and people watched. More people were at the fountains trying to get wet and get a photogenic shot than at the plants looking at prize flowers.
We got some great ideas for gardening and had a nice day outside to boot.

We later went to the Discovery Place and then went home to make taco salad and watch My Super Ex Girlfriend. It was a really fun day! I've still got more pictures at home that Laura took, as she got some better shots of the garden. For some reason my camera seems to be washing out the colors.

Interesting Forecasts

It's been two weeks now that I haven't ridden my bike to work- every day except the days I had marked out to do grocery shopping (and hence, can't leave the bike in the car with the roof down at the grocery store) have been predicted to have afternoon thunderstorms. We have had threatening clouds and rain nearly every afternoon if only for a minute or two. But I check http://www.accuweather.com/ every day to see 'what's up' just in case it's a good day for a ride.

Well, whoever has started posting the daily forecasts on accuweather for the Charlotte area has made the forecasts more interesting. Most of them say things like, "partly sunny with possible rain in the afternoon." or "hot and sunny with high humidity." But lately there has been some variety in language used, not every day, but some days. For example today's forecast is "Times of sun and clouds with a thunderstorm on the prowl in the afternoon." Who can read that and not laugh?" So fun.

Big Red on a Leash

The other day Paul was leaving for work and he said to Big Red, in passing, "No running away, now, you hear?" And I couldn't stop laughing because I didn't realize until then that it does look like he's on a leash!

Poor Big Red has grown so fast and so tall this spring that his bark hasn't caught up with his height. So everytime a storm comes through and bit of wind starts to blow, his trunk bends over and has a hard time springing back up. We have him tied up so that he doesn't get battered.



I don't know if you recall, but Big Red is our redwood tree we bought from California, and he was just 5-6" tall last year when we moved to North Carolina. Here he is with Mavis the Maple earlier this spring.


And now Mavis is huge too! Both these guys are going to be planted in the yard this fall.

We didn't used to give names to our plants, by the way, but it was getting difficult to expain which plants needed watering, who needed transplanting, etc. without giving them a simple name. Now when I travel, I just tell Paul to make sure Mavis, Big Red and Venus get plenty of water, and Sleeping Beauty and Fiona can do without. Easier for him to remember and it cuts down on spouting out long drawn out technical names that are hard to remember and have no personality. Plus, it's more fun!

Summer Storm

There's the saying, "If you don't like the weather, wait a few minutes..." that seems to fit aptly on the east coast, and I love it! The summer is not my favorite season because I'm not a big fan of the heat, and so I think it's fantastic how much the weather can change here from hour to hour. There are still plenty of hot days, but the days are often punctuated with afternoon thunderstorms, moments of lower humidity with a cooling breeze, or maybe a foggy morning or two.

Yesterday I left for church in the sun, wearing a sunny yellow skirt. During the service it sounded like kids playing on the roof, and then someone announced that there was a thunderstorm going on outside and everyone that has their windows rolled down might want to take a break to roll them up.

I was pretty surprised when I was driving home to find the streets partially flooded and have my way lit up by the lightening. I got home and had to prop up Big Red and Mavis who were sadly leaning to one side from the wind. Paul and I spent the rest of the afternoon with the front porch windows and back door open to listen to the thunder and rain, and we drank hot chocolate. Paul and the birds, who don't mind the thunder, took a nap and I sat by the window spinning.

While enjoying the weather for what it was, I still couldn't help but think how sad it is that so many people's lives are changed by weather disasters at the moment, such as the flooding in Iowa, the fires in California and the drought that we in the south are trying to get over. The unpredictability can be exciting, but can also bring disaster. I guess we just have to appreciate the good days.

It's a Jungle Out Here

This field job brings out far reaching emotions in me on both ends of the spectrum. Today was one of those kind of days that fell into a couple of categories because it had moments of adventure, moments of peaceful harmony with the weather and moments of exasperations that made me pause to think, "they aren't paying me enough to do this."

A few weeks ago I was outside all day and the weather was simply perfect and I felt bad for all the folks working in a stuffy office. Yesterday the temperature out here was 100 degrees with 90% humidity (or very close to it) and it was brutal to the max. Today started out cool with the smell of rain in the air that had just cleared up and our first well was stationed in nicely cut grass and in the shade. All that was needed was windchimes and Paul bringing me a glass of lemonade and it would have been vacation.

Shortly after that, the thermometer climbed and we had to head deep into the forest where a well was found that no one knew existed. It was too dense to get the Dodge truck through and so we had to pack in and pack out all our tools and equipment. Since I had found a tick crawling around on my shirt yesterday, we had to wear tyvek suits today on our treck into the undergrowth and overgrowth. This is like wearing a trashbag with arms and legs (hot and sweaty). It was not real fun, but at the same time I envisioned myself as an action hero in a comedy spoof. And although it was hot, it was novel to me that we were actually sampling a well that was lost to the environmental society for who knows how long. Was it a case where the vines just took over and hid the well for 20 years? And who put it there? Anyway, it was kinda cool/adventurous.

Later still, we had to go to a different well further into the woods but we could actually get the truck part way there as there was a road- overgrown and rough, but still a road. The bad news was that the 1/8 mile that we had to hoof it was covered in poison ivy, mosquitos in swarms of 20+ and ticks and who knows what under the ivy and foliage we were tromping through. I was whining to myself and a little to Sean too, and felt that this was a very sad predicament to be in as it was near impossible to concentrate on the data we were collecting. We decided that we could work much more efficiently if one of us took on the roll of mosquito combatter while the other sampled. It helped the progress of the task, but the hour that we were down there was still grim.

Yet we emerged triumphant and I feel like my work life is more enriched by miserable moments like these. When I look back, I never would have imagined myself sampling in such beautiful places like these forests and swamps and shores along rivers, and I can later laugh at all the mishaps and miserable moments. I feel like despite the bugs and beasts, this is a dream come true!

Andrew Jackson State Park

After church last Sunday, we turned right on the 521 instead of going left and headed to Andrew Jackson State Park. We heard about it but hadn't been there yet, and thought it would be a nice place to go on Memorial weekend. We quickly changed in the car into our shorts and tennies and were ready to see a crowded park of families. We were surprised to see that it was nearly empty aside from a few folks enjoying the tranquility of the lake.

This couple was enjoying a romantic day of reading in the park... not to each other, but each was engrossed in their own book. And, the gentleman had his guitar at the ready to serenade his love, most likely.
The lone fishermanMe posing but trying not to look like I'm posing (I'm still working on this technique).
This little nature trail goes around the whole lake ~ 1 mile.
Paul says, "The water's warm!"
A gaggle of geese! We had never seen Canadian geese so close. These guys ( A mom, dad and their kids) really liked to follow us and eat the grass at our feet. They never looked at us as if they were expecting food, and they were eating as voraciously as if the grass was running away from them. They just seemed to like company while they were eating- the more the merrier!

This is a great park complete with camping. The campground was full, but it was small and so there was still a very peaceful quality to this place. We loved it!

Humans in the Headlights

Jerry and I were walking across a big meadow yesterday, heading out to check on a creek running through the facility. We had a long pole rigged with duck tape and a scooper and it was rather cumbersome. We were preoccupied with our trek across the field, keeping our eyes open for snakes, and making sure we didn't trip on the pole and scooper. I happened to look up in time to see a deer running pell-mell straight at us.

"Jerry, should we be concerned?" We both froze in our tracks and stared at the fast-moving animal heading straight at us.

"Nah, she sees us." We kept standing there.

"Uh, are you sure about that?"

And at that point the deer seemed to wake up from some inner reflection and said with it's eyes and panicked expression, "Oh, deer, there are people in the road!" Brakes slammed and it zig-zagged off into the trees 20 feet away.

Whew-- we all three sighed with relief -- we didn't get run over, and the deer didn't have us on it's windshield. That was a close one!

Weekend Projects and Afternoon Thunderstorms

As has been the habit of late, Paul and I have been spending the weekends on projects (between the chores). Here he is working very hard on sawing curtain rods in half so we can maybe someday get started on getting curtains up in our bedroom (yes, we are still getting dressed in the dark).

This weekend I was blown away by how much our yard has changed since I was home last weekend. This was this past weekend:

... and this was the weekend before!
Our other major accomplishment this weekend was getting our furniture moved into the house with the help of two gardeners and our neighbors. This dining room table (without the leaf) took 4 men to carry it into the house. Plus, we then had to attach the 8 legs and then flip it over- quite an ordeal. Wish I had had the camera handy! It is starting to feel more like a home with each piece of furniture we set up.

Just as the furniture was moved in (more pictures later) a thunderstorm broke out and it felt like one of those great summer showers with warm temps. and high humidity, complete with thunder and lightening. We opened the windows that were sheltered and listened to the rain and thunder. It ended up raining all night long and into Monday, and the whole way up to Virginia.

The clouds broke as I got there and so we decided to try sampling a well. We were just setting up to start work when rain started coming down in buckets and an emergency broadcast came over the radio announcing a tornado alert in our town. We quickly packed up and left the site, ominous clouds in the rear-view mirror. I got back to my hotel 15 minutes later and saw on the hotel lobby TV that a tornado struck somewhere in the city where we were and ten miles down the road in the shopping center where we often go to eat dinner. Sadly, 200 people in the area were injured and the regions struck have been declared in a state of emergency. Repairs are underway, but I haven't heard any details this evening.

On a positive note, Mavis and Big Red are doing great with all the rain, and we have a new addition to the tree family: a Japanese maple seedling that I found growing in the grass of the site I've been working at in Virginia. It was about to be mowed with the grass, and I just had to save it to add to our growing forest. Japanese maples are gorgeous!

Bathroom Decorating Again

When I think about it, the bathroom is a strange place to start decorating when considering all the rooms in a house. But for us, it all started with the necessity of window coverings so we didn't have to take our showers in the dark. Then once we had curtains, we had a color palette to work from and it's been easy from there. Now, if I could just get Paul to tie back the curtains every morning with the fabric bows while I'm gone...

But the urn water fountain has been both the biggest pleasure and the biggest headache. It ended up looking larger than life once we got it in the bathroom and so softening it up and toning it down has been tricky. But this weekend I went shopping and bought some plants and accessories to soften the edges of the base and it magically turned the bathroom into a garden theme! The mushrooms that I got at the Biltmore last weekend that I was home are my favorite. The trickling water from the urn is soothing to listen to as we fall asleep at night, and it's relaxing as we get ready for work in the morning.

I got some live aquarium plants for inside the urn base and some activated carbon in a filter bag to work on clearing up the water.
Speaking of gardens, our backyard is springing to life with the rain and warm weather. The greenery around charlotte has been breathtaking (probably is this way every spring, but this is our first spring here).
Our weekend was filled of having fun decorating the bathroom and getting new furniture unpacked from boxes (last weekend while I was here in Virginia working, Paul went and picked up furniture we ordered) and setting up what we had time to assemble. I'll post more pictures when we get everything moved into the proper rooms -- it was mostly all too heavy to move ourselves and so we need to round up some recruits.

Well, I'm back in Virginia and it's time for bed. Good night!

Lunar Eclipse

Paul and I had a great view of the eclipse last night. I caught this picture on my camera (it's small because I cropped out some of the black sky) as the shadow was 3/4 across the moon. The stars seemed to pop out as the moon dimmed, and the wind that we were having seemed to pause in a deep breath as we stood out on our deck watching the rusty shadow march across the moon. It was magical-- hope you got to see.

A Carolina Sunset

Have I mentioned that the Carolinas have the best consistent sunsets I have ever seen? I think it's because there is always a certain amount of cloudage in the sky to act as a canvas. Whatever the reason, we are blessed nearly every sunny day with a beautiful scene. I just rarely have my camera to capture them, plus my camera isn't the best at painting a sunset. This picture from my bedroom window was 10 times redder and brighter in real life.



My friend Laurie sent me this picture from her camping trip of a sunrise in Joshua Tree, CA-- such a great spot for camping.