February 23, 2021

The moon was visible in the daytime sky this morning for quite a while.

February 20, 2021

I was inside the house this afternoon when I heard the loudest squawking out the front, 

like a seagull, but I thought to myself, 

there couldn't be a seagull this far inland.  

I went out on the porch to see if I could locate it....

it was coming from the tree tops across the street from our house.
Here's what it sounded like:

 https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-shouldered_Hawk/sounds
 click on the second one - that's the one most like what I was hearing

Thankfully he stayed around long enough for me to take a few pictures,

which helped me identify him as a red-shouldered hawk. 

click on image to enlarge

 

The photos in flight weren't in focus - 

he was moving too quickly for me to keep up with him...

...but I love this one - he was looking right at me and still screeching!

click on image to enlarge

This one is terribly blurry but it helped me the most with markings.

 

I found an article online about red-shouldered hawks in the Bay Area of California, 

which you can read here if you're interested:

 https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-shouldered_Hawk/sounds

What most interested me was the following:

"...what really got my attention from Meyer’s research on the Presidio raptor community was the early fledging dates for great horned owls and red-shouldered hawks. The earliest redshoulder fledging took place on May 28. Working back through the known numbers of days for brooding, incubation, and laying, that pair of redshoulders had to be nest building by February 1 and in full-on courtship for weeks before that, maybe even before the New Year. Similar calculations for the owls put them on eggs in early January, meaning courtship in December or even earlier."

So maybe our noisy visitor is the newest family in our neighborhood!

February 19, 2021

I was heading home from an errand this morning 

when I noticed the sun trying to shine through the fog/heavy cloud cover.

It was weird being able to see it as a complete circle like the moon

(though I only glanced briefly!).

A little later this morning it was really trying hard to break through the clouds.

It's been so long since we've had a sunny day!
 

February 17, 2021

Tracy finally got around to bringing home a Christmas gift someone at his office gave him.  

How cute is this?

It even has a bottle of hand sanitizer tucked into the cardboard roll.  

click on image to enlarge
 

February 16, 2021

My car turned 100,000 miles today while we were running an errand!  

I've been keeping track of it so I wouldn't miss this milestone.  

This is our second Ford Escape...

our first one had close to 250,000 miles on it and was still going strong 

when we had to leave it behind in Colorado.

I deeply regret that, as Jed could be driving it now

and we wouldn't be so concerned about him wrecking it,

since it had already been wrecked. 

It was our winter beater.  :)

Pretty sky heading home.
 

February 15, 2021

Jed has always been fascinated with bonsai trees, 

so we bought one for our resurrection garden this year.  

I hope it lives!  :)

I've always thought they were high maintenance,

but that appears to be only if you want to train it in a certain direction.

I was amazed to learn there are bonsai that have been in training 

for hundreds of years!
 

February 14, 2021

Our next door neighbor gave us a Valentine sealed with real wax - fancy!
 

February 13, 2021

Jed gave me a gift certificate for a white pizza from a local pizza shop for Mother's Day last year.  

I finally cashed it in today!  :)

Actually, Jed cashed it in for me...

he and his dad were up there getting a regular pizza and he remembered that long-ago promise.

I'm glad he did.  :)
 

February 12, 2021

Jed and I have been reading this 1076 page book of poetry for years, 

and we finally finished it today.

I consider this a slightly remarkable accomplishment, 

especially in light of the workload he's carried since starting middle school.

  I'm by no means a poetry aficionado, but I enjoy the cadence and the imagery.

This anthology is in chronological order, 

with the first poem estimated to have been written circa 1250-1350,

and the last in the late 1900s.

One interesting thing I noticed is how free-form the genre became in that last century.

I'm afraid to say, I'm not a fan.

It probably does not bode well for my intelligence to admit this,

but I really like clever rhymes.  :)

One of my favorites is The Garden of Proserpine,

written by Algernon Charles Swinburne in the 1800s.

The theme is a little depressing, but I love the rhyming scheme.

It's A B A B C C C B

Here's a sample:

 

We are not sure of sorrow,

And joy was never sure;

To-day will die to-morrow;

Time stoops to no man's lure;

And love, grown faint and fretful,

With lips but half regretful

Sighs, and with eyes forgetful

Weeps that no loves endure.

Those Winter Sundays, by Robert Hayden, 

is one free-form poem written in the 1900s that I liked,

though it is strikingly sad and poignant.

 

Sundays too my father got up early

and put his clothes on in the blueblack cold,

then with cracked hands that ached

from labor in the weekday weather made

banked fires blaze.  No one ever thanked him.

 

I'd wake and hear the cold splintering, breaking.

When the rooms were warm, he'd call,

and slowly I would rise and dress,

fearing the chronic angers of that house,

 

Speaking indifferently to him,

who had driven out the cold

and polished my good shoes as well.

What did I know, what did I know

of love's austere and lonely offices?
 

February 8, 2021

Interesting sunset.
 

February 7, 2021

We got the heaviest dusting of our three dustings so far overnight.

The little lights are reflections of our Christmas tree light.

It's still up, sans ornaments.

The light is so cheerful, I hate to take it down.
 

February 6, 2021

I'm not an adventurous cook, 

and I don't know many secrets for good cooking, 

but I discovered something recently that is a total game-changer for me!  

I've never loved ground beef...

I'll eat it, but I've never loved it because I think it's tough and rubbery...

but recently I read an article that said chefs marinate ground beef overnight in cream, so I gave it a try.

I was AMAZED how silky the beef was the whole time it was cooking - 

and I wouldn't ever have imagined using the word "silky" to describe cooked ground beef!

You've got to try it!

Break up the ground beef, add 2 T cream for every pound, mix well, and refrigerate.

 
 

February 3, 2021

Another beautiful sunrise on an early morning grocery run.

February 2, 2021

Jed went for allergy testing today.  

No wonder he's been having such a hard time here!

We learned something interesting...

he's had a mild allergy to some fruits for a while now,

and it turns out those fruits are related to the birch tree family,

which is Jed's worst tree allergy.

But grasses are his worst allergens...

makes me feel terrible that we made him mow.