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mews1945 I'd try to post pics I took a couple of weekends ago as I walked around Greenbelt Lake, so I'll go do that one or two pics at a time, and try to keep them coming. The fall we had 2 years ago was probably the gold standard for beautiful leaf turning in this area, and I posted a bunch of pics then and never did upload all of them. We'll see how many of this year's I can show you. With the wind and rain the last couple of weeks, leaves have dropped and browned out more quickly this year, but 2 weeks ago was a good beginning of peak.
This is the creek I cross over at the entrance to the lake right behind the community center and down the woody hill I live on.
Tuxie here is overlooking that woody hill. Yesterday afternoon, we had an exciting, slightly frightening, but exhilarating event to watch as a huge flock of migrating grackles--sleek black birds with an iridescent sheen like the rainbows in oil puddles--took a travel break in the trees surrounding our building. The kids, Tuxie and Moo, took their stations in the windowed sun room, but Saki was sitting in the foyer oblivious to this prime time Feline Event of the Century, so I picked her up and put her purring on the watchtower scratching post in the sun room and we all settled down to watch them swoop and flutter all around us, their presence doubled by their shadows racing across the ground below. And the cacophony around us through the screens, loud, raucous, yet musical still, was wondrous. After about 20 minutes, the swarm took to the sky road and continued on south. Two thumbs, and paws, up for that natural performance.
It balanced out the more prosaic and unfortunate bird event later in the day, when I dropped the pan of turkey thighs I was roasting and spattered me and the floor with turkey grease and marinade. Could have been worse, as I'm thankful for the absence of cats in this scenario, who were also good about staying back from investigating the accident scene when I shooed them.
Yes, there were actually no hobbits mentioned in this post. It happens sometimes. Not too often though.
mews1945 I'd try to post pics I took a couple of weekends ago as I walked around Greenbelt Lake, so I'll go do that one or two pics at a time, and try to keep them coming. The fall we had 2 years ago was probably the gold standard for beautiful leaf turning in this area, and I posted a bunch of pics then and never did upload all of them. We'll see how many of this year's I can show you. With the wind and rain the last couple of weeks, leaves have dropped and browned out more quickly this year, but 2 weeks ago was a good beginning of peak. This is the creek I cross over at the entrance to the lake right behind the community center and down the woody hill I live on.
Tuxie here is overlooking that woody hill. Yesterday afternoon, we had an exciting, slightly frightening, but exhilarating event to watch as a huge flock of migrating grackles--sleek black birds with an iridescent sheen like the rainbows in oil puddles--took a travel break in the trees surrounding our building. The kids, Tuxie and Moo, took their stations in the windowed sun room, but Saki was sitting in the foyer oblivious to this prime time Feline Event of the Century, so I picked her up and put her purring on the watchtower scratching post in the sun room and we all settled down to watch them swoop and flutter all around us, their presence doubled by their shadows racing across the ground below. And the cacophony around us through the screens, loud, raucous, yet musical still, was wondrous. After about 20 minutes, the swarm took to the sky road and continued on south. Two thumbs, and paws, up for that natural performance.
It balanced out the more prosaic and unfortunate bird event later in the day, when I dropped the pan of turkey thighs I was roasting and spattered me and the floor with turkey grease and marinade. Could have been worse, as I'm thankful for the absence of cats in this scenario, who were also good about staying back from investigating the accident scene when I shooed them.
Yes, there were actually no hobbits mentioned in this post. It happens sometimes. Not too often though.
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Look at your pretty grackle icon!
Thank you! I suspect a live bird would be safe with these cats, but I wouldn't test leaving them alone with one that wasn't at least equal their size until after a long acclimation process. The black bird or raven I saw in a branch close to the window today was thinner, but easily as long or longer than Saki, and would definitely send the larger Tuxie into hiding.
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Ouchie! (the turkey thighs)
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But oh, sorry about those turkey thighs! Hope you weren't burned.
Any mention of food is hobbity. :)
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Just to be on the safe side: hobbitshobbitshobbitshobbitshobbitshobbitshobbits
*hobbity hugs*
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My god, grackles are so noisy, aren't they? My friend who rehabilitates injured or orphaned animals had thirteen baby grackles one year, and had to keep them separate from all the other birds because they were so raucous they'd keep the other birds in a state of panic all the time. I called them The Hells Angels.
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*sends catnip*
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Is that icon a pic a kitty who was yours?
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Yeah, it was crappy, but they came out OK anyway. Cooking is not the fun it was when I was younger--I drop and burn things too often.
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I rubbed an aloe branch on my arm, and what burn there was luckily was mild enough that it took care of it.
This is true! (-:
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I did a little, but it was mild enough that rubbing an aloe branch on it took care of it. I must not cook in a kitchen without an aloe plant in it.
Heee--thank you! That always makes things better!
*hugs tight*
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Heeeee! Scrappy little buggers! It was a fun noise to be immersed in for a little while, even if it had a little of a Hitchcock-ish creepiness to it.
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*purrs and hugs*
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No, I had a cat for 20 yrs that we had put to sleep about 4 yrs ago but I don't want another pet.
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*purrs, nuzzles, and headbutts you*
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Just don't let it become a habit!!! :P
Lovely pics though!