2022 What Kind of Year will it be?

Monday there was an 3.3 Earthquake in our area...and that is the 10th quake we have had since Nov of this year...this epicenter was about 18 miles away from my house....In 1886 in the month of August a Quake destroyed Charleston, SC and killed 60 people.  They estimate it was a 6.9-7.3 in strength....the shock wave was felt as far away as Boston, Mass. 

I want to do a time lapse something I haven't tried yet, so soon I want to make one.

Tonight we have a red sky...and it seems peaceful.  I have felt quakes before and it normally sounds and feels like a big truck going by and vibrating the house...I did not feel the one today as I had just arrived at home from a day out and about but I had been much closer to the epi center earlier in the day by the river...

Anyways...one never knows what Mother nature has in store for us.  

Here's our State Bird, the Carolina Wren. My New Yrs Resolution is to use less plastic packaging in the future...starting NOW...I use as little as possible but there is a lot of room for improvement..

Like buying my vegs in bulk that is not prepackaged...BUT don't reach for that thin film...some stores recycle it but most don't bring your own paper "lunch" bag to put your fresh produce in...and if it's gonna be something heavy get some Paper grocery bags at the entrance to the store or bring your own to reuse from home.  AND do reuse your shopping bags or bring your own..

The bulk laundry det. in plastic jugs,...or those pops in plastic wrap just don't buy it you can still buy detergent in a cardboard box...that is bio-degradable, and sustainable,  and most of the time recyclable. You can premix in water to be sure its dissolved prior to adding it to the tub of your washer....AND there's other alternatives online the little sheet that you simply toss in very little packaging involved but it's pricey.  

...a young Buck was hanging out behind the fence on Christmas Day...

This  really fine White Throated Sparrow paused from his work of seed picking...

 ...and a Golden Crowned Kinglet showed off his gold crest but moved...

I have enjoyed the ease of the steam in the bag, but Im not doing that anymore...I will buy fresh and steam it the old fashioned way....
Some products I eat like Veggie Sausage comes  in those NOT recyclable zip top bags, I plan to phase that out and find my own recipe for making my own veggie sausage veggie burgers, etc.  

the Kinglet liked the sound of my camera as it tried to focus on him...

Lake Bee has been closed for over a year so they finally opened it back up and put in a brand new deck. They put in a new dam overflow, made repairs to the earthen dam, repaired the shoreline, and tore down the old deck.   The old deck was made of that composite stuff it did NOT hold up....and they closed it for a year before giving up on it....

I was glad to see the area open again I was able to walk back to the wetland where there is/was a small beaver dam...I want to stop in the HQ one day and ask about their policy on Beaver, because I see signs of beaver, 
 then I see signs of disturbance of their dams also....

Are they welcomed or not is my question? 

We had a wide variety of weather events this week and today it's raining, I saw this Red Shouldered Hawk in one of the trees so snapped this window shot...he didn't sit long, by the time I jockeyed for a better look he was gone...

I hope everyone has a peaceful New Years Eve and Day.

2022,  sounds like it came out of a Sci-Fi story but it's for real.  Sometimes it feels like we are living in a sci-fi story, if only we could see into the future.

We can plan, we can prepare, we can try, and we can do our very best and at the end of the day we have to accept the reality of the choices we make across the board. 

Happy New Year and may we each have Many More!

PEACE

Every day is a new Adventure.

April Fool

I really hope you're all dealing with this new world order... I'm not fond of it to be certain!  Yesterday when I pulled into my nearby State Park there was this hand scribbled sign on cardboard sitting in front of a locked gate it said CLOSED TILL APRIL 30th
 REALLY?  I don't like it one bit..

So far the National Wildlife Refuge nearby is still open or it was on Friday  when I was there...they have been doing their prescribed burns as seen in this photo...Looks like it was about 3 weeks ago when they did it.

This refuge does not cater to the wading or waterfowl birds, they keep the water level too high...and I think all the burning causes run off that changes the PH of the water.  That is MY theory.   The do cater to the Red Cockaded Woodpecker tho...and they have been very successful in bringing back their habitat and increasing their numbers. I saw 4 on this day in three different locations of the refuge.  

The burning plays a large roll in this habitat restoration.  

These woodpeckers live in family groups much like Bluebirds look for the broad white cheek patch when trying to ID them and they sound a lot like White Breasted Nuthatch with a chattery sound.  The video came out better than the still since he would never be still so check out the video.  

Martin's Lake 

The yellow Jasmine has bloomed, it is our  State Flower.

This Pileated Woodpecker was at the edge of the yard this morning, My tulips  made it, and I cut my grass for the first time this week in 2020...

I took my coffee out on the screen porch this morning to sit with the dogs after they ate  so Casey could go about his morning routine while I watched him from my seat, he has been having some very big challenges lately....and I thought I saw something really fast go zooming by.  So later I hung my hummingbird feeder! NOW I've seen a male Ruby Throated feeding at it all afternoon. 

welcome home little friend, Im sure this bird was born right here in my yard 

The lettuce is almost big enough to eat.  Im trying to keep the squirrels away from it, I moved the spinach under my new safety box... but this pot is way too heavy to lift.

And the spring onions are getting ready to join that salad! I have them under a wire cage to try and keep critters out! I built this box outta some of Mom's Ramp wood.  That's why it's a little odd blueprint wise as it is re-purposed.  

Since all the State managed parks are currently closed I have to depend on my roadside nature spots...I checked on the beaver pond, and he has added a bit of fresh stuff...to the dam, kinda sloppy looking but hey it's also re-purposed!

A Belted Kingfisher was hunting close to the dam, 

I checked on the Eagle chick he is still hanging out at the nest and there was one adult in the area possibly a parent come to check on him...he leaves the nest and does his own thing I missed his flight as I was busy phishing some Black and White Warblers and Ruby Crowned Kinglets out of the trees.  They stayed back in the shadows but this Tufted Titmouse came out. 

Found more Savannah Sparrow roadside.  

And some Eastern Towhee showed an interest in me.  A female and a male.  

We had a rain day but the morning was okay so I went out early...to see if the Riverside County Park was open, it was!!  The Twenty Five Mile Creek was in flood stage again not as much as before but moving swift and muddy.  I'm checking for the Northern Waterthrush to return. I had some good interaction with a Ruby Crowned Kinglet.  He seems to have a weird toe. 

And this really "angry bird" looking Blue Grey Gnatcatcher was really mad at me for being too close to his patch!

I had to do chores...had some big pine limbs to cut up and take to the dump, then I washed my van it was so dirty!   While out there working I spotted this Brown Thrasher up high singing his heart out!  

A home video for your viewing pleasure.



I watch free movies on Tubi.  They stream fast there may be an ad or two but free is free!  The other night I saw a John Travolta flick I have never seen, it was a good thriller...Domestic Disturbance.  Also watched one with Demi Moore that was set in a beautiful seaside cottage...also a thriller/drama, called Half Light it had a twist for sure.  Both were entertaining.  Hope you got things to keep you busy while we are under these orders to stay clear of each other.  Now if they say we have to stay indoors....
HOUSTON we got a problem!!  

Now for some serious talk:  I'm down to 2 rolls of TP and one half of a roll in the van for those emergencies when one is miles from a bathroom.  So My backup plan is I have a few boxes of Kleenex and that should go about a month, after that must get creative!! I've read on various blogs and seen on You Tubes all sorts of advice.  My Granny had the Sears n Roebuck catalog in her outhouse...but Sears did away with that and put it online! There is this Harbor Freight catalog but it has a glossy finish--- ut-oh! What y'all gonna do? Those same people who bought up all the TP and are hording it, also bought rifles and shotguns to keep it.  I was clueless about the whole buy out that was happening as I am the last one to know anything!  Trump should of tossed us some TP. 

PEACE

Every day is a new Adventure.

Then n Now

Well this really made me say WHATTTT??? the beautiful Beaver Dam gone! At the hand of some fisherman who just decided HE didn't like it...

Before

NOW

The reason I know it was forced away and not washed away is the branches were dragged to the sides..not washed downstream.  SAD. And so upstream its drying up the wetland.  Don't people realize beaver create perfect habitat for fish, toads, turtles, aquatic plants? Anyway it was really a sad moment for me when I found it this way :o(  

This changes the entire dynamic of this place will wood ducks leave now? The vegetation will choke out the plants that like to have wet feet, and the Eagle nest nearby will have a hard time finding prey in a thicker swamp.  

I saw very few birds where I had been seeing and hearing many...I did find one owl pellet I forgot to take a shot of it before I began to sift thru it...

small rodent vole, mole? 

A common Yellow Throat took a look at me from the other side of the road...

back in the radius a black n white warbler gave me a serenade..

The Yellow eyed Eastern Towhee is still living in the clear cut Im happy to report. 

Some beautiful colorful Variegated Fritillary 

The Sticky Honeysuckle is in flower, bees love this..

and in the yard if you like Gardenia...these have a heavenly intoxicating fragrance...

I have 4 of these shrubs in my yard, they bloom very fast and fade quickly and I always enjoy them.  Other fun things in my container garden are the yellow squash that I ate yesterday! 

And these Green Peppers will make all sorts of good food at our table..

did I mention it was hot?....lol

northern mockingbird

We went to a small town nearby after memorial day and found this on display off main street...

We realized we knew the man James D Heriot we had found his grave here in Rembert Methodist Cemetery...and there is a short bio here of his military history including the medal of valor, I had taken a photo of his headstone.  And now he is forever memorialized in Bronze...and then another thing dawned on me...this is the sculpture's signature

M J Kirby-Smith 

I had forgotten about an artist I used to do upholstery for when I had my shop open back in the 1990's.  This artist had moved into the area... she was young and unknown and was budget conscious so we worked with her. on several of her decorating projects..and it dawned on me this is the same  Miss Kirby-Smith!  She has left quite a mark on our community and the surrounding area! And here is another of her work in our town...

Kinda dark and dreary on this day, this is the Catawba Chief, King Haigler, with Joseph Kershaw...and once I googled up her website, I realized she has become quite a successful artist since she arrived here in the 1990's.  I don't know if she still lives here but I suspect she does. 

We took a trip to town recently ...

and ended up at the farmers market...

That was fun...

And lastly a wonderful roadside find...

it rocks....soon to be a make over project for me...

PEACE

Every day is a new Adventure.