What A Week!

During the ice storm, Friday morning a tree fell on the house and around our car. We were not able to get out of the drive and most of the street was blocked. Pat and Mikael spent the afternoon on Friday walking around the neighborhood as many of our neighbors checking out the damage from the ice. I worked in the basement finishing the stained glass windows I was making for Christmas presents. The city crews were great; they had the tree off the house Saturday afternoon so we were able to get out. There was minimal damage to the house. The car only has a very small dent and a few minor scratches. Compared to many we are very lucky. We had electricity and heat.

The tree did smash Pat’s favorite burning bush. I am worried about the damage to the plants in the rain garden. I am hoping that because many of the plants were dormant that they will be okay. The berm is broken down and a lot of the tree is still lying in the garden so I know we will be making some repairs to the garden in the spring. I am hoping there will be minimal damage to the plants and garden when the tree is remove from the front yard.

Backyard Bird Watching

Pat and I really enjoy watching the birds. We have a very small pond and waterfall we allow to run all winter so the birds have water. We have a couple of feeders hung from our fence. We keep the area fenced off with a small fence to keep Daisy our dog out. Daisy really loves birdseed and peanuts, but Daisy’s vet said she could get sick from the bird droppings mixed in with the seed. We jokingly call this little area the pet cemetery even though there are no pets buried there. Normally there are the usual sparrows, finches, nuthatches, woodpeckers, juncos and cardinals and of course the squirrels. We really don’t intend to feed the squirrels but they do clean up the seed the birds drop so even though they can’t get to the feeders, they get their share. Occasionally we see a hawk in the yard, but it is rare. Imagine my surprise the other morning as I was doing dishes to see a Peregrine falcon sitting on the fence. My mother was visiting so there we are, the three of us excitedly watching the falcon, trying to be quiet so we wouldn’t scare it away. After a few minutes, a small finch flew off with the falcon close behind. I thought the falcons had migrated for the winter but I went to Soarin' Hawk Raptor Rehab web site http://www.soarinhawk.org/rehab/index_msie.html and there is a falcon on the web cam. For now, the falcons are still in town, I hope we will have the opportunity to see another one this winter.