The biggest discovery today was in my garden. One patch of crocus was about a quarter inch high. It is only February 13 today. Spring is coming, spring is coming!

Reunion

Author: siggy

September 9, 2016, 9:45 a.m. (Facebook):

9/9/16

I am going to a 50th high school reunion. Approximately eighty people will be there from my class. Of that class, there are two who I have kept in contact through the years although for thirty years I lost contact with one. That is a real gift to have at least two people (other than family) in your life who you have a history with, who know you since you were a child. I treasure these two relationships. When you make friends with me, it is for life. Yours. Or mine.

Scotty Brown I, too, hope to attend a 50th next summer. I have maintained friendship over the years with a handful of originals. I have lost touch with a couple, but think fondly of them. Have learned to know some others over the years, who I did not hardly know in school! Have a great time, Siggy
10:04 a.m.
Siggy J. David The reason I never made more friends later from my high school I moved twice–the last time out of state
12:01 p.m.
Susan Cranwell Osgood You’ve got a lot of friends here in Perry County. We’ve been friends for over fifteen years. Thanks for the birthday card. Can’t believe another year has gone by. Love Sue 1.44 p.m.
Mark A. Davis Hey Siggy! Facebook makes our world small, rarely go on Facebook, might post via another site, yet this came into in-box so I’m here, queer, and crazy, too! High school friends are lasting. Many feel like when we talk after ten or two years, it feels like yesterday. Enjoy the moments from a special bond from our youth. Yet, 50th already? Wow! Doing math in head, not good at it then and certainly not now. It’s in 8 years, 2024. For the 20th anniversary walking in noticing shocked looks on classmates. Long story short rumors went from living with HIV to DEAD. Literally, there in front of them alive in living color. Gave myself award for coming back the longest distance beating Leta from Alaska. LOL Again, enjoy, reflect, enjoy more, etc. AND YES, WHEN MEETING YOU IT IS A FRIENDSHIP FOR LIFE!
12:38 p.m.

Coco

Author: siggy

September 8, 2016, 11:58 a.m. (Facebook):

9/6/16

Coco, Tilla’s (two of my dogs) sister is quite different than him. She is this black midsized long haired dog with the most adorable fluffy ears. I swear she knows she is cute. She likes to observe things first. She sometimes is the first one to bed down an hour before I do. She can be quite insistent. When all three dogs are out,. she will be the first one to bark and bark to come in. She sometimes will lie down paws crossed like a prim and proper lady. She likes her privacy: She will occasionally go to another room to be by herself. When she is happy, she will slowly swish her tail back and forth. I love her dearly.

Scotty Brown A proper lady does value her privacy.
9/8/16, 3:17 p.m.
Siggy J. David She is all lady and quite insistent and stubborn but at the same time very lovable. I know I have her for a season.
9/9/16, 1:08 p.m.

September 8, 2016, 9:10 a.m. (Facebook):

2/25/9

The Birds In My Backyard And The Dawn
Author: siggy

The dawn is only an hour away. I can not wait to see the first chickadees come to my feeders. They never fail to delight me. I am always thrilled by the magnificent red-bellied woodpeckers who come to feed on the suet I have put out near the trunk of the large pine tree outside my large living room window.

The downy woodpeckers come during the day. They seem to stand at attention as they feed and go around the trunk of the tree. The occasional cardinals who feed on the ground are very wary. The beautiful bright red male cardinal never fails to delight me, too.

Every once in awhile I see a brown creeper. And the many goldfinch who love the thistle I put out for them. They will sit at the feeder for five minutes eating the thistle. Often there will be a dozen feeding on the ground. I can not wait for the males to turn yellow again. Before, I rarely saw them. Now they have become commonplace. Maybe, now I take them for granted. The slate covered junco come in flocks and might have gone away.

These are the more common birds I see out of my window every day but I never know when I will be surprised. I am waiting to see if I see any flocks of indigo buntings. They are such beautiful birds who I only see a few times a year.

There are also the piliated woodpeckers. I usually hear them not see them. Their wild cackle is unmistakable and when I am lucky I actually spot one with its large long red crown. It is such an exotic looking bird over a foot long. I never forgot the first one I spotted outside my house. I had to run into the house to grab my binoculars to get a good look at it. It was over a hundred feet away perched on a stump. I absolutely love birds. I have all my life. I guess you got that idea.

Matt Miskie I love birds too Siggy J. David – I had a number of great events at the bird feeders this year – first – late in the winter a pair of bluebirds were regulars – this is unusual because my location is really not typical bluebird territory – we had more variety of woodpeckers than usual, but the biggest surprise was when a rose breasted gross beak came and spent about 20 minutes at the feeder in early spring. Between the bird feeders and the butterfly bushes i have all of the entertainment i will ever need 🙂 Thanks for your posts.

9/8/16, 10:32 a.m.

Summer is fading quickly

Author: siggy

September 7, 2016, 12:32 p.m. (Facebook):

Summer is fading quickly: black eyed susans now are frayed and tattered. I enjoyed looking at them for a long time. Today I counted twelve morning glories–a new record. There were four different kinds–one light purple and a deeper purple and two white ones–one completely white and another white with narrow pale pink bars radiating from the center. A few hours after I viewed them they were closed. Their flowers, as far as I can tell, bloom only once. I put out new nectar today for the hummingbirds fully aware sometime soon they will stop coming and take their long journey to warmer climes. I always wonder if the one I see today will be the last one of the season. I am waiting for the flocks of small blackbirds that come through our area twice a year–in spring and fall. Our weather is always characterized by change. Nothing stays the same way forever,

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My Real Education

Author: siggy
August 18, 2016, 1:00 p.m. (Facebook):

I never considered school as being my real education. I never let myself be deluded that way. My true education was following my interests, books I read and personal experiences.

There were two notable discoveries the last two weeks.  First I saw my first Monarch butterfly in several years on our property and the other discovery was a large box turtle in the backyard.  That was the first one I saw in a few years in our yard.  It could have been six inches long.

Twice we saw a doe and her twin fawns. They were almost in the same stretch of road we often take to go onto the major highway. There are lots of woods in this area and we never know when we will flush a deer. We drive slowly through it particularly when one deer shows itself.  There is often another one behind that one.

The Titmouse or Tufted Titmouse (two names for the same bird) are very common yet I never saw a nesting spot for it.  We were pulling in the driveway and I saw a titmouse fly out of a hole in a tree about five feet up across the street.  I investigated and another one flew out of the hole in the tree.  It must have a nest there.  That was a first.  I never found a nesting spot of a titmouse before.  I really do not want to disturb them any more than I have to.  I will just keep my eyes open for that hole in the tree.

I never knew what Coco, one of our dogs, caught.  She and the other two dogs were having their last “out” of the evening.  I thought, at first, Coco had a bone in her mouth and would not drop it to get her evening biscuit.

I realized it was more than that.  It was alive although I could not tell what creature she had in her mouth.  The lighting was not too good.  First I thought she caught “Oscar” our “local” rat but the animal had fur.

I grabbed the animal out of her mouth and it lay in front of the door.  My wife was screaming, “Get it out of the house!”

Finally I scooped it up with a cat scooper and dropped it over the fence onto our driveway.  At the same time one of our cats got out.

Seconds later I got a flashlight and shined it on the spot I dropped the animal.  It was nowhere to be seen.

It is possible the animal was just stunned (Coco has retriever blood in her) or the cat grabbed it who escaped.  My wife thought the animal might have been a baby squirrel.  I will never know for sure.  I felt bad for the animal hours (an hour) later.  There was nothing else I could do.

The rat I called “Oscar” was very cautious.  He lived under our concrete porch.  I would watch for him from our large living room window.  He would dash out five feet and feed on the spilled sunflower seed from our feeder overhead.  He would only spend a few seconds feeding and immediately dash back to the safety of his entrance.

 

He would sometimes share the space with the squirrels.  Once he actually briefly rubbed noses with a squirrel and then there was a brief tousle and both creatures fled the scene.  Sometimes he chases the squirrels away.  I never watched a rat so closely.  I have seen mice before but this is the first I have ever seen a rat.  I am concerned where he will go if we block his openings.

For a short time all the trees were covered with snow.  It was April ninth and we had a “dusting” of snow–an inch or two.  It was not unheard of:  a snow “storm” this late in spring but it definitely was unusual.  The trees did not stay white too long.  I am waiting for the warmer weather to return.  And it will.  The forecast for my birthday less than a week away called for sixty degree weather and clear skies.