Stormy Weekend.

This weekend has been windy and rainy. Not the condition you would like for getting out and being productive. We did however wake up yesterday and thoughts of a New England vacation ran through our heads and so we pondered when we could go. Needles has a co worker that will probably take maternity leave in July and August. I also wasn't sure what time my co workers had marked off in the next couple of months so we made a run to my work and checked the vacation calender. It just so happens the week we were looking at was open so after a little shopping we headed home to get started. The first thing was books was the flight and we hoped everything else would have to fall into place. We booked our 3 nights in Boston and then I think we are going to take the train up to Salem, Mass. and stay a couple days. The last couple of days we are going to rent a car to do a little running around and we are currently searching for a nice Inn on the coast of Maine with a few luxuries to maybe do some relaxing to end our trip. It seems like a lot of the things we wanted to do has been falling into place really well. A lot of the things we wanted to do or see have been really close to the places we are staying. Before we knew it it was 10pm at night and we had spent most of the day looking over a researching things to do and places to stay. I am excited that in less than a month we will be on vacation.

Above is a couple of shots of a Cardinal that took shelter from yesterdays storm on our back patio.

Five Days

The last five days has flown by. After work Thursday we headed down to Needles Mom's house for the spring turkey season. 5:00am came awful early every morning but I would walk the 1/2 mile or more to the blind or to where I heard the turkeys and settle in to try and call the birds in. The first morning I heard 1 gobble and didn't see a bird. Little did I know this was pretty much going to be par for the season. After the hunts were over, I only saw 1 bird and it was about 150 yards away heading away from me in a hurried manner. I heard a lot of birds but just never seem to be in the direction they wanted to go. Over the hunting season I think I put around 10 to 12 miles on my feet walking through the woods. I think this is maybe my last spring turkey season. When we got home there was a lot to get caught up on. The lawn needed desperately to be mowed, tomato plants that "L" gave us needed to get into some fresh earth and the laundry needed to be done. Today found us also doing some long needed grocery shopping and then a stop by our local Chinese place for lunch. This evening we did a bit of weeding and patio setting. I noticed a pair of house finches hanging around so I thought I would knock the dust off the camera and snap a few shots. Tomorrow it is back to work and it sounds like rain is going to be moving into the area for the next few days.

Another busy weekend.

Since Needles , Jenny and Ragged have ventured to the North for a couple of days of yarn and fiber, I thought I would catch up on some work that seems to have stacked up without me knowing it. I was able to finish off a few of my continuing education classes that I had let slip. 4 down 6 to go. Also I mowed not only my yard but my parents yard too and sprayed the driveway. I love the spring but all the chores that seem to go along with it is the pits. I did however get to have a little fun and snap a few pics of some flowers in the yard and the red bud tree that is in full bloom.

A Full Weekend.

Yesterday after work I came home and took a nap. After the nap I needed to get some gas for the lawnmower and the dreaded first mowing of the lawn. The lawn mowed, I did a bit of trimming and then it was time for Supper. On the menu for the evening was a nice sirloin steak for Needles and New York strip for me on the grill, followed by grilled asparagus. Last year we didn't grill out once but this year we have already had hamburgers, salmon steaks, chicken breasts and steaks. I think we will need to do hot dogs very soon. After supper we went to the very busy Dairy Dee. We were in the drive up line for 20 to 25 minutes. Needles got a small strawberry cheesecake and pineapple twist cone and I got a large hot fudge sundae. We brought them home and sat on the back patio while we enjoyed our treats. I did manage to finish up a few small chores that I had been putting off. We finally went in around 9pm and decided to rent a movie. On tap was the new Sherlock Holmes movie with Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law. It was a good movie but sometimes you had to listen close as the British accents was hard to understand and follow. We finished up watching the movie around midnight and finally retired to bed around 1pm. This morning we enjoyed scrambled eggs and sweet & spicy sausage. After breakfast we started in doing some spring cleaning. We seem to have accumulated a lot of boxes over the winter and needed to do some clutter removal. We seemed to make some progress and get a few things straightened up. I assembled a wire shelf I bought for Needles at least 3 years ago and put it in the room for more off the floor storage. We boxed up some Xmas and Halloween items and took them out to the garage for storage. After lunch we went out to my Mom and Dads house and cleaned up some of the tree that had fallen with still much more to do. We are now at home watching some TV and rubbing some poor kitties that were neglected in our absence. Tomorrow will be Needles B'day and we are going to L's to celebrate that 37 years ago tomorrow a little girl was born that would make my life worth living. Happy Birthday Needles.

Easter Times A Coming!

Today Needles and I played hooky from work for a fun filled day at the dentist. Really it wasn't that bad. We both got clean bills of dental health and then we picked up some fried chicken with coleslaw, baked beans, rolls and headed to Needles Mom's house for lunch and also to color easter eggies. I was working on a project that didn't pan out but I am not deterred and will rethink it and try again. Happy Pre Easter everyone. If you didn't know Needles B'day is on Easter this year.

UGH!

April showers brings May flowers. March showers bring distruction and damage. Thanks March.
Thursday after work I got home and was relaxing when I received a phone call from the neighbor across the street from my Mom and Dad's home. She said that the large tree by the patio had fallen and was on the garage. Needles and I drove out to see how bad it was going to be. When I got there I noticed the camper had some debry on it but otherwise was in good shape. I went home and returned with the ball hitch to see if I could pull out the camper. After outting the truck in 4 wheel drive we were able to move the camper to a better location incase the tree decided to shift and settle a little more. The fun never ends.



This is the carport where I parked my popup camper. I was very lucky in that the only damage it got from the tree falling was a busted tail light.

A "because I haven't posted in almost a month" post.

This weekend was one of the more productive in some aspects. Saturday morning Needles and I planed a trip to get some new tires for the Jeep. After a quick trip to the local bank to cash in my accumulation of change we were on our way. After we found out that they didn't have the tires I needed and had to order them we did a little grocery shopping and then a stop at Taco Bell for lunch. When we got home we decided to grill out since it was a nice day. I had to do a little work on the grill so by the time I was done I think we were ready for supper. I grilled out hamburgers while Needles got the sides ready. Tater tots and onions rings and I had baked beans. Shortly after supper we were visited by my Rudy, Brando and the gang. Before long it was time for them to return home. Brando had picked up New Moon and the local Redbox so last night we were able to watch it. It was pretty good for a "Sparkle-pire" movie. Sunday even though I wanted to sleep late started just as early and Saturday with my eyes popping open at just before 7am. I layed in bed until a quarter after and finally had to get out. I started watching our Net Flicks movie until Needles got out of bed. We had plans for lunch at Needles Moms so before long Needles was up and we headed South. After lunch and dessert I wanted to do some scouting before turkey season and Needles wanted to walk with me though the woods and see the property she lived on most of her life but rarely got to see. When we started out it was just slightly raining but by the time we got to the woods the rain and wind had picked up. When we got to the southern property line we were both soaked through. We did jump up several deer on our walk and watched as they ran through the woods and out of our sight. On our return trip we walked the western tree line until we got into the field and then Needles was able to open an umbrella and knock some of the rain off of her. By the time we got back to the house my ears were so cold they felt like they would break off. I think we walked about 2 and a half miles total but walking mostly in the mud and rain we got a pretty good work out. After we got back to the house we warmed up with some coffee. We returned home and since we haven't been geocaching lately and the caches I had placed weren't getting visited very often I decided to archive them. Of the seven caches I had left I archived 6 of them. Since they were archived I needed to get the containers out of the woods. Needles came along with me as we did quick drive bys of the locations to retrieve the containers. It is amazing how cache containers seem to drift a bit from their original locations. I was able to find all of them except one which I think is missing. After we gathered the containers we needed to make a run to L'ville and return the movie Brando had let us borrow. The weekend went fast and it seemed like we were on the go for most of it. The next few weekends will be busy with family visits and turkey season coming up. Also it seems the first few weekends of spring are busy for caching up on things that I let slide over the last few months. Hope everyone had a nice weekend.

800

800th Post.

Weekend in a blurr.

Friday after work Needles and I came home and did some last minute cleaning to get the house in order for our weekend visitors. Our guests arrived a little after 5pm and while we caught up with each other Needles had homemade chili simmering in the kitchen. After we got our belly's full we watched the Olympics until time for bed. The next morning I got up bright and early at 6:15am and got up to get my shower and get coffee and breakfast under way. Before long Ragged and Cynical joined me with Needles last to shake off the vale of sleep. We enjoyed coffee, scrambled eggs, turkey beacon and toast before we got showers and out the door to visit the local yarn shop for the ladies. After the yarn shop we stopped off at a local sandwich shop called Quickies with their rather peculiar menu. After we ate we ventured over to a gourmet popcorn shop called Pop Around the Clock. We looked over their unusually flavored popcorn. We left with a bag of Chocolate Cherry Bliss, Death by Chocolate, Cookies and Cream and Confetti. We then stopped at Rudy, Brando and the gang for a visit and before long we noticed our belly's growling and after consorting with the Magic 8 Ball our fate was decided to eat at Mi Casita. We arrived home around 9pm and finished off the night with more Olympic coverage before bedtime. This morning both Needles and I slept in. Needles treated us to a dessert type breakfast which consisted of Blueberry Crumble Ala mode. Its good to be an adult and eat sweets for breakfast. We brewed some more coffee and visited with each other until all to quickly it was time for our guests to leave. It was a good weekend even though it went by in a flash. Tomorrow it will be back to work and also a added bonus of training on our new Radiology Information System. I have my fingers crossed and lately the going hasn't been so smooth. I am hoping that we are in the downhill side of this project. Hope everyone had a great weekend.

Happy Valentines Day!

Blue Jay
Song Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco

More Pictures.

Hawk in flight

Kestrel

Red tail hawk

Red tail hawk

Mallards

More Mallards

Bald Eagle 2-13-2010

Another video of the bald eagles in Mt. Carmel, IL. Wish we could get a sunny Saturday.

Asian Culture Night

Tonight Needles and I went to our second Asian Culture Night at VU. The night started off with some presentations and entertainment by the asian students attending the university. We then were released upon the authentic asian food. Korean bbq and edamame wasabi salad were some of the more memorable courses. We then were entertained by Chaitown. An Indian acapella group.

It was a very fun night and we were feed well. It was a great way to kick off the weekend.

Questionable Sanity.

Three to four inches of snow plus windy gusts of up to 30 miles an hours....Sounds like a perfect day for photography. Today "D" and I ventured to Olney and see if we could see the nesting eagles in the area.

When we arrived to the area we observed one of the pair flying over the water and settling down in a field about 150 to 200 yards away from the road. We decided to try to sneak into the nest area a wait on him. Apparently Mr. Eagle didn't get the message for the meeting because after setting in the wind and weather for almost 2 hours without a sighting we decided to leave. We got about half way in our half mile walk back to the Jeep when we saw Mr. Eagle do a cursory fly by of the nest area. Lets just say the Mr. Eagle wasn't the only one cursEry.

Greater white fronted geese

We decided to get lunch and move on to Mt. Carmel and try our luck there. When we arrived both eagles were setting on their favorite branch and just about the time I stopped they both jumped up and flew to the West. They circled and dove and inverted under each other in the air in what I think might be courting and mating behavior as it is just about time for egg laying. They both looked like they were having fun. After they disappeared into the blue, we wondered on back into the back area of the property and viewing station. We didn't notice a lot of activity and pondered if the wildlife might have been smarter that us and stayed in because of the nasty weather. Just before we left we went back to the nest area and had both adult bald eagles setting on their favorite limb and had three immatures fly by the area. The eagle sighting count on the day was six and I think this is the most individuals I have seen before in a single day. Over all it was nice to be out and get to spend time in nature.

Hooded Merganser

The day was overcast, the lighting was crappy and the weather was bad but probably the best time of the whole day was setting on a snow covered tree trunk and talking and sharing stories with "D".

Hope everyone had a great Saturday.

Eagle Video.

This video was edited from about 40minutes worth of footage. Not too exciting but wouldn't you know 3 minutes after I quit videoing they flew away into the blue.

Weekend Pictures

Last week I was looking over ebay and since I had some Xmas money that was burning a hole in my pocket I decided to get a new lens for my Canon SLR. The lens I got was a Canon EF 70-300mm 4/5.7 IS usm. I researched this lens and it seems to be highly praised in the non professional photography world. It is just a step down from an L lens and since I dont have 1200 to 10000 dollars to pay for those kinds of lenses this will have to do. My friend "D" and I has been going out looking for eagles the last few weekends and we thought we would make a trip to Mt. Carmel to see if we might chance upon the eagles which has made the area their home for the last several years. Upon arriving to the area we meet a elderly couple watching with binoculars from their truck and another gentleman that was watching from a car. We moved upto the area as to not crowd the people already there and started to set up. We noticed the gentleman from the car started to get his photography equipment out and I think you could have knocked "D" and I over with an eagle feather. I thought I would never see one in real life but what he had was a Canon 800mm L lens. We are talking a 11-$12,000 lens. Of course we gathered around the young man and drooled over the images on his lcd screen. Wow! Blad eagles have feathers....AMAZING! I thought they were just covered in blurr. Hmmmm. Anyway we enjoyed talking with a fellow wildlife photographer and had a rather productive day with 3 mature eagles sightings and photos on the board. Here are a few of the picks.

Video from Samsung SC-MX20 w 36X optical zoom.

Hello Stranger...

Today "D" and I got a late start on the day and with the crappy lighting due to the second weekend in a row with overcast clouds, we stayed local. We started driving around the back roads in an area he has chanced upon eagles before. We were able to see a few hawks and other wildlife. We drove up to a road that runs parallel with the Wabash river and with all the ditches and creeks running full, we were wondering if the road might be washed out due to the recent rain and snow melt. Before long the car came to a sudden stop and I heard "D" say "There he is!" I think we were both amazed and excited that we just happened upon an adult bald eagle that we really wasn't expecting to see. I jumped out and snapped a few pics but with the crappy lighting, I didn't have my 2X on the camera. After snapping a few shots with the 300mm, I decide to try to get the 2X attached when the stranger hopped off the branch and flew away into the distance. I am just glad we got to see another bald eagle even though the encounter was brief.

Apple is iPain in the Arse.

I purchased an ipod touch 16G 2 gen for Needles a couple of months back. It was to be a Xmas present for Needles and we waited until Dec. 23 rd to open the item. Upon opening the iPod and syncing it with Needles computer it seemed fine for about 15 sec. or so and then the dreaded white screen of death. I called Apple and the young man told me how to reset the iPod by pressing the button on the top left of the ipod and the bottom button and hold for 10 sec. After I did this the screen bounced back with the Apple logo. I hung up with the Apple phone support person and just as I did the screen went white again. I tried to reset the iPod several times and when that didn't help I called Apple again. After being on the phone with another person for 15 to 20 minutes we did the restore on the iTunes program. After starting the restore I was told to call back if this didn't resolve the problem. The restore took about 20 minutes or so I checked the iPod and while restoring the screen started to flicker. I called Apple for a third time and talked with a lady who instructed me to remove all Apple programs from the computer, reinstall all Apple programs to the computer and then do yet another restore in iTunes and the final result was that the computer couldn't detect the iPod. All in all I was on the phone with Apple for around 3 hours. After this I was on hold for another 10 minutes until I got to talk with a supervisor which told me to email a couple of diagnostic files from the computer to him. After this was done I was told since it was the holiday that it would be next Wed. before I heard anything back from their TECH dept. It turned out to be about 10 days later that I finally got a call from the supervisor. He shipped a box to me so that I could send the Ipod back to Apple. I received the box on the 6th and shipped it back the next day. We got an email that the item was replaced and was sent back to us. The problem now was that when they shipped it back they sent it Direct Signature. This means that someone has to be here to sign. No print out a signature page form the website and sign it so that they can leave it at the door. FedEx would deliver 3 times and then the package would go back to Apple. They tried to deliver it last Thursday. No one was home to sign. They tried again Friday and still we were working and not going to take a day off to sign for a package. Today Needles was able to stay home for MLK day and she was finally able to sign for the package on the 3rd attempt. I already made up my mind that if this didn't get delivered today due to some screw up and it went back to Apple then I was going to demand my money back. I am glad Needles now has her Ipod but I a feed up with Apple and the way they take care of their customers. This will be the last Apple product I purchase.

Goodbye Old Friend.

Sam 1993-2010

This is Sam. She has been a faithful companion to my friend "D" for 17 years. Sam passed away today and I am glad to be one of the privileged to have known her and have her in my life the brief moments that I could. She was sometimes crabby but mostly very sweet and loving. You could tell she loved her owners arms wrapped around her and the spot on the stove over the pilot light. She left behind 3 younger siblings Lilly, Simon and Reggie. My heart is hurting for my friend "D" and it is always hard to see the hurt, pain and feeling of loss when things like this happen. They say time heals all wounds.....Right now it doesn't feel like it. Goodbye sweety you will be missed.

Immature Bald Eagle Spotted

Look what I spotted while driving around in the country 1 mile West of Sumner, IL.

Here is a reference image of a known immature bald eagle to compare.