Lots of little things going on keeping me busy, but nothing of note worthy of a post. Catching up from the past couple of weeks goings on.

On the critter front:

  • Chuck and Susu have finally woken up fully and have been scurrying about. They have been spending more time around the Shedroom than before Winter. I put them some seeds out today on the porch. I can get some good close looks at them now, with the hope of actually being able to tell the difference between the two (or maybe more for that matter).
  • The deer have shown up a couple of times over the past couple of weeks, so I guess they haven’t completely moved off. One day it was kinda the full herd, maybe 6 or so. The next time was just a single. I’m still putting some food out every few days in case they stop by.
  • One new bird has shown up in the last few days. I haven’t identified it yet. I would describe it as a very “woodsy” bird. Shaped a bit like, and about the size of, a pigeon, but a very pretty tawny brown on top, with black and white checks on its wingtips. Haven’t seen one like it since last fall. And today when working in the yard I think I heard a hummingbird. I had been negligent and hadn’t made up any nectar. So I made up a batch, and filled the feeder from last year, and almost completely filled the new larger feeder. That was with a batch of 4 cups water and 1 cup of sugar. Going forward 5 cups of water and 1 1/4 cups of sugar should fill both feeders completely. Or 1 cup of water and 1/4 cup of sugar for the small, and the 4 cup recipe for the large. Looking forward to attempting to get some good pics/videos of the hummingbirds with the nice tripod I got for Xmas. Overall though, the bird activity around the front yard has been pretty quiet. Particularly the little juncos and finches and such are busy elsewhere. There are some around throughout the day, but not in the numbers I was seeing during the middle of Winter. The jays too, are usually off somewhere else most of the day. They aren’t far off though, and can hear and see them off in the distance.

Weather-wise:

  • The snow is still not quite done. It has snowed a little a few times. Nothing that stays around, and usually doesn’t even show on the ground. Had one day that covered everything in white early in the morning, but it was soon gone. Even just yesterday and today there were a few little flakes, and some graupel.
  • It has also been really windy the last few weeks. Like nearly everyday it has been windy, especially in the afternoons. Most wind I have seen since being here, and the most constant. Just a steady wind all day. Some days really gusty too. The wind really gets to me. It will turn a lovely sunny day into something I don’t want to be out in.
  • Temps have been nice. I had the past week off, and the first part of the week was really nice, and not as breezy. Highs in the upper 60s. Still can get pretty chilly at night, on occasion down to freezing or just below. But typically in the 30s or 40s and I have been able to spend my nights in the Shedroom. My back is certainly appreciating getting to sleep in my bed again instead of the not so comfortable couch (it’s ok for a night or two, but it was taking a toll on my back after many successive nights).

Other Notes:

  • Did some Spring cleaning in the Shedroom and rearranged it a bit. I had had the bed lengthwise against the back wall. This gave more room, but it made making the bed tough, and the more annoying thing is that the covers would tend to want to fall of the bed on the side not against the wall when turning over or moving around at night. So at worst I would wake up cold with half the covers off, or at best end up with a tangled mess. I moved the bed so the head of the bed is against the back wall. This allows me to easily to get at each side of the bed, and the covers stay on as they should. This also allowed me to move the Poang chair to one side of the bed and the night table to the other. I will have to swap the bed and the chair positions once Winter returns and I get wood burning stove installed. Should still have room to get to each side of the bed.
  • Got a library card. I didn’t look around too much at the whole library. It is fairly small but well laid out and seems sell stocked. I was interested in local history and flora and fauna. They have a whole section concerning that that looks to be from a local’s personal collection that was donated. One small spiral bound book, that looks almost like a research had some great information. The author had found broken spear points and arrow heads and other tools in the valley down the hill from me that indicate folks were living around here 10,000 years ago.
  • Cleaned up the area underneath the Pondersosas between the Cabin and the Shedroom. I can now hang a hammock (or two) out there as well as my camp chair and a small table. That area stays shady and cool throughout the day and I plan on working out there as things warm up.