Boxing Day, And The Feasting Continues

Here's one creature in our household's orbit who's happy to put on a little weight before winter sets in. This chickadee is checking out the suet feeder that's now in the Norway pine. It's a challenge for my avian friends to find the suet feeder each morning, as I need to change its location every day or two to foil the squirrels, who would otherwise nom it empty in no time.

The sparrows and starlings also enjoy their fattysnax. Peck away, friends! And then tomorrow, look for it in the blue spruce in the backyard! Sshh! Don't tell Rocky, let him look for it.

Squeezed To Meet You!

Okay, I think we can see these are not your average, lazily-smothering-the-old-tree-type vines; these are some strangulatin' vegetable-constrictors that mean business. Having gotten hold of a strong young sapling, they are Taking. It. Down yessirree.
You'll understand why I made sure to keep moving, and not stand for too long in one spot, when I walked around the Knollwood ruins in Muttontown Preserve with my brother yesterday. The English ivy was so vigorous, so extensive... I swear it was grabbing my shoelaces...

More Out-Of-Title Work

A young woman holding a big SLR camera (nothing like the one pictured) comes to the desk and wonders if I can help her. Of course I will, if I can. She explains she's taking a photography course. Okay! What does she need: a book or two? A local camera club? Help with Flickr? No...she wonders if I can show her how to load her camera with this thing they call..."film." Yes, yes, of course I can. We're a full-service agency.

Gruesome Fun

Looks like the kids next door have already gotten this season's hot new toy, Decapitate Me Elmo!

Running For The Fun Of It

I've been getting out a little more on the bicycle, but yesterday I enjoyed my exercise vicariously, watching the DH run in another local 5K . I made myself useful taking finish-line photos for a local running shop that had looked in vain for a volunteer photographer. It was a perfect day for running: clear and sunny, cool and dry. Here he is coming over the finish line:

He makes me so proud. No excuses, no extreme training, he just goes out and runs because he likes to. What a guy.

Oh, Autumn, How Could You?

Mother Nature, I thought we were pals. But first Irene's brackish floods turned the leaves from green to brown with no inbetween, and now this, the untimely arrival of sn...no, I won't say its name. I will only say where, oh where, are the crunchy piles of rainbow-colored leaves and the smell of woodsmoke in dry, crisp air? Release my rosebuds from these individual miracles of crystallization instantly, I insist! Really. Am putting my foot down. And then, wiping it carefully before coming back inside, because it is snowing out there. (Oops!)

Thanks For Pointing That Out!

You know you're in California when even the traffic signals direct your attention to the natural wonders surrounding you.

If You've Filled It, They Will Come

...the wee, greedy sparrows, that is...and they will bicker and spat like the Three Stooges with wings. They'll be so busy tussling, in fact, they won't even notice they're being recorded.

A New Leaf

Oh, look at that; I've been away so long Blogger has gone and changed the dashboard on me. Well, let's see if we can't get this party (re)started. The pond lily above posed for me at Longhouse Preserve on a recent Saturday roadtrip I took with my brother. We visited the South End Cemetery in East Hampton, where the caretaker powered down his weedwhacker long enough to talk about some of the interments and gossip a little about former locals like Lee Krasner, for whom he provided landscaping services. We also hit a couple of tag sales and stopped at the Big Duck, in addition to strolling Longhouse, which combines gardens with outdoor sculpture. Then we headed back and to the north, broke the fast with the Bode clan, and finally headed home. Stella Luna put on two hundred and twenty-five miles! (She's usually a homebody, but she loves to get out and kick up her hubcaps sometimes.)  

Something Old, Something New Year

It's nice to start the year with something new, which is what we got at Fire Island yesterday: icebergs! Icebergs floating past us as we walked along the beach below the lighthouse. Much smaller than the ones in Juneau, but much closer to home.

Here's a photo of Ken in front of the icebergs. For scale, of course.



The sun was out on the causeway, and so was the welcome wagon:




It was otherwise quiet along the shore, and barren but for some seagull's lunch wrapper:


We did see this fine example of the elusive "Moe Howard" variety of seaweed:



and the eversharp eye of Ken spotted this squee-ishly small starfish. Just look at it next to my monstrously large forefinger:


Anyway, Happy New Year. Hope everyone's year really "goes to eleven." In a good way.