Solution

Well, I think this might work! Talk about a long journey to this birdbath heater. Yesterday I went to the local hardware store to find they didn't have any birdbath heaters, so I headed over to the Wild Bird Chalet and found that there are really no other ways to get a heater into your birdbath unless you have electricity running out the door. I went to the apartment manager and found that there are no outside electrical options on the front side of the apartment, only the back. 

Back to the hardware store to find a flat (relatively speaking) extension cord that we might be able to get under the door. Smart Guy was extremely reluctant to have all this dubious activity going on (like an extension cord going outside into the rain), so he helped me to find a solution in order to keep me from being electrocuted. This little 45-watt heater sits in the bottom of a shallow birdbath (I can't make it stay on the bottom without that rock on it) and it gently warms the water. I suspect that in extremely cold weather it won't work. Once we got it covered up with electrical tape and I promised to unplug it at night before I go to bed AND also check the tape holding it in place under the front door, we got this solution to water for the birds.

When I came home today from the gym, Smart Guy said he has seen the jays, lots of chickadees and juncos, and of course sparrows drinking from the birdbath. I am really overjoyed. As soon as I sat down to write this post, several birds came to drink and I was able to snap that picture above.

I have thought of several different things I'd like to write about, so I have begun another blog, which I'll tell you about as soon as I get something on there. It is not going to be limited in length (I strive for brevity on this blog), and hopefully I will explore some of the more emotional and controversial issues that I have decided not to post here, since it's not easy to put those ideas into a few paragraphs. This one, D-Jan-ity, I want to remain relevant to the followers I've accumulated and also bring "eye candy" to make it more interesting. I never thought I would be starting another one before a year had passed!

There is no way for me to be amusing like so many of the blogs I follow are, I try and it comes off flat. I can't be Robynn or Rae, I know; I've tried. This venue has opened up worlds I never knew existed, and for that I am grateful. Never did I think that here in retirement my circle of friends would grow so large, so relevant, so... virtual.

:-)

Worry

Talk about lack of perspective! I certainly lost it. Last night I woke up worrying about the wild birds I feed. They are precious to me, don't get me wrong, but it just doesn't help to lay in bed and listen to the wind, thinking about my birds and how they're doing out there in the extreme cold and wind. They are wild things, after all.

But I do know they benefit from my ministrations, so I keep the feeders filled and spread plenty of seed on the porch for the juncos who don't go up to the hanging feeders. A source of water is very important to their survival also, since they can't digest the birdseed without it. I keep a nice bird bath for them, which kept freezing over all day long yesterday. I fretted about it and got on the internet to see what people do to keep the water from freezing. This pictured bird bath heater is one way, but it requires an extension cord from your house to the bird bath, and I'm not willing to run a cord out the door. They do make solar heated ones, but usually that doesn't make much sense in the Pacific Northwest where we just don't get a lot of sun in the winter.

Okay, what about battery powered ones? They do make them but they must not be very popular because I couldn't find much on line to consider. I'll go over to the Wild Bird Chalet today and see what they have for me. I did find a wonderful idea of putting bricks in the oven and heating them up, and placing one in the middle of the bird bath, which would work for people like me who are willing to spend their day taking care of the birds!

There are so many things to worry about, I don't know why this became so prominent in my mind last night. Maybe it was watching the birds try to drink water yesterday and their little beaks just met hard ice. I would go out and break up the ice but within an hour it was back again.

My grandmother was a champion worrier. She would find things in my life to worry about because she didn't have enough in her own life to fill that void. I remember telling her not to worry about me because I wasn't worried, but she would just look at me and say "that's why I need to; someone has to!" It is easy to find something to worry about: look at all the things that can go wrong with the human body! Look at all the distressed homeless people! (Oh my, now I've done it! What are THEY doing tonight?)

So today I'll fix the problem somehow and make sure my birdies have the best care I can provide. I wish it were so easy to do something for those people huddled under bridges.
:-(

Rex block

Working at the National Center for Atmospheric Research for 30 years, and then becoming a skydiver who wanted to know if the weather would be jumpable or not, I have become somewhat of a weather geek. The first thing I learned at NCAR was that meteorologists are very fond of jargon. I heard  people talking together in the halls about models and millibars, worfs and enseps (actually WRF and NCEP). I began watching the weather on TV and tried to understand weather prediction. There was a prediction map room at NCAR where scientists would gather and argue enthusiastically about the weather. The blackboard was full of predictions of precipitation and other contests. But I am not a meteorologist. Today I ran across something new to me:

Short term...a strong Rex block sits along 140w. An upper low over west central Oregon combined with a strong 1060 mb high over northern B.C. is combining to give modified Arctic outflow to the area today. Williams Lake to Bellingham pressure gradients are over 14 mb this morning and will stay strong through this evening.

Long term...the Rex block is established and will take its time to break down. New long term models are generally holding western Washington in the northern stream through about Friday and keep higher pressure to the NE of the area preventing the influx of marine air.

Rex Block is not a person, but rather a weather pattern that, in the USA, is most often found over the West Coast. According to the NWS weather glossary, a Rex block is "a blocking pattern where there is an upper level high located directly north of a closed low." The pattern takes its name from the meteorologist who first identified it. Here's what it looks like (thanks to Jeff Haby's valuable website here):

What this does here in the Pacific Northwest is dry things out.  And the wind! Oh my! Our weather today is predicted to stay windy and the temperature will drop all during the day as that Arctic front moves down. I am sitting here, toasty and warm, listening to the gale force winds outside. With the wind chill it must be in the teens right now. My latte may have to wait.

:-)

Perspective

This picture of the Earth was taken in December 1968. As the Apollo 8 command module rounded the far side of the Moon, the crew could look toward the lunar horizon and see the Earth appear to rise, due to their spacecraft's orbital motion. Their perspective of the Earth, I am sure, was one they would never forget.

Our problems always look different when we look at them from a different perspective. On that globe in the sky are billions of people, fighting wars and making love, being born and dying. That fragile little planet hanging there in the sky is all we have. It is a beautiful gift.

I began thinking about perspective when I read a post at Recollections of a Vagabonde about her having been in Paris this past Armistice Day, November 11. When she returned to the States, she got sick and spent the time reading some books about World War I, what is called "The Great War." I didn't realize how many millions of people died during that war until I read this post. I knew Veterans Day, as it is called in the US, was to commemorate the end of this war, but I learned a great deal when I read her well researched article.

Even though the population of the Earth was much smaller at the beginning of the last century than it is today, 40 million were dead or injured in the four years this war was waged. When I think of the conflicts going on in the world now, they pale against this number. The fact that I know about every major war in the world today, every newsworthy death that the media finds to tell me about, near and far, distorts my perspective of what is happening in the world. And the media also distorts my perspective because it doesn't focus on the positive, but only on the negative. Rarely do I read any stories anywhere that tell of the magnificent, courageous and meaningful things that humanity is also accomplishing every single day.

When I visit Astronomy Picture of the Day, my perspective begins to change, placing my problems and the world's problems into a different perspective. I can then lift my head, breathe a little easier, and feel my natural optimism begin to return. Then I walk over to my iMac, turn it on, and read all the wonderful things my blogging friends have to say.

I read about my friends all over the world: in India, the Philippines, Scotland, Ireland, Britain, Canada, and all the regions of the United States. They write funny and profound stories, show me pictures of their lives, talk about their concerns and their children, grandchildren, illnesses, fears and coping strategies. I am uplifted and energized, ready to start my day with a positive attitude, with a perspective of hope.
:-)

Raptor Ridge

 Things never turn out like we plan them, do they? I was all ready to take off with the other eleven Senior Trailblazers who showed up on this beautiful sunny Thursday, but unfortunately, I locked my car keys into my car by mistake, and with my camera still inside, I reluctantly stayed behind as they all car pooled and headed up to Raptor Ridge. I called Smart Guy, who dressed and quickly drove over to the Senior Center to help me into my car. While I was waiting for him, I figured that since it was such a beautiful day I could drive myself to the trailhead and maybe, just maybe, catch up with them. And that is exactly what I did. The picture above was taken when I first started up the trailhead, with nobody to hurry me along, I was just astounded at all the moss and snapped the picture. (You can click on any of these pictures if you really want to get the full effect.)

I was a half hour behind the others, so I took no breaks and didn't know if I could even catch up with them, much less find the right trail amongst all the others leading off from the Interurban Trail. Fortunately for me, the twists and turns were all well marked, and when I saw a couple of runners coming down the trail they assured me that the group (obviously on the older side, like me) were ahead.

Just before the turnoff to Raptor Ridge, I caught up with them. They were pretty amazed to see me, but they had taken short breaks and I hadn't. We had lunch together, as shown by the above picture, and enjoyed the amazing view from Raptor Ridge. We saw no raptors, and this picture below doesn't really give the full effect of the drop-off to the left of the moss. Notice the hiking boots in the upper right corner. I was as far back as I could get and still not fall off. A few wags suggested that I could just back up a little farther and get a great picture.

On the way back down the trail, we saw this incredible moss-covered rock with a huge tree growing right out of the top of it. This is not an optical illusion, but I am just not sure where that tree got its nourishment. Talk about wringing blood from a turnip...

All in all, we covered 8 miles and went up about 1,600 feet in elevation, and now I'm tired, happy, and very ready for tomorrow's massage after my workout at the gym. My life is pretty good, and I am right here and now giving thanks for having the ability to do these things. It will not always be so; that's the way of life. The quality of our life, however, is not measured in what tomorrow brings, but what we do with today.

:-)

Birthday presents

On Tuesdays, I attend a much smaller class, Robin's Strength and Tone at the Y. My Facebook friends have already seen this picture, but I couldn't resist because, as one of my blogging friends tactfully pointed out, I am a HAM! Another participant took this picture yesterday while I hammed it up with some of my friends in the class. The other one in red and the person next to her have been introduced to me but I've forgotten their names. In the dark shirt is Jackie, and then Cheryl, Robin herself, my friend Jean and on the far right is Robin's mother. I think Mom is almost 80. Robin's class is at 9:00 am on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but I am usually hiking with the Seniors on Thursdays.

Now I understand the power of Facebook and blogging. Yesterday I received literally dozens of well wishes for my birthday on Facebook: from family members, skydiving buddies from my past as well as the present, people I've known over the years from my workplace, and people I've met from all over the world. It is truly wonderful. And then there are my new blogging friends who are already very special in my heart. I would name them but I am afraid I'd miss somebody.

Tomorrow I'll be hiking up to Raptor Ridge in the Chuckanuts with the Seniors. It is a new hike for me, and the weather looks like it will be gorgeous, so I'll be posting those pictures on here. In the meantime, I am feeling like one of the luckiest people in the world. And oh yes, I would be remiss if I didn't mention another major blessing in my life: my husband whom I have given the moniker of "Smart Guy" on this blog. It fits.

:-)

Christmas elves

One year when I was home visiting my parents and siblings for the holidays, my sister Norma Jean and I went to Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. I think I had been married for some time and away from home for awhile, but I really don't remember when it was for sure. My parents had two distinct families, and the youngest three were all six or under at this time, while Norma Jean and I were adults.

When we went out the door, Mama and Daddy had begun the Christmas Eve preparations for the young ones in the house (my brother and sisters) who had finally gone to bed. They had begun to assemble a bicycle for our brother Buz and had to finish wrapping and putting Santa's gifts under the tree. It was a warm and happy scene. Off we went to Midnight Mass.

When we returned, the scene was anything but happy. The entire living room was scattered with glasses half-covered in salt (from partially consumed margaritas), and the bike was still only half assembled in the living room. The entire scene was, in a word, a nightmare. And our parents had stumbled into their bedroom and crawled into bed. Apparently in the midst of their tasks, some friends had come over to visit and our parents had gotten quite drunk and forgotten what tonight meant to their young children.

We were aghast. For a few minutes we wandered through the living room and kitchen and wondered what to do. We decided that we would be Christmas elves and fix things. Norma Jean set to the task of reading directions on how to assemble the bicycle, and I began to clean things up: we toiled for several hours before inspecting our work and calling it good. Norma Jean had learned how to follow arcane directions and actually put the bike together! (I was more impressed by this than I let on at the time.)

Well, in the morning the kids came downstairs to find that Santa had indeed come during the night, and that his elves had done their work quite well. It is one of the more satisfying Christmas memories that I share with my sister. We still smile about it. I had to write to Norma Jean to see if my memory of the event matched hers, and it pretty much did. She said,

Maybe that's where I got the start of loving the feeling of accomplishment when I read directions and put things together. . . . We cleaned up and set up the living room to be a real Christmas when everyone got up the next morning. It was certainly memorable.

Over the years, Christmas has lost much of its magic for me. I don't like what I see happening to Christmas these days, but I am sure that there are still many parents, and Santas, and elves, making things happen for others.
:-)