Monthly Archives: August 2017

Do You See What I See?

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I hesitate to write about our [from here] 80% solar eclipse.  Others have posted pix that put my efforts to shame.  Nevertheless, here’s what I captured with a tea strainer for a pin-hole camera:

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This image was projected onto our pebble-surfaced kitchen floor.  This technique was going to work, and I had over 20 minutes to max coverage.  I rose to find a sheet of white paper.  The sky grew dark.  A bank of huge dark clouds had rolled in.  The show was cancelled.

Of Bats and Birds

I was coming home from a meeting last week.  The sun had set and the sky overhead was nearly dark.  I came to a spot in the road with lots of trees on both sides.  As I approached, I could see flying bats stuffing themselves with insects.

After arriving home, I stepped out the back door.  As I watched, a pair of bats were sweeping the between our house and barn for insects.  I enjoy watching them fly in their zigzag pattern.

I’ve searched on other evenings since, but have not had the good fortune of seeing them again.

The next day, I sat here in the office at my computer.  My eye caught some movement in Sylvia’s flower garden.  It was a pair of hummingbirds battling for dominance over a yucca plant.  They sure are feisty fellows.

Source of the Title

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Where did I get the title for my previous post on this blog http://secondaryrds.com/dew-dew-dewy-day/?  I had hoped that some of my friends might recognize the reference to a popular song.

Okay, the year was 1927 and that was before our time.  Here’s a link to the song:

Perhaps the questions should be, “How do I know this song?”.  The answer to that goes back to 1954 (approx).  I had a strong mechanical curiosity (I wanted to know how things worked).  I also had a paper route, which meant I had a bit of money in my pocket.

On the way home one day I came across a yard sale.  For the amazing price of $2 I went home with a Victrola like this one.

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What a cherrry-wood beauty it was, but that was not all.  Behind the bottom doors was a collection of 78 rpm records.  Yes, Dew, Dew, Dewy Day was one of them.

I have no recollection of what became of the Victrola or the records that came with it.  A couple of years later, I was bringing home old radios and updating them to 1950s technology.  With that came an interest in short wave radio and later Amateur Radio.  Later, thanks to my older son, my interest moved into computers.

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What do we do on a dew, dew, dewy day?

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Yesterday, I saw this pair of sandhill cranes in our hay field.  Later they were finding edibles on the ground as they moved about.  They took their time as they alternated between watchfulness and feeding.

I don’t often see them on our land, although they are frequent visitors on the other side of the road.  My first thought was turkeys, but a second look proved that wrong.

Other visitors

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On Sunday, our granddaughter, Briana, stopped by with her boyfriend, Jared.  They were in Michigan to attend a wedding.  This was our first opportunity to meet Jared and we enjoyed a very nice time together.

Like so many things in life, that pleasant visit was over far too soon.  Fortunately we can visit on the phone and online.

Timing Is So Important

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Just a few moments earlier the pink outline around those clouds was very pronounced.  I walked swiftly to the office, retrieved the camera and stepped out on the front deck.  The contrast was mostly gone and only a bit of it remained.

The next day, neighbor, Bonnie, asked Sylvia, “Did you see that sunset?  It was outstanding!”  Sometimes seconds can make a huge difference.

Yesterday, I watched a documentary on the events of 9/11.  They told of people who ran errands on the way to work or were caught in traffic and didn’t get to work at the World Trade Center on time.  These were the ones who escaped the horror of that day.

Or as Maxwell Smart said, “Missed it by that much.”

It also reminds of the winter I saw the feral cat we called Corporal stalking some juncos feeding on the ground.  She slowly and stealthily sneaked along the path toward the birds.  There was a mound of snow just before she arrived at her target.  Corporal crept into place, twitched her butt a couple of times and then pounced.

As the cat leapt, the birds flew.  Corporal ended up with her face buried in snow and her paws on either side of her head.  The hunt wasn’t even close.

With snow-covered face, kitty gathered up her shredded dignity and strutted away.

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