Archive for the ‘Outdoor life’ Category
8 Sep
With love from Kansas
There’s a sunflower field in full bloom just northeast of town, and it is gorgeous. We visited at sunset on Saturday night, along with the rest of the city (it was hilariously crowded–we’re lucky they’re not in these shots, too). Hard to pass up such beauty, I suppose. Kansas is amazing.
It was a nice nod to the close of a gorgeous summer. Now, football’s underway, temperatures will drop to the 60s late this week, and there’s a closetful of sweaters and boots just begging to be worn. The best is yet to come.
8 Jul
Eight years later…
Last night, a storm with 70 mph winds roared through town. We watched from the west-facing window in our closet upstairs, startled to see straight-line winds of this strength. We knew we we had damage (and missing patio furniture), but it wasn’t until this morning we could see the full extent.
For the most part, our damage was limited to large branches, rather than completely uprooted trees. Compared to our neighbors, I suppose, we were fortunate—no damage to the house as far as we can tell, and we located the patio furniture with no trouble.
We were very sad to see a large branch down on the tree next to our house, though, and several more in the creek.
Earlier this summer, we were remarking on just how much those trees had grown in the past few years. I came across the small black and white photo in the corner below while working on our 15th anniversary photo collage. I think I took it the day we moved into this house, just a bit more than eight years ago.
The progress is pretty remarkable.
27 Apr
Weekend roundup
This weekend had us dodging storms as we completed hours of yard work. Saturday started with six cubic yards of mulch and a pretty cute little helper.
Hard work—and Bryan did most of the heavy lifting. But everything is trimmed, mulched, mowed and manicured. For now…
We have a pretty significant landscaping project underway in the backyard this spring. Some planting still remains, but here’s a sneak peek.
More on this development soon!
22 Dec
Snowy Sunday
We ended up with five or so inches if snow (and, thankfully, we maintained power). Just as we bundled up and made our way outside this morning, neighbors Todd and Joe were heading down the hill. The kids had a great time playing while the grown ups made short work of the driveway and walks. Bryan joined the crew as they finished the street.
26 Apr
Backyard birding
As Bryan and I watched a Ruby-crowned Kinglet flit about the backyard last night, we complied a list of everything we recall seeing in the trees behind our house over the last six and a half years. We recalled 48 birds in total, which I’ll list below. What’s on your list that missing from ours?
American Crow
American Goldfinch
American Robin
Baltimore Oriole
Barred Owl
Black-capped chickadee
Blue Jay
Brown Creeper
Brown Thrasher
Brown-headed Cowbird
Canada Goose
Carolina Wren
Cedar Waxwing
Chipping Sparrow
Common Grackle
Cooper’s Hawk
Dark-eyed Junco
Downy Woodpecker
Eastern Bluebird
Eastern Phoebe
European Starling
Great Blue Heron
Grey Goose
Hairy Woodpecker
House Finch
House Sparrow
House Wren
Indigo Bunting
Mourning Dove
Northern Cardinal
Northern Flicker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-winged blackbird
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Song Sparrow
Tufted Titmouse
Turkey Vulture
White-breasted Nuthatch
White-crowned Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Wild Turkey
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Yellow-rumped Warbler
9 Jan
Overheard
Olivia, out of the blue: “Mom, do you know WHY I want to be a squirrel?”
Bec: “You want to be a squirrel?”
Olivia: “Yes, because then I could climb to the top of trees. Also: no clothes. Just fur.”
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