Random

We had a very nice weather day today with a high of at least 56. Yahoo says the high tomorrow is 13. I know anyone reading this, has or is experiencing this too. But still! It's just wrong.

For Christmas Mom got me a couple of CDs on my Amazon wish list. One is Flogging Molly's Whiskey on a Sunday and the other is Dropkick Murphys' Warrior's Code. They are similar in that they are both a sort of punk/Irish folk music bands, but they come at it from different angles. Flogging Molly are more rooted in the folk music, but all of their songs are written by them. They don't have any traditional folk songs on their albums. Much of it sounds old, only with some electric guitar and a fast punk beat thrown in on occasion. Whereas Dropkick Murphy's is a full on punk band with an Irish influence of bagpipes and the occasional fiddle. And they will cover some old songs such as a rolling rendition of Captain Kelly's Kitchen and a beautiful cover of The Greenfields of France. Both good bands and recommended by me.

On Satur- day Anke built a couple of snowmen. She then made a couple of signs to wish her Tante Ursel a Happy Birthday. Not surprisingly Corwin didn't fully cooperate, despite his love of getting his picture taken. You'll also notice that Conrad is sitting up by himself. This is something that Corwin didn't do until he was over a year old. Corwin was always trying to get somewhere and was never content to sit and watch.

We went to the zoo on Sunday morning and it was great. The weather was nice and you get few other zoo patrons there at 9:30 on Sunday morning. While in the aquarium the octopus was out and about, which is rare. One of the keepers was there and he told us that the lifespan on at octopus is only one to five years. I hadn't known that and was surprised. Evidently when the female lays the eggs and young are hatched the female dies shortly thereafter, so HDZ doesn't even try breeding them.

Cast iron skillets rock. I got a cast iron skillet this summer so that I could cook some side dishes on the Webber grill this summer. But you have to cook the skillet in the over for a couple of hours after slathering it with Crisco, and I never got around to doing that until fall. So it never made it to the grill, but we've been using it constantly on the stove. It cooks more evenly than a nonstick skillet and if you oil it regularly it is even more nonstick than said nonstick skillet. The only downside is it's heavy and the handle gets hot, it being iron and all.

Sharp-shinned Hawk

While sledding with Corwin in the back yard today, we noticed a small falcon perched in the tree that borders with my downhill neighbor. I was only able to get four pictures with the DSLR when the bloody battery went dead. So I ran back inside to get the new pocket sized point and shoot that Maurice got Anke and I for Christmas to get a few more photos. But as I was turning the little camera on, the Hawk flew into our blue spruce tree to chase a couple of chickadees. Dinner then zoomed between the houses and across the street I presume, with the falcon in pursuit.

With the help of my National Audubon Society Field Guide to Birds (Eastern Region North America) I was able to identify my new non vegetarian friend as a Sharp- shinned Hawk. It feeds mainly on other birds, which it can catch in midair. It's short rounded wings and long narrow tail make it rather maneuverable and able to dodge around trees and branches while in pursuit. They tend to migrate along rivers, so I suspect he was just passing through. (I believe it to be a he, as the females are significantly larger than the males, and he wasn't a real big fella, being maybe 10 inches tall or so.) But he really should stick around. Between the bird feeders of my neighbor and us, there are plenty of sparrow sized birds for him to buffet on.

Germany Photos

Anouk, Inga, Oma Alfriede, Conrad, Anke, Oma Renate, Corwin

Corwin does a puzzle

Conrad

My Family

"Want more water fishies? Here ya go."

Mule Deer

The Blue Wonder

Feeding birds