Eagle eyes

Borrowed from Cornell Bird Photography contest

It's time to think about Millard and Abigail (the monikers some neighborhood kids gave "our" local pair!) I've been thinking about their nest and where they might have been hiding all winter and even where they sleep on these cold New York winter nights.  So I "googled" it!  There is so much knowledge out there that is literally at our fingertips. Every year I learn more about my feathered neighbors.
They didn't go anywhere and they often return to snooze in their nest or just close their beady little eyes on a high branch and catch a few winks..  Many folks have spotted them standing in fields or scavenging others' conquests.  Remember, they are a lazy bird that likes to poach what others have taken the time to track and subdue. They do go on their own fishing excursions but have no problems snitching a scaly bit of  seafood that might have been dropped on the beach.  Lee loves to provide a buffet of fillet of woodchuck for them in the spring and they're more than happy to accept the donation.  It makes for great photographic opportunities too.
Eagles do return to their nest for many years.  They'll use and re-"feather" their nests until they become aged and unstable.  When they build their nest, they "carve out" a center pouch deep and large enough for 2-3 eggs. It's so deep within the nest that that is why I have often thought they were not in residence.  After the eggs are laid in late March or early April, the Mom and Dad will take turns sitting on them while the other forages for food. In about 35-40 days, the first egg laid will hatch followed by the 2nd (and sometimes 3rd) hatching in the same time frame as they were laid.  Eagles mate for life and are very attentive parents although they occasionally may boot a chick from the nest if it's chances for survival are slim.  I'd say the landing might answer that question:-/  
As with last year, my bird-watching and photographic windows are best when the leaves have yet to pop out. I may have to move the duck blind down to my spot and turn on the little heater. Do they make outdoor recliners?  I'll bet they do!  Once it dries up a bit (or freezes up), I'll get out my trusty golf cart and resume "Operation Eagle Eye!"   I'll report on what I see, or don't see and any new flying or furry critters that might cross my path. I'm already eager for daylight saving time and the eagle watch to begin again.

It's later than we think

Words of Wisdom:

My dear girl, the day you see I'm getting old, I ask you to please be patient, but most of all, try to understand what I'm going through. If when we talk, I repeat the same thing a thousand times, don't interrupt to say: "You said the same thing a minute ago"... Just listen, please. Try to remember the times when you were little and I would read the same story night after night until you would fall asleep.

When I don't want to take a bath, don't be mad and don't embarrass me. Remember when I had to run after you making excuses and trying to get you to take a shower when you were just a girl?

When you see how ignorant I am when it comes to new technology, give me the time to learn and don't look at me that way ... remember, honey, I patiently taught you how to do many things like eating appropriately, getting dressed, combing your hair and dealing with life's issues every day... the day you see I'm getting old, I ask you to please be patient, but most of all, try to understand what I'm going through.

If I occasionally lose track of what we're talking about, give me the time to remember, and if I can't, don't be nervous, impatient or arrogant. Just know in your heart that the most important thing for me is to be with you.

And when my old, tired legs don't let me move as quickly as before, give me your hand the same way that I offered mine to you when you first walked. When those days come, don't feel sad... just be with me, and understand me while I get to the end of my life with love. I'll cherish and thank you for the gift of time and joy we shared. With a big smile and the huge love I've always had for you, I just want to say, I love you ... my darling daughter.

Weekend Wrap up

Well, the football games didn't go quite as I had hoped although pretty much as commentators, wagers and bookies predicted.  I was 1 for 4..pretty sucky odds:-(  It did solve would might have been a sticky situation had the Panthers actually played some offense and made some touchdowns.  Come next week-end, I would have had to choose a horse in the race.  My allegiance to the Seahawks (who took me to within an inch of first place in my FF league) would probably have won out over my son and nephew's home state of North Carolina.  One less decision to stress over.... GO HAWKS!!!!  As much as I wanted Denver to lose yesterday (I'm not a Manning fan), I will be a Bronco's fan next weekend.  As the old saying goes, I love ____?___ and any team that plays the Patriots!

Syracuse won again by beating North Carolina in it's debut season in the ACC.  16-0 is a pretty FAIR start... we'll see what happens when Duke is in the house in February.

Ending the week-end with another win/loss statistic, Bailee challenged me to a friendly game of checkers last night.  It wasn't friendly.  I began by capturing four of her checkers as she quizzically asked, " Have you been practicing? I don't remember you being this good!"  It all went downhill after that.  By suppertime and with no gimmes allowed by Grandma, I had one king on the board surrounded by 4 kings of Bailee's that gave me no options that wouldn't be captured by "Boris" Brown.  She had won ...fair and square!  Just another loss in my week-end sports round up.  Tonight is another night!  I will triumph....or at least the "tri" part.

The Fixer

Yesterday...... as everyday, I was thankful to wake up here at EIEIO, as always.....but I was equally thankful to go to bed and have the day be over!  Here's a short synopsis of my day (and yes I'm whining..it's cathartic).

• Awakened to another arctic day in upstate NY! I don't really mind the cold!
• Tripped over my spouse's boots on the rug stumbling into the laundry room to spy his multi-weekly basket of laundry waiting patiently by the washer. I could have sworn I just put it back in his dressing room the day before.
• Dressed and started the car, forgetting to first open the garage door.  I lived!
• Enjoyed a nice breakfast with my breakfast club pals. (my fave meal of the day)
• Ran some errands and returned home
• Lee arrives mid morning to rant that with our "new" affordable health care, one of his prescriptions is now $300+ instead of $10.  FYI- I've never heard any complaints about the cost of cigarettes!
• I sit at my desk to unfold the mystery of our new health care plan which was sold to me as "comparable to what you had!" NOT!
• I call BC/BS! After entering our policy number, subscriber number, plan number, address and the time of my last bowel movement, I'm connected to Melissa who asks for my policy number, subscriber number, plan number and address.  She sounded uninterested in the latter !
• Melissa becomes my new best friend explaining clearly, and in terms a senior citizen could understand, that I would have to fall down the stairs next Thursday between 1:15 a.m. and 1:17 a.m. wearing non-slip slippers and a blue bathrobe before my policy would kick in......that and a $4000 deductible and no co-pays for anything! So NOT comparable to what we had.
• Next I grab paper, a ruler, a pencil and my calculator.  I should have just grabbed a gun!
• 3 hours and 8 phone calls later, I am downloading the application for a new policy, attaching a check for $400 more than the old, comparable policy, and mailing it so it arrives on a desk in Rochester before January 15th! Now I will have what we actually need beginning February 1st.
• Postpone Lee's heart specialist appt. scheduled for next Thursday to next month because it would cost nearly $500 instead of the old $50.
• I sit back and breathe!
• A text arrives from Jess concerned that Bailee tested poorly in her non-fiction reading today:-(
• A call comes in that my SIL had another spell and my niece wants to go to Florida for the week-end and could I miraculously find 2 flights leaving on the red eye last night and returning Sunday night.  We talked through it and my wisdom of the moment (too expensive, too short and logistically nightmarish) trumped her feelings of being helpless in Moravia!  We'll SKYPE!!!
• I post a benign comment on Facebook about insurance woes..What was I thinking?  55 comments later and familial accusations of being a racist and a hater, I closed out Facebook (duh) and drank a well earned bloody Mary...
• The evening got better.
• Jess and B brought Doug's Fish Fry for supper (no cooking, no dishes)
• I diagnosed the testing issue of the day..I think! Bailee read us a few chapters of I Funny, by James Patterson and flawlessly (after some grandmotherly coaxing) answered all the  drills correctly.
• I receive a phone call with a "can't pass up, money saving quote!"
• I snuggle in my chair with my Kindle and my James Patterson book. I watch some TV. I go to bed and to sleep at 11:11!

Olivia Pope has nothing on me.  I am the fixer!

Time for a HOT shower

I was listening to John Tesh on the radio last night and he always has some interesting tidbits of advice.  One of his health tips was a list of the benefits of showers.

1. Cleaner pores and skin:  Duh, that's pretty much a no-brainer.  It's why you take a shower..or is it?
2. A more resilient body: Heat stress proteins (HSP) act as protectors of our cells against all things.....like STRESS! HSP's come out in big numbers after we've experienced a stressful situation that hasn't killed them off....(the HSP's not the cells.) These proteins better prepare you for the same stressful event the next time.  Hot showers will help prevent stress...True Story!
3. It relaxes you: Yes, yes it does.
4. Relieves muscular aches and pains: The heat is necessary for all metabolic reactions ie: healing! (yay)
5. It builds a better body:  The heat releases those HSP's which increase metabolic rates and hence create muscle mass.  (I'm not entirely sure it's muscle mass I was looking to create;-( When this was tested on mice. (sorry mice) they developed 20% more muscle mass.  (Must be how Mighty Mouse was discovered)

Tesh went on to explain that showers are also used by writers to alleviate writer's block.  Authors have heralded the uncanny affects that multiple showers throughout the day have had on their flow of ideas and words.  This brings me to my beautiful, talented author, cousin, M.J. Fields.  In her case, I'm pretty sure she needs and enjoys showers too.....cold ones!!!

Freezin'

Lots of discussion about prematurely closing schools for the cold today.  Some say we've turned into a generation of wimps, others applaud the proactive foresight.  I have no horse in this race so I can declare that I stand firmly......................on the fence!  Cold doesn't bother me. Snow doesn't bother me. Ice bothers me a bit.  I have no children or grandchildren that have to walk or stand and wait in the cold , so personally, I'd say hit the books.  On the other hand, if I did have walkers or waiters, I'd say stay home!  See, I could have been a politician...of sorts.  We sure are getting an Arctic blast though.  Jeff's struggling to stay warm and get planes off the ground in Charlotte where it's 8 degrees this morning...WTF. I recorded -4 as late as 9 a.m.
My friend Pam sent me a "chuckle" this morning which pretty much gives credence to the decision made about closings.  I've stepped outside several times this morning to see if I could be so lucky......butt, it's still there:-(  all of it.....in it's extra large, dimply, cellulitic glory!  I even tried sitting in a snowbank and it just got red...and warm :-(  Not all that pretty actually, especially when I nearly toppled over from vertigo trying to check it in the bathroom mirror.  It closely resembled a dog chasing it's tail.
I'm warm now and dry and I have a cozy house in which to sit and pen my blog. No more trying to change who I am!  Like I really ever tried ;-)

Blue Monday

I just heard on the radio that today is known as Blue Monday. Personally, as you know, I love Mondays.  They said that today is the day when many have to return to work, their regular, daily routine and be back on a schedule...exactly....that's why I love Mondays.  They say that today is the day that people may be beginning to question the intelligence of spending all that money over the holidays, eating all that luscious food or just plain over indulging.  Well, I for one, didn't charge anything, never over imbibed and didn't eat a morsel more than normal....pathetic but true?  I will never begrudge Christmas!

Today is also the day my BFF (breakfast friend forever) turns 62, ( He will be older than I am for nearly 3 months...I love those 3 months:) the age of our first option to collect Social Security.  That question has been a topic of conversation for many months....since Lee turned 62 to be exact.  Early retirement is 62 with a smaller draw if you choose to take it.  Sixty six (which used to be 65) is the normal age of retirement and you may also opt to take 70 which enhances your check.  I believe they strongly hope you have lost your memory by then and forget to apply entirely.  So, what it comes right down to is a little bit of basic math.  If you wait till 66 or 70, you'll ENVER recoup what you could have had for those 4 or 8 extra years.  Yes, your monthly stipend will grow the longer you wait but what if you never get to BE 66 or 70??  I know that's harsh but hey, you never know!  The other monkey wrench (and you know wherever the government is involved, there are monkeys) is that before the golden 66 mark if you choose to draw, you can only earn a little less than $15,000 a year.  Well thanks government for something.....you make netting that much a chore.  Being a bird in the hand kinda gal, I think I'm opting for now.... Lee is a bit of a male Goldilocks (without the locks) and right in the middle of too early and just right.  But once again, if you never make just right, it's a moot point!
So, we did it!  I've pretty much decided that social security is just exactly what it says it is.... SOCIAL security.  This will secure our ability to go out to dinner, have a cocktail or two and be social........and that's about it but we've earned it.................well Lee has!