The woods runneth over with cupth

Even after the Earth Day clean-up of last Sunday there are still stray plastic bits and pieces in the woods near here. This cup looks like it could have been dropped there a few minutes earlier. It was probably blown here by the wind last summer, or the summer before and been pounded by rain and snow ever since - lots and lots of snow. You wouldn't know it to look at it - hence the problem with plastics. They just don't break down.

Be veeeery quiet, we're hunting...

pheasants. For the last few weeks I've been hoping to get a good shot of a pheasant. They've been all around us, but never in the open. You can hear them when they get startled, or, I suppose, when they feel like flapping their wings. When they do startle it sounds like someone trying to start an engine with a pull cord, and failing. Close your eyes and imagine your neighbour yanking on the cord, and then hearing the engine turnover then gasp back into a coma. That's what pheasants sound like.

So this morning when I was out with Logan and one wandered into the field I quickly thought of Carpe Diem, and grabbed my camera. Even though I couldn't get close enough for the shot that I really wanted I was able to get a glimpse as it trundled about searching for food. Then it went into the trees and all I heard was the occasional engine noise.

What if somebody held a party and nobody littered?

It's Earth Day tomorrow, and in support the Bonds held an Earth Day clean-up and BBQ yesterday. The street came out, armed with gloves, garbage and recycling bags. Within an hour there were 2 pick-up beds full of a variety of cast-offs from the littering travellers along Ardoise School Road. I was sorry to miss the bbq afterwards because I'm sure it was delicious.

The street looks a little brighter in the morning sun today. Thanks Mark, Margaret, and Laura.

Sun + warm + spring = ?

Happy birds and bees. Not quite what you're thinking. There are lots of chirping birds and fluttering bees about today, enjoying the sunny weather and making sure that no plant goes un-touched. In the case of the bees, anyways. There are lots of the winged industrious ones making the rounds of the sprouting flowers on lawns everywhere today. That means that we'll have more flowers next spring. Ah, the cycle of life. Now if I could just keep Logan from poking his nose into the springtime activities everyone would be better off.

It's the weekend! It's sunny! and Warm!

All week long the weather has been beautiful. Sunny. Warm. The occasional cloud with light rain, but nothing to drown even the shallowest of enthusiasm for being outside. As the weekend neared, and the sunny weather continued, it became a numbers game as to weather it would stay nice for the part of the week that would benefit most. The 'Days off' part of the week.

Well, here it is, and it is sunny and warm. It's supposed to be that way for the whole weekend. Woo hoo!

Looking west we see that Seattle has something other than perfect weather for being outside, unless you're into light snow. Hopefully that stuff will have warmed up enough to be light rain by the time it travels across the continent. We DO NOT want, or need, more snow. Even light snow. Though if we had to have it, light would be best. We DO NOT want, or need, heavy snow. There. I feel better now.

Sunny. Warm. No snow. Woo Hoo!

The future frisbee champion of the world?

Perhaps not. But we've finally got Logan to play frisbee, and bring it back - begrudgingly giving it up so that it can be thrown again. He seems to really enjoy it, and it gives him some serious exercise. Now if we could just get him to drop it with the same level of enthusiasm we'd be all set for that championship.

By the light of the moon

Even on a cloudy night there are things to see up there. When the clouds reflect the moonlight it makes for an even better sight. It has been awesome going outside to see a sky full of stars, and I'm looking forward to taking a few shots of the next cloudless sky. In the meantime this will have to do.

BTW - those spots that appear to be pinholes are actually stars. The result of a 30 second exposure.

Time to clear the brush

Logan was really getting into the spring spirit by clearing away some of the dead branches that have been exposed since the snow melted. Half an hour of this and he was ready for a nap.

Field of deers...coming soon to a theatre near you

The other day Logan and I were out for our morning walk. As we approached the crest of the hill beside the house (see the deer shots below) and were able to see into the back of the field I noticed a group of deer foraging. Logan hadn't noticed them yet, and thinking that he would bolt at the first opportunity to chase the deers into the woods I called him over to me to distract him. It worked. It also startled the deer and they immediately turned and headed off into the woods. Before they broke through into the dense woods I counted 10 white tails bounding along. No camera with me though.

To improve my odds of getting some kind of shot of the small herd I brought my camera along this time. This time they were spread much farther apart, making it somewhat difficult to capture them all and keep a strong eye on the composition. However, here are a couple of shots taken yesterday morning.