One of the main results of my amateur attempts at woodcarving is an appreciation of good carvings, even if all I can afford is cast imitations. Though I have reproductions of several different well-known carvers, I seem to have focused on the work of carver Jim Shore in the last few years.
I find it particularly difficult to resist adding to our Christmas collection. Our major addition this year was Shore’s “Bringing Christmas Joy.”
Although the large number of Great Blue Herons was the first thing that caught my attention at Ridgefield Tuesday, the more I drove around the more I noticed how many raptors there were, particularly Red-Tailed hawks.
The first one I shot grabbed my attention because of the glow of the winter sun reflecting off his feathers and tail:
Of course, it was hard to ignore this Red-Tailed Hawk sitting mere feet away from the road, apparently oblivious, if downright disdainful of humans sitting in their cars:
But there was also a considerable number of Red-Tailed Hawks sitting in the open fields.
And if you looked hard enough, you could even find a Northern Harrier or two, or three.
I had a dentist appointment in Vancouver yesterday and since I wasn’t sure that I wasn’t going to have to cancel it because of our cold spell, I didn’t arrange my usual lunch with Vancouver friends.
Luckily it was a sunny day and I got to spend more time than usual at the Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge.
As I entered I was greeted by a Great Blue Heron standing guard near the entrance. It seemed to be soaking in the sunshine, though it was definitely dressed in its winter coat.
If it had been me, though, I think I would have chosen to stand where the next heron was rather than on the ice:
I couldn’t help but notice that all of the herons I saw could have been the same one, except for the fact that there was so many of them that more than one was often visible at the same time.
I worried about what they might be eating since the water was frozen solid, but I quit worrying when I saw this one out in the middle of a field catch a mouse and swallow it quicker than I could focus my camera.
When I started checking my photos I realized that no matter where they were, almost every Great Blue Heron I saw was standing in the exact same pose, sunning themselves.
It’s been a tough week around here. First, my back has started acting up, though not nearly as bad as when I ended up on crutches for several weeks. I think it has something to do with sitting around too much during the wet season and not getting in enough yard work, walking, etc. Anyway it has limited the amount of time I’m able to sit around and read and the time that I can spend on the computer.
Life got considerably worse on Friday when the furnace that we’ve already had repaired earlier this Fall decided to quit, on the verge of a “30 year” cold spell. We’ve been using small space heaters to keep “warm,” but warm is definitely a relative thing. It turns out that 56 degrees is really too cold to be comfortable while sitting down watching TV.
Hopefully a new furnace will be installed today. We’ve learned that the “green” option in gas furnaces is definitely the most expensive. We could have gotten a basic furnace for $2,500 but the high efficiency furnace, with electrostatic air cleaner will cost us nearly $6,000, but will make us eligible for $550 in rebate, which explains why more people haven’t made these switches. Luckily, we have the money in savings, but coming right on top of a new roof Christmas will be a little tighter than usual.
To add insult to injury, I typed this up yesterday and for some reason it just plain disappeared and never got published.