~Vitamin Sea~

The Chairman of the Board IS Evil. Very Evil.

This one needs a Caption!!

photo by Richard. Who is all proud of himself and stuff.

I thought he didn't even like cats.

Diary of Backyard Birder. (Newbie style)

Prologue:

We haven't used a bird feeder over the last 10 years because of our three indoor/outdoor cats.

I've always wanted a feeder. And not one, but several, visible from various windows.

Way back in the early 2000's...we took a chance and put up a big ol' feeder .
The squirrels came running in from all over the county and ate up all the food in one day.
One Single Day.
And over time, they chewed on the edges of the bird feeder itself.
I was incensed.

Years passed.
The cats became old and fat and lazy.
One day, I had a thought.
What if there was less of a spring in their step?
Less of a "booing booing" in their jump?
That would mean they would be less effective hunters!
The birds would have a flying chance!
If only, I thought, the cats would develop cataracts.

My camera was itching.
I decided to go for it.

But first, I bought a squirrel resistant bird feeder.

What follows is a true story.

March, 2008:

Rick and I are in the Home Depot, where I've talked him into helping me build a free-standing post for a bird feeder. I figured the post would be made from a 4x4 fence post, approximately 12 ft. long, and from it, we could attach various hooks to hang up the feeders.
In the garden section, we pass a display of ready made plant hangers, and I notice a 12 ft metal stand with 4 hooks.
I decide to give Rick a break and buy that instead.
Richard looks a little relieved.  No building!

We head to Walmart.  This will be a test run to see how well the feeder resists the squirrels, and I don't want to buy expensive bird feed.
Walmart lets me down. $12 for a big bag!  Remembering the last bag that disappeared in One Day, I reach for the cheaper stuff. 

Back at home,  I order coax Brittany into holding up the feeder in the back yard as I move around the house from the kitchen window to the family room window and back again. 
I just want to make sure I can photograph the site clearly.  Finally I give her thumbs up.

Unfortunately the best place for the feeder is 30 ft from the window.  It's the only place in the yard where the cats can't hide behind something and leap out at the birds.
I'll have to use the zooms. 
And my zoom lens are a mess.  They perform like Windows98 without the Service Pack upgrades and two Trojans to boot.

Richard returns, and frowns as I begin pounding the new feeder post into the ground.  He takes charge so it can be done "properly."   In his mind, there is a logical order to the way things ought to be.  In my mind, things just go up and there you go!

1 Week later: 

Still no birds.

Two weeks later:

Begin checking the pole for signs of cat pee. Maybe Rico is warning them off?
No, that wouldn't make sense.

3 weeks later:

Still nothing.  I am resolute in my determination not to buy fancy bird feed.

Yet. there is a plus... no squirrels!  A bonafide plus.

April:

The doves have moved in, but I'm not impressed.  I am looking for birds of color.
Where are the finches?
I have no idea that the mourning doves will soon make me smile.
The ring neck doves have arrived and have begun chasing the mourning doves away.  I have decided to sic Rico on the ring necks. 
Rico just lays there, doing nothing.

The Middle of April:

I text Rick, Sam and Brittany: "BLUEJAY!" 

I grab the camera, but he is gone.

May:

I am growing tired of the Blue jays.  They visit every day.

Where are all the Other Birds?
Maybe I should give in and get the good seed.

Nah.

At least I figured out a way to photograph the Jay.

First thing to do was to remove the screen from the kitchen window.
Second thing to do was spray a little WD 40 around the edges so I could get the window open quietly.
Third thing to do was tape a sign reminding everyone that the screen was off.
Fourth thing to do was to tune out all the complainers in the house who were whining about the skeeters.

Good grief.

This is my window, and there is my mini-tripod:

Do you see it?  My kitchen tripod is blue, made of heavy glass and easily supports extra long lens.  We are nothing if not decoratively and professionally adept around here.  Simply lean over the sink, balance zoom lens on the glass, steady thyself, focus, aim, SHOOT!  Simple enough. 

(ahem).

Sometime in May,

I text Rick again: "CARDINAL!"
(it only takes one word).
He is actually not very excited.

Unfortunately, I have yet to get a photograph of them. Rick put the screen back on the window.

And by the time I got open, the cardinal was GONE.

June, the first week:

Zoey has finally awakened. 

 

(photo by Brittany)

It occurred to him there has been quite a bit of activity at the feeder lately.
(Took him 3 months to figure it out).

He decided to park himself on the stone wall near the bird feeder.  Then he got a little sleepy in the warm sun.

Out of the blue, a hose rained down on him, blasting him right outta his comfort zone.
Gee, wonder where that came from.

Sometime in June:

I text Rick again:  "PARROTS!"

Richard ain't happy. The local parrots are loud, squawking noise makers. We have several colonies of them around the neighborhood.

I am thrilled.  Photo OP!

Earlier in the week, I had taken the screen back off the window again. Gently, I slide the window open so the parrots won't flee.

Focus, aim.. shoot. No.  Blur... huh? 

Check camera. readjust the dials. 

Focus, aim, ...shooot,  @#@#

Resolve to throw lens at insurance company representatives on their way to work
Run and grab stock lens instead.
Pray.

Parrot is gone. 
%$#@

Parrot comes back. Shoot like mad.
Pray. Edit. Crop.
Here you go!

 

 

I am still holding out for the birds of color to show up for my cheap Walmart bird feed.

Stay tuned!

Psychedelic Experience, The Circumzenithal Arc

Legend has it that on the third of May, a circumzenithal arc will appear in the scabrous sky and center itself below the raving sun; so beautiful, so teasing, so dangerous to see.

The arc, an upside-down rainbow, is at once a stunning presence to behold.
The rainbow appeared on Saturday as we spent the day on an island just south of Clearwater Beach. Shortly after four p.m.,  as sun beat down upon the Gulf, those who dared to look in the abyss could see the rainbow hovering just below the lethal rays. 

We did not stare, we knew of the legend that could render us unstable.
Psychotic, as it were.  Those who look just below the sun in search of the circumzenithal arc will find themselves drawn to its powers, and they will never be the same again.

To my horror, Zoey was outside at the time, and he could not bring himself to look away.
In the first few hours afterward, he simply looked confused:

 

And then the powers within consumed his little body, and he will never be himself ever again:

Be warned.


(photos by Brittany) ;)

Life around here

 

It looks to be a gorgeous weekend in Tampa Bay! We'll be heading out on the boat this afternoon to a small island along the Intracoastal for a color-guard party. It'll be fun and I hope to get some great pics.

Check out our newest Pond Inspector, brought in to assess the situation and determine the best course of action to repair the leaks.

His sidekick checks for drugs and bombs, just in case. So far, the only evidence he can find are heron and coon prints, and a series of suspicious lizard droppings.

Praise for a job well done:

Except....
Rico's diagnosis: use less water and get more fish.

I thought I heard him snicker. 
For some reason he became slightly agitated after I told him we'll be filling the pond up again, and soon.

I consoled him by promoting him to Chief of Security.

(Males.andtheiregos.)

 

In the Warm and Lazy Sun

Yesterday morning I went out to photograph the progress on the vegetable garden and to show you my New! Improved! method of combating the armadillos that come in the night and dig up my tomato plants, so hungry are they for the bugs and grubs that live in the soil 'round these parts.

There are no bugs in there, however. I dug 'em out myself. Armadillos are notorious for not listening.

And then I noticed a movement to my left and realized that Rico was rolling around in the pine bark, practicing the art of camouflage by merging as one with the mulch.  He is quite good at it and likes to LEAP! onto my legs from time to time when I'm not looking, and run before I can catch his furry rolls of blubber.

I forgot all about the vegetables and began to photograph him, instead.
Because I, too, am distracted by furry things.

The warm morning sun was making him quite lazy and he just lie there instead of running off to play the old "hunt-n-stalk" game.  I continued shooting, but that stick that's in front of his nose kept getting in the way.

Reaching out to grab it was a mistake.

It was his stick, you know. He would as soon eat me as let me touch it.

Oh, he loves his stick. It's like a blankie, his favorite stick.

And then, something odd happened.  Normally when we wrestle around, he gets so fired up that he runs off as fast as he can.
But look at his eyes, they're actually closing.  Drowsy.

And to my amazement, he began to fall asleep, holding his beloved stick.

And so I left him there on the pine bark, slumbering away as his belly warmed over in the morning sun.

Tomorrow, I'll have to show you the garden photos. ;)

Rabbit Stew

Pigs in a side car!  Would someone please explain why the same cat that left us a "present" at the back door in the form of slimy looking rodent gizzards, which is probably the single most disgusting present I've ever had in my entire life- please tell me, just what gives him the right to turn up his nose at Little Friskies canned turkey and giblets?  Was it over-processed at the plant, perchance?  He walked away and flipped his tail at me.

Disgusting, varmint eating rodent predator.  I am not your sous chef. Go flip your tail elsewhere.

<---- ~Likes to eat them pancakes~

Instead of moving right along, I have one more disgusting, varmint-catching predator story to tell you all about, and I will do so immediately.  Just so we can get this over with and out of our heads!

Imagine, if you will, your basic fatty-cat, sleeping away on the rocking chair.  His name is Rico, in this case.  Because Rico always stirs up the trouble 'round here.
You head to the shower. You're in a hurry.
Fat cat wakes up, lumbers outside through the doggy door.
You rush through the shower and come out again, towel drying your hair.
Phone rings, you enter the family room, and see...horrors!
In that short period of time,
his fatness has deposited a dead baby rabbit in front of the oven.
Since you are Brittany in this particular example, you scream.
Entire household commences on the scene.

We all stare at Rico with a frown.
Richard makes an inappropriate joke about the location of the rabbit.
Samantha and I try not to laugh.
Did he want us to cook it?

But here's the thing.
HERE'S the twist!  Rico is NOT a hunter! 
He's a gatherer.
The hunter was Zoey,  the aforementioned feline from the first paragraph above.

And how do we know it was Zoey, you ask us to deduce?  "Quite simple!" We say to you.

Zoey has never quite figured out how to use the doggy door.
Rico, on the other hand, hops in and out of it as easy as you please.
So Zoey hunted.
Rico gathered.
And all of us were plum repulsed.

In front of the oven! What was he thinking!!!
~The end~

,

"I was hungry, too."

"Feline" Sleepy

Here he is, folks. The great Rico Suave, seen here resting in comfort before being packed away for the season.

Work continues on the garden, I'll have another post up later today!

How to Yawn, a pictorial primer

Yawning is a healthy, bodily reflux that allows one to relax and restore oxygen to the brain.
Here, Percy demonstrates the correct way to yawn for optimal nap benefits.

You'll need to find a nearby window where the sun is warm and where there is a table with a few objects to knock over for the sheer thrill of it all.

Feel the sunlight warming your soft fur on a cold day.  Ahhhh, it feels so good. Next, inhale deeply.

Hold, hold, hold position.  Now exhale tuna breath everywhere. It is a pleasant odor to most cats. A good belch should follow it.
Ignore the owner who has ruined the whole moment by loudly exclaiming, "What IS that malodorous stench?"

Owner does not know what she is talking about anyway. She's the one who is shooting into the light, after all, a complete and utter photographical faux pas.

Mroww!

Salmon stories

I'm sitting here at the dining room table right now, watching the living room window a little warily. I've got to keep an eye out for Rick because he hates it when the cat is on the dining room table and if he walks in the house and sees the little guy next to me, all hell will break loose, and THEN, we might not have this particular cat anymore!  Percy is the only cat that challenges Rick on a daily basis--I find that highly amusing.
He's the oldest of all our pets and whenever Ricardo starts hollering at him, he'll leap to the nearest chair, the chair being akin to Switzerland, you know.  Neutral territory all the way. And then, when Rick is back to watching TV again, darned if he doesn't hop right back on the table again.
I try not to laugh.
(not).
Anyway, at this moment, he is a cat on a mission because I won't feed him and he's in the mood for canned salmon.  He's trying to show me how much he loves me by strutting around the laptop and nuzzling my chin, but, HA!  I am not buying that either. He never does this when his belly is full, does he.   Earlier, I saw him pushing the can all around the kitchen floor, because it was just slightly opened up enough so that he could inhale the salmon odor real deep, the way you do when you walk in the kitchen and smell freshed baked bread in the oven.  I had other things to do at the moment, specifically email, you know, and I couldn't be bothered. Plus I was tired from having to hunt all over for my glasses so I could read my emails.  And I am really tired of wearing glasses when I have to read something. 

Where was I, oh.. there was no specific reason for this post, but I hope to be back up and posting on a regular basis soon and I'm really looking forward to going around to visit your blogs again as well.  Got a lot of catching up to do!

By the way, for Christmas, a friend gave me the book, "Merle's Door, Lessons from a Freethinking Dog" by Ted Kerasote.   Now, I'm only on page 22 at this point, having just started reading it this morning, but the first few chapters were excellent.  It's a true story and Kerasote is a very descriptive author.  He has a website with actual photos of Merle that coincide with the events I've been reading about in the chapters.  If you're interested, take a look at Kerasote.com  and click on "Merle's Life in Photos," too.  Can't wait to get back into this book tonight!  If you've read this book, what did you think about it?

Southern Living Corn and Potato Chowder, for starters...

With the weather turning chilly, I thought I'd make up a big pot of Corn and Potato Chowder from Southern Living's November 2007 issue.  It looked so good.

I spent an hour or so in the kitchen, and after all that work,  I'll give it 2 thumbs down, for blandness and over-priced, unnecessary ingredients.

I bought the Yukon Potatoes as requested, but I can't see why ordinary potatoes wouldn't be just as good. The creamy taste of a Yukon gold is lost in this recipe.
I added the can of yellow and white whole kernel corn, which didn't improve the flavor at all. What was the point of the white corn? It doesn't stand out at all.  You could get away with a can of kernel corn just fine.

I bought the frozen vegetable mix as suggested, using Bird's Eye brand.
I didn't buy the cream of mushroom with roasted garlic soup, choosing instead to use Campbells Cream of Mushroom, and added several cloves of minced garlic instead.   I really don't think it would have made a difference.

What the soup is missing the most, is a richness to the cream base. There's a grainy, flour-y taste to it that I just didn't find satisfying.   Rick ended up going back into the kitchen to grab the pepper grinder and coated the top of his bowl liberally.  It didn't call for any other seasonings, beyond hot sauce, which I added. 

If you're looking for a real good corn and potato chowder recipe, I'd just look elsewhere and skip this recipe entirely.
I have a whole pot of it in the kitchen,  Tomorrow I'll try to doctor it up and see what I can do to fix it.

******************************************************************************************************
RIBS!   PIES!

Whew!  I've spent most of the day in the kitchen.  Britt's colorguard is spending the last days of Christmas vacation in camp and they had three days of 9 a.m. to 9 p.m workouts.  The parents chip in for a potluck dinner for the girls and the staff each night.  Today I brought in individual key lime "pies"  which I made in cupcake tins, they came out great. Since Rick was hovering around trying to eat them, I made him a separate pie. 

For the family, I also made a honey BBQ marinade for ribs that will be put in the slow cooker tomorrow morning,  They're going to marinate overnight and cook allll day.
This is a new recipe too.  I'll share it if it comes out well.  We can't use our BBQ as it's broken, just another casualty in this money pit of a house, lol.  oh gawd, some days, you just have to laugh.  Rick's fuel tank had a leak in it, he's been fixing that all day, so no, we haven't been working on the kitchen/bathroom/bathroom/pool/... or BBQ!

*Moving right along, Percy is here to endorse his new cat toy, something he never does for this blog, Because, my friends,. Percy is not a "play with the cat-toys" type of cat. 
If he were human, he'd be a grouchy old man.

I was in PetSmart last week when I saw a cat chasing the little plastic ball that is inside the tract, all around and around.
Aside from the obvious fact.... he had gone stir crazy from being caged -- the cat was having a grand old time. 

I have no idea why, but I brought the toy home.
Better that than the cat.
And everyone was surprised because I hardly ever buy cat toys, mainly because Buddy eats 'em and because they have a big, wide world outside to explore, and that world is free of charge.

Anyway, Percy loves this thing, especially the little mouse with the catnip in it.  Boy, he just nuzzles that mouse and caresses it adoringly. 

He can't be bothered with the the useless round balls that annoy the daylights out of him when I'm pushing them around in circles.  He usually looks at me with this disgusted look and shakes his head. But he does love that mouse. He'll cross the room to go nuzzle that mouse.  I'm going to have to put it in the back bedroom, just for the two of them..

Zoey hasn't figured it out yet.  I thought of Zoey when I bought this toy because he still likes to chase his tail. I told you all, he really ain't right in the head. 
But so far, he's not sure how to operate it. He likes to watch the balls go around, as long as I push 'em. 
Well, I don't have enough time for all that.  For crying out loud, how hard is it for him to stick his paw in there and bat it.  He gets so excited when the ball goes around, but he won't DO anything to make it happen.

Rico didn't like it because it made noises and Rico doesn't like his toys to make ANY noise.  Rico does not like commotion!  When there is commotion, Rico sprays! 
@#*)@#*

So the census is, one out of three cats prefer this toy to any other toy on the market!
Good thing they don't actually know that there are other toys on the market.
Or even what a market is.