I've taken several pictures of ducklings along the Hopewell Trail the last two months. This is the family that I saw I most often. The last time I saw them they were almost as big as their mother. Unfortunately, I didn't have my phone with me that day to take some pictures. I looked forward to seeing the ducks every day. I miss them.
This post is inspired by Thankful Thursdays on The Frugal Girl. It's an especially good exercise today, because I felt lousy all day.
As I told a neighbor the other day, I'm thankful every day that we moved here. After 37 years in Norwalk, I was sick of Prospect Ridge and sick of Norwalk. I wanted to go south, but not too far south. (Okay, maybe the warmer weather we wanted didn't pan out so far.) We wanted to be able to get a bigger--more reasonably priced home.
This place had all the must-haves: two full baths, washer and dryer, balcony, over 1000 feet. Plus so much more. We have a dining room. a laundry room, and a sitting area as part of our primary bedroom. We have extra kitchen cabinets, drawers, and counters personally built by the previous owner. We even have a boat slip.
We have a wonderful trail and boardwalk down by the water. It makes me happy to see the Middle River and wildlife every day.
We have good neighbors.
I'm so glad we moved.
We left here last Sunday morning--later than I preferred. The main reason for the trip was to attend a memorial service for Jeff's sister Melissa.
We decided to stay in Norwalk for two days and meet up with some friends for lunch and dinner. We had to stop at our favorite Asian Fusion restaurant. We had an early birthday dinner for our friend Cynthia there. It was delicious.
The next day we stopped by our old condominium and ran a few errands before lunch with friends Elaine and Marti. Monday night was dinner with our friend and ex-neighbor Diane.
The next morning I visited the birds at the New Canaan Nature Center: Phoenix, Archie, Tupelo, and Gus. I even asked Gus if he remembered me.
There was a fifth bird I didn't recognize. I couldn't get a picture--he seemed to be hiding in the dark. I figured he was a new arrival and was uncomfortable.
Next, we picked up some Bridgewater Chocolate and our favorite bison grass vodka. It's hard to find in Maryland; when I can find it, it's about $10 more than in Connecticut.
Wednesday was Melissa's memorial service. It was tough. She had said no one would come to her funeral. There were at least 50 people there. After the service, we had some of Melissa's favorite food and drink in the fellowship hall: Caesar salad, shrimp cocktail, cheeses, fruits, and Mimosas. Our nephew's in-laws hosted us for dinner.
We drove home Thursday--a good drive despite a crazy detour courtesy of Goggle maps. It was good to see Jace and return home.
In the winter, Jace and I would see at least a dozen ducks each day--many on the pond closest to us.
We've seen much fewer ducks recently and only a few females. In the last few days, we've seen some mamas with babies. One with one baby, another with four, and a third with six or seven. It's adorable watching them try to keep close to their mothers.
It makes me happy every time to I see them. Are baby bunnies next?
Last Friday morning, I was excited to see a bald eagle. It was soaring too high for me to even attempt a photo. I immediately grabbed my phone to verify that they're native to this area. Of course, it reminded me of Glory from NCNC. On our afternoon walk, I saw a crane on the pond closest to us. I took several pictures, but none were worth keeping.
The same day, the three of us tried a new restaurant Bowleys. Jeff and I had been there for drinks before. We sat at a table on the beach right on the water. We had sandwiches, fries, and beer. Jace was pretty good. We'll continue to explore the area restaurants. We've been to Carson's Creekside three times, Schultz's three times, and Loonasea twice. More to come.
We'll be getting our dining room set and coffee table from our downstairs neighbor in one week. Yesterday, I started moving things our of the dining room. I can always put stuff back in there later, but I want to see how the room will look as a traditional dining room. I've been looking at an end table in the living room online; it's different from what I would normally get, and it's fun. We also need an entertainment center for the sitting room. Slowly, but surely.
We've been blessed with several days of warm weather with temperatures ranging from the mid 60s to the low 70s. The sun was strong the last few days--almost all of the snow piles were gone and the ground was finally starting to dry out.
That's all over now. I knew the 70-degree weather wouldn't last, but I didn't expect it to end in snow. It's not snowing at the moment, but snow is expected to mix with rain over the next several hours. Ugh. We've had more than enough snow this winter.
I had been seeing more wildlife in the area: the red fox that lives by the pool house, cardinals, a crane or heron, and a Northern Pintail duck. I was intrigued by the pintail; I met a bird-watcher on the trail here and he identified it for me. I've also been watching the emergence of shoots and buds. Yesterday, I saw my first daffodils. I'm excited about what spring will bring.
I've been volunteering with the birds of prey at the New Canaan Nature Center (NCNC) for three years. Today was my last day. Our closing for the Maryland condo is next Tuesday. I'll be spending most of my time after that packing.
I took particular care cleaning the aviaries and said goodbye to all the birds.
Maybe I visit them one more time before I relocate.
In keeping with my attempt to be positive, and borrowing from the Frugal Girl, I'm going to list things that make me thankful.
This is the new barred owl at the New Canaan Nature Center. This it the first time I've seen him on this perch. He still hasn't been named. I thought of Jem tonight. I'll have to share it.
This is Phoenix a red-tailed hawk. He was in a separate aviary for months. It's nice that he is finally in the main aviary. Now, we don't have to shlep to the other aviary with a bucket of water and his food. More importantly, visitors can now see him with the other birds.
Two years ago today was the first time I cared for the birds at New Canaan Nature Center. The previous week I had shadowed Derick, the Director of Animal Control, and took notes.
When I started there were six birds: Hedwig, Gus, and Jasper--owls, Ralph--a turkey vulture, Glory--a bald eagle, and Tupelo--a red tailed hawk. Since then, Hedwig, Glory, and Jasper died. The center added Phoenix--a red tailed hawk, Mort--a black vulture, and recently, a barred owl like Hedwig. I'll get pictures of Phoenix and the still unnamed barred owl soon.
After a week of sub-freezing temperatures, it's warming up. The "January thaw" has stopped the "Arctic blast." It's so nice to shed the snow boots and the heavy winter coat. At least for a while. Temperatures will be flirting with 60 at the end of the week. The thaw is timely as one-third of the winter is now over.
I returned to the New Canaan Nature Center after missing two weeks. I was sad to learn that Jasper died. I thought he was one of the younger birds there. I'll have to get more of the story,
Today is the day I volunteer to care for the birds of prey at New Canaan Nature Center. In March, it will be two years that I've been volunteering there, but I haven't written much about it.
Basically, I rake up the poop and leftover food, refresh their water, and give them new food. By giving them food, I mean I put down the food for them. I also prep food for the next day. That involves getting a meal together of frozen rats, chicks, mice, and/or quails with specific weights of food for each bird. Most times, I have to chop up some of the frozen animals. It can be difficult with the rats. If I had been told when I first called to volunteer that my duties would include chopping up rats, I probably would have declined. But I had already seen the birds and the other duties before I learned of the rat chopping, so I accepted.
Currently, there are six birds in residence. I have pictures of five of them and have posted them before.
First, here is Ralph, the turkey vulture. She can be feisty; she's gone after my pant cuffs a few times and even untied another volunteer's shoelaces.
A few weeks ago, my cousin Deb sent us a few goodies, including a stuffed dog for Jace. I texted her that Jace was playing with it, and she asked for a photo. This was the closest I could get.
The week of Halloween Jace was dealing with a scratched cornea and needed to wear the dreaded cone for five days.
Jace and have gone to Oyster Shell Park in the morning the last few days. Unfortunately, there was no breeze today. I didn't seen any interesting birds either.
Jace and I did see this guy today.
February is my least favorite month. But I welcome it because we need to get through February to get to March and spring. Plus I didn't enjoy the last few days of January. I went into a funk last week at this time. I had an ambitious to-do list and barely made a dent in it. Then I got thinking about self sabotage; I had trouble with my story; Jasper landed on my head. I started to turn things around yesterday.
***
I woke up to snow on Tuesday and Wednesday. It's as if winter itself suddenly woke up and said, "I better get to work." It had been in the fifties on Sunday and Monday, and the snow didn't linger. New York City got its first snow of the season yesterday--apparently a news story of the utmost importance.
I checked the news to see what Punxsutawney Phil predicted. Whatever he says, we have six more weeks of winter--I just hope it feels like spring.
***
February brings Valentine's Day. It's overhyped, but I still enjoy it. Jeff and I are talking about dinner plans. I'm thinking a sushi appetizer and a saketini. Do I want to cook or get more takeout? Oh, we'll need dessert too. Decisions.
I've posted photos of the birds at New Canaan Nature Center. But I could never get a photo of Jasper--until recently. He liked to hide in his "house" in his aviary.
Here he's out of the cage to go for a walk.
This photo marks one of the few times I saw Jasper out of his house. I guess he was hungry that morning.
Jasper is one of the few birds at NCNC that is capable of full flight. He is at NCNC because he imprinted on a human and wouldn't survive in the wild.
In sad news, Hedwig recently died. She had been living at NCNC for 21 years after her right wing was partially amputated.
Today was my day to care for the birds at New Canaan Nature Center. All went smoothly despite the recent escape of an Argentine tegu (I don't know if the NCNC one is black and white--I don't know much about lizards.)
I recently took pictures of two of the three owls; I still need a photo of Jasper, but he likes to stay in his house.
Here's Gus, a Northern Saw-whet owl. He's been at NCNC for two years. The organization that rescued him determined he was non-releasable after a brain injury from an auto collision.
This is Hedwig, a barred owl. Her right wing is partially amputated, and she's been at NCNC since 2001.
