Tag: uriah

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Nature photos Nature Writing Rambling Writers Site

Sixteen Seconds Of Geese And Wind~

This morning I stepped outside to sunshine and heavy humid air. Along the western horizon I could see dark clouds moving slowly east. Black birds were pushing aside wet leaves in an attempt to find worms that had felt the warmth and slithered to the surface. I wondered how many they actually found.  Or was my guess of worms wrong and they were eating seeds, or larva.  The ground was still a solid block of ice, later on I will have to crawl around and check out the area myself…

I shuffled over the leaves and the black birds scattered as I passed by.

 The low area of the path had gotten muddier over night. Even now, the ice and snow melted under the glare of warm sunshine.  The thick broken ice became more of an obstacle course than an uncomplicated walk. At least the ice held the sharp sticks as I slipped over them. The mud, black and slippery, allowed the one to two inches of broken and cut sticks and grass, the opportunity to puncture my boots. 

Walking through this area took more time than it had yesterday.  Uriah became impatient and ran on ahead. He had disappeared into the trees by the time I started walking up the slight incline. I moved south, then east, straight into the un-melted snow.

The distinct smell of skunk wafted around the trees, I glanced around and didn’t see him. I decided, that it was a smart idea to leave, while I could still taste and smell.

 The birds were very vocal again today. Their songs intermingled into a sweet sound of spring.  I stood next to a knocked down fence post and closed my eyes and listened.

A train was heading through the town; the wind blew straight at me from the south, bringing every clack-clack and heavy thudding sound clear as a bell into my universe.  I turned on my camera and started the video; I was only able to capture a sixteen second piece of geese flying over head, before the camera flashed low battery and shut off.

Ooops! I forgot to recharge the battery last night. I slipped the camera back into its case and started walking home.  

A breeze kicked up around me, low to the ground. I smiled, and looked up at the tree tops, enjoying the warmer air. Then I started to sneeze, and sneeze and sneeze and sneeze. I’m allergic to mold! When we have a heavy rain that hangs around for a few days or like today, slow melting snow… That’s when mold appears and I start sneezing, eyes watering and I sound very congested.

I stopped my trek to admire some bright green moss I had found yesterday under a tree. (I had taken a picture.)  That tree had mold growing along its trunk… Oh well!

By the time I reached the house the sun had disappeared behind heavy dark grey clouds.

If it was possible it felt like the air had doubled in humidity. At least I stopped sneezing…

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Nature photos Nature Writing Poetry video Writers Site

Spring Is Trying Real Hard To Find Its Way To Illinois!~Lovely Skunk Perfume:-)

A fog rolled in over night and hung on through the morning, the sky a grayish white that shifted downwards and covered everything. As I walked around the back path, I stopped and listen to the birds. They were heralding in spring.

Rains had started yesterday so the ground had a mushy soft coating like frosting on a cake and ice hard underneath.

I side stepped muskrat holes, coyote and raccoon scat.

 This is a muskrat hole I have been avoiding all winter, still the snow hangs on around it…

As I headed back home I hesitated along the northern section and tried to pull out movement in the underbrush. Two days ago, when I walked this same area I stepped into a cloud of skunk perfume. I gagged and blinked, Uriah who had been right  behind me, slowly backed up and grimaced, then took off on a run, back towards the house.

Chicken!

I really wish I could move that fast.

Luckily the spray didn’t hit me directly so I was able to smell and taste within the hour.

Michael kept coming up to me all night and sniffing, then asking if I smell a skunk….

Today I didn’t see or smell a skunk. But the birds were in full song, especially the Black birds! The cardinals live in the trees near the house. The past few days the geese have been flying low, honking and filling the sky with their V shaped formations. I pulled out my camera and started video taping the birds. I edited them, and added a short poem.

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Nature photos Nature Writing Rambling Writers Site

What Does This Shape Look Like To You~No I’m Not Sneeking in a Rorschach Test~ Or Am I?~

Good Morning!  First picture: just before Uriah went outside we had an early morning visitor.  This picture was taken off the video I shot through the window. A bit blurry, but the coyote didn’t want to stand still.  He was hunting.

The second was taken when I opened the kitchen door to check on Uriah. Notice the screen has seen some better days. The cats heard Uriah moving around outside.
I find this very weird; if you look closely at the second and third picture you can see a reflection in the window, and orange spot. It is an orange bag of Iams cat food- what does it look like to you?
The third picture, the only cat that was interested in Uriah was Sano. The other two were irritated he scared off the birds. They didn’t stick around to watch him; they headed to a different window.
In the fourth picture, I was ready to download pictures when Sano decided Uriah was worth talking to. I wonder what they are saying to each other?
*
Just for fun I found a Rorschach test on line
I took it twice. The first time My sickness Quotient was 68%- I was insulted so I took it again and told the truth. Ahhh! 99% much better!!
Sickness Quotient: 99%
WARNING: Your Sickness Quotient of 99% is very disturbing.
 
Here’s the link have fun.
http://theinkblot.com/
 
Categories
Nature photos Nature Writing Rambling Writers Site

Winter Is Holding On As Cartoon Birds Run Through The Trees “D’oh!” ~

Yesterday, the temperatures rose high enough that the snow became heavy and started to thaw, just enough to become slippery and wet.

Twenty-four hours later, today.  The snow was solid and slick with chucks of sharp ice. 

The snow was so hard Uriah’s paws slid as he walked across the top without breaking through. Instead he slipped and fell.  He was not amused!   I tromped over to him, allowing my weight to break the top layer of snow.  I moved slowly to where Uriah sat. He looked irritated at the smooth, white snow stretching out in front of him. 

Stabbing my ski poles into the snow on either side of Uriah, I tried to slide him off the top of the snow bank, onto the area I packed down. When he was back on his feet/paws, Uriah glanced back at the tree he had been heading for, for a second he hesitated, sighed and made an odd grumbling, growling sound. 

If Uriah had fingers I bet he would have flipped the bird at that snow bank. 

Uriah made a half hearted attempt to walk behind me, then he decided to walk next to me, on that snow covered frozen path.

As we walked the sky cleared and a deep, purplish blue sat on the horizon to the east.  I stopped and looked straight up. The sky was slightly hazy grey. Some low clouds moved above me, giving me a closed in feeling.

The air held an odor of pond water, fishy and green smelling.  As I headed along the path a sweet, bitter smell of smoke curled around me until I reached the far back. At that point, the path turns to the north and rounds out and heads back west, towards the house. Just then, the wind picked up blowing in from the north-east, and pushed away the burning campfire smell.  The air changed, I could smell cows, manure and hay.

As far as I could see, the snow covered the fields. A pattern of colors and lines weaved in and out. I looked towards the farmer’s barn; I could see cows walking slowly and dark earth pushing up between snow drifts.  Grey ice covered the lower areas, frosted and untouched by the slightly warmer air.  

Uriah and I reached some heavy bushes; we walked underneath them instead of around. A tiny, black headed bird, complained at our intrusion. Uriah nudged my pocket I stopped and broke a milk bone in half and handed it to him. He was happily crunching away when a stick snapped next to us, we both turned to the right.

Not more than a foot away from us was that Pheasant! His neck was stretched up high. Light grey with a dark blackish blue ring around his neck. He looked startled and scared, and he slowly backed away from us, then turned and flew into the taller trees. He missed the first branch and then started running towards the Bog Willows. He ran into a tree trunk flapping and scooting around until he disappeared into the trees. 

 Picture a very stupid cartoon bird!

All this took no more than a couple of minutes, both Uriah and I watched him with our mouths open, Uriah forgot his biscuit. I forgot my camera…

Insert, heavy sigh, rolling eyes, slap on forehead and Homer Simpson’s “D’oh!”

Uriah looked at me. I shrugged and he made a half hearted move to chase the bird.  He took a couple of steps, then changed his mind and continued eating his biscuit.

Winter around here won’t end until April, if we are lucky.

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Nature photos Nature Writing Rambling Writers Site

Clouds, Blue sky, Ice, Snow and Bright Green Pajamas ~What A Great Day For A Walk!~

Early this morning, as I stepped outside, I realized that I forgot my camera. I crossed my fingers that Sano wouldn’t find the camera case with that dangling strap and drag it under the bed. After a few moments I didn’t care about the camera. I was having a hard time seeing. Even though the sky was a white-white- grey, I couldn’t see!  I was blinded by the bright white snow. I looked straight up and saw the clouds part above me exposing a blue sky and allowing the sun to reflect off the surrounding clouds. Snow blind in the middle of my yard…

Uriah was very happy; he raced around me and kept looking at my pockets. I nearly tripped over him. He acted like I was playing and tried to race around me that lasted a whole minute. He is getting older.

“Come on, Uriah! Let’s just walk. I can’t see!” I reached out trying to grab the air. “Stop trying to trip me!”

Uriah sat down to watch me. I blinked and tried to clear my eyes. It didn’t work. I gave up and shielded my eyes with my hand, and slowly walked into a snow drift. Snow poured over the top of my boots. I dusted it away and kept walking.

 Just as I reached the path, Uriah raced off into the trees. First I heard the deep squawking, and then I watched that elusive Pheasant fly awkwardly between the trees.  No camera, again! Heavy Sigh!

Later that afternoon we headed out again, this time I remembered the camera. The clouds had cleared, and the sky was a Cornflower blue. Instead of going around to the back, I wanted to see the pond in front. I believe it was January we had a thaw that inundated the land with water. During the past few weeks the water has evaporated and left ice connected to tree trunks, similar to a picnic table on top and Stalactites forming underneath.

I carefully stepped into the deep snow surrounding the pond, and felt the ice give way under my boots. I eased as close as I could to the ponds edge, trying to judge where I thought that edge should be. Stupid? Yes I am!  I didn’t get that close. Besides I was wearing my normal walking garb, a bright orange coat, grey knit hat, while dragging around ski poles. Almost forgot to add, I didn’t have on my normal blue jeans.  So the people passing on the road, there weren’t a lot of cars, saw me wearing my flannel bright green PJs, with a design of coffee cups and candy pieces.

 I looked fabulous! Just like an escapee from psych ward.    

I didn’t slip onto the frozen pond, nor did I get stuck in the deep snow. Not for the lack of trying by Uriah. He kept trying to see around me, without walking around me.  Instead he pushed me closer to the pond. I won that game by sitting in the snow. Uriah gave up and chased a rabbit he found. That didn’t last very long, the rabbit took off to the south, and Uriah ran to the north…

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Nature photos Nature Writing Rambling Writers Site

I walked towards the apple trees and decided the snow, which was making farting noises with each step, wasn’t amusing. My husband would find the humor in it! ~

Last night the snow started. I stood outside under driveway light and watched the misty rain change to snow as it fell. The blacktop was coated within minutes, a slippery mess only Uriah hazarded to walk across. The air was filled with dampness, and fog from the frozen ground and warmer air.  Even with the heavy darkness blanketing the house, sound wasn’t muffled and I could hear the coyotes racing across the farm fields, closing in on us.

“Uriah, hurry up and pee! We have to get inside!” I held tightly to my ski poles and tried to peer into the darkness. 

Uriah moved slowly, his arthritis was acting up with the dampness. Still, his hackles rose when we heard the howling start. He puffed his chest out and scraped at the ground with his back legs.

“Ok! You’re a big, brave dog! Let’s get inside!”

Uriah turned and raced into the open garage door. All bark and no bite…

This morning, everything was covered in bridal white.

Heart attack snow covered the driveway and deck. It’s the snow that one small shovel full can make a weight lifter grunt. The snow thrower will have a hard time with this mess.  Underneath was a grey slush, which will strain both me and the snow thrower. I walked down the drive to the road, where the snow plow had sprayed extra snow on the mouth of the driveway. I kicked at it and decided we are snowed in till spring.

The deck had about four to six inches of snow waiting to melt into the outside kennel. Uriah and I checked it out. I was able to kick around a four by four foot patch so it didn’t drip on Uriah’s head. The rest will be a waterfall if the temperatures keep rising, which according to the weatherman, the warm-up isn’t here, yet.

Notice the large pile of snow on the outside of his kennel. That should melt in mid-summer.:-)

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Nature photos Nature Writing

Earthquake In Illinois~ Michaels’ Cat Knew Before It Hit! ~

I woke up early this morning to my husband’s voice.  Tomoe, his black half Siamese was standing on his head and pulling his hair. Her intention was to get him up, now! Just minutes before she was sleeping at the end of the bed.

I could hear, Uriah barking.

Michael sat up and started cooing to Tomoe, who had moved away from him to the end of the bed. 

 At that moment the room started to rattle! Then a booming sound hit the house! Immediately the bed started to shake…

  I jumped up yelling, “Earthquake!”

My husband was trying to get Tomoe out from under the bed, where she launched when the first rattle started.

Everything settled down almost as fast as it hit.

He stood up, “It’s the blizzard not an earthquake!” Irritated, he couldn’t reach his cat. Michael spoke slowly, for my benefit.  “The wind hit the house.”

 I hate when he does that…

Michael walked around to his side of the bed where he crawled back in. “You’re scaring Tomoe.”

“Where’s she at?” I asked grabbing my robe.

“Under the bed.”  He mumbled, as he yawned, and pulled his blanket over his head.  

“Uriah’s still barking.” I stood next to the bed confused. Something felt off.

“Uriah’s an idiot! It’s only the wind.”  Michael rolled over; his part of the conversation was over.

The house was quiet. I could hear the wind blasting the outside of the house. It did not sound like that booming blast that hit a few minutes before.

Not one of the three house cats appeared, as I wandered around the house.

 Pictures were off kilter. I noticed my purse had slipped off the table.  Other than that, everything seemed normal.

When I heard we had been hit by an earthquake. I was able to say to Michael, “Told you so!” I can’t do that very often…

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/02/10/illinois.earthquake/index.html?section=cnn_latest

When the sun was up, and today it did shine very brightly in a blue sky. I headed outside to check around the house. The only thing I could see was some loose siding and a couple of storm windows were crooked. If any major damage happened I may not see it until we thaw out, in spring…

Last nights blizzard covered everything with a bright, white snow.  Anywhere from four inches to fifteen inches of it whipped around the driveway and off the roof. I could see some higher drifts along the trees, I wasn’t going anywhere near them.

        I wanted to get back in where it was warm.

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Nature photos Nature Writing

Snowing Cats And Dogs~

The snow was coming down with a grainy flake  it looked, to me, like sand shifting out of the sky in a downward path. The first inch of snow had coated the world outside my window.

Kenshin, one of the cats my husband belongs to, turned in circles in front of the door, purring and talking away. He wanted to be carried outside so he could look at the snow. I slipped on my shoes. Pulled the door open and stepped outside. I turned, facing north so Kenshin faced the falling snow.

He tilted his face upwards and sneezed.

Holding, Kenshin tight I carefully let him feel the snow on the railing.  He started pawing at it. His fur rippled underneath my hands. I had to take him inside before he did a leap out of my arms.

I deposited him on the kitchen chair, and then I slipped off my shoes. I pulled a bowl from the cabinet and reopened the door. I was scooping up the snow, when Kenshin tried to slip underneath my arm onto the deck. Immediately I dumped the bowl of snow on his back, he turned, and happily chased the snow back into the house.  I scooped up fresh snow and carefully slipped back inside.

Kenshin was sitting on the throw rug next to the door. He had a wild look in his eyes as he watched me place the bowl in front of him. He stood up on his tiptoes; excited, he leaped into the bowl and started throwing snow everywhere. 

Uriah began to bark, demanding his time for a walk.

I measured out a handful of snow, and packed it into round snowball. Kenshin followed me into the hallway, Meowing and prancing.

“Are you ready?”  I asked, as he ducked his head low to the ground.

I rolled the snowball down the hallway, and laughed as he sailed with it into our bedroom.

I could hear Michael’s voice as he came over to see what Kenshin was up to. Before I reached the bottom step and my coat, I heard Kenshin racing down the hall, and a soft ‘thump’ as he slid into the coffee table.

Outside the snow muffled the sound from the road as the snowplow rumbled past. 

Trying to hide from the wind, I slipped underneath the branches of an old evergreen, where I stood quietly enclosed by snow, long needles and pinecones.

The air was filled with moisture and the sky heavy with grayish white clouds.  

Old Man Winter was trying to hold on tight. Fine with me, spring is nearly here. For now this snow will sink into the ground, replenishing my well and once the ground thaws, that same water will sink down deeper into the tree’s root system.

I turned on the video to capture the snow and Uriah came walking up expecting a biscuit. Time for my breakfast and coffee…

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Nature Writing

Winters Bite Can Really Hurt~

I lost all feeling in my fingers by the time I reached the beginning of the back path.

I was hoping the water was still running strong. Then this walk would be cut short and I could slip back into the warm house.  

The water looked solid…  Darn!

 I used my ski pole and poked at the ice at my feet. Today the air was dry,  Mother Nature pulled the moisture out of the ground, leaving some of the ice hollow underneath.

I watched as Uriah stepped gingerly on the ice. He turned and looked at me. I could hear his thoughts. “See!  I didn’t break through. It’s strong enough! Come on!”

I shrugged and started my slow shuffle over the slick ice. 

Deciding I was too slow, Uriah came back to see what was taking me so long.

I tried waving at him to stop.

He didn’t listen.

 I tried to baby talk him away…“No, no walk up ahead of me. Uriah don’t stand next to me!”

He just stopped and stared. First at my forehead, then at my pockets, he was hoping for a biscuit. He was looking at me, when the ice popped, then cracked loudly under our feet.   All in a matter of seconds, Uriah’s eyes opened wide and looked like they would pop out of his head.  Then he looked down at his paws, and then back up at me, just as the ice gave way under him.

Luckily, for both of us the water that settled underneath was only about two inches deep. But two inches of freezing water was too much me. Uriah, at the first popping sound started moving fast!  He slipped on ahead aiming for the area with the dried grass. He knew if he stood on the grass, he wouldn’t get his feet wet.

 I wasn’t so lucky. The ice gave out under me, and only the bottom of my shoes got wet. Relieved, I laughed! And started a slow shuffled towards Uriah.

 “Nothing to worry about it’s not deep!”  Famous last words…

Ten steps in and the ice broke again. This time, the water poured into my shoes.

I hurried to reach higher ground, the dried grass, not taking in to consideration that Uriah weighed a lot less than I did.

Heavy Sigh!

Uriah glared and whined! He lifted one paw at a time up, as my added weight sucked us both down into the icy, muddy water.  The water freely poured over the top of the grass and sticks and my shoes.

Note* It wasn’t deep. If I had stood still it would have reached my ankles. *

Uriah turned away from me and raced up the path to the East. Home was to the west.

I checked on my camera. It was safely in its case hanging around my neck. My goal in coming out here today, was to take some pictures.  With that in mind, I decided to continue on my frozen walk, and I headed up the path to the east.

I was hoping to find that Pheasant hiding in the trees. My imagination was working over time as I walked.  Wet feet and frozen shoes, took my mind off my frozen fingers. At that point I pictured that Pheasant sipping a hot chocolate, with his feet up on an ottoman next to a roaring fire.

Yeap! I was hallucinating! And I would surly freeze to death under a tree.

Uriah had disappeared into the trees.

I could hear the ice cracking, in the low lying areas as I moved up the path and straight east. I tried to avoid the gentle, dangerously frozen wind, which was trying to knock my nose off.

The sun was shining brightly and the snow glittered white.  The thaw we had, a few days ago, had taken away a large portion of the snow, the rest was frozen solid. I had a hard time punching my ski poles in the snow, in a laughable attempt to stay on my feet.

I could hear the sound of a little bird, but I couldn’t see him.  Uriah gave up walking alone and came running up asking for a biscuit.

My fingers felt like they were no longer attached to the rest of my hand, as I dropped a biscuit out of my pocket.

Weather can be very deceptive and detached.   That bright sunshine and blue sky would shine down on me as I froze, sitting under a tree.  

I wanted a picture!

So I stopped and removed my gloves, and told Uriah to smile. He hid his face in the snow…

I only took a few pictures, I had to stop, because I couldn’t feel the on and off button. I slipped the camera in its case and told Uriah to run home. He took off into the trees instead.

At first I was aggravated then I realized it was probably warmer in those trees than out in the open.

 I wasn’t going to trust the ice. So I plodded forward, over the low path and ice. I stepped once more into the water. By now my shoes were ice cubes! Literally, chunks of ice!

 I hurried across the open yard!  Uriah suddenly appeared right behind me; he didn’t complain as I opened the door to the house and ordered him inside.  In my stylish ice shoes I clunked in behind him thinking, I need to toss out that Pheasant and drink his hot chocolate…

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Nature Writing Writers Site

Slip, Sliding Away~ Or, Go The Way Of The Ice

I stuck my head out the door and instantly decided to stay inside until spring.

That didn’t go over well with Uriah, or Kenshin. Both the dog and cat wanted outside. Uriah for bathroom duty and Kenshin had a wild look in his eye; he wanted me to walk him around on the deck so he could sniff the air.

 
”Nope!”   I shook my head at Kenshin, who is an indoor cat.

 He frowned and decided to look out the window.  Uriah happily wiggled out the door.

I pulled on my coat, hat, and gloves.  Grabbed my ski poles and reluctantly I stepped outside. Every thing was coated in black ice, the type that looks like wet pavement, but really isn’t.

Uriah was slipping around the driveway following a scent.

I leaned against the garage doors and listened to the winds howling through the trees. The deck boards creaked and the rain gutters rattled. Sharp ice started raining from the dreary grey sky. The snow, no longer pure white, had sunken in as the temperatures hovered just above freezing. The warmer air held a hint of a damp spring.  In random areas I could see field grass attempting to show through the snow. Uriah stood about fifty feet away from me, just watching and waiting, willing me to follow.

I muttered.  “You win!” and took baby steps into the snowy yard.

I walked a short distance up and onto a snowdrift, and then I started having trouble keeping on my feet.  My non skid boots weren’t connecting to the snow and ice. Instead of standing still, I was slowly sliding backwards.

 I had one of two choices. Keep my ski poles stuck in the snow and end up on my face.  Or, let go and hope I would glide backwards without falling.  

I chose the latter.

I lifted the ski poles, and slid slowly, very slowly, backwards…

All the while I made this high pitch screeching sound, sort of like a sick coyote, until I came to a stop. 

Uriah thought I was playing and ran at me.  As soon as he hit the black top, he slipped and landed on his backside.  He coasted the rest of the way on his hind quarters stopping only when he bumped into my legs. If he hadn’t run into my legs, he would have just swept right past me and ended up in the snow under the Blue Spruce. 

Immediately Uriah scrambled to his paws and started pulling at the cuffs of my pants.

To keep myself upright, I sat down.

”Get out of here, Uriah! Are you crazy?”

He answered me by grabbing my right glove, which I was waving at him, and pulled it off. He ran onto the snow, where he promptly started digging furiously.

 “Uriah! Give that back!”

He looked up and gave me a doggy grin, and continued to dig. Once the hole was large enough, or so he thought. He dropped my glove in and pushed the snow over it using his nose.

“Uriah you’re an idiot!” 

He took that as words of endearment.  And ran back to me and grabbed my left glove and took off towards the pond.

I slowly crawled and shuffled back into the house.

I watched Uriah out the front window. He was digging like an insane dog. 

I’ll get my gloves later!  When the ice melts, or in spring…

I’ll worry about them later.

Right now, I have a cup of coffee and a book, Heat Wave by Richard Castle. I just need to find my reading glasses! Tomoe, my husband’s cat loves to hide them, usually under the bed, or on the couch, or in the liter box…! Sigh!

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Picture is from Word ClipArt