Looking Up

Spring is definitely in the air. It hit 60 degrees in WV yesterday. Sixty degrees!

We saw lots of hawks along the road on our way home yesterday. They winter here in the Mid Atlantic region and many will soon be on their way north.

I saw a huge flock of geese heading north this morning, too. And the daffodil bulbs in my front yard are up like six inches.

Things are definitely looking up weather-wise. I spent a lot of time looking up this weekend, too.

Why? I am determined to find some owl or woodpecker nests this year. I think that would be cool to see. Especially if I could find a Pileated Woodpecker nest. Ever seen one of those? They are huge (15 inches tall). It’s hard to imagine how big that is until you see one flying through the woods. They are quite distinctive, too, with their bright red heads and pterodactyl-like shapes.

We don’t see many owls at the WV place, but we hear them often. And, though quite shy, we see and hear the Pileated Woodpeckers quite frequently. Since there are lots of live oak trees and snags around riddled with holes, large and small, I’m thinking if I look hard enough I am bound to find at least one nest.

That’s why I spent lots of time looking up this weekend. And I got some neat (in my opinion) pictures as proof, which is the whole point of this post.

One of many trees in and around our place. This one has more holes than most.
This might be a hawk or owl nest. I know the picture makes it look like it's in a bush, but it is actually at least 30 feet up in a tree. I think it's about two feet across, too.
No potential nesting cavities here. I just like the way the tip of this longstanding snag looks against the blue sky.

Here’s some mundane info for you. A dead tree laying on the ground is called a log. A dead tree that remains standing is a snag.

I’ll be sure to let y’all know if I find any active nests.

Good While It Lasted

Remember this happy looking guy?

My Bumnabul Snow Dude

Well, it’s been sort of warm here over the last few days. Warm temperatures aren’t good for snowmen.

This is what he looked like this morning…

Bumnabul No More

The good news is, we might get another foot of snow tomorrow. He just might rise again.

The grandkids thought he was funny. It was really cute hearing Joey, the 2 1/2 year old, trying to say Bumnabul.

I Found a Piece of the Patio

I did two things of note on Saturday. I went shopping for groceries and some other essentials. And I found a small piece of the patio.

Exciting, right?

First, the shopping trip. It was interesting. This is the first time I have been out since Blizzard #2. The piles of snow in the parking lots and along the roads was really quite surreal.

Typically, I would not even go near Costco on a Saturday morning. But there were hardly any cars in the parking lot. The parking lot was actually in great shape (down to pavement) as far as driving goes. It just felt really, really weird. The parking lots were all sectioned off by very large walls of snow. Lucky for you, I had my camera.

The parking lot at Costco.
The parking lot at Costco from another angle.
My car at Costco.

Things pretty much looked the same in the parking lot at the Safeway.

What I saw through the windshield when I parked.

The good news is, the shelves were all fully stocked. Inside, it looked like any other day. So now, if we get another snowstorm, I will again be prepared to cook.

When I got home, I decided to clear off the patio. The dogs had the snow quite compacted. It was hard work. I only cleaned off a small portion of the patio, and the barbecue grill. I was out there for almost two hours. Now we have our own piles of snow.

The patio before I started.
The barbecue grill before I started.

The snow really was very heavily compacted. I had to use an ice tool to chisel chunks away, which I then moved with a snow shovel. In some cases, the chunks were so big, I had to lift them by hand.

K on top of the snow.
The barbecue grill uncovered.
One of our snow piles.
The doggie's new gateway to the yard.

It is going to be a long, long time before all of this stuff melts.

Blizzard #2 Aftermath

As promised, I have some day-after pics to share…

I e-mailed this IMPORTANT MESSAGE to my bosses. It didn't work.
Just after sunrise on February 11.
It's been an unbelievable winter.
The calm after the storm.

Now that's a big pile of snow.
Our neighbor's 8-foot icicle.
It was Hubby's turn to shovel.
This might look like pretty icicles, but it's really a roof leak waiting to happen.

The view from our upstairs bathroom.
Critter patrol. This scene was repeated quite often throughout the day. I think we have the only operational birfeeder for miles around.
Critter patrol is serious business. Belle nabbed this one.
Meg was content eating the birdseed.

If you’d like to see the entire collection of images from Blizzard #2,

VISIT MY FLICKR PAGE.