But it sure is a pretty mountain...
Remember, Vote NO! Mt. Baker Eruption. For the kids' sake.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
The view we don't have
This is the view we would have of Mount Baker (on clear days) if everyone to the east of us for a mile or so cut down all their trees. For the record, allow me to state that I am NOT advocating having all those trees cut down! I would be very saddened to see that, the 'improved' view would not be worth the destruction of habitat, not to mention the loss of privacy.
But it sure is a pretty mountain...
Remember, Vote NO! Mt. Baker Eruption. For the kids' sake.
But it sure is a pretty mountain...
Remember, Vote NO! Mt. Baker Eruption. For the kids' sake.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Locking Mailbox
We finally got around to installing our new locking mailbox this weekend, and yesterday I got the stickers to put the numbers on it. It sure is nice to know that our mail is all safely locked up so no identity theives can get at it - an ounce of prevention, etc. 
Of course, we don't know if any of our mail ever did get (or ever would have gotten) taken, but the neighbors have told us that they used to lose their magazines and newspapers a lot, so now most of them pick up their mail at the post office. I'm MUCH too lazy to stop by the Post Office on my way home every day, so we ordered this mailbox from Oregon Trail Box. We looked at several different ones but Cary wasn't satisfied that they would keep our mail safe enough. Plus, this one is made of extra heavy metal, so it is supposed to be baseball-bat proof, which will probably come in handy. Better to pay a little more for that up front than to have to replace the whole thing some day.
Of course, we don't know if any of our mail ever did get (or ever would have gotten) taken, but the neighbors have told us that they used to lose their magazines and newspapers a lot, so now most of them pick up their mail at the post office. I'm MUCH too lazy to stop by the Post Office on my way home every day, so we ordered this mailbox from Oregon Trail Box. We looked at several different ones but Cary wasn't satisfied that they would keep our mail safe enough. Plus, this one is made of extra heavy metal, so it is supposed to be baseball-bat proof, which will probably come in handy. Better to pay a little more for that up front than to have to replace the whole thing some day.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
The Biggest Pecker
We woke up this morning to an awful sound. It was like a jackhammer starting up inside a tuba. It quickly became apparent that it was coming from our chimney pipe. I went outside to look, and found this fellow perched on top of the chimney cap, happily banging his beak on it and looking pretty proud of himself:
He's a male Northern Flicker, and it's mating season. Aparently a big part of proving that you are a very manly and attractive male Northern Flicker is making the loudest pecking noise you possibly can (although I should point out that, heard from outside the house, the noise was not nearly as impressive as it was from inside). As my dad says, it's how they "prove they are the biggest pecker around." It seems that when given a choice, today's modern flickers prefer chimney caps and metal roofs to the old-fashined sound of a snag or hollow tree. I guess I don't mind if he uses our chimeny (he's not likely to damage anything), but I'd really prefer if he could wait until after we've woken up in the morning before getting started on his sexy racket!
He's a male Northern Flicker, and it's mating season. Aparently a big part of proving that you are a very manly and attractive male Northern Flicker is making the loudest pecking noise you possibly can (although I should point out that, heard from outside the house, the noise was not nearly as impressive as it was from inside). As my dad says, it's how they "prove they are the biggest pecker around." It seems that when given a choice, today's modern flickers prefer chimney caps and metal roofs to the old-fashined sound of a snag or hollow tree. I guess I don't mind if he uses our chimeny (he's not likely to damage anything), but I'd really prefer if he could wait until after we've woken up in the morning before getting started on his sexy racket!
After the rain...
No, this is not a picture of a forest fire. It's yesterday's sunset. After pouring down rain all day, the clouds broke to the west of us and we were treated to an absolutely epic sunset. The clouds were moving really fast across the sky, it honestly looked like time-lapse video photography. 
We had several good friends over for a bbq, so we all stood around and watched the sky for the 15-20 minutes that the sunset lasted. It was really a nice moment. I later tried to convince everone that all our sunsets are as cool as that one was, but no-one fell for it.
We had several good friends over for a bbq, so we all stood around and watched the sky for the 15-20 minutes that the sunset lasted. It was really a nice moment. I later tried to convince everone that all our sunsets are as cool as that one was, but no-one fell for it.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Rain Gage
I picked up a cheap rain gage on a whim at the hardware store the other day, and it's really incredible to see how much rain we've gotten since then! A little over 2 1/2" total has fallen in the last 3 days, and it is still coming down steadily. You may be thinking that that's an awful lot of rain, but it's actually probably pretty average for spring around here.
Its really fun to have a tool to measure the rainfall, instead of relying on visual clues like the size of the moat we have to cross to get from the driveway to the front porch. :)
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Cary's New Job
This isn't really house related, but I thought I'd post a little about it anyhow...
Cary started his new job as a groundskeeper at the Bayview Cemetary on Monday, and so far it's really going great (despite the cold & rainy weather). The first couple of days were mostly orientation, equipment maintenance, and the like, but yesterday they got out and started cleaning up the piles of windfallen branches that came down during the winter. The cemetary has a big industrial chipper, and the crew spent almost the whole day chipping branches - they filled their dump truck up twice!
Once they get past the branches, it sounds like the job will entail a LOT of mowing, trimming, edging, and otherwise caring for the grass in the cemetary, along with gravedigging and setting up headstones. Cary actually dug his first grave yesterday, just a little one for a cremation burial. For a die-hard fan of the show Six Feet Under (which he is, even if he tries to deny it) it's a pretty sweet situation. Plus, he's working outside, right next to his favorite park (whatcom falls)... and since it's a city job, it's stable, pays well and has a nice benefit package. I'm so happy for him!
Cary started his new job as a groundskeeper at the Bayview Cemetary on Monday, and so far it's really going great (despite the cold & rainy weather). The first couple of days were mostly orientation, equipment maintenance, and the like, but yesterday they got out and started cleaning up the piles of windfallen branches that came down during the winter. The cemetary has a big industrial chipper, and the crew spent almost the whole day chipping branches - they filled their dump truck up twice!
Once they get past the branches, it sounds like the job will entail a LOT of mowing, trimming, edging, and otherwise caring for the grass in the cemetary, along with gravedigging and setting up headstones. Cary actually dug his first grave yesterday, just a little one for a cremation burial. For a die-hard fan of the show Six Feet Under (which he is, even if he tries to deny it) it's a pretty sweet situation. Plus, he's working outside, right next to his favorite park (whatcom falls)... and since it's a city job, it's stable, pays well and has a nice benefit package. I'm so happy for him!
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Kitty Time = Nap Time
Our three cats are settling in to the house very nicely. Mostly, this means that they lounge around all day, getting up every now and then to check the food dish, eat if it's full and complain if it is empty. They love the radiant heat, it's like kryptonite to cats. This is the effect it typically has on them:
From left to right, that's Iggy, Sprout and Sanford.
Every now and then they escape the clutches of the radiant heat and go outside to explore, hunt, and/or answer nature's call. Sanford is the most adventurous; the other two rarely leave the porch. He's a notorious killer of small critters, and when we used to live at the apple farm he would bring me "gifts" nearly every day - nice succulent baby moles, tender frogs, and plump field mice, arranged neatly on the little rug at the foot of my bed. So far, no "presents" have made their way into the new house, but it's probably just a matter of time.
I'd consider "belling" him if he wasn't also extremely good at taking off collars - 10 minutes or less! So far, he's just really enjoying spending time sitting on the cedar fence and watching the birds come and go. Hopefully if/when he starts hunting again he'll stick to rodents and leave the robins alone...
From left to right, that's Iggy, Sprout and Sanford.Every now and then they escape the clutches of the radiant heat and go outside to explore, hunt, and/or answer nature's call. Sanford is the most adventurous; the other two rarely leave the porch. He's a notorious killer of small critters, and when we used to live at the apple farm he would bring me "gifts" nearly every day - nice succulent baby moles, tender frogs, and plump field mice, arranged neatly on the little rug at the foot of my bed. So far, no "presents" have made their way into the new house, but it's probably just a matter of time.
I'd consider "belling" him if he wasn't also extremely good at taking off collars - 10 minutes or less! So far, he's just really enjoying spending time sitting on the cedar fence and watching the birds come and go. Hopefully if/when he starts hunting again he'll stick to rodents and leave the robins alone...
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