Spring Surprises

The gentleman who built this house around the 1930's seemed to really like doors. This is a smaller house - or at least it was at first - with two, maybe three doors at the outset. When we moved in, it had five entrance doors available. The front door nobody ever used, except to move stuff in, or for deliveries (delivery people used to get particularly vexed choosing which door to get us to come to). What used to be the attached garage had been turned into a laundry room/extra room sometime after the free-standing garage was built, sometime around the 1970's, so another door was added there to cross under the breezeway to the garage. After that a sunroom was added on, which is the way in for everybody who knew the previous owners. There was even a little note pad attached to the wall near the inside entrance door to leave a message in case they missed you. And, of course, the back door to the 'root cellar,' which my husband insists on calling the bomb shelter (60's damage - duck and cover!)

So the door we tend to use the most is the door from the laundry/office/cat litter room out to the garage. It comes out the side of the house, under a covered breezeway, and it prevents some of our lovely springtime (or anytime) mud from coming into the main part of the house. So imagine my surprise when I innocently walked out that door and was 'assaulted' by a bird in the breezeway. Yes, visions of "The Birds" went through my head and I backed up inside as quickly as I went out. I waited a few minutes, looked for the vicious birdy, and then went about my business, convinced that bird would never come that way again and we can go about our usual routines.

Wrong! Last week we were coming home after dark and I noticed something different about our motion-sensor light for the breezeway. It looked different, or dirty, or something.... The vicious birdy had built a nest on top of our light! Pretty savvy - covered, protected, warm - pretty perfect for a mommy bird to hatch her eggs. Not so for us, however, as we are forced to use another, not so convenient door for our entrances and exits. Cannot bring ourselves to remove the nest and hurt the babies.



As far as our other doors... we really saw no sense to the real front door, since nobody uses it, so we walled it off. What used to be the front room with that door in it we now use as our master bedroom, so the opening is sealed, save for the top to put in our air conditioner. We don't use the AC much and I did not want to block a window opening that would allow fresh air in.

In addition to all those, we think there was a separate entrance to the cellar, that has since been walled in. I think the old man was just looking for escape routes!

God's Flashlight

Amazing! We hit close to 90 degrees yesterday! Again, not really ready, as most of our summer clothes are still in the attic. Yes, the weather people predicted this, but it gets so we do not trust them very much. Besides that, we are in the 'higher elevations,' where exceptions to the predictions prevail. We coped okay - t-shirts and jeans are suitable all year and always available.

For the cold weather we cover the windows with plastic, put up heavy drapes, and arrange the furniture to prevent any winter chills. Now with the nice weather (we hope) the plastic has to come off, the drapes washed and put away to be substituted by lighter curtains, and the furniture can be placed to enjoy the lovely views of the blooming flowers and trees. So as this occurs, God's Flashlight comes out. This is an expression my husband has developed that explains the angle of the sun coming in the windows 'just so' to highlight the "floating fairies in the air" (dust) and the muted sheen of the furniture (more dust). This is why we have spring cleaning!

I feel it is a never ending battle here in the woods. The air is clean, but the pollen is plentiful. And we have cats and the ever present litter boxes. (There is no such thing as a "dust-free litter." - those marketing people need to really use the stuff - in a home - with windows open - and really, truthfully tell me their litter is "dust-free!") In addition, the winter containment harbors the dust and the removal of the adaptations just releases the result. So we try to keep everything clean, take a day or two as the official spring cleaning days, and the next bright, sunny morning - the dust is back! Never ending battle.

Fires

We have not had rain for a while, so everything is very dry. The humidity is low, which makes for beautiful blue skies, but fire danger is very high. We have a burn ban in effect (the day after my husband had his fire incident), but people being as they are, some insist a campfire or or burning trash is their right. As a result we have had some massive brush fires, some very close to our home. We respect the firefighters and what they have to go through, so when we hear the trucks from the station up the street, we are understandably concerned.

It is quiet here. We have cars go by and logging trucks and school buses, so we are used to those sounds. But when a State Trooper puts on the car siren in front of your home, you pay attention. That is what happened to me this morning, sound asleep, the siren goes off and I 'stuck the landing' before I was fully awake. I was up, on my feet, looking out the window before I knew why, what time it was, where my husband was - I was prepared and unprepared all at the same time! I figured I had a decision to make - not sure why, but I was decisive. I decided to go to the bathroom! I realized very soon what had occurred and started to laugh - some way to start a day! I found out this evening the trooper was called to a chemical spill on the Interstate - our road is a shortcut to get the next entrance.

Restaurant Time and More Adaptations

My husband has gotten a new job, working at a restaurant 6 nights per week. As a consequence, we have switched over to 'restaurant time.' Anyone who has worked at a full-service restaurant knows what I mean by that. In the real world, people work all day and relax and sleep at night. And sometimes that relaxation takes 'real people' to a restaurant to have dinner and drinks and talk. Other people have to be there to prepare, serve and clean-up after, hence 'restaurant time.'

My husband goes into work around 4 pm each day and is there until closing and final clean-up, which means most nights he does not get home until midnight - and this is the off-season yet! Once the season starts, I probably will not see him until 1 or 2 am. I understand that, as we both worked in restaurants when we first met - in fact, I got him hired as one of the cooks for the chain that we both worked for. (I got the job immediately after we met, so I had them hire him.) As a manager, I often walked out of the restaurant at 2 am and drove the 45 minutes home; I know what it is like to get home so late, so I prefer to wait up in case he is too tired to drive, or so I can see him for a little while before we go to sleep.

So we sleep in a little later now, and try to get the appointments and necessary matters done in the late morning/early afternoon. Now if Mother Nature would adjust her clock - the cats want to be fed, the birds get noisy at sunrise, deliveries arrive - we are not ready! The cute little woodpecker certainly did not get the memo - he is still trying to peck a home into our metal antenna - go Woody! (pictured below) - but metal pinging at sunrise! Naps are becoming an important aspect of our day.

One day off per week now, so we try to pack a bunch of stuff into that one day - visits, shopping expeditions, intense yard work, etc. Last week we did some shopping for yard stuff, then came home and tried to get yard work done. I thought a nice big lunch was in order, so I went inside to cook while my husband did some yard clearing and burning of the wood cleared. Next thing I see is him running back towards the faucet (you see where this going, don't you?), then running to the garage, then running to the faucet - all the while with expletives being quietly mumbled! I know he did not want me to know, and did not want me to get involved, as there is an element of embarrassment involved here. So I waited until the running and cursing stopped, walked quietly out the backdoor to 'announce lunch was ready' and feigned surprise that the brush in our back yard was blackened and, now, non-existent. No harm done, really - he contained the fire before it spread too far or progressed into the woods. Really, this will probably help the grasses and ferns that grow there, and that area is greening up already after a week. But the prospect can very be scary - fire in our woods and all.

Oh, yes, it snowed yesterday. I think this makes 7 months of snow now? Supposed to be near 80 this weekend.

Motivators and Spring Longing

Sometimes the 'Powers that Be' send along powerful motivators to get a person to do certain tasks; or to accept the concepts and feelings that are inevitable. Looking around our yard, we are motivated to clean up and start planting. (Of course, there is a 'but') - But the weather does not seem to want to make up its mind! It is snowing now - just enough to annoy my husband, I swear. It is something we should expect and accept, since we are in the Poconos, right? We had 50 mph winds this week. Silly me put out some new pinwheels and whirligigs along our fence in the front - we picked them up later that week in the woods. Guess we will wait to put them out again, or find another way to stick them in the ground.

Health issues are extremely powerful motivators. After the realization hits home, an acceptance follows. My husband is Diabetic, as are many people in the US now. Almost a fad, huh? But a person has to accept that changes need to be made or the consequences can be bad. So you watch the sugars and carbs in your diet, move on and adapt. I have developed problems with the digestion of fats. Inevitably my gall bladder, so I got angry, make another change in the diet and move on and adapt. Those 'Powers that Be' are forcing us to eat healthy and we are better for it, but it is annoying. There is a whole preparation to eating out - something we both love to do. The Internet is useful there, as most restaurants have their menus on-line and national chains have nutrition information readily available. Still, good thing I can cook, but that may be the reason we ended up with these minor difficulties. We must tell ourselves that we are basically very fortunate and move on.

On the Spring (in name only so far) front, we have violets and crocuses growing in the sheltered areas by the house. The ducks have landed on our pond - which still has some ice on it - and are quacking up a storm. The frogs have not come out yet - still too cold. We were doing some work outside this week and an osprey flew overhead. Boy, do they move! It dive bombed out of the sky and then pulled up and quietly landed on a tree branch. Amazing! That bird's cry is piercing and loud.

We also saw some of our eagles back, as well as the bats that live nearby, probably in our old barn. I think we have a cat nesting for her kittens in the barn as well. We do not go back there often - the barn houses our lawn tractor and not much else. Some would say to knock it down, but I like the way it looks like a part of the woods.

Evaluating the Damages

This was a surprise. I had heard a large boom during one of the winter storms; after I had looked outside to see if anything had fallen on our house, I attributed the noise to 'snow thunder' - a phenomenon we get during rapid weather changes.Now that the snow is melting after 6 months of being on the ground, my husband and I could tour our grounds to survey the damage. I never expected one of our huge trees to have fallen over onto the pond. When we found this tree, we just stood there trying to figure what we do now. There are services that come in to clear this type of thing, but more and more there are companies that will pay you to log on your land. Now we are looking around the property to see if we have enough trees to have a company to thin them out and we could get PAID! That would be nice, and a lot less strain on the back - arms - shoulders, etc.
It was close to 60 degrees yesterday, and my husband's day off, so we started the clean-up. A beautiful day, but a lot of work. Chainsaw, reciprocating saw, shovel, pitchfork - we were armed! Old clothes, hats, safety glasses, gloves - we were ready! We were sweating! We were the rural cleaning force for clean yards everywhere! Well, our yard anyway...

We lost just about all our lilac trees and bushes due to the early snow in October, so they had to be cut down. I do not know if they can regrow, but 'people who know' say they may, but smaller. I am happy to say that part was easy. We also cut down an old pine tree in front of the bathroom and dining room window - amazing the light we get in those rooms now! We had high hopes of getting the entire yard of damage cleaned up in one day - right - sure! But I am proud of what we did get done before our exhaustion took over. This is where we have to admit we are middle aged and cannot get as much accomplished in one day.

And it snowed the next morning, as well as the morning of the first day of Spring. Makes it hard to be optimistic that Spring will really arrive soon. It seems to be here in name only.

To Everything, There is a Season...

Everyone gets to experience the traditional four seasons - summer, fall, winter, spring - but in the Poconos, we have many more seasons. Of course, there are the Hunting Season(s), something many people look forward to up here, as well as various Fishing Seasons (ice, trout, etc.), Camping Season, Boating Season - any season that gets the blood pumping in the followers of those activities. There are the sport seasons - Baseball, Football, Hockey, etc. But up here, we have some of our own special seasons:

Mud Season - comes right after the ice thaws and before the greenery starts. This season is especially appreciated by people with light colored rugs and new wood floors. Not much you can do about it and some communities celebrate it with special fairs and activities. An extra special attribute to the mud season is when it freezes again and makes for better slipping when driving or walking.

Road Repair Season - a special time that allows people from all walks of life to gather together on their way to -anywhere- to share in the joy and camaraderie that comes from the frustration of not getting where you are going. This season comes right after the Ice Season that causes other traffic delays, but is a contributing cause for Road Repair Season.

Ice Season (also known as Winter) - another source of frustration for drivers, and as mentioned above, closely allied with Road Repair Season. I give all the credit in the world to the plow drivers and salters, but they sometimes miss spots, or spots re-freeze, making for spectacular driving calisthenics. And, of course, all that freezing, thawing, salting and plowing leads us to...

Pot Hole Season - we have some of the most spectacular pot holes that I have ever witnessed in my years of driving. Axles have very little chance if it were not for the deft driving that a person develops up here.

However, worst pot hole that I have ever heard of occurred on the Belt Parkway in NYC. The traffic reports on the radio station went something like this:

10 after the hour= "We have a report of a pretty big pot hole on the Belt Parkway this morning. Be careful, as it is in the left lane."

20 after the hour= "We are getting a report that a Volkswagen Beetle as driven into the pot hole and has become stuck. That makes this a pretty big pot hole and we advise you to be careful and stay out of the left lane. NYC is sending out a crew to assess the situation."

40 after the hour= "Okay folks, this is a new one on me. The city has sent out the crew and they have put a flag on the car to alert traffic of its location. I guess they cannot get the car out, I don't know, but I would avoid the left lane of the Belt Parkway by any means possible!"

Sometimes I miss New York City traffic reports!

Clean-Up Season - before planting season, there is the traditional time for cleaning up after the ravages of Winter. As I said before, we had a lot of downed limbs and bent bushes from the ice storms. We also have some clean-up to the house and certainly some painting is in order soon. As far as raking the lawn of little bits and pieces, I prefer to leave that to the next season...

Windy Season - "March comes in like a lion," right? Well, we never raked our leaves because October must come in like a buffalo or other large animal. Someone got our leaves, but we got all the twigs and other roughage from the somewhere or somebody's lawn, but I have faith that the winds of March will just blow that stuff on along somewhere else. If not, in April, we rake - cannot rush these things.

Growing Season - I hope we can have one this year. It is shorter than I have been used to, but a couple of dear friends had a garden up here last year and the 'fruits of their labor' were wonderful. I hope we are as successful. But, of course, then we have to contend with deer, birds, etc. trying to eat our garden. Then will come...

Harvest Season - we hope...

Adaptations

I have noticed a phenomenon of 'hardening off' for people, animals, and plants during the cold winter months. I know many of our plants were severely damaged by our early, heavy, wet snow storm at the end of October - the plants had not had the opportunity to harden off yet to prepare for the snow. We have many broken limbs and bushes smashed by the weight of the snow caught in the leaves that had not fallen off yet - they just were not ready.

People get used to the cold as well and 'harden off' - we had a warm spell and most people were in shirt sleeves, no coats and shorts in temperatures that would have required a warm jacket on people who are not used to our often-bitter cold. Even now, I find we walk outside without a coat to tend to things that do not require a long time outside, but during the bitter temps we always put a coat on. By way of explanation, current air temperatures are now in the 30's during the day - much easier to handle than the 'teens and below that we have just lived through. We are hardened off. No guarantee the temperatures will not drop again, as snow is again predicted later this week. After all, the stupid groundhog did not see his shadow!

Birds get used to the cold somewhat, but when we have a break in the weather, they go crazy! Nice to walk outside and hear all that type of noise though. Some of the birds we have here have made adaptations that are very puzzling. We have a woodpecker who every year for the past two has tried to build a nest on our old, unused TV antennae. The antennae is, of course, a heavy aluminum type and has probably been attached to our chimney for 50 years. We have not taken it down because it is 'up there' and not hurting anything, and it is so well tethered in place with wires attached to adjacent buildings and other poles that we are afraid of starting a house-of-cards effect. So the woodpecker still tries to build a nest for a potential mate each spring and clangs his head on the metal trying to bore a hole in that thing. Annoying noise, but we admire his tenacity.

Another bird we had last year, and I hope comes back this year, provides moments of amusement for our cats (if you know about cats, moments of anything is an accomplishment - they get bored easily!) This bird is a bit of a clown, trying to sit on one of the guide wires for the power pole in our yard. The wire is attached to the ground at a 45 degree angle, but he still tries to perch on it, sliding down, getting back up, over and over again. On top of that, he is insisting that it is his right and this is his territory and swoops at anything that comes close to him. I am not afraid of him, but I do tend to wait until he flies away before I go outside. I just have these visions of the bird pecking me - I think it is Alfred Hitchcock damage. So I have adapted to him.