After a sunny, lovely day, a quick, crazy powerful thunderstorm darkened the sky alarmingly before rumbling through here on Wednesday. I was caught out in it, naturally. But the storm clouds were glorious.
Category Archives: Nature
Eyes on the Sparrows
Yesterday Bob pulled out some ugly, scraggly shrubs near our front door, so we could replace them with azaleas. He commented to me that a sparrow in the dogwood tree was scolding him the whole time. Then we saw the nest. One of the ugly shrubs had been home to a nest full of babyContinue reading “Eyes on the Sparrows”
Photo Friday: Dogwood Library
Last year we planted a pink dogwood in our front yard, and this month it has been breathtaking. I took this photo a few days ago, when the blooms were a bit past their peak, but I love this side view of my Little Free Library, seen beyond the dogwood branches.
Happy Easter
It’s Easter Sunday. When it comes to celebrating this holiday, I admit that my family is more into chocolate bunnies than church services. While I miss seeing my sisters and parents and other relatives for holidays, it was nice to have my son home for the weekend. I drove down to pick him up fromContinue reading “Happy Easter”
Photo Friday: Cardinal in the Snow
We had a mostly mild winter, and were hit with only a few days of snow, sleet, and freezing rain. There wasn’t even a lot of it — this is Virginia, after all — but the roads were sloppy, briefly, and I didn’t really want to go out. So I mostly stayed in on thoseContinue reading “Photo Friday: Cardinal in the Snow”
Ready for the Zombie Apocalypse
The Girl Scout motto is Be Prepared. I spent the day yesterday doing just that with other members of the adult Girl Scout troop my friend Reba recently started. At yesterday’s event, we were honing some of the important knowledge and skills we’ll need for the upcoming Zombie Apocalypse. We met at a Girl ScoutContinue reading “Ready for the Zombie Apocalypse”
Pepino Returns
After dealing with several mice in the house, we were finally convinced that we had succeeded in getting rid of them. We hadn’t seen or heard a mouse in weeks. And then, on Saturday night, I walked into the kitchen to see Pepino scurrying across the floor to disappear under the refrigerator. Damn. Bob saidContinue reading “Pepino Returns”
Photo Friday: Snowbird
Until this week, we hadn’t had measurable snow in Alexandria since February 2019. Now we’ve broken our snowless streak, though I wouldn’t call it a major storm. It started when we were in Harrisonburg to bring our son back to JMU when campus reopened. Snow began falling there about 1 a.m. Sunday. The storm reachedContinue reading “Photo Friday: Snowbird”
Six More Weeks of Winter
It’s Groundhog Day 2021! A few hours ago, the world’s most famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, emerged from his winter home and saw his shadow, forecasting the continuation of winter for another six weeks. That’s no surprise here, where the first measurable snow in more than two years is still falling outside my window, as itContinue reading “Six More Weeks of Winter”
Fourteen Birds
A study finds that people are happier if they are exposed to more biodiversity of birds in their environment. Seeing fourteen different species of birds on a regular basis brings as much happiness as making an extra $150 a month would bring. Despite my semi-urban environment, my yard is usually full of birds. But doContinue reading “Fourteen Birds”
