Rarebirds.com Rare Bird Alert Maps

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Great site!

Openmindedness

You Are 64% Open Minded

You are a very open minded person, but you’re also well grounded. Tolerant and flexible, you appreciate most lifestyles and viewpoints. But you also know where you stand firm, and you can draw that line. You’re open to considering every possibility – but in the end, you stand true to yourself.

How Open Minded Are You?

I’m open to this.

California condors seen nesting in Big Sur

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Totally cool news! Love to hear it. Someday, I’ll see one of these amazing creatures in REAL life! 🙂

The day ahead

Ahhhhhh, what a difference a warm house and running water make in one’s outlook! The little things in life truly do make the most difference. A hot shower. Ahhhh. Pulling clean, dry dishes from the dishwasher. Ahhh!

What else. Today, I’m supposed to meet with my principal and my disgruntled parent. Not feeling good about this one. I know that it will all be fine but it never feels good to be complained about and have to defend yourself. Sigh. I met with my mentor on Monday and we outlined a plan for the future of my writing program. I hope it all goes smoothly. I’m feeling really stressed about it.

I finally worked up the nerve to contact Gander’s breeder and let her know that its not working. He just isn’t happy here with the lifestyle we are currently able to provide. I HATE it but I can’t ignore it any longer. Makes me so sad. So, we’re communicating on that but it’s not easy.

All the uncertainty about my firebug isn’t helping either. I hope we learn the outcome soon. Then I could help to prepare my students and myself for whatever the answer is. I’m not sure when we’ll know, however.

Boy, I’m a mix of upbeat and negative today. Hmmmmm.

Great Backyard Bird Count: 2006 Results: Boulder Creek, California

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Coolness. Final results for birds seen in Boulder Creek during the Great Backyard Bird Count. It was really fun for me to see because my students and I did this together. Very cool.

Who won?

The water company! Hurrah! We have water, ladies and gentlemen!

Oh, sure, it’s cold water and the house is still cold but it’s really nice to be able to flush the toilet without using a bucket! Sheesh! The gas company is due by 5pm today so we’ll see if its a warm night at our house or if we’re heading off to my inlaws to bathe. Deeeeelightful.

Winter Trifecta

We’re going for a Boulder Creek Winter Utility Trifecta. I already reported that we didn’t have gas from our gas company. Well, they just couldn’t make it out yesterday so its still cold in our house and THAT is why we’re switching companies. Yes, the initial mistake was mine but I’ve paid the bill and now they are just being . . . mean? Lazy? Incomptent? Uncaring? Not sure but I don’t want it anymore.

The second part of our BCWUT is our water. Yesterday morning, the water pressure was ridiculously low. Only today, I look back on that pathetic stream with great fondness. The water company took a backhoe up our road yesterday and worked all day but no water today. It is literally drizzling out of the taps. Luckily, I filled a bunch of buckets on Sunday morning so we can flush our toilets when we need to. I think we’ll all have to head down to my in-laws in order to shower tonight if it’s not on by then.

And, then it has rained for nearly 24 hours straight. Some of it gentle rain, some of it intense rain, but rain for 24 hours nonetheless. And, last night the power was flickering like crazy. I thought we’d be without any of life’s modern conveniences but no, it stayed on. Thank goodness.

So, we didn’t met our triple threat yesterday but today is a new day and who knows what will happen? Garbage strike? Satellite company goes out business? Hard to know what’s next.

Trying hard to remember that I love living her enough to tolerate the long rainy winters. As Mr Wonderful said last night as he sat in front of our roaring fire after he got home from mixing his last Mind Furniture [click] song for the new CD — it’s hard to believe in a few months it will be so hot that we can’t stand to be in our house without 14 fans going 24×7.

Pass the whine!

Today

Today went well. My principal came in and talked to the class today and that really helped. She’s a child psychologist by training and her coming in and sharing what she could and couldn’t say really helped quite a bit. She told them what she could tell them, answered their questions really clearly and factually. It was so nice for them. Then our regular work really progressed way more smoothly! Thank goodness! Still lots of turmoil about all this but feeling way better.

Overextended

I’m totally overextended. To the point where I can’t function that well on many levels. Case in point. Mr Wonderful has told me to hand the finances over to him. All I needed to do was get them organized and do it. But, time. So, Sunday was my deadline to get it all done and handed over. Sunday morning there is this odd gurgle in the pipes and voila. No water. I just knew it was because I was late with the water bill so I throw clothes on and rush over to our little bitty neighborhood water company (seriously, its a local family). As I was driving I kept wondering why they’d changed their policies and cut us off without warning but guilt is a powerful motivator. I gave the man the check — ignoring how weird he was acting — and headed home. Only to be met at the door by Mr Wonderful telling me the whole neighborhood was out. Oh brother. Well, we all enjoyed my guilt-induced breakfast of real donuts and bacon. Healthy no but balanced in carbs so that Mr Wonderful could eat it. The kids thought they’d died and gone to fat heaven.

Later that day, Mr Wonderful notices that the gas meter reads low — almost 0%. We have a huge propane tank. Guess what — I was late paying the bill. So, they won’t refill the tank. I pay the bill online but their antiquated online system won’t process the payment immediately. I call the 24 hour number and am told too bad for you — no gas. GRRR! I was so frustrated because yes, this is totally my fault but come on every other system on the planet processes payments immediately. So, we’ll be switching companies which we’ve meant to do for at least 2 years anyway. The other local system is smaller and treats its customers with more respect. Done and done. And, with Mr Wonderful at the helm, we won’t have late payments as often.

So, it’s a chilly morning at our house today because I am a flake. Oh, it’s a good day to be me!

My FeederWatch Weekend

Project FeederWatch [click]
Weather and Effort: March 25, 2006
When did you watch your feeders?
Day 1: morning afternoon
Day 2: morning afternoon
Estimated cumulative time: 1 to 4 hours
Daylight temperature: Over 20° C (over 68° F) low
Over 20° C (over 68° F) high
Daylight precipitation: Rain 1 to 3 hours
Total depth of ice/snow cover: None

Checklist for FeederWatch California Region Birds
Hutton’s Vireo 1 Confirmed
Steller’s Jay 1
Western Scrub-Jay 2
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 16 Confirmed
Pygmy Nuthatch 1
Hermit Thrush 1
American Robin 1
California Towhee 2
Dark-eyed Junco 3
Anna’s Hummingbird 2
Purple Finch 4