Feb. 1



A new visitor to our feeder this week, Cassin's finches...  The bright topknot often stands up a bit like a mohawk...


Here's a more natural photo I got today...



And here is a female purple finch.  We're keeping track of species visible from our yard this year.  We're up to 16...

Feb. 4

Yesterday I replaced a couple heating elements in my older kiln and had to struggle with reattaching the new element in the space provided because every time you put new elements in you have to snip off a bit of wire  that connected the old ones, so it was very short from many element changes.  I inadvertantly pulled out  the thermocouple that tells the temperature in the kiln, so on the next firing the kiln over heated and destroyed itself and the pottery inside. I circled in red the little thermocouple which I pushed back into place this morning.   (the cracks in the kiln walls are nearly all new. the kiln shelves slumped and the pots all have bulges) Fortunately business has been very good the last year... I'd been thinking I needed another new kiln, and now I have occasion to buy one...

Speaking of Covid, my mother has recovered fully and is back in her old routine at Millstream Common, and we are all happy about that...

Looking down in the rain barrel today was a nice 6 sided ice crystal forming on top.

Feb 5
A new kiln is ordered (up to 4 weeks till delivery).  It cost twice as much today as 10 years ago...
We had lots of sun today, although only temps in the mid 30's, but it was good for pruning one of the last apple trees, just as the sunset went glorious...

This was the view from behind our cabin...

Feb. 12
The highlight of this week was getting my first Covid-19 vaccination on Tuesday.  There had been previous hopes dashed as the system is a bit chaotic, so I felt like a winner of the lottery when called by my local clinic and notified there was a no show and I could get a shot.  Aside from a slightly tender innoculation site, no side effects.  
As in most of North America, the weather has gone towards frigid (although not below zero here, yet) and that cuts down on my desire to photograph outdoors..
Before it hit I got a glimpse of a farway bird, poor photo but not sure of ID:

Might be a northern shrike...
I've been going through my recorded CD's and combining them with my nature photography to make new Youtube videos.  I Shall Be Released  is a Dylan cover song I recorded with Jonathan Hawkins.  It was also the last song we sang together, last fall, making videos for the Fall Folk Festival.

Feb. 14

It was an odd day, with an even cloud cover from the early morning, turning into fine snow with sun breaks through the day.  



These were two objects on the ice.  With the breeze and fine dusting of snow,  they received a delicate spray of white.  The ice has tiny bubbles making it almost resemble cement pavement...  The photo of the pine cone caught my eye since it pops out so brightly as the definitive pine cone (ponderosa, to be technical)

Last week I rewatched The Music Man, long one of my favorite musicals (even the Beatles covered one of the songs--"til there was you").  When I first became aware of Trump running for election in 2016, I said that he reminded me of The Music Man, clearly being a con man.  Rewatching it in hopefully the end of  the "age of Trump," I was less sympathetic to the romance of the professor and the librarian, and his certain-to-fail promises with the band (although I admit I learned harmonica and guitar with the Think Method).  The year that I tried being a children's librarian, I had an improvisatory series the kids worked on called What Happened After, where they continued familiar stories that usually end with the characters living happily ever after.  I applied that method in my mind to the Music Man, and thought what would happen when Marian would realize that the stories of his having a girl in every county were true, or the lawsuits would pile in on all the frauds the music man had committed.  In other words, the plot came too close to the current milieu for comfort...

Feb. 17
After a couple days of snow and gray, this was this morning from behind our cabin:


and with the bright sun, it made beautiful patterns on the water stirred by this female common goldeneye:


Feb. 23
Although it was only about 35 and windy, the sun was shining as we planned a picnic on the beach at Farragut Park.  While eating we watched a snow squall move in on the lake, but missed us by "that much."

It was snowing on the right side, clear on the left.  

books read
The Princess Bride by William Goldman.  I reread this after reading it in the 80's and enjoying the movie several times.  From the multiple intros to the teaser to a nonexistent sequel, he plays with reality like it was his favorite toy.

Star Kingdom Books 1-3 by Lindsay Buroker  Although the pace is frequently slow on action, great character development make this epic space opera addictive...


Sondahl blog index
Jan2024 (none)February
2024
March
2024
April
2024
May
2024
June
2024
July
2024
August
2024
September
2024
October
2024
January
2023
February
2023
March
2023
April
2023
May
2023
June
2023
July
2023
August
2023
September
2023
October
2023
November
2023
December
2023
January
2022
February
2022
March
2022
April
2022
May
2022
June
2022
July
2022
August
2022
September
2022
October
2022
November
2022
December
2022
January
2021
February
2021
March
2021
April
2021
May
2021
June
2021
July
2021
August
2021
September
2021
October
2021
November
2021
December
2021
January
2020
February
2020
March
2020
April
2020
May
2020
June
2020
July
2020
August
2020
September
2020
October
2020
November
2020
December
2020
January
2019
February
2019
March
2019
April
2019
May
2019
June
2019
July
2019
August
2019
September
2019
November
2019
December
2019
January
2018
February
2018
March
2018
April
2018
May
2018
June
2018
July
2018
August
2018
September
2018
October
2018
November
2018
December
2018
January
2017
February
2017
March
2017
April
2017
May
2017
June
2017
July
2017
August
2017
September
2017
October
2017
November
2017
December
2017
January
2016
February
2016
March
2016
April
2016
May
2016
June
2016
July
2016
August
2016
September
2016
October
2016
November
2016
December
2016
January
2015
February
2015
March
2015
April
2015
May
2015
June
2015
July
2015
August
2015
September
2015
October
2015
November
2015
December
2015
January
2014
February
2014
March
2014
April
2014
May
2014
June
2014
July
2014
August
2014
September
2014
October
2014
November
2014
December
2014
January
2013
February
2013
March
2013
April
2013
May
2013
June
2013
July
2013
August
2013
September
2013
October
2013
November
2013
December
2013
January
2012
February
2012
March
2012
April
2012
May
2012
June
2012
July
2012
August
2012
September
2012
October
2012
November
2012
December
2012
January
2011
February
2011
March
2011
April
2011
May
2011
June
2011
July
2011
August
2011
September
2011
October
2011
November
2011
Deember
2011
January
2010
February
2010
March
2010
April
2010
May
2010
June
2010
July
2010
August
2010
September
2010
October
2010
November
2010
December
2010
January
2009
Febr.
2009
March
2009
April
2009
May
2009
June
2009
July
2009
August
2009
Sept.
2009
October
2009
November
2009
December
2009
Jan.
2008
Febr.
2008
March 2008
April
2008
May
2008
June
2008
July
2008
August
2008
September
2008
October
2008
November
2008
December
2008
Jan.
2007
Febr.
2007
March 2007April
2007
May
2007
June
2007
July
2007
August
2007
Sept.
2007
Oct.
2007
Nov.
2007
Dec.
2007
January 2006February 2006March 2006April 2006May 2006June 2006July 2006August 2006Sept. 2006Oct. 2006Nov. 2006Dec. 2006



April 2005May 2005 June 2005 July 2005August 2005September 2005October 2005November 2005December 2005