…for at least a couple of days.
Making progress on the outline, the pond is waking up, the trees are trying to bloom, and I finally got the right genealogy file to load. After all the madness I’m taking time for that hobby, during the evenings while watching telly. I was afraid I’d lost it. But in with some of mom’s things I was able to trace her mother’s immediate family, which opened up a whole bunch of traceable lines where I didn’t have any. So I’m chasing those down. Also it’s been so long since I’ve done any work on it that ‘new’ people have popped up in the database—research by people like me all over the world is continually adding bits. They’re not always right, but you can crosscheck by doing the math on birthdays and such, and occasionally by checking Wikipedia, if they’re notorious enough. Wiki can sometimes be relied on more than a genealogical record that has 9 different birthdays and thinks a mediaeval Frenchman was born in New Jersey. Ain’t interactive data-entry fun, when you don’t watch which ‘suggestion’ you’ve just clicked on?
Anyway, the front end of a book has more spare time about it than the back end: there’s only so much outlining you can do at one sitting, before your brain turns to custard and you start thinking in circles.
But I have 3/4 of the outline done. Should be a fun book.
Hum. Don’t want to joggle your elbow, but I’m looking forward to the book already 🙂
Wayne
Heh. SO am I, and that’s a good thing!
Here’s some happy thoughts your way: My plants are all waking up. The lavendar is blooming, the roses are budding, all of my trees have leaves of some sort, from buds (the chinese pistache) to full foliage (the pomegranate). The flock of red-winged blackbirds seems to have moved out, so I have more of the small birds coming to the feeders now (goldfinches, oaktits, house finches, house sparrows, white-crowned sparrows, mourning doves, that sort of thing.) I’m hoping to get some pretty grosbeaks in soon. And I have a black phoebe coming in for some mealworms that I put out… I’m hoping that will lure in the bluebirds, who are frustratingly hanging out on the far side of the power line easement. It’s about 40 feet away… they hang out on a fence out there, but getting them to come to my yard is proving difficult. But I am hoping that patience will pay out eventually. I haven’t seen the hawks in the last month or so… makes me wonder where they have gone. But I figure they will show up as the summer goes on, looking for food for young hawklets. (What is the proper term for a baby hawk?)
And I am going out to the greyhound rescue group tomorrow to see if there is a friend out there for my girl. There’s several candidates, but it is always somewhat touchy adding a sight hound to a house that contains a feisty cat that likes to dart about. But the first step is to see if there are any that Trinkett is partial to, since there’s no point to bringing in a dog that is going to cause problems. And then to decide if I am willing to work with a shy dog. For right now I am keeping an open mind and reminding myself that this is not the only choice I have.
I have only seen one probable bluebird in my life, but think they’re very pretty. I have heard they are suckers for mealworms, commonly sold as lizard food.
My Dad gets lots of bluebirds in western New York State. They’re fairly commonly seen even here in the city of Colorado Springs, and even more common up above in the ‘hills.’ Of course, the Eastern Bluebird is much prettier (bluer) than the Western Bluebird… 🙂 But, Eastern or Western, they’re still very pretty and fun to have around. And concentrating on cheerful topics, at least for awhile, sounds like a good idea…
Forrest
Whoops, my dyslexic writing style strikes again… 🙂 The Mountain Bluebird is bluer than the Eastern, of course…
Forrest
Hello!
First, a quick note to say that I started rereading the Foreigner books in late January, and I just finished Conspirator (#10) last night. I thought it was going to take me longer, but once I started, I couldn’t stop. That was a wonderful ride! I’m so glad the new one will be out soon. I already have it pre-ordered. I love these books!
Even if I did find myself awake at dawn with the book still in hand a few too many times over the last couple months!
So thank you, C. J., even if I am losing sleep over them. (grin) I suspect I am going to be attacking another of your sets soon.
Speaking of birds. . .
I do a picture-a-day blog and I often get nice bird shots. As it happens, here is one of a blue jay from just a few days ago:
http://zettepicaday.blogspot.com/2010/03/blue-jay.html
I’m glad to be here and meet everyone!
Welcome in, Zette!
Thank you. It took me a few days to get up enough courage to post. But now you are stuck with me.
Enjoy! We’re a rowdy but very friendly lot.
@zette…nice bluejay! You are going to like it here!
HAPPY EASTER! And also HAPPY DAY to whatever time you wish to celebrate!
I personally think it is a time to celebrate SPRING! Which I am doing by installing the pool pump. Yes, it *is* way too early to swim but the water looks terrific and to keep it that way I need to have the pump and filter going. Besides I love messing around with water even this early in the year.
We have bluebirds here but they are extremely shy….have had pairs on the edge of the woods…they seem to be cyclical. Hummingbirds are another story. As soon as I put out the fuchsias and impatience it’s “Cue the Hummingbirds”
Cj ji, this is a little off subject but do you know if Azurblu had any wishes for donations in her memory?
Saw the red tail hawk yesterday so spring/summer reeeeellllly is coming!
Anticipating the new book…..which may also be a sign of spring/summer! 😀
I don’t know re Azureblu’s wishes. I will try to find out.
I always look forward to your books. Awaiting May 10 is a gift card I received for Christmas. Delightful!
As for bluebirds: I agree that California scrub jays aren’t as prettily blue as the Eastern variety, but they make up for it in nerve. A friend had one who would eat from her hand, even coming into her house. It got sick, and she captured it and took it to the vet, who fixed the problem. When she released it the first thing it did was sit in a bush out of reach and yell at her for at least 10 minutes. It still hangs out for food, although it won’t come into the house any longer. Cheeky little item.
I have scrub jays coming to a in-shell peanut feeder. They seem to really like it, and it keeps them from terrorizing the birds at the other feeders. While I agree that they are not as pretty as the eastern bluejays, I also agree that they are cheeky and intelligent birds. The peanut feeder is essentially two sheets of plexiglass with holes in semi-random places. There are a couple of jays that are very picky about their peanuts, and will pick one up, then drop it (generally over the side of the feeder, which is why there is now a seed catcher under it, to keep the crows and squirrels from hanging around for hand-outs). This morning one of them was out at the feeder, and I swear I watched him pull a peanut out of the feeder through one of the holes, decide he didn’t like that one, and put it back into the hole it came out of!
Now, the steller’s jay can give the eastern jay a run for its money for looks.
They are, I swear. I made the mistake of investigating a bluejay nest in a young red maple in the driveway berm of my grandfather’s house in Oklahoma. Those birds parted my rather long hair 4 different ways before I could make the kitchen steps to get inside to safety, and they took to the air every time I put in an appearance that weekend. I learned not to trifle with bluejays—ALMOST as hot-tempered as scissortail flycatchers, which will chase locomotives with evil intent, and which fly like combat pilots.
The stray cats live in terror of the blue jays. They do strafing runs now and then. They are also extremely loud. I love to see them for picture purposes, but there are days when I could use a little less noise. The cardinals can get quite loud as well.
(Though they are not as bad as the incessantly barking dogs on the other side of the alley at the back of the house. And of course, that’s where my office is.)
Speaking of my office — Here’s a picture of my precious Cherryh collection. (If the link works. I never trust them from the Picasa Site)
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/fJXvEBxaitlYYokL9gy3xQ?feat=directlink
You might recognize the bookcase, C.J. (grin)
Oh, I do know that bookcase. 😉
Yea, more Bren!
I’ve often gotten more sense out of Wikipedia than Ancestry.com. One person makes a poor decision, and a dozen others copy their work without checking. I’m puzzled that known lines aren’t pre-populated — it would save a lot of time. No, you have to go one by one. Guess that’s how they collect their fees. I hope to truly finish the genealogy this year and get on with life.
I keep both up. If it’s a known person, I can get the real date and feed it into the World Tree. I also tend to pick ‘sourced’ posts, rather than unsourced—and to copy the ones that don’t believe Y Somme Picardie is a proper place of demise. I think the fool that started that pervasive mess must be a Boone—they’re all through my lines.