June 22, 2009

The ('a') lone raccoon had a midnight snack which is the only time I noticed the light go on. It swung on the feeder for the few minutes I watched and then picked at the ground. It left before the light reset ~ which means it wasn't there long!

It stormed during the night and by 4:30 am everything was rain soaked ~ including the shrubs (yay) and the birds must think they're roosters! So now that I'm up...

I am once again enjoying the 'live music of the woods'. Throw in the sounds of the raindrops through the trees and you've got the most peaceful sound you could imagine. This beats any nature CD you may have listened to. I wish I knew what they were tweeting about - maybe something like..."As soon as she leaves we'll get those supplies delivered and get back to building the Avain Condos again!" But whatever it is, I'll just enjoy it until I do leave!

After closing up the cabin, loading the car and a quick stop at Walmart and Kwik Trip, I was on my way home. Although my visit was short and my To-do list is still long, there's no place like O'Wich...there's no place like O'Wich - in two short weeks I'll be clicking the heels of red clogs together, relaxing and chiming the verse again!

June 21, 2009

Happy Ground Hog Day!

Happy Fathers Day!

Happy First Day of Summer!

Okay, not Happy Ground Hog Day primarily because there is not much seed left by the trees! Sorry Carlo, I am not feeding them and am okay that there wasn't a raccoon show last night!

I got up early, really early - but only because I went to bed around 7:00 pm.

Again I am delighted to be sitting quietly enjoying the concert of the birds singing. I can almost envision a maestro conducting them with his baton as the sun peeks through the leaves. A couple of turkeys walked by; as if to the music. On the flip side of the bird pleasantries (not to be confused with 'flipping the bird'), is the mess they're making on the porch - safe to say I really cannot deal with it! I decided to sweep away the new construction and am now wishing I had more egg cartons!

The red squirrel is lurking about, speeding from tree to tree - obviously still on Ritalin. He hid under my car for enough time for me to take a weapon along as I watered the shrubs - okay, I took the broom, but it was just in case - then I swept the stairs so carrying it wasn't for nothing!

Later in the morning I watched Red Ritalin digging at the door to the outhouse, scale the siding and appear to be picking the lock. Not sure if he's gained entry through the bottom of the door or not - but he is surely feisty. The birds continued to sing the rest of the morning and other than the concert and squirrel activity, I didn't notice any other animal movement - although my morning nap may have aided in missing something!

My To-Do list is totally different from the Carlo To-Do list or even the Cindy and Carlo To-Do list (the Cindy and Carlo To-Do list is actually the Carlo To-Do list, but I help!). I continue to water the shrubs and I finally tinted the tile embellishment in the kitchen. I updated the 'critter' book and cleaned...see how this list can be different? Carlo climbs ladders, uses the tractor, uses power tools and does other manly things!

There is a rule...An O'Wich Rule: No power tools when you're at O'Wich alone!

I would like to put the new shelf over the stove - I put the one up that's currently there; which is why I am hesitating! The replacement will be twice as wide and twice as heavy - I'll have to assess the situation over lunch!

Lunch is over!

Worried I cannot handle the shelf project by myself - I shelved (lol) the idea and swapped out that plan for a little R&R. A much better idea!

I attempted to capture pictures of some things outside, such as a hawk, other birds and stuff in the flower bed. The hawk was too far away and I did snap some of birds that found some residual seed on the ground as well as one perched on a small limb with a beak full of moss - boy, I'll bet he was surprised that there was no where to put it! Once I came back inside - he was back to building - ergh!

It rained on and off most of the day. I sat on the front porch for a bit trying to get a photo of a butterfly. I was able to snap a few shots but missed the one where it spread its wings to the most amazing orange coloring. Before you know it there should be lots of butterflies since there are so many fuzzy caterpillars around.

I decided to take advantage of the R&R I opted for. Other than sustaining some bites from some unseen bugs - only obvious by the small welts that were very itchy - all I did was pack up my stuff to leave in the morning.

Doubtful any critter will come around due to the lack of morsels - I didn't put any out - I decided to go to bed just as it was starting to get dark.

Ah-hah! Just as I was going to bed I wondered why the motion light was on. Then, on the tree, I spotted one lone raccoon. Grabbing my camera and standing inside the front door I was having difficulty focusing in on it and then it started walking toward the car - then from under the car toward the porch. OMG, OMG, OMG. Just as I thought it was going to come up the stairs (I did get a blurry picture of it with a stick in its mouth) it went under the porch. I made some noises, hoping he'd run out but I didn't see him again...but the light stayed on ~ hmmmm.

Okay - the light went off and about a half an hour later I was scoping out the trees with a flashlight through the window and I spotted a (possibly 'the') lone raccoon walking from the direction of under the porch to the tree. Now I am concerned about what it was hanging out under the porch for. Seriously, now I am off to bed!

June 20, 2009

After working all night and stopping at home to pick up some last minute things, I was on my way by 6:30 am. I drove through to the rest stop just prior to my destination. My second stop was for a haircut - I hope the warm weather didn't influence my choice of style...it's short! Then I went to Walmart for some fruits, veggies and dairy items...and some non-food items that I didn't need!

When I arrived at the cabin, I noticed everything looked fine and all the bird feeders were empty. I unloaded the car and checked out the porch - aka Avian Condos. Building, although not quite yet inhabitable, seems to be occurring as noted by the mess. The egg cartons seem to still be thwarting the building over the stairs. So after a quick sweep, the porch was clear.

After the groceries were put away I started the pump to get the water running. I made a tasty salad for lunch and then headed outside to water the flowers and the shrubs. We didn't seem to get that much rain even though the road coming in was indicating otherwise. The shrubs really sucked up the gallon of water they each got as did the flowers on the porch and under the arbor. By 2:00 pm, I was in my 'relaxed' mode and hoping the couple of projects I came up to do will get done.

I just lazed around for the afternoon - watered the shrubs (again), watched a doe and a couple of turkeys roaming in the back and read a magazine - waiting to go to bed for the night!

June 16, 2009

I woke up pretty early - could be a good thing since we have to work tonight. The birds were singing up a storm and the morning sun peeked through the leaves and branches of the trees.

I tried to snap a picture of a deer at the easement but it was a bit too dim and she was a bit too far - even with the long lens. After three failed attempts and getting nothing but blur, she ran off into the trees. I checked the feeders in the front - the two metal ones were still together and the orange and red ones were empty. So, obviously, we had some busy but quiet visitors during the night. At least, with their not being able to fully access the metal feeders, the birds have a chance at having something to munch on later! And just as Carlo had hoped - the metal feeders "fooled 'em"...for now anyway!

Oh, and if you're wondering, the Avian Towers Condo project seems to have been abandoned. No, I am not disappointed - but I bet as soon as our tailights fade in to the O'Wich distance, the crew will be back - fast and furious! But my egg cartons shall remain in place as warning barriers to all the flutter there...hmmmm, unless they've moved INTO the cartons - that would be a real ball jam!

I watched out the back, looking for more animal-tivity. Carlo's red squirrel - well maybe not HIS red squirrel, because I'm sure there is more than just one red squirrel and it's not that he's been tagged or is wearing ID - but anyway, I watched it bounce around and run between trees like he's on Ritalin or something. He's so crazy I could barely focus on him let alone use the binoculars or take his picture.

After I watered my flowers and willows, with my coffee in hand, I headed out to enjoy the morning air while sitting on the porch rocker. Again today, I noticed the red squirrel on the front porch - I was able to get my camera and get several shots of him, gnawing on the porch mat! I'm sure he's the same one that was snooping around the empty seed containers yesterday (you know, Carlo's friend!). After the big photo-op, his Ritalin must've kicked in again and he scurried to a tree - shouting no more pictures! My attempt to enjoy a rock in the early morning was cut short by the mosquitoes that thought I was their breakfast feedbag!

This trip allowed us to scratch some things off the To-Do list as well as tackle some recurring entries. Of course, the list is still long but it's manageable! New things arise and find their way to the list while other things get pushed up to the urgent need of repair - such as water damage to the roof line or a leaky pipe. But there's always a chore or two to be had at O'Wich - we're always looing for someone to take an item (or two) off our list...got a tool box????

As we drove away I realized I will be back in four days...hey...what's up with that bird on the drive???? Four days and counting....!

June 15, 2009

From the looks of the two empty bird feeders, it seems we had some busy visitors during the night. the two metal feeders look to be in tack so maybe the birds can get something to eat today! Carlo put some corn out at the easement and I'm hoping to see the deer there, unless the raccoons cleaned it out during the night! The sun is shining, the sky is clear and soft blue in color and the air is cool - the birds are chirping, the cranes (in the distance) are chiming in and a woodpecker seems to be helping with keeping time for the feathered symphony I am enjoying this otherwise peaceful morning...ahhhh - euphoria!

While listening to the sounds of nature, I spotted something walking in the back - it's a new visitor to O'Wich...it's a red fox - no hound, just a fox!

After breakfast, Carlo ran the tractor. I cut roots from the ground, cleaned up twigs and branches...lots of twigs and branches - where do these come from - yeah, I know the trees, but there are so many! I pruned and watered our willows. A belt broke on the tractor so Carlo finished with the gas mower. It looks so nice when it's all cleaned up. I snapped some photos of a leaf frog, some birds and a fuzzy caterpillar.

Carlo went up on the roof to fix a piece of rotted siding. Hopefully this repair will limit the number of bugs that sneak in!

While he ran to the store for a piece of flashing, I watched the 'dreaded red squirrel' prance around on the front porch and knock an empty bucket of seed down from the bench. He must have thought we weren't home since the truck was gone! He ran away before I could snap a photo of him on the porch, but I did get one of him as he ran away!

Carlo got back with the flashing and a few other items and other than trimming the piece and handing tools up to him on the roof, I didn't do much - but stay out of the way! He layered the flashing and finished with one complete piece.

After he caulked and while on the roof, he redirected the antenna in an effort to get more channels on the TV. Let's see, the wind is coming from the south and Madison is that way and if I tighten this screw....how many channels will we get? Hmmm, 5, 9, 11 - his moving the antenna may have been successful after all....but why is he still watching the same TV shows that he watched before, when we only got three channels!!!!????
We cleaned everything up, put all the tools away and had a quick lunch.

Since the tractor broke, we flagged our neighbor Steve down as he passed by on his way home from work. He has fixed the tractor in the past and said he could take care of this problem. We loaded the tractor on to the trailer and delivered it down at his house.

I got dinner ready and took a shower while Carlo ran to town for gas and (another) cooler. Maybe when we're done with dinner, the raccoon show will start.

The feeders have seed and I put leftover breakfast sausage, potato skins and a hot dog bun out by the stump and we adjusted the light to catch more action.

Again, happy the raccoons are not near the cabin, but another disappointing show. There was one lone visitor for quite a while. We thought he was just the scout. Two others showed up and ran the first one away and they never climbed the trees (that we noticed) and they didn't stay long. A bit later, Carlo shined a spot light down toward the easement where he had thrown about 70 pounds of corn and other feed - he noticed four sets of eyes shining back! The raccoons found the new buffet that was set out for the deer...Sure! That explains it! Why futz with the vending apparatus (the bird feeders) when you can indulge in a spread that's been laid out?

June 14, 2009

We were at the cabin by noon after making a couple of short detours. The drive seemed to go so much faster since the last time I drove up for vacation. There was quite a bit of traffic for a Sunday and there were still lanes blocked for construction, but NOT nearly as bad as during the week. We marveled at the crazy drivers; either going too fast, too slow or in two lanes. We enjoyed how lush the meadows and farms looked - deep green in color. The sky was a pretty shade of baby blue and filled with light fluffy clouds! And my barn is still standing!

We decided to head to the cabin to take an inventory of the property and the food shelves. Carlo got the cabin open, unloaded the truck and fixed the bird feeders - askew...again!

Then he took the tractor out and headed toward the river to cut the grass while I made a grocery list. We're only here for two nights, so the list should be short - hopefully!

I noticed my bird fiend (yes the "R" is missing) has left the four building sites...the half cardboard egg cartons seemed to have worked, however they seemed to have started constructing under the other eaves. I swept away the mess they left on the porch but decided to leave the new site alone. My big beef was that they were building over the stairs and the mess was getting on our shoes and then into the cabin. I am still not happy with their building, but now it's out of the way. (Yeah, right - this won't bother me!)

Our Dappled Willows don't look so good. I gave them each a lot of water. I will prune them before we go home and then cross my fingers. Then we visited Paul and Betty for about an hour.

Carlo's raccoons broke the yellow and blue feeder - this time, beyond repair. Too bad they weren't on it when it broke. It would've been like last time - envision a big ass raccoon on top of a falling feeder - falling on to his friends waiting on the ground - picture a runaway elevator - hee hee!

With corn out for the deer, seed out for the raccoons - uh, I mean birds, we parked the truck where we could see if an intruder attacks the feeders. We grilled dinner and relaxed for the rest of the night and kept an eye open for when the lights might go on the for the show to begin.

CALLING ALL ENTOMOLOGISTS -

Just as I was almost settled in, I noticed a bug on the ceiling. This thing is almost 3" long and appears to be hinged about 1/3 of his body with lots of antennas or legs. So, here's the deal...GUESS THE BUG...Take a stab at what you think it is....The winner could receive an all expense paid trip to...(drum roll) ~ O'Wich! Go ahead. Guess!!!

NAME THE BUG!

Carlo got it off the ceiling and smooshed it! Then, after several bed, wall and ceiling checks, I was back to being tucked in!

During the night, the light only went on once - but I didn't see anything when it did. Later, I heard the raccoons on the trees - the noise is distinct. It's their nails or paws on the bark (it sounds like someone thumping and scratching on a hollow tube). The light didn't go on this time, most likely because the bird feeder near the motion sensor was the one that was broken. I shined the flashlight through the window and I spotted four sets of green eyes reflecting back. As much as I wish the raccoons would not come around , they are neat to watch. I decided to turn on the exterior light to watch them for a bit but something spooked all but one of them and he picked at the seed on the ground for a few minutes. I got bored with that and was making nature noises toward him - nothing - he just kept picking at the ground. I'm not sure what I was expecting him to do, but unhappy with no reaction, I continued to make screeching noises with a few caws, hisses and sshhoosshheess for about 5 minutes and he still did nothing. So then I made the last nature sound I could think of...pounded on the wall - he ran into the woods. I shut the light off and went to bed!!!

June 8, 2009

Good morning…What’s so good about it? I woke up and today has “officially” become one of the worst days – Why? Well it’s not because it’s a rainy Monday. Rainy Mondays are awesome. It’s not because it’s an O'Wich Ground Hog Day or not because it is not an O’Wich Ground Hog Day. It’s not because my visitors are gone – it’s because I have to leave. It’s because today, June 8, 2009 is the very last full day of this vacation. It’s because tonight at 10:00 pm it will be tomorrows shift and I will be working. Okay, not the worst day, but c’mon, it’s certainly up there! Even if you’re not feeling my pain! Now I know today makes it my 19th day here and I’m sure the pity train left a long time ago – without me, of course, and that’s okay. But this is Nirvana and it’s hard to trade that in for reality. So enough of the feeling sorry for myself and I’ll stop whining (daubing my tears)….
It rained all night and although the raccoon show seems to have been a bust, we got the cabin ready for our departure and gathered some things to take home…not much though…we’ll be back in six (short) days!

June 7, 2009

After several hours of the lights going on and off and the banging and clanging of the new feeder against the tree, I got up at 8:00 to see what damages occurred. Everything seemed to still be in tack except for the new feeder which the lid had certainly been toyed with and was askew!

A turkey was picking at the remnants and all the feeders were empty – as expected and an aluminum pan we put out is now missing. These raccoons were squealing and climbing and on top of the feeders all throughout the night. You could hear their claws grasping at the tree trunks. They seemed to have gotten off to a late start but once they got going they kept at it for a long time. I went outside for a closer look and the pan is nowhere that I could see – they must’ve filled it with goodies and taken it back to their raccoon hide-a-way!
Not sure what we’ll do today. Packing, cleaning and a quick visit down by Paul and Betty are the list. Not only is my vacation just about over, but we have to leave tomorrow morning and we also have to work tomorrow night…argh!
Carlo filled the feeders and looked for the pan – he couldn’t find it either! After breakfast, Carlo ran to town and I cleaned. When he got back, we visited Paul and Betty for part of the afternoon. When we first got there Tom and Judy were there and Paul was napping. He did get up before we left. We were able to give him the gift we bought him while we visited. Stevie was there too. We got back and had lunch and Carlo napped while I brought my blog up to date!
Not too long after that, I took a nap.


When I woke up Carlo was snapping pictures of a lone doe in the back eating some new grass.



Then he moved a bird feeder from the back to the front – possibly in hopes of pissing off the raccoons – hee hee!
On our way to Bud’s for dinner, we stopped to wash my car – it was filthy from being parked under the pines since I’ve been here. Our dinner was tasty, as usual and we chatted with Taylor who has waited on us every time we’ve been there. We even ran into her at the Laundromat last week! After dinner we stopped for propane and to gas up my car since we are leaving in the morning. When we got back, Carlo added leftover beer battered onion rings to the raccoon buffet that we set up in the woods!

As of 9:00 pm I feel, somewhat, that I may have deterred the flying, feathered, nest building, little buzzards. After trying all the different means of eviction, this morning I placed egg cartons on the ledge and haven’t seen much activity since. Hopefully this is the solution. If it’s not, then I have lost!

There are predictions of heavy rain, thunderstorms and possible hail tonight…oh my! Just one year ago the rains started on the 7th and continued through to the 9th when Lake Delton emptied into the Wisconsin River. We were here during that storm and the roads were flooded, not to mention our property and the highways were closing – luckily for us – just behind us. The devastation took less than one year to rebuild! http://portagedailyregister.com/news/local/article_8487f082-53ed-11de-a8e2-001cc4c03286.html

https://secure.finishlinestudios.com/v3/clients/tommybartlett_com/files/common/LakeDeltonTimeline.pdf
Carlo moved his truck and filled the feeders to get ready for the nightly show. Although not as good as in nights past, there was a showing of maybe eight raccoons. We thought they were trying to get their ‘buffet on’ before the storms! They didn’t seem too eager in attacking the feeder that came from the back or the new red one – and they didn’t seem to enjoy the buffet we put out either….hmmmm….maybe those beans we put out were a little overpowering! They did fight and squeal but seemed to end early, just in time for the lightning storm, thunder and rain to start.

Ahhhh, I sleep so well during storms…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

June 6, 2009

Happy Ground Hog Day!!!

Just as expected, the raccoons showed up and were hanging from the trees, knocking seed to the ground for their friends. They even knocked the entire red feeder to the ground and it looks like they may have tried to steal it. It is several feet away from where it would have dropped or rolled. And someone said they’ve moved on since there wasn’t any fresh food for five days – I knew it wasn’t true!

Oh, the stunned bug from the ceiling was lying on his back this morning…if it was the same bug…and it wasn’t alive! Let’s hope this bug traveled solo!
We hadn’t been to the Levee for breakfast in such a long time we thought we’d go there. Tasty as usual – we’ll see if the end results are as usual as well! We went to Do-It-Best and picked up a couple of things, returned a couple of things and visited with Julie for a few minutes. She’s always so friendly. Then we went to the landscape store in search of an Azalea shrub – but during our shopping excursion, Carolyn – our personal landscaper – pointed out they flower in April and May and then show green for the rest of the year. Since I wanted color ‘more’ of the year, we continued to shop and learn about the different shrubs, in the rain. I felt like I was shopping for a car! Sun vs. shade, water vs. dry. Sand, manure, color, height – geez!

We settled on two Dappled Willows. It’s a graceful shrub with weeping branches with striking salmon pink stems and flower buds. Leaves are light green, strongly mottled with white and pink leaves. It could grow to 15 – 20 feet tall and wide and thrives on vigorous pruning. How’s that for a description?? (stolen from the tag on the shrub!)

On the way out we seen how huge this shrub grows and at that point we decided to not plant them next to each other but rather one at each end of the cabin – but both in the front. Good choice since seeing theirs, we should have only bought one! So with the two shrubs, some growing packet that looked like salt and a big bag o’ manure in the truck, we headed back to the cabin. I hate to tell you just how bad the truck smelled at this point and thought maybe the Levee was starting its schedule to be just a little sooner than expected! It wasn’t too long after we got back that we had them in the ground. Other than hitting the roots, it wasn’t too hard to dig the holes and once they were in, watered and dammed, we readjusted the downspouts so the rain would help us in watering when we’re not here.

I am so happy with our new shrubs!


Carlo added a hasp lock to the outhouse to keep it locked, sprinkled ant granules and sprayed ant killer. We’re still not sure what our intruders are – they’re either carpenter ants or field ants based on the little chart that came with the spray – we’re hoping they’re the latter!

And we finished everything in time for the rain!

We headed to Cost Cutters ~ CLOSED ~ . There’s also one inside Wal-Mart ~ CLOSED ~. So while we were at Wal-Mart we shopped for a bunch of stuff we could have lived without! We went for gas and hit Tractor Supply for a gift for Paul and a new bird feeder.

This one is shaped like a barn, is red and made of metal. Will this fool the raccoons??? If not this one will make some noise when they raid it! We went to Walgreens for wrapping tissue and headed back to the cabin to set up the solar lighting we bought. We placed some in the front and others in the back. Hopefully the sun will come out tomorrow to charge them to their full potential! We lost several of our other lights when the flood hit. You might see them somewhere south of here, possibly at a neighbors! Carlo hung the new bird feeder and I wrapped the hat and candy we bought for Paul. We decided to stay in for dinner and scrounge since we had a later lunch. We didn’t do too much the rest of the evening other than a little TV, a shower and enjoying the last days of R & R.

June 5, 2009

I slept until 7:30 – which is late since I went to bed around 8:00 pm. The light went on and off quite a bit although I never noticed any creatures lurking about! This morning I watched a squirrel and possibly a woodchuck running around in the back. I need to Google some of these wildlife critters so I know what I am looking at!
Now I’m just waiting for Carlo to get here for the weekend and unfortunately spend my last days of vacation.

Things I’ve seen during this trip (in no particular order): mosquitoes, raccoons, woodchucks, squirrels (red, brown and black), birds (woodpeckers, blue, red, brown, cranes, nest builders and others I cannot describe), spiders, ticks, inch worms, leaf frog, June bugs, ants, turkey, deer, dogs, mosquitoes, mole or vole (too big to b e a ground hog), chipmunk, moths, butterfly, hummingbird, worms caterpillar, flies, bat, other things that I’m not sure of what they were, did I mention mosquitoes?, and a face in the tree – if you stare at it long enough you’ll see it too!

Do you see the viking????

Now we even have a picture book – along with our guest book – of all the critters that are loose in the area – thanks to Carlo printing their pictures for identification purposes.
We had tomato sandwiches for lunch and rested for a couple of hours – of course part of my resting included watching GH. Then Carlo looked at the road and drove down to the river to see how high the water is.
We grilled dinner and Carlo noticed an ant parade in the corner. They fell out after he sprayed. I’ve been itching ever since! Later on, a June bug was stuck to the screen making some weird noises. I think Carlo is trying to lure the animals on to the porch because so far he’s left the bird seed containers out there. Will the morning prove to be yet another Ground Hog Day????
Before bed there was a bit of a bug battle... Earlier in the day there was a bug on the wall and I missed it – it ran away. As I was going to bed, I noticed it on the ceiling. Carlo knocked it down with the broom – he claimed to have stunned it – but once again it ran away. But just because you don’t see something, doesn’t mean it’s not there!
Carlo moved his truck just in case there would be any animal action out by the trees. So with a clear view and stocked feeders, one can only hope…