Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Amazing Starts.....


We have gone into spring.  The lilacs are budded as well as some the other bushes. The ditch lilies are up already and some tulips are up.  The iris was looking green last week when we had snow on the ground.  I guess tomorrow is the last day of February.

Monday, February 27, 2017

Stark Reality.......


The work zone is always a mess until all the work on the walls and ceiling is done.  Then things start to come back to normal when the final painting is done and tools are put away in their proper containers and places.

What you are seeing here is a nook in out room.  It was a place where above cabinets and shelves and below sink cabinet were housed to use in the art studio zone.  The wall is on the north side of an old house. The water pipes eventually froze so often during the winters  that I just closed the sink down.  With it all removed, the future owners could put shelving in here and create an office area or reading library. I am installing a light where the past light and exhaust use to be. I am anxious to get the painting done in the area so we can stack all our boxes into it.  We need them out of our way and they can store in the nook until we move. It is a good sized area so it will hold a lot of boxes.

Sunday, February 26, 2017

Sparrow Sighting......


Sparrows seem to be dominating the feeders today.  There were juncos around yesterday but today it is just sparrows.

Saturday, February 25, 2017

City View........


The sun reflects off of the frozen snow.  The temperatures are cold at 16 degrees F.  It was painful to be outside yesterday with strong winds and snow.  Hopefully the winds are slowed down and the predicted 32 degree F. temperature will come soon.

Friday, February 24, 2017

Weather Report......Visually


The weather rocks show a course ice formed from freezing rain.  The wind blew hard and loudly most of the night.  I actually woke up when it got quiet.  The silence was amazing after hearing the thunder and roar all night.  It is now gently snowing out there with the promise of the weather people that it will stop at noon.  After all those warm days it seems strange to have snow again.  I see all our warm weather moved east now and it tis making weather head lines.

Thursday, February 23, 2017

Bloom Where You Are........


We gifted the neighbor one of these bulbs for her birthday in December.  It took a very long time to finally bloom but it did. Normally they burst out of the bulb and bloom so quickly that you can't enjoy them for very long. I do think she had it in a low light place in her living room and it did seem to slow it down.

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Spring......


We will be having another spring day today.  I know that it will cool down but we are enjoying the weather while we can. We actually made the national weather map on television with a "record high" sign on top of our state. Worked inside all day yesterday with a window wide open letting in fresh air.

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Tuesday Morning........


We did end up with a full sun for today.  Those lingering clouds must have gone south. We have another warm, drying day today before fall hits us.  Winter on Friday for sure.

Monday, February 20, 2017

Taking a Break.....


I have worked until noon, had a light lunch and am taking a coffee break. It is a rainy day which makes a cup of coffee seem more appropriate. We did need the rain and it looks like we had an inch or more.  We are muddy from the thaw and now we have water puddles because the ground is still frozen a few inches down.

Sunday, February 19, 2017

Sycamore Tree.....


While out walking Barney I could see I had to return with a camera. The afternoon sun was lighting up the bark of the tree.  It has a similar look to birch but the branches of a sycamore are thicker or chunkier.

Saturday, February 18, 2017

Baby's Breath.......


The baby's breath flowers help to make the roses look brighter . The florist offered me a bouquet with a different dull kind of background flower but I alway like the white little flowers.


Friday, February 17, 2017

No Friday Freeze.....


Dead grass is everywhere but we will have a few days of spring anyway.  It is amazing how the temperatures are fluctuating but warm weather will be welcomed. Our ground temperatures are still very cold; frozen solid a few inches down.

Thursday, February 16, 2017

Day Moon


The moon has been up there all night and this morning.  I walked Barney last night and the moon was just above the horizon in the east.  This morning while out taking the sunrise shot, there it was off in a distance behind the tree branches.

I am interested about how it can stay up so long in our view. I am just not that interested to look it up and study it. Maybe someday I will understand it. I did notice last night that the stars all seemed to be so close last night with a clear dark sky making them very visible. My wife's new camera would have gotten the moon in focus and not the branches.

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Seeing Red every 14th.........


We were at the flower shop a week before and saw boxes of flowers sitting around on the floor.  It amazes me how our country imports these from South America in bud form and by the the time the florist unpacks them they unfurl to look like this.

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Afternoon Glow......


Looking through the roof is really a special experience.  The afternoon sun lights up the silver maple tree above the house.

Monday, February 13, 2017

Titling Back.......


If you remember from my past blogs the sun was all the way over to the far right side of this picture. I haven't taken any shots for a while but this morning seemed to be a good day to step out.  I didn't wear a coat while taking the shot.  It was a quick shot as I did need a coat.

Sunday, February 12, 2017

Junco......



The bird is turned to eat from the feeder.  I guess he had no intention of having his portrait taken. It is windy today so there are not that many at the feeders today.

Saturday, February 11, 2017

Snow Moon.....


It is a feeble attempt to capture the real thing but you can sort of feel it anyway.  It is strange to have the full moon, being called a snow moon, and then there is no snow.  We warmed up again today and more of what snow was left is almost completely gone.

Friday, February 10, 2017

Directly on Site......


As I work on the remodel I find myself without just the right size of nail.  A finishing nail really can not substitute for a good strong nail. As I venture out to the garden shed, I found things from my dad's garage. The coffee can of old was filled with the right size of nails but they were textured to keep them from rising up from the sub flooring.  I still used them as they worked and held things together.

A question that came to mind was how long would this coffee last with it being this size of can.  Did percolators take less coffee grounds because of how the process worked?  I would use this can up pretty fast in my modern world of coffee making.

Another visual of the jar that held long spike nails.  I didn't need them but there were some smaller ones stored in there with them that I needed to use. I am not so sure the Mrs. Clark's jar is so old but my mom must have liked that kind of salad dressing. Both items are setting among my mess of the job site. There is no need to keep things neat as it is a work site.

Thursday, February 9, 2017

Red Bellied......


The snow keeps the birds coming to the feeder and the temperatures may make them hungrier too.  It is very cold this morning but the sun is shining.  I can't seem to keep the feeder full enough but I will keep at it.

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Leaning Tower of Birds..........


The better birds of color kept coming and going but I did get some shots of sparrows.  The squirrel in the background is creeping up on the corn feeder nearby at the fence post.

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Resting.....


The neighbor's cat continues to act like a feral cat, wandering the neighborhood as if he has no home. He spends more time trying to get into our house than eating the cat food that we keep out on the porch for all the wandering cats. I know he can get back into his own home but seems not to go there very often.  Last fall he showed up looking very thin.  I am thinking he got himself locked into someones garage or building for a long period.  It took a few weeks to get his weight back up to normal.  Those who own him say his name is Jose.

Monday, February 6, 2017

Rock Solid......


My weather rock took a fall from the railing a few months ago.  I have missed it but couldn't find it with snow covering or dried vegetation covering it.  Yesterday I saw it against the old flagstone kitchen foundation.  It took on a little stain from laying among the dead plants.  The rock from the Minnesota shore is back.

I iron ore rock has been carrying on with out the round granite rock.  Its flat bottom keeps it from being knocked of by any squirrel. The color of our season is "dead" right now.  The snow is not all gone but most of it is. More snow will come I am certain.

Sunday, February 5, 2017

Twenty Five Feet........


It is a well worn tape measure.  It is heavy duty in construction which makes it a heavier tape than the normal everyday type of tape measure. I can't slip it into my pocket.  I had to look at the actual tape to see that it is a Stanley Fat Max. Blade Armor tool.

Saturday, February 4, 2017

Rubble Stage.......


The caboose is on the train museum site but it really does appear to be abandoned.  As I work with my wife on the former art gallery, remodeling, I keep feeling we are still in the rubble stage.  It will straighten out and the room will come together looking better than it has in years. I can see what it is suppose to look like in my mind but there is another week of work to be beyond that rubble stage. As for this caboose, it may never see any refurbishing, but will be in decay to as it reminds us of its part in history.

Friday, February 3, 2017

Look West Young Man..........


Out a window upstairs, I was able to capture this view.  I don't often share the western view because of all of the houses and trees. It does look like a spring sky but it sure does not feel like spring out there.

Thursday, February 2, 2017

Special Effects.....


While messing with some shots of the fish in the aquarium, I captured this motion-filled one. The fish was moving and the camera was moving.  The fish food floating around in the tank looks like snow. A good name for the whole shot is accidental art.

Wednesday, February 1, 2017

February First......


It is just at a freezing temperature and the high will only be a couple of degrees higher. It is
February and it is the middle month of winter for me. It can be a tough month weather wise for Iowans and sometimes it is just a smooth breeze and not a problem.  We will see as we start the new month what will happen.  I know that the weather people tell us that it is going to get progressively colder by Friday.  I took this shot later in the morning and the sun is up behind those clouds.

Big and Small...

 The miniature daffodils are so petite compared to the normal sized daffodil. I don't think I have ever brought the small ones inside be...