I spent the day cleaning up other peoples homes and decks today.


Cruising south down the beach road was an experience.




I'm glad I decided to take the jeep.



After a few miles you realize why all the houses around here are built on stilts.



As the day wore on, Earl pulled farther from shore and everything seemed to return to normal.

The deluge turns to ice

Those little white crystals are where the jeep broke through and scattered the ice, sending chips skittering across the top.

What a winter.

weight control

I got the birds out today to weigh them and see how close we were to hunting weight after our little vacation. While I was gone, I had individually bagged each days food for the girl who takes care of the animals. I always err on the side of fatness when estimating their food intake, but I still overdid it.

The hawks are still fat.

Gonzo didn't even want to come down to the fist to get fed. When he is heavy, he likes to buzz my fist and try to grab food - this is what he did today. I didn't bother weighing him.

Tess came right down, as usual, and got weighed. Apparently, my digital scale doesn't like 20 degree temperatures and wasn't working, so I got out the old spring scale.

This scale I have had for some time and is not good for close weight management, but it works to give me a decent idea of where the bird is.

Tess weighed around 1100 grams. That means she needs to lose 150 - 200 grams to be ready to fly. She even looks embarrassed at being so fat!

We have a week of temperatures hovering around freezing, I am hoping that the birds will be ready for the weekend. Time to ration the food, and keep my fingers crossed.

The Cup is Half Full

I've been whining and complaining for the last few weeks about the squirrels having too much cover. Well I think that problem has been solved.

I don't know if you have seen the weather for the East Coast, but that big storm was smashing into my backyard for the last few days. Leaves and branches are littering everything, and finally the cover that the squirrels have been hiding in is mostly gone.

Of course I still can't go hunting. Everything is under water.

But the cover is gone.