The bird watching has not been without some casualties. Last year a chickadee flew into the storm door window and didn't survive. One chipping sparrow had just a stick for one leg. It didn't return this year. This year, the last 5 days I've watched a tufted titmouse with its neck bent to the left. Has trouble maneuvering on the ground. It flies ok, but you really need to know where it wants to end up, to be sure. It looks like a neurological problem to me. They say a "wry neck" could be an injury, genetic, virus, toxic ingestion. It is a juvenile, but on its own. It is bound and determined to pick a big peanut and pound it between its feet like they normally do, but it keeps dropping them. I crushed up some peanuts so the pounding wouldn't be necessary, but it won't listen to me. It seemed to be getting a little better every day, but it hasn't shown up so far today. Then there is a catbird that, at first glance, appears to have a broken wing. But it can fly ok. I don't believe it could fly with a broken wing, could it? I'm hoping it's just a broken feather or two, and they will fall out and be replaced eventually. Catbirds are very shy. I had a hard time trying to get a picture.
Saturday Some time ago I noticed dogwood tree branches hanging over the roof of the house. Didn't think much about it at the time. Yesterday I remembered. When I first bought this house there was a huge dogwood tree with limbs hanging over the roof. My outdoor cat used to climb it, cross the roof, and come to the dormer (office) window at night to let me know it was dinner time. Before I bought the house, the squirrels climbed it, chewed holes in the wood facia boards below the roof, and made nests in the attic. That tree died long ago and I had aluminum cladding put over the wood trim. I'm sure there are places the squirrels could still chew in around the dormer if they had a mind to. It was a spur of the moment thing. It's all chopped up and loaded in the truck to haul off soon. Parts of that tree look sick anyway. Something (?) has chewed the bark off of several limbs. I'll probably take the whole tree down completely when I get time. It's not very big.
A new bird showed up a couple weeks ago. It doesn't come to the feeder, so you need binoculars. Several times the BirdNet app has identified a call that was "almost certainly" a Great Crested Flycatcher ? "Ma'am, could I interest you in some sticks?" (internet photo) That ID fits, but I didn't notice a crest that large. They claim it only gets that big when they get excited. This bird perches in various places, then swoops out to catch insects mid-air. A migrater who will only be here between March and September. Then head to Central America. They also accept nest boxes. I need a bigger lot.
Dear Diary, You know that tiny little box on Line 7, Page 1, of form 1040, that says... check here if you are NOT required to include Schedule D?... I forgot to check it. . The software (TurboTax or CashApp) does not do that automatically. You have to override it. Haven't needed to include Schedule D for years. Everything on it has been sent to the IRS on 1099s already. I know I must have forgot to check that box before. But this year they say they cannot process the return until they receive Schedule D. Sounds simple enough, right? No. You can't just send them an email and explain. They don't want page 1 with a check mark. They don't want Schedule D either. They want all the pages of the tax return faxed to them. I don't owe them any money. They are supposed to apply a refund to next year's taxes. The deadline to respond has passed. Will wait until I hear from them again. I hope you will write to me in prison. Thanks, Nancy
Probably, but that would be more work (except I wouldn't have to drive to a Fax machine). I'll think about it.
Here we go again. Another "only child" bluebird left the 2nd nest Friday about 5:30 pm. It flew off into the poplar tree like a pro. Hope this one is a female. Same pattern all 5 times now. Unhatched eggs (2), and what looked like the remains of a 3rd that broke, all early on. The weather this time was perfect—not too hot, not too cold. I now think the female is the same one as last year. Females do all the important work during incubation. They are supposed to constantly rotate the eggs, turn them over, rearrange them. Maybe that's what she doesn't do. How would you ever learn that? It has to be instinct/genetic. This birdhouse gets too much sun for summer. They will likely try for a 3rd nest immediately, so there is duct tape over the opening until I have time to take the box down. If there was a good place in the shade to move it to I would. It's a good time to break the cycle anyway. Maybe they will surprise me, find a better place, and stop by to visit in August with 4 healthy little ones in tow. The only child from the 1st nest had been playing house for the last 2 weeks, going inside the birdhouse several times an hour, sometimes with insects, sometimes just to visit. He seemed happy to find something to do besides just hang around by himself.
My stove was a free hand-me-down from some friends when I bought this house. It's a GE electric 4 burner. The Serial Number indicates it was manufactured between 1953-1960. Last week the coil broke on one of the 2 small burners. Sparks flew and a little red band started moving around the coil. The other small burner is not in very good shape either, so I ordered 2 new small burners. Most places were out of stock. Installed them Sunday—a perfect fit. They are supposed to be genuine GE Calrod™ burners. One of my infrequent jobs as a kid was to replace the aluminum foil over the drip pans on our stove whenever it got dirty. These look so nice, I ordered new elements for the 2 large 8" burners also. It's a gamble. There are a dozen little parts inside the back that could go bad tomorrow, and I don't think you can get those parts anymore. But I love this stove. It is so well made. Porcelain finish does not scratch. It is 40" wide and fits perfectly centered in front of a 36" window. Most stoves now are only 30". There is one off brand 36" at Home Depot for $1345.
Many projects are on hold lately due to things beyond my control. To post blow-by-blow speculation about what MIGHT happen, would only create unnecessary drama. Sometimes lasting for months. And when it's all over, nothing is worth mentioning, except it got done. The closest to getting resolved is the upstairs heat pump installation. GC said they will start tomorrow morning. It has been over a month since they measured everything the second time. We have been lucky with below normal temps here even through June. They are going to cut a 22"x30" hole in the ceiling and put the air handler in the attic. Everything needs to be taken out of the hallway, including the "coffee pot station" and the lamps above the bookshelf. The 5th one in this picture is likely from the 1940s. The others probably qualify as antiques now. I can't seem to get motivated to start putting things in order upstairs. The deadline needs to be closer. Like midnight tonight?
(6/26/23) Monday afternoon Stopped at McDonalds for a cheeseburger and Diet Coke again. The 8th time in as many days. This is something I've been meaning to do even before Covid, but never got around to it—force yourself to get out of the house. I've been going usually around 1 pm, to avoid noon rush and afternoon public school traffic. Just dawned on me today that school is out for summer (well, duh). A man I'd say in his early 40s has been there every day, and once at 8 pm. Very well dressed. Sits in the same place at a table for 6 by himself on a round footstool. He seems to know everybody that comes in, and greets them with a yell, loud enough everyone in the room can hear him. He has a wig with attached sideburns. The edges don't lay down flat against his head. Almost exactly like this: (Btw, this is Ernest Angley, one of the most famous former residents of my hometown.) Today there was a young man, nice looking, also well dressed. I'd say in his 20s. About 6'4" and 130 pounds. At the counter he appeared to be with a woman, maybe in her 30s. He kept swaying back and forth like he was going to fall asleep and fall down. Then he would suddenly snap out of it. They walked to a table with a large sack of "to go" food. She took out a lot of food for him, then left with another man and waved goodbye. Someone nearby told him he should sit down in a chair before he fell down, and he did. Then continued to fall almost asleep and immediately snap out of it. This went on the whole time I was there. He never touched the food, as of the time I left. Could this be what they call "nodding out." A term for an effect of opioid overdose. Was the woman a good Samaritan who ordered his meal for him, or paid for his meal? Did she know him? If the purpose of these McD's trips was to get out of the rut I've been in lately, it's working.
(6/27/23) .(My father's birthday. He would be 104.) The HVAC guys showed up at 8:30. They spent half the morning setting up things to keep them cool in the afternoon---several fans and a canopy to work in the shade outside. Told me to turn on the AC downstairs so low it would never go off. Then opened the doors and blew hot air in from outside. They didn't get finished. Will be back in the morning. The downstairs system started overflowing the drip pan while they were here, or maybe I just didn't notice earlier. A "safety" switch is supposed to cut the whole system off when it does that, but it failed! Otherwise there would be no AC in the house, up or down. (Thank you switch). I've had lots of practice shop-vacuuming up water. They will fix that tomorrow as well. How lucky they were here. It would have been another trip. They did not frame in the hole in the ceiling...yet. Cut it out leaving plaster lath sticking out on one side. I thought you were supposed to connect adjacent joists. Wouldn't it be easier? Black = Ceiling joists Red = Their hole Green = The way it should be (imo) I will put my foot down if they try to frame it like that. Waiting around all day is hard work. Got the kitchen painted over the smoky area. Lowes matched the Martha Stewart paint perfectly. One coat will do it. Still bored, I painted a cabinet that's been on a to-do list for years. Moved the stove and cabinet back against the wall. Waiting around was even worse than painting. It turned out to be a productive day after all.
The new upstairs AC (heat pump) is up and running. The air handler in the attic is even quieter than the old one. Can't tell if it's on or not. It only got to 91 yesterday, but you could make it so cold up there now, you'd have to wear winter clothes, if you wanted. The thermostat is located on a wall whose back side is an attic crawl space right under the roof. When the sun sets and the roof starts cooling down, it affects the thermostat. You need to use those 4 settings (Wake, Away, Home, Sleep) to keep lowering the temp gradually until morning. Otherwise you wake up hot. I don't think it would be that hard to move the thermostat myself, but this works fine. By the time they finished, they were already late for another job, and didn't have time to figure out what was wrong downstairs. It would require taking the furnace apart. They are contract workers paid to do one job. I don't blame them. One of them looked just like Mayhem, the Allstate guy. GC showed up just as they were about to leave and boxed in the opening. He added a cross piece at the side. He "guaranteed" it was strong enough that way. ( I still don't believe it.) A bigger opening actually looks better. The old one was so small it looked like a door for the attic gremlin. GC is going to send someone out later in the week to look at the downstairs leak.
The contractor (GC) who handled some recent projects on the house wants to buy the land out in the country. The topic has come up a few times, but the discussion has never gotten past, "I'm not interested in selling right now." He sent a text message saying he wanted to talk to me, but not about work. Not about buying the land either. He just wants some advice. This doesn't make any sense. If anything, I'm the one who needs advice. I still think it's about the property in some roundabout way. I have to face up to selling eventually anyway. I've never sold property before. I do know a 30-year-old mobile home is considered almost worthless. So the first thing I've learned? It is very difficult and expensive to get a loan to buy land without a house on it. And there is no way I would ever consider financing it myself. So I expect this is going nowhere. I guess I need to hear him out. We need to discuss the elephant in the room anyway.