Saturday, February 28, 2015

Saturday Night Doo-Wop

The Drifters!





Drip Drop
  • Drip, drip, drippity drop
    Drip, drip, drippity drop
  • The roof is leaking
    And the rain's falling on my head
    Drip, drip drippity drop
  • Well, the roof is leaking
    And the rain's falling on my head
    Drip, drip drippity drop
  • I cried so hard teardrops soiled my face
    Drip, drip drippity drop
  • Well, she packed up her clothes
    And she moved out on the midnight train
    Drip, drip drippity drop
  • Well, she packed up her clothes
    And she moved out on the midnight train
    Drip, drip drippity drop
  • You know, this empty room
    Is driving me insane
    Flip, flip flippity flop
  • Well, I'm sitting here drinking
    Thinking what I'm gonna do
    Sip, sip sippity sop
  • Well, I'm sitting here drinking
    Thinking what I'm gonna do
    Sip, sip sippity sop
  • You know the roof is leaking
    And the rain is falling through
    Drip, drip drippity drop
  • Well, I ran into my buddy
    He gave me a tip, tip, tip
    He said, "Your woman's gone and left"
    I said, "I'm hip, hip, hip"
  • I said, "Just mind your own affairs
    And bite your lip, lip, lip
    I don't need you to tell me
    She gave me the slip, slip, slip"
  • Because the roof is leaking
    And the rain's falling in my head
    Drip, drip drippity drop
  • I cried so hard
    Teardrops soiled my face
    Drip, drip drippity drop
  • Woah, oh
    Drip, drip drippity drop
    Woah, oh
    Drip, drip drippity drop
    Woah, oh
    Drip, drip


Friday, February 27, 2015

Friday Night Steam

The 20th Century Limited




https://chuckmanchicagonostalgia.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/postcard-chicago-trains-nyc-20th-century-limited-lasalle-street-station-beautiful-artwork-940s.jpg?w=510
Image source: https://chuckmanchicagonostalgia.wordpress.com/2012/12/29
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/be/20th_Century_Limited_1912_Advertisement.jpg/282px-20th_Century_Limited_1912_Advertisement.jpg


http://cruiselinehistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Screen-shot-2011-06-21-at-5.17.48-PM.png
Image source: http://cruiselinehistory.com/vinatage-railroad-ads-from-1930s-to-1950s/


It's gone....

My little patch of real dirt is gone because of this:

 More snow #$&@


 It WAS there - honest!


 It stayed cold all day again:



 Charlie and the girls didn't even want to come out of the pen. I had to change the water three times because it kept freezing up.

The only thing that moved in the yard were these damn deer:





 Venison stew sounds mighty good, doesn't it???



Thursday, February 26, 2015

Not your ordinary ice cube

So sad that they are all going to melt!



Source credit: http://esculturasdelplanetaazul.blogspot.com/2011/11/ice-sculptures.html



http://webneel.com/daily/sites/default/files/images/daily/10-2013/25-ice-sculptures.jpg
Source credit: http://webneel.com/ice-sculptures



Source credit: http://cwhenvironmentaldesign.blogspot.com/2011/05/amazing-ice-sculptures.html



Source credit: http://www.unp.me/f44/unusual-ice-sculptures-109843/


Source credit: http://quinsprogress.com/tag/world-ice-art-championships/



Image source:  http://www.coolhandice.com/colorado-ice-sculptures/motorcycle-1/


Source credit: https://bettyzzzz.wordpress.com/2011/05/02/amazing-ice-sculpture/

Image source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/146507794099795288/

Image source: http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/weird-news/frozen-fans-love-incredible-ice-4918575









Real ......

..... Dirt! It won't last long, but it sure was nice to see again!



Nothing exciting going on in Coopville, as usual.


 Just the gang getting their afternoon treats and


taking a stroll up on the deck:




At least the day was sunny and in the low 30's all afternoon. That WAS nice for a change!


Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Weedy Sea Dragons

What a beautiful creature!


From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weedy_seadragon

These fish are slow-moving and rely on their camouflage as protection against predation; they drift in the water and with the leaf-like appendages resemble the swaying seaweed of their habitat. They lack a prehensile tail that enables similar species to clasp and anchor themselves.
Individuals are observed either on their own or in pairs; feeding on tiny crustaceans and other zoo plankton by sucking prey into their toothless mouths. Like seahorses, sea dragon males are the sex that cares for the developing eggs. Females lay around 120 eggs onto the brood patch located on the underside of the males' tail. The eggs are fertilized and carried by the male for around a month before the hatchlings emerge. Sea dragons, seahorses and pipefish are among the few known species where the male carries the eggs. The young are independent at birth, beginning to eat shortly after.
Mating in captivity is rare since researchers have yet to understand what biological or environmental factors trigger them to reproduce. In captivity the survival rate for weedy sea dragons is about 60%.
The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California and the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, Tennessee.  in the USA, and the Melbourne Aquarium in Melbourne, Australia are among the few facilities in the world to have successfully bred weedy sea dragons in captivity, though others occasionally report egg laying. [ In March 2012 the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, USA, announced a successful breeding event of weedy sea dragons. As of July 2012, the Monterey Bay Aquarium has also successfully bred and hatched out baby weedy sea dragons on exhibit.


If you want to see a live cam of them, link here:

http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/exhibits/tropical_pacific_gallery/webcam_weedy_sea_dragons


(it takes a minute to load)

Enjoy!


Deer

It was -13 yesterday morning - hurt to breathe out there! Thankfully it warmed up a bit during the day!

The snow banks  are getting higher!



More and more deer are coming around. There are two large herds that live in the back of the property.



These are just some of them:


They are doing a lot of damage to our trees, bushes and plants:


 Not much left of this bush:


 Usually they come in the evening, but they are so hungry they visit any time of the day.


 They even stand on their hid legs and munch on the fir trees.


We spray "Deer Away"on everything, but they still eat them.

They are not afraid of us, either and used to run away when they heard the click of the pellet gun, but not now. When I go out to chase them away, they just stand there and stomp their front feet in defiance.

I'll never know why people start to feed them and then stop doing it. It just creates more problems for them. And us.


Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Head gear

Winter can be fun (sometimes)....


Image credits: etsy.com


knit-crochet-hats-winter-caps-6
Image credits: imgur.com


Image credits: http://fr.aliexpress.com/promotion/apparel_knight-winter-hat-promotion.html

knit-crochet-hats-winter-caps-33
Image credits: etsy.com



Image credits: http://www.foodiggity.com/knit-turkey-hat/

Image credits: http://funny-pictures.picphotos.net/


Image credits:/www.etsy.com/listing/68911572/
 And of course, we couldn't forget our pets!
Image credits: http://www.strangemilitary.com/content/item/116522.html


Image credits: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/109916047128857297/



 Which one would YOU wear? 
 
 
 
 

King of his castle

It really has been horrendously cold here (except for Sunday). I packed four of the boxes with hay to keep the coop warmer. Laverne and Shirley have been using the end nest box together.


Charlie walked out on the snow to see what I was doing:


He does not like it when I mess with HIS house!






Poor Charlie!  I messed up his nest inside that he had built...





Monday, February 23, 2015

Did you know.....

                       ..... that baby otters have to be taught how to swim?






From: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/american-river-otter

Map

Map: American river otter range North American River Otter Range

Fast Facts

Type:
Mammal
Diet:
Carnivore
Average life span in the wild:
8 to 9 years
Size:
Head and body, 21.75 to 31.5 in (55 to 80 cm); tail, 11.75 to 19.75 in (30 to 50 cm)
Weight:
11 to 30 lbs (5 to 14 kg)
Size relative to a 6-ft (2-m) man:
Illustration: American river otter compared with adult man
The playful North American river otter is equally at home in the water and on land. It makes its home in a burrow near the water's edge, and can thrive in river, lake, swamp, or estuary ecosystems. Otter abodes feature numerous tunnels—one of which usually allows them to come and go from the water.
These otters swim by propelling themselves with their powerful tails and flexing their long bodies. They also have webbed feet, water repellent fur to keep them dry and warm, and nostrils and ears that close in the water. They remain active in winter, using ice holes to surface and breathe. They can hold their breath underwater for some eight minutes.
River otters, members of the weasel family, hunt at night and feed on whatever might be available. Fish are a favorite food, but they also eat amphibians, turtles, and crayfish.
On land, river otters can bound and run quite well, if not quite as effectively as they swim. They love to playfully slide down snow-covered, icy, or muddy hills—often ending with a splash in the water. Otter families of mother and children can be seen enjoying such fun, which also teaches survival skills.
Males do not help raise young otters. Females retreat to their underground dens to deliver litters of one to six young. When the young are only about two months old, they get an advanced swimming lesson—their mother pushes them into the water. Otters are natural swimmers and, with parental supervision, they soon get the hang of it.
These otters' range has been greatly reduced by habitat loss, though they exist in such numbers that they are trapped in some locales. Otters are also very sensitive to environmental pollution.



Had 5 ......

                              ....... more inches of snow Saturday into Sunday morning:


But Sunday was really nice - the temp was near 40 degrees and most of the new snow melted down.

Hubby still raked the newer snow off of the roof- It's supposed to get cold again....



I let Charlie and the girls out of the pen for a while although they weren't too happy about walking on the ice and snow:


They did wander up to the deck to get their Cheerios treats and then



headed back to the dry pen!




It was a nice break in the weather for us. Felt soooo good to stay outside for a change!