Thursday, February 24, 2005

Black Dog Vanished

Yes he did. Black Dog vanished and no one saw him go. All is quiet. His new owner, our neighbor, informed us yesterday that "he doesn't have a dog!"

Well, we thought so didn't we. A closer inspection of the backyards found Tunnels. Black Dog was a tunneler. He had Tunnels into all the backyards. Bingo,,,now we know. He didn't fly but tunneled his way,,,,away.

Sunday, February 20, 2005

The Shortcut Down

Crowders Mountain State Park
Crowders Mountain, N.C. found four of us climbing up it's trail yesterday.
Intrepid Trio photographed by Mike
Passing fascinating rocks in size and sculpture,,,,we reached the top happy and hungry.
Gang enjoying view at top
Happy CarolinaTrekker AKA Mom
Happy CarolinaTrekker AKA Mom
While we ate lunch Black Vultures and Hawks drifted above us. You can see for 20 miles and are 1,625 feet up. Two in our group were brave and climbed the 150 foot vertical cliffs with ropes on an earlier visit. They still felt the horror of the rappel down.
Mike rappelling over Crowder's Mountain cliff

Srini climbing Crowder's Mountain
We looked out on a small nearby mountain called Booger Mountain and also Kings Pinnacle (1,705 ft. high).
We could see Charlotte, N.C. through the haze.
Hazy view of Charlotte skyline

So, we met a member of our groups Challenge to climb down the rocks instead of hiking the trail. He grew up in these parts and climbed down many times with his brother. What a climb down. It was exhilirating to stand out on an outcropping and look out and down.
Mike

Finding hand and footholds was like a game. These rocks were car size,,,house size!

Todd got us to climb down this!

We found "Garrett" written on some rocks. Garrett took " The Shortcut Down!"
Garrett

Red&Green leaved Galax wildflowers were here with the variegated leaved Wintergreen. The Rhododendrons were crowned with large flower buds. Mosses, Funguses and Lichens clung to the ground, rocks and trees. One tree stump we named "The Fungus Tower."
The Fungus Tower

Crevices under rocks were like small Lost Worlds.
Lost World
When we reached the Forest below we waded through loose leaves in deep drifts.

At last we met up with the trail and found an interesting number of trees that had been hit by lightening. Some were upright black cinders. One in the middle of the trail had a long lightening split down it's length ending in two large holes near the bottom where we could picture a fire ball blasting its way up the trail.
One of the Lightening Trees

Passing "the almost "M" Tree" we volunteered our tallest hiker to reach high and complete the right leg of the "M" and took his picture. A Dogwood Tree has grown at odd angles creating an "almost M".

The 'M' Tree

There were a large menagerie of dogs hiking the trail,,,two with the bluest eyes and one that looked rather like a dog wearing a Hyena costume. All were having the time of their lives.
So did we! It was a fun hike.

Sunday, February 13, 2005

Sumter National Forest

Today we hit the trail and hiked a long way to find the "Modoc Stash" hidden by Eric Stapleton in 2000. It was the very first GeoCache hidden in the state of South Carolina. Larry found it behind a fallen tree. We settled in to eat a nice snack and three mountain bikers dressed in bright colors sped by and on up the trail.

This part of South Carolina is high on a ridge. We were in "Ridge Country" where you can find popular Country Produce Stands. The drive home took us past Peach Farms with long rows of stately peach trees. A return trip when they bloom would be fun. We saw a Donkey with her new baby. The towns were full of handsome 1800's Houses with big porches and gingerbread trim. We stopped and took pictures of the historical cemetery monuments in the town of Ward. Our favorite? Bubba the Dog.

As we drove through the town of Lexington the trees were full of roosting Cedar Waxwings. There they are my brother Zeldamax,,,the Waxwings you are wishing for. Hope they read my Lips,,,MIAMI.

Saturday, February 12, 2005

Rosemary's Babies

In my Search for Birdnests yesterday
at Riverbanks Botanical Garden
I came across something interesting
fastened onto a Rosemary Bush
by a few strands of silk thread.

It was the size & shape of a large plump Date
covered in soft white material and was just
dangling there & swinging in the wind.

I will keep watching and hoping it belongs to
ARGIOPE, who is an Orb Web Spider.
I have seen them the size of an Orange.
They have black and yellow striped legs
and put a Zipper in their Web.

Thursday, February 10, 2005

RoadRash

This afternoon I almost fell out of my car and got Roadrash.
There standing beside the road was a pair dressed in black,,,
very nonchalant,,,very large,,,elegant.
A large roadkill had their attention
and they were patiently waiting for a chance
to stroll over to it.

They were just up the road, so I stopped to watch.
It was a Pair of Black Vultures.
Sibleys Birdbook also named them
"Carrion Crows or just S.C. Buzzards. You pick."
After watching the little backyard songbirds at home
these guys looked enormous.

Monday, February 07, 2005

There are No Mistakes

Applying the theory "There are No Mistakes" we sat back and enjoyed the Scenery. We had missed our exit to Home and had to Backtrack. What would we have missed if we hadn't?

A Good Laugh (at ourselves)
A Glimpse of Winston/Salem, N.C. (tobacco country,then?)
Sunset that lit up the sky in brilliant fucia colors ,,, lighting up the windswept clouds&heavens.
A mindboggling cloud of lowflying Birds in Migration reeling back and forth to land for the night.
Very old and large Hardwood Trees dressed in black silouette against the Evening horizon.
Cows and Horses
and three Hawks Roosting for the Night.


Friday, February 04, 2005

Birthday Confetti for MBFS

It's time to toss Confetti in Chicago on South Cook Street. Happy Birthday Wishes to AnniePTigger!!!
Wishing you Sweet Wet Grandchildren Birthday Kisses, An Extra Cup of Coffee, something Sweet, maybe Cake, but a Cookie or Donut will do; Sunshine and Birds on the Feeder, songs on the Piano by Rich, and a Beautiful Sunset at the days end.
Happy Birthday!! Love, YBFS, Lynn

Thursday, February 03, 2005

Oranges, Ponchos & Welcome Thrasher

He's been gone all Winter. The Brown Thrasher. He's returned with the Robins. I first saw him yesterday scurrying to safety as the backyard Mockingbird gave chase. Glad he's back! Last summer he & Mrs.T. raised babies and they all hung out back running in and out of the Red Tip Bushes and chasing bugs.

Cute Squirrel has been enjoying nibbling away at the rind of half an orange the birds left behind when they ate the middle (my favorite part). he would turn it and turn it, nibbling, nibbling. It was cute.

Reminds me of the nice new Red Grill Cover we put on our BBQ sitting on the deck out back. One day I noticed teenie holes on the top. Maybe we put it back on when the grill was still too warm? Next day I noticed whole chunks missing.
This was a puzzle until one day I caught a Squirrel RED HANDED. Up the tree he went with a piece of our "new" grill cover. Eventually so many pieces were missing Mr.L. took the cover over and placed it at the base of "the squirrel tree" and said,,,there,,have it all. Our joke,,,,they were making rain coats for babies?

Last fall I saw a flash of bright blue go up the Neighbors tree. A Squirrel had removed a piece of tarp covering the top of their shed, jumped over onto a tree,,,,up the tree,,,,jumped over to another tree and up and gone. That was pretty ambitious!!! Bravo Bravo Squirrel!!

Conclusion: On the next Rainy Day will we see Squirrels dashing for Pnuts in Blue or Red Ponchos???



Getting to Know BlackDog

I call him BlackDog. On a recent blustery night he was yapping near hysteria inside my neighbors backyard gate. He wears a Blue Collar. Has a curly tail. Lucy the cat was getting wideyed and anxious listening to the yapping from her favorite rocking chair on the frontporch.

The next morning found BlackDog still trapped behind the gate,,,yapping. My Neighbor was out-of-town. He doesn't own a dog. Leaving to go run errands, I opened the gate and welcomed BlackDog to escape. He backed away. Leaving the gate open I left to give him "space" and time to venture out. When I returned later in the day to close the gate, BlackDog was still there. Oh my, welcome to the Neighborhood,,a new kid on the block!! My Mistake. Perhaps my neighbor had gotten a dog after all.

Today Black Dog had a new Adventure. He somehow trapped himself inbetween our chain link fence and his new owner's tall wooden fence. It creates a long narrow "run". He has done this before and I have never discovered how he escapes. Will keep you posted.