Outside My Window ~ 5.30.10

Outside My Window…is a warm, hazy morning.  Currently it is 78ºF with 76% humidity and partly sunny skies.  The forecast high for today is 91ºF with a threat of thunderstorms.  This heat combined with high humidity equals a soupy enough mixture to create afternoon thunderstorms.  For Memorial Day they are forecasting a high of 94ºF with sunny skies….sounds like  a perfect beach day although I probably will not be going.   I still enjoy the beach but I don’t enjoy the heat and humidity so much any more.  🙂

I am thinking…about a site I witnessed last night with my neighbor as we stood outside and talked.  It was around dusk….the sun had set behind the houses in the neighborhood but you could still see quite well outside.  The neighbor and I were standing in the common area that divides our two homes chatting about the economy and other things when all of a sudden I noticed a flash of  a large bird and a commotion above her roof.  It was quick…and then it dawned on me what I just witnessed when immediately afterwards I saw a shower of bird feathers falling from the sky.  We have a large hawk in our area….I have seen it on more than one occasion.  My closest observation was one evening as I walked out my back door, it was landing on a branch of the tree in my backyard.  And it is fairly huge too!  I slowly backed into my door, hoping to run grab the camera before it flew away….but no such luck because it flew away as I closed the sliding glass door.  *Sigh*  I did see it another evening at dusk, sitting in a tree in the wooded area behind my house….and I did have the camera but the lighting was poor and I was unable to get a nice, clear shot of it.  So back to last night….immediately after the commotion and the rain of feathers, the other birds in the area began screeching and calling out as they pretty much vanished from site.  You could still hear them in the trees, but you couldn’t see any of them.  I suppose the hawk had been hunting a fairly large collection of birds that had been in our area.  It was a bit creepy and eerie as the feathers floated down onto us.  Thankfully that is all that came down on us and not any other bird parts.  Hmmm, could be why I haven’t seen as many squirrels this spring too.

I am thankful for…the men and women that have served in the military forces throughout the years.  These individuals have given and sacrificed so much so I may enjoy the freedoms and the life I have today.  As we observe  another Memorial Day in the United States, take time to remember the ones who are currently serving in foreign lands and can’t be with their families this weekend.

From the kitchen…is French Vanilla coffee from The Fresh Market.  I’m not sure what exactly will follow ~ I may make some pork bar-b-que later today.  I know this is the weekend you officially pull out the grill and began to cook outside….but it will be so hot and miserable!  Who wants to cook in those conditions?   

I am going…to continue to enjoy my long weekend without a lot of  “things to do” or schedules.

I am hoping…that everyone has a very safe and relaxing Memorial Day.  Be safe if you are traveling!

I am hearing…my coffee maker making the elixir of life……the ticking of my many clocks…..my wind chimes singing a slow song to me….the Weather Channel delivering some wet news to some folks in the mid section of the country.

Around the house…who cares….it is a long weekend and I’m enjoying it.  🙂  Actually, it is quite tidy except for my room ~ which could use some attention.

Plans for the week include…continuing my quest to archive my photos on my external hard drive.  I have finally gotten all of them out of the old, sticky albums.  Do they even make those any longer?  You may or may not know what I’m talking about….they were generally spiral back albums with a plastic type covering over the  sticky card stock type pages.  You would peel back the plastic sheeting and apply your photos to the card stock and then smooth over the sheeting.  They were inexpensive and the best way to store your film photos at a time before digital.  These albums were nice then, not so nice now.  Some photos would come loose or the books would not hold up to years of use…which was the case with mine so I decided to remove all of them and store the originals in an archival box after I scan them onto my external hard drive.   

One of my favorite things…I have said it before, I will say it again ~ Long. Holiday. Weekends!  8)

A picture I’d like to share with you…Seriously ~ I’m in love with these lilies! 

And  Welcome Back, my purple iris……this plant went dormant for several years…..the leaves would come, but no blooms.   I was very happy to see two buds on there this week, and even happier this morning when I saw this….I know, I’m so easily pleased.  🙂