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Eye-ing Buffy 3

Sept. 2007 Still in awe at the existence of such a thing as an animal ophthalmologist (& at the advances that have been made in veterinary care since my last cat died at 17 in 1993), I was thoroughly impressed by the TAOC facilities. And not least, by the concern,...

Eye-ing Buffy 2

Dec. 2006 On a mid-August late Sunday afternoon while I was watching a Cubs game & Buffy was resting on the window shelf behind me, I noticed with alarm some clear tears coming from the eye. She was keeping it half-closed & still the tears were oozing out. The tears...

Eye-ing Buffy 1

Apr. 2004 Long-time no write?! Yeah, I can't believe it's been over 6 mos. A busy time. A difficult time. Then was the beginning of real Spring weather, and now it's the beginning of real Winter weather. Well, the leaves are well past peak here, the leaf-collecting machine just went...

Re-newals II

My last entry here assumed Spring was finally happening. Not. Mere days later about 2 weeks of snowing, blowing, cold raining &/or just downright chilly weather ensued. Nasty. Not to mention depressing. Sigh. Both Buffy & I were suffused with warm-weather longing. Despite, or perhaps because of, knowing the unseasonable...

New National Weather Center

Something new in Dan's life. Last week (? or the week before?) his entire office moved into a brand-new, rather spiffy-looking building on the other side of Norman. And yesterday he sent me a whole lotta photos he's taken of it, both inside & outside. Naturally, there's a website (still...

Changes

Seeing as how I've been posting more photos, waaay more photos, than making entries in this here blog — through no fault of anyone or anything or anywhere, just due to my own present inclination — which made it appear that this site as a whole wasn't being updated much,...

July???

You're wondering what happened to May in my life? Never mind June? When it's just become July?!? Really?? Geez oh man. Where've I been, huh? Well, here. Really. And I've got the pictures to prove it. If I ever get around to processing them, that is. Sigh. I just haven't...

Two years...

Today is our anniversary. Buffy's & mine, that is. It's been 2 years since she arrived. In her honor (& mine), I've made some changes to the photo sections of this site, mostly to make 'em more efficient & easier to maintain. Buffy's Place has been integrated into Michigosh Photos,...

February ups & downs

It's been a short strange trip of a month: A week after getting my computer back, it began to misbehave in an even bigger way than before & so the pesky thing had to go back for more rehab. It had been awhile since I'd trekked down to the lakeshore...

Finally...February!

I'm baaack, again! Had some severe computer issues that made it increasingly difficult to not only get work done, but do anything, online or off, at all. Slow, slower, slowest. Even. To. Surf. The. Web. So, held my breath, crossed my mouse fingers & brought my pc in for servicing....

Site updated...

Six months ago I wrote about finishing the flowerbed. And then disappeared. At least, from this site. So what the hell have I been doing since? Some stuff. Here's a summary: Summer: Kept the flowerbed & lawn alive, despite a season-long drought & uncommon hot weather (for here). Took some...

The flower(bed) project

Well, it may have taken the better part of 6 wks. but the good news is it's finally done. The flowerbed has landed. Lois & I planted the first two-thirds (of 19) together last Thursday, but I did the last third by my lonesome. It took me 3 days for...

The deck project

Since today's the first truly warm day we've had in awhile — temps in the 70s at last! — it seems an appropriate occasion to chronicle the latest step in my domestication: With the first warm weather in early April (50s, which at the time seemed quite warm after the...

The grass project

Last year there was a bare spot in the sideyard, as well as my backyard, and after the grass grew in this year the spots appeared to be growing, so I asked my neighbor for advice. Everett said it needed reseeding and maybe he knew someone who could do it....

Photos, updated

Have finally gotten around to processing some of the photos I've taken over the last 3 weeks. Managed today to upload just the first 2 weeks or so. They include shots of the emerging peonies & lilacs, flowers I bought (but haven't yet planted) for the emerging flowerbed next to...

Site, updated

Well, I think I've got the new design down, for now. Although I'm continually surprised by how much tweaking I keep finding it absolutely, irresistibly, compulsively necessary to carry out...'cause the ideas just don't stop coming, even when I believe they're done. I seem to always find yet another level...

Spring cleaning

Contrary to reports of snowstorming in the Midwest this past weekend, here we got a mere half-inch or so that only clung to grassy surfaces (& my deck) & quickly melted, amen. Although it was quite windy & cold, Buffy & I refused to pay it too much attention. 'Specially...

Rosy Mound thaw

Rosy Mound's melting! With the temp. hitting 50-something yesterday, a trek through Rosy Mound (my first since late October) was irresistible. While winter still possessed much of the path & stairs in the woods with a layer of slush, the dune valley & shoreline were largely bare of frigid cover....

Spring, maybe

Spring sprout After 5 days of slowly moderating temps — by this weekend it was up to 40s by day & high 20s low 30s by night — & no new snow (yay!), I think the new season has finally, thankfully begun. And Buffy seems to agree with me: she's...

March thaw?

Franklin Street melts, really It's snowing again. Snow. Again. Sigh. Which gives me all the more motivation to post a few photos I took during the all-too-brief thaw we had last weekend. As proof of life. When the temp actually went over 40 & things began to melt, some. Really....

Photo update

A Rosemary closeup Snow, snow and more snow, that's what's been happening. Oh, it's not like a whole lot at once, not like what you get in the mountains or up in Buffalo, but when 2-4 inches falls on a daily basis, it has a way of adding up, you...

Breathing space

How cute is she? Only 3 wks. this time, between posts...that's getting a little better. Spent an intense & obsessive few weeks designing & building Mac's new site. Which I finished, officially, on Wednesday. After which was able to use a little break between projects to take a few new...

Busy, busy, busy

Snowy bird feeder Whoa, near 6 wks since posting here! Which is not to say I've been idle...far from it. Since I can't let the whole month go by without a few words, here goes a few words: Bluejay @ feeder In between (& perhaps because of) bouts of frigid,...

Frigid...

Buffy in the window Did I declare 5 days ago that Winter had arrived? Well, that was nothing compared to this: It was 7° when I got up this morning & it has climbed all the way up to 10° now. And that's without considering the wind chill (a mere...

Meanwhile...

Summer 1949 Finally managed to add several more photos to the Family archive yesterday. Sorry for the long delay on that project...if doing some every day isn't possible, I hope to process & upload photos at least once a week from now on. In any case, it wasn't idleness that...

Winter arrives

Gymnastic squirrel The 24-hr. forecast from Sunday-Monday night included 30 to 40 mph winds with gusts to around 50 mph driving 14-18 ft. waves on the lake & 3-10 inches of lake-effect snow dumped on West Michigan. All of which sounded very impressive, really stunning for early December, despite the...

Snowy Thanksgiving

Snow-covered spiraea Snowy leaves In just a few hours yesterday afternoon we got some 5-6 inches of snow! (And it wasn't even lake-effect stuff — this time they got more snow inland, some 10-11 inches at Grand Rapids.) The first snow of the season & my first snow-covered Thanksgiving in...

A new project

Okay, so here's the main reason this site hasn't been updated very often, if at all, over the last 2 months (until today): Have been busy with renewed nest-building activities. Specifically, renovations of the guest room so it could double as an office as well as a place for storing...

Sunday at Rosy Mound

Dunes at Rosy Mound Lois & I managed a Sunday walk through Rosy Mound early this afternoon. Although there's lots of color in the trees all over town, there's much less out on the lakeshore itself, perhaps because it's always a few degrees warmer there & less likely to get...

A day in Saugatuck

The beach at Saugatuck State Park The day after Labor Day, Lois & Mac took me down to Saugatuck, about 30 miles or so south of here. It was my first visit to this prized lakeside resort community...which, with its art galleries, quaint shops & gourmet restaurants, resembled nothing so...

More closeups

Fledgling cardinal Yes, it's true, I'm now obsessed with getting close-up shots...but aren't these worth it? Lo's impatiens I've been trying to get a decent picture of the cardinal for days now. Hope to be able to follow it as it gets adult feathers & grows up. Have taken several...

July update?

Buffy, up close So you're wondering if I'm okay & what the heck I've been doing during the last 14+ days? Well, hhhmm, let's see: Naturally, just 2 days after I wrote about not yet needing to install the ac, Mac helped me to install the ac. Not that it...

Buffy's tale

Click to see show! Wow, didn't realize how long it's been since my last post! Have been busy: celebrating the 4th; rearranging the living room & buying a few new furnishings, completing some unfinished decorating; continuing yoga therapy (Gretchen's been guiding me into a more intensive involvement...god, is she good!);...

A rose is a rose is a rose...

Fairy roses, closeup Rose wall [enlarge on click] Spent a cool-ish Father's Day watching a Chicago Cubs' game (which they unfortunately lost) with Lois & Mac, but before the game started took some pictures of the profusion of Lo's roses...unfortunately, most of the shots didn't come out too well, a...

Closeups...

[enlarge on click] [enlarge on click] Have been busy, many hours adding much to my friend's website, as well as obsessively devising some design changes for it. After overdoing that to the point of exhaustion, have been attempting to break up the work with other activities, including another trip to...

Summer?

Backyard flower Well, today's the first truly warm day we've had — 82° at the moment — and I'm missing the balmy 70s already. The only redeeming factor is low humidity...but this makes almost a full week without rain or significant cloudiness, which is saying something! I hope it doesn't...

Damp holiday

Rosy Mound Natural Area Friday turned into a good weather day, continued cool (temps in the 50s & 60s) but with a clear & brilliant blue sky. I took advantage of the opportunity & managed a good long hike through Rosy Mound (see new photos here). Am so glad I...

Dry, for now

Buffy in the sun River view Despite the forecast, there was just a little shower overnight & no storms on Tuesday, which was still mostly cloudy but a little warmer than Monday. And although yesterday returned to cool, with a chilly breeze, on both days the clouds broke up in...

Respite...

Having a temporary respite today from the recurring thunderstorm syndrome...to just plain cloudy & quite cool, down into the 40s & not hitting 50 'til about an hour ago. But not to worry, the NWS says we'll be back to the new "normal" (of storms & mid-60° temps) tomorrow....... Nevertheless,...

Rainy day birds...

Grand Haven lighthouse Cardinal [click to enlarge] Heavy thunderstorms after dawn this morning...poor Buffy hid down in her safe place, the cellar...followed by several hours of rain followed by a generally cloudy, damp & foggy day. Which didn't deter the birds at my feeders even though they too got wet....

More (bird & cat) pics

Tried for half-a-day to get some shots of the repeated visits of an Indigo Bunting (I think) to my feeders Sunday, but most failed...well, just weren't very successful, either being unfocused or marred by extraneous shadows & window smudges...very frustrating...at left is the best of the bunch. Meanwhile, Buffy's third...

Starting over

Wednesday was a good deal warmer & sunnier than Tuesday...very warm, too warm, humid even...perfect for taking more pictures and giving Buffy another go at the great outdoors. She stuck it out a bit longer this time, even venturing up on the deck (but not before thoroughly inspecting the entire...

First steps

Lilacs [click] Managed, finally, to take a few pictures in the backyard this afternoon, of the peonies & lilacs.... And of Buffy cautiously venturing outside for the first time. It was warm and cloudy, a lot of white haze, most of the day, but the sun peeked out, serendipitously, just...

Stormy

Tree at Rosy Mound Hard to believe that just over a week ago we had heavy frost...'cause now we've had heavy thunderstorms (see below for more details), every day or night for the last 5. Have been forced to shut pc down daily to avoid potential problems, which has been...

Fun with birds

An assortment of finches, chickadees & sparrows(?) visited my feeders throughout the day yesterday. Getting their pictures is pretty much a crap shoot, even with a remote shooting setup. It's a process of trying to anticipate their movements & take into account the lagtime of the digital shutter...very far from...

Flowering

Temps finally edged back up into the 60s today and I managed to take some photos of my frost-free porch flowers. Meanwhile, a shopping trip yesterday to Muskegon yielded a new birdfeeder which, besides holding more seed also provides more perches for more birds &, not incidentally, more visibility for...

Fixed

After dropping Lo off at her home, I took a chance on finding a camera store downtown that'd be willing to check out & hopefully repair my camera. And lucked out. Big time. In less than 5 mins. the very nice proprietor fiddled with it a little & voilá, the...

Thawing out...

In the afternoon, after it stopped snowing & temps "warmed" into the low 40s, Lois (who is celebrating the near-end of her school term) & I did some shopping and then made a brief reconnaisance of the newly reopened Rosy Mound Natural Area, a "classic Great Lakes dune system" (according...

Clearing?

Made a trek down to the river/lake around 2:45 in the afternoon, just in time for the previously sunny day to turn cloudy & begin raining lightly — still amazed how fast the weather can change here — but decided to stick it out & wait to see if &...

For the birds

Sorry, couldn't resist that headline...spent a lot of time the last 3 days obsessed with attempting to get photos of the pair of house finches that have appropriated my bird feeders. Blundered into the discovery that my camera could be operated remotely, when connected directly to my computer, which opened...