Summer(?) Break

Welcome Home to the Firebird!  I picked him up from campus Friday.  His last final was Thursday afternoon.  The Firebird will be home for a week or two, and then plans to return to work on some engineering projects on campus.  One of them is associated with NASA, so we are both excited about that!

The Firebird is majoring in Mechanical Engineering.  He took four years of Russian in high school, so he is an good position to eventually get employment in the Air and Space industry.

The Willow has another month of high school.  I think she is pretty envious of her brother being out of classes!  His current priority is catching up on sleep!  On one hand I am glad he is so comfy at home that he can sleep the entire morning away, but another part of me wants to spend as much time with him as I can while he is here!

I pulled one of the Firebirds windows a few days before he came home to air out his room. I kept asking him last night if he wanted me to pin a blanket over the screen to reduce the wind tunnel effect, but he insisited he was fine.  The temps dropped into the 40's last night, so I guess the cold air doesn't bother him too much!  I am crouched by the woodstove as I type this, sitting on the ottoman with the laptop on the coffeetable.  The waterfall is still running over the dam, and we all like to have the windows open this tinme of year to hear the rushing water.  And all the spring bird song and frogs peeping in the vernal pools.

Today the main audio is the windchimes tinkling in the gusty wind-and the sound of the trees blowing in the wind. I swear I saw a few bits of sleet while doing morning chores. Brrr!  I can't wait for summer!

Moose berries

The Willow and I took a walk a couple of weeks ago and found this in the path:

Moose manure!

That's a full sized bic lighter next to the pile for size comparison.  Yes, now I have Moose cooties!

I was relieved to see that the pile wasn't exactly fresh.  I have seen moose on the loose and they are very very large animals!  They can be quite a hazard on the roads, because they are dark so if it's night you don't see them until it is too late.  And they are so tall that a car will go right under them and the body goes through the windshield crushing the driver.

The advice is to try and aim to the front or back or get down under the dashboard in that split second before impact.

If it's daytime, stop your car well away from the moose until they go on their way.  Don't honk at them, I have seen videos of moose battering cars during the rut, thinking the honking car was a challenge!  If I was not in a car and came upon one, I would look for the nearest tree to climb or hide behind!

We do have a moose in the area-a summer or two ago I thought an animal had dug a hole in my lettuce bed, and then realized it was a moose track!  The tracks are very far apart because they have such long legs.  The moose had come right up my driveway, cut through the garden, and crossed the lawn in front of the house.

I had white tailed deer track in the driveway two days ago.  And we have a red fox that I caught trying to have goose for breakfast!  This morning I heard a red tailed hawk call in the trees.  They like nice juicy robin nestlings for breakfast.