Weekend stuff
May. 24th, 2008 08:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
altivoFirst day of long weekend, actually got some stuff done. Gary mowed pastures while I cleaned barns. Then it was Tess' chance to go outside and of course she was in a hurry to get there, so she got several lessons in polite walking on the way. To my surprise and delight, once I did turn her loose, though she was in a frenzy to eat grass she kept coming back to the gate to stand near me. I thought she'd be mad to run and get down to the other end away from me, but she didn't do that until I finally started to walk away.
Saw a bluebird out there, from a distance. They have a characteristic habit of sitting on top of fence posts and watching the grass, then diving down to snatch whatever bug they see moving. The flight behavior is quite recognizable even at a distance. Also saw the first red admiral butterfly, on the side of the woodshed which is where I usually see them first each year.
Went through some dusty boxes out in the barn looking for a specific computer book, and as usual for me, in the process found a couple dozen others to "rescue". At least I did find the one I started looking for. We got the grill going and had a picnic style dinner with brats, baked beans, potato salad, green salad, and sweet corn. Three cheers for summer at last.
Now I'm waiting to run out at 9:12 pm and see if I can spot the space station as it passes over us. It's hazy and partly cloudy, so I dunno if I'll see anything.
[EDIT] We did see the ISS go over. It was extremely bright, about the brightness of Venus, and moved quickly from west to east. The whole transit from horizon to horizon lasted only five or six minutes. If you want to find out when it will next pass over your area so that you can watch it, there's a calculator at http://www.spaceweather.com that tells you the precise times and where to look for most major satellites.
Saw a bluebird out there, from a distance. They have a characteristic habit of sitting on top of fence posts and watching the grass, then diving down to snatch whatever bug they see moving. The flight behavior is quite recognizable even at a distance. Also saw the first red admiral butterfly, on the side of the woodshed which is where I usually see them first each year.
Went through some dusty boxes out in the barn looking for a specific computer book, and as usual for me, in the process found a couple dozen others to "rescue". At least I did find the one I started looking for. We got the grill going and had a picnic style dinner with brats, baked beans, potato salad, green salad, and sweet corn. Three cheers for summer at last.
Now I'm waiting to run out at 9:12 pm and see if I can spot the space station as it passes over us. It's hazy and partly cloudy, so I dunno if I'll see anything.
[EDIT] We did see the ISS go over. It was extremely bright, about the brightness of Venus, and moved quickly from west to east. The whole transit from horizon to horizon lasted only five or six minutes. If you want to find out when it will next pass over your area so that you can watch it, there's a calculator at http://www.spaceweather.com that tells you the precise times and where to look for most major satellites.
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no subject
Date: 2008-05-25 02:33 am (UTC)I don't think they are the Killdeer. Those things just run around shrieking all the time :(
I hope someday I can visit your farm and see your horsies ^_^
no subject
Date: 2008-05-25 10:33 am (UTC)The birds that snatch bugs out of the air are usually swallows. Barn swallows, tree swallows, or purple martins are the most likely suspects in that order, I'd say. All are good birds to have, because they eat tens of thousands of mosquitoes and flies. Unfortunately, the area under any nest they build gets kinda messy.