Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Tuesday, July 21, 2009
It is clear, sunny, and warm with a light breeze. The perfect weather for working outside. I cut up the melons and mixed in the grapes that I purchased at Costco yesterday. I don't get enough fresh fruit in my diet, other than an orange every morning, so froze some of it for future use. Boy, it was about the sweetest, best tasting melons I can remember having.
Just as I was about to finish my morning routine, a Raven started carrying on like I haven't heard before. When I looked out to investigate, I just caught a glimpse of the Raven chasing a Bald Eagle into the trees. The eagle was at least four times larger than the Raven, and the Raven was alone, so it caught me off guard. I grabbed my camera in hopes that I could get a photo if they left the trees, but the batteries on the camera started to go, so I could only film for a short while before giving up. I kept watching, but evidently the eagle left the other side of the ridge as I never saw it emerge and the Raven quieted down after about 20 minutes of screaming. I have attached the video, but it is just the sound of the Raven. You may need to turn up your volume to hear it well.
After my usual morning routine, I put on my work clothes and after playing with Zack, sprayed the noxious weeds that I either missed before, or were newly emerging. I have noticed that the Canadian Thistle is down to about 1/10 of what it was last year, so I feel that I am making headway. There are only about four along the road by the creek, where last year it was a thick blanket of them.
I unloaded the 2 x 4s from the truck and then used the dozer to rework the road going through the front of my property. Evidently, there was a snowdrift at the corner and one or more trucks tried to drive around it, becoming stuck in the grassy area at the far corner. It took much longer than I expected but I finally got it all smoothed out and back to the way it had been. When I finished that part, I used the box blade to drag the rest of the road down to the creek crossing, as it too had several bad ruts that needed smoothing out.
By the time I finished and put the dozer in the garage, it was 6 PM, so I played with Zack and fed him and Zoey before stripping off my boots and dusty clothes, and then sat down with a drink to cool off before taking my shower. This weather has been great for the land, but it has also been great for insect reproduction. I have never had so many flies, flying bugs, beetles, and mosquitoes since living here. There are so many that they don’t seek you out, you just pass through them. My Deep Woods Off does a good job, but the damn things have to buzz your face or land on you before they decide they don’t like what you are wearing. The bright yellow paint job on the dozer probably doesn’t help a lot either.
Even though I usually wait until I stop sweating before I shower, the Off had dripped into my eyes, so I had to shower before I could even take a sip of my newly made drink. It felt so good to get the dust and bug spray off, that I really enjoyed my drink and some relax time before having dinner and watching television.