Remembering Bigfoot on his birthday!

     It's 11:56 pm, but I made it here in time to pay tribute to a very special pet who was born on February 28th, 1978. He was born into a litter of six kittens, and he was the runt. We fell in love with him, and I was so glad we got to keep him.(I was only ten years old, but he lived until my late 20's).  He was born 34 years ago today.

      His name was Bigfoot, for reasons you should be able to figure out! He was an amazing cat: Black tiger, double paws (actually, I'd say they were triple paws). Fluffy, intelligent, independent. We've never had a cat like him before or since.  

     He has been gone since 1995, he lived 17 years, most of them spent doing what he did best, being a free-spirited, wild animal! I can't do him justice today, I need to scan some more pictures of him into this computer first, so you can see the look in his eyes. This one you've seen before, but it's worth showing again. 

     Bigfoot was very smart, territorial, and loved to eat.  In future columns, I'll tell you some funny stories about him.  I will cherish him forever! Biggie-Boy, I hope I see you again some day! I can't wait for you to jump on my lap once again!

Are You Tired of Hawk Stories Yet?

    Hello out there in computer-land. How are you today?

Is anybody following my little saga about the hawk that was in my yard? I don't think it lives in the nest, so I had announced to the world that I intended to start feeding my birds again.

    Then, on a Sunday about two weeks ago, we were coming back from a ride with the dog.  I took her out of the car, and we went in the yard for a minute. I looked up, and I could see, up in the very high branches of the silver maples of the yard next door, not one, but TWO very super-size hawks, sitting side by side, like book-ends! You wouldn't believe it unless you saw it yourself. Way up there, basking, with the sun beaming on them. It was an impressive sight.

     I had to take the dog in quickly so I could get my camera out. Only one of them was left by the time I got back outside with my bigger Nikon, a minute or so later.  My Dad saw it fly away, and he said it looked like a red-tail.

    The other hawk stayed there about another five minutes, and I took several shot, which I will include here. I am impressed with his tallons, his fluffy chest, and his eyes-this one almost looked like he was happy, it doesn't have the super-serious look you usually see. You be the judge!

     I think I am going to email a picture to Mass Audobon and see if they can give me a positive ID on his species. I looked in the bird books, and can't be sure. I did see a documentary on PBS the other day about falconry, where they are feeding a red-tail some raw mice, and it had the same markings and eyes, so I'm thinking my Dad was right about it being a red tail.  Anyway, we've only seen one once since then. But we still have our cardinals, and I've been hearing more songbirds in the morning. That is encouraging, spring will be here soon!

    Here are the pictures!

Spinning off a new blog-fun with food!

     Hello again. Haven't written in awhile, because I've been so busy. But while I felt inspired, I launched a new blog the other day, and I called it "fun with food!" It's a takeoff on the name of our cooking groups at work.  The blog will cover all aspects of food- cooking, recipes, memories, etc.  You'll just have to read the first post for more details!

     Believe it or not, I had 53 page views on the first day! Makes me wonder if people stumbled upon it by accident!  Once I get started, I think it will be fun. The address for "fun with food" is www.kp-funwithfood.blogspot.com/  . Check it out!

        

The Secret World of Snowflakes!

   Today I received a book and CD-Rom I sent away for. I mentioned it a couple of weeks ago-"Bentley's Snowflakes" form Dover Publications. It is awesome! See one of the snowflakes above. The book contains 756 images of very old snowflakes that have lived in infamy. It's pretty cool when you think about it. It's kind of like living forever.

    Isn't it amazing? It was flabbergasting to see the variety and intricacy of some of the patterns. It reminds me of a kaleidoscope. There are some shaped like flowers, stars, and some that are more traditional-looking. The only thing they have in common is that they have six sides.

    I'm sure you've heard that no two fingerprints are alike, and the same goes for snowflakes. It boggles my mind that such beauty is mostly unseen, and will never be seen by anyone. It's actually kind of sad. But on the other hand, I guess that's what makes the ones we can see very special. 

  I feel the same way about a beautiful sunrise. I've been blessed to see the sun rise over the Atlantic ocean of Old Orchard Beach. It is a majestic sight, almost a religious experience. But I feel sad to think of all the ones I didn't see, because I don't normally have access to an ocean front view, nor am I always up before the sun rises. 

    When you think about how much snow there is, and how many flakes....oh well. It's as vast as the number of stars in the sky or grains of sand in all the beaches, only more fragile-since they melt away. That's why I am thankful that Wilson Bentley devoted his life to preserving some magnificent specimens for us to cherish and appreciate. As I leave you with a few more pretty snowflakes, I'm going to try and upload a short film about Wilson Bentley from You tube. I'll be doing a presentation about this tomorrow at work, as part of my class (I had to invite some residents of the assisted living next door).

    So enjoy this easy winter of little snow, and check out this informative video.  Have a great day!

Karin