Gotcha

Your going to have to click on the photo .I finally caught one of those elusive hummingbirds . Its there believe me

Solar eclipse

Check this out if you are going to Northern Maine for vacation at the end of July, beginning of August
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OH2008.html

I don't remember the last time I saw a solar eclipse. Back in college while I was taking Astronomy at Oneonta there was a 75% eclipse on Campus .It was March and the eclipse started around noon.
It can be a bit cool in upstate New York during March. Well, the temperature dropped about 20 degrees during the height of the eclipse and only about 75% of the sun was blocked out and that was only for a few minutes .
Ironically the Prof had disappeared to Florida where the total eclipse was .If i remember correctly it rained for days around the eclipse so there were no pictures to show the class
I think you have to go to Mongolia for totality on this one

8/1
Just heard the next one is July 2009 .So plan accordingly

July's hummingbirds

I've tried to take some picture of the flood of hummers I have had this week. My little point and shot was not up to the task.
The feeder is just off the living area so any time I go from one place to another I get a good look at the two feeder
I have been getting 20 to 30 visits for the last week . Usually single birds but on two occasions there were more than 2 .Things have slowed down the last day or so .Maybe those thunder storms drove them south
All the natural nectar sources are just coming into bloom so I hope things pick up

More Tomatoes

This is one of the few things I've been able to do of late .It doesn't take much to trim and tie up these beauties

A little H and H

I've finally finished phase one of this quest I've been on for the last 5 months .After a few red herrings I think (hope) that the doctors have finally found out the cause of the pain that has prevented me from doing all the things I enjoy doing
On 7/30 I'm going into the hospital for a least one and possibly a double hernia operation. I had no idea I had a hernia .They were found while examining me for what seems to be the present cause of my disability
It looks like I'm going to get a totally new hip for my 60th birthday. The next month is going to be quite hectic getting all the clearances one needs to get and operation of that magnitude.
I'm scheduled for the hip replacement for 8/22
So if people don't hear from me for a while ,I haven't sold the Airstream, or liquidated all my tools. Gardening and birding will be on the back burner ,but if all goes well I'll be back chasing striped bass up and down the beach by the end of THE RUN.

Ticks

I live at the world headquarters for Lyme disease. I've had it 3 times. I have always wondered what those ticks were doing when they weren't busy biting humans .
Well today I saw what goes on .
I was working in the vegetable garden weeding when I saw something move very slowly .I walked over and there lying between 2 rows of plants was a rabbit .I thought for a millisecond that it was dusting itself .Like you see birds do .I have no idea what was wrong with the little guy but it didn't move .Those little buggers create all kinds of havoc in my gardens but this guy could barely move .I looked down and the poor thing was covered with ticks .There had to be 6 that were all blown up .I didn't make a further examination. I picked him up and tossed him into the brush .The last thing I needed was one of the dogs bringing him home for a present.
I'm sure he didn't make the day but I wonder if it was the ticks that got him?
I've read that the will attached themselves to all warm blooded animals .Well I saw dying proof today

You had to be there

I don't think these pictures do justice to my early morning drive to get some coffee the other day
Eat your heart out I see this every time I leave town
If you click on the 3rd photo you will see a double fish trap sitting off the causeway I cross daily

Planet Jr.

The old cultivator must be at least 100yrs old .They handles were a little tired and I was probably leaning on it instead of pushing it through the weeds .The left side of the handle snapped .I just happened to have a piece of ash that was originally planned for the Globetrotter .I used the old handle as a template .I have to get the 10 bags of mulch out of the back of the truck to get my jig saw to cut out the handles
To be continued!!!

For Aidan and Declan

I saw this little fellow when I was out tying up tomatoes. Its a painted turtle heading back to the pond .They only reason I can think of it being this far from the pond was to lay some eggs
I used to get a female snapping turtle lay eggs every June on the hill in front of my house .Now its covered with plants, back then it looked like a sand dune

The Tomato Patch

They are all heirloom varieties .My only concern is that they get enough sun .That's one of the draw backs of living in the woods
I also snuck a picture of the raspberries and small hydrangeas that I'm also growing.
I'll add the black berries when they grow large enough to be seen in a photo

Fig Update

They said it couldn't be done .This is what they looked like this afternoon Let's see how many more are there at the end of August
I hope they have time to ripen up

Modern art; They all see something different

I haven't posted much lately because all I have been doing is going to doctors .Last Weds. I went to see a neurosurgeon because everything seemed to indicate that all the pain I have been in was the result of something wrong in the back .My MRI was taken in late March . They took pictures of my back and hips .They found compression fractures ,herniated discs and an arthritic spur .The hip didn't look so great either .
When the orthopedic guy, the same guy that scoped my knee about 5 years ago looked at the pics he said that the hips had plenty of life left in them .He wrote the scripts for the PT and the first set of epidurals.
Nothing happened!!!
The neurologist found the spur and prescribed more shots to the back
Nothing happened !!!
After the last set of shot's, The pain management guy said he had run out of shots and sent me to a neurosurgeon
It took 6 weeks to see the doctor and 5 minutes in his office for him to tell me there was nothing wrong with my back that needed an operation. He is sending me to his orthopedic surgeon .So next Weds. I meet with doctor number six and hope he can come up with a plan
I'm getting calluses on my bottom from sitting around so much .
Hopefully I'll be able to go back to work soon.