Birds Eat Dessert First - Strawberries Gone, Sunflower Seeds Left

Wild strawberries are spreading in my backyard,
and I am planting hybrid ones in the straw bale garden.
We had some leftover store-boughten strawberries.
My attitude is - "Lots of fresh berries for Mrs. I,
leftovers for the birds," offsetting the net cost in each category.

We woke up to several inches of ice and snow. The car was encased in ice, so much that the snow-melt in the trunk was tough to get out. When I popped the trunk, the automatic shutting device, activated by the weight of the ice, cranked it down again. Getting fingers in to stop the action is impossible. Eventually it opened enough to get the bag out.

I shoveled my driveway and left the car alone. Very few places wee open, and I did not want to find out how quickly the emergency room treated me - an ever-changing ad on a nearby billboard. Sometimes we pass it and say, "What a good time for an accident - only a 10 minute wait."

Sassy supervised a bit but really wanted to explore. We took a short walk together and she stuck her nose under the snow a lot. She is always tracking, but I am not sure which animal. She runs her nose along the surface of the street, lost in the hunt. Once her feet were cold, she went inside.

Meal worms are loved by insect eating birds.
Dried ones are sold at various stores.

Later I got our helper to come over and assist. One neighbor has almost solved his shoveling problems. His driveway is filled with four cars. I worked on the Wright driveway and our helper met me, shoveling the main sidewalk down three properties, snow flying in every direction.

I gave the birds a mix of sunflower seed, strawberries, and dried meal worms. They ate the strawberries first. I saw a large woodpecker working through the mix, eating, and retreating to his perch. He repeated this several times, and no bird challenged him - not even the aggressive starlings.
Apparently he was getting all the meal worms, and websites confirmed that woodpeckers and many other insect eaters love meal worms.

Sunflower seeds were left on the filing cabinet, but no meal worms. I broached the subject of storing live meal worms in the fridge. That caused some raucous laughter. Some birders think dried ones are not good enough, but they will do for now.

I lack a birdbath warmer, so I bought out a wastebasket full of hot water to give them some water for drinking and bathing. The birds left their tracks on the snow on top the pans, so I know they were looking for their normal supply.

Snow Day in Springdale - The Birds Were Right

Live from Springdale, 6 AM, everything is closed today.

Yesterday was warm and sunny. The best temperature gauge is counting the kids playing outside. On Sunday, we had kids biking on the street and doing gymnastics in the grass.

We now have a thick blanket of snow and ice on the ground and cars. From the nearby college, posted yesterday, - "You have never heard a more sincere prayer than the prayer of a college student for tomorrow to be a snow day."

I added, "Doubtless the faculty are joining you." Snow days in college are a double-blessing: no classes and none to make up.

Our helper and I will work on the snow early, because that will facilitate melting later. We have three driveways - the Gardeners, the Wrights, and mine, to clear. I scoffed at the rock salt I saw at Walmart on Saturday. Now I am thinking it would have been a good idea to buy some - though I have two bags left.

Our neighbors should not be shoveling, so it will be fun to help out. How quickly the time flies, from playing in the snow to worrying about falling on ice or having a cardio event. 

Naturally I will clear a spot on the filing cabinet outside to feed the birds. The hanging suet bags defy the weather, so they will be swinging with bird activity. The feeder by the window will bring some chickadees to feast on sunflowers.

I almost planted carrots Saturday and Sunday, and that would have been a good plan. The seed underground would have been sheltered from the cold by the warmth and insulation of the mulch, then by the insulating effect of snow. besides that, snow melt is a great jump-start for hardy seeds.

I was looking out the front window as the day got colder on Sunday. No one notices that the English ivy is unaffected by the weather. It may not grow much in the winter, but it remains green and leafy. Many plants are cold hardy and even favor the cold for best results. I had beets and other seed sewn several weeks ago. I will be most interested in the sunflowers planted weeks ago. If they pop out of the mulch early and take off in growth, I will be emboldened next year to do more of the same.

Ornamental kale is just as not-yummy as common kale.

Kale is the most winter hardy plant I know.
It is green under the snow.

Managing the Press - Works Well with Herman Otten. Bishop Sutton Has To Finesse the Press about Cook

The drunk while texting and driving Bishop Cook is a widow-maker.

http://www.virtueonline.org/why-episcopal-church-got-it-wrong-selection-bishop-cook

TheRaceRadio • 2 days ago

This is all extremely distressing for good Episcopalians who go to church to pray and expect honesty 

from their leadership. Recently Meredith Gould was outed on the Baltimore Brew. She has been hired by

Bishop Sutton to assist in managing this crisis within the church. In that capacity, she has been
posting widely on social media about the Cook case, defending Bishop Sutton,
but without indicating that she was being paid by Bishop Sutton to do so.
According to Gouldher husband also working “a diocesan official” has
phoned the media (specifically, Michelle Boorstein of the Washington Post) in
order to have headlines and stories rewritten on behalf of Bishop Sutton. She
claims “human error/laziness” and “nothing nefarious” in the fact that she did
not disclose she was working for Bishop Sutton. Others of us feel differently.
We are also disappointed that Bishop Sutton has claimed not to be communicating
with the press, when in fact he has two people being paid to do so on his
behalf and regularly communicating using various forms of secrecy. The Gospel
and Episcopalians are about openness and honesty. We have a right to expect
this from the leadership.

ReebHerb • 2 days ago

Never heard the term 'Whiskeypalians' used on the West Coast. In fact a TEC church not to far off fired their rector outright when he was drunk on the church wine supple at Nine O'Clock in the Morning. Rumor had it they were pretty okay with the unauthorized (by second wife) pounding out pieces on the organist but a flat out no to the drunkenness.

The term ''iscopalian is of my invention. The 'E' and 'p' are missing. If found please turn in to Bishop Giggles. It is close to midnight for poor ole Dennis Bennett's Nine O'Clock in the Morning church St. Luke's in Ballard. Bp. Rickets has the flames nearly stamped out. Just a little ash left. The Spirit is not welcome in Seattle. Shoo! Go Away!

With the spirit of fairness, let me say, the above church is on the verge of their second interim bishop appointed rector and are looking to appoint a permanent one of their own in the future. Bp. Riddles is a great humanitarian and likes to appoint abused collars from the rescue mission as the interims. The position pays well; $100K+. Any successful candidate will have it super easy. This is not following a strong act. These poor parishioners have heard only four good sermons and eleven okay ones in the last twenty years. All a successful rector will have to do is preach a good ten minute sermon twice on Sunday. The folks will be happy and he can kick back and collect the salary. Heck, you can plagiarize or buy someone else's homily and no one will complain.

The local bishop know affectionately as Gregory the Much Lesser is a class act. He has two passions. The first is to blow sunshine up Schori's robes and the second is a youth emphasis for the diocese. Actually, the seed for the youth emphasis was planted by a heiress, matron, and patron of the church who at age 76 treated herself to a 25 year old Russian husband. Vinny the retired bishop followed suite with a much younger wife that looks better riding around in his Corvette than the old gray haired mare. Youth, youth, youth, but no drunkenness out west especially at Nine O'Clock in the Morning.

***

Paul McCain

GJ - I was at Christian News when the phone calls and faxes were coming in to manage the news at Otten's business. WELS-ELS-LCMS did that all the time. 

District President Al Barry worked out a deal where Otten got material through Paul McCain before the district membership did. People were highly suspicious that Christian News could have the material in print as soon as they saw the "original" in the mail. Paul McCain and Herman Otten told me separately they were working together - top secret, and both of them denied in public--even in writing--that they worked together.

McCain's holy water was barely dry from ordination when he began working as Barry's assistant at the Purple Palace, Paul's reward for managing the media and deceiving the membership and clergy.