Here’s an opossum in the rain. That black planting pot is right at the opening of the spot where he crawls under the shed. He looks unhappy about it and then tears off across the yard.
I think in my earlier post I said the white one was smaller and the brown one was the big one but I had it backwards.
Here they are waddling around the garden together. Are baby possums in the future?
In January, on the weekdays, it’s dark when I leave the house and dark when I get home so I don’t see what’s happening in the yard until the weekend.
I looked out there and saw white fluff in the garden.
I figured it was a poor little deconstructed bird although I was surprised by how white the detritus was. I figured little birds probably had white fluff.
When I finally inspected it, I realized it was fur. It must be opossum.
I didn’t see any other signs of injured opossum so either it was (a) a light brawl, (b) the injured party scuttled off to some other yard, or (c) they were out there making baby possums.
There are two that show up on the trail cam and I will try to post. One has more brown on its fur and the other is smaller and more white. I saw the brown one the other night around 6pm when the motion-light went off.
I don’t know what it was doing but it was wiggling around at the spot where it exits from underneath the shed and I was afraid it was stuck. Obviously I didn’t want to leave it there but also, I wasn’t sure how to help it without risking a bite.
It toddled along eventually.
Bunny is a regular visitor to the yard. I can tell he (they) have been around because there are dozens of clips when I download.
I move the camera to the garden for a week and got a good bunny close up.
This is from the very end of summer but it’s a funny one. There’s one raccoon sniffing around the camera and the other two are on the lookout for … what?
Probably other raccoons.
This is the ice I tipped out of the bucket. It lasted for a long time but it’s gone now.
I missed last week! I kept thinking I could get to it on a weeknight but also I try to stay off the computer when I get home from work.
It seems like just about the time I get started I get interrupted for dinner or else my brain can’t do anymore computer things.
Also I got a new computer which I am still in the process of setting up and adjusting to my ways of working.
I did not update my operating system for years and was still using Catalina (10.15) which was from 2019. My new machine uses OS 15 and has changed a lot. I’m fine with change but every single thing I do requires at least three extra steps and after while I want to jump out the window.
I haven’t had time to dig in and learn the new OS. I’ve said this before but I hope I live long enough for all the tech-bro people to get older and realize how hard it is to completely relearn something every year.
Obviously my Photoshop was outdated, too, and now I have the most up-to-date version of that.
Every app and plug-in is begging me to use AI when I don’t want to. I can compose an email thank you very much. But when I want AI to help me with photoshop it’s still the 1972 version of help. I was kinda pulling my hair out just getting these photos up and cropped.
After a few cold nights the bucket turns into a block of ice. I pulled the ice block out and refilled it but its a block of ice again.
Plus it really needs to be cleaned out and I can’t deal with it right now.
In the last few years I have said that January is my favorite month. It’s kind of embarrassing but I love that there are no holidays. It’s full winter so there are few activities. You don’t have to work in the yard. It’s nice to have a month to sit inside and read books and drink hot chocolate and not have to go anywhere.
I like how this guy is figure skating. The ice is very confusing to these critters.
I had notes for a post and I don’t know what happened to them and now I am a big blank.
I don’t think I wrote about my failed sweet potato pie for xmas dinner. It was edible but it wasn’t very delicious. It tasted like a vegetable side dish that someone poured sugar on and added to a pie crust. Everyone was very polite about it and said things like, “Good Pie” and “C’mon, do you ever make a pie that you think is good?”
Yes, I do. I’d made an amazing apple pie a couple weeks earlier. This was a failed pie.
While discussing with a friend and telling her I couldn’t figure out what I did wrong — she easily figured it out. I used the wrong kind of sweet potatoes. I’ve only made it a handful of times over the last many years and I’m not sure if I knew in the beginning which sweet potatoes to use or I just lucked out.
I made another pie today and it looks a lot better but I won’t be sure until we try it.
I don’t really do any of the year lists anymore or even take the time to think of my favorite [blank] from the year before. But I was thinking of episodes of TV shows that I really enjoyed recently — more than just in the last year.
1. The Bear, Season 2, Episode 4 “Honeydew”
This is the one where Marcus goes to Copenhagen even though he’s concerned about his sick mother. It is so quiet and lovely in the midst of a show with a lot of chaotic episodes. I already loved this character and this made me love him more.
2. The Bear, Season 3, Episode 6 “Napkins”
Like my favorite above, this episode focuses on a more side character Tina. And this is a flashback episode that tells her story and how she ended up part of the Original Beef. Tina starts off, pre-beef, in a really great place and as the episode develops she goes through some terrible disappointment and humiliation and she manages it with so much dignity until she can’t. So much heart in this story.
3. Only Murders in the Building, Season 4, Episode 7 “Valley of the Dolls”
In a series with tons of terrific characters and performances, nothing comes close Charles’ sister Doreen played by Melissa McCarthy. Doreen develops a crush on Oliver and every scene is a hilarious surprise. Even if you don’t watch this show I think you should watch this episode.
4. Severance, Season 1, Episode 9 “The We We Are”
This aired in 2022 but it is a favorite TV episode. Every story thread has a super high stakes thing happening — all at the same time. It is an exhilarating hour of TV.
We need to re-up Apple TV because we cancelled it when we realized how much we were spending on TV. Meanwhile, we also somehow cancelled all the channels I use to watch NCAA gymnastics and now we have to add that stuff back, too. They don’t make it easy for you to save money on TV, do they?
5. I don’t have a fifth episode.
I thought I would think of another one as I worked on my list but no. I have a lot of shows I enjoyed last year but can’t think of a particular episode that is sticking out for me right this second.
There’s a documentary on HBO called Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary.
Trailer: here.
It’s about a style of music from the late 70s, early 80s that has come to be known as Yacht Rock. If you ever listened to Toto, Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins or Christopher Cross — you do not want to miss this. Bob wanted me to watch it and I was really annoyed and ended up loving it and now I’m telling everyone in my peer group to drop everything and check it out.
It’s great nostalgia. It’s super interesting. The musicians are charming onscreen.
One hilarious moment came during a part when they played England Dan & John Ford Coley “I’d Really Love to See You Tonight.”
Bob and I watch TV with closed captions on all the time. They sang the chorus which starts, “I’m not talking about movin’in, And I don’t want to change your life.”
Bob: Stop! Stop and go back. Misheard lyrics.
And I was thinking the same thing.
If you know the song, it doesn’t sound like “I’m not talking about movin’ in” — it sounds something like, “I’m not talking about millennia.”
Does that make sense? Does it have to? It’s a misheard lyric.
This one is a little bit hard to see but the raccoon was hilariously playing with the hose. I was a little worried about the hose when I saw the clip but I did a close inspection and it was fine. It’s a pretty nice hose so either it was built to withstand raccoon teeth or the raccoon wasn’t trying to destroy it.
I had the feeders down over the summer but put them back up in the fall. It’s especially active out there now. More than once I have seen a cat wander through. I think they like to troll the birds. Sometimes they sit under the feeder and relax like little jerks.
The other morning I was sipping my hot chocolate and went to look out over the activity but instead of birds, there was Noah the cat, sitting under the feeder. A little bird stopped to checkout the fly-through feeder and 1-2 pounce! And my little guest was caught. Noah took his prey and scooted back over the fence to his house.
I was very sad. I never saw the cats actually going after the birds so this feather-shed was upsetting. But also: nature, baby.
These are from my Atlanta trip at the beginning of the month.
I can’t remember the last time I was flying cross country and sitting in a window seat and it was daytime and it was clear.
It was glorious. It was an ass-crack of dawn flight and we were flying into the sunrise. It was so beautiful flying over the mountains. And being able to look out of the texture of the landscape. It was magical.
When we deboarded the Captain was standing there and without context I told him: THAT WAS AMAZING!
This picture doesn’t capture it. I had some reason I took this and I don’t remember what it was — something familiar?
(Aside: also during this trip I saw 2 planes passing by what seemed like really, really close for having the whole giant sky available.)
I do remember this. All across the country there were big spreads of these huge white buildings. This is nearing the Atlanta airport. The land of fulfillment centers.
When I was going through security I needed 2 bins but my hands were full and I was juggling electronic devices and a coat and I broke my rule about only taking 1 pair of shoes because we were going to a party and I wanted to look pretty. So I had big shoes.
(Also aside: but the set up was stupid because it was like an assembly line — to the person at the front of the line got to fit their bins in. Then that person left, a new person went, and that person filled their bin and pushed it into the line. Those of us further down were at the mercy of some slow person who left some open space for our bins.)
I threw my laptop in the lower conveyor and thought it would be fine while I got the other stuff settled and of course security is made of people who can’t stop telling you that you’re doing something wrong. Then he starts bugging me about my laptop and I go to grab it but it’s moved down the conveyor belt line.
And the next person in line is some sort of Bhuddist nun. Everyone is completely deferential. Good costume for travel.
I grabbed my laptop bin. Made Mr. Nitpicky happy. Waltzed through and was able to return home.
This is the imp, Arky, crawling on his favorite dog, Clover. Arky is an adorable monster.
I’ve had this sitting on my desktop for a week. I was going to post before Christmas. Then Christmas Eve. Then Christmas Day.
HAHA. I couldn’t get around to it. I still haven’t done my cards, either. If you usually get a card from me — it might still happen.
These are the Christmas ships on the Columbia River.
I have never gone to the local tree lighting. Honestly, I didn’t know we had one. This was something like the 33rd annual.
For part 1 we went to the river to watch for Santa’s arrival.
Look! Santa and Mrs. Claus on the tugboat, or push boat or whatever those are called, on their way to the tree lighting.
It was a lovely night. No rain. Not too cold and not crowded.
I don’t know why I so consistently take terrible pictures.
This part got a little chaotic with grown ass adults elbowing each other out of the way, shrieking, “Santa! Santa!”
From here they got on a fire truck and joined a parade of Christmas cars to make their way to the tree. We didn’t really see this part because we did a different walk to get to the tree. Next year we want to try to see the parade.
The tree lighting area was less fun. It was super crowded and chaotic and the music wasn’t that great. But it was fun to countdown and watch the tree light up.
If the weather is good we’ll be back next year.
