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Post by Phalon on Feb 19, 2014 7:45:28 GMT -6
That is one helluva large hood ornament. Jersey plates on the car, I'm assuming.
I heard a robin the other day, a sure sign of spring. Normally. There has been a flock of 15 or so robins in the neighborhood all winter; they hang out in Xena Sis' crabapple trees almost every day. Weird that they never migrated, but I was talking last week with a naturalist at one of the nature centers a bit north of here, and he explained one of the reasons why. We had such a high fruit and berry yield last year, that some of the migratory birds missed the signal to leave because there was still plenty to eat. The nature center is keeping track of two flocks of robins, numbering around 50 birds each, that are in a nearby city.
Another migratory bird species has been hanging out at my feeders this winter too; there are five flickers that visit nearly every day.
And what a difference a day makes!!! Temperatures Monday were in the teens and we got over six inches of snow. School was cancelled yesterday...as the temperature rose to above freezing for the first time god-knows-when. The frost line (freezing depth) is so deep this year that four to five communities in the area, one of them a large city, are urging residents to keep their water running at a slow trickle until April 1st to prevent the lines from freezing - a big issue around here lately.
It's supposed to get above freezing today also...although it froze again overnight, and was snowing this morning.
I hope the robins and flickers are staying warm huddled together somewhere...preferably not on the hood of my car. It's unlikely though; it's a sedan, not a coop coupe.
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Post by Mini Mia on Feb 20, 2014 3:15:11 GMT -6
I heard the geese, and watched them heading north. That's a good sign of spring. Haven't noticed any frogs yet.
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Post by Phalon on Feb 24, 2014 8:08:39 GMT -6
Pavement! Our neighborhood streets have been snow-covered for so long I've nearly forgotten they were made of pavement!
Certainly that is a sign....that the road crews have lots of work to do. Potholes so big they could swallow a car for breakfast, and have two more for lunch.
Quite the array of weather last week: lots of snow to start, followed by lots of sun which made slush, then some rain right before the temperatures plummeted, so now we are left with lots of ice on the roads and a couple of feet of frozen slush everywhere else.
Highs in the single digits on tap for this week.
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Post by stepper on Feb 24, 2014 17:55:23 GMT -6
The car seems to be enduring it fairly well, but I wonder how well the owners reacted when they realized their expensive vehicle was subbing as a heating pad.
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Post by stepper on Feb 24, 2014 18:04:10 GMT -6
That's the spirit! Talking about 'highs' in the face of single digits! Don't you worry - that blizzard will be leaving and too soon you'll be fighting the chiggers for what's left of the blueberries.
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Post by Mini Mia on Feb 25, 2014 2:57:08 GMT -6
I really hate when the weather gets back down in the 20s, 30s & 40s after being up in the 50s, 60s ... and one day in the 70s. brrrrrrrr
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Post by Phalon on Feb 26, 2014 5:35:53 GMT -6
I know what you mean, Joxie. Our highs and lows are both lower than yours; the highest we got last week was barely 40, and right now it's 12 degrees and supposed to get colder. The spiking and dropping though, I bet produce the same results: it does wonders for the sinuses.
How's your head feel? Mine has felt like it's splitting in half for over a week now. The bonus of that, of course, is I have an excuse for being scatterbrained.
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Post by Mini Mia on Feb 26, 2014 23:23:10 GMT -6
I've been taking a 24-Hour Allergy pill for a couple of years now, and it helps me a lot. I do get dizzy from time to time. Usually when I roll over on my back in bed, or when I bend over to pick something up off of the floor. But I don't get sinus pain in my head anymore. I do get a very dried out nose though. The last few Winters I've had extremely chapped lips from breathing through my mouth when I'm asleep, and slobbering profusely. I never took the pill at the same time, and I took it during the day. I now take it at night, and I have an alarm on my cell phone go off to remind me to take it at the same time every night. I still get a dry nose, but it isn't as severe as before. And I haven't had chapped lips this Winter.
I'm enjoying not being tortured by my sinuses.
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Post by Phalon on Feb 27, 2014 7:42:30 GMT -6
I take 24-hour Allegra...but usually only daily during spring and fall, and occasionally in-between if I start feeling sinus pressure. It really works well, but if I don't catch it soon enough, and the pressure turns into a sinus headache, then I'm screwed - Allegra does nothing for those d@mned headaches; neither does the typical over-the-counter pain-killers. Blah! I waited too long this time around, and I've been screwed. Interestingly enough, I woke up this morning without the throbbing - not even a twinge. Maybe since the cold seems like it's here to stay for awhile at least, whatever system was causing the pressure is gone.
It's in the single digits now, with high winds and drifting snow. Without the headache, today's excuse for being scatterbrained is school's been cancelled. Again! I swear, it's going to be July before they get out for summer.
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Post by Mini Mia on Feb 28, 2014 6:09:18 GMT -6
My sinuses bother me year round. They're just more bothersome in Spring & Autumn when the weather is high and low. I take an allergy pill every day, all year long. It's a generic WalMart brand.
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Post by Phalon on Mar 1, 2014 9:12:30 GMT -6
Yeah, I have problems year round too. The worst of it is in spring and fall, but there long stretches in summer and winter when I take Allegra. Aside from allergens, a lot of my sinus issues seem to be caused by weather pressure systems - my headaches are more accurate than any forecaster at predicting what's coming.
School wasn't cancelled yesterday, but it was delayed by two hours. Siren mentioned this earlier - it was delayed due to cold. Though the kids didn't have to stand out in -9 degree cold, the dog needed to go out. I felt bad for her - she'd get halfway across the yard, and start lifting her paws off the ground as if they hurt before turning around to come back inside. I let her out three or four times before she finally made it across the yard to go. Thought about putting socks on her feet, but she never would have stood for it. I know they make booties for dogs - I've seen the neighbors' dog wear them. This from Weather-Inappropriate Footwear Wearing Champions - I swear, the whole family was probably wearing flip-flops while their dog was in booties.
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Post by stepper on Mar 1, 2014 23:21:26 GMT -6
This morning was cold and foggy. This afternoon it got up to 80. Tomorrow morning will be in the 80s again but around noon the wind will shift down from the north - gusting in the 30s - and Monday morning? Freezing again. Tuesday, 40s. The weather has us all on a roller coaster.
I believe I have developed an allergy. We have pollen floating around all year but mountain cedar is the worst one and it runs from Dec to mid Feb. For two or three years in a row I've had a tickle in my throat that I can't shake during Mountain cedar season - fortunately I have no other symptoms. Still, the persistent coughing is irritating enough without all the other problems people seem to have with it.
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Post by Mini Mia on Mar 2, 2014 0:33:32 GMT -6
Phalon: Have you ever tried wearing earmuffs? Or something similar over your ears? I hate wearing earmuffs, but that helps greatly. I start wearing them in October/November, depending on how cold it gets in October. And I don't stop wearing them until May 1st.
I know. Sounds crazy. When Mom was a child, her Mom wouldn't allow the kids to go barefoot until May 1st. It didn't matter how hot it got. And it didn't matter how cold May 1st was either. A couple of years ago, it was really hot in April, and the breeze was hot as well. So I took off the earmuffs. I regretted it too. I put them back on until May 1st. I went without them even when it got downright frigid ... and I had no problem. So, I'm sticking with what my Granny somehow knew. The earmuffs stay on until May 1st. Unfortunately, that means I only have about 5 months of freedom from the earmuffs. I really hate them. I'm thinking I'll buy some earplugs this summer and see if they work just as well. (Not the earplugs for sound, but the ones for swimming. I figure they won't block the sound as much. ) I really hope it works, so I can stuff the earmuffs in a drawer and forget about them.
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Post by fallenangel on Mar 2, 2014 17:37:10 GMT -6
Raining here now may turn into freezing rain or sleet. Winter weather warnings .. It's gonna be cold till Tuesday , Wednesday. I just hope the electric stays on.
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Post by stepper on Mar 2, 2014 18:16:05 GMT -6
We don't need freezing rain, but we do need the rain.
So far the weather guessers have guessed correctly. The high today was 80 but we are already down to 37 and the sun is still up. It's a Blue Norther - except that the temps took 4 hours to drop 40+ degrees rather than less than an hour. Still, it has been a dramatic change.
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Post by Phalon on Mar 3, 2014 7:29:17 GMT -6
Is it really March?! How can that possibly be so? It was -5 degrees when I got up this morning; it's climbed to a whopping 4 degrees since. We got a few more inches of snow this weekend, which is not unusual for early March, but under the new snow is still feet of old snow. There's more snow out there now than we had in December, and it's all frozen solid.
I looked again this weekend, as I have many times this winter, but I still could not find one. It seems to me that if it's snowing while the sun is shining, there should be such thing as a snowbow.
It's very possible to develop allergies; many people do. I saw pictures of that mountain cedar pollen in a link you posted. I would think it's impossible for even someone who doesn't have allergies not to be affected by that much pollen or anything else of that amount floating in the air.
Joxie...Joxie? JOXIE!!! (Just making sure you can hear me through those earmuffs.) I've never heard of wearing earmuffs until May 1st, and even tried a drill, which came up unsuccessful. I can't say I'd try it; I don't even wear a hat most of the time during winter unless I'm out for extended periods of time, but there's a reason some of those old folk remedies are still around. It's because they work.
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Post by fallenangel on Mar 3, 2014 17:56:36 GMT -6
Electric stayed on. Got mostly sleet here. Highs in the 20s today.
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Post by Mini Mia on Mar 4, 2014 2:59:05 GMT -6
fallenangel: I still have lights as well. I got a mix: rain, ice, sleet, snow.
Phalon: As far as I know, there's no rule that states earmuffs have to be worn until May 1st. I just got that from my Granny's rule of shoes can't come off until May 1st. I'd take that sucker off sooner if I could get away with it. Apparently I can't. I'll take earmuffs over sinus problems any day.
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Post by Phalon on Mar 4, 2014 7:02:32 GMT -6
The ice and sleet gods said, "Let there be electricity", and there was. Glad you guys didn't lose it. It's snowing here now, and still no sign of a snowbow...which there wouldn't be even if there was such a thing as a snowbow, because there's no sign of the sun this morning. I found out by drilling that I've been facing the wrong way. I'll never see a snowbow because they definitely don't exist, but if I look toward the sun, I might get to see a snow halo. www.yorknewstimes.com/news/snow-halo/article_6604c6a6-386c-5dca-9ca1-923866ba42c2.html
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Post by Phalon on Mar 5, 2014 7:05:33 GMT -6
More snow. Though not a lot overnight, it's still coming down.
Weird thing at the bird feeder yesterday. Both feeders were really busy with the usual customers: lots of finches who are messy eaters, suiting the junco flock who feeds off the ground just fine; there were also chickadees, nuthatches, and a pair of cardinals. Weather permitting (the feeders can go unvisited for long stretches if it's windy or very cold), these are the typical daily visitors. But yesterday there was also either a starling or a blackbird; I couldn't tell which from where I was sitting. Strange, because here both birds are migratory, and usually hang out in flocks. It didn't eat, but just sat perched on the top of the shepherd's hook that the feeder hangs from for a long time, surveying the situation below before flying away.
If it migrated early (which I guess really isn't early except that the weather here is nowhere close to being spring-like), I wonder where are its brethren. Maybe, like the flocks of robins here this winter, it missed its migration calling last fall, though I haven't seen it prior to yesterday.
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Post by stepper on Mar 7, 2014 20:58:22 GMT -6
That's new to me too. I remember wearing earmuffs when I was very young, but never since. I hated them. If I need something, I'll wear a hoodie (first choice) but if it's especially cold and windy, I have a dark blue knited pull down cap that can be adjusted to cover my ears too, and if I'm riding the cycle I have a piece that fits under the helmet and covers everything from the neck up except for the eyes. That works really well on the cycle because the air will cut up under the front edge of the helmet and that freezes my mylohyoid unless it's covered.
Good, ugh, and double ugh! You need some sunshine!
If that is what it takes, I agree, but I believe there has to be a solution other than wearing earmuffs in April.
The squirrels have been making their way into the bird feeder and feasting on the sunflower seeds before making their way down to the base of the tree where they steal the blue jays' peanuts. I add sunflower seeds to the regular bird food because the birds like it so much - and need it too. But the squrrels have been keeping the birds from getting it and now the cardinals don't come around, so I've changed up. The birdfeeder gets only Safflower seeds. I understand that the furry thieves don't like Safflower. I'm still keeping an eye on things but I admit I haven't seen a squirrel for a couple of days. I'm still putting out the peanuts and spread birdseed on the ground which the doves and sparrows like, but I haven't seen a variety of birds. It's the sparrows, doves, on good days 5 blue jays, and an occasional Mr and Mrs cardinal. We have love birds around here and they've been visiting my dental dominatrix daily all winter. I haven't seen even one at my house, but I know they've also been seen just a few blocks from here putting my house between sightings. Maybe one day I'll have some of them too. Surprisingly enough, the dentist doesn't get the swarm of sparrows and doves that I get. Maybe that fits into the lack of love birds here somehow. And I've gone another season with no robins.
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Post by Mini Mia on Mar 8, 2014 2:52:46 GMT -6
I'm all ears. I hate those things with a passion. Any way to get rid of them and not have sinus problems would make my day.
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Post by Phalon on Mar 8, 2014 9:58:53 GMT -6
I did the same a number of years ago, Stepper. After being furious with the squirrels, not just for eating all the sunflower seeds I put out for the birds, but for actually destroying the feeders in the process, I switched to safflower and haven't had a problem since.
That's because they never left here!
Weird Thing of the Day for yesterday: Hubs was hacking away at the mounds of snow-turned-to-ice around our patio. When he pulled snow off the patio roof throughout the winter it's now like the patio is enclosed in a three foot ice-fence. We've had a lot of sunny days this week - a couple of them above freezing - so the fence is starting to melt, and the water starting to collect on the patio. This of course, will eventually make its way into the basement, so by hacking "outlets" through the ice, it drains into the yard instead. The weird thing was, that when he got close to the ground - not down to the ground mind you, which is still frozen solid - he found a few earthworms! In the frozen snow! And they were alive!
HTF is that even possible?!!!
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Post by stepper on Mar 8, 2014 16:18:47 GMT -6
The only thing the muffs could possibly do is keep some of the cold from your ears, or perhaps protect your Eustachian tubes. If the problem is cold weather, then it's most likely related to nerves - but I don't think that's it based on what you said. It sounds more like the Eustachian tubes. You might be able to adequately protect them with something as simple as a small cotton swab in your ears. That will affect your hearing, but then so will earmuffs. Self medicating for extended periods isn’t really a good option. Even over the counter “safe” drugs can have unanticipated effects. If you don’t have a family doctor, please at least talk to a GP for an opinion.
Is that all you put out for them now? The birds are eating every speck of food on the ground, but they are consuming less than half of the Safflower seeds.
Worms - this may sound strange - but since they wouldn't come above ground unless it was unusually warm, I suspect the ones you found were above ground when the freeze hit and it isolated them above ground. They were in a spot protected well enough that they didn't freeze. Searching for a warm spot around your patio - and moisture so they can breathe (they must keep their skin moist for that reason) - they became encased in a small pocket when dripping moisture and cold enclosed them in a cocoon of sorts. Okay - it's a guess because they shouldn't be there. Or perhaps, if they were small and skinny, they were Snowworms, cousins of Earthworms, called Oligochaetes.
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Post by Mini Mia on Mar 9, 2014 1:49:44 GMT -6
I have thought about putting cotton in my ears.
I have sinus problems year round. The 24-hour allergy pill is the only thing that works for me. Otherwise I'd have to take all kinds of sinus meds for sinus pain, sinus infection ... etc. I hate to take meds. And I'll usually wait until I can't take it anymore before taking anything. I was sick and tired of putting up with sinus problems with no season of relief. Until I can find a non-med way of healing my sinus problem, I think I'll stick with the pill. And it was my GP who suggested I take allergy meds. I never associated my sinus problems with allergies, being that they bother me year round, and not certain times of the year.
Some don't like my GP. They think she's a quack.
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Post by stepper on Mar 9, 2014 12:49:36 GMT -6
If what she's telling you is sound, verifiable, and effective, she's not a quack. And I'm of the opinion that snobbery against holistic medicines is unfounded. Yohimbe was around long before the serendipitous discovery of the little blue pill.
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Post by Mini Mia on Mar 10, 2014 2:37:33 GMT -6
I never take meds for bladder infection. If I have fruit, I eat it in high doses, if I don't have fruit, I take vitamin C in high doses. (Drink lots of water too.) It gets rid of bladder infections quite effectively. I'll also drink fruit juices, take cranberry capsules, etc. I'm all for non-med ways for better health. If there's a natural way to keep my sinuses healthy, I'm all for it. Provided it isn't any more time consuming than taking a pill. Although, I do take time out to use my steam inhaler for 5/10 minute once or twice a day when I have a cold or sinus infection. I just don't take the time for minor sinus problems.
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Post by Phalon on Mar 14, 2014 4:49:23 GMT -6
Yes, I use strictly safflower. I found (and since read) that if both safflower and sunflower seeds are offered, the birds will go for the sunflower first, especially if they're black oil sunflower seeds. It's like offering someone meat and potatoes or chocolate cake. Which would you choose? I'd go for the chocolate cake! I'm the same way, Joxie. My doctor prescribed 24 hour Allegra (back before it was an over the counter drug) year-round, but since I don't take medicines unless I absolutely need them, I only take it when my sinuses are bothering me. For me there is a huge difference between the symptoms caused by allergies, and the sinus problems I have other times of the year. With allergies (mostly pollen), I get a runny nose, sneezing, and itchy, watery eyes. My sinus pressure is related to changes in the barometric pressure - no stuffy nose, or watery eyes what-so-ever. And dang, have we had some drastic temperature changes this week! Monday, everyone I spoke with was excited that there were finally patches of grass showing. I should have taken pictures, because it was short-lived. Tuesday, we woke up to this: 6 more inches of freshly-fallen, oh-so-fluffy snow. It was beautiful, so instead of bare ground, I took pictures in the yard of everything covered in white. (I never liked our back door neighbor's rickety, rusted metal fence, it I thought it was particularly pretty covered in snow.) Yesterday morning it was 3 degrees; by noon it was 9 degrees, and the temperatures have steadily climbed since. It's nearly 40 now. I've taken my allergy medication all week.
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Post by Mini Mia on Mar 14, 2014 5:28:34 GMT -6
Beautiful! And I can still see Photobucket images! So glad that nightmare is over.
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Post by stepper on Mar 14, 2014 18:08:37 GMT -6
Nice pics Phalon - they look so nice and cool.
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