Is that a title or what? Onward!

First the birds... All are 'systems go" here... feeders are clean and full... water is fresh and warm... birds are fat and happy... Just take care of your feeders, and the rest is sanctuary.

What else? Well, New Years has passed and we (Mrs CCA and I) hope you're taking advantage of sales, football etc... But there's something else haunting us -- for want of a better phrase, 'a need for back to the basics'... To that end, we got off to an early start and picked up a used Rubbermaid 'Big Max' shed. Below is the 'foundation' almost complete...

Perhaps, just once and for all, we can get that garage cleaned out!

Next stop... Beer Land! As I've mentioned before, I used to be a pretty fair home brewer... Time to go back to the fundamentals... Commercial beer has become so expensive and so 'bleck' that a reasonable soul has little choice but to brew his (or her) own. Below is my second batch -- a stout. My first was a lager, and the next will be an English bitter... The hobby takes time, practice, a thick skin... But it's like making chowder or bread... Just hang in there...

Here's a particularly cool shot of the very active froth of a primary fermentation... (The smell is wonderful!!!)

And finally there is this -- a simple N guage model train. I've wanted one of these since I was a kid. (I used to build in HO -- 1: 87, whereas N is smaller at 1:160 scale.)

Regardless, the mind boggles at the possibilities... I was thinking of setting up/securing a complete local diorama on a 36" by 72" sheet of plywood, and encasing it in a closeable box suitcase-style. It could be stored on edge and come each December unfolded and plopped upon the dining room table for all to swoon... Just a thought...

I'll be regressing by the feeders...

CapeCodAlan

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Posted by CapeCodAlan at 11:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Happy holidays etc... It's not that I'm anti-Christmas or anything, and I'm certainly aware of the Christmas-bird connection... Jeez, just look at the song 'Twelve Days of Christmas'...

• Partridge in a pear tree
• Two turtle doves
• Three french hens
• Four calling birds
• Six geese a-laying
• Seven swans a-swimming

So that's it, call me a wet blanket. (In full disclosure, I'm also an anti-holiday person in general... To me, New Year's and St. Patrick's seem little more than excuses to get blasted, Easter is a great time to sell those nasty marshmallow peeps that everyone bites the heads off of, and the 4th is that rare night when you can launch bottle rockets at your reluctant neighbor's house and the police will look the other way... And don't even get me started on Halloween!)

My solution to all this is to buy online and skip the mall. If you want, buy something here, or go to Amazon. Whatever...

Come December 25th, I'll probably dim the lights, put on the Carpenter's version of Ave Maria, and pause... 'Till then, I'm going to keep looking for my 'Bah, Humbug!' hat...

By the feeders...

CapeCodAlan

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Posted by CapeCodAlan at 12:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Given the time of the year, I thought I'd do something a little unusual and wander around eBirdseed.com looking for gift ideas... (This blog was never meant to be a running advertisement for the company, but rather a place where backyard birders could meet and exchange ideas of all sorts. Still, eBirdseed itself offers good fodder for a post or two or...)

So, what would I buy that 'special someone' if I had birds on the brain?

• I guess first up would be a feeder, but that would be a function of the birds in the target location and the required feed... Well, it just so happens that WhatBird.com has you covered... Combine that info with our feed charts numbers one and two, and you're well on your way. Just pick the appropriate feeder -- keep in mind that if the recipient is young or infirm, you might want to vacuum seal 'serving size' portions for the birds... Not only does vacuum packing make the seed more manageable, it also preserves it.. The birdseed below (left) is perfect for one of our feeders. (The wild rice on the right was a gift from friends, and is still good after 2 -3 years... need to look up that recipe again...)

  

• Alrighty then... Now that you've got feed and feeder, what else? For sure, you're going to need a place to hang it. No prob... We have a number of mounts. Just remember the 'Five Five Rule' - keep the feeder five feet off the ground and within five feet of some sort of protection from hawks, cats, etc Beyond that, a squirrel baffle is a wonderful thing.
• Finally, a book is a must. I strongly recommend Sibley

By the feeders and not elbowing through the mall...

CapeCodAlan

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Posted by CapeCodAlan at 12:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's time for the latest rage that's sweeping the country - fish decoy carving! (Why do I have this strange feeling I'm weirding you out???)

O.K... Peraps a bit of explanation is in order... Fish decoys are used as whimsical decoration, serious art, and actual "bait". Here's the story of the last part... Imagine yourself in Minnesota or Michigan, and the winter is a monster... You can only stand so much work-time and home-time - you need some fresh (albeit frozen) air... So, you hook up your shack to your snow machine, drag the shelter out on the local lake and take up residence. Nothing left to do but chop a hole in the ice and dangle your decoy in the hopes that a big ol' pike comes along that you can spear... Dinner!

With the explanation out of the way, how does one actually carve/make these quant little oddities? Glad you asked... It really is quite simple...

1. Gather the requsite tools. (A cheap power scroll saw and a dremel go a long way, but a pocket knife, sandpaper, and patience works too.)
2. Get your mitts on some scrap soft wood. Make sure that it's square or rectangular in cross section. A piece about a foot long by 1" by 1" should be fine for starters.
3. Label the front of the block, "body", the side "profile", and the top, "plan". Those are your three views. The body shows the "head on" appearance. The profile is the side view, and the plan is the "top down" looksee.
4. Next comes the tricky/fun part... Use a pencil and draw the three views such that they are all in agreement. It takes a few tries, but it is doable.
5. Carve/sand/grind/rasp away! Release your creature from its cellulose confines.
6. Fins are easy... Just pick up a box of those tin disks carpenters use to hold down shingles and cut them to shape using heavy scissors. Carve a slight groove for them and epoxy home.
7. You paint as you like, fuss with the eyes, hang appropriately, and it's show over... Another fish decoy enters the world.

Ah the craziness of this blog...

CapeCodAlan

P.S. You'd almost think that this post was an informal way to get you to think about carving birds... Naw...

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Posted by CapeCodAlan at 11:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I initially was going to write just a simple post this morning reflecting on the impending 2011, but was interrupted by the following...

Yup... That looks like a "Big Tom" and I'd guess he's in the mood for 'Luv'... (It was kind of embarrassing really... He just stood there all puffed out, and barely moved... Oh Lawd, don't tell me I looked that way when I was younger!)

Alrighty then... Back to 2011... Don't really know what to say... Yeah, we've got some ongoing bird-type projects (like the live streaming cam), but aside from that, hopefully, it will be backyard as usual...

But far beyond the mundane, my gut says that there's something profound and worthy of mention... Something perhaps even ominous that lies in wait for 2011, but I don't know what it is. My hunch is that we all feel it in one way or the other, whether we want to admit it or not. There are just too many Damocles' Swords hanging by a collection of too-ragged threads...

• There's our long-term economy which is in ruins...
• In the shorter time frame, just the $2 trillion in red ink owed by 100 American cities lacks the warm and fuzzy...
• Let's not forget China, Russia, the Korean Peninsula, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Middle East in general. (Don't even think about the African continent...)
• Take your pick:
  • Al-Qaeda
  • Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
  • Home grown terrorists
  • ???
• No doubt there will be hundreds more of these types of senseless acts of slaughter
• Will the murder of children never end?

And so it goes... I'm sorry I'm such a buzz kill, but someone has to say it... I don't know of a single soul who doesn't feel that the world is coming to a boil. Is 2011 the year? Small wonder we feed the birds...

See you by the feeders,

CapeCodAlan

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Posted by CapeCodAlan at 6:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, Merry Christmas to you all! (I know that that salutation may not be politically correct for some, but tough!) Here's the great Nat King Cole... (Did you know that he was an exceptional pianist before he became a vocalist? On the keyboard, Nathanial Adams Coles was comfortable with both jazz and classical music.)

Onward...

As I mentioned in the last post, the trick in getting the new cam outdoors is to keep it dry and warm/cool. Here's what I've got so far...

No, the main shelter is not a Quonset hut, but instead a mailbox. (And no, we do not receive our snail mail in the mailbox on our deck - that one is reserved for small gardening tools.) Anywho, I hope the drawing speaks for itself, but the idea is to bore two holes in a standard mailbox - one at the end which will be sealed by glass for the cam, and the other in the bottom that will allow a jar-mounted light bulb/fan to keep the thing warm/cool. I'm still mulling over the wiring and mounting details, though those don't worry me terribly... The other option is to simply buy an outdoor security camera housing; that too would bring the project in on budget. Hmmm... For a sneak peek of the indoors experimental version, go here to see the live streaming video in action. (Sorry about the commercials - understandably, UStream has to find a way to make money.)

Lastly, there comes those buzz kill turkeys... Jeez Louise, just when you have the backyard just a little tamed, the turkeys discover how to perch on top of the feeder and raid it to oblivion...

Geez... I wonder what's for Christmas dinner???

See you by the feeders,

CapeCodAlan

P.S. the "Word Search Contest" is now closed... Harry, we'll think of something... More on that later...

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Posted by CapeCodAlan at 2:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Once again, we've got a lot to cover, so let's get busy...

First up is my Christmas present to you... What follows is an absolutely breathtaking rendition of Ave Maria (I believe this is the Verdi version) by the late Karen Carpenter and her brother Richard.

There's a funny/sad story as to how I happened upon the Carpenters' music... About a year ago I was rummaging through YouTube looking for my demigoddess of music, Ella Fitzgerald, and found a video of her singing with, of all people, Karen Carpenter. "Oh boy!" I thought... "Ella is going to rip that puff piece Karen to shreds..." Not so much. I have never heard a better duet, and never heard Ella in finer form. That brought me to the Ave Maria piece above. If you care at all for superb Christmas music, buy the Carpenters "Christmas Collection" - this really is a remarkable accomplishment, and Karen and Richard truly were/are stunning musical talents. (As extraordinary as Karen Carpenter was as a vocalist, she might well have been a better drummer.)

Now, about that hutch... Well, here she is in all her unfinished glory...

Obviously, the photo doesn't do it justice, but it really is quite nice... The stained glass is hand-cut... The drawers are dovetailed and epoxied together. The doors are all through mortise and tenon... Think of her as an Artisan Style/Shaker work in progress... (Speaking of a funny/sad story, when we were assembling it, the top became "gravitationally challenged" and plunged to the floor taking the bookcase and me with it. I suffered the worst damage but can still type, so no harm no foul. Onward...)

Now here's a teaser... The new streaming video camera is up, and you can't see it (Naw naw, na naw naw!) Let me work out the hinks, and we'll be good to go... At least expect the respectable. (Ultimately, the trick is going to be keeping the cam warm/cool/dry in the great outdoors... Oh goody!)

And with that, Merry Christmas and as always, we'll see you by the feeders,

CapeCodAlan

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Posted by CapeCodAlan at 11:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Well, a heartfelt and Happy Thanksgiving to you! (Yeah, the rest of this post is going right downhill from here.)

Did I ever mention that I don't like birthdays or holidays? Oh, there's nothing like a little time off, and yes, we should be thankful for things and acknowledge loved ones. That's fine. But that doesn't forgive the orgy of food, football, or excessive drink that accompanies holidays like Thanksgiving. Be honest... of the millions of Americans out there today stuffed to the gills, buzzed to the nines, and screaming at their juiced jocks on TeeVee, how many are inwardly thinking, "Geez, I'm sure thankful for Aunt Ezmeralda!" Exactly...

{O.k., so I'm of bad humor. (Welcome to my world.) My birthday was a few days ago, and on a whim, Mrs. CCA suggested that I check the expiration date on my driver's license.

Surprise!

After a joyous experience at the DMV (and a lousy eye test that even a hawk couldn't pass), I am legal once again... Grumble... As "Fed Ex Carl" would say, "But I digress." Back to the holidays...}

I don't know... It just seems that that old saw about the superficiality of the holidays is ringing all too true. (Though if you're reading this, odds are that you're into nature and have a clue.) You know what? If I were King of America for a day - this day - I'd send out an immediate edict ordering all to stop gorging, turn off the TeeVee, sober up, and think about what's most important to them for just an hour - just an hour of quiet somber thought and thankfulness.

But for the most part, that's not going to happen, and most of us know it. There will be the "light" version of the lip service, and then off to the debauchery... As I was saying, "Bah Humbug!" (And why isn't the DMV open 24 hrs and serving drinks?)

See you by the feeders,

CapeCodAlan

There's a contest just a waiting with no strings attached...

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Posted by CapeCodAlan at 1:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

First of all, Happy Day Before Easter!

Secondly, please keep in mind the flooding in the Northeast. Lots of folks have been flooded out and could use a hand or at least a good thought or two... (You can contact the Red Cross here.)

Alrighty then, take a gander at the photo below...

That may not look like much (it's just a screen shot from our web cam), but it sure beats snow! Ahhh... Spring... Temps in the 60s; warm-weather projects ahead (maybe another boat!); cleaning the feeders and getting ready for the Hummingbirds, which clearly are making their way north at a very rapid rate!

So get prepared! Once the hummingbirds arrive, the orioles won't be far behind; next thing you know, all your songbirds will be nesting and raising young 'uns. Ain't Spring grand?

See you by the feeders,

CapeCodAlan

Post script: we're thinking about adding some cool new camera activities--keep watching this space for updates!

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Posted by CapeCodAlan at 10:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Happy Holidays!

Ahhh... Nothing says "Season Greetings" like a cardinal with a snowy background. How timely... But alas, the snow is melting. (Breaks my heart... No more back-breaking shoveling for the foreseeable future.)

Onward...

The shot below reflects a bunch...

First off, note them two bags of red ecstasy. That's ten pounds of crawfish. (Count 'em, ten pounds of Cajun bliss... Call them "mudbugs", "crawdads", "crayfish", "yabbies", or whatever.) But the fact remains that that image holds the best Christmas present I ever received - ten glorious pounds of the finest eating humanity has ever known. I can't even begin to imagine how I'm going to boil them. When done right, a bowl full of mudbugs and a near-frozen beer will plop a soul smack dab in heaven for at least an hour. And there are months worth of bowls there... Oh, the mind boggles.

Beyond the rapturous culinary bacchanalia to be, note also the camera on the tripod. That's right, it's...

It's back... Once again, Richard at Birdhouse Spy Cam came through with a new test cam. (Richard... I'm working on a review, and you'll be seeing that shortly.) OK, OK, OK... The streaming cam is indoors right now and it ain't perfect and it certainly ain't in focus, but it's plenty good for turkey watching and backyard night fishing. Don't worry, it will get better. (BTW, if you're not BNF'in, you're missing out!)

One final observation about the photograph above... Ya see how that cable magically appears up from the counter? Welll... That wasn't magic. That was the result of a little Christmas Eve construction/destruction in which Mrs.CCA and I bore a hole down through her kitchen alter, down through the bottom of cabinets, and down through the floor and sub-floor. Just think of it all as love in crustaceans and sawdust.

See you by the feeders,

CapeCodAlan

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Posted by CapeCodAlan at 3:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Happy holidays all. Tis the season for gathering and giving thanks for a lot of things... No, wait... Just wait... Look... I'll be honest. I've got a number of friends who are hard up against it. Tough stuff... Really tough stuff. Health issues... Job issues... Entire career, businesses, and long-term family security issues. I'd be a hypocrite to smarm "Happy Holidays" and then skip down "Happy Lane" wearing my rose-colored glasses... About the best I can say is take care and thoughts and prayers are with you.

Onward...

Welllll... The never-ending saga of the eBirdseed cam rolls on. Last time you tuned in, the streaming video was log-jammed because of a busted wireless network. No more...

That's right, I bored a hole down through the kitchen floor, and hard-wired the sucker right into the network. Hades hath no fury like an engineer/amateur boatbuilder scorned. (Note the other cable coming up through the white glob. That's the video from the outside... Reminder to self - don't epoxy a cable in place unless you really, really have no intention of removing it later.) Anywho, right now the network is fine, and only the cam itself remains "balkative". Not to worry... I'll get the whole shebang working again properly, or my name isn't Nathan Arizona! In the mean time, my $.02 concerning home networks - hard wire the puppies. Over umpteen years, I've burnt through three wireless routers, suffered countless hours of network down time, and in general have come to understand the wisdom of my old IT gurus - hard-wire.

There's got to be a bird around here somewhere! Arghhh!

Ah... That's better... Just a couple of finches. (Gold and House?) Ommm...

See you by the feeders,

CapeCodAlan

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Posted by CapeCodAlan at 9:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From July 1 - July 3, 1863, the Battle of Gettysburg raged. Casualties were appalling on both sides, with over 7,000 dead at the end of it. It seems appropriate on this Independence Day, as we celebrate our freedom, to recall the the price that was paid then, and continues to be paid today, so that we may continue to enjoy the blessings of liberty in this country

Perhaps the best way to remember the battle is to repeat the words of President Lincoln who commemorated it some months later with words that should be familiar to us all:

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate...we can not consecrate...we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us--that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion--that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain--that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom--and that government: of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Enjoy your independence.

CapeCodAlan

Posted by CapeCodAlan at 11:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)