Too much partying before New Years Eve and what the heck is this white stuff!

HOwdee all
Its not yet time for our New Years Eve celebration...and we are all tired and napping...
I guess that happens we you are fifty...or nearly fifty plus...and eat too much and play to much.

Check out my father and the his dog sleeping on him....She is not a small dog.

And what the blinking blazes is this all about! I guess with all our visiting with family we weren't prepared for this darn snowy white stuff, and the darn blowing wind chill.....Yikes!
OK...it is pretty, I grew up in this pretty. I guess, coming from the warmth of North Carolina where we were for the past month.....we are being big babies...and my sister and I are whining about the cold...wondering what the heck we are doing up here in New England...tee hee..

We are going to Sister Loris for New Years party tonight...if we aren't snowed in.

Heading south tomorrow...A quick stop in NYC to have lunch with our daughter...then high tail it south to some warmer weather...Jeff and I will be in Palm Beach area on Sunday!
YIPPEE
We will be on the road tomorrow...
So
To my Bloggy Friends
I wish you all a Happy, Healthy,Prosperous, Wonderful New Year!

Baby its cold outside!

Howdee all,

As a native New Englander I always thought that I would love the winters. I used to adore cross country skiing and other snow activities. Dreamed of a white Christmas......
When we first started full time living in our motor home we carried cross country skis.
We no longer carry our Skis with us.
We found out our motor home doesn't do the best in cold conditions...condensation..bit of ice building up in the corners of the slide rooms....hence the little cartoon i drew of us and our kitties snuggled in bed. Burrrrrrrrrrrr.
I also have found that since we are able to move our home where we want it...that i prefer to go somewhere that is warmer ..somewhere where I could be outside all day if i want and not be uncomfortable.
We don't always choose the warmest places. We love birding in Southern Arizona and it can be chilly in the winters...and yes we have had snow there!
We love to hike and bird and recently bought ourselves a nice Scope for birding..
This year after visiting with family... We will Spend our winter in Florida, birding,hiking and beach combing.
But until then we are in Connecticut until new years day.

So here we are...it is Lovely...BUT
Baby its cold outside!

Christmas Day with the Simmons Clan

HOWdee all,

We have been having a great time in Connecticut visiting with my Family. We drove up from North Carolina in the car...left our nice Homey in North Carolina.

Anyway Jeff, my sister Adele and my fur ball kittie and I are here at my parents home for a few more days before heading south again .
Back to our Homey on wheels...and South for the winter,
Where we will beach comb, bird and have a grand ole time.

Jeff and me

The livingroom gets full when packed with our family.

some computer gaming

from left top row...Mom...me...niece tara...sister Tammy
second row..Sister Lori, Nephews wife Missy
third and bottom row..sister Adele and brothers wife Barbara

Four Sisters...one missing(she is in Montana)
Tammy, Adele, Me, Lori

Skywatch.. Colorado National Monument

Howdee all,

Summer of 2006 ..we spent a bit over a month in the south west portion of Colorado.
One place we visited was Colorado National Monument. Beautiful rock formations and scenery.

And Beautiful Skies.
Go visit the Monument if you can!




Happy Skywatch to you all!

Merry Christmas to all of you in Bloggy land

Skywatch, remembering Cape May Bird Weekend

Howdee all,

I was just thinking of the Cape May shoreline and the Birding weekend that we went to this past October. It was our first time in Cape May. .
We saw many beautiful clouds. Some with bits of blue sky peaking through.

Some dense.


Some with the sun glowing through.


and some with the sun saying goodnight.

We had a great time and will go back again.

Happy Holidays to you all...
click the icon below to enjoy all of the other skywatch posts.

Free Christmas music download at Oprah.com

Howdee All,
Oprah is giving away free Christmas music....for the next 48 hours you can go to her site and download the music..
I just did and am listening to them as we speak.

Click on the Picture above to go and download...

I have been tagged..Six Random Things

Howdee all,

Yessiree I have been tagged...by Alan of Birds n Such blog
Thanks Alan
....So i need to write six random things about myself.
I have been putting this off for a few days now...but what the heck..here goes...

1. I am a finder.
Family members and some friends would tell you that I find things...
I love to find things actually... I love looking for arrowheads, four leaf clovers, heart shaped and otherly shaped rocks, that are interesting, Shells, birds, mushrooms...Where ever I am I just like to look and pick out the unusual...the thing that doesn't seem to belong, but is there. Kinda like wheres waldo.
Needless to say I am kinda like Lucy in the Long, Long trailer...Sometimes I have too many rocks...and cool stuff that I have collected.....good thing I have family members that love the stuff I find...
I also am good at finding birds...
We were in Arizona, Patagonia state park waiting for a group to congregate for a bird walk...people were mulling about, doing some birding while waiting...I spied a Rose throated Becard at one of the RV.s campsites. That was the highlight of the birdie morning... Ok so that could happen to anyone...I suppose...but maybe now you might want to take me bird watching with you...tee hee...
But be warned, I did find a great wooden tree trunk Owl...I had the group leader and a few others STUMPED..for a while anyway...tee hee...

2. I Pick Mushrooms. Yep and eat them too...
and Now my family and some friends trust me and they eat them as well.
When we started Full timing seven years ago...we picked up our Homey in Oregon. We took it to the coast to get used to living in it. (We had no clue about what we were doing...but that is another story...seven years later we are old pros to the lifestyle.)
Anyhoo....while at the coast we noticed several roadside tents with signs .."Mushroom buyers" well I love mushrooms but why were they buying mushrooms..not selling.
Well..... Oregon is a great area for mushrooming in the fall and spring, Commercial pickers go out all day ..pick mushrooms then bring them to the tents and sell their mushrooms. We found it fascinating and decided we needed to learn more...
After many mushroom festivals, mushroom walks and talks.....and Luckily meeting some new Mycological friends we were confident enough to pick certain edible mushrooms.
When in Oregon and other areas...you might find me looking for some of my favorites, Boletus edulus, or Porchini, the chanterelle, hedgehog, Oyster, Lobster, Chicken of the woods, Cauliflower.. I could go on and on..love to pick mushrooms. I do dry and freeze them for future use and to give away.

3. I wear ONLY brown and biege....Yep....only brown and beige.
I might have other colors in a brown or beige shirt... I might have a shirt that has allot of another color...but it always has some brown or beige in it.
And why? do you ask..... Well having a very small closet,(rv closets are tiny)... and a very casual lifestyle, and because I look good in brown,( I think so anyway)......I decided that that is what I would do...
I don't need to think about what goes with what...Everything goes together....Life is easy...Shopping is easy...Just look for brown or beige..walk by everything else...

4. I have a lovely Daughter that I did not give birth to.
This is my second marriage and also my husbands. I never had children, unless you count my fur boys. When Jeff and I started dating, Samarrah was around 7 ....she asked to move in with us when we married....she was around eleven then. So I did my best to be a mother with not much knowledge and training..and I made lots of mistakes.... It wasn't always easy....but we both survived and I love her dearly. She is 30 now and living on her own Brooklyn, NY...and almost done with her Masters in Social work...

5. I come from a family of six.
That's just us kids..we do have two parents....
Two older sisters, Two younger sisters...and a baby brother...ha...hes not such a baby boy anymore but when he was born we were all at least older then 8....and he was our baby boy and we were his mothers...all five of us...Oh yea...my mom was his mother too....tee hee...

6. I Love living in our Motor home. HOMEY you can click here to take a tour
Over eight years ago when my husband suggested the idea...I didn't think that I would like it...such a small space....no fireplace..no jacuzzi tub.....but he showed me a few of the beautiful Motor homes and that was that....as far as the fireplace and jacuzzi...well.... we can have an outdoor fire and go to a few hot springs...
Sooo...
We sold our home put stuff in my sisters big attic, (Thanks Lori and Tillio) and the furniture we decided to keep is being used by different family members.
I never looked back...what a blast we are having. We get to spend quality time when we are with Family and friends, sometimes parked in their driveways... We call ourselves migrant workers..Lately we have been raking allot of leaves in NC...you might find us gardening, painting,organizing and helping with computer issues...or sometime making dents in peoples sofas....(JEFF)
When we are traveling we always find beautiful places to stay..if we don't like it ...we leave......
We meet others who travel like us and sometimes hook up and travel together...
Ok its not always Rosy dosy...
Sometimes the motor home seems to be a bit small and I SUGGEST..that my husband golf...tee hee...
and sometimes I am not tooo Happy about being in TRAFFIC....or passing big Trucks...or going on curvey roads...or when my husband drives to fast or when....tee hee..you get the picture...

(no I don't drive the motor home...I do know how and am Licenced to drive it..)
and sometimes the motor home needs fixin...that means pack up the car...take the cat and out of the Homey till its fixed.
but otherwise, I love it...and will continue living this lifestyle until we are ready for a fixed foundation.

okey doke ...so I did my thing and now I am passing the rules on to you at the bottom of the page here...I will tag you ..soon...
Like I say with all these things...do what you will...dont do it...do it...I dont mind....Your It....

Here are the rules for Six Random Things:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they've been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

1. Adele at Bloggedy blog blog

2. Missy at the Blog of a butterfly and garden freak

3.Ada May at the Amelia Payson House blog

4.Kallen from Kitchen window birder

5. Ali from Unofficial Barak Obama site

6.Geno from Genos blog

Birdie and other Etsy Gifts

Howdee all,
I love Etsy and all the wonderful handcrafted items...
As you know I live in a small Home...and really don't need anything..but I love to look.
And who knows maybe someone I know might get a gift from Etsy.
I just think its fun to see all the beautiful creations.

Etsy Buy Handmade nobbiecat

Whats wrong with this Sparrow?

Howdee all,
I am posting this for



This is my first posting for Bird Photography weekly..I am no photographer by any means..I just use a simple point and shoot thru a homemade digascoping setup.
I was looking for rules on posting..but didn't find any..so I guess I can submit my humble offerings...tee hee...
When first saw this little chipper..we thought that the feathers were being blown by the wind...but the more I looked...something was not right...Is it a tumor, tick?

The below video is for you Dellare, Sorry but I didnt get the bluebirds yet..
The waxwings in your yard on a gloomy day will have to do for now..

Road tripin to Pee Dee wildlife refugee

Howdee all,
Today we went for a Sunday road trip...destination, Pee Dee national wildlife refugee.
I think we took the long way from Carthage...went thru lots of very rural areas...had a nice view from the power lines.
When we did get to Pee Dee...it was still overcast and chilly...thank goodness the back of our Explorer is also a storage area for warm clothing...I put on my down coat, scarf, hiking boots and gloves and pulled out a down vest, scarf and one of Jeff's hats for Adele. Now bundled up we went for a nice walk around Pee Dee and some of waterways...We did a little birding...huge flocks of red winged blackbirds came in as we were leaving.

viney trees

very cool fungus...dont know what kind..similar to turkey tail

where are all the ducks??????????? we only saw a few mallards.

what is this red weed???

I guess I have some research to do....
Check out Adele's blog for her version of road trippin

Pam Croom said...The red weed might be Azolla caroliniana. It is an aquatic fern. It was ubiquitous in east FL, were I use to live, and it turns red in bright sunlight and winter. Your photo reminds me of the Floridian azolla. My favorite common name for it is fairy moss. The individual plants spread out kind of remind me of an elaborate lace collar.

See:
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=AZCA

If the individual plants are more triangular in nature then it is the Azolla pinnata... a nasty invasive.

see: http://www.weedscience.ncsu.edu/aquaticweeds/facts/apfs009-00.pdf

Thanks Pam..for the information

Wordpress VS Blogger

Howdee all,

I am always looking for a way to make blogging easier and more user friendly..for me primarily...and of course for viewers...

I see both platforms used...and others..

I want something easy to use...easy to add widgets, not much html knowledge needed.
I was looking at a few wordpress blogs...One comes to mind
Wrenaissance reflections.
The blog looks very customizable.
If you click on the shared items it takes you to a great reader...

What do you like about what you use?
What advantages does Wordpress have over Blogger and vice versa?

Would I want to go to the other side and choose wordpress and why?
What would I miss from blogger if leave?

A tail of two dogs

I hate that some people don't care about animals!

Here in NC at my sisters home....they have had several dogs and cats dropped off in front of their home. She once saw someone kick a dog out of the car right in front of her house....the dog tried to get back in the car. The car took off...the dog wandered off.

My sister and her husband took a few animals to the nearby shelter....two were euthanized.

My Sister has two dogs and a cat...she doesn't need another pet.
My husband and I travel with one cat and our lifestyle doesn't call for another pet at this time.

So this morning when a small black lab mix puppy shows up in the yard we were not happy.
Why would someone dump off a little puppy?
How can they have an animal for a few months and want to get rid of it? I just don't understand.
Well I could go on and on with my anger....and then this blog would never end.

..so...anyway.


What a sweet little dog. My sisters dogs were barking allot from behind the fenced in yard...it didn't seem to faze this little pup. She wanted in...she wanted human touch , petting and she wanted food.
I wanted her not to go into the road...i wanted her not to wander and starve.

So I fed her. I knew I was going to bring her to the Humane Society...but it was 9 am and they didnt open until 12. I tried putting a collar and leash on her and she bucked like a bronco... she didnt seem to know what it was, must have been kenneled?
She settled down, cowered and ate the rest of her meal,,,I made a small bed outside,covered her with a blanket and she fell asleep for almost two hours...

It was twelve...I wrapped her up and carried her to the car in a blanket...we took her to the Humane Society..hoping against hope that she would find a home. When I had called they told me there was no room at the Inn ,so to speak.but they would worm her give her shots and we could then find another place to bring her...

Did you know that the least adoptable pets are black? My sister told me that.
They told us that at the Humane Society.

We filled out the paperwork....

In the process a gentleman came in to pick up Jake, a small three year old dog he had chosen a few days prior.
I started talking about what happened , how sweet this little puppy was...how calm she was.... he seemed interested.

But he was there to pick up another dog...I think he was conflicted.
He heard the conversation we were having with staff....they had no room...we would have to bring the dog elswhere....black dogs arent as desireable....yes she was sweet...but...

He then said he would take this little black puppy...and not take Jake.
He said he knows the statistics...he knows that black pets don't get adopted often...most likely this little puppy would be euthanized. He wanted to save her. She wasn't the small dog he wanted but...he would take her.
Jake would have a better chance of being adopted.

At that moment a woman came in wanting to see Jake....she knew of him and wanted to see if Jake would get along with her two other rescue dogs she brought with her...
He did.

Wow ..what a wonderful moment.....What wonderful people...

Jake has a new home.



Black, less desirable, puppy has a new home.

We are thrilled

Stormy Skywatch In North Carolina

Howdee all,

We had a few rain storms come thru today. So between storms Jeff and I did a little birding around the yard. Really quite a nice place to bird. The trees were full of Robins and Cedar waxwings. Lots of Holly and other berries for them to munch on. I will post video of waxwings later.

Clearing evening skies


I have to tell a funny skywatch story.....being new to skywatch it was fun to get comments from people I didn't know...
But I thought it was strange when someone made a nice comment about my photo and then signed "I Love SWF"
at first I thought ...ok ...strange....is this a little too much information?
Is this person trying to tell me something?
Then I got another comment by someone else
they loved my photo and then wrote "Happy SWF"
OK weird.....not that I mind ...but I didn't think this was the type of place for this kind of thing..

then it Dawned on me....
SWF did not mean Single White Female.....
LOL

Happy SWF

from a MWF
tee hee
Now go out and watch the skies

Birds and Cat rule around the garden

Howdee all,

Ballie Loves to go for walks when the weather is warm...and the past two days in NC have been nice and toasty. Isn't he a cutie? I only let Ballie out on a leash...so he takes me for a walk...I can sometimes coax him to follow me...but for the most part he is the leader...and when he wants to stop...we stop.
He loves to listen and look.

and that makes me stop and listen...and look...
which is nice...

Many days here in NC I wear PJ's all day...Love to work in the garden in PJ's...and no they are not sexy PJ's....just wonderful flannels.
I also love to walk around in my plastic shoes.....i can wear them with my socks and my slippers on...note the slippers with the little jewel...tee hee..

So I leave you with a Birdie video below...Dellare wanted me to take a bluebird video...because I told her the bluebirds are all over the house and front garden in the morning...but alas I haven't seen them today...so this is going to have to do for now...

Check out the titmouse...he does some acrobatics...cute...

See ya later ...