First Daffodils

The first daffodils have began to bloom here in Middle Georgia. Soon, we will be in a sea of yellows, whites, and oranges. These were spotted in my friends Joe and Jane's yard today.

When we lived in Kansas, I was always excited to see the crocus and then later the jonquils and tulips as sure signs that winter was over. While I am not saying that it was always accurate, I do think that this is a good sign for an early spring this year here.

Or at least that is what I am hoping for!

Our last ice storm

The last big ice storm that we had here was in 2005. I have been watching the stories on CNN about the icy conditions in much of the eastern US today. I am just glad that things here aren't bad. Although we go the rain, it was has been relatively mild temperatures for the past few days.

Here is a photo that I snapped of the ice coated dogwood blossoms on the big tree in the backyard in 2005.

For those who might be stuck without power for a few days, I feel your pain.

Evil Thoughts

Have you ever had one of those days where you find yourself being in a very mischievous mood. No matter what I tried to do today at work, I found my mind wandering into the arena of "What can I do to mess with ____'s mind today?"

The blank could be filled in with anybody's name in the office.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Today begins the year of the ox in China! Tonight, I am off with friends for a traditional Spring Festival meal.

My Mandarin is not that good so forgive me , but gōng xǐ fā cái, which means "Congratulations and Prosperity", and here is to wishing you a xīn nián kuài lè, "Happy New Year!".

Best wishes for this and every year!
nián nián yǒu yú

年年有餘 新年快樂

Thinking of Colorado

For the past several years, this is the week that I have joined up with a bunch of folks from the Atlanta area and took off for a week of skiing in Colorado. This year, I just could not make it due to other commitments.

So while I was thinking about it, here is a little photo that I snapped just outside of Breckenridge last year.

I have tons of mountain and skiing photos, but for some reason, this simple little snow picture is more meaningful. Weird!

Old Wagon in the Barn

A poem....

The Squirrel

by Anonymous

Whisky, frisky,
Hippity hop;
Up he goes
To the tree top!

Whirly, twirly,
Round and round,
Down he scampers
To the ground.

Furly, curly
What a tail!
Tall as a feather
Broad as a sail!

Where's his supper?
In the shell,
Snappity, crackity,
Out it fell.

Smart enough to get out the cold? NOPE

This morning, three friends and I spent a few hours planting redbud trees. Yes, it was 20 degrees. And yes, it was a bit brisk with the occasional wind gust. It only took about 3 hours to set out the 60 or so trees along the Hitchiti Trail.

Fortunately, digging all of those holes into the ground generated a lot of body heat and we soon warmed up. We had finished by about noon. I think we are all looking forward to seeing some of these trees in the springtimes to come, over the next several years, as they grace the trail with their early spring blossoms.

Facebook

Well, I finally got around to putting up a Facebook entry. This was done to primarily connect with some folks from my past that I have lost track of; but if any of my regular readers here have a Facebook account, feel free to send me an "add as a friend" request.

Convicted At Last

Here is a shot that Bonnie took of a convict at Charles Towne Landing. He looks quite dangerous in his Piggly Wiggly shirt. On the back of the shirt is says "What happens at the pig, stays at the pig!" Clearly a danger to society.

p.s. Yes, it is me.

Last full day in Charleston

On our last full day in the Charleston area, we got very little accomplished. The rain this morning sort of put a blah feeling on the day. We did go back out to the Angel Tree....see photo of HUGE tree.

We also took a tour of the Hunley Museum...a Civil War era submarine that was recovered. Unfortunately, they do no allow photography in most of it. So the only photo to post here is one of my friend Bonnie showing how difficult it was to squeeze through the manholes on the submarine.

We did try to go on a nature walk, but after driving out to it...we found out that it was on a Naval base, and we did not have any Department of Defense ID's.

So now it is back to camp, to begin packing a few things up. We are going to head back home tomorrow. Hope that the house is still there!

To see more of our adventures in Charleston, scroll down to previous entries.

Fort Sumter, Shorebirds, and a Sunset

We spent the day at Fort Sumter...the site of the first conflict in the American Civil War. While there, I snapped a few bird pics and such. We then went over to the Shem Creek Bar and Grill. Good food, if not a bit slow to arrive. The poor waitress never did get the order quite right, but it was still good.

Not a bad way to spend your birthday (today is mine!).

Corky's Mobile Tent

What is this? Has Corky sank to a new low when it comes to mobile camping?

No, nothing like that. Corky had her tent set up in the primitive area last night, and we used Dave's van to pick the whole thing up and move it to the regular campground this morning. It just looked a little odd to be moving a tent around this way, especially a tent that was fully loaded with gear!

Today, the new arrivals (Corky, Nuhht, and Dave) went over to Charles Towne Landing, and the others (Bonnie, Ron, and me) went to see a huge live oak tree called the Angel Oak. The Angel Oak is over 1,500 years old with a circumference of almost 26 feet!

Unfortunate, most things were closed today due to the holiday. It looks like tomorrow might have us all headed over to Fort Sumter or Fort Moultrie; but that is just a guess.

Happy New Year everyone!