Turkeys And Eagles - Truly American Birds

Had a banner day seeing both birds. We headed south on Rt 426 towards camp and when we crossed over French Creek (in the town of French Creek), there was a Bald Eagle. It was sitting in a tree on the right side of the road. With Findley Lake frozen over this past week, I had guessed that the resident bald eagle was hunting along the unfrozen creek. Let's hope there is more than one in our area. They are so exciting to see.

Got to camp, checked the propane supply, and saw about 20 Wild Turkeys walking up hill and along the ridge behind camp. Even heard them talking. This was at about 2pm. We tried to use a turkey call but I suspect we are inept with it.

On the drive back home, saw a huge flock of about 30, on one of the farms that we pass on Rt. 27 outside of Garland PA. The cows looked so cute there, hanging over the fence pensively eyeballing the turkeys. They probably break up the monotony of a day at pasture.

It's always exciting to see wild turkeys and the bald eagle was a real treat today!

Into The New Year Boldly

Had about a foot of snow on Wednesday and seemed to have accumulated more since then. So far this week we've celebrated New Years Eve with friends, visited with my Father in the nursing home in Erie, paid bills for my folks, picked up a furnace repair part and actually fixed the furnace ourselves. The zone valve motor for the first floor had worn out and wouldn't engage regularly. Nothing like waking up to a cold house to get one motivated. Next we need to fix the pellet stove. It's not a good time of year to have both heating units on the fritz. Finished up the venison hamburg soup tonight. Ummmm good ! Rode around the lake about noon. Found contractors working on two of the new houses that are being built. It's reassuring, given the state of the housing market and all the "Henny Penny" predictions that in one small community, we have at least three new houses being built. The weather has been cold (below 20 degrees much of the time) but we are to have a warming trend, possibly up to 40 degrees. Some adventurous weatherman has even suggested we'd see 50 degrees. I think that is overly optimistic but I can deal with it. Read an interesting post on the Internet. Leaving commentary aside, the writer suggested that each town the in the US host a refugee family. That would mean providing shelter, jobs, education as necessary, and other support systems until the family could be self supporting. Just looking at Mina, French Creek, Clymer and Sherman, that could be four families taken in. Every time I think about it, I hear in my mind the chorus version of the poem on the Statue of Liberty "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free". What a wonderful way to share our freedom.

New Color Schemes in Findley Lake

With the sky a solid light gray and the lake a solid off white, the morning ride around the lake today became a six mile ride through the changing landscape of exterior house colors. Up until recently, giving directions for destinations on Shadyside could always be handled by referring to "the pink house". With new owners now readying their lake house, the exterior is being prepared for new siding. What color will it be? A quick survey of the other on-going remodels showed a distinct shift in lake decor. Stronger colors like white and brown (and pink) are being replaced by shades of beige, taupe, and light slate. Sunnyside may follow Shadyside but the jury is still out. The three new houses have yet to be sided. The formerly blue house is currently plywood brown and Tyvek white, probably waiting better working weather.

Today the temperature hovered around 35 degrees, a slow melt. The Shadyside skating rink has a slushy appearance. We still haven't seen it being used but hear that they have a very small Zamboni to smooth the ice. Deer browsed on the uplands along Sunnyside. No sign of the Bald Eagle but it's probably hunting along French Creek where there is open water.

Hope the siding job on Shadyside progresses rapidly. New community members bring new energy and new "color" to our town. Change isn't always comfortable but we'd still be living in caves if we weren't created flexible. It's a good exercise in flexibility to embrace the change, even if it means learning to give new directions.