Dan Antion

Easter Monday

“Hmmm, this looks pretty good.”

Please enjoy the gallery. I enjoyed taking the pictures and I had time to write the captions, but that’s it for today.

 

 

 

Were getting some forsythia blossoms, despite the butchering job I did last fall.
Smokey would also prefer to have some leaves for cover.
Because we began a walk one time) at 7:00 am, we now start our walks every day at 7:00 am.
Now at half staff.
WalkerLady beginning her patrol. Maddie sounded the alarm.
Maddie stood up as soon as the Walker Lady began her run. Barking and snorting as loud as you can imagine.”
“Is she following us?” “Maddie, she isn’t anywhere near us.”
In a week or two, this tree will be blocking the sun.
Crows love to secure the highest branches.
I think he’d be more comfortable hiding among the leaves. You can’t tell, but he’s making a lot of noise.
That’s a big bird.
Not sure what Jinx is eating, but it must be better than an orange slice.
♫Ive been working on the railroad.
“Welcome home. Did you bring me anything?”
I keep trying to get an interesting image of these guys.

81 comments

  1. When we moved in here last October we had a huge overgrown forsythia to which I gave a serious pruning before winter set in – I was beginning to think I’d overdone it but have noticed it coming back to life at last – phew! :-)

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    • I don’t think you can kill those things. We periodically have to knock these down close to the ground, as they get thicker and thicker. Running alongside the driveway, they go from gracefully bending over the cars to scratching the pain off. But, I’ve been whacking them for almost 30 years, and they are still coming back.

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  3. Spring has enlivened our area as well. So beautiful. Your photo of the flag at half staff is particularly poignant. God bless us all. Stay well…

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  5. We had forsythia bushes in our back yard when I was growing up. Mom would bring branches in about 2 weeks before Easter to be certain they would be blooming as we put decorated eggs on for an Easter Egg Tree.

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  6. Hi Dan – life is moving on here … just hope the storm stay away and so our blossom is not dissipated … I do love this time of year … the differing greens and timings of plants saying our time has come. Take care – Hilary

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    • We’ve actually tried changing the time of our walk to avoid her. Maddie was ready to go at 7:00 sharp (we have no idea how she know what time it is) but I delayed until 7:15. When we didn’t see her as we turned into the park, I figured we had missed her. Then, when she came out the back door, Maddie just went nuts. She wasn’t pulling on the leash in that photo, she simply stood up on her hind legs and started barking. All the way home, she kept looking behind us.

      Gray skies, rain and wind here, too.

      Take care, Judy. The sun will come out at some point.

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  8. It appears that Jinx and the squirrels in the neighborhood never go hungry.

    Hope you had a happy and peaceful Easter, Dan, despite walker lady. Poor Maddie, if she only knew that most people are okay and willing to give her some love. Give her a pet from me and tell her she’s a good girl.

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    • I will give her that pet, Mary. “Who’s a good girl? Mary says you are…mumble mumble…if only Mary knew about…” It doesn’t seem like anyone around here is going to starve. We have a lot of crows this year. I’m always amazed at how big the adults are. I don’t know what it is about the walker lady. Maybe it’s the walker, maybe it’s evil spirits.

      Easter was good. We ate well, and I spend several hours on the phone last night (hence no writing).

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      • Staying connected on the phone is a good thing right now. The writing can wait.

        We had a HUGE hawk at work in February and March, scouring the neighborhood for dinner, of which I think he’s had more than his share. ;-)

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        • Yeah, the phone calls were a very good thing.

          We have a pair of hawks circling overhead these days. The squirrels set up an alert system with their cackling. They also invaded The Editor’s fire wood racks to have their babies. Maybe that’s to stay out of sight, but they sure did some damage.

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  10. Happy Easter Monday Dan. Great gallery today. The flag at half staff made me tear up. An incredibly sad sign of the times.

    Sorry Maddie had another panic attack because of galloping grandma! Who knows? Grandma is probably having her own panic attack…..”There’s that darn
    attack dog again!”

    I think the bird was saving the orange for dessert!

    Heavy rain and wind is here and it means business! Even with her coat on, Murphy’s head, butt and legs need to be blow dried. She loves it, fortunately.

    attack dog again! “

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    • Shhhhhh, Ginger. Don’t tell Maddie that Murphy gets dried like that. Maddie can’t stand to have a wet head. We were joking last week that we should put a motion-detector hand drier on the garage so the squirrels could dry off on days like this. They end up looking like wet rats.

      I take so many pictures of that flag, I think I have one for every mood. It did look particularly sad as the last bit of fog was burning off.

      We do wonder if the lady goes back and tells her friends how “that dog was out there again.” Of course, if she tells one guy, he’s likely to say, “the red one? I think her name is Maddie. She barks at me but she quiets down when I talk to her.”

      Maybe you’re right about the crow. I was hoping he’d pick up the orange because I thought the contrast would make a great picture. I guess he was more interested in function than form.

      Stay safe, Ginger. Try to stay dry and keep Murphy’s hair dryer on the QT

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  11. Dan, I have no idea what just happened. I started to type in “name” when comment disappeared, reappeared on your site with the text all scrambled! Yep, it’s Monday!
    Ginger

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  12. Maddie–I am so sorry if I jinxed you with WalkerLady. Your dad had not mentioned her in quite a while and I was curious is she was still around. Keep on the alert. Why can’t she change her walking time?! You dad should say something…. :D Have a good week, Dan.

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    • Maddie is certain that woman is out to get us. We changed our time, and we still ran into her. I don’t blame you, Lois, but…

      As for talking to her, Maddie stood up and barked like a crazy dog. I hope she got the message.

      We’re off to a stormy start, here. I hope your week is starting in a better direction.

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  13. Dan, are you ok? Photos. Few details. I’m worried about you, 😉
    Maddie is the regimented one now, isn’t she? I have trouble sleeping past 7:30 as that has been my start time for work for over 30 years. I’m running out of words in these dark times… stay well.

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    • I am fine, Cheryl. I just got tied up in a few conversations last night. I wanted to share these pictures. We have been seeing a ton of crows, lately. I was very happy to get the snaps I got.

      Maddie has this way of adopting something we do one time and making it the new OCD requirement. We went for our walk at 7:00, ONE DAY to beat the unusual heat they were predicting. Now, it’s a thing, and she knows when it’s 7:00.

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    • That she has me on a schedule is precisely the way that should be stated, Mike. I do like the long shadows, but I figured they wouldn’t be available, as I was planning to walk here closer to 8:00 am. I’m glad you liked that.

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  15. I loved the stroll this morning, Dan. I’m with Maddie. You may think that old woman is harmless. Maddie and I know she harbors a vile secret that will be detrimental to us all. Looks like all the animals are caught out in the open. Come on leaves. I know about the 7 AM walk. Lucy got a walk one morning and for the last six years it is the same time every morning. Enjoyed the post.

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    • It won’t be long until the sun is blocked by those trees, but it’s so nice to see it streaming though. Bare trees are one of the things I love about winter. I’m glad when they leaf-out, but I do like them bare against the sky. I guess that’s why I prefer the four seasons.

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      • I love that you find the beauty and joy in each season. I am experiencing 4 season quite differently for the first time ever. It’s awesome, and wondrous.

        Pretty soon those squirrels and birds are also going to be hard to spot! 😀

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        • I was so happy to get the pictures of the crows. You’re right, pretty soon we will hear them but have to have really good ears to figure out where they might be.

          You have so many new things to experience. I’m looking forward to the things you share with us. In addition to the newness to you, I’ve never lived in your part of the country and I haven’t really visited often. It will be nice to experience.

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  22. The weather looks pretty good there. In India, we are already touching the 100 F mark. While most plants would not survive the harsh sunlight, plants like bougainvillea do very well. On my balcony, I’m working on Cuphea Hyssopifolia and Night Blooming Jasmine. Have you ever seen the night blooming jasmine plant in real? I mean experienced it at night. In India, we call it Raat ki Rani (Queen of the Night) because it has this extremely powerful sweet aroma that it releases at night. Its scent can travel upto 500 yards at night. Currently, there are no flowers on my plant. The plant works better when you plant it in the ground, but I’ve use a big size pot for it. If all goes well, it should give me flowers before October. At the moment, my Touch Me Not plant is blooming regularly. You can see the flower pictures on my Instagram.

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    • I have not seen that pant at night. It must be a beautiful experience. I need to get active on Instagram. At the moment, I just don’t feel like I have the time to add another social venue.

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  23. It truly looks like spring in your world! I’m seeing only crocuses so far.

    Your comment about Maddie barking and snorting reminded me of something Theo did last week. He actually snorted at us … a first. I think he was trying to express his irritation with us for ignoring his demands for Third Breakfast, but instead we just burst out laughing 😂

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  26. Maddie reminds me of our dear departed coonhound, Doodle, in sounding the alarm and motivating walks. She toned down her baying at other animals after the age of 10 or 11. David used to walk her in the evenings. The earlier they went, the earlier she wanted to go and would start staring at David at least 30 minutes before walk time. The forsythia looks good. I haven’t seen it here yet.

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    • I still can’t figure out how they know what time it is. We’ve been walking at 7:00 am. We didn’t walk yesterday because it was pouring. Today, she was asleep in a chair. I was reading the paper on the couch. Suddenly, she got down on the floor and came over and put her head on my thigh and moaned – it was 6:59. 10 or 11? Maddie’s only 7 :(

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  27. Focusing on the small stuff in life is where true joy can be found. Finding beauty and training our eyes to see that beauty …. a good way to live life by. I like how you keep trying to get a great composition of the pine cones. I think you did really well with the one you showed. Hope all is well your way. For you not to write is “not” normal. Take care, Dan!

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