Monday, December 6, 2010

FLURRIES TODAY, FUN TOMORROW


Twilight is stealing along the river. There's a flush of slamon-pink to the west, casting a warming hue to the snow cover that fell Saturday. It's the first sky color I've seen all day. According to the almanack the sun set an hour ago, though I'll have to take their word on the matter. From my riverbank perspective, today was heavily overcast—a gray day, dimly lit. Even at midday, the wane light barely brightened…and then only by a few degrees. I certainly didn't expect a colorful finale.

Today has also been cold and filled with flurries which often came blowing in horizontally from the northwest. It was 16˚F when I stepped outside a few minutes ago for a long look upstream. A good evening for a hearthfire.

As is always the case, the blowing snow had droves of birds congregating noisily around the feeders. At one point I counted seventeen different species—mostly the usual crowd, though I did have a flicker, a crow, and what I think must have been an orange-varient house finch. I managed a quick shot of this latter bird, when it posed, fluffed up, on the back of my deck rocking chair. Take a look and tell me if I'm wrong.


Tomorrow afternoon I have to go into the hospital for a routine screening colonoscopy—an outpatient procedure that, barring complications, takes a couple of hours. One of the rewards of aging. I'm not exactly looking forward to it…but it's not all that big a deal and can certainly save your life. What I am looking forward to, after a day and a half on a clear liquids diet, is real food. 
——————— 

32 comments:

Jenn Jilks said...

Have fun tomorrow! Had one once, no fun.
The birds are wonderful. Mine aren't getting anywhere near me these days. The feeder is a distance from our new house.

The body count rises and it is my cat. sigh.
A couple of mice a day. My goodness! I'm hoping NOT to get a photo of the wolf and bear, evidence was in the woods. It is an adventure!!!

Grizz………… said...

Jenn…

Thanks for those encouraging words. :-)

No wolf or bear here—just stalking cats, marauding raccoons, and the occasional death-from-above hawk.

George said...

Great photos, Grizz, the one at the top being spectacular! Good luck tomorrow. When these days arrive for me every few years or so, I just try to focus on the gratitude that we now have these routine tests to save us from far more troublesome situations.

Bernie said...

If you are going tomorrow then you are almost finished with the horrible part - preparation for the test - Good luck with the results my friend and don't you have an anniversary coming up soon. Keeping you in my prayers...:-)Hugs

Gail said...

HI GRIZZ-

your pictures and expressed images of the river are so lovely. I SO love gray days, as you know. We had our first snow today - I awoke to a white blanket outside :-) I know you will be busy tonight and tomorrow but when you have a moment please go see my latest post w/pictures of our first snow and some other goodies too. I am impressed by your "no big deal" approach to the colonoscopy. My God - the prep is horrid, well, I think so anyways. Amd I get so nervous the day of that I cry until they finally send me off to that welcomed twilight sleep. I will be praying for all good outcomes Grizz -
Love to you always
Gail
peace and hope for us all

KGMom said...

Oh, THAT test. For years, I resisted. I kept saying things to my doctor such as -- cost/benefit ratio; no family history; etc.
But then my husband dutifully had his first test...and I said, well, I guess me too.
As most people note, the prep is far more onerous than the procedure.
Thoughts for you tomorrow, and enjoy your return to solid food.

Penny said...

Eat well after it is all over.That blue bird is stunning, I always thought here in Oz we had fantastic birds but you are teaching me about other absolutely lovely birds.
Here it is hot and sticky and a severe thunderstorm warning is out. The interesting thing is, will we get it or not, so far we have missed out but we do need more rain.

Grizz………… said...

George…

Yup—the way to look at such tests is always to consider the alternative to early detection…and viewed from that perspective, it's just a slight inconvenience vs. a serious evil.

Grizz………… said...

Bernie…

I think the worst part of this whole deal (but maybe not, who knows?) is that I have to drink my 64 ounces of prep liquid starting at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow. I hate Gatorade at the best of times, don't like sweet juices and such early in the morning, and have no idea how, or if, it's going to go down and stay there.

I do really appreciate your thoughts and prayers. Always. Thank you.

Oh…and you're right, our anniversary comes on the 19th.

Grizz………… said...

Gail…

Hey, I already read your post…first snow, waking Skipp, the two of your holding one another and getting snowed on…and then the letter, too, or was that another post? BTW, your pictures are great.

I'm not nervous about tomorrow, just dread all the stuff and the recovery time and the stuff I have to drink beforehand. However, I sure appreciate your prayers. Thank you.

Grizz………… said...

KGMom…

Yeah, my doctor has been after me to do this for several years. Finally…well, a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do (or woman, if the gender fits.) Knowing that won't make my jug of prep liquid go down any easier, though…

Appreciate the well wishes.Thank you.

Grizz………… said...

Penny…

That blue bird is a blue jay and they are, indeed, strikingly pretty. And quite the characters, too.

It's 12˚F here at the moment, that's -11˚C I believe. Cold enough to freeze a mule's ears, anyway.

Rowan said...

Hope all goes well with the colonoscopy and that it isn't too unpleasant an experience. At least you'll only be there a couple of hours and can then go back home and hopefully be on the receiving end of lots of sympathy and pampering:)
We have similar temps here, it's been getting down to 12F during the night. The poor birds must be suffering badly.

Raph G. Neckmann said...

Definitely a cheeky little self-conscious pose on your rocking chair!

Good luck Grizz, and enjoy your real food afterwards!

Tramp said...

I guess it's no fun watching those birds tucking in when you are on such a restricted diet. Good luck for tomorrow.
...Tramp

Gail said...

HI GRIZZ_

I am quite honored that YOU think my pictures are great. Wow!! I am praying for you today - phew.
Love you always
Gail
peace and hope for us all

Linda at To Behold The Beauty said...

Wonderful captures of both birds, Grizz. I'm jealous.

The Weaver of Grass said...

I know you will be glad when tomorrow is over - then you can get back to your beloved river bank.


Lovely photos as usual Grizz. Take care - and thank you for your get well wishes to me.

Freda said...

All good wishes - you are very matter of fact about it. I love the birds, they are so different to the ones over here in Scotland.

Wanda..... said...

Beautiful Blue Jay and Finch. Hope the test went well. My husband is due his in a few days too.

Kelly said...

...my mom just went through that, and I think next year I get to! Beautiful photo of the Blue Jay, and I do think you have a variant of the House Finch. He must be eating something with orange pigment! His other feathers seem darker as well. He's pretty.

Grizz………… said...

Rowan…

Sorry to be so slow in answering…things went okay yesterday (see next post) but I was pretty beat by the time I got home and ate a bite. I spent the last bit of the afternoon and first of the evening on the couch, and went to bed early.

Still cold here, 14˚F right now, got down to 9˚F (-12˚C) last night. Winter's coming.

Grizz………… said...

Raph…

Cheeky is the word for sure! And puffed out against the cold.

Thank you. Test went okay. I certainly did enjoy my meal afterwards.

Grizz………… said...

Tramp…

Hey, watching the birds eat when I couldn't was bad enough, but I also made breakfast for Myladylove, plus fed Moon the Dog her kibbles. Everybody on the riverbank was chowing down except me…waaaaaaaah!

Appreciated the well wishes , my friend…

Grizz………… said...

Linda…

The blue jay made it easy by flapping close to give me a scolding when I was filling the feeders. I shot the finch through the window while we were having breakfast. (Well, Myladylove and pooch were having breakfast, I was sipping coffee.)

Grizz………… said...

Gail…

Appreciated every single word of prayer, too. Thank you. And, hey, those pix on your post were great—especially that one of Hope in a Box.

Take care of yourself.

Grizz………… said...

Weaver…

Glad you're feeling better, too, and appreciate you writing. We all have our ups and downs. I didn't get a helicopter ride, though.

Hope you've dug out from your snow—but you must be wondering what true winter might bring, this still being officially autumn.

Grizz………… said...

Freda…

For whatever reasons, I just wasn't much worried about the test—though I can be a world-class worrier when I allow myself. But over the years, I've spent a lot of time in hospitals and doctors' offices. I accept this as a part of life. I'm not being matter-of-fact because I don't care, but simply because I trust God and understand that my worrying will not change the outcome.

I'm glad you're enjoying the bird photos. I'm sure we take a lot of our birds for granted…but many are really lovely.

Grizz………… said...

Wanda…

Thank you. Tests went okay—so far. Please tell your husband I wish him the best of luck.

Bet the birds are crowded around your feeders, too, today.

Grizz………… said...

Kelly…

Really, IMHO the test is not as bad as the prep—so just cowboy up (okay, cowgirl) and do it. Then you won't have to do it again for another 5 years.

That variant house finch is much darker than the others. I'm still not 100% on the I.D. but it is definitely orange with a little bit of red. Pretty, too.

Teri and her Stylish Adventure Cats said...

Oh my...I had one 5 years ago and had some kind of panic attack in the middle of the night before the procedure and my hubby calmed me down. It was clear but I am due to have another one and have been putting it off as Mike's not here to comfort me this time...might have to call on a friend to babysit me..

Lots of bird activity at my feeders...

Grizz………… said...

Teri…

By all means, have a friend accompany you who can help calm you down—you need a driver afterwards, anyway. The important thing is to be tested.

After yesterday's snow, my feeders are doing a brisk business, too.