Eagle in the Sweet Gum Tree

There's no news; and I just posted yesterday, but here's today's shot of "our" eagle in the back yard.  It's too bad the sky behind him was almost the same color as his head.

Staying Warm

     While we have had to scrape the ice off the windshield, we have not had the cold temperatures recently that many of our New England friends have had.  Durelle and Cindy even played golf last week.  We have spent thirty years in NH, CO, and AK, so I think we have paid our dues.  We are enjoying living in a place where the hardware stores do not feature a display of snow shovels.  The first picture is of our holly bush in front of the house.  The color isn't great, but it does show that it is loaded with holly berries.  The cedar waxwings haven't found the berries yet.  Snow would have made it a more classic picture, but we can get along without it.  The next two shots were taken today of blue herons on the edge of the retention pond in our back yard.  The grandfather looking beast is a great blue heron.  His neck is not extended, but you can clearly see the shock of feathers that distinguishes him.  The last is a little blue heron according to our field guide.  He's smaller and bluer.
     Things are quiet on the home front, and I guess that is a good thing.  Excitement is not one of our requirements these days. We hope you are keeping warm and are noticing the lengthening days.
    
     

Cloutier Update

     Well, we haven't been going anywhere or doing anything exciting, but I wanted to post something for those folks who, for some demented reason, would like to keep up with the Cloutiers.  The first picture is a closeup of one of the many blossoms on our Christmas cactus.  I have no idea what the Latin name is, but this plant is one of several that have been propagated from one that originally came from my paternal grandmother.  I guess the name came from the habit of flowering in mid-winter, but sometimes it is a Valentine's cactus.  The plant is approaching a century of annual blossoms.  The next was a daytime moon picture framed by our semi-dormant magnolia tree.  And the last is self explanatory.  I could only poke the camera out the door and shoot before this statuesque buck bolted into the woods.
     It has not been a typical South Carolina winter.  I know I won't get any sympathy from my New England readership, but we have set some new record low temperatures.  There was a respite today and Durelle and Cindy played golf.  Cindy had a good day, but still hasn't beaten her mother.  Baxter is doing fine.  Durelle believes he misses Belle.  I think she is imagining things, but who knows?
     Stay warm!

Christmas Season 2010

     The Christmas season has come and gone.  We went from snow flurries the day after Christmas to a 70 degree day for New Years.  We only had Cindy with us for Christmas, but we were joined by Mart (Durelle's brother) and Ann for New Years Eve.  The entre for Christmas was a standing rib with a broccoli casserole.  New Years saw us with baked ham and an old family recipe for potato salad complete with the original bowl.

     The first picture shows Baxter opening a present.  The second is our magnolia tree in a snow flurry.  The third shows that a trace of the snow survived for a few hours in cool spots.  Finally, the story behind Baxter's being curled up under a side table is that fireworks are legal here.  He was as nervous as Michael Vick addressing an ASPCA convention.  The celebrations ended shortly after midnight New Years, but he had a few hours while he really wanted to be somewhere else.

     We wish you all the best possible 2011.

RIP Belle Cloutier

                                       

                                 Belle Cloutier

                                        RIP

                          18Jan1996-25Dec2010

     We have lost Belle.  As I type this, Baxter has his head in my lap.  He'll never be the lovable gentle soul that Belle was, but he tries.  What follows is the email I sent to the Yankee Golden Retriever Rescue League yesterday.

     "Well, once again we have spoiled the holiday season by losing another lovable golden. It was New Year's Day of 2004 that we put down Riley (YGRR #2424) after determining that a brain tumor was causing his seizures. We got Belle (3852) from you five months later. She was euthanized this morning, Christmas day, just three weeks short of her fifteenth birthday. Actually we had taken her to the vet a week ago anticipating putting her down then, but she got a second wind. X-rays and blood tests couldn't find any organ problems or cancer, so we got some pain meds and canned food and took her home. She had been exhibiting severe lethargy, a loss of six pounds in four weeks, lack of mobility and a fist sized (but unattached) growth on her right shoulder that had been there for six months. For a few days she seemed comfortable and would go out in the back yard as needed. She NEVER had an accident inside. We got up Christmas morning to find that the growth had burst and was bleeding. She couldn't eat or get up. I guess all that sleigh chasing last night was just too much. Fortunately, the Charleston area is blessed with a very professional, 24/7 emergency vet service. It was they who had taken care of Riley for us six years ago. So Belle made her last trip in our Jeep. She actually managed to get to her feet with assistance and walked to the car which always excited her.

     Belle was a special lady. She was turned in to YGRR at 108 pounds and with heart worms. Through your excellent care, we inherited a healthy, gentle senior. She was an enthusiastic puppy for all but the last few months of her life. This spring, before we left on one of our five month long motor home trips, she went to the vet for a check-up. Dr. Lerma pronounced her "the healthiest 14 year old golden I've ever seen!" She had a great life highlighted by appearing on page 2 of your 2011 calendar. 
     We thank you again for all you do. We still have Baxter (4552) and can't imagine not having a golden."

The night before the night before Christmas

     Christmas approaches.  It is cold by SC standards.  Nonetheless, Durelle and Cindy played golf yesterday in the seventies...the temperature, not the score.  A low key Christmas is planned.  We will do a prime rib and some traditional fixins, but nothing major and only minimal gifts.  The decorations are up (again minimal), the tree is decorated and the few presents are wrapped.  We are enjoying the season and our good fortune; little else is required.  The bus is at the shop, plugged in and furnace set at 55 degrees.  I didn't trust my "blow out the lines" winterizing when it came to the washer/dryer, dishwasher and ice maker.  The weekend overnight lows are predicted to be in the low 20's.  The two pictures show Belle in front of the fireplace and our Bradford Pear in the back yard.  Belle is on her last legs.  I don't expect she will see her 15th birthday on 18 Jan.  The personality has never changed, but she has trouble moving around.  There have been several vet trips, and we are now dispensing pain meds.
     The back yard picture shows the Bradford pear.  It looks nice in the morning light, and it has many white blossoms in the spring.  This is the time of year when all of us should pause and be grateful for all we have been given.  We wish you all the best possible Christmas.

Ice On The Pond

     This morning the retention pond was frozen over.  I guess if you weren't told, you would assume that this was the normal look of the water surface.  Trust me, it's frozen.  The pond is not small.  I would estimate that it is 200 yards by 75 yards and is deep enough to support enough fish for the neighborhood kids to go after.  It would have been nice to see an ibis or other water fowl standing on the ice, but none would accommodate me, so I guess you'll just have to trust me when I say,"That's ice." 
     Snow is particularly rare here, although we did have a Valentine's Day storm this year (see Cindy's Christmas card).  Normally when the weather gets cold enough to snow here, it is because we are under the influence of an arctic high pressure.  Those conditions are accompanied by clear skies, nighttime radiational cooling and very low, lip-cracking humidity and therefore no snow.
     This is supposed to be the end of the cold spell, but winter hasn't even started yet so we'll see frost again, but probably not in the teens like the past two nights.  We kept water trickling to preclude frozen pipes.