Waiting for rain

Our new yard has been seeded and strawed! We are now waiting for some rain, so the grass will begin to grow. The lawn is too large to water, without draining the well.

We decided to pile the additional 4 TONS of stone, rather than continuing the wall. There was not enough stone to build a wall across the entire back, and we thought that piling would seem more of a natural way to end it. Some trees need to be planted along the outer edge of the wall and then it will be finished.

When we bought this house we knew it could be beautiful and finally we are seeing what we hoped it would become.

Temptation

As you can see, the ducks on the pond are driving Danny crazy! I have no doubt that he is a retriever, because he runs back and forth along the edge of the pond when he sees the ducks. So far he has been good about stopping at the edge or just getting his feet wet, but the look in his eye says soon!





When Danny was chasing the ducks, the deer herd ran by on the far side of the pond. Poor Danny, he didn't know what he should be chasing! I am beginning to think we live in a wildlife refuge. The other night there was a raccoon on top of the bird feeder (I guess deer, raccoons and birds enjoy sunflower seed). Add in the hawks, woodchucks, birds, snakes, singing tree frogs, coyote, and skunk and we have quite the menagerie! And don't even get Jeff started about the bears!

The ducks fascinate me. The male ducks perform "duck fighting". I am not sure if the drakes are fighting over the female or if they are trying to claim dominance of the pond, but the males will attack each other. They flutter just above the pond, diving and chasing each other across the water. I have never seen anything like it. I know that the mallards will only be with us a short time. I will miss them, but will not miss their quacking at 6:00 am when they land on the pond. When 7 ducks land and QUACK,QUACK,QUACK for 15 minutes the entire neighborhood hears them.

Duck Pond

I came home last night to a pond full of Ducks! The first two ducks we named Paddy and Maddy McDuck. They're always together and his green head reminds me of St. Patrick's Day. They've been here on and off for about a week now. I like to think they are the same ducks from last year.

A couple days ago another pair showed up. I tried to come up with more Irish names for them, but settled on Fred and Ethel. Each pair stays to their end of the pond and minds their own business.

And then there's Dupree. I named him after the third wheel from You, Me, and Dupree? He's back and forth between the two couples like the odd-man-out. Paddy and Fred sometimes chase him around, but he doesn't leave.

They're been a regular crowd for the last few days. Maybe it helps that they find a little corn by the edge of the pond every now and then.

Danjaya

Danny's favorite show this year is American Idol. In fact, he is so enamored with one of the contestants that he's trying different hair styles. He's insisted we call him Danjaya from now on...

Connecticut is tops...

...on the list of how long you have to work until "Tax Freedom Day". Ugh.

2 tons to go

The wall is finished - the question is what to do with all the remaining 2 tons of stone ? It is hard to believe that all of this came from our yard.

The topsoil has been delivered, but grading cannot occur until the stone is relocated, either off site or to extend the wall.

Ducks, Dogs & Stone Walls

All of the snow had put a temporary halt to the landscaping. Construction of the wall restarted today and I worried that the ducks would be frightened of all the noise. When I left this morning the mallards were happily floating on the pond and surprisingly they were still there when I returned home from work.

I went out with Danny to take these pictures and when I turned around there he was, head in the pond drinking - if the pond were cleaner, I wouldn't mind but Danny did not seem to care. As I yelled at Danny to stop ("Do you want to get sick?") - he spotted the ducks and a gleam came into his eyes. I got him away from the edge of the pond, but he just sat at the edge of the driveway, staring at the ducks. I do believe that somewhere is Danny's heart, he truly is a bird dog (he is the only Golden I know who goes into a point when he spots birds) and I know it is just a matter or time before he decides to retrieve one of the ducks. Since Danny just got a bath on Saturday, I believe that this will occur sooner rather than later.

I almost feel sorry for Danny, he tries so hard to be good, but the mud, pond and ducks may just be too much of a temptation for him.

Old Friends Returning

The pair of ducks that spent some time at our pond last spring have returned!
It seems that the deer and ducks will have to learn to share this place.

Persephone

Now doubt about out, Persephone is moving in. We've been in the forties for the last couple days and the fifties are on their way. Our poor snow person from a couple days ago is getting beaten down but good.

Spring

Spring has sprung,
The grass has riz,
I wonder where,
The flowers is.

Hawks

The hawks are back! Last summer, we would often see them sitting on our deck or in the trees near the pond. Winter came and we would spot one occasionally, but yesterday and today a pair spent most of the day in the yard. (look closely at the picture, there is one above the other in the tree).
I am not sure if the hawks are here for an easy meal (all the songbirds at the feeders- they did get at least one yesterday) or if all the digging in the back yard has stirred up some field mice.

They are beautiful and I love seeing them soar and dive. When I am outside and hear their shrill cries, I search the trees and there they are - 2 side by side. If only the hawks would show some interest in the woodchuck, my problems would be solved!

I'm dreaming of a white St. Patty's Day?

The massive Noreaster hit Wilton on Friday. After blowing the driveway Friday night, Saturday morning, and finally Saturday afternoon, we finally hit blacktop.

J&M and the girls came up for a visit for J's birthday on Saturday. When the girls found out we had snow, they decided to bring their snow gear and spent some time enjoying themselves in the snow. When I went out to take pictures, I got pummeled with snowballs, so I quickly retreated.

(Middle two are decent stop action photos.)

Heavier equipment

The large excavator arrived today. The old yard is disappearing (thankfully) and the stone wall continues to expand.

Heavy Equipment

The heavy equipment arrived and our yard is now a big mud puddle. You can see the start of the "farmer's wall".

A Good Dog

I started reading Jon Katz a number of years ago when I picked up my Wife's copy of A Dog Year: Twelve Months, Four Dogs, and Me. I was attracted by his adventures with a troubled Border Collie named Devon because we used to have a pretty active Shetland Sheepdog and I could relate. Boy could I relate.

Jon's latest book, A Good Dog: The Story of Orson, Who Changed My Life is the latest continuation of his adventures with Devon (nee Orson) set on on his farm in Upstate New York. But this is not just a collection of stories of life on a farm as The Dogs of Bedlam Farm: An Adventure with Sixteen Sheep, Three Dogs, Two Donkeys, and Me was. Jon delves into his relationship with Orson and how their lives both complement and complicate each other. He has a deep emotional connection with his dogs, but keeps their lives in perspective. I caught myself laughing several times, nodding my head a couple, and grabbing the Kleenex a few.

Orson is Jon's doggie soul mate. His "one". I'm not sure everybody has just one doggie soul mate. I've had four dogs in my life and every one was special in his own way. One was my best friend, one needed me, one loves me for who I am, and one drove me crazy. But they were all good dogs and every one holds a special place in my heart. Just one special dog in your life, no way.

Both Danny and I say four paws up to A Good Dog: The Story of Orson, Who Changed My Life.

(The obligitory photos of Danny boy included. I'm trying to work on my digital pictures in natural lighting situations and here are a few of the better ones.)

Breaking ground

The landscaper has finally started working on the back yard! The first step is a baby step - the silt fence has been installed and the utilities are marked. The heavy equipment should arrive in a few days.

Here is what the yard looks like now - you can see that there was no planning - bushes seem to be planted wherever they could fit and the terracing divides the yard.

Verification

I'm all for anti-spam measures. In fact, I have the word verification turned on for the So What Co-operative. But c'mon, I had to look at this one three times and decided it was W V N S F V Q B. Nope, that's wrong.

Last Snow

With any luck, this will be the last snow of the season. Not like we can call two sub-four-inch and a couple dustings snow. Not like we can call all five weeks a season. Either way, we've had enough of Winter. Here's Danny enjoying the waning snow. When we come in, he rushes up the basement stairs and waits for us at the top. I guess this particular day he got tired of waiting and laid down!

Nemesis

The woodchuck is back! We saw it grabbing leaves and twigs and then it disappeared under the shed. I just hope the shed will not become a woodchuck nursery.

When Danny goes out he constantly sniffs around the shed. I guess the theory that a dog will keep woodchucks away is incorrect. Of course, Danny does not keep the deer away either. I guess I will not be planting petunias (woodchuck candy) this year

Speedy

Lets just say I'm a 411.

Good Deed

Danny and I decided to take advantage of the relatively mild weather and went for a walk in the downtown area Sunday. Downtown Wilton is really a planned mixed use area with apartment complexes, office buildings, and shops meandering along the Norwalk River.

There was a lot of foot traffic today. Some people that we passed wanted to stop and pet Danny, some just smiled, and some crossed the street. Hey, everybody's not a dog person. As we were on one stretch of the sidewalk we approached a 50ish man pushing an 80ish woman in a wheelchair. When we got closer, the woman extended her hand and that was as good as an invitation for Danny.

"I have to take my glove off for this" she said after a couple strokes of his head.

Of course Danny ate it up like a Milk Bone. The fellow and I struck up a conversation and I explained Danny's story. I looked down and the woman was still stroking the dog with her eyes closed, smiling.

"I had one just like him" she said.

We parted ways and the man thanked us for stopping. As we continued on our walk, I wondered how long it was since the lady had her dog. What was his name? Was he really a Golden, or just a friendly dog? Did she rescue him, or was he a Christmas present for her kids that kept her company when they left for school? I know he was loved, and that made me smile.

Rounding the corner for home, I think Danny held his head up a little higher.

Bluebirds are back

I saw my first bluebird today. I have not seen any all winter long, so I hope this is a sign of an early spring.

I have also noticed a lot of hawk activity in the back yard. I wonder if that is due to all the small birds which are visiting the feeders. I just hope the hawks are around when the woodchucks come out of hibernation.

Enchantment

The bathroom has been repainted in Glidden's Enchantment! The window shade is on order and should arrive in a week. Of course, now I need to get some new towels and a picture or two for the walls.

Blue

This is our downstairs bathroom. It is BLUE, DARK blue, GLOSSY dark blue!! Sometimes you wonder what the previous owners were thinking. Every person who has been to our home has mentioned how blue the bathroom is. The only positive point to this color is that no one notices that the ceiling was painted with glossy white trim paint.

After a year of having to look at this every day I can no longer deal with it. We would love to remodel the bathroom but at this time, we will just repaint. I figure anything has to be better than this.

Apologies

Apologies to our RSS and email readers. I added labels to every post and you may have been bombarded with messages after the republishing.

On the positive side, now everything has a label. If you enjoy our wit and wisdom, you can continue reading Wilton Diaries just as before, on the edge of your seat anticipating every post. However, if you want to see all the posts about Danny, click on the "Danny" label at the bottom of one of his posts. If you want to see all the brilliant commentary about life, click on the "Misc" label at the end of an insightful post.

You get the idea.

Danny the snow junky

Danny is from Alabama and we assume that he has not seen much snow. On Valentine's day we had a small storm, more sleet than snow which left about 2 inches on the ground. The first day, Danny walked in the snow and snowballs formed on his paws. Danny stopped, chewed off the snow, took another step, chewed off the snow, etc. I thought that the snow was bothering his paws - instead it turns out Danny is a snow junky.


With the cold weather, the snow is now frozen and the yard is full of snow chunks (from the wind blowing the snow). Danny's favorite thing is to go into the yard and eat the snow chunks. He will do this until you force him inside.


I know he sounds so cute - until it is 10pm at night, the temperature is 18 and the wind is blowing at 20 mph. You put on your coat, hat, gloves and boots and go out with the dog, hoping it will be a quick trip. However, Danny has no interest in anything but eating snow, so you wander in the dark and wonder how many more days until spring arrives.

The great Sears heist of 2007

I've been wanting a roll-away tool box for some time now. It's nice having all your tools in one place when you need them. Getting them put away at the end of a project is a different story, but I digress....

I bought the top of this toolbox a number of years ago because I wanted to graduate from a two drawer box that I got while I was in college. It was enough for most of my hand tools, but as projects grew and time went on, I acquired more and more tools to the point I really filled up the top piece.


I finally made up my mind to get the bottom portion this year and put out the word for Christmas that any and all Sears gift cards would be welcome this year. I want down my local Sears to purchase a bottom chest, which they didn't have in stock and they had to order it. The guy at the counter said it would be in within a week.

I came back a week later, and waited 30 minutes while they tried to locate my tool box to no avail. After talking with the manager, I found out that the original clerk ordered it wrong and they had to re-order it. I wasn't happy, but at least this guy sounded like he knew what he was doing.

So I waited. Two weeks after the second order went through, we got a call from an automated system that said the box was there. Back down to Sears to pickup the goodies. Of course, I had to wait for another 40 minutes until I found out they didn't have it. Again. At this point, I had enough and got my money back.

On a whim, Valerie suggested we to to a Sears Lawn & Garden/Tool store kind of near us. On the way, I decided that I was going to take whatever they had in stock that was even remotely close to my existing box. We looked at their chests and decided on a red one with red drawers. It wasn't exactly what I wanted, but it was close enough. As I went to fetch a sales associate (ie. a 17 year old that didn't know crap) I passed the clearance aisle. And there it was, the eight drawer. The massive eight drawer. For $121. That's right, over 66% off! I verified the price with my sales associate and took it right then and there before they found out it was the wrong price!

Well duh

Looks like I'm on a roll this week.

Once the tax documents start coming in at the end of the year, I stuff them into a folder for later. Then on Presidents Day weekend, I spend two days organizing and plugging in the numbers to TaxCut. I'm usually in a cranky mood all weekend because I look at that big number on line 63 and get very frustrated. As if I couldn't tell you from years past, this article comes out today.

Well, duh.

United Package Smashers

Got this package delivered from UPS yesterday. I couldn't believe the condition it was delivered in. There wasn't one side that wasn't smashed, cut, ripped, or retaped back together. At least it wasn't this bad.

100% Effective Birth Control

Have you ever seen Super Nanny? I wonder if the kids are really that bad or they're acting up for the camera?

Must be getting cold

You know it's getting cold when even the dog puts a thermal shirt on.

Personal Savings Rate

I read with dismay this article on excite.com.

C'mon people, save a little for a rainy day?

I understand you want a better life, but does that better life have to be measured in things. I know I saved some money the last 21 months, so that means somebody else spent 2.4% more than they made last month. The degree of waste astonishes me sometimes.

Do I have to get up?

When the alarm goes off at 5:00 am, even Danny does not want to get up! Given the chance he would happily sleep in the bedroom all day long.