Happy New Year

 



New overnight snow for the mountains

Life Is Good!

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2014

  Monday

evening,,,

 so nice this week even our crickets were singing out for Christmas after putting some lights on the tower.

Like a sabre in the wind

 Here's a short video  of our 'singing bird food' about 10 this evening singing Joy To The World. (short version in 'cricket')


The fallowing morning we got the nicest snow fall.
   
This big clumpy mountain snow will be easy to deal with, for Christmas! It's only 35 degrees out/45 inside, so I'll go get some oakwood and make an off grid fire and warm this castle up a little. It's tough living in a castle.

 

Merry Christmas everyone!.                                     

Defense At SkyCastle Update/Our Humble Huntress

Due to the fact that I like the critters,,, it became obvious that I was not the correct person to head up rodent control around here. So I fired myself from the rodent control dept. and installed Zoe instead. Well I have to report that Zoe has done an outstanding job.

GIDDER DONE

"Here mama".
   Zoe killed her first squirrel. 1st kill was a small mouse which she walked around with only the tail sticking out of her mouth and finally swallowed it whole. This 2nd kill is her first squirrel and largest catch with hardly a mark on it and did so quickly and silently, and brought it up to Wretha. She is now celebrated and is the head of SkyCastle Rodent Control. Every Castle should have good working mountain dogs.      AttaGirl   Zoe!


"From hence forth, December Tenth At SkyCastle Shall Be Zoe Day and will be celebrated." 
 

Sometimes you get planted in a perfect place.

HERE YE, HERE YE...

The Baron has been found guilty!


Of  Negligence in the Rodent Control Dept. 
I keep telling myself, 'ya just can't feed 'em and then expect them to leave???      Hello???'
So,,, I'm a guilty baron. I'll have a talk with myself. I'm out foxed by the squirrel and out squirreled by the fox. Ain't it the best? Wait till something big comes up to eat. We do have an Iron Gate Dept. 
But I'm the head of that department too.  I'll just sentence myself to some time locked in the TOWER! Bata-BING!

Coyotes Around The Fence

watchin'

Coyotes kept outside the fence by Casper on a dark night. Video of the night is useless but beware that the audio doesn't give you bad dreams. The stitch you miss could be the one that gets ya. (speaking to myself)

Insect Control Dept.

At SkyCastle defense is top priority. Including insect control. This is a rare look at a Wren Team member, former an ordinary Canyon Wren, elevated to Castle Wren, roosting in the exact center of the lowest level. (It's dark at night where it is roosting and only lit for the picture.)

Castle Wren

Black plastic on center post keeps critters from climbing past.

EARLY MORNING

Casper out early barkin' at the mountain.Seems my camera has as much trouble focusing early as I do. I'm in the flag tower and he's four floors below makin' sure the critters up and down the back yard know we are awake.

 And a little red Canyon Wren letting everyone know that it's time to start again. One wren has been roosting under the house for some weeks. I'll try gettin' a picture soon.
 This past summer a pair of wrens had four broods of babies under the tower (our future small insect control experts!). A brood is about the same as a batch in bird nomenclature as far as I know. But I'm retired!
The video turns out kinda useless but the wren is worth it's weight!

Here's a short early morning look at the east from the flag tower. You can see down onto the steel roof of the lower part of the house. Two sets of solar panels provide our power. No maintenance required and there is a half inch nylon rope below to rotate the assembly and fallow the sun. Also maintenance free.  

Castle Life

 A family of tree lizards playin' in the afternoon sun, 'bout 3:00 pm

A pair got inside

They get around the edge of the windows around 4:00 pm. and stay there overnight. These three managed to get between the screen and window. I opened the pump house door at my neighbors the other day and six of them rained down on me. They were to cold to move much so I put em in a safe place.

Oh No!

11:30 AM.

We will try again this evening!

11 AM

The dogs sat patiently while I ate so I gave them half. It works well for us because I don't get so full that I go to sleep instead of working on my 1000 point health plan. And they guard and defend the property better. Now we'er gonna see if we can make this afternoon better than this morning.This morning may be a hard act to fallow.                                       

                

6 AM

In front looking towards the south east. click to enlarge

  Happy Thanksgiving 
Time to hunt down a turkey and set up the long table!
 

THREE, TWO, ONE...

BOO !   I got all dressed up and went to the internet. 

Halla Ween

My Therapist

As long as we've lived here, we never have had  trick-or-treaters or anyone else come up here near dark. So I sit around on Halloween and watch a good movie or listen to music or work. Below's a couple of music vids  for this post.

Christine's Four Wheel Drive Daddy

Underneath looking out

Living Dead Plants

Fuzzy Mountain Slug
Forget about silicone fakes and people pushing buttons. We live in real HallaWeen World. All year long.