Happy Birds

When I’m missing my garden during the long Minnesota winters, it’s not just the plants, soil and sun I’m longing for, but also the company. In summertime, bees, birds and butterflies stop by for the pollen, for a bath or a sip of water, or maybe to sun themselves on the warm bricks. When a cat or rabbit stops by, that’s even better. (Squirrels, as previously documented, are far less welcome, but I digress.)

Snow reminds me that some of these animals are still around (there were kitty-sized paw prints on the front steps this morning), but I rarely get to see their visits for myself. That’s why I was so intrigued when Pat extolled the joys of a heated birdbath during one of our conversations last winter. Given how difficult it is for birds to find open water this time of year, he explained, they find a birdbath with standing water even more attractive than food.

Onto the Amazon wishlist went a birdbath heater, which Dad gave me for Christmas this year.

I got excited and picked up some suet, as well. (I’d never heard of suet until I moved up North, but it’s easy to see why the high fat content makes it a preferred food source for birds in these cold days.)

I set them both up on the snow-covered patio, right outside the TV room window.

Lo and behold: birds! Even a robin – in January!!

First Snow!

It's falling very softly right now -- and it's expected to stick! November 7 seems early, but maybe it's not (there have certainly been snowy Thanksgivings since I've moved to MN). But I'm not too sorry that I'm headed today to Seattle, where it's a good twenty degrees warmer, for early T-Day.

A Visit from Guitar Man

Two weeks ago, Dad was in town for a conference and tacked on some extra days to hang out with M and me. I got half a day off from work and we had a really nice time -- a great mix of going out and just hanging out.

• We played a little Guitar Hero and got the best BBQ take-out in the state.
• We had a great meal at Chino, did a little MOA shopping, and attempted to go to the MN Zoo to visit Emmet. Too bad I didn't realize how early the zoo was closing in April (we pulled into the parking lot at 3:57 only to see the sign announcing the off-season closing time of 4:00).
• On the one sunny but slightly cool day Dad was here, he was a great sport about sitting outside. M and I were craving some patio time after a long winter and, although I could tell he was shivering a little, Dad hung in there for a good hour.

So, two fun stories to share:

First, a week before he was here (so this was early April), we were chatting on the phone about logistics.

"Bunny [blogger's note: she's a GREAT gardener] said I HAVE to bring the camera and take tons of photos of your garden," Dad said. "She's really excited to see how it looks this year."

I started laughing.

"What?" he asked.

"Well, um, you know we still have snow on the ground, right? Minneapolis got eight inches on Monday."

I could almost hear him slapping his forehead. "That's right!"

"So, you know. Everything's pretty much dead."

He then proceeded to tell me that Bunny had planned a big gardening project for the weekend and I got very, very jealous.

The other funny story is this: When he was here, we (of course) ended up talking about Addie. Mom had recently visited Seattle and told me that Addie knows where all of us live. Evidently, you ask her, "Where's Uncle Phil?" and she'll say, "Alana" (Atlanta). You ask about Uncle Mason and Auntie Laura, and Addie says, "Baby soda." You ask about Aunt Donna (my aunt in Texas), and -- this cracks me up -- Addie responds, "Obama in Hooston."

So I was relating this to my dad and we laughed about the Obama part. I then mentioned that when I saw Addie over Christmas, we had a great time and I could tell that she loved me, but it was clear that she didn’t know my name. (At one point during the holidays, my awesome sister-in-law LSB asked Addie, "Who do you want to go to?" And Addie gave me a huge smile, pointed at me and said, "That lady!") I know that she's little and that she loves me anyway, but given how often she asks about "Unca Masin," I felt a little sad.

As I related this story to Dad and said, "I know it's no big deal, but … you know."

He says, "She doesn't know my name either. Know what she calls me?"

I shook my head.

He gave me a big smile. "Guitar Man."

How cool is that?!? :) Thanks for an awesome visit, Dad!

Spring!

It's been wayyyy too long since I posted here, but work has been getting in the way. (It's been seven weeks since the launch and I'm exhausted, but this migration-specific chaos has to die down soon, right? Right?)

On a much happier note, I think we can finally consider it spring in the Twin Cities. I know -- the calendar says March 21 is spring, but the calendar didn't help a whole lot when we got eight (!!!) inches of snow on April 7.

The bad news is that, although I'm suffering from wannastartgardeningitis, it's much too soon to start working the soil yet. (It's just too damp, so digging or tilling will compact the soil, ruining any drainage properties I improved last year by adding compost or other amendments.)

The good news? The Greengirls (my favorite local gardning blog) say that cool-weather annuals like pansies should do just fine in containers right about now. So I forsee a trip to Bachman's in my future tonight. Which makes everything better. :)

Snow in Baghdad!

Snow has fallen on Baghdad and based on media reports, the response is child-like wonder. Excerpts from Reuters coverage:

BAGHDAD - Snow fell on Baghdad on Friday for the first time in memory, and delighted residents declared it an omen of peace.

"It is the first time we've seen snow in Baghdad," said 60-year-old Hassan Zahar. "We've seen sleet before, but never snow. I looked at the faces of all the people, they were astonished," he said.

"A few minutes ago, I was covered with snowflakes. In my hair, on my shoulders. I invite all the people to enjoy peace, because the snow means peace," he said.

An Iraqi couple enjoys a snowfight in this AFP photo.

According to this Associated Press report, at least one individual is so unfamiliar with snow that he refers to it as "a type of rain." Excerpts from the article:

BAGHDAD - After weathering nearly five years of war, Baghdad residents thought they'd pretty much seen it all. But Friday morning, as muezzins were calling the faithful to prayer, the people here awoke to something certifiably new.

For the first time in memory, snow fell across Baghdad.

Although the white flakes quickly dissolved into gray puddles, they brought an emotion rarely expressed in this desert capital snarled by army checkpoints, divided by concrete walls and ravaged by sectarian killings -- delight.

"For the first time in my life I saw a snow-rain like this falling in Baghdad," said Mohammed Abdul-Hussein, a 63-year-old retiree from the New Baghdad area.

"When I was young, I heard from my father that such rain had fallen in the early '40s on the outskirts of northern Baghdad," Abdul-Hussein said, referring to snow as a type of rain. "But snow falling in Baghdad in such a magnificent scene was beyond my imagination." […]

Some said they'd seen snow only in movies.

Talib Haider, a 19-year-old college student, said "a friend of mine called me at 8 a.m. to wake me up and tell me that the sky is raining snow."

"I rushed quickly to the balcony to see a very beautiful scene," he said. "I tried to film it with my cell phone camera. This scene has really brought me joy. I called my other friends and the morning turned to be a very happy one in my life." […]

For a couple of hours anyway, a city where mortar shells routinely zoom across to the Green Zone became united as one big White Zone. As of late afternoon, there were no reports of violence. The snow showed no favoritism as it fell faintly on neighborhoods Shiite and Sunni alike, and (with apologies to James Joyce) upon all the living and the dead.

While reporters are pointing the finger (accurately, I think) at global warming, and Baghdad residents are talking about signs from God, M has another theory. "Sparklegirl at work?" he asked over e-mail, referring to -- of course -- his belief in my super-powers. :)

So Much Snow!

Snow from the morning of the 22nd, and bunny tracks!

Blowing and drifting snow from an all-day storm caused white-out conditions across the state on the 23rd.

Another five inches on Christmas Day!

More Snow Pics ...

... because Dad seems to be getting a kick out of them. :) This is the view from my office window this morning around 8:30 a.m.

And here's what it looked like around 4:45 p.m. as I was leaving tonight.

December 4 Snow

After digging ourselves out from the ten or so inches we got over the weekend, another five inches arrived yesterday during rush hour. Our AwesomeNeighborsTM said it took them two hours to get home last night -- that's a drive that usually takes about 20 minutes. I'm convinced that the only transportation in the Cities last night was the train, which M and I took home after he worked late and I went to a Pilates session. We overheard people saying that buses were taking an hour to move six blocks. Here are some shots from this morning.


Maybe it's time to bring in the hammock, huh?

But wait, there's more! We're slated to get two more dumps of snow this week: Thursday night and Saturday night. While it will probably complicate driving to various holiday events and parties, it's also wonderful to have snow for December, which hasn't always happened here in recent years.

December 1 Snow

After a couple of "flurry events" that brought falling flakes but no accumulation, December 1 brought us the real thing. Here are a few photos from about 10:00 a.m. Saturday morning, towards the beginning of the snow that fell all day.

Now that the Twin Cities have mostly dug themselves out, we're slated to get another five or so inches today. Should be particularly interesting in that this will be the first real snow scheduled to arrive during a rush hour.

First Snow Already?

We had a wonderful time in Seattle! I took about a million photos, which I'll try to get posted this week. In the meantime, I just had to share (especially with all my elsewhere-based family, several of whom asked me this weekend when we'd get our first snow here) that I'm looking out my 20th floor window at work right now at little tiny snowflakes. Maybe it doesn't really count, because there's no way it's going to stick, but still -- it's snow!

Enjoying the Evenings

At the start of September, the Star Tribune reported that we'll lose one hour and twenty-three minutes of daylight this month. I'll be honest, that makes me a little nervous. It's really disconcerting to think about the long, dark Minnesota winter, no matter how much I love the snow. So we'll try to make the summer last as long as possible by enjoying our favorite room -- the backyard patio -- even in the dark.

Why "Sparklegirl?"

If my dad were writing this posting, he'd begin something like, "The year was 1962." You know you would, Dad! :)

I don't actually remember what the year was, but the name "Sparklegirl" emerged from one of those conversations wherein folks discuss their superhero alter ego. (I'm amazed at how many people I've talked to that have had this exact conversation.) Sparklegirl's super-powers are:

a) The ability to create a magic snow that dissipates conflict. You'd think that, being fairly loud and opinionated, I wouldn't have a major aversion to conflict, but somehow I do. It doesn't prevent me from advocating for things I feel strongly about, but it does make me tend to avoid needlessly argumentative situations, e.g., conversations about politics. (One friend calls me a "political recluse" -- I stay informed and well-read, but I don't like to discuss politics with others.)

So the idea is that superhero Sparklegirl, when she sees an unnecessary (whatever that means) conflict/dispute/argument, could create a sparkly, magic snowfall that eliminates it. As soon as the snow touches you, you stop fighting. But in a good way, like not squabbling with stressed-out family members at the holidays, as opposed to the givingupallhopeoftriumphingoverevil kind of way.

Tangent: Snow (the non-magical kind) sort of has this effect on me, anyway. Maybe it's because I grew up in warm locales, but I get positively giddy during a beautiful snowfall.

2) The ability to fly. This part's important, too, because otherwise how can she get to where the conflict is? Clearly, Sparklegirl has to be able to take her snow on the road to prevent needless disputes or clashes. Plus, how cool would it be to fly?

So at the risk of making myself sound like a great big wuss (it's really not that, I just like it when everyone gets along), that's the background on the whole Sparklegirl name.

Do you have an alter ego with super-powers? If not, you should get one -- they're fun.

Sparklegirl gets a kiss from Pilot at the St. Paul Winter Carnival.