it turned out delicious, that Alt style i made two weeks ago. Malty, red in color (my favorite color of anything is red) and very very quaffable.
14.2.09
Being Out There
GBBC was pretty much all i did today, and for a long time all i was able to view were the regulars... I guess i had hoped something exotic might drop in, a brown pelican or something swoops in for some millet. No of course not. Just juncos and chickadees and the like. Later on at their second feeding i saw the american goldfinch stop in, and the hummingbird no one has seen for 4 weeks was at the feeder for a moment. A pair of golden crowned sparrows, and two pairs of house finches were the only other variety from the morning feeding.
So we changed our point of view.
We got in the car and drove to Battle Ground Lake State Park up the road in Washington. It was busy with families fishing in the picturesque lake, a couple of boats putt-putting around. It was quiet, it was quick to get to, and it had no birds.
My wonderful wife and my two young but growing boys and I took a trail around the lake, maybe a little over a mile. One of our greatest pleasures is walking in the wild, and we are getting our kids' boots muddy whenever we can all get moving in the same direction-to the woods.
It was a beautiful walk, great fun for all of us, but devoid of any birds at all save for the mallards on the lake and the poor dead cormorant we came across on the trail. We came across a dozen people fishing, we climbed over rocks and roots and looked and listened... it was a really nice walk.
On the sunny side of the lake we saw some common mergansers and some living cormorants. After my wife and oldest son ran from my youngest and me down the trail in search of quieter adventure, the pair of us made our way slowly and rewardingly down the trail. A 'jar' of pygmy nuthatches had us diving for cover as these speedy little grey bullets came at us chest high. Really cool for us both.
Another hundred yards or more we heard an irregular thumping coming from the hill above us. I thought it was just a camper setting up a tent and ignored it for a minute. I listened for any bird call and heard nothing. Nothing but that thump getting louder. I searched the tall trees for a second and was thrilled to see a female pileated woodpecker. The largest woodpecker in North America. I had always wanted to see this bird, it was very big, very impressive in its hammering and throwing bark out of its hole, and just really a gorgeous bird. I only wish i had had the camera.
The last bird we came across was a tiny, curious winter wren. I have a pair of bewicks wrens in the backyard, and this was half their size.
Archie and i finished our walk, caught up with the other half of our family and we played on the play structure there. We scoped out the campground in search of future camping possibilities, then we got in the car and drove home. Along the way I counted half a dozen red tailed hawks, some perched, one in flight.
I realize its not "backyard" bird counting, but we had a great time of it, our family had a very nice little trip to a nearby woodsy destination and i got to see an exotic bird after all.
So we changed our point of view.
We got in the car and drove to Battle Ground Lake State Park up the road in Washington. It was busy with families fishing in the picturesque lake, a couple of boats putt-putting around. It was quiet, it was quick to get to, and it had no birds.
My wonderful wife and my two young but growing boys and I took a trail around the lake, maybe a little over a mile. One of our greatest pleasures is walking in the wild, and we are getting our kids' boots muddy whenever we can all get moving in the same direction-to the woods.
It was a beautiful walk, great fun for all of us, but devoid of any birds at all save for the mallards on the lake and the poor dead cormorant we came across on the trail. We came across a dozen people fishing, we climbed over rocks and roots and looked and listened... it was a really nice walk.
On the sunny side of the lake we saw some common mergansers and some living cormorants. After my wife and oldest son ran from my youngest and me down the trail in search of quieter adventure, the pair of us made our way slowly and rewardingly down the trail. A 'jar' of pygmy nuthatches had us diving for cover as these speedy little grey bullets came at us chest high. Really cool for us both.
Another hundred yards or more we heard an irregular thumping coming from the hill above us. I thought it was just a camper setting up a tent and ignored it for a minute. I listened for any bird call and heard nothing. Nothing but that thump getting louder. I searched the tall trees for a second and was thrilled to see a female pileated woodpecker. The largest woodpecker in North America. I had always wanted to see this bird, it was very big, very impressive in its hammering and throwing bark out of its hole, and just really a gorgeous bird. I only wish i had had the camera.
The last bird we came across was a tiny, curious winter wren. I have a pair of bewicks wrens in the backyard, and this was half their size.
Archie and i finished our walk, caught up with the other half of our family and we played on the play structure there. We scoped out the campground in search of future camping possibilities, then we got in the car and drove home. Along the way I counted half a dozen red tailed hawks, some perched, one in flight.
I realize its not "backyard" bird counting, but we had a great time of it, our family had a very nice little trip to a nearby woodsy destination and i got to see an exotic bird after all.
backyard bird count
even if your interest is small, or mini-obsessive like mine, find 15 minutes to relax in your yard and take notice of the birds there. if you dont submit your results to the GBBC website, you've at the very least spent 15 minutes relaxing! if you do want to log your viewing, go to their website and follow the instructions there. http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/
Have fun!
Have fun!
9.2.09
BMW
Let me take you back to 1968, February. car # 286 off of the line. the 287th model 2002 ever built. I am a proud owner once more. I bought this car in 1991 and drove it regularly for 2 years until i went to Russia for 4 months, so i sold it to my sister who needed a car. To Destroy. She then gave it up to my mom. To Ignore. And ignore she did, with a little Destroy tossed in for good measure. I stayed out of it, i was driving a 1975 2002 for a few years so i figured they could do what they wanted. Deep down i did feel bad. It was a precious car to me, that '68.
It has been parked in a coastal town for the past 5 years, mostly under cover, though the engine bonnet gets some rain and droppings from the myrtle tree nearby. Surprisingly, there is little other to distract from its inner beauty. the interior needs some love, though the headliner is in great shape! It still has that giant steering wheel, those awful 318i seats i put in it thinking they might be more comfortable, and the gear shift still wobbles.
the windows are in good shape, but the window gaskets need replacing. The biggest deal i need to tackle is the brakes. it needs new ones all around, as well as the hydraulic thingy under the lid. master cylinder, thats the word. i need to replace it.
And then, occasionally, you may see me with my elbow hanging out the window of a shiny blue, tiny, zippy, and all around fun to drive, old car.
8.2.09
ghost bird
i had a sparrow taking a bath so i grabbed my crappy camera and this is what i got. Ghost Bird!
Bird Bonanza
Alright so i don't have a decent camera to take pictures of the new birds in my backyard so you will have to trust me...
I built a new tray feeder for the other side of the yard, stocked with black oil sunflower seeds, in hopes of drawing new visitors to the yard. It is about 7 feet off of the ground and very near some large trees. it is on the opposite side of the yard from the other feeders and i think its location brought some attention. Not only have i got the ever-present dozen dark-eyed juncos, the handful of house sparrows and song sparrows, bushtits, those darned starlings, a bewick's wren, black capped chickadees, and chestnut backed chickadees, western scrub and stellars jays, now i have more frequent visits from our red-breasted nuthatch, a townshends warbler has been visiting, a house finch was seen yesterday, and a winter-colored american goldfinch pair was eating from the nyjer sack yesterday morning.
My wife and kids have caught on to backyard bird watching too. It is often they who sight a new bird first. my wife told me on friday that she was in the side yard near the tray feeder and there were swarms and swarms of birds out there whooshing past her, and she mentioned she saw some birds with orange on them. i assume she meant the color. I haven't seen any orange colored birds yet, but i am keeping my eyes open. The kids, Duncan 6 1/2 and Archie, 3 1/2, have spotted flickers in the yard, duncan spotted the downy woodpecker on the pine tree during the december snows, and archie caught first sight of the goldfinches yesterday on the nyjer sack.
Just as i was wrapping this up, i spotted a starling on the suet feeder and i picked up the binoculars to get a close up view of this pretty though pesty bird, when a male red shafted northern flicker jumped on the feeder as well.
I built a new tray feeder for the other side of the yard, stocked with black oil sunflower seeds, in hopes of drawing new visitors to the yard. It is about 7 feet off of the ground and very near some large trees. it is on the opposite side of the yard from the other feeders and i think its location brought some attention. Not only have i got the ever-present dozen dark-eyed juncos, the handful of house sparrows and song sparrows, bushtits, those darned starlings, a bewick's wren, black capped chickadees, and chestnut backed chickadees, western scrub and stellars jays, now i have more frequent visits from our red-breasted nuthatch, a townshends warbler has been visiting, a house finch was seen yesterday, and a winter-colored american goldfinch pair was eating from the nyjer sack yesterday morning.
My wife and kids have caught on to backyard bird watching too. It is often they who sight a new bird first. my wife told me on friday that she was in the side yard near the tray feeder and there were swarms and swarms of birds out there whooshing past her, and she mentioned she saw some birds with orange on them. i assume she meant the color. I haven't seen any orange colored birds yet, but i am keeping my eyes open. The kids, Duncan 6 1/2 and Archie, 3 1/2, have spotted flickers in the yard, duncan spotted the downy woodpecker on the pine tree during the december snows, and archie caught first sight of the goldfinches yesterday on the nyjer sack.
Just as i was wrapping this up, i spotted a starling on the suet feeder and i picked up the binoculars to get a close up view of this pretty though pesty bird, when a male red shafted northern flicker jumped on the feeder as well.
1.2.09
Brauerei Backyard
today i am brewing Alt, a reddish-brown malty style brewed in northern Germany. I've brewed several german-style beers in the past, and i have done an Alt before, but i thought that with further experience and skill i might make a better one than the first. However...
I have been plagued by mashing problems today. The hot water went in just fine, and mixed up nicely with the grain, but that is where the easy stopped and the pain in the rear began. it seems that i made a connection in the mash tun in error, laying the tubing atop the perforated drain instead of beneath it, and during a stir, the tubing came disconnected. I had to pull up the perf-drain and reconnect, but while i did that the grains fell beneath the perf-drain and now i would not get all the yummy wort out. The temperature would not not not hold at 148 today, i had to constantly heat it with my heat-wand, a big pain. Then, while sparging, the whole darn perf-drain fell apart, causing lots of large lumps of grains to fall into my collection tub, pre-boil. Long story short, i had to abort the sparge, dump the entire contents of the mash tun into a bucket and start the sparge again, which was a huge-mungous pain. I cant predict how this beer is going to turn out now, but now things are back on line and going fine, I'm hoping to be able to collect 9 gallons of wort for boiling. Normally i would get a pretty clear wort out of my mash tun, today it is cloudy, a turbid mash. so, i may not get clear results at the end.
(several hours later...)
through trials we find success! my wort hit all the numbers i had hoped including quantity, color and gravity. i'll let you know how it is in about 6 weeks!
Prost!
I have been plagued by mashing problems today. The hot water went in just fine, and mixed up nicely with the grain, but that is where the easy stopped and the pain in the rear began. it seems that i made a connection in the mash tun in error, laying the tubing atop the perforated drain instead of beneath it, and during a stir, the tubing came disconnected. I had to pull up the perf-drain and reconnect, but while i did that the grains fell beneath the perf-drain and now i would not get all the yummy wort out. The temperature would not not not hold at 148 today, i had to constantly heat it with my heat-wand, a big pain. Then, while sparging, the whole darn perf-drain fell apart, causing lots of large lumps of grains to fall into my collection tub, pre-boil. Long story short, i had to abort the sparge, dump the entire contents of the mash tun into a bucket and start the sparge again, which was a huge-mungous pain. I cant predict how this beer is going to turn out now, but now things are back on line and going fine, I'm hoping to be able to collect 9 gallons of wort for boiling. Normally i would get a pretty clear wort out of my mash tun, today it is cloudy, a turbid mash. so, i may not get clear results at the end.
(several hours later...)
through trials we find success! my wort hit all the numbers i had hoped including quantity, color and gravity. i'll let you know how it is in about 6 weeks!
Prost!
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