What's New

Latest addition to my yard list: Winter Wren. I found one on Dec. 12 at the edge of the pond by our back fence, same spot where I had a Marsh Wren in October of 2004. It's not really the sort of place in which you would expect to find a Winter Wren creeping about. When flushed it took refuge under the root mass of a fallen pine, which is a bit more typical. This is also a new state bird for me.

In other news, Aadam's Tree Service finally came and took down the tall oak behind the house. They also removed what was left of the big oak that had knocked down our back fence. Now the question is what - if anything - is to be done about the stumps that remain. We've lost several large trees, and the place just doesn't look the same. The backyard has deep trenches and tire marks that will need to be filled, and the fences will need to be mended where they've been bent and broken.

Michelle has been wanting a new car, either an SUV or cool sportscar. Today she got a 2005 Chrysler Sebring convertible. It's sweeeeeet.