I have also spent time debating with friends concerning who would do a great job in bringing this to life on the big screen using real people. Tim Burton was & still is, the best choice. Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter [...]]]>

I, like many others, grew up reading Lewis Carrol, watching Disney & playing American McGee.

I have also spent time debating with friends concerning who would do a great job in bringing this to life on the big screen using real people. Tim Burton was & still is, the best choice. Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and Alan Rickman were also in the mix, when deciding on the dream team (though the roles were slightly different then what Burton worked out, so aptly).

What happened then? Why did I walk out of the cinema saddened & disappointed? Glad, only that I got into the matinee & didn’t pay full price.

I will blame it on 3 things. 1) Tim Burton MUST have been distracted, tired ; 2) the screen-play needed reworking; 3) The title was misleading .. it should have been The Mad Hatter & Alice, Adventures in Wonderland.

Adressing the first point: This film was Burton-esque. As if someone studied Burton’s style & made a first-class effort in directing a film that people would say “Almost as good as Tim Burton, that kid has promise”. Maybe I am spoiled by his previous works … Sweeny Todd, Corpse Bride, Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, Big Fish, Edward Sissorhands, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure (of all things) .. not to mention Beetlejuice (which my husband indicated was a far superior film).

The second point … The Screen-play: At least half the time spent “Above the Rabbit Hole” should have been devoted to character development in “Wonderland”. There was not a single character that I was compelled to care about .. not Alice, not the Hatter, not even the Cheshire Cat (who was my very favorite from the book & Disney). The pace was too fast. The White Queen was a disaster. That “futterwacken” dance HAS TO GO (was that a Michael Jackson homage?) & since when was Alice “Zena, Warrior Princess”????? With all the elements of the book, placed so very much in the way of the film, it is amazing that it didn’t trip over it’s own feet. Oh, that is right .. it did.

Finally, last but not least … the title: Granted, I know Marketing dictates “tell people what they want to hear, then give them what we have”. Bait & Switch has been around forever & a day. However, if they Actually Said it was a film surrounding the Mad Hatter & not Alice, it would have been more palatable. Getting what one expects is better than getting side-lined (which is what happened here, sad to say).

Taking the Good with the Bad:

With all that said, the Acting was Great. Everyone was well cast. I would give an Oscar to Ms. Carter for turning a 2 dimensional character into such a surly, unpleasant individual who never said “Off with their Head” the same way twice. It was amazing. Johnny Depp, as the Hatter, also did a Wonderful Job. He was simply Mad, Bonkers.

I will have to say here, though, that Rickman & Fry were my favorites. Rickman was completely understated as the Caterpillar, which really worked & was quite believable (I just love his work anyways, he is tops in my book). Fry as the Cheshire cat was Grand. Chessur was so Feline it was scary. I most loved the “massaging” on his favorite hat, the one he would wear on “only the best of occasions”.

Visually, the film was everything one would expect from Tim Burton. It was strange & delightful .. even when it was dark & disturbing. I would have enjoyed the ability to linger at spots to take it all in, if we were not moving so fast though the under-developed story.

All & All, I enjoyed the film enough to purchase it when it hits the $5- bin at Wal-mart. I give it a 5.5 out of 10, which is sad for a film I was so looking forward to.

There really isn’t much to say about January. The days were in the 20’s & the nights in the single digits. The weather was gray & gloomy. Typical. Except for the lack of snow. All the precipitation went south of us, WAY south into Maryland. The skiers & sledders are none-too-pleased, that is for [...]]]>

January 2010:

There really isn’t much to say about January. The days were in the 20’s & the nights in the single digits. The weather was gray & gloomy. Typical. Except for the lack of snow. All the precipitation went south of us, WAY south into Maryland. The skiers & sledders are none-too-pleased, that is for sure. We have seen more sleds for sale in people’s icy-muddy-snow-less yards.

Every-time we would get snow, it would be gone within a couple days. But, only after you had to roof-rake. Not to say there is NO snow. There is. That icy-crusted snow that crunches under your feet when you try & navigate to the mailbox. Just enough to surprise you when you aren’t paying attention, as you get to the divet in the yard & plummet a foot down, loosing your shoe while soaking your sock.

The critters knew this too. The squirrels kept to the trees. The Turkeys came about every once & awhile. Abe disapeared for some time. Even the barn cats kept to the paths.

Food usage was minimal. Sunflower was the most used. Next suet.

————————————————————————————–

February 2010:

This month, Mud Season started early. The sun is much warmer than usual & the ground proved it. The tire tracks in the driveway are sure signs of what is to come. Granted the days were in the 30sF & the nights in the 20sF.

The freeze-thaw effect is incredible. When the trucks with plows on them go by, all one hears is the loud “clack-clang-thump” of the plow against the frost heaves. Now, I am happy to think of how slow people will need to go this summer, so as not to bottom out there cars. We did get some heavy snowfall this month. And, the WIND was Amazing! It took the top off our chimney cage just to deposited it on the other side of the barn.

The Crows & Ravens know spring is near by. They are around more often then not. 2 Crows have decided that our area is theirs. I believe it may be Abe & a mate. The limp is gone, but the mannerisms are similar. I would like to think he made it through the winter & healed.

We have seen a significant change in the critter-life here .. from the 2nd week of Feb. on. Flocks of dozens of goldfinches have been bombarding the feeders. I am thinking that getting a bag of thistle may be a good idea. It sure wouldn’t be wasted. Pine Grosbeaks have also made an appearance. Finn has seen Waxwings a little south of us, in the Lakes region. Raccoons are more active again. AND there has been a Huge increase in the squirrel population.

Spring is in the air … I don’t care what furry “Phil” said.

Trying to Remember November is like waking from a night’s sleep, stiff from dreaming too much, with only vague images indicating that you were dreaming at all. Good thing I took pictures. That puts some of it together [...]]]>

The Problem with the Holidays, is that everything is put off until time allows & time dost-not-often allow.

Trying to Remember November is like waking from a night’s sleep, stiff from dreaming too much, with only vague images indicating that you were dreaming at all. Good thing I took pictures. That puts some of it together again. Not too far afield from Humpty Dumpty.

Finn Hanging with our Turkey Family

There were Turkeys. 5 in all. They got pretty comfortable with Finn. Allowing him to passively crouch down under the feeders, while they pecked & scratched around him. He could have touched them, if he dared. Instead he tossed sunflower seeds, lots of sunflower seeds.

While working on the computer, I saw something interesting. The turkeys were in the neighbors yard taking turns trying to push each other’s heads down. They would entangle their necks, walk around in circles & wrestle the other’s neck/head as far to the ground as possible, until they disengaged. Finally 1 would dominate all the others. I saw that 2 didn’t play this game. Everyone moved to our yard to feed. Then they started the game again. Luckily the drivers were cautious & caring for these birds, for the turkeys wound on & off the road amongst the trees & bushes. I grabbed my camera & burst out the door.

Head-Honcho Turkey courts the Babe

I followed them a ways up the road. That is when I caught the most dominant male fanned out, courting the largest of the females. The other female, who I named Gray-Head was happily scratching at the ground & finding food. I let them go about their business. I have not seen them since.

Who I have seen is Abe. Abe is the only crow who came back from the Corvid-Thing. He/She has claimed out little spot on the mountain as His/Her territory. He/She is taken care of by us & our neighbor. He/She hangs around through-out the day. Sometimes He/She chases Ravens away & other times He/She announces the presence of the cats. The cats are at quite a disadvantage because of the snow. Until recently it has been soft & high enough that they fall through with each step. Starting today (12/16) the weather will remain below 32F … 20F’s in the day & 0F-ish at night. Still with the height of the snow, I don’t suspect that they will be able to sneak up on anything.

Abe Crowfoot

I will be writing about Abe as a stand alone/regular piece. Abe is special. Abe is Handy-Capable. Crows grow so rapidly, that it is not easy to tell how old they are, except by their learning-curve. Abe is a large, healthy, beautiful crow … with a bum leg. I don’t k now if Abe hurt himself or if he was born that way. It doesn’t appear to bother him much, except when he tries to perch. He hops. He hobbles when he tries to apply weight to his leg. Thus the name Abe & I will always wonder about the Great White Whale that did this to him. Was it a windy day, a bad landing, a predator, another crow during a battle, perhaps mom sat on him too long when he hatched.

Ahh well .. look for the Adventures of Abe. I will post whenever I have something to write about.

Have a Happy Yule & Solstice !!!

Food Consumption: Sunflower Seeds is the big winner this month, with the cold weather & the Blue-Jays. This should be pretty consistent going forward. Next is Mixed-Seed., due to a large flock of Mourning Doves. Suet is at a steady pace, with only woodpeckers & the smaller birds (chickadees, titmice, etc.).

In Order of Quantity (unless noted otherwise) …

Nov.:

Birds: Turkeys (well, 5 that are here all the time), Black-Capped Chickadees, Hairy & Downy Woodpeckers, Mourning Doves, Nuthatches, Tufted Titmice, Female American Goldfinches, Ravens, Dark-Eyed Juncos, Northern Cardinals, Crows, Pileated Woodpeckers

Animals: Red & Gray Squirrels, Chipmunks

In the first week an amazing thing happened. Finn was out checking the sunflower levels on the north-side, when he walked into the hurried attack of a Sharp-Shin hawk to one of our songbirds. The hawk nearly flew into his head. When it realized that Finn was not his “prey” [...]]]>

August has been an interesting month.

In the first week an amazing thing happened. Finn was out checking the sunflower levels on the north-side, when he walked into the hurried attack of a Sharp-Shin hawk to one of our songbirds. The hawk nearly flew into his head. When it realized that Finn was not his “prey” he pulled his pounces back & changed direction. Not so quick that Finn didn’t see the surprise & wonder on the hawk’s face (the hawk MUST have seen the same on Finn’s). When the Sharp-Shin settled into a near by tree, he was asked to leave the feeders alone. VERY shortly thereafter (w/in 5 minutes) I looked upon a magnificent female Peregrine Falcon posing on the ground, not far from the back feeders, near the blueberry bushes. She was looking around, possibly feeling she was being watched. I couldn’t call for Finn to see her. If I moved she would have fled. Instead I tapped upon the window & asked that she leave our feeders alone (yes – the feeding stations, as well as the ones eating from the feeding stations). She looked at me, hugged the ground & flew off to the back woods. From her pounces I saw the limp body of a male Rose-breast Grosbeak. Her chicks ate well that day.

So, with all of the predator action, the 1st week or so, was slow on bird sightings. All the songbirds left us be for a few days. They slowly started to come back. We haven’t seen many Grosbeaks of any variety. Lots of Goldfinches & Sparrows. By the 3rd week of the month the Grackles arrived “en force”. They have had a very good year with the hatchings. When they fly in, the trees are black with them. The feeders are black with them. The ground is black with them. I go out a couple times a day to see what needs refilling. It is almost as if they are preparing for the migration south. When the wave is over, there is silence. Only crickets, grasshoppers & cicadas can be heard. Decidedly, when the coast is clear the woodpeckers return. The only ones who dint let the grackles push them out, are the chipmunks.

For a couple of weeks the heat was in the upper 80’s F. But, it is back to normal again, 70’s F. We have hit the high 30’s F at night, which has prompted me to begin the plant shuffle. I have many zone 5’s outside .. my area is zone 4a. The leaves are starting to change on the maples & birches. I believe that the “OLD” calendar is coming back. The one our great-great grandparents used. Spring started in Feb. with the birthing of the sheep. We think that is still winter .. but, life is coming back to the world. Summer begins in May, when we take the seeds we started indoors, back in March & put them out to grow. Fall starts with the harvest in August. If you are in the North East, check your maple trees … what color are your leaves? … in New Hampshire, they are starting to yellow. Winter is seen at the end of October. All the leaves are falling, the air is chill & some have seen their first snow. Watching the Grackles feed like a fervor is on them reminds me that nature knows more than man.

So, at the end of August, what we are seeing is Goldfinches, Chickadees, Downey and Hairy Woodpeckers, some Sparrows, the Grackles and of course Crows and Ravens. I did hear the distinctive call of a Pileated Woodpecker out back. Things have quieted down some, since the kids went back to school and Leaf-peeper season has yet to begin. Pileated don’t like too much activity. As far as the 4-Legers … well, the Red and Gray Squirrels are quite abundant, along with the Mice and Chipmunks. One of our Cats has caught a couple mice in the house. We have a catch & release program for all critters caught in the house. This includes spiders, flies, fireflies and beetles.

Food Consumption: Suet is the big winner this month – the resurgence of the grackles has seen to that, sunflower seeds are about the same, hummingbird food hasn’t changed, mixed seed is also unchanged & thistle is “STILL” too expensive to purchase (poor finches)

In Order of Quantity (unless noted otherwise) …

Aug:

Birds: Common Grackles, Black-Capped Chickadees, American Goldfinches, Hairy & Downy Woodpeckers, Mourning Doves, Crows, Purple Finches, Nuthatches, Tufted Titmice, Ruby Throated Hummingbirds, Catbirds, Mockingbirds, Sharp-Shinned Hawks (our population supervisors), Indigo Buntings, House Sparrows, Field Sparrows, Grasshopper Sparrows, Chipping Sparrows, Ravens, Dark-Eyed Juncos, Northern Cardinals, Black & Turkey Vultures and a beautiful Perigrin Falcon

Animals: Red & Gray Squirrels, Chipmunks, Mice

I wonder about this a lot now-a-days.

Every generation seems to have their issues. There was the latest Trade Center Incident & everything that ensued. The Red War & Communism (The McCarthy Era). The Vietnam Military Action. The War on Rock-n-Roll. World War I & II. The list [...]]]>

Politics and Family … can they be combined amicably?

I wonder about this a lot now-a-days.

Every generation seems to have their issues. There was the latest Trade Center Incident & everything that ensued. The Red War & Communism (The McCarthy Era). The Vietnam Military Action. The War on Rock-n-Roll. World War I & II. The list goes on.

So, how did people who may not believe the same things stay together as a family unit? Did they not speak about things? Did they rip-apart & later try to reconcile? Was there the ability to discuss & agree to disagree?

Most people have 3 major social groups they identify with. There is the Blood-Family unit, regardless of how extended. The Friends-like-Family unit & the Work unit.

The Work unit is the easiest one. You are there to do a job & work as a team. Most times you avoid the subject of Politics & focus on that of work related issues. If you cannot get along with the team, you find a new team to work with. Pretty straight forward.

The Blood-Family unit is a bit more complicated. These are people that no matter how different the opinions are, you are bound by blood ties. They don’t go away. You don’t have to like your family, but they are your family … they will always be your family, even if they don’t recognize you as a part of the family.

In a way, the most difficult place to find balance is in the Friends-like-Family unit. Mostly because there is “Choice”. You choose to associate with these people .. or not. There is nothing concrete to bind you together. If you say “I don’t believe that I can interact with you guys” and you leave them … what might be the repercussions? 20 years later someone questions your past associates with people who may not be of a socially acceptable mind-set?

So, what if you have known these people for 20+ years? They are like brothers, sisters, mentors, mothers and fathers. Depending upon the group, it is possible that these roles have been developed, pretty strongly. What if it is a large & diverse group, say more than 50 people, or a 100 people. One now has a “Community” in all of it’s intricacies. There are small groups within the larger groups. There are crafts people & multi-spiritual directors. There are guilds, charters and a single leader with a council. There is an open forum for all issues within the community so as everyone’s opinions are noted. In many ways, a true democracy.

What happens when these people begin to really disagree with each other due to a “Political Environment” which is outside the group … such as our current Presidential Administration, Economical Situation & Global Circumstance.

How does one find balance when some people want certain subjects banned from the forum because it is disruptive & others want to be able to discuss things which are effecting them, even if it is in an aggressive manner.

There have been suggestions of creating a secondary forum for heated discussion. But, this is becoming more & more drowned-out by “1 forum should be enough”. It appears that people are digging their heals in, on their opinions. Compromise may just be the looser here. And if this “Community” doesn’t come to some kind of conclusion, it may suffer the most.

I don’t like walls being created. I feel that once a subject is taboo a rift is generated. The longer that rift exists, the larger it gets. Silence is the greatest dis-ease, because it begins to eat away at the self. The more one holds something distasteful down, the more dreadful the digestion process. It is better to just regurgitate. Bad feelings are not much different than bad food, in that respect.

Ahh well. I shall continue to ponder this & wish the best for my friends.

~ Ravens’Song ~

The mornings start of with a chorus of mockingbirds and woodpeckers, singing praises to the sun. [...]]]>

July went by pretty quickly. It was so much like June. The rain was the same. The nights a bit chillier, the days slightly warmer. Except for the last week of the month. The days have hit the 80’s (F).

The mornings start of with a chorus of mockingbirds and woodpeckers, singing praises to the sun. Shortly there-after they are joined by the chickadees & nuthatches, whilst the crows caw in the distance (they nest somewhere up the mountain). Finn hears the calls & gets out of bed to put out the feeders. He even mentioned that he heard someone trying to mimic his “Mess Call” whistles.

The chickadees are the first to greet him. Followed by the hummingbirds. Often times each species will sit upon the feeder before he even gets it on the hook. It isn’t that we want them used to humans .. they just appear to know who he is & what he is doing for them. They appreciate the help. We even have a “Super-Soaker” for the local cats who think bird feeders are also cat feeders.

The grosbeak clan are the ones I see gathering on the North side from the Living room picture window, as I drink my coffee. The Rosebreasts precede the Evenings. We have 3 distinct, feeding areas – Back, North & Front, which stay up year-round. The only things that change are the food groups available, this completely depends upon the needs of the guests.

The crows begin to gather. Sometimes only one or 2, other times the whole family is perched in a nearby tree. They LOVE mixed seed, and Finn puts out plenty for them. We have a family of 10 that have called our home “Theirs”. Our neighbor feeds them as well … so they know they are quite welcome. Our neighbor’s cats are not to pleased about it though … the crows will chase them from one side of the house to the next … bellowing & swooping. Nothing comes of it. Everyone has found their space here.

The grackles which were so prevalent in June moved on for the middle part of July. They came back on the 29th. What used to be up to 50 or 60, are now great mobs of up to 200 … blackening all 3 sides of the house. Did you know that up to 5 grackles can feed off 1 suet block at a time? I didn’t , until the other day.

The last week on July has seen a couple wonderful things though … There are breeding colored female evening grosbeaks, and the hummingbirds are showing off with their acrobatics. Perhaps August will be the time we put out the other hummingbird stations.

A NOTE ON HUMMINGBIRDS: Please DO NOT buy food which has the red dye in it for them. It really is not very healthy.

RECIPE: Just use a mixture of 1 cup of granulated sugar to 4 cups boiled tap or bottled water (depending on if you have city water or not – city water has too many additives, such as fluoride & chlorine). Boiling the water will get rid of anything “Live”, which would feed of the sugar. “And” change the water every week … more, if it is quite hot. Bacteria love sugar water, I bet you don’t want to get them sick.

Food Consumption: Suet has slowed some, with the absence of the grackles, sunflower seeds are about the same, hummingbird food hasn’t changed, mixed seed is also unchanged & thistle is “STILL” too expensive to purchase (poor finches)

In Order of Quantity (unless noted otherwise) …

July:

Birds: Common Grackles (from the last week of the month), Grosbeaks – Evening, Red-Breasted & Pine, Black-Capped Chickadees, American Goldfinches, Hairy & Downy Woodpeckers, Crows, Purple Finches, Blue Jays, Nuthatches, Tufted Titmice, Ruby Throated Hummingbirds, Catbirds, Mockingbirds, Sharp-Shinned Hawks (our population supervisors), Indigo Buntings, House Sparrows, Field Sparrows, Grasshopper Sparrows, Chipping Sparrows, Ravens, Dark-Eyed Juncos, Northern Cardinals, Brown Headed Cowbirds, Baltimore Oriels, Robins, Starlings, Sharp-Shinned Hawks (our population supervisors), Northern Goshawks, Black & Turkey Vultures

Animals: Red & Gray Squirrels, Chipmunks, Mice, Raccoons, Moose with babies

Crowhill is a location near Plymouth, which is used by a bird-counter for the NH Audubon society.  So in a way, we are officially on the map

What I will be posting here is what we have been seeing lately … both in birds and animals.

Being this blog was [...]]]>

One quick thing to note …

Crowhill is a location near Plymouth, which is used by a bird-counter for the NH Audubon society.  So in a way, we are officially on the map

What I will be posting here is what we have been seeing lately … both in birds and animals.

Being this blog was just started, I will need to do a recap for the earlier portion of this year. Some things have changed quite a bit from previous years.

Pine Grosbeaks are summering here, they started to come last winter, due to the number of berries available to them from the trees & bushes. The number of Crow fledges are up. I have even seen an increase in Raven fledges. I don’t believe it is because of tourism … which is actually down due to the rain. The Peregrines are nesting are nesting now & have closed down several rock climbing areas (fingers crossed for a good year)!

The number of Bard Owls are down from last year (2 years of very rough winters, I suspect). The number of hummingbirds are also down. We haven’t had to put up the additional 4 feeders. This may also be weather related … too much rain, cool temps & the lack of flower growth. We haven’t seen the Turkeys yet, either. This time last year there were quite a few.

Raccoons and Foxes are doing quite well. And so are the Rodents. Several people I know have seen specific wild cats in the area … which is a blessing, thus the species shall not be named. Moose have been seen feeding in the town green & at the library (Ours, not Plymouth’s). The Black Bears have been really quiet. Plenty of food in the woods .. which is wonderful.

Food Consumption: Suet is up, sunflower seeds are up, hummingbird food down, mixed seed down & thistle is too expensive to purchase.

In Order of Quantity (unless noted otherwise) …

Jan – April:

Birds: Black-Capped Chickadees, Hairy & Downy Woodpeckers, American Goldfinches, Robins, Crows, Ravens, Turkey, Blue Jays, Northern Cardinals,

Animals: Raccoons, Red & Gray Squirrels, Fox

May – June:

Birds: Grosbeaks – Evening, Red-Breasted, Pine & yes, a couple Blue’s, Black-Capped Chickadees, American Goldfinches, Robin’s, Hairy & Downy Woodpeckers, Common Grackles, Crows, Purple Finches, Blue Jays, Nuthatches, Tufted Titmice, Ruby Throated Hummingbirds, Catbirds, Mockingbirds, Sharp-Shinned Hawks (our population supervisors), Indigo Buntings, Starlings, House Sparrows, Field Sparrows, Grasshopper Sparrows, Chipping Sparrows, Ravens, Dark-Eyed Juncos, Northern Cardinals, Brown Headed Cowbirds, Baltimore Oriels, Sharp-Shinned Hawks (our population supervisors), Peregrine Falcons, Northern Goshawks, Black & Turkey Vultures, American Kestrels, Bald Eagles

Animals: Red & Gray Squirrels, Chipmunks, Mice, Raccoons, Gray Fox, Moose, 1-Star-Nosed Mole