Then and Now – Heating

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During the 1960s, the heating where I lived in Texas transitioned from electric wall heating to gas powered central heating. Both had to work harder because the windows of the houses were single paned and had little insulation. I remember that my grandparents’ houses were often colder in the winter than mine was. My paternal grandparents’ farmhouse had gas burning (probably propane) stoves in each room and my maternal grandparents’ house had gas burning (probably natural gas) floor furnaces; in those houses, the kitchen during meal prep time, was the warmest! Prior to the advent of thermostats, the controls on the heaters were tweaked manually.

My house now has two central heating furnaces (2 zones) – one natural gas and one electric. Within the next 5 years, we will be transition to electric powered heat pumps. The house has well-sealed doors and double pained windows….and was well insulated when it was built in 1999. It has two gas fireplaces which we haven’t used; the gas is turned off and we have sealed the vents with magnetic strips to stop the drafts in the winter. We have a ‘smart’ thermostat that we can program to change the temperature at different times during the day; since we are retired, that is usually letting it cool down a bit at night while we are sleeping.

In general, modern heating systems and houses, make it easier to feel warm in the winter. I wonder sometimes if that changes the early years of children’s lives. For example – a baby born in December would be learning to walk a year later. Prior to central heating, that would mean more clothes to get in the way during that process than a child born in July would have as they learned to walk. Did mothers of winter babies keep them close to their own bodies to make sure they were warm (i.e. did winter babies get held more in their very early lives)? Central heating might have made early childhood development more consistent because it took away much of the seasonal variation experience for babies!

Previous Then and Now posts

Gleanings of the Week Ending March 26, 2022

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The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

How triple-pane windows stop energy (and money) from flying out the window – How long will it be before all window replacements and windows in new houses will be triple paned? I guess is depends a lot on affordability….and then availability. I like that they reduce noise too.

Yellowstone At 150: Challenges Go More Than Crowd-Deep – A post about Yellowstone’s past, present…projections for the future. My husband and I have only visited the park once…hopefully we’ll be able to see it again.

Beware the joro spider. Scientists say the giant, but harmless, arachnid is spreading – A native of Japan…it has been in the southeastern US for the past decade. It may be poised to continue up the eastern seaboard. Fortunately, they are not lethal to humans and the eat mosquitos/stink bugs.

Top 25 birds of the week: Seedeaters! – We see some of these at our birdfeeders!  

Cognitive Bias Codex, 2016 – A graphic I had not seen before….very thought provoking.

Revealing an Ice Age Route of Indigenous Peoples – Vancouver Island…analyzing lake sediments. One of them, Topknot Lake, was evidently never covered by glaciers so the sediment was very deep.

Hidden dangers lurking in your kitchen - A little history…and one that is relevant to my house hunting: I don’t want to buy a house with gas stove…if I do, it will be replaced with an electric ASAP.

Common house plants can improve air quality indoors – Modern homes are more airtight than ever…and indoor air quality can become a problem. Good to know that plants can help – and they are generally aesthetically pleasing too.

Spring is starting sooner and growing warmer – (A color coded map) Almost the whole US is experiencing earlier Spring. A small area of North and South Dakota is the exception.

Here are the world’s 25 most endangered cultural heritage sites – The post is a summary from Smithsonian Magazine. More details are available from the World Monuments Fund. There are sites in Ukraine that are in danger from the war there – will probably be on the next list (Smithsonian post and article with pictures of the 7 Ukranian UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

A Winter Hike at Mt. Pleasant (2)

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Continuing my outdoors photography at Howard Country Conservancy’s Mt. Pleasant….

The nature center has a lot of windows and they have been upgraded to make them more visible to birds…prevent bird strikes. The upgrade enhanced the place as a nature center – featuring an owl, a curled up fox, cattails, and milkweed with a Monarch butterfly.

I did a close of two butterfly images on the glass (tiger swallowtail and monarch).

And then a macro shot to show the small holes.

While I had the macro lens on my phone – I took pictures of some of the rock façade of the nature center.

I’d put the lens back in my pocket before I walked over to the area near the Honors garden for some more close ups: an old pump with rusting pins holding the handle in place and the lichen growing on a split rail fence nearby.

On the way back to the car, I put the macro lens back on my phone and took pictures of the witch hazel blooming beside the drive to the old farmhouse. The ribbon-like petals are unusual and last a long time. It might be my favorite tree at Mt. Pleasant!

Overall – the two photographic highpoints of my time at Mt. Pleasant were the skunk cabbage and witch hazel!

Through my Office Window – December 2020

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I am appreciating the view from my office window more this year than ever before…it is a great view of the natural world. We’ve seen wild turkeys twice (no pictures!) and one evening 9 deer came through (usually we see 2-4 at a time). There are the usual critters that I almost always manage to photograph: the finches, crows, white-breasted nuthatch, a pair of cardinals,

The squirrels,

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The mourning doves,

The red-bellied woodpecker, and

The Carolina wrens.

The birds that we only have around during the winter are the dark-eyed juncos,

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The red-bellied nuthatch,

The white-throated sparrow,

And the red-winged blackbirds. We have the red-winged blackbirds near the neighborhood pond in the other seasons, but they don’t venture to our forest and feeder except in the winter or during migration. They are almost too heavy for the feeder, so they don’t get enamored with what it provides.

The view from the window – the forest, the bird feeder and bath, the winter yard…the best in the house.

Through my Office Window – November 2020

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So much to see from my office window….

The resident Blue Jays come through several times a day. During the summer months I can only photograph them on the deck or at the bird bath. Now that the leaves are off the trees it is easier to spot them in other places in our back yard.

The Northern Cardinal pair are regular visitors as well. I see the female more often than the male.

The Carolina Wrens are around all during the year. They are easiest to photograph at the feeder since they are preoccupied with getting seed – stay for more than a few seconds.

The Chipping Sparrows and Tufted Titmouse are at the feeder almost every day. The titmouse often takes its seed to the gutter above the feeder to open the hull to get the good part.

The White-Breasted Nuthatch, House Finch, and Carolina Chickadee are all regular visitors.

American Goldfinch and Downy Woodpeckers are in our area all the time but they come to our deck and feeder infrequently.

There are birds we see primarily during migration times. Red-winged Blackbirds are at the neighborhood pond all through the year but only come to our feeder and forest in flocks during the fall and spring.

Sometimes we have Brown-headed Cowbirds around in the spring (laying eggs in other birds’ nests) but in the fall we just see them as they move through in small flocks when they stop to raid the birdfeeder.

Our resident Red-bellied Woodpecker comes to the feeder often. Right now - the female is all we see. Earlier this year there was a male and I hope there will be a pair next spring…another chance to see young birds.

The squirrels come to the deck for water and the seed under the feeder that the birds have scattered. Sometimes they try to dump the feeder but are generally not successful.

Now that the leaves are off the trees it is easier to see the Mourning Doves in the trees. Just before I wrote this post, I counted 7 doves preening in trees behind our house!

The sunsets are visible from my office window as well. The challenge is to look for it at the right time.

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My favorite picture ‘through the window’ this month is the last big leaves on the sycamore. It was taken on the 23rd. One of the leaves fell shortly after I took the picture but one is still hanging on.

Through my Office Window – July 2020

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The birds are finding most of their food in the natural environment  this summer – not coming to the feeder as often. Still – some are coming often enough for me to take pictures through my office window.

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The House Finches and House Sparrows are the most frequent visitors. They often have clashes over the limited roosts on the feeder and chitter their angst.

The Red-Bellied Woodpeckers come occasionally. I see the female more often than the male.

The White-breasted Nuthatch comes almost every day in a short burst. I can recognize this bird without my glasses because of the way it moves at the feeder (upside down…head arched outward once it chooses a seed).

There are at least 2 Northern Cardinal pairs that come to the feeder – not at the same time but their territory must overlap a little. The bald female is the one I see most frequently. I keep expecting the feathers to grow back but she’s been bald for a long time; maybe she is an elderly bird…or a bird with a health condition. Often the male (with beautiful feathers and crest) is below keeping lookout for her.

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And then there are the quick visitors that are hard to photograph like the Tufted Titmouse (below) or the Carolina Chickadee or the Carolina Wren.

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Overall – July has not been an outstanding month for bird feeder activity. And now we are in for a series of days with temperatures above 90 and ‘heat advisories;’ the birds tend to say in the forest more when it is so hot. I am focusing on keeping the bird bath full for the birds and the squirrels.

Through the Window, JMW Turner, and Being Outdoors

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Continuing the blog post series prompted by COVID-19….

Pictures through the Window

I always try to gather up the best pictures taken through my office window toward the end of the month. We had more birds at the feeder at the beginning of the month; it was cool and there weren’t as many insects for the omnivorous birds. There are 11 birds in all….and a tree… in the collection for May 2020.

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The Red-bellied Woodpeckers are frequent visitors. The male even did some foraging on the ground under our neighbor’s pines.

The female has started getting a seed from the feeder then wedging it in a nearby crack in the deck railing to peck and crack open. There are times I think she knows I am watching.

The Cowbirds are still around. The males come in groups, but the female is the one I see at the feeder most often.

The Downy Woodpecker comes frequently as well although it comes in silent – unlike the red-bellies.

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The finches (House and Gold) are around – but less frequently than they were in April. I’m not sure why other than they are busy with their nests and finding other food sources.

And then there were the Indigo Buntings. They were somewhere else by mid-month.

The Cardinal pair is around all through the year.

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The only picture of a Titmouse I took this month was a very round bird. Maybe it was just the angle.

The Carolina Wrens are the big singers around our deck.

The Mourning Doves sometimes use the deck railing for a mating platform. I didn’t know what the bird I photographed was doing with its tail, but I suspected it was mating related. It was the only dove around…it eventually stood up and flew off.

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Recently we’ve had an uptick in House Sparrows coming to the feeder. They seem to come in small groups of 2-4 birds. Maybe they are gearing up for a second brood of the season.

Finally, is the tulip poplar. The later-than-usual frosts we had this year didn’t seem to reduce the number of flowers. We’ll have plenty of gutter-clogging seeds flying next winter, and spring!

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Unique activities for yesterday:

Gorging on JMW Turner (1775-1851) art. 344 paintings are packed in a slideshow available from Internet Archive here. Wow…what a range of works he produced. I selected 4 different works as examples. The slide show is well worth a look.

Being Outdoors. I’ve established a new goal – be outdoors for at least an hour every day. This time of year, that should not be hard since the weather is relatively pleasant. This is more about increasing consistency and logging what I do than dramatically increasing my outdoor time…although I tend let weather deter my getting out. I know I feel better physically and emotionally on days I am outdoors for at least an hour. As it gets hotter, I’ll shift to the morning – before the heat of the day becomes oppressive. It doesn’t have to be working in the yard, taking a walk, or hiking in the forest behind out house. It can be reading a book, doing something on my laptop or just enjoying some quality time with our cat on the enclosed/screened deck! In my first foray after establishing the goal, I selected pictures for this blog post, made two Zentangle tiles for the Zentangle prompt, cleaned the table on the deck, occasionally made eye contact with the cat, and cleaned out/filled the birdbaths…and it added up to more than an hour - easy.

A Zentangle Prompt

Try the SeZ pattern. The pattern starts by using seeds (maybe real ones like sesame or rice or bulgur wheat) or making random dots.

Here is a page I made based on yesterday’s prompt: Experiment with the MAELSTROM pattern. I used the May 2020 page from the Audubon calendar. It provided lots of spaces to experiment with the pattern. I tend to like the random usage of the pattern…and the curved part of the pattern although I did start thinking about radio waves coming down to a radio telescope for the other part of the pattern. Using the calendar page was a good experience and I’m thinking of using the page for June to show the prompt for each day…maybe showing the page as I fill  in each week as we move through the month.

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Links to my previous “filling a day of social distance” posts  here.

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The Zentangle® Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. It was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. "Zentangle" is a registered trademark of Zentangle, Inc. Learn more at zentangle.com.

Through my Office Window – March 2020 – Part I

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Being at home most of the time in March – I have a larger than usual collection of pictures through my office window. Probably my favorite bird to photograph from my office window is the Red-Bellied Woodpecker. We have a pair in the woods behind our house. Both the male and female come to the feeder. Once the female sat on the deck railing waiting for the male to finish at the feeder. Woodpeckers are made for the vertical perch! When the are on a horizontal surface they look like there legs are too short!

The Blue Jays are too large for the feeder but they enjoy the bird bath. They generally make a lot of noise so I know when they are about.

The Downy Woodpeckers come to the feeder too. We had a pair last summer, but I’d only be seeing the female at the feeder recently.

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Then I looked at the birdfeeder camera…and there was a male at the feeder! I never saw it through the window.

The “Through the Window” photos will be continued in tomorrow’s post….

Through my Office Window – February 2020

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I wasn’t at home for the first part of the month, so the opportunities to see birds through the window were more time limited than usual.

The Downy Woodpecker seemed to be coming to the feeder more frequently. It was always a female. Usually I see them in the trees more than at the feeder, so I wondered if the insects were not as available (maybe because of the cold).

The House Finches seemed more numerous at the feeder than last month. The males were ‘courting’ – providing a seed to their favorite female. They would occasionally accept another bird at the feeder – like a Carolina Chickadee. They were the birds most impacted by the visit of the bluebirds that we saw on the birdfeeder camera; it was only a short time but I’m sure they were relieved when the bluebirds did not stick around.

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Both the male and female Red-bellied Woodpeckers are active at the feeder periodically – not every day. They had to contort themselves to get the seed they wanted or if the seed was low. The Carolina Wren learned to get a snack from the opposite side of the feeder when the woodpecker was there.

These little birds were frequent visitors to the feeder – often the first ones there in the morning.

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There was a Northern Mockingbird that sat on the deck bench on a wet morning. I don’t see them frequently around our yard and wondered if it was injured.

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The White-Breasted Nuthatch was around – coming like a bullet to the feeder, getting a snack and leaving again…never sticking around for long.

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The Northern Cardinals were around periodically but not as frequently as in January. I wonder if they are not building their nest in the usual place near our house…they’re coming from further afield.

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I always am aware when the Blue Jays come (for water) since they are so noisy. I still enjoy seeing them.

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The Dark-eye Juncos are still around. They are here in about the same numbers as previous years…our little flock.

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And the Mourning Doves were around to clean up any spilled seed from the other birds that were digging through the seed in the feeder to find just the one they want…throwing the seeds they didn’t want onto the deck.

Fawn in the Backyard

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Back in mid-June not long after I moved into a new home office that doesn’t get as much afternoon sun (and get hot) during the summer, a fawn moved through the backyard and stopped log enough for me to get a picture. I didn’t see any other deer around but maybe the doe was just out of my field of view.

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The fawn still had lots of spots but was sure footed enough to not still be in the ‘hiding’ stage of its life. A few days before I had seen a doe move through the yard with a large belly that seemed to move a lot; I wondered if she was in labor and hoped she made it back into the forest before giving birth.

Our area has a significant overpopulation of deer that is impacting our forests and yards; we are plagued by deer tick borne Lyme disease. For those reasons, I am in favor of the deer control measures the state and county governments are implementing…but I enjoy watching them move through our yard from my office window and have resigned myself so never having the day lily buds fully bloom.

Through the window….a flicker

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With the leaves falling off the trees, it’s easier to see and photograph birds. Last weekend a female Northern Flicker (yellow-shafted) flew into our maple and I managed to get my camera fast enough to take two pictures through my office window. My computer glasses do work so well through the camera viewfinder, so I relied on the camera to focus. The bird turned slightly to show off the red blaze on the back of the head.

I don’t see these birds as frequently as our resident cardinals although the flickers might be here all year. They are hard to spot in foliage and grasses. I’m always thrilled to see them around.

Birding through a window – September 2017

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The goldfinches are enjoying the sunflowers on the deck…making them easier to photograph. The look about after each acrobatic move to pluck a seed.

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A fledgling was making quite a fuss on the deck roof outside my office. I looked around to see what else was going on and discovered the parent in the gutter --- ignoring the noise from the fledgling and enjoying a bath!

A few days later our resident Carolina Wren was out early and singing. There was still water in gutter and it soon took a bath and emerged very wet and bedraggled looking.

Birding through a window – August 2017

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Last month, I posted about an America goldfinch that perched on the window frame outside my office. And it’s a goldfinch again for August’s ‘through a window’ post. This male is already in the process changing to winter plumage. He has patches of gray on his head and neck and there are tufts of feathers that the bird was moving around on both sides – like they itched. It was not exactly symmetrical but maybe molting never is.

As the leaf cover of the trees gets thinner, there is always less protection from predators so the drabber winter plumage helps the bird survive. No need for him to stand out when it’s not breeding season!