Weird weather of '09.......#6

Snowing in march??? we're definitely continuing the trend!

we came from here http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/956787/

starting off with a pic taken last week.

Thanks for the new thread Shelly!

Trisha, I love the pics! They are sooo funny! It's kind of funny too, the first pic with the chicken and cats, that's exactly what the chicken that died looked like. I'm not real sure what happened to her, I think she was older than what the guy thought since the others are going like gang busters. She did act a little older. Since the ground is still frozen outside the pen, I buried her on the inside and layed a rock on the grave to keep the others from digging her up by scratching in the fresh dirt.

On to better subjects. We got a email from the guy last night with the boat and said that he would PROBABLY go with our offer. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around PROBABLY? He had emailed us earlier and said he was sorry he hadn't gotten back to us earlier in the day but he had the flu and would either call or email us tomorrow, then a half an hour later he emailed us again with the statement about the offer. I sure hope when he contacts us again it will be a definite yes. I really like this boat.

Steve, I told DH about what happened to you after you had changed the name of your boat and he said that he had heard that it was bad luck to change the name of a sailboat, he also told me that sailors won't kill an Albatross because an Albatross is a sailor's soul. Someone at work asked him if he was going to change the name and his responce was "no" without any hesitation at all. We used to have a 17' O'Day that we named Dream Weaver. I sure hope the people that bought her didn't change her name. The name No-Ka-Oi also means "The Great One". There's a Hawaiian gentleman that works at the hospital and he's the one that told DH what it meant.

Susan105

Hey, that's a sweet little sailboat! What is she? We have a Cal 34 named Moonrise. We bought her with the name and didn't change it. Funny, my dh wanted to change it but we never could come up with anything that seemed right and the name remained. Here's a photo of her at anchor during warmer days last summer. We were up in the gulf islands of BC. It's just so beautiful up there.
It was our first trip out on her. We had sold our Catalina 27 just a couple of months before. Her name was Saucy Sue and my dh was missing her really bad. You know what they say about a boat as a mistress!
I hope you get the boat!

Susan she sure looks good. I know how you feel just waiting. Sailboats can be expensive if you want to fix everything (I always do) but they are a very cheap way to have a wonderful protected, comfortable, familiar, weekend place. O'Days have lots of room inside of them and they sail rather easy. You will enjoy. Hold on your price because boats are not moving. I could buy a $24,000 boat here for only $5,000 so big reductions are available. I am soooooo tempted to buy it but it is a 34 ft boat and I have been sailing alone and this one might be to big to do that. My DW is afraid on the water when sailing (mostly when racing) so she is tense always on any wind. Fortunatly she was not on the boat when it sunk. After those 100+ mph winds it has made me rather calm when the usuall big blows come up.
Trish I love the Chicken on stilts!
We are buried in deep snow with drifts that blew in last pm with artic winds. -1 F this morning with a high about 13. Burrrr. I have had a whole 2 weeks off and can't even get into the garden. Too cold
to ski I'm trapped next to the fire.
Melissa I have never seen you boat. Nice looks great. Hey how does the 34 sail compared to the 27? Much easier or more difficult? Can you sail it alone?


This message was edited Mar 10, 2009 10:17 AM

Melissa, thank you! She's a 25' O'Day. If we get her, (which it looks real promising) we want to bring her up to the San Juans (and possibly the Gulf Islands) and sail her up there after DH retires (or maybe sooner) in 8 yrs.
Wow, a 34 footer! We'd look like a baby next to you! Nice sailboat! I have a question, does it have a wheel or a tiller? I'm so glad you haven't changed the name Moonrise, I like it. Now you know you shouldn't. Do you have any pics of the Gulf Islands you would like to share? You can D-Mail them to me if you like, I know DH would like to see them too. We chartered a 27' O'Day out of Anacortes about 27 yrs ago and sailed it around the San Juans. It was beautiful there too.
We used to have a 22' Catalina and just loved her, then we got into farming and traded her for a 15' Coronado plus $ for DH to sail. I wouldn't go in that boat as I didn't like the size, too small. We haven't had a sailboat for 20 yrs. Poor DH, last night he says "I sure hope I can remember how to sail a boat". I assured him that once he got on that boat everything would come back in a heart beat.
Better get off here and take care of my chores outside. I sure wish it would warm up!!!! I'm still "just waitin' "! LOL!

Susan105

Nobody forgets how to sail. They just need to get familar with the deck layout to get going. After all you have to follow strict rules to go where you want to. The wind will remind him of how to get err going. Anybody who has a sailboat on a pasture like the O'day will let you have it. He is just emotionally getting able to sell his dream. All men get attached to vehicles that provide dreams, solitude, and moments of thrill.
This is the sailboat that put fear in my DW. It is a Viper 640 and went as fast as any boat could. It had no limitation due to its bulb keel that lifted it out of the water the faster you went. Not a good camping boat. but you sure could get there quickly.

Steve, I agree. I told DH it was like riding a bike and he does that every day! LOL! I think he lives in town and stores the boat out at his parents place. He said he keeps it covered during winter.
I can see why it scared your DW, I wouldn't be able to get on that boat either. She just looks fast sitting on the trailer.

Melissa, I have to retract my question, I can see now that it has a wheel. How do you like that or does DH let you at the helm?

Susan105

My sister and her DH spent 6 years on their sailboat - went everywhere but are now back on land. They started feeling to many aches and pains and decided they were too old. Now live in Oakridge near Red. I know absolutely nothing about boats. Theirs was named 'Flicka' and was an older wooden boat - beautiful. They worked so hard on it.

Sofer your boat looks really scary to someone like me who knows nada about floating stuff.

I started a new thread about composting. Please give me all your opinions! Thanks.

I DID!
Susan105

Love the pic with the cats and chicken, Trish
I like that site.

Melissa and Steve, DH called me a while ago and said to google, is it bad luck to change the name of a boat, I'm going there now.

TTYL
Susan105

This message was edited Mar 10, 2009 12:52 PM

The website I found is Boat Re-naming Ceremony-Knautical Know How. Obviously Steve, you didn't do what it says to do when you re-named your boat. Shame on you! LOL!

Susan105

I have a question. Has anyone ever seen a Sparrow this color? I have looked at it through binoculars thinking it was a different species of bird, but it has the same identical markings as a Sparrow only yellow and it's here every yr with the Sparrows.
Susan105

Wow, it's cute! I think that there's a strong chance that it's an albino.

Not here, but I have seen finches that color.

I got to watch this morning, while having my cup of coffee. And looking out the window. A Redheaded woodpecker. So wish I was dress to go outside to get a pic. but by the time I could get out there he would have been gone. I have a pair of woodpeckers ln the tree out back, they come every year, raise they babies and leave. But they are not the Red headed. was cool.

I have been looking at different sites and I think what Laura and I saw yesterday was a Trumpeter Swan....we had a few down at the lake several years ago...maybe they are coming back!

Trish that's so cool to have that wildlife around!

Susan I cannot drink that amount of liquor to rename a boat. So I shall never rename a boat.

ROFLMBO!!!! just 2 words "SHE'S OURS"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!^_^^_^^_^^_^
Susan105

Congratulations!!! Happy sailing!

Thank you!!! Now we get to travel 624 miles (one way) to get her. We'll go around the first part of Apr.

TTTYL!
Susan105

I forgot where she is - it should be a fun trip to bring her home. Where will you dock her?

WOW from probably to SHE'S OURS in ten minutes flat. That's how long it took me to catch up. Congratulations!! Wouldn't get me out on the ocean in anything smaller than a liner and they're too crowded.^_^ But I'm happy that you get to have your dream. I would love the ride, love the solitude and the beauty, but the ocean is just too big. And I can't swim. Can you update us on the trip home with the new boat, that would be fun. Happy Sailing to all who love it.

Steve....no wonder DW fears that boat. There's no back end on the thing!!

Trisha...looked up the Trumpeter Swan....you did mean a lot bigger than a Canada Goose!!! Would really like to see one of those flying. My book says they're rare here (Willamette Valley), but possible on farm fields. Tundra Swan would be more likely. Maybe someday I'll get to see one.

lol... too funny about the boat naming. It's a good thing that I'll likely never have a boat, I'm sure I'd have horribly bad luck!

Congrats Susan!!! that's great. what a trip you have to get the boat and many adventures to look forward to!

Could be, what ever it was it was really big! I have never seen anything like that flying around here before... a few years ago we had some large white geese or swans down at the lake, never was that close but they were considerably larger than the Canada's.

Trisha...my book says 60" w/80" wingspan for Trumpeter and 52" w/66" for the Tundra compared to 36" w/50 for Canada Goose. That's one big bird. Says a century ago they were almost extinct, but is rapidly recovering.

All I can say is they are beautiful and really impressive when they appear out of nowhere like this one did....I would really like to see it up close!

Oh wonderful! Congratulations on the new boat! I'll have to show my dh and he'll be pleased for you. We love our Cal 34. I had a hard time leaving the Catalina fleet behind, but now I am pleased. Moonrise is a breeze to sail, no pun intended, and yes, Steve, Mike singlehands her (although I'm not really a fan of that). She handles really well and loves a stiff wind. One thing about this boat that I like a lot is that I have never feared that she would go over. Even when we were in 30 knot winds or more up in the gulf islands, and we were in too much sail for the wind, she handled strong and I felt safe. That was not the case on the Catalina, even though she never went over. I think it's the size. I like the 34 foot size and we took less than a day to get accustomed to it. When we sail together, I'm at the wheel probably more than DH because nothing is automatic on this boat and he is stronger than I am. So winching the sails is really his job, although I can do it.

Here is Sydney Spit. We loved it there so much.

I'm not a sailor, but I have heard that it is bad luck to change the name of a boat. Not sure where, but probably anecdotally in my reading.

Have you posted the picture of the "sparrow" in the bird forum. They could id it lickity split. I don't think it's albino, because there is some pigment on its wings. Are you sure it isn't a finch?

Wow, trumpeter swan. That must be a sight.

Never have seen a sparrow that color! That is cool for sure
Here's another one at the spit.
I forgot to say the one thing I do not like about Moonrise is that going in reverse, there is 0 steering. Absolutely none. It makes getting out of the slip at the marina quite interesting at times. But I will never go back to a tiller, even though I know some people love them. It's mainly a matter of hurting the next day after sailing in a stiff wind. It's not muscle pain, it's joint pain. It really cramps me up. But the wheel is no problem. I can steer it with my feet if the wind isn't too strong.

I just liked this photo taken in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. I think my dh has a picassa site dedicated to other photos from that trip. I'll get the link from him tomorrow and post it for anyone who wants to see them.

great pic's Pixy!

I think you posted the link before, Melissa. And the pictures were awesome. It sure would be worth sharing again.

Susan, it might also be a "leucistic" sparrow. It's one of the varying degrees of albinoism. it's a little hard to find a picture of one just like that one because there are pics of some that just have 'patches' that lack pigment and others that are nearly white. anyhow, this site has a picture that looks pretty similar to the one in your tree

http://www.otterside.com/htmfiles/sparrow10.htm

the second pic down.

other leucistic examples http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=leucistic%20sparrow&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi


This message was edited Mar 10, 2009 11:23 PM

This message was edited Mar 10, 2009 11:33 PM

Really interesting, Shelly. I'd never heard of this. It sounds like eye pigment might be a way to tell the difference. if the eye has pigment, then the sparrow is leucistic, rather than albino. And piebald coloring is a form of leucism . . . hmmm . . . learn something new every day.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leucism

I agree. I don't know if that's the case or not. I don't know a thing about birds. But, I had a luecistic guinnea pig as a kid! can you imagine a six year old saying leucistic! :-p If not for that, I wouldn't have known the term even existed.

That's funny. I've never heard of Piebald!! good to know.

leucistic.....new word for today. I've seen the condition on animal shows, probably didn't hear what it was called.

Piebald I know, from horses.

Another DG lesson. LOL

good morning,
I went halfs on a I believe a 1978-79 sunflower(then old and used) with my neighbor a long while ago, took it to Lk Washington to learn
to sail in a very brisk wind, got in a drucken arguement, got knocked me overboard, let him have the darn thing.
We "kissed and made up" later. -- the problem he was deaf on one side and two idiots in a wind storm was not
a good start to this now faded dream. But we didn't spend too much- I think the beer cost more.

The bird -- it might be a golden-crown sparrow --- Zonotrichia atricapilla -- they were around up here this winter.

Bug Alert! Went out to check on some wild mahonia that needs to be moved or else the power co. will destroy it -- they
have a clear cutting chipping rig that cleared 2 neighbors away area under the high wires in Jan.- and there is a soft needle pine with the
southwest (edit-don't know directions) bottom limb filled with tent-caterpillars. Could not believe it-- cut and bagged it--the weather and these guys.

Lovely boats and red skies every night


This message was edited Mar 11, 2009 6:11 AM

Good morning everyone! Thank you for the congrats! It really hasn't hit home yet about being the proud owner of a 25' sailboat. DH still thinks it's a dream. LOL We're looking forward to the trip, we need a vacation. We actually haven't had a real vacation for about 10 yrs, and when he retires look out, we're GONNA BE OUTTA HERE!!! LOL!

Melissa, I would love to see the pics. As it turns out, you and I have something in common besides sailing, our DH's name. What is it with the names Mike and Susan? Our DD's MIL's name is Susan, our poor GK's! LOL! I'm known as either Grandma Sue or farm GM since we live on a farm.
I had a pretty good feeling you took the helm as it IS hard work pulling in the sheets even with a winch. I know I can do it too, but Mike told me he wants me to sail her as much as him if not more. As far as going over, we never did that on our 22' Catalina either, and we were in some pretty heavy winds on Waldo Lake in the mtns. The problem with them up there is, it's swirly, so you have to watch the water real close as you can see the gust coming and you have to be able to compensate for it just before it hits the sails. The good thing about the O' Day is, it's self righting, it has a shoal keel w/cb, 2'6" draft w/cb up and 6' draft w/cb down. As far as going in reverse and 0 steering, I remember when we chartered the 27' O' Day, it was a tiller, but there was very little steering in reverse as well. Kind of gives you the feeling of helplessness when that happens. I really liked the Catalina line too, but we've had 2
O' Day's in the past 17' and 20' and we liked them real well too.

Trisha, we have Trumpeter Swans on the Deschutes River here. They were brought in yrs ago and adapted very well. They are gorgeous birds, mean too, especially this time of yr.

Katy, yes I think I have, but much to my surprise I never got a definite answer.

Shelly, YOU hit the nail on the head about the Sparrow. It's a little brighter in color than the one in those pics. I'm really surprised there's only one here though, but I'm glad it is as I really enjoy seeing it.

Speaking of birds, we had a Junco here yesterday that I'm not exactly sure what was wrong with it, I don't know whether a cat caught it and it got away or it ran into a window somewhere, anyway it was flying really low to the ground and Moose caught it, I immediately went out and told him to put it out, he put it on the ground and it laid there until I picked it up and put out of harms way. Then about a half an hour later, Brute caught it! I did the same with him as with Moose, he put it on the ground and I made him leave it until it hopped out of the yard into the pasture. The good news is, I found out that they both have a soft mouth, because if they hadn't that bird wouldn't have survived Moose or Brute. What happened to it later, I have no idea. Unfortunately it probably died.

Steve, DH was wrong about the Albatross, it's the Seagull that sailors don't kill. There's an awful lot of sailor's souls flying around! Believe me, we won't change the name either, besides, in this area it is definitely fitting. just waitin' has only been sailed on salt water once and that was just for one day on the Great Salt Lake. Rick (the present owner) took her down there the one time and he said it was a cesspool and would never go back, he sailed her singlehandedly. Other than that one time she's always been a fresh water boat. DH will have to redo the bottom paint in the near future though (not a fun job), since this is a team effort I will definitely help him with the task. I'm getting excited just thinking about her, I can't wait to get there and actually touch her. I think she's going to be my baby as much as DH's!

TTYL,
Susan105

My mom just called....I find the timing amusing.....

This man had been wanting a boat and his wife kept saying no...no...no! finaly he couldn't stand it and bought a boat. In order to try and keep Peace he told the wife she could name the boat. She thought about it, then made the arrangements and had her selection painted on the boat. The husband was very excited as he approached the boat in the slip......In large beautiful letters along the bow was her choice.....For Sale.