Superb Owl Sunday

Posted on February 9, 2025 by Mary Beth Frezon

I was just sitting watching some folks online talk about the state of the world when I heard… SOMETHING. I paused the video to verify it wasn’t coming from the computer and no! I RAN out of the house, grabbing a sweater, went out the garage-side door and stood listening and looking in the general direction the sound had come from and saw this. (click photo for video). Eventually the owl flew off to join its mate in a tree near the next house and then they flew off together.

A barred owl sits in a group of trees, center top third of the image.

After that, what else could happen? Not much. So I fiddled around having a little dinner while the four young deer stopped by to scarf up birdseed.

Photo: Two deer stand side by side with their heads toward the camera, noses together, eating sunflower seeds from the snow. A slender pole is at left, which holds bird feeders above the deer

I read some more news stuff and then I sat down and painted this:

Watercolor painting: winter landscape scene of gentle pink and yellow sunset with dark gray clouds and light horizon. In foreground a plowed path cuts diagonally past some shrugs to a group of dark red buildings at left. Beyond the buildings, a dark hill with scattered bits of sky and snow popping through. The buildings have snow on the roofs and the snow looks new and blue-ish color in the fading light.

Posted in 418 Petersburg, birds and chickens, Bucket List, clouds, Do the Work, In the neighborhood, landscape, Miscellany, OneGoodThing, sunsets, the creative process, watercolor | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Grinder Roosts At Last

Posted on February 4, 2025 by Mary Beth Frezon

This was yesterday’s job. My antique coffee grinder had been waiting around for me to commit and this was the only reasonable place it could go. It should be level from all the measuring and level checking but who knows. (And who knows what’s really behind that 3/4″ wood molding) It relies on shoulders/arms strength rather than hands/fingers. And the first pot today was spot on – just as it’s always been. For grins I checked the weight and it was dead on to what I’d been measuring out to grind, lol. Not sure how that’s possible but there ya go.

Photo: An antique coffee grinder attached to a horizontal wood molding. The grinder has a glass jar with black cap above a black cast iron body with curved arm and wooden handle. Below, there is a pint mason jar to catch the grinds. To the right sitting on the ledge is a black cat inspecting the job, looking at the camera, crouched above his front paws. Behind, there is a bright window.

Posted in 418 Petersburg, badass-ness, cats helpful cats, coffee and tea, Do the Work | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

I didn’t have a single *&^% left… until I did!

Posted on November 6, 2024 by Mary Beth Frezon

This is totally off the wall advice but I give it based on my own experience. You know how we laugh with a friend or groups that we’re “just outta fucks to give”?

A couple years ago I gifted a friend with a ziplock baggie of the word fuck written on some colored cardstock I had and cut into tiny slips, one word to a slip.

I sat over several nights writing sheets full of the same word with a little sharpie pen. Nothing fancy.

My friend laughed when she got the new supply of fucks to give but here’s the thing: I felt great while I was writing and after. I wasn’t shouting FFF with each scribble, but at some level it was a great purge of my psyche.

So whether it’s you or your friends who need a new supply, give it a try. Let me know if it works for you like it did for me.

Posted in badass-ness, Do the Work, family and friends, fountain pens, note to self, RESIST, Ripped from the headlines, words | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

November 5, 2024

Posted on November 5, 2024 by Mary Beth Frezon

I just went out to check for mail and to empty my coffee grounds into the garden. Beautiful sunny day, almost seventy degrees. Heading out in a bit to pick up Mom and spend the rest of the day together.

No mail, grounds given to the worms, I turned to go back in and looked up to see a bald eagle flying overhead. That’s a sight that never gets old!

I thought – and that, folks, is why you need to keep looking UP, keep pointing your thoughts UP but keep looking up: you see wonderful things you might not expect. If your head’s up, you can see where you’re going further into the distance.

If your head and thoughts are downward, you only see dirt, and where your feet are and you think everything and everyone is worthless and below you. Who knows what will happen if you move your feet? You can’t see too far ahead so everything seems risky and perilous.

So, perhaps a pollyanna moment but I’m keeping it no matter what. The pizza dough is rising, the toppings are ready and there’s plenty of wine and other beverages and noshies in the house.

If you haven’t voted yet, Do it now. Vote for yourself and all your loved ones, to keep them safe and to give them a good future where they can look up everyday. Go where eagles go.

Posted in badass-ness, birds and chickens, Do the Work, family and friends, good causes, gratitude, In the neighborhood, note to self, taking time to look | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Stay Tuned

Posted on November 1, 2024 by Mary Beth Frezon

The Cat Cam is undergoing some renovation because the long-time software, EvoCam, isn’t being updated anymore. So, while it works most oƒ the time, it has become increasingly prone to crashes etc. I can’t complain after all these years, but it really was a wonderful piece of software. It did exactly what folks wanted and in a clear and simple way.

Anyway, I’m trying a new software, with the somewhat scary name of SecuritySpy. It’s designed to let you view multiple cameras around the house etc but I’m just interested in viewing birds and cats. It’s not free but I don’t mind paying for software that does what it advertises to do. The only thing I don’t see is how to not end up with five thousand cat pics when ten will suffice if updated as they happen.

This is just to say
I’m trialing new software
to show you the cats.

Posted in Administrivia, cats helpful cats, Do the Work, geeky stuff, kittens, life on the web, photography | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment