Bluebird is back

Been in and out of the bird-house, getting ready for nesting, I guess. Last year, our bluebirds moved in about a month earlier than this year.

Sorry about the fuzzy photo; shot from the living room, through glass and screen.

PS - On a walk this morning, spotted a huge pileated woodpecker, in the ravine with the shortcut path between the club docks and Finch Drive. Big, red-headed fellow!

Vogel State Park, etc.

We set out this morning for Brasstown Bald, but when we got to the road up the mountain, it was gated. Road Closed! Probably ice on the road, or perhaps trees down; but, with 2.5 miles and 2000' of elevation gain to deal with on the way to the summit, we opted not walk in.

Instead, we went a little further west and south, on 180, then 19/129, to Vogel State Park. We hiked around the lake, visited the waterfall, and generally checked the place out.

Trahlyta Falls comes off the spillway from
the dam that forms the lake at Vogel State Park.

Lake Trahlyta and start of spillway; Vogel's facilities are at head of lake.

Waterfall video below the break (click on Read more).

First boat ride of the year

With the lake unexpectedly full in early February, due to heavy rains, we took the pontoon boat out for a cruise. At first the motor was shaky, full of the winter blues. But after a while, we were able to run it out, and it seemed good to go.

Chilly but sunny, and the lake to ourselves

A cat in the tree, at the lake shore in front of the mannequin house

Side-yard fence

I built this fence to screen the side-yard between Bill's house and ours, which is full of such useful but homely items as propane tanks, air-conditioning condensers and whole-house backup generators. 

Remaining to be built is a gate, which will be hinged left and swing towards the street. The gate will match the height and style of the main fence panels, left and right of the gate opening. The opening width is 34", more than wide enough for the existing equipment to be removed and replaced, if necessary. The gate posts are set in about a foot of gravel, with another foot of concrete to grade level. The limit on post-depth was the concrete top of the septic tank, 2 feet below grade. The ends of the fence are attached to the concrete masonry walls on each side, using TapCon screws.

The lower panel on the right side of the fence breaks the symmetry of the upper fence panels (which are each 4'x4'), but was necessary because the grade drops sharply to the right. Without the lower panel, cut to fit the grade, our propane tank would have been visible. We will probably plant something climbing, like jasmine or honeysuckle, on that side of the fence.

Update, February 9: Built the gate earlier in the week, at home, then installed it today. Check it out: