On ice

February 21, 2011 | Iowa,Weather,Winter

Our lights flickered for several hours yesterday. Then they went out. And stayed out. We pulled out the sofa-sleeper, opened up the recliners and camped out in the living room, where the fireplace is. I read by candlelight for a while, then made sure everyone was tucked in, blew out the candles and found a spot under the covers. I’d say I slept, but that didn’t really happen. I was up again at 2 a.m., when the power came back, turning things off again. This morning, we cleared downed branches. We’d heard the trees cracking under the ice all night.

Posted by Becky @ 10:59 am | Comments

I watch the birds fly south across the autumn sky

October 21, 2009 | Iowa,Weird things

For just a few hours one day in October, my yard was filled with thousands of birds. When I first pulled into my driveway, I noticed the grass in my yard was black. Then I looked again. My grass wasn’t black. My grass was covered with black birds. As I neared the garage, they flew off in a mass. I parked the car, grabbed my cameras and followed them around the yard.

They flitted about and flew from tree to tree in droves. It was fascinating and a little creepy in a Hitchcockian way.

They were so high in the trees, I figured there was no way they could hear me over their own noise. But as I walked through the yard, it seemed as if I disturbed one and set them off to swarm away in a group to the next tree. At that moment, the chirping would stop, and all I could hear was the fluttering of wings. (I’d also get that dippy feeling in my stomach that maybe I should duck or run for cover.) Then the chorus would start again.

I listened and watched for about an hour. By the time I brought the kids home from school, all the birds were gone.