HAPPY NEW YEAR FOR THE BIRDIES

After reading my post about the ice in the birdbath the other day, SWMBO said "I think I can fix that."

She said her dad had rigged up a small light bulb underneath the basin in his wife's birdbath which kept the water warm enough that it didn't freeze.

So she found a small bulb and jammed it up inside the pedestal under the water dish with some aluminum* foil.

She added some duct tape to keep everything in place, ran the wire out the bottom of the pedestal, connected it to an extension cord which was connected to another extension cord which was plugged into an outdoor socket.

The Weather Gods tell me it got down to 15.8 degrees F. (-9 C.) here last night.

So I was mightily curious when I rose early this morning.

I couldn't tell from my window spy position until a bird finally showed up and took the first sip.

Not a bit of ice!

For the first time in days!

My early morning ice-chipping days are over!

SWMBO (and her dad) are brilliant and she is reigning triumphant today.

The birds seem as grateful as I am.

They've been swarming it for a couple of hours, having their morning drinks.

*Have you noticed some of the cooks on the Food Network saying they used some "tin" foil in a recipe. I think it's all aluminum these days.

THROWBACK THURSDAY

How we used to ring in the New Year.

How I ring in the New Year in more recent times.

Whichever it is for you, my Loyal Gentle Readers, may your New Year's Eve be a safe and happy one.

DRINKS ON THE ROCKS

It was only about 17 degrees F (-8 C) this morning as I tried to break up the ice in the bird bath/drinking fountain.

Obviously I didn't do too good of a job.

Still, the finches and their friends found dribs and drabs here and there as they arrived for their morning drinks.

Yesterday must have been warmer or at least I did a better job as the water was ice-free, much to the birdies satisfaction.

Sometimes I wish I'd never started this but having been praised for my efforts, now I figure I can't stop.

You may call me Bird Brain.

TUESDAY TRAVELS

What did I say???

Mugging in Salzburg, Austria. 1985.

THE STATE OF OUR UNION

SWMBO and I have toned down our Christmas celebrating over the years.

It's almost a non-event anymore.

This year it involved a visit to the BRD's house for a couple of Bloody Mary's and a champagne brunch.

Only a few hours and then we were back home for naps and resting.

With a tiny exception for the BRD, we don't gift anymore.

We have decided we have everything we need. More than, actually, as we've begun divesting ourselves of old photographs and letters and other family documents that we've held onto and moved and moved and moved over the years.

We have become Senior Citizens.

How did that happen?

Back in a previous century when we lived in Mexico we would get together with our friends on the holiday for way too many drinks and a feast.

One year I wrote limericks for each of the participants. I think I still have copies of them around somewhere.

A number of those friends have died since that great party.

This is a picture taken at our going away party when we had decided to return to the United States, back in 1991.

Three nations are represented there: Germany, the U.S., and Mexico. Our ex-pat friends were an international group.

This is also a time for traveling among some of our blogger friends.

Tom and Lucy (who live in Brittany) made a several day trip to Iceland for the steaming pools and the Northern Lights and a ride on and a visit with some beautiful horses.

Dr. M and Dana Bug have just returned from a Caribbean cruise that took them to tours on several islands.

We don't do that kind of traveling any more although SWMBO has just left for a two-day visit with our friend, Diane, in the Big Valley.

(As I was writing this, I just had a telephone call from her. The car's tire pressure was low and I had told her to stop and have them pumped up. She called to tell me she now had the tires filled and to ask if I knew the horn honked when the proper pressure was reached. I did not and said "I'll bet you scared the hell out of the guy filling the tires."

She said he was startled and she told him "I'll bet you thought I did that," but another worker said that this car horn honks automatically when the proper pressure is attained.

You learn something every day.)

So I am batching with the cats for a couple of days.

Since I don't have a car I will probably stay in my snuggy new reindeer pants that I got for Christmas for the duration.

I know, I know, TMI.

THE DOWNSLOPE

My new banner photo is in honor of the next holiday we're all facing: New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

The picture was taken in a tiki bar in Phoenix a couple of years ago when we lived down there, once again.

I've been tending to our bird bath and drinking fountain this morning as the temperature hovers in the teens and twenties.

It was frozen solid when I first went out, a little before eight this morning, and I couldn't budge or crack the ice.

I poured some warm water in and a bit later it too was frozen.

So I've repeated this exercise several times, each time banging a bit of the ice loose.

The finches and their friends (whom I haven't identified as to species yet) seem to realize when the fresh water is there and how fast it's freezing over as they flock to the moisture.

I've seen as many as six birds at one time at the dish where under normal conditions only one or two will be there at once.

The mercury only rose to 37 F. (3 C.) here yesterday but it's supposed to be about 10 degrees warmer today.

I can barely wait.

Speaking of rushing the season, I saw this on the street recently.

That's a sweet old vintage Corvette convertible.

It reminded me (once again - I think I've told this story before) of springtime in North Dakota.

When the temperature would get up to the 30's anyone who had a convertible would put the top down and cruise proudly around town.

With the heater running full blast.

But no convertible in my family so I didn't partake of the springtime ritual.

As Val Kilmer playing Doc Holliday in "Tombstone" says, "My hypocrisy only goes so far."

CHRISTMAS WRAP-UP

I know Christmas 2015 is now in the past but some review of it is in order.

This is the Christmas tree in the showroom at Lamb Nissan in nearby Prescott.

I left the chair in the photo to give you an idea of the size of the tree.

The warranty on my Altima ended on December 5th.

16 days later the inside door handle on the driver's side broke.

It cost $75 to repair it.

As I said to the service advisor,  "Isn't that always the way?"

The elf seemed quietly pleased.

We went to the BRD's house for a Christmas brunch.

She's very artistic and always does a nice job with decorations.

The chandelier over the dining table was draped with holiday decor.

But it was what was ON the table that interested me.

Crab cakes Benedict adapted from a Bobby Flay recipe. Yum!

Meantime back at the manse, in spite of cold weather and occasional snow, one of our backyard shrubs was showing it's holiday color.

A generally happy Christmas season.