We have been busy around the Writing Studio and Bait Shop, on the theory that when things fall apart that we can’t fix, we should find something we can fix and do that.
Excellent. We can wash windows and screens. We have a lot of windows and screens, and three sets of sliding glass doors. We set to work with a will and finished all the windows and doors on three sides of the house, leaving only the three windows on the south side to do. One of them is temporarily occupied by a disputatious phoebe, but we’ll get at the other two on Friday morning before the sun reaches them. I would show you how nice the clean windows look, but it is surprisingly hard to get good photos of clean windows.
It is not possible to wash windows all day every day, but another thing that we could do in between windows was to groom the Cowboy, whose winter coat had become particularly scruffy. He is not any happier about being groomed than the phoebe is about the window-washing project, but by dint of daily effort Miss Sadie and I have gotten about three quarters of the shearing job done. After that we will get into the combing and brushing job.
All the window-washing and Cowboy grooming made for a lot of laundry. We piled it into the car and went off to wash the whole mess. While the clean towels dried we took a walk and admired an old tree. I wonder how it came to grow that way, dividing and reuniting in mid-air. It has stood up there on the second ridge for more than a century, bearing the sweep of winter winds across the Bay, losing a limb every now and then, persevering. Now it welcomes another spring with new green leaves. Good for you, tree.
Exhausted from our labors, Miss Sadie, the Cowboy and I are early to bed every night. I fall asleep with a book open on my face, which contrary to expectations does not make a person healthy, wealthy or wise, but does mean that we are early to rise. That is how we came to meet the Barred Owl again.
I couldn’t choose between versions so here’s another. I am just delighted with the owl. (I have a simple mind and am easily entertained.)
Torch Lake Views 
shoreacres
June 4, 2014
No grooming to do on this end, but your windows are an inspiration. Unfortunately, I can’t get to all of mine, being on a third level, but the ones I can get to, including the sliding glass doors, could stand some attention. My to-do list was just expanded.
Great to see the owls, too. I didn’t remember until recently that when I was cranky as a child, my mother always would say, “Don’t be so owly.” Are owls cranky, do you suppose? Or is it just their expression?
You might enjoy the treat another blogging friend discovered in her neck of the woods — Alberta, Canada. Here’s a post that includes her snapshots of two baby owls in their nest. You surely have a nest around there somewhere. With luck, you’ll find it and we can enjoy it.
Gerry
June 4, 2014
Thank you for the link. Neighbor Bruce identified the nest, but as with your third-story windows, it is too high for us to see owlets (or take their pictures). Maybe one day we will be lucky enough to see one perched dizzily on the tree, wondering if it should try to fly.
Craig
June 4, 2014
Sleeping with a book balanced on your face could be a finishing-school exercise for maintaining good posture at all times.
Congratulations on your spring cleaning. When I feel the impulse to pick up a bottle of Windex, I turn to literature for excuses to procrastinate. Nabokov: “I was the shadow of the waxwing slain/By the false azure in the windowpane.” Quentin Crisp: “Housework is a mistake. After the third year, the dirt doesn’t get any worse.”
Gerry
June 4, 2014
Quentin Crisp was wrong. Don’t ask me how I know this.
tootlepedal
June 4, 2014
I agree about Quentin Crisp. He is wrong and I know because when I was a student I lived in a flat which I didn’t clean properly for three years and it was horrible by the end.
I would be delighted by such an owl.
Gerry
June 5, 2014
The owl is wise. If I understand correctly, it doesn’t even bother with a nest, which would just be something else to clean. Instead it focuses on higher questions: would that rodent be good to eat? Is this cavity suitable for an egg or two?
Joss
June 5, 2014
Beautiful owl! Was it out in daytime again? I thought they were nocturnal or at least crepuscular. I’ve never seen a wild owl before, although I’ve heard them plenty of times. Actually, I know of a hollow tree nearby which I’ve been meaning for a long time to stake out at dusk. I’d be absolutely delighted if I saw the tawny owl who is said to live there, but a photo is more than I could hope for.
Gerry
June 5, 2014
Thank you. Yes, I’ve seen the barred owl(s) at dusk and early in the morning and have heard them in the middle of the night. I think they have a little nap in the middle of the day, but they do hunt in daylight. I would love to see the owlets, but I’m beginning to think they may have fledged by now.
Dawn
June 5, 2014
Cleaning. Not fun. Owl watching…now that’s fun.
Gerry
June 5, 2014
Owl watching is the best fun I’ve had this spring, which is either a commentary on owls or on me. Hmmm.
uphilldowndale
June 5, 2014
I think that owl is very fine. I think you have to be a little careful if getting a close look at an owls roost/nest/hole in the branch, those talons are very sharp.
I’m off to give our first born’s room a dust over, it has been vacated since Christmas, and when he lands back from university for the summer, any day now, there will be no floor space to clean, no surface area for dust to settle.
Gerry
June 5, 2014
Thank you. I am leery of getting too close to any birds–I’ve seen bluejays attack people they thought were getting too close to baby birds–but watching them from a respectful distance is big fun.
I have visions of your son’s room within hours of his arrival. Rob the Firefighter has a way of filling a space. Maybe that’s why I miss him so much after he’s gone again.
Karma
June 5, 2014
I, too, am delighted with your owl! How wonderful to manage those photos. I also rather like the one showing the difference (I assume mid-shearing) between the Cowboy’s shorn and unshorn paws. I know a rather unruly collie who could use a good grooming if you are ever in the neighborhood! 😉
Gerry
June 6, 2014
I had hoped someone would notice the dramatic difference between the Cowboy’s paws! I thought it was hilarious, but I am a little eccentric. I will eventually manage a photo right after his bath that shows him to best advantage, all trimmed and clean at one time. Maybe.
WOL
June 14, 2014
Am finally moved, and am starting my catching up on blog reading. I am delighted by the owl, too. Rather a handsome one amid the leafy greenness.
Gerry
June 15, 2014
I’m glad the move is completed – always such a production, moving. I’m glad you liked the owl. I’m especially pleased with him/her.