Hawks and much ado about very little else....

Heading out shortly...will walk to the post office, bank, then another mile or so to get hair cut at George's....back by Noon, then this afternoon off to work a Junior High girls double at Wayne Trace....this morning dawned clear and cold across the Grand Lake Region, temperature may reach the mid 30s by this afternoon, but right now, it sets at 26 degrees.

The Hawk...part 2

I did not see any signs of the Hawk yesterday.....but I'm not really looking out the kitchen windows at all hours either....but seeing and photographing him on Tuesday did remind me of one of my favorite Seinfeld Episodes....#162 to be exact.   This segment is from when Kramer found the set of the old Merv Griffin Show in a dumpster.  The side shows have Jerry getting his girlfriend drunk so he can play with her old toy collection, and George running over a pigeon and a Squirrel...which of course reminded me of the back yard Hawk, who has harassed our collection of Sparrows, Squirrels, and Pigeons, in past years....the episode was one of the best.  Here in the final 7 minutes or so you will see Jerry confronted by his girlfriend, and George, with Bionic Squirrel, come face to face with a Hawk...:
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsUX-sCMDuw&feature=related 

One of the best......

No game last night, but did attend a rules meeting in Van Wert, so I've got three of the four required local meetings, as well as the state meeting completed....

Off on my walk around town....back later>>>>

Photos-Our Visiting Backyard Hawk, and the Seinfeld, Merv Griffin/Hawk/Squirrel Episode #162



 

Return of the Marsh Hawk....and 70 Years Ago Today, A Day that.........

Drove through the fog and mixed drizzle with icy mist late yesterday to work a girls JV basketball game at Convoy Crestview...which resulted in a close fought 30-27 for the home squad.  I showered and left before the end of the first quarter of the Varsity contest.  Arriving home at 8:30 as the drizzle had turned to light snow, but only a dusting occurred and the roads are clear this morning, as the sun begins to shine through the early morning cloud cover.

The Hawk Returns_____

 About this same time, the first year I started this blog, I believe the early winter of 2007-08, a Marsh Hawk began hanging around the back yard bird and Squirrel feeder.  That first late fall and early winter, he{or she?, but I believe it to be a male given the size} started off catching a slow moving Pigeon or two.  The Pigeons were nesting high on our roof and the old Church across the street.  They were easy prey for the Hawk....when the old Mersman Factory Building was raised, those birds moved on, but the Hawk continued to come back for a chance to feast on Doves or the smaller, but quicker, noisy Sparrows that gathered each morning.  On occasion I would note a successful hunt by the larger bird.  On some visits he would face off with one of the dozen or so back yard Squirrels, but would invariably fly away from the confrontation.  I'm sure the Hawk could have taken out a "tree rat" if he was really hungry, but the price he would have to pay apparently was not worth the effort...unlike Doves, Pigeons, and Sparrows, those Squirrels have teeth.

Last Winter, the Hawk only showed up on a couple of occasions, I had however noticed, if this indeed was the same bird, that he had grown over the previous 4 winters, and had become a quite strong looking and attractive bird.  So it was yesterday I let Reagan, the 13 1/2 year old Airedale, out for her Noontime duties, I had already given the birds and Squirrels their morning ration of feed seed, and corn....when Reagan began scratching on the back door, I let her in, as I opened the door, there he was, the Hawk, on top of the arbor, ripping apart the remains of an unlucky Sparrow.  Unlike past years, the Hawk didn't fly when Reagan was out, and he looked at me as I stood in the doorway, but didn't bother to cease his feeding.  This gave me the opportunity to run back in and grab the small Nikon.....

Putting the camera on auto~focus, I began to snap photos of the feeding predator.  As he stayed, I moved forward, finally getting more than a dozen photos, as he finally jump onto the high wires, and eventually flew into the neighbors tree filled yard to the west.  The point and shoot Nikon, although I enjoy the ease of its workings, is not best for outdoor close-up shots, my hands just are not that steady these days, and I didn't have the time to set it on the mini tripod...so out of the 16 total photos, perhaps 5, after working with them on my computer imaging studio, came out worthwhile....I particularly like the one above with him sitting in the tree staring down at me...done feeding, but not happy that I rushed his meal with my intrusion.

70 years ago today_____

Over seven years before I was born in Van Wert, Ohio, The Japanese attacked the Hawaiian outpost of Pearl Harbor.  Historical stories differ, and as more evidence is uncovered, it remains a question just how much of a "Surprise Attack" the invasion really was.

Was FDR well aware of the coming attack?  Was he indeed wanting the attack to happen so he could toss the US into the second World War?  Or was this FDR shining moment, an opportunity to save his long lasting, but ultimately failed Presidency, after all the Great Depression, for all of his Socialist Engineering, was still gripping America.   Perhaps a combination of all these theories and more....As a student of American History, especially the Civil War and WW2. {both to me, much more interesting than "my war, Vietnam" or any other, including WW1, in American History}...I have my thoughts, but admit, I really don't know the thought process of the ultimate progressive mind of Franklin D. Roosevelt....a man I consider right down there with Wilson, Carter, LBJ, and the current Assclown Kenyan, as the five worst Presidents in US History.

Regardless, whatever the reason or cause for our entrance into the Second World War, Pearl Harbor was the catalyst of our going to war...and like Americans back then{not so today}, we were going to war to win it...and we did.  America, my ego included, won WW2 pretty much by ourselves, sure we had help, from the Brits, Canadians, Aussies, and Russians...but make no mistake, if not for the American GI, the war would have been lost......there can be no argument on that fact.

So looking at today, what would happen if we are attacked, by Iran, China, or even North Korea?  Here is a hint, especially if the current Islamic Camel Fornicator is in office...NOT A DAMN THING!  

Barack Insane Obama, his Administration, the Media, and his supporters, haven't the guts or balls to fight anybody...they are cowards to the Nth degree.   Any attack on America would, under his lack of leadership, go unpunished.  The diplomats would be called in...and it would end there.  As long as anti Americans are in charge of America, and the Media cheers them on{being America haters for the most part itself}, we are in deep dung.....it is indeed time for a change.  The question is, is it too late?

Something to think about on this 70th anniversary of the Attack{surprise or not} on Pearl Harbor:

back later>>>>

Photos-The Large Marsh Hawk made its return to our back yard yesterday, feeding on the noisy Sparrows that feed at the station and arbor that sit along the fence.....and would we have the same "guts" today as we had 70 years ago?  I think not, Hell today we can't even call the Japs "Japs"...no politically correct you know, you know we would not be able to call the Islamics invaders what they are, "Stinking Terrorists", let alone fight them...such is America in the days of Obammy.....

Winter Sets In, College Football Bowl Season is here, and Happy Birthday "Endora"

Looking out some 2 weeks into the future, I can see no days above 35 degrees for highs, with most days slated to be in the 20s, with lows in the teens...pretty rare to be this cold for an extended period this early in the season...after all we are still technically in "Fall".  So much for Global Warming...one thing I've noticed of late, folks have tired of the lies of the left wing Marxists and media about Global Warming...most thinking folks know what many of us have known all along....there is no such thing as man made Global Climate Change...it is indeed a hoax!

Return of the Marsh Hawk____

I walked out back this morning to give the ration of seed and feed to the Sparrows, Cardinals, and Gray Squirrels...the pair of red birds along with the hoards of small pesky Sparrows came swooping in fast, and began their feast....I came back in, read some material on the Internet and began preparing for my morning writings.  Some 15 minutes later, I popped out of my chair for another, my third, cup of coffee....and lo and behold, the birds were gone.  It didn't take long to figure out why.  I looked above the feeders in the backyard and saw the looming form of our resident Marsh Hawk...killer of birds, and other small rodents and mammals, lurking above the vines and feeders by the back fence.

Now of course I cannot be sure it this is the same one that has been hanging around for the past 4 winters....they look pretty similar, and it wasn't around as much last year(a mild winter), as the brutal winter of 08 and 09, and the previous 07/08 winter.  But given the early signs of a long, cold, season, my guess is he(or she) will make more visits this season, as it progresses.

Bowl Season has Arrived_____

Ohio State's Buckeyes are once again in a BCS Bowl....Coach Jim "The Vest" Tressel has a 5-3 record in BCS games in his previous years...this season OSU takes on the Arkansas Razorbacks on January 4, 2011, in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.  Wisconsin the tri-champion(along with Ohio State and Mich State) of the Big Ten, will take on TCU in the Rose Bowl on 1/1/11...while the Spartans are left with the "Booby Prize" of the Capitol One Bowl against Alabama, also on New Years Day...despite the fact MSU defeated Wisconsin early in the season.  The tie breaker was not kind to Michigan State.  In the National Title Game, undefeated Auburn takes on the Oregon Ducks.  For the rest of the BCS and other bowl action, click on the link:

http://www.bcsfootball.org/ 

Happy 110th Birthday Agnes Moorehead___


To most folks my age or younger, Agnes Moorehead, will be always remembered as "Endora", the conniving mother witch of Elizabeth Montgomery, "Samantha", in the 1960s TV show "Bewitched".  Born in Massachusetts on this day in 1900, Moorehead was actually so much more as an actress.

Moorehead passed away on April 30, 1974, and is buried just down the road in Dayton, Ohio.  She was a college alumni of Muskingum College in Ohio, and owned a large tract of land near Rix Mills, in the hilly area of southeastern Ohio.  She was a devote Christian and conservative in her political leanings...she left her "Emmy" and papers to the College, and her land to Bob Jones University.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnes_Moorehead

Outside of "Bewitched" I fist saw Moorehead in the Bogart and Bacall offering "Dark Passage".  After I got XM Radio a few years back and became a fan of "Old Time Radio Channel", I learned that Moorehead was one of the great Radio Actresses of that time, working between 1937 and 1954...then coming back for the first installment of the CBS Radio Mystery Theater.  She performed in two episodes before her death at the age of 73.  Moorehead's death of cancer, is one of the many that happened to actors and crew of the John Wayne/Howard Hughes bomb(no pun intended), "The Conqueror" from 1956.  To date, 90 of the 220 or so cast members, including Wayne, Moorehead, Susan Hayward, Director Dick Powell, and dozens of others have died from cancer.  The shooting site of the film was downwind from a Nuclear test site:

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/374/did-john-wayne-die-of-cancer-caused-by-a-radioactive-movie-set

Agnes Moorehead began in Radio with her friend Orson Wells on the series "The Shadow", in 1937, where she was the voice of "the lovely Margo Lane"...she played in hundreds(if not thousands) of radio broadcasts and was a long time supporting actress in dozens of feature films long before she played "Endora".  She received four Oscar Nominations and 7 Emmy awards, but won only once, that for an episode of Robert Conrad's "Wild Wild West" in the late 1960s.

Roundball, Dartball, etc.....

Saturday I officiated three basketball games, giving me a total of 10 for the week.  I certainly used the time off yesterday to rest the back, legs, and knees.  9 more games scheduled for this week...including a boys Junior High double header tonight here in Celina.  Following that I will make the 20 minute drive to Rockford to toss darts, probably arriving near the end of the first of 3 games.

The week will be busy, and the weather will remain cold....winter is here early.

Back Later>>>>

Photos-The PRH backyard has that "Winter" look, and it's likely to stay that way for the foreseeable future.  The Marsh Hawk is back, and perched, looking for a meal.  Ohio State faces Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl.  Agnes Moorehead as "Endora", and years before as "Margo Lane" in the "Shadow" Radio program which started in 1937.

The Hawk Returns

Was just looking out my kitchen window and noticed our resident Marsh Hawk had returned again this morning. He has been back for a week or so now, and seems intent to visit the back yard feeder, and feed on the sparrows that frequent there. Sam noticed the smaller birds making a noise on Monday....I looked out the window and there it was, looking down at the smaller birds as they were hiding out between the raspberry bushes....on occasion he grabs one, or a pigeon(although they don't frequent the roof area as much when he is around).

I am assuming he is the same one as last year...but of course, who knows? He has the same habits for sure....fly in-grab at a sparrow, and take off...especially if I let Reagan out to guard the back yard...the Airedale and the bird have had stare offs before, the Hawk blinks and takes off.

Last basketball scrimmage was last night at Spencerville last night....Sam begins his regular season tonight at Lima Central Catholic with a girls Freshman game vs. Lima Senior....I being my regular games at St. Henry with a high school JV game before the regular season Varsity contest...game time is Noon this coming Saturday.

I had spent over an hour typing a second post about "Out of the Past" this morning....Blogger, or the computer, took a puke, and saved nothing into auto save....that pissed me off, and I don't have the time or patience to redo that post at this time. So that's is it for today....I'll give it a shot tomorrow....such is life in the blog world.

back later>>>>>>>>>

photo-the backyard Hawk checking out the sparrows on Monday.