Monday, December 27, 2010

Mount Manatee: 20-26 December 2010

Mammal Sightings: mule deer, pine squirrel

Bird Sightings: American crow, black-billed magpie, Steller's jay, mountain chickadee, pygmy nuthatch, Cassin's finch, dark-eyed junco, white-breasted nuthatch, northern flicker, hairy woodpecker, possible Clark's nutcracker,

Weather: still unseasonably warm. A touch of snow that melted quickly.  Temps in the 40sF.

Basement renovation: more dust; drywall finished, primer paint applied, final paint applied; shelves installed, outside siding replaced and painted; master shower/tub demolished and plumbing restructured; washer connector fixture replace.

Wildlife camera checked - after a week on the trail only two deer, several people and a bunch of snowflakes.

Friday, December 24, 2010

Mount Manatee: 13-19 December 2010

Mammal sightings: mule deer, red fox, pine squirrel

Bird sightings: not very exciting - mountain chickadee, pygmy nuthatch, white-breasted nuthatch, American crow, black-billed magpie, hairy woodpecker, Cassin's finch.

Basement renovation: drywall and plenty of dust. EVERYWHERE

Weather report - unusually warm and sunny on Monday, critters are hanging out in the woods and other places where real food can be found. Stayed warm all week.  Highly unusual to have this warm weather according to the locals

Monday, December 13, 2010

Mount Manatee: 6-12 December 2010

Mammal Sightings: mule deer, pine squirrel, least chipmunk, red fox

Bird Sightings: Week 4 of Project FeederWatch.  Mountain chickadee, black-billed magpie, pygmy nuthatch, hairy woodpecker, white-breasted nuthatch, dark-eyed junco, American crow, Steller's jay.  Bird activity around the feeder is slow because of all the bare ground and and relatively warm weather.

Snow Report: Monday - ground is nearly bare on south-facing sites; maybe a bit of snow later on. No snow this week. Unusually 'warm' for this time of year, especially when compared to last year (or so the big boys tell me).

Basement Renovation Report: Electrical, plumbing and framing inspections passed; ceiling and wall insulation installed, most of the drywall installed on Saturday - extremely dusty.  Maybe, just maybe, I've eliminated the expansion-contraction clicks in the east end of the heat duct under the master bedroom.  Disconnected an unused heat duct, disconnected the outside air intake as it is no longer needed.  Taped and braced the east end of the heat duct work.

Photography Report: Well, wildlife activity is pretty slow because of the warm weather.  Did get a photo of the contractor's dog on the wildlife camera.

Attended the homeowners association annual dinner at Golden Bell - excellent prime rib.
And, if you don't have a concealed weapons permit - and actually carry a concealed handgun - you will likely be in the minority here in Teller County.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Mount Manatee: 29 November - 5 December 2010

Mammal Sightings: Mule deer, pine squirrel, least chipmunk, red fox.  Deer seem to be forming small herds again now that mating season is almost over.

Bird Sightings:  Week 3 of Project FeederWatch; mountain chickadee, dark-eyed junco, Cassin's finch, pygmy nuthatch, white-breasted nuthatch, North American crow, evening grosbeak, red-breasted nuthatch, black-billed magpie, American crow.  Snow decreased the number and variety of sightings.

Snow Report: several inches of white stuff on Monday morning; plenty of fox and deer tracks in the yard; snow blower tested but barely enough snow for a real test; road grader/snow plow came through at about 0600 hrs Monday. Contractor's 2WD pickup couldn't make it up the 'hill' from the garage - snow packed and became very slippery. Had to tow him out with the 4WD Tacoma.  Seems that the snow must be removed down to the gravel BEFORE driving on it and packing it down which makes it really slippery.

Basement Renovation Report: No one showed up (naturally) at 0800 Monday; no phone call; closer to 1000hrs when they arrived to start removing the carpet and padding and ????  Progress.  Inside garage door relocated;  Door to outside moved to side of garage.  Wall studs up. Plumbing being moved for laundry room.  Preliminary plumbing completed. Heating contractor completed initial survey.  Oops! seems that we need yet another $500 permit for ANY heating work, no matter how trivial.  Thur - electricians arrived and left - seems that the entire ceiling must be removed before they can do their work - Friday - maybe.  Friday - electricians got started; washer and dryer hooked up; heating folks - who do dryer vents - discovered that we need an auxilliary dryer vent fan because the distance from the dryer to the outside vent is more than 20 feet and there is no way to move the vent closer.  And then there is the mouse poop in various places around the basement ceiling edges.

Photography Report: Wildlife camera worked but lens and sensor covered with snow and all I got was a mule deer butt.  More testing Monday night with camera in a slightly more sheltered location.  Wildlife became very quiet all of a sudden.  Still need some critters to move past the camera.  Tested camera on myself - good resolution.  However the critters seem to have disappeared now that the weather is warmer.  Still waiting for critters to

Beer Report:  First meeting of the Bier Werkes Mug Club in Woodland Park.  Tapping of the 'Christmas Beer".  Picked up a Growler of the stuff for Sunday's Chanukah party.