Jan 10, 2010: Looking for Baldy

The local news mentioned bald eagles are wintering along the Skagit River and snatching salmon out of the river.

What does that mean?

A Road trip!

General Bald Eagle Information: http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/research/raptor/eagle/eagle.htm
Driving Directions and Map: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/mbs/skagit-wsr/overview/wildilfe.shtml

A very scenic drive!

That's a lot of trees!


Majestic snowcapped mountains along the route.


It ain't a mountain unless there's snow on the peaks. lol!


We stopped off in a Sedro-Woolley for breakfast at a local restaurant. Actually, I had breakfast while everyone else had lunch.

Lumber is a major industry in Washington.
When you have lumber, a chainsaw and creativity, chainsaw wood carving is the next logical step.


One angry bear!


Even the details inside this angry bear is amazing!
Glad this guy is only a carving. I forgot my bear spray!


Finally made it to Milepost 100 along Highway 20.

No eagles swooping down along the river.
They were roosting and digesting their food from earlier in the day.

My point and shoot just doesn't have the zoom, but you can see the bald head! lol!


Volunteers set up spotting scopes... I'm not sure how to set my P&S to snap pictures through a telescope, but here's what I got which looked better in person.


A fun and scenic drive.

Dec 17: Playing in the Snow

A couple snapshots of the 6 year old pup playing in the snow.

Somehow he knew his squeak toy was buried in the snow at that very spot. Who said that animals don't remember beyond 1 minute.


Eating snow... quite funny to see him snapping at snowflakes. Maybe his tongue froze up for a second.


The old dude (a 10 year old dog) stayed in the doorway nice and dry... apprehensive about that cold stuff. I bet if he could speak... he'd be complaining about bursitis and his trick knee. You young whipper-snapper.

Dec 09: Early Christmas Present ???

Ode to Another Appliance
Warm and pleasant...
Relaxing and soothing...
Waking me up from a night of cold slumber...
The shower so pleasing with warm water that's easing
Easing myself into the day...
What's that I hear?
A drip, drip, dripping...
Dang!

I splurged and bought my house an early present. :-)

A brand new water heater! Woo Hoo! Partay!

For the past couple months, there's been a slow leak that I've had to keep my eye on. I finally got fed up and splurged!

The offending water heater with a tank with 10 year warranty.
Looking on the manufacturer's tag, the water heater was built in Aug 1998.
I bet some water heater designer is proud that the tank lasted 10 plus a little extra.
A little extra beyond the warranty.


With the new tank, the installer added new hardware. The expansion tank (the keg looking thing) is needed since our houses have a check valve (a one way valve) that prevents water from going back into the main line.


The new tank installed with earthquake straps and the drain pan is now plumbed to the outside.
Where's the thermostat controller? I want hot water to be set on scald! Apparently, the thermostat is factory set to 120F. What 120F? I've lived in hotter climates (125F to 130F) during the summer. I guess I'll have to get used to the new settings. On the plus side, it's a larger tank so I can take even longer showers before the lukewarm water runs out! lol!