Molly the Media Phenomenon

In case I don't have enough wildlife around here to watch, I've become hooked on Molly the barn owl. That's right, my name is Lani, and I'm an owlcoholic.

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Through a friend in Florida, I found about about this web cam in an owl box in San Marcos (about 20 minutes from where we used to live in San Diego). I've learned a bit about barn owls, for example that they screech, but they don't hoot. The fourth chick hatched last night, and there's one egg left. The mother owl is Molly, the dad McGee, and the owlets Max, Pattison, Austin, and Wesley. The eggs hatch in the order they were laid, so there's a noticeable difference in size. How do I know all this? Because of the media phenomenon surrounding these owls which I fine more interesting than the owls themselves.

When I checked in last night, to discover I'd just missed the fourth hatching, there were nearly 18000 viewers. Now it's the middle of the night in California, so there are only 7000 viewers. More than 3 million people have tuned in to watch this owl. She's on facebook, twitter, and numerous blogs. You can chat about her in two different online forums. You can watch her on YouTube, on your iPhone, or download her voice as a ring signal. You can order a mug, mousepad, t-shirt, or e-book.

Reality TV--it's for the birds!

Spring is here!

This morning I saw a herd of 9 elk (kronhjort) in the field by our house. They were rather thin, but relaxed and unhurried. A couple of them were trying out their partially grown antlers. Previously sightings this year had been of only one or two elk, and they did not linger.

On the doorstep this morning was a dead mole in a pool of blood. Good kitties, I guess. Whenever Teddy catches something, he likes to meow at the door until we come and praise him. Once we've told him what a good little predator he is, then he can eat it. Unfortunately he doesn't like to eat moles or shrews, so I have to carry those away.

For the first time this year, I went out without my overcoat, and even without it, I was a bit warm. I had to go into Lund today, and there everyone was in the spring mood. The cafes had already set out tables, and these were all full. In the shops, people were buying sunglasses. There were easily twice as many people out and about as there had been a few weeks or months ago. As is normal with Lund, these people wandered or bicycled through the streets without the slightest regard to cars. Since I was driving, this was really bad for my nerves, and I couldn't wait to get out of the city again.

In the backyard, small patches of snowdrops and crocuses are now blooming. Yipee! The flowers are so lovely here in the spring.

Spring is on the ground

Suddenly the ground is green. Normally it's muddy brown for most of the winter, but this year it was brown for only a day or so before it started to get tinged in green, and already green is dominant. When the snow receded, we could see the moles' winter handiwork which had been hidden. Silly me, I thought they were hibernating.

The moles aren't the only creatures which have been exposed. Other rodents also appear to be abundant. My cats have also been enjoying more time outdoors, sometimes even staying out all night. Yesterday morning I was greeted with parts from three rodents on the doorstep. I'll spare you the picture of that.

No flowers here yet, but it feels like it shouldn't be long now.

What a Difference a Day Makes

When I got up Saturday morning and looked out the window, the ground was 90% covered with snow. Saturday just happened to be the vernal equinox, and it was also a relatively warm and bright day. By Saturday evening, I saw only 50% snow. Sunday was also a relatively warm but rainy day, and by Sunday evening I'd estimate there was only 10% snow coverage. The ground was still frozen, so instead of being absorbed, enormous puddles formed everywhere. Rivers literally ran down the edges of the roads. The ground is starting to thaw now, so the water is receding. As long as it doesn't rain too much, things should be okay, just rather muddy.

The drainage projects that we've done and redone around the house seem to be working, so we're not having any problems with flooding.

Snow, snow, go away!

After months of my life being dominated by snow, it finally feels like that is coming to an end. It is sunny, and the snow is melting. This morning, it snowed, but not so much. This thawing started a couple of weeks ago, but with temperatures only barely above freezing during the day (if at all), it's been a slow process. It's thawed a bit during the day, but then it freezes again at night. The bare spot in the backyard which has been about 2 square meters for the last couple of weeks, has suddenly doubled in size and been joined by some smaller spots. Otherwise, the fields are still covered in snow.

The fields have been covered with snow all year. It started snowing in December, which is pretty normal. Then it started melting around Christmas, which is also normal, so the snow coverage got down to about 50% around here. And then it started snowing again, and it's been snow covered ever since. This is really hard on the wildlife, and while it certainly is beautiful, everybody is long since tired of it. My daughter, who's so fond of playing in snow, is sick of it. Even my husband finally admitted yesterday that he'd had enough.

For me, the worst part about the snow was trying to drive in it. BMW's have the reputation of being bad in the winter, and while I've had this car since 2006, I'd never had any winter related problems until this year. This year, I've been stuck in the snow 4 times. The first time was on February 2 as I drove home from my daughter's soccer practice. The dirt road has an uphill S-curve that can be a bit tricky. It had only been snowing for a couple of hours at the time, but it was snowing hard and windy too. The loose snow was too deep, and my car rode up on it then slid sideways into a drift. I called our neighbor, the farmer who's in charge of plowing this road, and he set out with the tractor to rescue me. In the meanwhile, two guys from the home health-care service came behind me. I was blocking the road, so they took their shovels and attempted to dig and push me out, but to no avail. Then someone came from the other direction and blocked the tractor. A spot was plowed for this car to pull over, then the tractor came and pulled me loose. We backed my car down the hill, the tractor plowed the hill, then with a running start I was just barely able to follow the tractor as it plowed a path for me all the way home.

A few days later, when it was time for me to pick my daughter up from a play date, I got stuck on a drift again. Again, I blocked traffic from both directions, but the only other vehicles out and about were 4 wheel drive. Again, I called my neighbor, and even though I wasn't on the road that was his responsibility, he came and pulled me out. At the same time, another snow plow came from the other direction, so I was able to make it to my destination and home again, but the whole time I feared getting stuck.

Every time I left the house, I feared getting stuck. Even if the roads were plowed, and the snow wasn't blowing around, I was still managed to get stuck. A parking lot with 6 inches (15 cm) of loose snow was enough to do it. I had to be pushed out of my spot.

The fourth time I got stuck, I was miles from home, and there was no tractor available. As usual, I was blocking the road for someone else. He couldn't figure out why I was stuck, but he called three of his friends, and with them pushing, he was able to get me unstuck. Thank goodness for the kindness of strangers.

Besides being thoroughly embarrassing, this has totally shaken my confidence. Not only do I lack the skills for driving in snow, but I lack the judgment to know when not to try. I resorted to calling my neighbor and asking him about road conditions before venturing out. I've also been collecting advice on driving techniques (not all contradictory). My husband's idea of a solution is to buy me a proper winter car before next year (something like a Jeep Grand Cherokee) and I'm inclined to agree.

Besides my frustrations driving in the snow, I've also come to the conclusion not to do Konstrundan (the Easter art show) this year. Even if the snow were to melt by Easter, it would still be a terrible mud hole here. The dirt road is so muddy that people would probably get stuck. While I generally look forward to Konstrundan, it's a relief this time not to have to do it.

I've spent too long writing this, and it's snowed again, about 3 inches/7 cm. The bare spots in the yard are gone. Spring is coming, but when?

So the Economic Crisis is Over?

Politicians and the media seem happy to tell us that the economic crisis is over, but I have my doubts. At least here in southern Sweden, it seems to be in full swing. Just a few days ago a large pharmaceutical company announced that it was shutting down its facilities in Lund. 900 people would be out of work. Other large telecom companies have been announcing round after round of lay-offs. My husband’s a consultant at one of these companies.

While we’ve seen it coming for months, it still shook us a bit yesterday when my husband found out that his position had been eliminated. They didn’t say if he would be reassigned again, and the odds of that are slim. They also didn’t say when this would go into effect, which means he has at least a month left there.

Before Christmas, the company announced that several hundred positions would be eliminated. Last week, they said they’d be announcing which positions this week. Then on Monday, they said they’d have to wait at least another week because the union wasn’t ready to deal with all the phone calls. I guess they decided to tell some people anyhow. Don’t people understand that uncertainty is not good for productivity? For the past year, the product pipeline has been clogged by indecisiveness caused by people not knowing which projects would survive the next round of cuts.

So if the economic crisis is over, why does it feel like it's just getting warmed up?