Yesterday morning, very early, Eric saw a great horned owl eating something up high on a lamp post near our backyard. We have lived here almost 20 years and didn't even know we had great horned owls in the area. We have heard barn owls, but never actually seen one. Eric said the great horned owl was pretty spectacular, especially when it flew away.

We try to get our two indoor/outdoor cats in at night because we knew we had coyotes in the area. Now I'm doubly glad we get them inside because, according to our bird book, great horned owls eat mice, rats, porcupines, skunks, small raccoons, a wide variety of birds and occasionally cats and small dogs. I don't want Joker and Riddler to end up as owl pellets!

Yesterday morning, very early, Eric saw a great horned owl eating something up high on a lamp post near our backyard. We have lived here almost 20 years and didn't even know we had great horned owls in the area. We have heard barn owls, but never actually seen one. Eric said the great horned owl was pretty spectacular, especially when it flew away.

We try to get our two indoor/outdoor cats in at night because we knew we had coyotes in the area. Now I'm doubly glad we get them inside because, according to our bird book, great horned owls eat mice, rats, porcupines, skunks, small raccoons, a wide variety of birds and occasionally cats and small dogs. I don't want Joker and Riddler to end up as owl pellets!

Joker and Riddler need protection. Glad they're inside and safe from the fiendish birds of prey, Angela. The Owls can go find some rodents, much better for everyone, except the rodents of course, but they breed like crazy.

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Savoir-Faire is everywhere!
The T1 Trust, T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, America's First HST

Since I feed birds, I also inadvertently feed er... uh... "friends of Mickey". I'm fine if the owls keep rodent numbers in check.

I'm just tired, been driving a bit on Tuesday, more on Wednesday.

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Savoir-Faire is everywhere!
The T1 Trust, T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, America's First HST

How angry pilots got the Navy to stop dismissing UFO sightings

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~Sue~

Ode to Joy by Jingle Cats.

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I'm having almost as much fun imagining the flocked wallpaper you grew up with.

Ah the 70's.....

The staircase and upstairs still has it. I'll get a pic or two when I pop round tomorrow :)

I am a-quiver with anticipation!

(Oh please let it be maroon... or better yet avocado green!!!)

Apologies for the delay, had some stuff to deal with, will be posted tomorrow :)

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Member of the People Encouraging Niceness In Society club.

My dads baby brother had a duck for a babysitter. Growing up on the far edge of town. A duck took to watching after him. He could only go so far away and the duck would bring him back.

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Chicago-area police warn of ‘zombie raccoons’ with distemper

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~Sue~

Signals that baffled astronomers for 17 years traced to observatory's microwave oven

I hope we haven't been crunching data from microwaves all these years! ;-)

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~Sue~

Signals that baffled astronomers for 17 years traced to observatory's microwave oven

I hope we haven't been crunching data from microwaves all these years! ;-)

We frequently find signs of intelligent life when we crunch this project, but so far all the signs of intelligent life we've found have come from our own planet.

Signals that baffled astronomers for 17 years traced to observatory's microwave oven

I'm amazed such a device was even permitted near the facility outside of a shielded room. Green Bank, where most of our data now comes from, prohibits microwave ovens and also WiFi, cordless phones, cell phones, even digital cameras and gasoline vehicles (spark plugs emit RFI... diesels are OK.)

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Signals that baffled astronomers for 17 years traced to observatory's microwave oven

I hope we haven't been crunching data from microwaves all these years! ;-)

We frequently find signs of intelligent life when we crunch this project, but so far all the signs of intelligent life we've found have come from our own planet.

I wonder if Eric could add that to the stder thing.

Workunit completed successfully: Microwaved taco :)

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Member of the People Encouraging Niceness In Society club.

Signals that baffled astronomers for 17 years traced to observatory's microwave oven

I hope we haven't been crunching data from microwaves all these years! ;-)

We frequently find signs of intelligent life when we crunch this project, but so far all the signs of intelligent life we've found have come from our own planet.

Maybe ET is in hiding. Intelligence is sometimes over rated.

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Savoir-Faire is everywhere!
The T1 Trust, T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, America's First HST

Washington Post - UFOs exist and everyone needs to adjust to that fact

"UFOs are not the same thing as extraterrestrial life. But we should start thinking about that possibility."

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~Sue~

I've researched how to defeat voles and plan to implement some of those ideas in the future.

Ah to smarter than a vole.

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I found a link on Voles, maybe this can be of help. Good luck.

Make your yard inhospitable to voles! Prevention is very important to keep vole numbers down.

Voles like dense, heavy vegetative cover, weeds, and meadows because it provides them with protection from predators and provides nesting material. Cut back brush, mow, weed, and create a clean space.
Remove woodpiles and hiding places for voles from near your garden, shrubs, and trees.
Keep your lawn mowed and bushes trimmed up from the ground.
Avoid putting dense mulch too close to trees and shrubs.
Keep snow cleared from the base of trees and shrubs. Protect young trees by wrapping the lower trunk with a guard.
Bird feeders are another attraction for voles and should either be removed or the ground kept very clean to keep vole numbers down.
Fortunately, voles are a prime food source for many predators such as snakes, hawks, owls, foxes, and badgers!

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Savoir-Faire is everywhere!
The T1 Trust, T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, America's First HST

Why astronomers are worried that SpaceX’s satellite network will pollute the night sky

I don't quite understand why these satellites have lights.

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~Sue~

Why astronomers are worried that SpaceX’s satellite network will pollute the night sky
I don't quite understand why these satellites have lights.

They don't have lights. They reflect light. It's explained in the article. And Elon Musk is wrong.

When a bright object passes through the field of view of a long-exposure shot, the observation gets muddied.
Over the weekend, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tried to downplay the astronomy community’s concerns, arguing that Starlink would have “~0% impact on advancements in astronomy.” He also claimed that the satellites would not be visible when the stars are out and that the reason the International Space Station is visible at night is because it’s big and has lights — two statements that aren’t true. (The ISS has very large solar panels that reflect lots of sunlight, even at nighttime on Earth.)