Journal: September 1. Driveway Graded. More Chimney Down.

Another hot day.  Cool in the house.  Except for some quick forays to talk with George, I stay inside until close to sunset.  It's cooled enough for me to do a little weeding both the big garden and the flower bed along the driveway.

Today is the first day of bird hunting season.  I'm awakened by gun shots at dawn--but no more for the rest of the day.  Not sure of the rules and regulations.  It's not easy wading through fish and game regulations, but it looks like most waterfowl are, as it happens, fair game.    For reasons known only to them, a flock of 13 Canada Geese have taken to our lake the past few days.  They arrive in the late afternoon--make a few grand circuits, settle down for the night in the shallow corner where the swans often rest and are gone in the morning.

They are of course now considered a nuisance bird and their hunting is encouraged.  We shall see how they do this season.

More exciting, I spotted a Northern Flicker previously known as a yellow-shafted Flicker (west of the rockies, it's counterpart was called a red-shafted Flicker--just like Hellman's and Best Foods Mayonnaise) but unlike the double named mayonnaise, both yellow and red-breasted Flickers have abandoned their colorful original names, going for the duller georgraphical appelation.

Nonetheless I think I will claim the sighting of a yellow shafted flicker as the main event of my house-bound day.

disappearing chimney

While I watched the bird, John graded the area which had once hosted the garbage pile, creating quite a fine driveway. Demolition of the chimney and concrete steps continued.