You Say Good Bye and I say Hello

Well, this is the last crazy week of living in ann Arbor for me. It has been and will continue to be hectic trying to pack, move stuff, drive back and forth, and keep up with everything else, but I'll be out by the (hopefully) weekend or Monday at the latest. I have list after list of address changes to make, services to cancell, services to order, things to sort, things to pack and things to trash.

Luckily, its so crazy that I don't have time to worry or to get pensive about the moving after living here for over 20 years. There are everyday things that I'll probably miss, but I plan to get back this way to bird later in the Spring and Fall. I'm also keeping my cardiologist and doctors at UMHS so I'll be back for appointments once in while.

And with the Beatle's song playing in my head, I'll sign off for the last time from Ann Arbor. My next post will either be from Bay City or (once I get service at the cabin) the great north country near Grayling. Its been a good run, but now its time to go. So long Ann Arbor, I'll see you again!

Spring . . springing

Well, March 20th was the first day of Spring, and like many bird species, I am in "mid-migration" in terms of my move to my retirement cabin. The pace has been pretty steady all month, but I'm down to the home stretch (or should I say week's stretch) and will remain somewhat well traveled through this coming week. Once I get to the weekend, I should have my apartment fully emptied and officially become a home owner/occupier!

Of course, with Spring officially here and me trying to finish up the move, the (hopefully last), great Spring Snow is scheduled for later today and into tomorrow morning. With luck, I'll have a load into the car before it gets too bad. The crazy weatherman is talking about 6-10 inches of sloppy snow potentially so it could get (more) interesting.

Just my Luck

On Tuesday, I was up at the cabin delivering yet another load of boxed possessions when a few birders in Ann Arbor had spied an Icelandic Gull nearly in my apartment's back yard. It was even closer than the Ross Goose hybrid of a few weeks back! It would have take next to nothing to get down to Gallup Park and have a look see, but alas, I was 200 miles away. Such is life, bird seeking, and moving!

As it now stands, the target to be fully moved is March 26th. I'm getting less and less time at the cabin to find places for everything that is getting moved, so I'll end up having to organize myself once I take the last load.

Fortunately, it looks like I'll just catch the beginnings of the summer fuel increases although its a bit pricy this week.

Moving Boxes and Dodging Snowflakes

It seems as though when Spring tries to push Winter out of the area, Winter answers back with yet another snow storm. The correct one started out as a possible 6-10 incher, but now is looking more like a mild 3-5 somewhat similar to the one earlier this week. Regardless 13 days to go until Spring!

Moving is well, moving along. Its a little complicated trying to keep enough in two places so that I can live in either location, but that is drawing down to the end. Here in ann Arbor, I have clothes, kitchen ware and storage boxes to go and 25 days left.

I turned in my offical 30 day notice at the start of March, so its now or never in terms of getting things moved!

A Tiny Little Goose comes A-Calling

Things got a little hectic for a couple of days as a Ross Goose was spotted in Ann Arbor and very close to my apartment. That meant a couple of days of photography, editing, posting, and such.

This little guy came on the scene on Thursday, February 28th and by Saturday the 1st, he was no where to be seen. To give you an idea of its size, here is a more distant shot with a gull and Canada Geese along side of it for comparison.

After much debate it was decided that this was most likely a Ross x Lesser Snow hybrid to some extent. Regardless it was a fine bird (a life bird for me) and created a great deal of excitement.