Will Brake for Beaver

I have a confession to make.  On June 8, a chipmunk hit my car.  Then, on July 4, a crow hit me.  I have been known to brake for birds and usually hit my horn to warn them that I'm coming and they always fly away.  This one did not and it made an awful noise under my car that I am having a hard time forgetting.

The other night as I was traveling on 9N from Upper Jay to Jay, my friends and I witnessed a large branch being dragged across the road and was sucked into the guard rail.  Even though we could not see the animal, I knew I needed to slow down.  When we finally saw that it was a big, brown waddling animal, I turned the car around.

We got out of the vehicle and watched the beaver slip into the water with the branch.

From the edge of the guard rail, we looked down into the river and became mesmerized by this creature  circling the water and acting like a log floating in the Ausable.

Do you see the beaver just above the rock?  

Just before dark, he swam over to his branch and grabbed a bunch of leaves and then pulled himself up onto a rock to eat his dinner.  In the half hour that we watched, we named him Benny the Beaver.  

I am so glad that I pressed down on my brakes for this beaver because if I can't shake the sound of the crow hitting my car, I can imagine that the 2nd grade girl that was riding with me would have been scarred for life if we had hit Benny.

Looking Up

I don't have a weathervane nor do I have any idea what direction the wind is coming from as I write this.  However, if I wet my finger and hold it up into the air, it seems like the wind is coming from the fan on the east side of the bedroom.  What does this have to do with anything?  Nothing, except I've been taking note of the weathervanes along the Ausable.

Last month, my book group met at the Jay Village Green and as the ladies were talking about the book I did not finish, I found myself looking up at the gazebo and the weathervane on top.

 A Blue Jay seems fitting for the town of Jay.

It made me recall seeing a weathervane at Whiteface when I was skiing down Boreen last winter.  Mental note: If you are not looking for weathervanes you might ski faster.  I drove to Whiteface to see if I remembered correctly and as it turns out, not only do they have one, but there are three!

 Skier

Snowcat

Snowmaker

If you start looking up more, you will find them, but they're not all unique.  Mostly you'll see roosters.  Apparently, a weathervane is also referred to as a weathercock. Thus, the cockerel design.  Other common designs are feathers, arrows and horses.  

A mountaineer and luge weathervane are definitely unique.  If my memory serves me correctly, you can see them at the Mountaineer and at USA Luge.  

Another unusual design that I remember a friend mentioning awhile back was that of some elf shoes perched above the Comfort Inn next to Howard Johnson's in Lake Placid.

If you look closely, you can see that the shoes used to belong to someone standing on a feather that should have been running to safety at the first sign of heavy winds from the North.  What that figure was, I have no idea because it must have shattered when it was struck by lightning.  

Recap

No, I have not moved away from the Ausable.  I am still here and I thank you anonymous readers for leaving me comments letting me know you miss my posts.  If you all must know the details, I shall provide you with a quick recap into my last few months, but I don't know if it's too fascinating.  I'll let you decide.

1. My job changed and I find that I no longer have time at work to ponder my blog and read gossip magazines.  I now make decisions and utilize my brain daily.  I should mention that this does not mean I take myself too seriously.

2.  We have followed the great American trend and have been testing out my green thumb on a vegetable garden. Peas are good.

3.  Our guest room is still not done, however I have painted the ceiling.  Blue Mood.

4.  I got a smart phone and became slightly obsessed with Words With Friends (I started cheating), Free Scramble (I shouldn't play when I'm tired) and last but not least, Draw Something.  My addiction is fading.

5.  Our television was shipped off to China to get fixed and I was without cable for over a month! Just this morning I discovered that Ann Curry no longer co-anchors the Today Show.  Have no fear, I am not completely out of the popular culture loop, I can tell you play-by-play what's been happening on the Bachelorette this season.

6.  One of our cats started hating the other cat and we now have a screened door installed in the hallway to separate them until we can figure out what's wrong with her.  I am a fan of Dr. Sue at Elm Brook Veterinary and have faith that things will get better for all of us soon.

7.  My husband continues to surprise me with his entrepreneurial skills and has converted his side of the garage into a sewing workshop, now known as headquarters for Reprise Mountain Gear and Repair.

8.  My hair has started to go grey and I enjoy picking them out and examining them closely.

I can't promise anything, but blog posts might just become a little more frequent again.  So,  you tell me, which of the above shall I expand upon?