Bird Feeder

Finally Set up the bird feeders in the backyard.

American Goldfinches (Carduelis tristis)

House finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis) Black-capped chikadee (Poecile atricapilla)

Downy woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)

First real snowfall 1/27/2009

Foreclosure - Part I

The house we moved into at 404 was a foreclosure. The good thing about buying a bank-owned property is that the price was right (well below anything else for sale in the neighborhood) and we were able to take advantage of incentives like a lower interest rate and, in effect, no closing costs. The bad news? Well foreclosures are sold "as-is" so there is no negotiating repairs or upgrades etc. No big deal right? When we looked at the house and had it inspected there was a water stain on the ceiling of the family room... Looked like it was just a slight roof leak and sure enough, when we had a roofing guy take care of it problem solved. Until we had the painter come in and paint the entire house. He did a great job and when it came time to repairing the damaged ceiling our trouble started. The little roof leak? It had basically destroyed one end of a load-bearing beam. We tried making a claim on our home insurance policy: bzzzzzzz - pre-existing condition. We tried contacting the builder: bzzzzzz - Thier warranty is for the first two years from building. We tried the extended warranty company - 10 years for Major Structural Damages): bzzzzzzzz - the damage is the consequence of a (uncovered by the policy) water leak. So apparently we are on our own to get this fixed. Updates to follow.

Happy Holidays

A Cold Winter's Ride

32 degrees Fahrenheit when I set out this morning towards Leesburg.

Hamilton Station

Purcellville Christmas Parade

Big Al

Rudolph, the red-nosed Allosaurus. A Holiday tradition.