Best Birding Season Ever

Our family has long enjoyed backyard birding. It is an activity that the whole family follows. I love that my boys are growing up enjoying this activity with us. They are getting better and better about being able to identify the birds that are regular visitors in our backyard and common birds in our area.

Brett has built a number of bird houses over the years, and always cleans them out, fixes them up, or replaces them as necessary each spring. This year Brett was surprised to find that two of our houses were already inhabited by flying squirrels. Though not birds, we do enjoy watching the flying squirrels when they visit our feeders. Brett is always the one to discover when they come. He will hear them when he is out working in the garage after work. It is fun to take a few quiet minutes watching them glide from one tree to another and find their way to the feeder.

We have three tray feeders, one of which is on the outside window sill of our kitchen window. We also have two hanging feeders right outside the kitchen window. The boys are looking forward to putting up the hummingbird feeder. In the middle of the summer they are pretty much guaranteed to see the hummingbirds come to the feeder while they are eating breakfast--and lunch or dinner, for that matter. We always see the Ruby-throated Hummingbird, but I'm pretty sure I saw an Allen's Hummingbird last year!

This winter/early spring has been one of the best backyard bird-watching seasons for our family. It started with a brown-headed nuthatch who came to our feeders before Christmas. We have been thrilled that a pair of them stuck around all winter and are still here this spring.

We have had our usual visitors: Mourning Dove, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Chickadee, Eastern Bluebird (a few times this year--we'll see them more regularly soon), American Robin (they've moved on already), Mocking Bird, Brown Thrasher (at the feeder, even!), Northern Cardinal (or a "Red Jay" as one of my students called it, much to our amusement), Chipping Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, American Goldfinch (more this winter than ever before), and House Finch.

We had a surprise visitor during a rainstorm this weekend. We have heard the Northern Bobwhite before, but this was the first time what we actually saw one--and on our back porch, no less, around 5:00pm. We assume he was trying to get out of the rain. I had to leave the house, but Brett said he hung out for at least an hour before moving on. We also saw him the next morning in and out of the bushes in the front of the house.

One of the most exciting visitors for me has been a pair of Indigo Buntings that showed up last weekend, and have been back to visit every day since. They are a beautiful blue.

We have also had some occasional sightings of a Mississippi Kite, Belted Kingfisher, Pileated Woodpecker, and a Rufous-sided Towhee (also this weekend).

Around town we regularly see: Osprey, Herons/Egrets (I especially love seeing a roost of Snowy Egrets in the middle of town off the main highway), and Wild Turkey (especially in the spray field).

Bonus sightings around town within the last month: a great view of a beautiful Swallow-tailed Kite (in Creekside), two Bald Eagles (White Point Rd. and Mossy Head), and a pair of Red-headed Woodpeckers (Bluewater marina).

Post Note: Immediately after publishing this post, I walked over to the kitchen sink and saw a Mississippi Kite perched on the corner of my neighbor's chain link fence. Awesome!

For Brett From Home (5/30/12)

I never put up the hummingbird feeder. In fact, I never refilled any of the feeders. I think I didn't want to get their hopes up only to disappoint them when I leave. (Good excuse, no?) I think it's cool that the wrens nested in our garage twice this year. I think there were three babies this time. They left the nest last Thursday, and on Friday there was still one left in the garage. It looked like Momma wren was still coming in and feeding the bird, but the baby couldn't figure its way out. I figured I would let them work it out on their own, but when the baby still hadn't left the garage on Saturday I finally opened the back door a crack. It didn't take long before the baby was outside. I heard the birds chirping around the yard for the rest of the weekend, but I haven't seen them since. I have seen a Rufous-Sided Towhee hopping around the back yard a few times. I think the coloring on those birds is quite striking, so I have been excited to see it so often. It's been a few years. [Apparently the bird formerly known as the rufous-sided towhee is now the Eastern Towhee. Thank you, Wikipedia.]

I am looking forward to seeing my family soon. As always I panicked before purchasing the plane ticket. It is so expensive to travel. Even though I knew that there was no way around it--it was going to cost what it was going to cost--I wished that you were here that night to encourage me to go ahead and press "Purchase Ticket." It was after 10:00pm and there was no one that I could call to calm me. Even if you were home you would probably have been asleep; I would have woken you up to ask you if I should go ahead and purchase the tickets; and you would have been a little annoyed with me. I always freak out with big expenses. But, I really feel like it is worth the expense to spend this time with my family, to meet my brother's bride and see him get married, and to see you as well.

I started going through the book about New England that I picked up from the used book store. As I looked through it, I decided that I am going to encourage my boys to do a little extra study to go along with our excursions. I started compiling a reading list for them including some books by local authors as well as the history behind some of the places we will be visiting. I plan on doing this for both Utah and New England. Todd's teacher just told him today that she expects her students to read 33 hours over the summer. That averages to about 3 hours a week. We are hoping that he has the same teacher for next year, and I would love for him to be able to report back that he continued to read. I also think it will be good for Ryan to have a reading goal this summer.

I have big plans to keep Todd busy learning this summer. I think I already told you that his teacher wants to work with him via e-mail and online to get ahead on the fourth grade math and hopefully finish the book this summer. And I would like to pick up where we left off on some piano lessons. Lofty goals we have.

I am looking forward to having a girls night out (just dinner at this point) with Jen, Donna, and Anne, for my birthday Friday night. I drove by Coach-N-Four earlier this month. It made me miss you and the birthday dinner you might have treated me to. Actually, I really enjoyed my birthday dinner at the Boathouse last year. That was a lovely evening.

I love that I have been able to talk and hang out with Jen more. I really enjoy having her live close. Jen took me and the boys out for a Mother's Day (Eve) movie. ["Chimpanzee" was a great choice for our diverse group--young, oldish, male, female.] It meant so much to hear Jen tell me that I was one of her favorite mothers. It literally brought tears to my ears to feel her sincerity when she said that.(Especially after a tough week when I felt like my new neighbors maybe didn't respect my parenting much. What do they know, anyway?)

I feel like my brain has been a little fried lately. I have not done nearly as well keeping up with my updates as I would like. But I think about you all the time. I get excited to share your story with people who ask about you. I really am so proud of you and what you are accomplishing. Sometimes I probably gush too much, but I can't help it. You are very cool, and I have enjoyed following you on this adventure.

For Brett From Home (4/17/12)

I think Ryan has been having a hard time with our busy schedule this spring. He was complaining about an upset tummy on Sunday night and again on Monday morning. The boy said he felt too sick to go to school. I knew that I could push him to go to school, but I just had a feeling that he should stay home. I reminded him that staying home from school meant make-up work, no after-school play time with friends, no baseball that evening, and a nap. He happily agreed to the conditions. His mood improved significantly when the time for catching the bus had come and gone. But I didn't hear a word of complaint that afternoon on the friends issue. He also made an attempt to rest in the afternoon, but I was the only one who caught a few z's. In the end, I still don't regret letting Ryan have his mental health day. I am happy that he has an easy baseball schedule this week. No game or practice until Friday. Oma took Todd to baseball this afternoon, so Ryan has the rest of the afternoon to be a little boy, now that he has finished his math homework. I think he needed this break.

Todd, on the other hand, is doing just fine. In fact, with this week being FCAT testing you might think that Todd would be a little more stressed. Not at all. He is the one reminding me about eating a good breakfast. He suggested making "real" oatmeal for breakfast this morning, complete with raisins. How could I refuse him? Rather than being stressed this morning, he was excited about the prospect of getting Nerds as a snack at school after the test.

I had errands to run yesterday, so Ryan got to tag along with me. Ryan had one request: we had to get a birthday present for Copper. Per his request I took him to Walgreen's, where we found a glow-in-the-dark frisbee ring. I thought it was a perfect idea. Ryan let the ring soak up some rays and tested it in the bathroom. It really glowed. That night we tried it out and almost lost it. The ring had lost is glow and we couldn't see it in the bushes where Ryan had thrown had landed it. Still, it was a very sweet thought. Ryan also gave Copper a belated birthday treat yesterday. He let Copper lick his empty yogurt container. That sweet boy loves his Copper.

I also bought a special treat for Ryan at the grocery store: Silk, vanilla-flavored almond milk. Ryan has been begging me to buy it ever since he tried it at a friend's house. He loves it. I think he drank three cups of it yesterday. I like it okay, but just in small quantities. I might like it more as I get used to it. It did taste good with my bananas and oatmeal this morning.

Ryan and I also stopped at the vet yesterday and picked up some flea medicine for Copper. I gave it to him last night, and I didn't see any fleas on him when I checked him today. (Yeah!) I bought some special soothing shampoo to use on him, hopefully tomorrow. I also noticed that he seemed to have a little limp again today. I checked his paws thoroughly (he hated every minute of it), but I didn't see anything suspicious. I'll keep an eye on him.

This afternoon, instead of offering his yogurt container to Copper, Ryan mutilated his yogurt cup. He was using his spoon to bend out the bottom of the container. He reminded me so much of you, testing the properties of the plastic--pushing, scraping, poking, exploring, thinking. He also completely took apart (and put back together) the mechanical pencil he was using for his homework today, at times writing with it half-assembled. I restrained myself from telling him to just let the pencil be. I know it is good for him to put his curiosity to work. It amazes me to see his brain work sometimes. A little Brett.
I wonder how soon we will be able to employ Ryan's assistance in honey-do projects. I haven't heard the details yet, but I think your dad heard big bad news about the lawn mower. I may ask Deede about having Alex help out with the lawn. The corner cabinet in the kitchen could also use an oiling, when you get a chance. It is quite squeaky.

I have been working quite a bit on the blogs (a total of three) that I am keeping up for you. I have spent a lot of time setting them up and rearranging some things. My goal is that if I do it right now, then the photos, updates, and journal entries will all be organized at the end of the trip so we can do something special with it. I think we should do just that--something special. I think it is important to have your experience documented for your posterity.

I am typing now to the sound of seven boys playing nicely in the backyards (on the playset in Tammy's yard at the moment). Music to my ears. I feel very lucky to have great neighbors and friends so close for the boys to play with.

I met up with some church friends at Top This, the new frozen yogurt store that moved into the old Coastal Lumber building (Is that the name of the store that was across from the high school? I can't believe I've already forgotten.). While I was there I ran into (UPS driver) Carlos. He had heard (maybe from Donna?) that you were hiking the A.T. He said that he hiked the Georgia section. He started out with the intention of hiking to Blood Mountain and just kept going until he reached the Georgia/North Carolina border. It sounds like has the attitude of "never-again!". You'll have to ask him about it when you get back.

I had another aviary surprise today, though with the mild winter I shouldn't be that surprised. I saw our first hummingbird. It was in the front yard and just peeked into the dining room window. Time for me to set up the bird feeder.

I think you will be pleased to know that your mom finally bought herself a new sewing machine. This week she bought a Bernina which she has been wanting for years. Her machine finally stopped working, so she has been using mine. Mine doesn't do any fancy stitches, but it does the straight and zig zag stitches just fine. I think your mom is excited about her machine. I told her that you would have been happy if she bought herself a good machine years ago. She deserves it.

I know it really hasn't been that long since I talked to you, but it kind of feels like it already. I look forward to hearing from you soon, and hope you're doing well.

More from today:
I took Ryan to Chick-Fil-A for dinner tonight. They were doing a school fundraiser tonight, similar to the Hungry Howie's school night. Ryan definitely has a European attitude when it comes to eating his meals. I think he enjoys the socializing more than the eating. When I encouraged him to take a bit for the hundredth time he replied, "I just don't feel like taking a bite." He was content to sit and talk, having my full attention.

When we got home Ryan and I took Copper for a golf course run. We passed the hedge of honeysuckles (correction: jasmine). They smelled so sweet. I thought of you. I also noticed that the two baby long leaf pine trees in the backyard seem to be doing very well.

Tonight before bed Ryan and I finally looked at the booklet about babies, as promised. We saw the goo-blobs, alien-looking babies, white-fuzz-covered babies, legs-up-in-the-face babies (like Ryan, right before he was born), and newborns. I don't remember having a detailed conversation with my mom when I was young about umbilical cords and how my belly button came to be. I'm also pretty sure I didn't ask her whether I pooped or peed in her tummy. Also, "Do you tell if it's a boy or girl by looking at how the baby sucks its thumb?" (Wha?...uh, no...You just look right there.) All things considered, it wasn't nearly as scary as I thought it might be.

For Brett From Home (4/15/12)

It feels like it's been a while since I let you know the goings-on in the house. Based on the list I have in front of me - a lot has been happening.

Today was Copper's birthday. We didn't get him a present. We didn't give him a walk. And we didn't pay a whole lot of extra attention to him today. This had Ryan (who was obviously very tired) crying on Copper's behalf. "It's just so sad. He didn't get any presents on his birthday!" To make matters worse, Copper has been something of a flea bag, despite my effort to treat him. I have heard this is going to be a bad flea year, and it scares me. I am going to run some errands tomorrow and hope that I find something that will give him relief. If it makes you (and Ryan) feel better, I did give Copper some frisbee-throwing time this morning.

The boys and I are faring well while you are away. I do feel a little bad for Copper though. Last Tuesday night he ran off on me again. Big time. He ran off right before I went to bed (in other words, late). I had been throwing the frisbee for him and he just disappeared after the fourth throw. I didn't see him at the door until the wee hours of the morning. That makes for a tired mommy.

I did have an interesting dream that night. I was at the grocery store with two new male acquaintances (rather good-looking men, I might add). I was walking with my arm around one of them. Then I leaned into his chest and . . . slowly inhaled. My interpretation of this dream: I miss the closeness of my Hun.

When you first left, Ryan was having a hard time settling down for sleep. He seemed more scared. He tried to lean on Copper for support. Ryan would try to call Copper into his room to sleep with him, but Copper was never interested. Ryan would end up crying. We got over that, and Ryan became content going to sleep after petting Copper good-night, as long we kept the light in the hallway on.

A few days ago I was the first one up in the morning. I went to wake up Todd for school. Then I went into Ryan's room. The room was empty. I couldn't find Ryan. I went back to Todd's room. I looked all around the house. I was starting to get nervous. I went back to my room and found Ryan asleep on the floor using Copper's dog bed as a pillow. Earlier this week Ryan crawled into bed with me after having a bad dream. He was so sweet putting his arm around me. Then, once more Ryan came in and fell asleep by Copper's bed in the wee hours. Three times in one week. Ryan doesn't act out at all during the day, and he doesn't say a whole lot about you. But I can tell that he misses having you around.

There is another thing that has concerned Ryan this week. His mother can't spread out her toes. That pinky toe of mine (and the three toes to the left of it) has no control. Ryan has tried multiple times to demonstrate how it is done. He explained that I needed to see that muscle working on the top of my foot. But no matter how much I strain, I can only make my toes curl down and back up. No sideways motion at all. I think Ryan looks at me as moderately handicapped now.

The weather has been just lovely (although my hair is telling me that it is a little humid today). I set out the hammock a few times, but haven't really had a chance to take the long hammock-nap that has been calling my name. I have been sleeping with the window open, and this morning I really noticed the birds chirping. "Pretty-bird-pretty-bird-pretty-bird" started right outside the window around 6:00am, and soon it was all a ruckus--albeit a beautiful spring ruckus. I thought about the poem I came across. It made me stop and think about the beauty around me, even in my own backyard.

One thing I haven't enjoyed this week is the dropping of the oak catkins (Thank you, Wikipedia for giving me a name to those annoying and very messy things all over my yard). Our yard is blanketed with them. Literally. They are everywhere! I can't wait for the lawn mower to be fixed some I can suck them up.

Yes, the lawn mower broke this last week. Your dad mowed our front yard and was working on the back, and it just died on him. Your dad did his best to look for the problem. He felt that it just wasn't getting any gas, even though there was plenty in the tank. After looking inside the tank and noticing some debris in the gas, he came up with a plan to take the tank apart, pick out the debris and put it all back together. I proposed a different plan--pouring the gas through a filter and into an empty gas tank. We wiped out the inside (and of course, the outside) of the tank on the mower, and poured the filtered gas back in. We were left with a clean tank, clean gas, and . . . a lawn mower no better working than when we started. I feel the pain that you experience when assisting your less-mechanically inclined family members.

I certainly appreciate all of the honey-do's you do for us. Thanks for walking me through tightening the door handle in the kitchen. I was grateful again today for you fixing my car door. I keep expecting it to be broken, and am always happily surprised when I remember you fixed it.

I still haven't seen much of Mark and Donna. Mark said that the spring breakers have been terrible. I would guess that it has been the worst year ever. Apparently the beaches have been packed. I'm glad that I haven't had to be in the middle of it all.

I had one of Sandra's mint brownies this week. It was as delicious as ever. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to ship one or five to you. I'm thinking I'll have to beg Sandra to make you a batch when you get home.

I talked to the boys last night and got them to think of some questions to ask you about the trail. I'm not going to tell you what the questions are ahead of time. They came up with some good ones and some not that great ones. I look forward to hearing your answers.

I think you'd be proud of me. I've been drinking at least 32 ounces of water every day. When I'm really trying I can drink 40 ounces in a day. Impressive, huh?

We sat in the back of the church today. I had a rough start with Ryan and felt a little frustrated soon after we sat down. I took Ryan out, talked with him and let him know he needed to change his behavior. He had already accumulated 45 minutes of no outside time when we got home. I basically told him to put on a happy face and get over it. Not that many minutes later, back in the chapel, he rested his head against my shoulder. I put my arm around him, breathed in the "my-sweet-little-boy" scent from his head, and we essentially made-up and had no more issues. I was able to enjoy the meeting. After church the bishop said that he noticed me from the stand and said that I seemed to be glowing. It was such a touching thing to say. It made me think that although things are tough sometimes without you, we're doing okay. Still I miss you and love you as ever.

Photo Challenge #4 - Tree

Oak Branch Fountain
Covered with Brett's Beloved (and imported) Moss.

Photo Challenge #2 - Water

Feeling blah. This is the "water" I notice. Another day I might have motivated myself to do something about this.

Spring is Here! I Love You!

Every year I am overwhelmed by how much I really do love spring. Unfortunately, it never lasts as long as I would hope. There is such a short window when the weather is absolutely perfect. And I am usually so busy at this time of year that I don't get out to enjoy it with the boys as much as I would like.

I love noticing all the different shades of green as I drive down the road, especially the light greens from all of the new growth. Here in the South spring offers color everywhere you look with the blooming azaleas. My neighbor has some huge bushes in yard.

Our azaleas are pretty scrawny, but they still offer a little color here and there. On Sunday, Ryan picked two azalea flowers and presented them to me saying,

"This first flower says, 'Spring is here!' The second one says, 'I love you!'"

That little boy knows how to melt my heart.

I love the changes that spring brings to my modest gardening efforts. I do not love working outside in the garden, but somehow spring motivates me to get out there and enjoy it just a little. I love my big-leafed shamrocks and their dainty purple flowers that return every year. (We've also seen the return of a lot of little-leafed clovers in our grass, much to Brett's dismay.) And I am overjoyed that my Gerber Daisies are coming back. They looked so bad after our cold winter that I really didn't know if they would.

Over the winter we finally had success with our orange tree. Now that spring is here the tree is covered with fragrant blossoms (pictured below left). I think we will have another great crop this winter. Our pathetic little apple tree --which isn't so pathetic when you realize that this tree grew from a seed Brett planted from an apple he ate in our first apartment and transported and transplanted a few times until we settled in our own home (did you follow that run-on sentence?)--Our apple tree is also full of blossoms, though we do not have hopes for a plentiful and edible crop.

As far as my gardening efforts go, I am pleased that my two mints have returned (barely), and my garlic chives are flourishing. This year I planted more rosemary, lemon balm, cilantro (pictured below left-which is growing like crazy, much to Brett's delight), parsley, and basil. I don't always cook a lot with these herbs, but I love having good smelling plants around. Ryan has also discovered the joy of rubbing the leaves and smelling them.

I was so excited to see some baby tomato plants that are popping up from last year (below right).

This year I planted two tomato plants, a bell pepper and a poblano pepper plant, three strawberry plants, one crookneck squash, and some peas. It's not too much, especially when I compare it to Anne's impressive garden, but hopefully it is just enough for the boys and I to enjoy without being more than I can handle.

Just as I am excited about the baby tomato plants popping up, I also get excited about the promise of roses and hydrangeas in bloom.

Speaking of roses, I can't help but admire this rose bush. Not because it is a beautiful bush, but because it has determination. When we bought our house, there were three or four rose bushes in the backyard. We didn't like where they were located, and I wasn't crazy about the type of roses they were. So we decided to dig them up and plant them somewhere else. We figured, if they survive, fine. If they die, fine. They didn't die. They were just as happy in their new spot. However, after a few years I got tired of them. I still wanted the traditional roses. I told Brett I was ready to replace them. We dug them up, threw them out, and planted two new rose bushes. Evidently, when Brett dug them up he unknowingly left a part of one of the rose bushes in the ground. Don't you know that bush came back and has grown stronger than my other two? Now I can't bear to dig it up because it has proven to be such a fighter.

The weather is still cooperating, so maybe I will still get out and do a little more planting, a little pruning, and a little more weeding.

I hope you are enjoying your spring as well as I am enjoying mine.

Our Year With the Wrens

I posted about out momma bird and her babies twice last year, but I want to finish telling the story of our wrens. We love that Mrs. Wren has chosen to make our home her home. Wrens are such smart little birds who are very creative in finding a comfortable place to sleep.

Last March, Mr. and Mrs. Wren built a nest on a high shelf in the garage. I was too short to get a peek inside the nest, but I enjoyed seeing the babies as they got a little older. Mrs. Wren had grown quite accustomed to Brett, who spends many hours in the garage. When the babies hatched Brett was able to save Mrs. Wren some time by feeding her some meal worms, which she passed on to her babies. Though Mr. Wren was never quite as comfortable with us, we were still able to watch him help out in feeding the babies from time to time.

The babies were ready to leave the nest for the first time on a day that was raining cats and dogs outside. I was startled when I went into the garage to do some laundry and there was chirping from every direction. They were all over the garage, especially by the window. We didn't want to lose any of them in the storm, so we kept the doors closed. We were happy to see that they all made it back to their nest that night--though Brett did have to rescue a few of them from the garbage can and an old glass milk bottle! Their wings had not grown all the way yet, and when they fell in they weren't able to fly out. The next day was beautiful and sunny, so we opened the doors and watched the birds as they made their way outside. It was fun to see how they communicated with their Mama to keep close together. They stayed pretty close to the house for the next few days, but eventually we weren't able to spot the little family flock anymore.

We were so excited when Mrs. Wren built another nest in the garage in May. This time she built it in a little cubby under the cabinet beside my washer/dryer--the perfect height for me to peek into. By now Mrs. Wren was quite accustomed to our presence, and obviously didn't mind us going about our usual work. Every time I worked on the laundry I passed by her nest and said "Good morning." I still can't believe that she chose that spot right next to the dryer (we have stackable machines) to make her nest.

Again, Brett was able to feed Mama; we were able to watch the babies grow; saw them leave the nest; and kept up with them until they left our yard. Brett thinks Mr. and Mrs. Wren made another nest later in the summer outside.

Here are some photos of our little Wren family.
They start out as such tiny eggs:

Mama dutifully kept her eggs warm. Good morning, Mrs. Wren.

Those baby birds sure are hungry a lot!

Wrennie want a meal worm?

It's getting crowded in here...

Fuzzy, tail-less, baby bird:

Don't fly into the garbage can anymore. You'll get stuck, and I won't always be around to bail you out.

We still saw Mrs. Wren from time to time around the house, and occasionally in the garage. But what surprised us most was to discover that this winter she started using the garage as a place to sleep at night. She discovered that the moving blankets and throw rug I had stashed on top of the dryer made a warm, cozy bed. I don't blame her. It has been freezing outside! (You can't see her, but she's tucked in there, fast asleep.)

Almost every night since the middle of December she has made her bed there. She comes around the same time every night. Brett likes to be in the garage right about 5:00pm to see her come in. Sometimes she chatters at him as if to say, "What are you doing in my house? I'm ready to go to sleep!" before flying into bed.

I'm not sure what she was doing yesterday morning, but she sure got mad at me when I came in to do some laundry. She chattered and chattered at me. So I quickly transferred my laundry and went back inside to give her some privacy.

She is full of personality, and we have enjoyed watching her this last year. We hope that Mrs. Wren will feel comfortable raising some babies near us again this Spring.

We'll leave our bird-door open for you, Mrs. Wren!

Baby Wrens

An update on the baby wrens--they hatched about a week ago. They have grown quite a bit, but are still quite ugly. I didn't realize how much time the momma still spent sitting on them after they hatched. It makes sense, considering that they are still so tiny and hairless. The mommy and daddy wrens have been dutifully catching bugs and feeding the little babies.

I think the babies are now able to eat the bugs whole. In fact, Brett bought some meal worms and set up a little tray by the nest. He occasionally puts some worms in there, and the wrens quickly snatch them up and feed them to the babies.

It is so cool to watch the momma at work. She grabs a bug, flits around the garage, makes her way back to the nest, gives a short chirp to wake up the babies (this is when they start squeaking), then she feeds them the bug and starts looking for more food. And I thought nursing a newborn every two hours was difficult. This momma has no me-time.

Momma Bird

I know I posted that our little wrens decided to nest elsewhere. I am so pleased to say that we were mistaken. About a week ago, Brett was in the garage one evening when one of the wrens started yelling at Brett. She then hopped right into the nest. Later, after she had left the nest, Brett peeked in and counted five little eggs. I have not yet seen the eggs, myself. I'm too short, even with a stool. However, I know that she has faithfully been keeping them warm. I am so surprised that our activities did not deter her from keeping her nest here. Brett has continued to work in the garage (with relatively loud power tools). Copper has gone in and out of the garage playing Frisbee with Brett. I have continued to open and close the garage door to drive in and out; I have used the washing machine and dryer which are fairly close to her nest; she even let me take this photo without complaining. (Can you see her little head in the hole?)

Brett read that wrens will usually stay in their territory year-round. They live about six years. Which mean that these are probably the same wrens that built a nest in Brett's boat last year. The eggs hatch about two weeks after they are laid, so we should be getting little babies in the next week or so.

I am so happy that they don't consider us a great threat and that were able to provide them with a safe and cozy place to build a nest (even if it's a little loud and busy).

Relaxing at the Shore

Have I mentioned how much I love Rocky Bayou State Park? Well, I do. I love going there with one or both of my boys and letting them play while I relax. It is so peaceful there by the shore.

I took Ryan last week while Todd was at school. I had not been able to join Anne at the beach, so this was a consolation prize later that afternoon. And what a consolation prize it was. It is officially spring in Florida. Cool, crisp mornings; warm afternoons; and blooming azaleas.

Ryan, with his favorite accessory (well, second to Todd's baseball helmet): goggles!

Left, Ryan demonstrates what a zigzag looks like. Right, Ryan starts digging in to the sand toys.

Left, building a sand castle. Right, playing with water.

Left, building up a mountain for his volcano. Right, adding the lava to make it explode.

Thanks for taking me to Rocky Bayou, Mom!

Let's do it again soon.

The Birding Hour

I love the time somewhere between 8:00am and 9:00am when the birds are going crazy getting their breakfast. Of course, I need to keep the feeders filled in order for me to witness this special time. We have four seed feeders: one hanging feeder by our bedroom sliding glass door, one hanging feeder on the corner of the screen porch, one tray feeder attached to a tree trunk, and one tray feeder on the outside kitchen window sill. I didn't believe that the window sill feeder would ever be that successful when Brett put it up a few years ago. I have been pleasantly surprised by the activity that it has attracted, both from birds and squirrels. We also have a bird bath, and during the summer we put up a hummingbird feeder or two.

During this morning feeding time, there is usually about a fifteen minute time period when the birds are everywhere, and I see quite a few different species. I love catching glimpses of the bright red Northern Cardinals; the cute, little, black and white and gray Carolina Chickadees [a no-show this morning...]; the big and colorful Blue Jays; the red Mohawk on the Red-Bellied Woodpecker; and the bright blue Eastern Bluebirds. The finches, though abundant, elicit no real excitement.

But the more I watch my backyard birds, the more I fall in love with the Carolina Wren. It is a cute little brown bird, with a golden tummy and a white eye stripe. His beak has a little curve, and his tail is always sticking straight up in the air. I love that the wren has personality. When he comes to the feeder he makes a mess, tossing out the seeds that he's not interested in. He is a smart little fellow who can find his way in, through, and back out of "people places," like our porch or our garage. [The male and female look alike, so I am referring to the wren as a "he" just to make it easier on myself.]

We have inadvertently caught a few birds in our screen porch over the years. Then, we have to figure out a way to guide these (stupid) birds back out of the porch without them injuring themselves too much by smashing against the screens. It is easiest to get the mourning doves out of the porch. Brett just calls Copper and tells him to get the bird. Copper runs out into the porch, softly grabs the bird (I understand that's an oxymoron, but there's no better way to explain it), and brings it back to Brett who safely releases the bird back outside. That hasn't happened very often, but it sure has been neat to watch when it has.

The wren hops into the porch (wrens are cute little "hoppers"), snoops around a bit, and shows himself out when he's seen all he wants to see. After Brett installed a new door for the garage, I was surprised to find two wrens snooping in the closed garage a few mornings later. They had come through the hole where the deadbolt should have been. (Brett had not yet put a deadbolt on the door.) I thought it was a one-time thing, but the next morning, I saw that the wrens were back and actively building a nest on one of our garage shelves, despite the fact that we had provided at least two birdhouses for them to nest in. It looks like they have completed their nest, but I have not seen much activity in the garage these days, and I wonder if they got spooked by all of the activity in the garage this weekend by Brett. We'll see what happens. Both Brett and I think it would be nice to have some little baby wrens to watch.

If You Fill It, They Will Come

After two long months, I have finally refilled my birdfeeders. The poor birds suffered neglect during the most giving season of the year. I guess I didn't have much left to give them. But, really, not only will they will survive--it doesn't even look like they hold a grudge.

The fruits of a filled birdfeeder are almost immediate. This morning around 7:30am my backyard was quite active. It will filled with mourning doves, northern cardinals (male and female), blue jays, red-bellied woodpeckers (whose "red" belly is hard to see, but who does have a red head, though it's not really a red-headed woodpecker--can it be more confusing?), house finches, carolina wrens, carolina chickadees, and northern mockingbirds. And don't forget the squirrels who were trying (with minimal success) to defend their personal feeder. I have two hanging feeders and one platform feeder attached to a tree trunk. Typically, if I keep the platform feeder filled the squirrels are content to stay there and won't bother the hanging feeders. It's easier than trying to squirrel-proof everything, which is impossible.

To the birdies I say: Welcome Back!

A Perfect Last Day

On Saturday, before the cold front moved in, Brett proposed taking the dogs for a swim in Rocky Bayou. Although it was cloudy, it was relatively warm. The sun peeked out of the clouds a few times, and it turned out to be a very pleasant morning by the water.

The boys had spent the night at Oma's house the night before (the night of Brett's work Christmas party). I knew the boys would want to come with us, so we called them in the morning and told them to hurry over and join us.

The six of us (Brett, Becca, Todd, Ryan, Sandy, and Copper) loaded into Brett's truck and drove down to the State Park. The dogs were in the water before Brett reached the bottom of the stairs. And it didn't take long at all for the boys to take off their shirts and start wading in the water and digging in the sand.

Todd and I walked along the shore looking for pirate treasure, with no success. Later, Todd tried digging for water, with good success.

Brett threw a "dummy" for Copper and a bright yellow Frisbee for Sandy. Occasionally the boys gave a shot at throwing the dummy as well.

No, this is not some new dance the boys are trying out. They are just animated in the cheering they are doing for the dogs. "Go, Sandy!" "Go, Copper!"

We tried to capture Copper's running jump into the water when he goes after the dummy.

Ryan played at being a retriever, and did a pretty good job of it.

I'm sure this next photo looks cruel to those who were not present. Actually, it was quite funny and did not produce the tears that one might expect. Ryan was bending over to get his hair wet. Brett lightly tapped Ryan's bottom, sending him off-balance. It produced a nice laugh from us all, including Ryan.

Todd was really getting into his hand-digging.

Sandy also enjoyed digging in the sand. In fact, Sandy enjoyed everything about the day. It was easy to forget that she was ten years old. Brett threw the Frisbee rather far, and she swam out and retrieved it every time. Brett said he thought Sandy would have kept going longer than Copper that day, and I think he was right.

While at the park I thought what a perfect day it was. It is not often that our family enjoys a nice outing all together. Everyone was happy. Everyone had a great time.

Sandy died late that night. Looking back, we feel blessed that we had one last perfect day with her doing something she loved more than anything else.

I Told You We Had a Fall

The boys love it when Uncle Mark is outside doing yard work. They have fun keeping him company. Unfortunately, Mark doesn't get as much accomplished with them around. He usually gives in a little and ends up playing with them, as he did with Ryan the day Mark was raking leaves.

I LOVE this photo of Ryan. Thanks for taking these pictures, Kellie.