Lunch Time

Finally! Finally, finally, finally. Proof of life inside the Birdhouse!!

"Wait! Come back!"

While I Was Out...

SO much happened...in the backyard, anyway. :)

The basil plants exploded. Trust me... this was much smaller when I left.

So did the parsley.

And the tomatoes. This is the same Black Krim I posted here. Pay no attention to the grass....it also grew like crazy while I was out (apparently it rained almost all week).

Lastly...

I have a baby jalapeno pepper!! Isn't it so cute?

It's pretty phenomenal what nature can do...I'm grateful I can watch and learn and enjoy. :)

Tell me... how does your garden grow?

Babies!

I may have mentioned the GIANT bushes in front of my house... I want to rip them out so badly, but for various reasons, it hasn't happened yet.

And as long as these baby Robins are living in the bushes, it isn't going to happen.

I Spied Something Pink...

Then I cut it,

 brought it in the house,

 



















 

 marveled at it,






















and photographed it.

All so I could blog about it. For you.

The end.

*But really, it's because I can't help myself...and this way I can really enjoy it!

Goodwill Grabs

This weekend my mom and sisters came to spend a little quality time together. It was good spending some time with them. We hit up the area Goodwill stores, a plant sale, and tons of neighborhood rummage sales. I scored a few cool things along the way.

Check out what I found at Goodwill!! Cute right?

I think it was $6. It's fairly hefty, which is good because I decided to fill it with birdseed and hang it on the front porch, off to the side of my porch swing.

A couple hours later...

Success!

A Note

I wanted to post more pictures of the Birds and update you on the major drama taking place in my backyard over the last few days, but I'm afraid I don't have much time! I will tell you this...there may be a turf war taking place! An interloping couple seems to be trying to move in on the Birds!

Granted, I don't have any pictures of the actual turf war happening. I tried and tried, but as difficult is it is to catch Mama and Daddy Bird on film, it is infinitely more difficult to catch Daddy and the interlopers fighting and flying about!

Hopefully, I'll have a more detailed update on Monday. Until then, have an awesome weekend! I'll be spending some Quality Time with my mom and sisters. We're doing a Girls' Night tonight and then hunting for good deals tomorrow during a huge neighborhood rummage and plant sale.

Do you have any exciting plans this weekend? Do tell...

A Few Updates, Feathery and Otherwise

Oh my gosh! This is my 200th post! Woot woot! Who would've thought??

In other news...

Wasp season has officially begun. I'm declaring war.

Can you spot the Birds? (psst, try it like this first, then click the pic- it should enlarge the image.)

Those lil' stinkers really blend in, don't they? It's been fun to capture the budding Bird Family and I'm really happy you seem to be enjoying them as much as I have been.

And then I saw this.

Eww. That is one big pile of Bird doo. And feathers. It's not pretty. But clearly, the Bird Family is nesting... and they're not gonna go out very far to "take care of business," if you know what I mean.

On a sad note, this afternoon, when I went to take the above pic (the things I do for my blog, I tell ya), I saw something else a bit farther off to the side.

A tiny, cracked egg. It almost broke my heart then and there.**

Poor Mama and Daddy Bird. I'm mourning your loss too.

There's been some other birdie drama happening... check back later for another chapter in the saga.

**(My heart broke further when my little murderer, Lilly, decided to see if the egg was a snack when I wasn't looking.)

The Nesting Continues...

I managed to catch a few more pics of my feathery friends the other day. Apparently I've been in the right place at the right time...

One fine Spring day, Daddy Bird was doing his part to help with the daunting task of creating a home...nesting...preparing for his future family.

Mama Bird decided to rest on the patio for a few minutes. It was a fine day, after all, and she had been working so hard all day. 

After a bit, she couldn't help but make sure Daddy was taking care of things. "Is everything still OK in there honey??? Can I help with anything?"

More Nature...

Ah, Spring. You had me at "hello."

My little magnolia tree is quite the sight, don't you think? From far away, she looks like a pink cotton candy tree.

Here's one of her blooms, wide-open.

And here is a close-up of the firecracker center.

Pretty cool, eh?

A Feathery Tale

Once upon a time, there was a birdhouse. A simple, unassuming little birdhouse.

It was perfect for a simple, unassuming little bird.

And her simple, unassuming little mate.

You see, they wanted to raise a simple, unassuming little family. But first, they needed to check things out. So Mama Bird swooped in- she was up to the task.

She looked right...

...and looked left....

...before she ducked inside to do a walk-through.

Then she double-checked to make sure she liked the view.

Finding everything to be perfectly simple and unassuming...

she decided to call her Realtor and put in an offer. She wanted to start feathering her nest, after all.

The End.

Happy Spring!

"Meanwhile spring had come,

beautiful, harmonious,

without spring's anticipations and deceptions,

one of those rare springs that bring joy to plants, animals and people alike."

~ Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy

A few springy pictures from my time being "one with nature" today! The second two pictures are of the buds on my magnolia tree. I had no idea they'd be pink! There are tons of buds, so I can't wait until they bloom! I'll keep you posted on the progress. You'll be seeing more of my little birdie friend too!

Keep Learning, Part 2

The other documentary I watched recently was Arctic Tale. It's along the same lines as March of the Penguins, which I loved, but details the lives of a walrus and polar bear. Now, I love March of the Penguins, so I found myself (probably unfairly) comparing the two films. First of all, Queen Latifah, who narrates, has nothing on Morgan Freeman, but she was still easy to listen to and tried to insert humor in various places. Second, the music in some parts was a little too... folksy? I don't know if that's exactly the right word to describe it. Needless to say, it was a little irritating and distracting for me... though in some parts, the music was great! In one spot, you're meeting the whole herd of walruses and "We Are Family" is playing, which was funny and totally appropriate.

I will say one thing, this film definitely has a high cuteness factor going for it. I mean, come on, what's cuter than two baby polar bears romping around in the snow? Even the baby walrus was cute. What amazed me, and what I didn't know, was how familial walruses are. A baby walrus is looked after by a mother and another family member (Queen Latifah kept saying "auntie") for 3 years! The mother actually holds her baby in her flippery arms, which was very cute and very human-like and completely unexpected. There was this adorable scene where they baby and mother engage in some walrus-y kissing-type behavior... but really they're using their whiskers to memorize each other's faces. Interesting!

I'll admit, though, I couldn't help but think of Adam Sandler in 50 First Dates. In the movie, his character is interested in learning more about walruses because we don't know very much about them, which is true. So this footage was actually pretty amazing and took a long time to get.

Now, there were sad parts in the film, but I'm not going to spoil everything, don't worry. One of the saddest parts was when the polar bear and walrus herd couldn't find food because of the unusually warm temperatures, which meant that the ice didn't freeze. Obviously, the film, put out by National Geographic, is trying to educate people, especially children, about the environmental crisis we're facing, but the film really doesn't ever get preachy or anything.

I'd say, if you liked March of the Penguins, you'll like this film. If you haven't seen it yet, check it out!