Apropos of Nothing v.14

So much cuteness. :)

Aren't they fluffy and sweet? I accidently disturbed a baby hiding among the daylilies while I was weeding. It flurried out, landed on the scrapwood from the fence we are still trying to build between rainstorms, and promptly pooped. Adorable!

LOL! He showed you!

Yep. I think I can safely go into my greenhouse now unless they decide to try another clutch in the same nest.

Hey Hey! Happy Birthday to Soferdig Steve! :D

Hey, Steve, it's your birthday? Have a great day!

Best wishes on your birthday. Hope you find some time to get outside and work in the garden.

Happy Birthday Steve! Hope you have an absolutely beautiful day.

Happy happy birthday, Steve. Wishing you sunshine and happiness.

Hippo Birdy Two Ewes Steve! Hopefully it is a wonderful one!

Pixy, your little birdie is adorable! You are right, it is a very sensative time for them. Our planting is in a tiny little island against our building, and is in the parking lot right by a busy street. Added problems are all of the crows and seagulls that patronize all of the fast food dumpsters in the area. We have been parking our vehicles in a little "wagon circle" around their area so that they are more protected. I haven't been able to get a good picture of ours now that they are out of the nest, but will share one that I took last week.

If it were me, I'd be using your greenhouse for every nest . . .

Cute little birdies!!! I love it when men get 'protective' like that.

Happy Birthday, Steve.

I'm still trying to catch up with my watched forums and threads, I haven't even gone to check out new ones.

Kinda hot today. Not quite Texas hot, but too hot for anything, but a couple of hours outside this morning.

We had a very distressing day with our birdies today, and thankfully I can share the story now before I go home as it has a mostly happy ending.

My brother and I were standing at the front counter late morning looking out at the street, when two juncos came barreling towards us through traffic. Horror of horrors, we watched them both get hit by a car. One fell to the ground and the other fluttered into the bushes beside our building. The details got grisly from there. They were both adult birds and not the babies, but we were terrified that we may have just watched our babies become orphans. I went out to check on the one in the bushes (too late for the other) and he was panting and definitely a bit stunned, but alive. After about 15 minutes, we saw him/her flutter up and away. Fortunately, soon after we saw it feeding the babies, and breathed a sigh of relief that at least one parent was left to tend them. I was still mourning the loss of the other parent at about 4:00 when what did I see, but TWO juncos tending to the little ones. The one that perished in the street was aparently an interloper.... and while that is still very sad ( my brother says "the hazard of city living" ) it is much easier to swallow knowing that it wasn't one of OUR birds. And the best part is, after they fed the babies, they looked like they might be trying to start a second clutch..... ^_^

Oh, Julie... what a scare. So sad that any bird got killed, but what a relief it wasn't one of "yours". *whew*

You didn't get a video of them trying to start another clutch?

Congratulations Lynn he is adorable!! Love the birds and as a last note: Happy Birthday Steve!!

Happy the birdy family is OK. :)

Fleet week starts early at Julie's!! LOL

Isn't it crazy how different your perspective is when you feel you are responsible for them? I lost a next of Robin's eggs to some creature a couple of springs ago and was upset about it.

I had a bit of luck tonight. Should have gotten multiple bee stings, but did not.

I wonder if this is going to be a big bee/wasp year because of our mild winter. Two different neighbors have discovered nests in their yards. I have noticed a wasp nest forming high under the eaves at my place. Tonight when I got home, I noticed that the shed door had blown open. I closed it and felt/heard a fly-by. I'm not really afraid of bees, but something told me to move away quickly. One bee stuck with me for a minute or two and when I looked back there were a bunch of them were swarming at the shed door and going in and out. I've had a pretty big nest hanging inside the door before. Maybe this one is inside on the other side.

So it looks like I'll go out tonight to spray and then decide later when to open the door and find the actual nest. Hope it's wasps and not bees.

I've changed clothes since then, but for some reason, I keep feeling like there is a bee in my pant leg. Guess I got the heeBEEjeeBEEs.

yuckity yuck, Kathy! Glad you didn't get stung. I am low on bees this year and am a little concerned. I generally have loads of bees. I have some, but not nearly the general turnout. And very few honey bees. Hope the local hives have not been hit by those mites!

Julie, cute babies!

No birdy adult films, but it was beautiful none the less! It is amazing how protective you feel of "your" babies. My soft (and highly self preservative) heart has let me see the lost bird as an EVIL interloper who had nothing but bad intentions towards "MY" junco family. Good prevails!!!!!!!!

Kathy... heeBEEjeeBEEs. LOL!!!! I have been low on bees lately too (although bunches too early this season). I am not afraid of them (although in the last several years have developed an alergy, which is not a fun thing if you are an outdoors person and a gardener and find yourself stung at least once a year whether you need it or not...) but am not fond of a hive, especially if they are the dreaded yellow jackets or hornets. Be careful when you determine what you are up against!

I have quite a few bees. I'm assuming these are wasps. I went out to spray tonight, but decided that I didn't have enough fire power. I'll stop and get some tomorrow and try again then. I don't like it when I can't see what I'm spraying . . .

You take the words right out of my mouth, Julie… :) I've been throwing rocks at stranger-ducks for weeks now... ME, there never was a greater bird-lover, throwing rocks at pretty duck interlopers.... how dare they try to steal the pond away from my duck family! How dare they try to chase mama duck away, when her babies can't even fly yet.... Why can't they all just get along? There's enough room for everyone, and cracked corn too... sigh... I have room in my heart for all of them… if they only would get along.

They are "our" babies.... and they appreciate their 'human godparents', of that I'm certain...

Baby ducks turn 25 days old tomorrow... They sure do grow fast!!! :)

Awww! They sure do grow fast! I'd be out there pinging rocks at interloper ducks too. Gotta protect your own! :)

Apropos of nothing, I want these- lots and lots of these: http://tinyurl.com/28ml8xr (Yeah, I'm a class act... LOL)

Katie... heebeejeebees hehehe... I'm going to send some of my bee/wasp mojo your way... I've been buzzed and landed on dozens of times, had them caught in my hair (not fun), unwittingly disturbed hives, but haven't been stung yet. We have wasps hibernate in our attic every year and they end up waking up in our hallway, so we have to get them outdoors quick. I like to think we have a 'sympatico' thing going on.... I provide flowers, they let me bee. ;) And I saved a bee from drowning in a wheelbarrow yesterday... They owe me one! ;)

Hehehe... Pony, they remind me of the movie Nightmare Before Christmas...

Love it!!! :) I hope they glow in the dark...

Steve, Happy Belated Birthday!

Lynn, congrats on adding Henry to your family & glad to hear you're on the mend from your surgery.

whew, glad to hear all the birdies are OK. I had to stop feeding and encouraging all the birds here.For the first time in years I have no filled feeders. I seem to be hangout central for every cat on the block and I can't bear findings the feathers on the lawn. I miss them, but would rather not have them than see them get eaten. :(

rofl, love the skelemingos-and i agree, really hope they glow in the dark.....

A friend of mine just captured a honeybee swarm they found on their property near Eugene. Conveniently, they had just started keeping bees, so now they've got two hives. I think she must be a natural-she didn't get a single sting.
We've always got a wasp nest somewhere on the house-the downside of a 2-story house is the reach to the rafters to get them down or spray them, so we pick our battles a little bit. I heard somewhere that having one discourages others as they're territorial but I'm not so sure about that as it seems there's usually more than one. The wasps are good predators, though.

I'm flush in bumblebees, not so many honey bees though.

Apropos of nothing, I took a walk around the garden to try and calm down after an upsetting pta phone call. Sunday morning, 6/13, everyone raise a glass of mimosa in my honor when I will be done with pta forever. Jesse is in a class full of what I call 'smothers' (mothers who smother) - well, really to myself I call them something starting with a b, but that wouldn't be nice here.

Charlie had found himself a nice warm spot. The sun is out (for how long we don't know) and the car hood is warm from a recent errand.

Charlie looks very content. :)

Aw, Gwen! I hate stuff like that. I'm glad you are happy your son is graduating. I have such mixed feelings. He left today to do a little shopping with some friends, but told his sister that we should all watch a movie tonight so I can spend some time with him. He knows I've been missing him a lot already.
Okay, better not type more because I'll start crying. Rats. I hate this part.

That's so sweet of your son. Mine would never sit down and watch a movie with me. Jesse, that is. I watched Paddle to Seattle last night with Tim. And Jeff is my movie-going buddy. When he lived at home, we went to the movies twice a week here in Langley. And when he comes to visit, or I go down there, we watch a lot of stuff on tv/netflix/hulu. (He's coming home tomorrow on the train to cook with me Saturday at the PNW Eggfest in Tukwila (www.pnweggfest.com) and I'm driving him home Sunday, spending the night, and coming back on Monday.

Jesse will go to movies if I take him to town. I do that sometimes but really can't afford very often to spend big cinema prices, plus ferry, when we can see them for free here in Langley. (That would severely cut into what little plant money I have!)

Wow, I just thought of something, Pixy. I'll be coming right by your house with my wholesale plant order. I'm going to email you right now the info and see if you want to order anything. I could drop it off on my way north. Check your email...

*ears perk up*
Plants? Wholesale? What?
You know, I do live just three miles from Pixy... *bats eyelashes*

I didn't realize that, Pony. Incoming email for you...

Gwen, plant order? Do tell.
I love the word smothers to describe mothers who smother. LOL

Oh, Gwen, I read your email and responded before looking at this thread. I'll go back and look at the email again. I didn't realize you'd be coming by the house.

Yes, it's sweet. And he just NOW got home so we can watch something. Better late than never, I suppose.

When my boys were young, there was a very active Christian group called MOPS (mothers of pre-schoolers). I tried to emulate them with MOB (mothers of boys) to meet at the local bar for some social chat and get-away -- sadly did not take off. For reasons that continue to elude me, many women will only meet up for those ding-dang 'buy-it' parties, I guess it makes them feel safe or something.

Taking ruthless advantage of the title of this thread, DH has the TV on watching a show called "Modern Marvels" This episode is all about failed inventions. Right now we're hearing about the "Museum of Questionable Medical Devices". I love that name. They've got signs about products like radioactive water, the shoe xray machine, radium for "Male vitality"....and worse....
Another invention they talked about had both of us howling with laughter (ok, it's horrible, really, sorry, we're a bit warped, I guess) The army tried to invent grenades that would stick to their targets-seems like a reasonable concept, I suppose....the only problem was that they were sticky enough they tended to stick to the hands or uniforms of the soldiers trying to toss them.... Both of us instantly had a "cartoon moment"....Wile E Coyote-style.........

Andrew's a good kid-I like him.

Gwen, I think you said your son (Jesse?) is going to WSU next year? I've been meaning to mention-my niece goes to WSU in Pullman. A lot of the kids carpool back and forth together across the state-they'll give whoever is driving a few bucks for gas and arrange to get to and from the carpool. It's worked really well for my family-she's got company on the drive, lower costs to get home, and additional drivers if needed too. Her folks are fine with it, she's a good kid, does well in school.

MOBS - I l ove it! When my boys were in preschool, there was another mom of 3 boys who gave me the most wonderful poem about moms of boys. I wish I could find it. I know it's in a box somewhere...

Susy, what city does your niece live in? I know there are a lot of south Whidbey kids who go there. Jesse's girlfriend is going to U of I and I'm hoping he can ride back and forth with her mom most of the time. (And I may join here in the drive.) I worry about the driving conditions in the winter, tho. There's a bus that comes over for only $40 and there is an airport there as well. I was really relieved when I found out about the bus and airport as I had been really dreading the whole winter/pass driving thing.

MOBs! I love it! Can't understand why that wouldn't have been very popular. I would have come, for sure.
We watched a totally stupid movie starring Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker. Hugh Grant played himself, basically. So it was predictable,etc, but worth it because my 18 year old son put his head in my lap so I could pet him. I got a fix for awhile, anyway. Yes, Sue, he's a good kid. Glad you noticed!