Much Ado about Birds...Again!

While I have openly admitted to being a bird freak in a previous post, I confess there is one bird for which I do not have the warm fuzzies. This happens to be the red-headed woodpecker that for some particular reason enjoys drilling his beak into the gutter directly outside my bedroom window at 6 am. I wouldn't mind this wake-up call during the school year; however, he (I'm assuming it's a "he" because "he" is simply annoying) doesn't actually begin his rat-a-tat-tat until May. It's as if he is doing this on purpose just to be bothersome, and then of course, he flies to the suet feeder to feast on yummy treats. Today, however, I beat him up before his loud drilling sounds began. "Ha," I thought, "You're late today. It's 6:15, and I'm already up!"

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Aside from this furry creature from the pit of you know where, fabulous doings of the bird realm are happenin' at my place. And, I simply love it! Two barn swallows are building their mud nest underneath the deck. I've been watching their progress, and so has Bella, the bird-chasing dog. She peers through the slats of the deck, notices their movement and begins barking like the ferocious bird-hater that she is. While the eggs haven't been laid yet, I look forward to watching the progress and eventually seeing sweet, little baby swallows.

Barn Swallow

I've saved the best for last! For several years, we've provided a bluebird house for those beautiful beings to build their nest, however, until this year, no one has taken up residence. I've been spying on them over the past few days with my trusty binoculars. These bluebirds are busy gathering dried twigs to prepare their nest. Yesterday, Maddie and I opened the box to see what they were doing and saw a nice, neat little nest for those new babies.

I'll be watching like a hawk for the birth of all my new birdies! How thrilling it is that God put these little creatures in my backyard just for me to enjoy!

Bluebird

Three Cheers for the Bulldogs!

You can imagine my utter shock at my results to this quiz. After all, I attended high school eons ago. I was fairly sure I had forgotten just about everything I had learned. Apparently, I've still retained some of that knowledge, and it's been laying latent in my brain just waiting for this quiz. Must be that great teaching I sat under at good old West Albany High. Go Bulldogs!

Have fun!

You paid attention during 91% of high school!

85-100% You must be an autodidact, because American high schools don't get scores that high! Good show, old chap!

Do you deserve your high school diploma?
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The Crazy Month of May

It's that time of the year. No, not spring, although I'm thrilled that it's finally decided to show up. Nope, not the end of the school year, although I'm ecstatic about not getting that 6:15 wake up call for a few months. What I'm talking about is the "divide and conquer" scenario that husbands and wives do frequently in the month of May. In a world of spring concerts, awards nights, end of the year school carnivals and every other end of the year celebration, there's bound to be some conflicting activities. When one has three children, this can almost be a regular occurrence.

Thus, this past Wednesday evening, my hubby and I enjoyed a leisurely five minute meal before he escorted our youngest to her kids' choir musical. Nick and I skedaddled out of the house several minutes after them to attend his underclassmen awards night. For the life of me, I don't know why the powers that be don't coordinate with my schedule, so that our entire family could celebrate our children's accomplishments.

Proud parent that I am, may I just slip in the four honors Nick was awarded...2 year 4.0 GPA, Outstanding student in Sounds of South, National Honor Society and Outstanding Algebra II student. On a more serious note, I believe next year, I'll have to send the school my calendar so they can schedule these things around my oh-so-busy month.

Another little piece of trivia from the evening is that we be-bopped out of the awards night as soon as Nick was awarded his honors. Before you gasp at me with "I would never do that," please walk a mile in my shoes. With a former last name like "Weston" in which my family waded through the entire alphabet to get to me, you can just imagine the temptation to leave after the name "Carlsberg" was called! So, we gave in and escaped the drudgery so we could use our time more wisely. I believe checking email and eating ice cream cones is a much better use of my time, wouldn't you agree?

Next weekend we get to divide and conquer again when Tony heads to "Gymnastics Awards Night" with the girls, and I enjoy beautiful music courtesy of Sounds of South at their finale in which Nick is singing. One of us will take the camera; one of us will take the video. A few hours later we'll meet back at the homestead for a little recap of our evenings. We'll collapse on the couch and breathe sighs of relief that we have maneuvered through another crazy May.

It's quite possible that you may hear a high-pitched scream for joy Tuesday, May 27 at approximately 2:30 or 3:00 pm belting out, "Yippee, school's out!"

This One's for the Birds

I absolutely love spring...redbud trees, tulips and daffodils, lilac bushes all budding out and bringing beauty and life to my once drab, brown world. I love to hear the sound of lawn mowers trimming the grass to a beautifully manicured state. I love the smell of newly cut grass and breathing in fresh, cool air before the humidity sets in. I love to peruse and of course purchase new flowers to add to my various gardens. I love to meander through the yard to see what new buds are popping out...that the deer haven't demolished yet. I did gain some wisdom this year and planted some "poisonous" plants that supposedly the deer will not devour. We'll see. I'm still holding my breath.

Even more than all the wonderful things I've listed above are the birds! I have become a bird fanatic. While I don't admit to being an expert, I love to watch and listen to them. At my birdfeeders, I spy on Black Capped Chickadees, Towhees, House Finches, Yellow Finches, Titmouses and of course, all kinds of woodpeckers. Each one has such distinct, beautiful sounds. One of these days on a nice warm morning, I'm going to grab my camera and simply sit quietly on my deck waiting for one of these birds to feed. I'll fancy myself one of those fabulous photographers lurking in the wild to get that close up shot of a ferocious animal. Ok, not quite the same, but I'm excited about it.

During spring, I am animated with God about creation. Driving last week, I saw an amazing sunset. Beautiful, bold oranges and reds in a big round ball sinking on the horizon. I flat out told God what a great job he did with that, what an awesome creator he is. Earlier this week I was planting my garden, just a few things for salsa, our main staple in the summer, and my favorite bird to watch perched on the swingset. This majestic big boy, my buddy the pileated woodpecker, looked right and left, right and left, just to make sure the coast was clear and bee-lined it to the suet feeder. I sat as still as a mouse watching. Another God moment. Another time that he chose to show off his perfect creation to me. Grateful for this opportunity, I thanked him again, admiring this beautiful creature before he took off for the trees. I know he lives near because he comes often to eat the food we provide.

I hope you take the time this spring to enjoy the beauty of God's creation around you. Sometimes in all of our busyness, we fail to notice what he has placed right in front of our noses.