Birds, Birds, Birds...

I recently did a search on this blog with the key word bird. There were several hits - literally. With our large windows in back we do tend to have several bird strikes a year. Recently, I posted about an injured hummingbird. Well, this week it was a little finch. 


Our hearts always stop a bit when we hear a bird hit the window hoping it survives. This one did. The kids were so excited to go out and hold it until it felt well enough to fly away. This was Lil Sister's first bird holding experience and she was thrilled by it.


Here are the photos:

 

 As always, they were extremely gentle and there were lots of smiles all around.

Bike Ride and Pool Trip...

Summer is flying past and yet this is the first we've pulled out the bike trailer and headed to our local pool. The weather has just been so odd either too cold or just too hot, or the weather is nice and I am scheduled to work. (Seriously, I work 2 days out of 7 - why those two days would be the only nice ones?)


However, T Rex Dad did recently tuned up my bike and made it road-worthy along with attaching the trailer. The kids are still small enough to both fit and be within weight parameters. Plus, I think soon T Rex is going to want to have a bike of his own and ride it himself (Grandpa N is working on this but our little guy does not know it yet). 

This past week we loaded up, took a long round about way to the neighborhood pool, and had some swimming fun. It was about 98 degrees - kind of hot for a bike ride but perfect for swimming in the unheated pools. (The kids are like me, not interested in swimming in cold water.)

The bike ride wore me out since I'm used to working out on the elliptical and not pulling a bike trailer. Oh, my bike has mountain bike tires so it makes pulling a trailer even harder due to increased road friction and resistance. It really is a good work out, especially in the hilly parts of our neighborhood.


We packed some blow up toys and the kids loves having those. I did bring both their life jackets. When it's just me and the pool has no life guard, as good as T Rex is getting with his swimming, I don't feel comfortable being without the jackets. Yes, Lil Sister is still in the infant size one - she's still only about 24 lbs. I tried putting her in T Rex's with a minimum limit of 30lbs and she capsizes forward. Actually, I was very glad she had on that bulky infant one with the padding in back. At one point she jumped in and did not jump out far enough. She would have bumped her head on the side of the pool but instead ended up hitting the jacket. 

My little guy had such a great time jumping into the kiddie pool. I posted more photos of his impressive jumps on his blog page.

The kids ended up being exhausted from their 2 hours of swimming. After our picnic lunch we headed home and they took heavenly naps during which I managed to complete 3 projects I've been working on for several months. I promise to post those photos. I know, I know...I've been promising to post project photos. I will. Soon. These just don't seem as important as keeping up on the family happenings.


I do hope the rest of you are enjoying your summers and making lots of fun memories with your families. As always, thank you for your interest in our lives and including our happenings into your lives.

P.S. Yes, taking the kids to the pool solo is a labor of love. At least this trip no tears were involved. The most recent trip - we all cried.

Ladybugs and Butterflies...

This spring/summer I wanted to raise ladybugs and caterpillars with the kids. I thought it would be a fun biology lesson. Plus, I've also wanted an excuse to do it since it's something that has always fascinated me..


We purchased the supplies and sent away for our bugs.


They arrived with instructions. We opened everything up, set things up, and started our observations:

The company inadvertently sent us another complete set of bugs 2 days later. We ended up with twice as many bugs which maxed out our set-ups.

The ladybugs took about 2 weeks to progress through their three cycles. It was interesting that they start off not even resembling their final state - much like caterpillars although not as dramatic. When they were ready we eagerly released them into the berry bushes. Honestly, they were kind of stinky and grimy. Maybe because there were so many in such a tight dome. 

The caterpillars had much more dramatic obvious changes. They ate and ate and ate and each day grew and grew and grew. On about day 10-12 they started hanging upside down and then a day after that they started forming a chrysalis from the inside out. I always thought they spun the cocoon but it seems more like an excretion process because the caterpillar remains motionless during the process.

They stayed inside the cocoon for a little over a week then quickly emerge from their shells. The emerging process is quite rapid. We had the cocoons in their habitat in our kitchen area and we would literally turn and the turn back again and see a new butterfly.

 

I did manage to catch one on the camera as it emerged.

The butterflies would drink from the fresh orange slices. We also put fresh cut flowers in for them to drink sugar water droplets from. All 10 of the butterflies survived but one did come out damaged as its cocoon did not completely close. The damage was to one of its wings so we kept it for the remainder of its life - about two more weeks. T Rex dubbed it Nemo and we trained it to drink directly from the sugar water filled pipet.

When all the butterflies had emerged from their cocoons we released all but Nemo. For a couple weeks afterward we would see our painted lady butterflies fly past or land in our flowers. T Rex especially enjoyed holding each of the creatures before they stretched their wings and flew away. When we ended up visiting the butterfly exhibit at the zoo he was quite disappointed he did not get to touch any of them after his amazing butterfly experience at home.

Overall, an excellent learning experience for all of us. T Rex can tell you all about the various stages of caterpillar or ladybug life cycles. Lil Sister enjoyed watching but she was on the young side for this. We'll be doing the caterpillar thing again. I would certainly recommend it for some hands on learning for kids ages about 3 to 4 years or older. I, myself, had a wonderful time and would literally stand for an hour at a time watching them.

Hummingbird Close Encounter - Year Two...

It's been one year almost to the day since our first hummingbird close encounter.


This year it was just me who was able to touch the tiny bird. This female frequents our feeder. There is one dominant male who pretty much owns the feeder but he will allow this female to drink when he sees fit for her to do so. Fickle fellow.


This past weekend we were having our Saturday evening gaming session  - D & D 1st edition for those who are curious. Our dining table has perfect viewing of the hummingbird feeder. As we all sat, talked politics, and attempted to solve the county's problems over homemade chili I noticed my female had been perched at the feeder for a long time. She seemed to be stunned.  However, when the male would buzz her or even nudge her, she would turn her head in defense but not offer much else. We watched and a couple hours passed. It still was not dark (no, it does not get dark until 9:30 pm) and hummingbirds rarely fly in the dark so I was hoping she'd take off soon. Nothing.


I went out and decided to give a little nudge but with a little more force behind it than the male bird. I did so and she opened her eyes and perked up. She did not fly away but she started drinking from the feeder. I grabbed my camera and took the most close up photos I've ever been able to take along with a somewhat shaky video because toward the end when the male came back he buzzed my head. Still, it was cool to watch her drink and suck bugs out of the sky.

Let me just say, her feathers were so soft and she was so tiny. I jumped up and down with happiness when she flew away knowing she had recovered from whatever had stunned her. 

Two Musketeers...

This would be the streaker edition.


There is just something about going naked that kids love. In this case, they are enjoying a little foam sword play.

Moments like these do make the home a bit chaotic but these are also the best and more remembered ones, too. So as long as it's controlled chaos I'm fine with that.

Honey Bear Sitting...

Some friends recently welcomed a new baby boy. Our kids are absolutely in love with the little guy. When he needed a place to stay for a couple of hours his mama asked if we were interested. There was really no option to decline based on the kids' reaction. Even when at the last minute she did not need a sitter, I told her she could not cancel as the kids would be crushed.


There is a humorous side-story to the sitting, though. The day before our scheduled "honey bear sitting session" (the kids call babies Honey Bears after the Berestain Bear's baby named Honey Bear), we had to stop by my work place so I could sign a few things. One of the partners and one of my employers came out to see the kids. He wanted to meet them. After T Rex introduced himself as a super hero he proceeded to say, "Guess what? We get to have a real life baby at our house!" There was a pause. Then I quickly interjected, "No, no we're not having a baby. We're baby sitting a new baby tomorrow." I think I heard a few sighs of relief after I interjected being as though I just started working. It's pretty humorous now but at the moment it was a little uncomfortable for me. (Although, this particular person is very kid-friendly having 5 of his own children.)


The sitting session was awesome. The only flaw this little seven week old baby has is he is too good. Seriously, the easiest baby ever and I thought Lil Sister was a breeze. It was so charming seeing the kids interact with Baby I. Fun also to see him interact back as he is just starting to really smile and coo.

The kids were most interested in showing him some of their toys and T Rex was good about ensuring there were not choking hazards within reach.

Then a few rounds of peak-a-boo - everyone loved that.

T Rex wanted to get a closer look without getting in the baby's face, hence the binoculars.

Not to forget, lots and lots of hugs and snuggles. The little guy just kicked and goo'd, happily going along with everything.

Here's a short 23 second video of an interview with T Rex regarding the sitting session. The excitement in his voice is evident.

Thank you Baby I for stopping by and playing. You and your family are always welcome in our home.

Good Bye, Dear Friend...

I was a perfect evening.

Not too hot yet we had the kiddie pool warmed up Neighbor D style to a comfy 90 degrees. Captain America even made an appearance.

I could hear the doves cooing, quail calling, and the humming birds squeaking and buzzing.


We were all calm and content enjoying the evening.


Except, there was this heavy feeling in our hearts knowing it would be the last time we did this all together. You see, our dear family dog Sydney has been getting on in years. She surprised us all beating squamous cell carcinoma (cancer) not once but twice and dealing with a life-long chronic illness type of lupus. Yet, she still plugged along minus a few toes and was actually keeping up. Then last week she just decided to stop eating. We watched and waited. We even tried feeding her fresh turkey with little to no success. She was old. Very old by big dog specs. 

I sat down and had a little talk with her. We exchanged feelings and I knew what had to be done. Then I decided. It had to be me who did so. You see, she was my dog before T Rex Dad and I were married. In fact, I still remember the day he met her for the first time. They had to inspect each other before we were to be married. He would be adopting her into our family. I was not worried. With years of service volunteering with our local animal rescue service, I know she would love him and she in return. They did. 

Oh, she was a spaz. Even after I spent all my free money while I was in college sending her off to doggie training camp, she still never really learned to walk on a leash. She just wanted to run. And what a nose that girl had on her! It was in her genes. Her father was a decorated narcotics police dog. Actually, I met her father and the two were so similar down to the way they tucked their tails under when they sat or held their charcoal velvet noses to the sky to be petted.

So that night we celebrated her life. T Rex Dad mixed up some concrete and all our kids, canine included, placed their prints for us to preserve forever. The kids loved on her. Then we said our good byes.

It was a perfect evening together as a family. I will never forget it. I am so grateful for the time we had with our dear canine friend and the memories she left with us - fun things like watching her dive off docks or endlessly chasing tennis balls. She was an incredible swimmer which earned her the nickname torpedo. All these wonderful memories warm my heart.Which at the moment, does seem to ease the pain of her passing and absence. 

Good bye to my soft-muzzled girl...I will miss celebrating our birthday together.

 In memory of Sydney

(1999-2012)