April Flowers

April Flowers!

Bird-O-Rama Irony?

Do I re-fill the birdfeeder?
The ravenous creatures devoured the entire feeder in a week. And then dad sent this from the internet:

A funny parallel...

I bought a bird feeder. I hung it on my back porch and filled it with seed. Within a week we had hundreds of birds taking advantage of the continuous flow of free and easily accessible food. But then the birds started building nests in the boards of the patio, above the table, and next to the barbecue.

Then came the poop. It was everywhere: on the patio tile, the chairs, the table... everywhere. Then some of the birds turned mean: They would dive bomb me and try to peck me even though I had fed them out of my own pocket. And others birds were boisterous and loud: They sat on the feeder and squawked and screamed at all hours of the day and night and demanded that I fill it when it got low on food. After a while, I couldn't even sit on my own back porch anymore. I took down the bird feeder and in three days the birds were gone. I cleaned up their mess and took down the many nests they had built all over the patio.

Soon, the back yard was like it used to be...quite, serene and no one demanding their rights to a free meal.

Now let's see . . . our government gives out free food, subsidized housing, free medical care, and free education and allows anyone born here to be an automatic citizen.

Then the illegals came by the tens of thousands. Suddenly our taxes went up to pay for free services; small apartments are housing five families: you have to wait six hours to be seen by an emergency room doctor: your child's 2nd grade class is behind other schools because over half the class doesn't speak English.

Corn Flakes now come in a bilingual box; I have to press “one” to hear my bank talk to me in English, and people waving flags other than "Old Glory" are squawking and screaming in the streets, demanding more rights and free liberties. Maybe it's time for the government to take down the birdfeeder.

"The American Indians found out what happens when you don't control immigration"

"Fighting Terrorism since 1492!"

R

3rd Annual Bird-O-Rama

Join your feathered friends for the 2007 Annual Bird-O-Rama held in the Urban Forest in the Central Valley, California, the land of fruits and nuts.

View the Bird-O-Rama Bulletin for the most up-to-date information about the 2007

Event:
Application Forms
Registration Fees
Valley Tour Applications
Participants: The Ugly Duckling and Big Bird
Plant and Seed Guidebooks
O-Rama Encampment Sites and Nests
Best Worm and Feeder Locations
Pestilence and Neighborhood Animal Locations

The 3rd Annual Bird-O-Rama will be hosted by the Sparrow Association from April 24 until August 8. It will bring together thousands of birds to include; doves, jays, pigeons, and humming birds, among others for the extravagant event. You will share adventure, international friendship, personal growth, and development. Find your favorite feathered friend or perhaps true love after the long migration, locate a tree to take a perch, enjoy the ravenous seed event at the feeder, or just join the fun!

Where Is the Jamboree?
The 3rd Annual Bird-O-Rama will take place in the beautiful Central Valley, California. It is within easy flying distance through an endless urban village. Just fly north following the mountains on your right hand side. If you are flying south, the mountains will be on your left. If you see blue water, you are off course. The sky is always blue in the spring, rain is slight and the clouds are puffy and delightful, and it is easy to take flight into the Urban Forest. Things to be cautious of on the way include the local neighborhood canines, ferocious felines, and annoying but harmless humans. Maps to the Bird-O-Rama are included with your itinerary. The Urban Forest has a large area of rolling green parkland, with patches of trees that resemble a tropical paradise. It offers an ideal location for the Bird-O-Rama site. This Central Valley village has a history stretching back as far as any bird can remember. The town has been a great retreat and is strongly supporting the O-Rama.

The event will focus of adventurous activities in the migration north, which is one of the O-Rama’s program venues. Don’t forget to say hi to the Ugly Duckling and Big Bird, with their latest stories coming out of Bird Watch Magazine. Come and enjoy this year’s retreat, with plenty of seeds, sun, and friends to chirp next to.

The Annual Bird-O-Rama emblem and the Sparrow Bird Association emblem are trademarks protected by their respective feathered organizations and may not be used without written consent of the Bird-O-Rama Division.

An example of what you can eat in a day at the Bird-O-Rama

Haunted Bathroom and the Masquerades

Haunted locations are often regarded to contain the spirits of the deceased who may have been former residents or were familiar with the locale when they departed. That said, the scary bathroom may not be haunted, however there are lurking spirits masquerading in the overhanging masks high above the faucets and facilities. Is the scary bathroom haunted and are the masks responsible? What makes this place scary and who or what is to blame for the mysterious happenings here? There is a connection, however the secret remains hidden.

There is an enormous variety of masks in the scary bathroom, mostly from Africa, but others from Thailand, Mexico, Indonesia and Ghana. They may have been used in masquerades that form part of religious ceremonies enacted to communicate with spirits and ancestors. They may have been used as spiritual and or social symbols by their creators. What they are trying to communicate is subjective, but they look scary and foreboding to some. Others may think they are sleeping, waiting for a small child to drift into their grasp unexpectedly. These masks are colorful and ornate, but somewhat frightening to wee young ones. The masks are carved with extraordinary skill and variety by artists who have received their training as an apprentice to a master carver. Frequently it is a tradition that has been passed down within a family through many generations.

Some African tribes believe that the animal masks can help them communicate with the spirits who live in forests or open savannas. People of Burkina Faso use their masks to call to the spirits to stop evil. The Mali have a complex religion that also create and make use of animal masks. Their beliefs are in found in three main cults: the cult of the dead, the cult of communication with spirits, and the cult of earth and nature. Most of their ceremonies are secret, although the antelope dance is shown to non-believers. Masks may also indicate a culture’s ideal of feminine beauty. The masks of Gabon have highly arched eyebrows, almost almond-shaped eyes and a narrow chin. The raised stripes running from both sides of the nose to the ears represent jewelry. Many cultures have masks, and the scary bathroom has many represented that are similar to the ones discussed above. But are there spirits lurking high above? What do the scary bathroom masks represent? Do the hairs on the back of your neck stand up when you go in there? Is it haunted or a figment of your imagination? Will you venture in to see the scary bathroom? Will you bring your wee young ones in to visit the facility?

Shaving Lesson with Uncle Patrick

March Madness

(Aside from Lara, who is posting for Sean, as he's at work. I kid you not, this is a typical weekend-31 hours--in this crazy, wonderful long-distance relationship...)

After contemplating an article on global warming (as it snows in Texas, in the high thirties for the Boston Marathon, and it is freezing here in the Central Valley, ok the mid-sixties but it feels like it is freezing), Nancy Palosavich, Imus versus Sharpton, ongoing pet food recalls, lacrosse players’ innocence… I thought it best to write an article on Adventure Number 25 from two weekends ago: Travel Day Saturday, James’s Birthday Party, Drive to Warner Springs, Palomar Mountain Road Adventure, The Brewery, Oceanside Ale Works, Mark’s Oceanside Estate, Mission San Juan Capistrano, and Travel Day Sunday Back to the Valley.

Travel Day Saturday: a) Wakeup 3:30 in the morning, Eeeekkk! b) Hop on the puddle-jumper to San Francisco, to Los Angeles, to Orange County, c) Uneventful flights and reading time, and d) Lara transportation to the park for birthday activities. Did we forget anything? We have to go to the store!

James’s Birthday Party: a) Basketball and food setup, b) light the barbeque, c) great the guests, d) go play, e) eat yummies, f) hot dogs, burgers, adult steaks and fruit salad, g) open presents, h) fight the children for the pee shooter, i) clean up, j) say goodbye, k) did we forget anything?

Drive to Warner Springs: a) Where are we driving, how long are we really going to be in the car, potty everyone? b) Traffic on the 91 eeek!!!, c) Temecula and Murrieta and then east, d) Are we there yet? e) There is the campground, drop the boy off and let’s go! f) Do we have to go back in the car? g) Julian and the Great Beyond - No city skyscrapers, smog or noise, only crystal clear air and wide-open spaces…

Palomar Mountain Road Adventure: a) The car is getting low on gas, b) There are no gas stations in the crystal clear open spaces past Julian, c) We can make it to the Palomar Observatory, d) It is only a 14-mile road, let’s go! e) Sean, pull over or I will get sick! f) It is very twisty-turny up here, didn’t that sign say it closed at 4:00?, f) Let’s go anyway, it is historical, it is adventurous, we have enough gas, g) Almost to the top, and yes it is closed, those hosers! h) There is the Hale 200-inch telescope, i) I want to see, but the gate is locked, j) It is getting darker, let’s get going down the icky hill, k) Where are these five telescopes that are nightly used for a wide variety of astronomical research programs that I want to get in to see? l) Palomar Mountain State Park, can we visit again sometime, maybe camp? m) Spectacular views of the Pacific, camping, picnicking, hiking, and fishing, coniferous forests all over the mountain, in contrast to the dry lowlands surrounding the mountain, and look, the fog is rolling in the valley below, n) Is the Observatory as large as the Parthenon in Rome? o) Is it really clear every night of the year up here? p) Driving again among the beautiful forests, meadows, wild flowers, and wildlife of Palomar Mountain on the way down, q) Palomar Mountain General Store also has groceries, do we need to stop by for a treat? r) Palomar Mountain has an elevation of approximately 5,500 feet and is located close to Mark’s Grand Estates, but are we there yet? s) This stretch of San Diego County Route S6 from California State Route 76 to the valley is a driver’s challenge with over twenty hairpin turns over the distance of less than seven miles, t) Sean, I am getting car sick again, we better stop for a picture, u) Slow traffic, here? v) Pala Mission at the bottom of the valley, not on the Mission tour, but a must see next time we come visit, w) Brewery before the Estates?


The Brewery, Oceanside Ale Works: a) Where is this place again? Call Karen, b) An adult beverage after chow at Chipotles, c) Where are the folks and what is the plan? d) Yummy ale, now time for a nap, d) Back in the car, really? e) Sean gas!

Mark’s Oceanside Estate: a) Arrived and it's dark, b) Jacuzzi, eeek! It's cold and it's getting late, c) The parents are here and they want to chat, d) See you in the morning?

Mission San Juan Capistrano: a) The birthplace of Orange County, founded more than two hundred years ago as the seventh of the 21 missions statewide, b) How many more do we have to visit? 18? c) Look at the chapel still standing where Friar Serra once celebrated Mass, d) Today it is a monument to California's multi-cultural history, embracing its Native American, Spanish, Mexican and European heritage, e) Expensive, it is seven dollars to view the estates, but it is for a good cause isn’t it? f) Originally built as a self-sufficient community by Spanish Padres and Indians, the Mission was a center for agriculture, industry, education and religion, and look, koi! g) Visitors will discover many areas of interest throughout the Mission grounds as we did, h) Eeekk, almost time to go, are we rushing? i) The serenity and peace amid the ten acres of lush gardens and cool fountains and old adobe walls, offer visitors respite from the sights and sounds of a busy world, and look over there, cactus and roses, j) Are we busy, really? Do I really have a plane to catch in a couple hours? k) Visited the Serra Chapel, Padres’ Quarters, Industrial Area, Soldiers’ Barracks, Cemetery and the Great Stone Church, wow we have been busy! l) Wait, we need to light a candle! m) Eeek! He splashed me with holy water, I will get you for that! n) Swallows, did we forget the swallows? I didn’t see any? o) The miracle of the Swallows of Capistrano takes place each year on March 19th, St. Joseph's Day, n) Isn’t he the guy that owns all the hospitals? p) This Chapel is said to be the largest and most ornate of any of the missions, q) It now has a more humble destiny housing the birds that St. Francis loved so well, r) Don’t you have a St. Francis statue in the rose garden? s) After the summer spent within the sheltered walls of the Old Mission in San Juan Capistrano, the swallows take flight again, and on the Day of San Juan, October 23, they leave after circling the Mission bidding farewell to the "Jewel of All Missions,” t) Did we see everything? Dash back to the car! I have a plane to catch!

Travel Day Sunday Back to the Valley: a) Traffic on the 5 and 55, b) Off to the folks for a soda and drop off gifts, c) Back to the 55 again? d) Didn’t I just arrive at this airport yesterday? e) To San Francisco with a nap on the way, f) Get on the puddle jumper again, and where are my peanuts? No honey-covered peanuts anymore? g) I can see my bed from the airplane, let me off! It’s getting late!

And March Madness turns into April Showers…. Did we get to see everything on the schedule?

Our Weekend Pictures Link!

--S

A Wee Family Has Moved In

A wee family has moved in and their first-born has already flown the coop. Bobble, the baby Mourning Dove living in our hangy-down pot, left the nest and flew away Monday. After I chased the flying rats (pigeons)away a year ago, we have had the opportunity to watch Bobbles from conception, with new Bobbles recently brewing this week. I am now breeding Mourning Doves in the hangy-down pot garden again. Oo-woo-woo-woo, oo-woo-woo-woo is heard every morning prior to leaving for work, as Mamma bird tends to her second brood.

And for your reading entertainment, some information from Wikipedia on the wee creatures who are here to stay: I thought Mamma bird was done breeding. But she is on her second batch of Bobbles, with two eggs in the nest. I think one of the eggs in a bad egg from before, and the smaller one is a new and growing Bobble. I had the opportunity to see older brother Bobble fly away forever Monday. He hasn’t returned to visit the family or the old digs. I also had the opportunity to watch the development of Mama and Papa's relationship, from nest making, courting, the wedding :), Bobble’s birth, and then Bobble's departure away without even a goodbye. He just left Mamma bird and went off to new pastures or to find a wife of his own.

Some of the things I found out about Mamma bird and Bobble: She is one of the most common birds in North America; the Mourning Dove is a member of the dove family, Columbidae; and they eat mainly seeds, including those of both native and introduced plants. What is interesting is that there is a bird feeder right below Mamma bird’s pot. They don’t seem to visit the feeder, but go foraging into the unknown backyard for an hour or so at a time. The species is generally monogamous, with two squabs (wee young ones) per brood.

The habitats of the wee gray-brown creatures include various open and semi-open environments, including agricultural and urban areas, and our house. They moved into the pot and stayed. The species has adapted well to areas altered by humans and the bird is abundant, with an estimated population of 130 million birds. It is distinguished by its woo-oo-oo-oo call and its whistling of its wings as it takes flight. Can you imagine that it is capable of speeds up to 55 miles an hour? It is truely a strong flyer.

Mamma bird had just one wee little one, and maybe her second batch, another wee one. Both parents care for the young for a time. I have seen Daddy bird around visiting and feeding Mamma bird and Bobble. Mamma bird and Daddy both incubate the eggs, supposedly the male from morning to afternoon, and the female at night and the rest of the day. If they trade places during the day or at night, I haven’t been able to tell. It is apparent that this species is a prolific breeder. Pairs will often have several broods per year, yikes! In warm areas, one pair may have up to six broods a year!!! That’s twelve Bobbles a year!!!! They are busy!!! Population control? Mr. Hawk. Uh-oh!

Ok, after chasing away the pigeons in the rafters of the house a year ago, what is the difference to watching Bobbles being created and the cooo-cooo-cooo outside the Travel Room? Well, Mamma bird and Bobble are not as messy, they are not in the roof of our house making a unsanitary condition where the Environmental Health Department would have to come out, they fun to watch and grow, and it is just like Planet Earth on the Discovery Channel in the backyard, without predators gobbling up hundreds of Bobbles in a scoop.

I have also noticed that reproduction courtship begins with a noisy flight by the Daddy bird, followed by a graceful, circular glide with outstretched wings. After landing, Daddy will approach Mamma bird with a puffed out breast, bobbling head, and loud calls. Mated pairs will often cuddle and preen each other's feathers, as they have done in neighboring pots. The clutch size is almost always two eggs. Mourning Doves are devoted parents; nests are very rarely left unattended by the parents, and I have noticed this too, as I work in the backyard, and they are watching my every move. They watch with excitement and bob up and down, wanting me to go missing.

Incubation of birdies takes approximately two weeks. It seems as if Bobble brewed a little longer. Mourning Doves are strongly altricial, with the young, called squabs, being helpless at hatching and covered with down. Bobble looked like this and was very cute bobbling up and down with his mouth open, waiting for nibbles. Both parents fed Bobble for the first few days of life. The crop milk is gradually augmented by seeds and adult foods. Fledging takes place in about two weeks, before the baby is fully grown but after that they are capable of digesting adult food. They will stay nearby to be fed for up to a few weeks after fledging. Bobble seemed to rear fast after being born, feeding, and then flying away. Maybe he was in there eating and bobbling for a while and I didn’t notice, maybe he wanted to move to a new secluded community, more rural and rustic, or maybe he wanted a faster paced life scavenging at Bagel Me or Macaroni Grill, instead of our humble home?

Now Bobble is gone and on his own. He will have to find his own pot and wife-bird and the cycle of life continues. This experience has been interesting, to see Planet Earth in the backyard. The wee family has moved in to stay, and now I get to watch the action with amusement again. Do you want to see what is growing in the backyard? Come on over and see the new Bobble and his proud parents.

-S

Amazing Grace

James and I finally went to see this movie today...and I'm so glad we did. It was a beautiful story of faith and passion and how both can work together for good and have incredible results. What an inspiring and uplifting story! Do go see it if you can.

This was my dad's favorite hymn, very illustrative of his quiet, strong, abiding faith, and so it holds a special place in my heart. He would have loved this movie, and I wish he'd been here to see it with us.

Key Quotes:
"Mr. Wilberforce, we understand that you are having problems choosing whether to do the work of God or the work of a political activist. We humbly suggest that you can do both."

"Although my memory's fading, I remember two things very clearly. I am a great sinner, and Christ is a great Savior."

"Through many dangers toils and snares
I have already come!
His grace has brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home!"
--John Newton

Happy Easter!

Signs of Life in the Backyard

Lovely flowers in time for Easter

A wee family moved in to the flower pots, and a baby bird has arrived!

See the almost-blooming roses framing the fountain? Lara is such a good influence on Sean!

Happy Easter!

Did You Read Enough This Quarter?

I just finished grading my last paper for the quarter--ready to finish inputting grades tomorrow! As I was grading my students' end-of-quarter reflections, I realized that one of my students read 52 books last quarter (8 weeks). Twain, Asimov, Christie, Bradbury, Wells--You name it, he read it. If I hadn't read his journal, I wouldn't believe it. He reads nearly a book a day. I love it!

Wow.

That's all I have to say about that. Now, back to reading. :)

Here's my current read:


A lovely book written one hundred years ago by Mary Johnston on the occasion of the tercentennial of Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America. As we now are in the year of the 400th anniversary of Jamestown, and I will be lucky enough to visit in May, I thought it was the perfect time to brush up on my colonial history through fiction. Review coming soon...for now, I'm going to enjoy a good story!

Rose Update---Blooming!

March 29

The Road to Eagle

Congratulations on your promotion to Tenderfoot!

Eliot

Eliot has felt left out of this whole blogging thing.
(After all, he reminded me, Cinnamon, Kosmo and even cousin Rudy are often featured!)
He wanted to say "hi" to everyone out there
in his very own friendly way.