Toad

Maybe if I sit quiet she won't notice me.



This morning I worked like a "banshee" (Gary's word) to move a woodpile from spot A to spot B in order to tidy up the back yard and make it easier for Gary to mow. Turns out I disturbed an entire ecosystem that had set itself up since that tree fell down.







And this king-sized grass hopper seems to be missing a leg, so I had to take his photo too. After a week of rain, it seems like the plants and animals have sprung to life, including some mushrooms I've never seen before. (Don't worry, I won't eat them.)

I Need to Get Back to Birding

I've been neglecting this blog lately. I have been posting some on my family blog. I guess I just haven't had too much to say lately that wasn't family related.

My birding has suffered a serious setback in that the seals on the double paned glass on BOTH sides of the patio door have broken so they are a steamy mess. I can't see a bird unless the door is open! I need to get busy and get that replaced. And this isn't the first time we've replaced that sliding patio door for the same reason.

Anyway, looks like Birdstack is doing its semiannual thing, so I need to see what birds i can scare up. I need to get my bird feeders set back up too, buy some more seed, and find a pole to hang the humming bird feeder from. I've pretty much ignored the birds since returning from Ethiopia (and my birding marathon there) because I've been so busy helping my chickadee build her own nest. But most of that is in place and she's no longer needing our help now, so I'm going back to my birding and cardmaking and blogging habits/hobbies. And I've got some reading to catch up on, too.

Birding at the Ballpark

I don't really know for sure if these two birds were Common Nighthawks or a Lesser Nighthawks, but they definitely were nighthawks of some kind. I saw this pair all during the game at Rangers' stadium, buzzing madly above the game, snatching up moths and other insects. There was also a big moon, very beautiful, and perfect weather. (The photo below is stolen from the internet.)

When I mentioned to Gary that I saw some birds, he said, "Yes, there are 9 Bluejays down on the field. And Marlon Byrd is here too." Yes, he's an oaf.

New Clothes?

When I did the laundry on Saturday my favorite shirt came out with a hole in it. When I put my favorite nightgown on last night, I noticed a tear in it. And today when I put my cell phone in the pocket of my most comfortable pants, it slid through the hole in the pocket, down my leg, and landed on my toes.

I wonder if it is time to go shopping? Nah, probably not. After all, I have more shirts, another nightie, and other pants. I just need some new favorites.

Time For Sleep

I'm off to bed soon, but had to post this photo of the beautiful bird that I didn't see in Ethiopia. But Andrew did, and he wrote to brag! It is the white morph of the African Paradise Flycatcher.

In other news, Gary is enjoying cold weather at the Puget Sound for a week, while I'm still sweating here in Dallas. Rachel's kids start school tomorrow, and Andrew and Laura have applied for her green card. I'm still working on posting my Ethiopia photos, and for my trouble, Google has informed me I'm using up too much of the cloud and will not have to start paying $20/year! Here's the link to my latest album.

Eating in Ethiopia

Injera is the staple food of Ethiopia. We ate that, and lots of things from lots of cultures. Click here for photos.

Left Out

Wow, I've been neglecting this blog in favor of my family blog.

Time for a small gripe: I'm feeling a bit sorry for someone because she didn't get invited to a wedding that many of her friends went to. True, she wasn't really close to the bride, but she did know her and she was part of the group that this woman used to hang out with. She made comments like: I wish I could have been there, but they said they didn't have enough money to invite me. I wonder what to buy them for a gift? Just because I wasn't invited doesn't mean I can't buy them a gift. Wow, they posted photos on Facebook already--looks like I missed a good one.

She is such a giving and generous person that it hurts to see people treat her selfishly. (Though from their point of view I'm sure it wasn't selfish; it was just the way it had to be.)

Birding in Ethiopia

I had such a good time birdwatching while we were in Ethiopia. My son joined me when he could--that was fun too.

I ended up tentatively identifying 83 birds--all but one were new ones for me. To see my full Ethiopia list, check here.

I took photos of as many as I could, and with a crummy camera, that isn't' easy. But click here to see my online album of Ethiopia birds.

Jungle Safari Cake for Isabella's 1st birthday party

We're back from our wonderful trip to Addis Ababa and I'm starting to deal with laundry, mail, and photos. Here is the first album. Click on it to see larger photos and captions.

I'm planning to post about our trip mostly on my family blog, so set that to your RSS feed if you want to keep updated.

My Brother

The nest is a bit emptier; my younger brother passed away last night. I'm glad I went to Michigan last week to see him before it was too late.

I've Hit a Stone Wall

This photo is for MaHoyt, the side wall of the barbershop. Click on it for a better view.

I haven't really hit a stone wall, maybe just a snag. It is less than a week before we leave for Ethiopia, and I feel like I"m getting sick! Sad.

If anyone reading this wants to see photos of my Michigan trip, I've posted two albums. You can find the links here.

I'm Home

I'm too tired to write a decent post, but I did think this photo was a good illustration of what I saw in my small hometown (from which I've just returned)--the new and the old. In so many ways it felt like nothing except me had changed in 40 years. But then, lots of folks have these little dishes sitting on their homes and businesses, so I guess something has changed.

Oaf Child

Yesterday, as I was driving past the high school, I dutifully slowed to 20mph as the flashing light instructed, in spite of the fact that we all know school is not in session. But it turns out there were a couple teenagers leaving the building because one of the started to cross the road in front of me, dropped to the ground in my lane, and did a pushup before completing his journey to the other side.

A New New Testament

I kind of pride myself in making something out of nothing, but in this case, we could hardly say I started with nothing.

Rachel wanted to buy an NIV NT, but it need to be one with larger than micro print and smaller than a fortune to buy. Turns out we had an old NIV on the shelf with the glue disintegrated. I removed the NT and added a cover made of card stock, and bound it with a heavy-duty stapler at the office.

She says she's going to use this NT to read along while listening to the digital NIV NT that she got for her birthday.

Mr. and Mrs. Red-bellied Wooodpecker

Today I repeatedly saw this male woodpecker break open a sunflower seed and then feed it to his mate. That was sweet, don't you think?

It's So Hot...

...even the cat is drinking ice water.

If It Weren't for TV Sports...

...Gary would never get a nap.

Or, TV news. Or TV movies.

Multiuse Tools

In the same way that a dry wall knife can be used to cut cheesecake, a Pampered Chef spatula can be used to spread grout.

No Good

This giant watermelon cost $6 on sale, but I just couldn't bring myself to drag the rotten and dripping specimen back to the store to get my money back. I guess that is a sign that I'm rich. Or lazy.


The solution to a spring poking through the top of the matteress might be to turn it over. Except when I did that, the other side was worse!

Michael's ordination

Michael's ordination

The photos aren't that great, but it was a good occasion. We've known Michael since he was about 3 or 4 years old.