Signs of Spring

It was 80+ degrees here today. I think we skipped spring and went right to summer! I'm not complaining though. I am happy to be able to take baby E outside and give her a change of scenery. I spent a good bit of time (for me) outside over the past few days, and I noticed all sorts of signs of life! My hydrangea is sprouting new leaves. The hostas are poking their tips out of the ground. The tulips have grown (and gone actually).

However, the most exciting things I saw were birds building in my birdhouses! I saw a tufted titmouse flying in and out of my bluebird house. Tuba noticed it too, but he didn't bother him (or her). Then today I saw that my wrens are back!! I like to think it's the same pair of wrens every year. They were very busy cleaning the old nest out of the birdhouse and replacing old stuff with new stuff. It's amazing to watch them fit long twigs into such a small hole. I look forward to watching them this season!

I also did a little bit of cooking today. I found and made this recipe for homemade granola bars a few weeks ago. They were very yummy, but got really hard after a day or so. That didn't stop me from eating the entire pan myself though! I decided to make them again, but this time I only cooked them for 23 minutes instead of 30. Oh.My.Goodness! They are extra tasty and chewy. Perfect! John liked them enough to take some to his coworkers :)

The granola bars will not be helping me get back into my pre-pregnancy clothes. Neither will the peanut butter filled pretzels that I inhale all day long! I bought the economy size at Sam's a few days ago. Not good.

Speaking of pregnancy. My baby is 7 weeks old today. Where has the time gone? I only have 2 more weeks of maternity leave left :( I don't know how I will ever be able to get up and get ready for work AND get there on time! It's usually 1:00 p.m. before I can ever seem to get in the shower these days! I better start practicing soon.

Playing Catch Up!

I feel like I haven't really blogged about much lately. I've been taking lots of pictures, and have lots of stories to share, but I just can't seem to find the time.

I have become happily obsessed with the little wrens nest just outside my kitchen door. We have had wrens for the past 3 or 4 years nest in our cat head bird house. They are there this year too! I love watching the mama and daddy birds build the nest of twigs and whatnot.

See the mama's eye peeking at me?

Then before I knew it, they were bringing food to the nest, and I realized there were babies in there. They are really good about us going in and out of the door less than a foot from their nest, but they sure do fuss when they see me looking out of the window at them!

The bird is hard to hear because the door was closed, but if you listen carefully you will hear her!

On Sunday I got several glimpses of the babies, and then that afternoon they were gone! I guess it was time for them to fly away. Here are some pictures...ignore the blob of poo at the entrance of the bird house. I think mama dropped it because she was too busy fussing at me and my camera!

Then...this afternoon, I heard the familiar sound of the wren's song just outside my door again. I like to think it's the same pair of wrens, but I'm not sure. Anyway, they were going in and out of the nest. Taking things out, and bringing things in. This is how I found it this afternoon. I'm not sure if they gave up for good, or just for the day.



I will be watching and listening for their return :)

What did you do this weekend?

Our Saturday was stormy and wet, so we didn't do much. I did attempt to make lasagna in the crockpot. Ummm...I won't be doing that again. John was oh so sweet, and didn't admit to how bad it was at first. He finally caved when I expressed my opinion about it. It wasn't horrible, but it was reminiscent of cafeteria lasagna that's been sitting under a heat lamp. For a long time.

The little wrens were working hard renovating the nest I left in the cat bird house from last Spring. They are so fun to watch and listen to. Look at all those twigs in there! How do they fit them in there?

Sunday was a much brighter, beautiful day. AK spent time playing with EG, our neighbor. They were having a blast in this. Except the one they were playing in was made for rolling in the grass I think. Anyway, I wish I had had my camera! I did have my camera handy for some cooking show action...

But the chef wasn't too cooperative for the paparazzi.

AK and I decided to get a bit crafty. I have been looking for some larger art to hang in my living room, but I can't find anything I like. So I thought, well I love AK's art! So I bought 2 large canvases at Hobby Lobby yesterday with the thought that she could paint something for me.

Not quite what I had in mind.

So I think this will hang in her room. Maybe I can get her to paint it a little more. She got tired.

I started looking around my crafty blogs that I have bookmarked, and I came across this at Simply Modern Mom! This post was the inspiration for my creation.

I still have not decided on the bird. She looks a little big. I haven't Mod Podged it yet just in case I want a smaller birdie. What do you think? Please leave a comment and let me know.

To wrap up our day I made Andes Candies Brownies. All you do to make them is bake brownies as you normally would (we used a mix of course). Then when you take the brownies out of the oven, lay about 30 Andes Candies on top. Wait for them to melt a little, and swirl with a knife.

Oh.my.goodness.

These are so yummy. And definitely not on my "look decent in a bathing suit" plan.

Happy Spring...Break!

Wooo hoooo! Spring Break has begun! One week of no school and warm weather. Now, to think of something to do :) My mom is coming to visit for a few days, so there will probably be some shopping going on at some point.

While we were outside yesterday we saw this pretty guy...

I was so excited at the thought of bluebirds in the bluebird house! We have had other bird nest in the box, but never bluebirds even though there are lots of them around our neighborhood. He took some time checking this box out, but I think it may have already been occupied. This morning I saw a Tufted Titmouse go in and stay a while. It was too cute because he sat looking out of the hole for a while. We have had a Titmouse family nest in there before, so maybe they came back again!

Crack Snackle Pop

Yesterday we took a day trip to Macon, GA to see AK's Aunt "B" and Uncle Phil. It was the last weekend of the Cherry Blossom Festival. I thought I would post some of my favorite pictures from the day. We took so many!

This is a nest in the wreath on "B" and Phil's front door!

Just before we were leaving to drive back home I realized I hadn't taken any pictures of the cherry blossoms! So we snuck (sneaked? I keep getting a spell check error here) into the neighbor's yard to get these shots.

It was a beautiful day and we had a beautiful time :) AK was so tired she fell asleep in the car and slept in her clothes. She was amazed when she woke up this morning still dressed. When John told her she didn't even brush her teeth she said, "Look in my mouth. Do I have any cavities?" The words of a dentist's grandchild :)

She asked for Rice Krispies this morning. She kept saying "Crack Snackle Pop!" No matter how I tried to correct her, she insisted her way was better. I say we just go with it.

The Weekend in Pictures

Whooooo are you??

I got these cuties at Hobby Lobby this past weekend when I got my yarn.

John has been bringing home lots of plants that have been on sale at "the big orange machine", as he calls it. These sweet owls were also on sale, so I snatched them up! Anyone who knows me knows I love anything bird related. I don't have many (or any) owls though.

I put a succulent plant called a Paddle Plant in each planter.

If anyone has any good tips on caring for these plants, please fill me in. I tend to have a brownish, blackish thumb when it comes to plants. I would like for these guys to survive.

For the Birds

We had beautiful weather this weekend. Although I am not a big "outside person" I finally decided to get off the couch and go outside with AK this afternoon. She was anxiously awaiting the return of her friend EG. He and his Daddy had gone to ride motorcycles and had promised to call when they got home. While she made grass salad in the bird bath, I tried to get a few pictures of my little feathered friends. I was more successful today than I was during the Backyard Bird Count. I caught this little guy several times...




There was also a pair of house finches hanging around, but they were pretty wary of me and wouldn't come to the feeder until I was far, far away. I did zoom in and get a few shots of them in the tree...




I heard this guy before I saw him. He kept his back to me, but you can see his black and white markings in this shot. He is a downy woodpecker...



All of a sudden I heard squeals of joy! AK had seen EG and his daddy drive by in their truck.



EG came over to play and I got this cute shot of these to BFFs.



After this, my bird photography session was pretty much over. I was held hostage in the backyard and put in "jail" until Aunt Pammy came to the rescue and took my place. I did witness a bird party going on at the feeders. It was rudely interrupted several times by a red-bellied woodpecker who was enjoying swinging from one of the feeders as he munched and crunched. I wish I had gotten pictures, but maybe next time!

Backyard Bird Count

I decided to participate in the Backyard Bird Count again this year. However, I ended up with a serious crick in my neck all weekend. It was impossible to turn my head in any direction without severe pain until Monday. I did count birds for a few minutes on Saturday because they were having such a good time at my feeders. I tried my hardest to get some good pictures, but it's like they knew I was watching them and they didn't want to participate.

I got a couple of shots where if you look very closely you can see the bird through the leaves.


There's a tiny chickadee right in the middle of this shot. See him??


You can sort of see the House Finch on my feeder here.


This was taken through my dirty living room window.


Mostly I saw this guy hanging by his toenails as he cleaned out all of the sunflower seeds!



This was a common shot. I stood very still a few feet away from the feeder. The birds would approach and grab a snack, but then fly away quickly before I could push the camera button. Hmmmm...what could have caused their fear?

I believe this was the culprit...



We had fun though :)

Birds

Birds...I love them. I don't know what it is about those little feathered cuties, but they fascinate me. My house is decorated with birds. My classroom nickname is the "Brainy Birds". I have a huge collection of bird watching books. I wear them on my clothes and jewelry. I love to watch them in action, which is why.....

I cannot wait to start this year's
Great Backyard Bird Count!

I participated a few years ago, but kind of forgot about it after AK was born. Kind-of like I forgot about bird watching in general after she was born. I had a few other things to think about :) This winter I have really enjoyed watching the birds at my bird feeders again. I am hoping our resident wrens will be back soon to build their nest and raise their babies. They have come for the past two years. This past year they raised two sets of babies (at different times)! Anyway the GreatBackyard Bird Count begins in February. I will be there. Watching. Counting. Loving every minute of it!