Never seen it...

Well, shoot! I had a whole blog post written about the pink locust and blogger ate it. Well, actually the computer locked up and my post disappeared, so I don't know if it was blogger or not.

Anyway, this is a beautiful plant that I want to learn more about.

What a treat!

Early this morning my BIL said "Look at that bluebird out there! I haven't seen a bluebird in a long time". Well, I see bluebirds regularly so I kind of wondered why he hadn't, but I headed into the kitchen to see. I had my camera, because I don't have a good pic of a bluebird yet.

By the time I got in there, it was gone. I didn't think any more about it. Early this afternoon, lil sis says "oh I see the bluebird! Come here! Hurry!" So, I grab my camera again and run in there. She's telling me which tree it's in and I'm trying to see it, and finally do. I'm looking at it and I told her "I don't think that's a bluebird". Then it flew off and I didn't get a really good look, but the more I thought about it, it just COULDN'T be a bluebird. They don't normally go to bird feeders since they are primarily insectivorous, although they really are omnivorous, meaning they'll eat insects OR seeds, but primarly insects.

I kept peeking out the back door, just in case it came back, and finally, I looked out and there it was! Sitting on top of the shepherds hooks that hold her bird feeders. I hollered for lil sis and said "Come here, quick!". It flew on up onto a branch in a tree behind the feeders. There was no doubt in my mind at this point, it was an Indigo Bunting. I've only seen a few of these in my life. Absolutely spectacular!

Ok, so I know I couldn't zoom in as much as I'd like, but you get the general idea.

I'm hoping you can see the blue bird on the limb. The Indigo Bunting comes to Mississippi every year, migrating from South America. I called my Uncle H, who I consider to be my own personal bird expert, and he was looking at 11. Yes, ELEVEN of them in his yard at the moment I called. Of course, he also knows how to draw birds with his numerous bird feeders, including 7 thistle feeders. He said they'll come to a feeder, but they particularly like thistle seed thrown on the ground in short grass. He should know. He's been watching birds for years. I immediately called lil sis and told her that what Uncle H had said. He says the primary time for seeing the males (they are solid blue, the females are simple brown) come in to Mississippi in their prime up until about April 28. You might not ever even get the opportunity to see one of these fellas, but if you do, say a little thank you to our God who makes this possible. We are so blessed...

For more information on the indigo bunting, including their song, migratory habits, etc: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Indigo_Bunting/id

Just call me CAT LADY!

Let me set the stage...I had two cats when I moved here. Ringo and Gracie. There was a solid white cat that had been abandoned on the premises that wouldn't let me near her. I gave her the name "Jewel" because of her emerald green eyes. It wasn't long after I came here that I realized that she had babies in the woods. I followed her one afternoon and found the four babies in a log down from my house. I started going down there every day to take food to her and to try to catch the kittens to start taming them. It didn't take me long to figure out that one of them was stone deaf (solid white with blue eyes). I managed to touch her (only because she didn't hear me coming) and tamed her and she became my Scooter. One of the four disappeared, and the other two I named, but have never laid a hand on. They were fast little boogers and I could never catch them. I named one of them Tammy Faye because of the radical coloring around her eyes that looks like smeared mascara. (She had to be a girl because she has at least three colors. It's extremely rare for a male cat to be born with more than two colors.) Magma got his/her name because he/she is solid black, the color of solid molten lava rock. A solid black cat could be either a male or female, so I figured Magma would work either way.

So, anyway, as the weeks wore on, I brought Scooter into the house, showed her how to use the cat door, etc. I then have Ringo, Gracie and Scooter coming and going as they please, I'm feeding Jewel, Magma and Tammy Faye outside and all is well. A few days after I had taught Scooter about the cat door, I came home and found Tammy Faye and Magma in my house. Undoubtedly, Scooter had shown them how it worked. A few days later, I came home and found Jewel in my bed. Apparently, she had been watching her kittens and figured it out, too. Ok, so now I'm up to six cats that I'm feeding, four of which I can actually touch, although Jewel was still real skitish.

Fast forward a few months and I'm planning on taking Scooter and Jewel to get "fixed up" and Jewel disappears. She then reappears a few days later with 3 kittens. CRAP! Ok, so I go about trying to catch and tame them, without success, except for yet another solid white, blue eyed deaf one that I had just started working with. Then I came home one day and found it dead. I hadn't even named it yet, so I just called it "Little One" when I buried it. The two others I named Bruno (he's a handsome young man) and Junior (who looks a lot like Tammy Faye).

Ok, so I then take Jewel and Scooter to get fixed, but I've still got four I can't catch.

Fast forward a couple more months and I'm not seeing as much of Tammy Faye and Magma, but I usually see Bruno and Junior every day. Bruno will actually let me touch him now and has joined me on the couch a few times, so he's going to get fixed up next week. Still can't lay a hand on the other three.

Then, last night, I came in the house and noticed that Ringo seemed a bit strange. He was kind of skulking in the hall looking into the living room. I went into the living room, and there on the couch was Tammy Faye. That totally surprised me since I've never seen her in my living room, much less on my couch. I said "Well hey there Tammy Faye!" and she took off like a bolt of lightening and went out the cat window. And this is what I saw:

HOLY CRAP!! SHE HAD KITTENS ON MY COUCH!!!

I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW SHE WAS PREGNANT!!!

I'm freaking out and grabbed my phone and called lil sis and told her what I had found. She suggested 1) calm down and 2) find a box or something to put them in and put them by the cat door and put a lamp over the box. Maybe TF would come back to them, and maybe she wouldn't, but I had to see.

So, a short time later, I had dumped my laundry basket, lined it with a fleece blanket, scrubbed my hands and carefully placed the tiny babies in the basket.

Finally, TF came back and I stood in the doorway and watched her jump down and grab a kitten and dash back thru the cat door.

I don't know where she took them, but by 1:00 a.m. this morning, there were only two left. When I got up at 6, they were all gone.

What can I say? My "crazy cat lady" status has elevated to a new level!

You're Never too Old...

...to hunt for Easter eggs. Saturday night, my lil sis called and informed me that she had gotten some dye and was in the process of dying some eggs and that Dad was going to hide them for us on Sunday. "Does Dad know about this?" I ask. "No, but he'll do it" she says. Well, of course he will! Our Dad would do anything in the world for us if he could.

Never mind that we are in our, um, LATE 40s. That is entirely beside the point. Never mind that we had no kiddies on the property to participate. Why, that's completely unnecessary! Who says you have to be a kid to hunt eggs? Who says we aren't kids locked in 40+ year old bodies???

The thing is, as I get older, I realize that my parents won't be around forever. I've had too many friends that have lost a parent and warn me to enjoy them while you can. Because they can be taken away on a moments notice, either by death or, worse, alzheimers.

Our father got a HUGE kick out of the fact that we wanted him to hide the eggs. He kept saying all morning how hard he was going to make it for us. I told him to hide them up high since lil sis is so short. Dad laughed and Mom pointed out that he's short too, so that probably wasn't going to happen.

When he got through hiding the eggs, he told us to come on out. I handed Mom my camera and showed her quickly how to take a picture. lil sis and I had our brand new Easter baskets (with sparkly beads, of course), and we ran outside. Dad told us the boundary lines and we were off! I found the first two, then lil sis found one. We were chasing each other around the yard trying to find hidy-holes acting like the kids we are. Mom and Dad were both laughing harder than I've heard them in a long time. It was a beautiful sound.

When it got down to where there were only a couple left, they started playing the "getting warmer"/"getting colder" game until the last one was found. lil sis ended up with 7 and I found 5.

Seeing the looks on my parents faces as they were watching us run all over the property was priceless. My Mom standing there with the camera brought back memories of her doing that when we were kids (like we aren't still kids). My Dad was simply beaming with joy.

There is not much of anything any more special than having a good time with your family, and above all, making your parents laugh.

MOM, She's Looking at Me!!!

That's my big problem at the house right now. Scooter seems to take GREAT pleasure in pestering Gracie simply by looking at her.

You can remember pestering a sibling by just threatening to touch them, right?? Just staring at them?? Then it was "MOMMMM!!! She's staring at me!!" or "MOMMMM! She's touching me!" It's a wonder our Mom's didn't just say "SO WHAT! DEAL WITH IT!"

Wait a minute. Maybe she DID say that!

Anyway, Gracie gets all settled in her basket and suddenly Scooter jumps up in the chair and starts looking at her!

Gracie growls, which gets my attention, since I'm right behind her, and I grab the camera and it's ON!

Scooter puts her paw up on Gracie's bar and moves a little closer.

Scooter never actually TOUCHES Gracie, she's just staring at her.

Then she moves a little closer.

By this time, Gracie's ears are back and she's growling steady.

Now, keep in mind I'm steadily telling Scooter "NO!", like that does a bit of good since she's as deaf as a stump. She's completely ignoring my hand signal, which is shaking my finger in front of her. She is, very simply, being the pesky little sister.

When Scooter raises up and begins looking down on Gracie with her ears back, it's just too much. Gracie FLIES from the basket over to the buffet with Scooter right behind.

Gracie gives a warning hiss, but Scooter keeps on staring at her.

This goes on for a few minutes until Scooter sees something that distracts her, or gets bored with the game, or whatever, but she finally leaves Gracie alone. Gracie piles up in her "other" basket and glares at me, once again, for adopting this vexing little kitty.

The funny thing is, these girls eat from the same plate, have slept together, bathed each other, etc.

Sisters. Love 'em. Hate 'em. Still family.

Spoiled? Not me!

No, I will not drink from the little white plastic cup you just filled.....

No, I will not drink from the green highball glass you filled and just set in front of me on the counter...

Well, YES! I will drink from the green glass, as long as it's sitting in the sink, at the appropriate height.

I'm thirsty...

For Clucky

Ok, so this one is probably pretty obvious. I was at the "Chicken Nuggett" in Carthage yesterday for the monthly meeting of the Kosciusko Red Hatters to surprise Mom for her birthday. I saw these dudes and HAD to take a pic just for Clucky!!!

Just wanted you to know I was thinking about you girlfriend!!!

Now...this begs the question...two roosters, multiple eggs???

Do we even ever EAT roosters??? I think NOT!!

I hear they are tough...