Everyday life with Good Cats, plus anything else that comes to mind.
…and it’s the first one to bloom on Pat’s rose bush this spring, so that’s worth taking note of.
Isn’t that what blogs are for? Yes, that, and many other things…
(You know the drill, right? Click the small picture above to see a larger one…)
Just a quick note to add our best wishes and a Happy 18th Birthday to Gramma Trixie. And many more, too!
We’ve also learned from Fat Eric’s mum that “…it is Scout’s first purrthday and Gemini’s first purrthday too - what a special kitty celebration day.”
The Calico Diva sits regally on the low wall in the hall upstairs. When Nicky chases her, this is often where she leaps to get away from him, because the little black cat never jumps up there.
The pear, cherry and lilac have lost their blossoms, but this bush in our back yard is now taking its turn in the spotlight. I asked Pat what this flower is, but she wasn’t quite sure — she thinks it’s weigela.
The title chosen, of course, with respect for Henri Cartier-Bresson.
(You can click the small picture to see a larger version. For a few hours this morning, you couldn’t, but now you really can.)
Pat’s son Jack and daughter-in-law Jennie invited us over for dinner Sunday. As usual, everything was delicious, and as usual, there was plenty of it, so naturally I just had to have some of everything — mustn’t be impolite (he wrote with a straight face).
After eating, we went out on the deck, which overlooks a fenced piece of property so large that Jack needs to mow it with a big John Deere riding mower. All that room is good for their 5 collies to run around and explore.
Almost simultaneously, Jennie and I spotted an oriole as it flew across the property and landed in one of several tall evergreens planted along the property line. A couple more orioles joined it, and Jack went in to get something to let us get a better look at them, but by the time he came back with the scope, the birds had moved on.
But while he was inside, a different bird landed in another of the evergreens, and when it did I heard lots of twittering and cheeping. The nest of baby birds continued to yell until the adult bird flew away, and then went silent again.
The next time an adult came and went, it flew over Jack and Jennie’s swimming pool and dropped from its beak a small white item, a fecal sac taken from the nest, and the sac splashed in some rain water that had puddled on top of the pool cover.
The grackle did it one more time as we watched before we went back inside, where Jennie packed leftovers for us to take home. Granddaughter Diana didn’t want Nana Pat to leave, but Pat reassured her she’d see her again tomorrow morning, and the little girl reluctantly let go. Diana turns 2 in a couple of weeks, and Jack and Jennie have a birthday bash planned for her. We’ll be there, and chances are we’ll have another boxload of tasty leftovers to take home with us.
BTW, here’s a little video of a bird leaving its nestbox with a fecal sac.
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From 1998: Caitie, Kelly and Lizzie gather around a cup of tasty rye grass in the kitchen of the old house.
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