A piano prodigy...

...Ethan Bortnick. He's amazing.

They're back...

The loss of the hummingbird chicks was heartbreaking. It was sad that they were devoured by a hungry blue jay, lurking in my backyard. However, a couple of days before the tragic end of the chicks, other birds have been building a nest nearby.

Click image to enlarge.

A few feet away this pigeon had scoured the area and had built a nest in this same basket they have occupied a few times before.



Yesterday I found this pigeon inside the basket, with some twigs for bedding.



And, lo and behold, I found two eggs. From what I remember they usually lay 2.

Last year I was about to throw away my old straw hat, then I though, maybe, I


should hang it in my pergola, for the birds to build their nest. And to my surprise, they did! I made sure it was away from the reach of cats or rats. Hopefully, the blue jay won't get to it.

I took a ladder to get to peer inside the hat and I found some baby finches. I don't know exactly how many they are, but I'm sure there are more than two. A few days more and they would be big enough to fly and be on their own. Right now they are being fed by both parents. I see them fly in to bring the food and take turns feeding the brood.

Here's crossing my fingers that they make it out of the nest and enjoy their adulthood, and come back next year.

My feathered friend

This hummingbird started refurbishing the old nest on this shell parol before spring officially began. The old nest had been battered by the elements and it needed patching up and retrofitting. So, when it was ready, little hummingbird sat in it and laid a couple of eggs. It sat there for about 2 weeks until the eggs hatched. I could see what was going on every time I'm in the kitchen, as the nest is right there smack in front of the window. Later on, she was feeding her little brood, flying out to find food and coming back to feed them, then sitting on them.

The mother feeding her chicks.

It was a delight to see this going on right before my eyes. And anytime I have a chance to take a picture, I drop whatever I was doing and grab my camera.

Yesterday morning I was in the kitchen watching her come and go, feeding her brood. Then after lunch as I was washing dishes I looked up and to my horror a big blue jay was right there on the parol. I screamed. The blue jay flew away. My husband hastily went outside to the patio to see if any damage had been done. I watched him, trying to read his face. Then he came in the kitchen and said, "They are gone, the blue jay ate them. I never thought those birds are predators."

Oh, no, not again. A year ago some predator did the same thing to this same nest. I felt so bad for the mother hummingbird. So sad.

Mother hummingbird came back and looked around then flew away. A few minutes later she came again; tried to land on the nest but couldn't, some parts of it came loose. It hovered for a while then flew away. She came back a few times more then finally realized that her brood are gone then flew away and never came back.

My husband and I were looking forward to the day the chicks are big enough to fly on their own. It is, however, not going to happen, not anymore.

One more time...

Every TV channel has featured that audition, which has turned her into an instant star. Someone has dug up an old cd recorded in 1999, where she was one of the singers. And here she proves that she can really sing; that she's not a one-trick pony.

Go Susan Boyle!

It's fun out there...

It was a very nice warm day out there. The sun was up, and no dark clouds hovering above. I, however, could not enjoy it; am confined to my bedroom feeling ill. All I could do was look out through the door, from my bed. It's not fun being sick.


The pilots are having fun, enjoying the beautiful day; making squiggles of contrails with their jet planes. What fun! Wish I could do that. That is, if I have the nerve to board a jet plane flying 600 miles per hour. It must be scary looking down with nothing below the feet except the earth way down 1,000's of feet. It is unlike being on board a jumbo jet where passengers are enclosed. There are walls, and a ceiling that make one feel more secure, like being in a house right on the ground. But, of course, when looking out the tiny window, one is reminded that the plane is above ground, up there thousands of feet high.


Now the pilots have made curly trails, that look like a loose crochet knot. They sure are having fun.

In the meantime, I lay in bed trying to pass the time away reading. And what happens when one reads a food magazine? One craves them, those mouth watering foods...

...like this lovely ham...


...and this delicious looking dessert.

Life sucks when one is ill. On the other hand, I'm still lucky to be able to eat whatever I wanted. My husband fried some fresh sardines. LOL And he grilled chicken thighs that I have marinated before getting bed ridden.

I stayed mostly upstairs as it's warmer up here. From time to time, I would sneak in that room where my pc is. But when I start to get cold again, being attacked by whatever bug bit me, I crawl back in bed. I wish this bug would get tired of me and leave me alone. I wish it would get tired of my smell, since I haven't bathed for the last few days. What if I gas it? It might leave, or might not. It's known that yucky things like yucky smell.

I'll miss the fun at the Easter Picnic at the park. Oh, well. I'm getting a little better now; have spent a longer time here on my pc. And, there will be another day...

Happy Easter, all!