I was excited to see these “exotic” birds. The color was so beautiful. I called my husband in to look at them. He told me they were pigeons. Oh well. It’s my first pigeon in my backyard.
Off he goes. I didn’t see them again.
Isn’t the color striking?
I spotted a sparrow enjoying the bird bath.
Then he was joined by friends.
The water was flying. Now they must feel nice and clean.
A mourning dove waited for the waves to chill before taking a turn at the bird bath.
A quail walks by the other side of the bird bath. He was not interested in it.
It looks like Mrs. is having a conversation with her reflection in the camera.
Red keeps an eye out for any intruder at the Bird Buddy feeder.
I’m excited for my daughter to arrive soon! She should be here by 10 a.m. today. We’re going to the farmer’s market in Carefree and cooking dinner together. It will be a short visit because she’s flying this morning then driving our second car back to the Bay Area. She’s gone two years carless and has decided to join the world of driving again.
We recommended she buy our car rather than a used car from a stranger. Our car is in excellent shape and has low mileage. She did ask us for the CARFAX history! There are winter storm warnings through the mountain passes for her to get home. I’m worried about that, but she said she’d stay extra days in So Cal if the storm is still a factor.
What are your plans for the weekend? Can you believe we’re almost through the month of February?
I’ve written my Memory and Meaning proposal for my photography “Art Studio” class. My subject as I’ve said is sea glass, first choice. Back up plan is birds. This is one of my first sea glass pictures, taken outside in the morning light. I wrote about my sea glass project HERE.
We’ve had more than our usual social outings lately. It’s because our good friends and neighbors have been out of town — and then we were out of town. We wanted to connect and get together before we go our separate ways again. It’s busier than I enjoy, but there have been some moments that really touched me.
AI Overview:
Social life refers to an individual’s time spent interacting with other people and the quality of those relationships, often involving activities for pleasure or enjoyment with friends, family, and the broader community. A person’s social life can include both in-person and online interactions and is shaped by the bonds they form and the social opportunities available to them.
I went to a baby shower for a woman who was a swimmer with my kids on the Palm Springs swim team. She earned a swim scholarship at ASU, broke the 200 free record, and now teaches elementary school in the Phoenix area. Her husband does electrical work for us and we’ve had them over for dinner.
I was so excited to see her, her sister and her mom. The mother-to-be is four years older than my oldest, but they all hung out together at the pool. Her sister is a year older than her, but I have the best memories of being at swim meets, so impressed with these sisters. They would engage the youngers under pop up tents playing cards, games and being silly at swim meets.
When I told my kids I was going to her baby shower, they both said, “We love them!” That’s saying something more than 15 years later from being swim teammates.
Back in the day, this mom took me under her wing and taught me all about being a swim mom. She showed me the ropes of volunteering at swim meets and what jobs were the best ones to sign up for. We’d host Friday through Sunday swim meets in Palm Springs with close to 750 swimmers. Maybe even bigger. That meant there would also be a mom, dad — even grandma and grandpa — for each swimmer. We had a snack bar that would serve breakfast and lunch for all those people.
We had a separate area of food for the coaches, around 50 of them. Our team had a reputation for the best food ever in Southern California for swim coaches. There were two reasons for this. (REASON ONE) Chef Francois from the Ritz Carlton was a swim dad. His daughter was one of our daughter’s swim friends. He prepared the coaches’ meals (REASON TWO) which was prime rib, turkey dinner and yes, LOBSTER. Another swim dad free dove for lobster off the Southern California coast and took his kids and their friends to assist in the catch.
All those memories came rushing back when I walked into the baby shower and got hugs from the sisters and the mom. How wonderful to reminisce, be around younger people that I truly love and the mom who I spent so much time with. We sat and talked during swim practices and worked together at meets. I didn’t realize how much I value these friendships from my swim mom days.
Below: Finches at the birdbath.
What do you consider a busy social life?
Do you like being quiet staying at home, or being out and about busy?
What friends from your past do you still see?
JoyRoses13 from Nuggets of Gold wrote a fun story on her blog using my photos of Red plus pictures from another photographer. You can read it HERE.
Mrs. was dining on sunflower seeds at my Birdbuddy AI bird feeder over the weekend. I abandoned my Birdbuddy because of my injury until this weekend. It was one more thing I didn’t want to ask my husband to do — charge the camera and fill the feeder with seeds. It waited until I could handle it myself.
My physical therapist told me to come in my tennis shoes for my next appointment, which was last Thursday — and to leave the boot at home. It was the first time I’ve been in tennis shoes since I fell wearing them!
I was more than a little nervous at the prospect of walking into my appointment without my boot. I survived the experience and my husband and I celebrated with tacos afterwards.
I’m reflecting on how far I’ve come in six weeks since surgery.
Never did I think taking a shower without help would be a luxury. It is. At first, I wasn’t allowed to shower and the nurses in the surgery center told me to take “bird baths” at the sink. After a week or two using the sink and splashing water all over the bathroom, my baby step was to take a shower with a plastic sleeve and saran wrap around my leg. My husband had to encase my leg in plastic and help me in and out of the shower. I also had to get in and out of the shower wearing that blasted boot!
This morning I filled the Birdbuddy and the bird bath. I also washed the casita window after a major rainstorm so I can sit and take clear photos! Woohoo! Who knew I be so thrilled to do household chores.
Baby steps, but I’m making progress! Sometime next week, I’m looking forward to hosing off the patio, pool bar and outdoor furniture. I also hope to get in the pool — hopefully at the end of this week after I see my surgeon.
It reminds me of the old saying, “This too shall pass.” Also, I’m thankful for what I have and my health!
What experience have you had that you began with baby steps?
Red continues to be the star of the show. What I noticed this week is that Mrs. and Red visit for birdseed at different times — no longer together. They take turns. Does that mean that one of them is in the nest? Does that mean there are babies or eggs?
Mrs. showing off her back and tail.
My new birdbath is seeing some appreciation.
It must be lizard season. I’m seeing them daily running across the yard.
We now have more quail families than I can count. From newbies to teens.
Quail always have a male on guard stationed above the others. This one is on a bench on a raised platform where he can watch over the clan.
Mrs. enjoying a snack.
Red flitting around the back yard from a cactus statue to the real thing.
Happy 249 birthday to our nation! What plans do you have to celebrate?
One of my blogging friends, from Brilliant Viewpoint, suggested that I put water out for my backyard birds. I told her that the doves like to get on the pool float and drink water. I said I’d post a photo, so here it is! FYI, I also ordered a bird bath from Amazon, but so far no birds have used it.
I was distressed the other day because it was a rare day that I didn’t see Red at all. He made an appearance the next day. Talk about relief! However, he didn’t stick around like he usually does and I didn’t see Mrs.
I read about cardinals and their mating and nesting times. I believe they have a nest in a Teddy Bear cactus (cholla) in the wash behind our house. I’ve seen them fly in and out. It’s a very protected space with the prickly plant offering a barrier to predators.
It’s the right time of year for Red and Mrs. to have babies. They start building their nest as early as January and start nesting and laying eggs as early as April and as late as August. June seems ideal. The female builds the nest, lays the eggs and incubates them. The male forages for food. Part of the mating ritual is the male feeds the female. I’ve seen a lot of that lately. Red looks like he’s kissing Mrs. but he’s giving her a nice sunflower seed — one of their favorites.
Red feeding the Mrs.
Here’s a cholla in the neighborhood that has a nest tucked away inside it. You can see how protected the nest would be. You can’t see the nest, unless you’re in person, looking closeup.
Other interesting things I learned about Cardinals: They mate for life. The female lays from one to five eggs, usually three. She may lay eggs three times a year. Also, the male feeds her and the babies up until two weeks after they leave the nest. The males sing or chirp loudly to define their territory and to ward off other cardinals.
Yes, I think I’m not seeing much of Red and Mrs. because they are starting a family.
Here’s a video of Red and Mrs. You can see Red feeding Mrs. a sunflower!
Here’s to week two post surgery with a post op appointment on Friday!
