A - Z MONDAY...The Letter



Yes, the letter M is this week's A - Z letter. But Martin, who supplies me with most of my letters uses a beautiful bird for the letter M. Martin is so silly!


But silly or not, Grandma J will use another one of Martin's educational tools to pose this question about the letter M. Because Grandma J searched high and low for the M bird, but to *no avail. *And by no avail, Grandma J is disregarding birds like mocking, mallard, magpie and macaw.

And so, like Martin, Grandma J will post about M(b)irds for letter M Monday. Here in Texas we have plenty of these....and Grandma J put herself and her precious grandchildren in harms way by pulling off the highway in Dog Ridge TX to take these photos.

Can you believe what she found out about these fowl birds? Unlike Turkey Vultures, these Black Vultures in Central Texas are killers. Not only do they do carnivorous stuff on dead animals, they kill small mammals too....like baby cows.

So maybe Martin's M is for Murder Birds.....maybe not.

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Unrelated important update!
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So many of you were all worried and concerned about Grandma J's swollen feet from her ultra spa pedicure Saturday.

You were right, the photo does raise the question, does grandma J's feet always blow up like a balloon? Is she drinking and all the gin settles in her big toe? Could it be those feet have been subjected to botox?

The answer to all of the above is NO. Here's what happened. You see, Grandma J's granddaughter had a driver's ed. class at four in the afternoon on Saturday. So we rushed back sixty miles from the baseball tournament, and since we had an hour to spare, we stepped next door to our favorite nail salon. That's right, the driving school is in the same strip mall with our nail salon. SAAAAA.WEEEEET!! Now, it's 3 p.m. on a Saturday! Michelle #4 is very popular and Grandma J had to wait over an hour! No problem because she had two hours to kill...and, Tony, who happens to be Michelle's boss, and who happens to have a huge crush on Grandma J's wallet feet, and the feet of all her relatives, let Grandma J sit in a spa chair to soak her calloused feet for an hour while she waited. I just won for having the longest run on sentence in blog history! That, and the hot towel, and hot stone treatment added to the visual.

Well rest easy....here is a picture taken the next day. Not the prettiest feet, with all the different sandal and flip flop tan lines......but not swollen and red like the day before. I know you all are breathing a big sigh of relief!

Brought to you by A - Z Monday. Come join us!

Life's A Beach....

....in pictures!

Dude!! Remember me? Que pasa?

Nope, not trusting any child with that look on their face, that close to the edge....right after they've chased a seagull away!

Loving the feeling of sand slipping out from under her piggies.

Frolicking like crazy!

A two year old's signature pose at lunch.

Just for you....a man at the beach with no shirt

Here's a close up for you....

DEAR MR. WALLYWORLD,

I placed an order recently on the Internet. It was for a USB cable for my Sony MP something player. You don't carry these in your stores, because people steal them it's all about the "i" products in your electronics department. I understand, and so right there in the middle of your store, I jump on your computer and order the cable using your Site to Store option, saving me shipping charges. That was last Friday. So fast forward to today, You send me an email telling me to "come and get it". That was fast and very much appreciated because my MP thingy is dead, out of juice.

I jump in my car and drive the 4.7 miles each way to your store, wondering if the shipping charges would have been cheaper that the gas. Let's see, almost ten miles, with gas at $4.83 per gallon to your store...my head hurts, you do the math.

So, I park, go in, wander aimlessly to the back of the store to your Site to Store counter. I get my cable, stop to pick up a case of water and some batteries. I make it out to my car and guess what happened?

I can't believe it either. It's bird poop. I wasn't sure at first, because..HELLO? Do I put my hand in my hair to find out what just fell out of the sky? Would that put all doubts out of my mind? Once I'm in my car, I look in the rear view mirror...not pretty.

Now, Mr. W., your probably wondering why I'm sharing this with you, right? Well, I see signs like this everywhere.
As the grandmother part time guardian to a dog named JJ, I understand it's my obligation to properly collect and dispose of any poop he deposits in public or on an other's property.

I would appreciate it if you would do the same and post signs like this on your property. As a precautionary warning.And maybe at least tell me how I shampoo my hair without touching it.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Love,

Grandma J

FRIDAY MATINEE
....has been temporarily canceled

I was having a hard time deciding which movie I wanted to see today. Nothing really reached out and grabbed me. I did see Iron Man on Mother's Day with my daughter and her family. Since it wasn't on my official Friday Matinee review schedule, I didn't rate it. But since you asked, I will tell you. I loved it! I don't think it can be cubby-holed into an age-appropriate category because we all loved it....all three generations and both genders.

So this morning I was all, should I go see something? A random pick? While I was pondering, I went to warm up my millionth cup of coffee. As I walked by the glass paneled door to my back porch, I peeked out the louvers on the mini-blinds to check on my bird parents-to be. I don't ever open the door because there are eggs in the nest and I don't want to rock the cradle so to speak. But I do chirp and whistle a bit when I peek out. They both look at me the whole time I'm making a fool of myself....but the thing is, they are getting used to me (as long as I stay on my side of the glass panes), and don't get all jittery. I look up at the nest, waiting for a sign that the chicks have hatched, and this is what I saw........
My heart leaped right out of my chest! What happen to the nest? Had the eggs hatched and the whole family flew the coop? That isn't the way it happens. They chirp loudly, the mom and dad take turns feeding them and helping them grow strong enough, then teach them to fly by yelling at them chirping loudly, "move, move...now flap those baby wings and fly". I glanced down through the louvers towards the concrete porch floor, only to see this........

I quickly got out of my nightgown, threw some clothes on and walked down to the office. You see, they have a whole set of policies about birds. I wasn't aware of them, no one told me about them. I found out after the fact. Back when my honeymooners where first building their nest, I told you how excited I was, about the feeder and seed I bought, how I had every bird north of the Rio Grande on my porch..... except the two that lived there, because I had scared them away, you remember? That's when I found out about the policy about discouraging birds to nest on the property. But they came back, and finished their nest.

Back to today...So I expressed my rage to the leasing manager because I suspected fowl play (no pun intended). She explained that the maintenance men routinely try to prevent nesting by destroying them before the birds lay any eggs. Well, we had eggs! I asked her if someone could come over and clean up the mess. She said she would send someone over. The same guy who knocked the nest down.

Now it looks like mommy bird is back.....
I wish I could read her mind. I will feel much better if I see her mate back with her.....soon, so maybe they can start over. If it's not too late. Oh, and yes....I let the manager know that in the event they rebuild their nest, I will....um yeah, well let's just say, she got the message.

THEY'RE BACK!

....and I think they forgive me because I can feel the love.

Remember a while back I discovered two birds falling in love and building a nest on my back porch? Then I ran out and bought them a bird feeder and lots of bird feed? And remember how I climbed up on a ladder to hang the feeder..even though they were dive bombing me? And I waved a WalMart bag around, flailing from the top of the ladder in self defense?

Remember how I waited and waited for them to come back around to thank me to eat and continue with their family planning? And, they never came back? Instead I had every bird East of El Paso in the hood swarming and pooping on my porch. Once the feeder was empty...I decided to leave it empty.

I was sad. I was sadder than sad.

Then this morning, I went out on my porch to get my broom so I could ride it to WalMart sweep up the kitchen...because I am very energetic when it comes to cleaning.........ZZZZOOOOOOOMMMMMM. I was being dive bombed! Unfortunately I had to duck back inside and forget about the broom.

I looked out, and this is what I saw!
Was it one of my love birds? The feeder was empty, not one speck of bird food and every bird for miles knew it. So, I open the door and right away, this bird let's me know that I'm not sweeping my kitchen any time soon welcome out on the porch. No way Jose! It's OK....I can dry mop the floor instead of sweeping. But there is a bigger issue...

I look up in the corner and the deserted nest is much bigger and has an occupant.
Yes, they are back and I am happy!

I think the bird in the nest is the Daddy bird because he is so colorful. The one on guard duty is not so much. It also appears as though the one in the nest is feeding babies...its head keeps bobbing up and down.

I can't see or hear any babies....If I could open the door maybe I could hear something, but the other bird means business and I don't want to scare them away again.

It warms my heart to know that they feel safe and at home on my porch. So I am satisfied knowing they came back, and I am anxiously waiting to see the peeps! If all goes well, they will be back next year because that's how birds roll....

BYE BYE BIRDIE

.
I enjoy a very limited interest in birds. If I'm eating at an outdoor cafe, and some little birds show up, I'll throw them a few crumbs. If a flock of pigeons show up, I call the manager. I remember having lunch with my mother at a nice patio restaurant at Fashion Island in Newport Beach. I started throwing bits of bread over the rail for the birds....My mother freaked! She was afraid of birds, specifically black birds with yellow eyes. I told her she shouldn't watch scarey movies . Rather than watch her hyperventilate, I quit throwing bread.


Late last night I walked out on my teeny little back porch...it's very teeny, but private and the evening breeze was refreshing. I looked up and saw something black in the upper corner under the patio cover. As I got closer something fluttered down towards me, startling me. Yea, like I wasn't scared or anything....not me. ...I ducked back inside. I took a deep breath and went back out to check out the site. I honestly thought there were BATS. All I saw was a dark corner...


The next morning this is what I saw. Black stuff. Was it poop? What does Bat poop look like?

I go back inside and have my coffee, knowing I have to go out and clean up the mess because I'm not having Bats hanging out on my patio. Back in CA I had never seen bats, but this is Texas...Central Texas. We all know that Central Texas has bats , just ask her .

I proceed to head outside, armed with a bucket of hot wather and an old toilet brush because I'm classy that way. This is what I see!

Two birds.....probably the fluttery things that startled me last night. Ok, so now I'm excited..really excited. I love birds who build nests on my patios.

In my excitement one of them.....the dad bird I'm sure, LEAVES! And mom is left to deal with me...but no, I have other plans.

I go to Wally World and buy them this

And I do this.....

During the installation of the feeder....because I want them to eat good stuff...they do lots of fluttering and dive bombing....and I flail my arms while I teeter on the ladder. I know they will thank me for making there life on my patio special!

So I wait....and I wait. They never come back! I am sad....really sad. An hour or so later I look out and a ton of birds are partying on my patio! Of course they scatter when I open the door..but this guy isn't afraid.



A few of these fat guys walk along the rail. A few of his friends are down on the grass feasting on dropped seed.

And..........

Or..........

So now, I have to keep the feed indoors because some of the more aggressive guys will have the bag open in no time....can you say PARTY!!

I miss the mom and dad who were building the nest. I hope they at least come by for breakfast.