Contemplating Navel... - er- Nature

In between running around from house to house to house yesterday, I spent three hours sitting in a large yard, and contemplating (while observing) nature.  My parents usually called the time I spent doing that my "contemplating my navel" time.  It's very relaxing, and I'm always astounded by things that I see and hear.  I was out for an  hour this morning, in bright sunshine, and I felt as if I were caught up in a time-lapse photography experiment.  I was sitting in the grass, next to a dandelion plant; and, over the course of one hour, I watched a bud open from tightly closed sepals to an open half-cup that was clasping bright yellow petals that slowly stretched themselves up and out into the sun.  When I returned several hours later, there was a perfectly formed flower soaking up the sun's rays. I did not see every bit of unfurling and opening that happened with this single blossom - I kept looking elsewhere, and then looking back at the bud.  My only unhappiness in that idyllic atmosphere was the lack of bees.  Normally, at this time of year, the dandelions and a few other early blooming flowers are the only food available for bees and wasps, and normally the yard would be swarming with bees at this time - I saw only one large bumblebee, and no honey bees.  There used to be multiple hives in the neighborhood, and the sound of humming, busy bees was almost narcotic.  Most hives are completely empty this spring.
   This afternoon, while checking out the progress of the dandelion bloom, I had several butterflies land on top of my head, and was amazed at the loud rustle of wings that I heard from them.  I also cataloged bird songs in my mind, and realized that I could hear over 20 different calls coming from the yard and those on the three sides.  Raising my eyes, I could see all kinds of small birds flitting among the trees and bushes.  I watched a pair of warblers gather small withies from the willow tree; it seemed almost as if they were comparing the length and circumference of the small green twigs, dropping some, while keeping others.  Flickers, nut hatches, woodpeckers, robins and magpies were around in abundance.  I looked beside me and saw a tiny spider bumble off a piece of grass and into the path of an ant.  The ant attacked the spider, and I last saw the ant carrying the spider away - I presume back to the nest.
   I then had to laugh while standing at the corner of Redwood Avenue and 19th Street.  I was, as usual, waiting for the 204 bus.  Hector, a friend who is from Peru, is the usual driver, and I also normally see my friend Adolfo, on his way to the Pearl Street Mall.  They let me practice my Spanish, and I tell Adolfo the American words for certain things.  Yesterday, I reached the bus stop about ten minutes later than I normally do.  As I came to a halt beside the bus stop sign, a large crow flew over my head, from across the street, and landed on the roof of the house behind me.  My husband told me many times that he would come back and visit me (or haunt me) as a crow or raven.  I turned to the crow, and said, "Good morning, my love. You look extremely handsome and sleek today."  A bicyclist was approaching me, and he slowed down and stopped as I spoke.  The crow bobbed its head, and cawed at me.  Then he flew up, and circled around me three times, each time getting closer and closer.  The bicyclist looked as if his eyes were going to pop out of his head.  I could hear the wind whistling in the crow's feathers, as it arced around and over me.  I kept my face turned toward it, kept laughing, and said, "I love you, too, sweetheart!"    The bus stopped, the crow settled onto the road verge less than a yard from me, the man on the bike said, "I thought it was going to swoop down and try to carry you away!" And Hector and Adolfo were looking out the open door with their mouths hanging open.  I  looked at the crow, and said, "Sorry, honey, but I have to go home now," and I got on the bus.  The man with the bike started to ride away.  The bus began to move, and the crow flew up, dove at the front window, and then flew away.  Hector and Adolfo  are now convinced that I am a witch and have special powers over animals.  I just laughed.

Critters Near and Far

Big horn ram in Rocky Mountain National Park

 

 

Caracal

 

Danish kestrel with prey

 

Fox in Yellowstone National Park

 

A murder of crows

 

Happy Birthday, David McCallum!

I have been serenaded by crows since sunrise today - and I don't know why.  It started at Alexy's, then moved over to Sasquatch and Tugger's, then on to Kathy and Jim's, and now, at home.  Do I smell like carrion?  Or is Jeffrey following up on his threat to haunt me as a crow or raven?  I do have an appointment to see a dermatologist this afternoon, but I don't see the reason for a murder of crows to sing to me...
   The kits are running in and out - they've both gotten a good bit of love from me, plus being fed.  I stopped at the "other" grocery store this morning, and found they are selling the kit's favorite food for much less than Safeway.  I just might have to start walking a couple more blocks for the meat shreds in gravy the kids like...
   Last night I watched the season finale (from May) for NCIS, and even though I know that David McCallum is returning in his role as Dr. Donald Mallard (aka: Duckie), I was again anguished to see him topple over, onto his knees, and then his side in the incoming Florida tide.  Now I will be eagerly awaiting the renewal of my favorite CBS series next week - NCIS on Tuesday, and Person of Interest on Thursday.  - Oh, and, happy birthday, today, David McCallum!
   I feel badly for the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton Windsor.  It does seem as if the paparazzi are trying to do the same thing to her as they did with Princess Diana.  Why is there such an interest any one?  In this day and age, I like my privacy; and if I had to be in the public eye 24/7, I think I'd be a goner.  I am a normal person (kind of) - I have my likes and dislikes, my allergies, my illnesses; I cough and sneeze and belch and fart.  So does every human being on the earth...  Kate is a very nice-looking lady; she has a nice sense of style; she is married to Prince William, and one day may be the consort of the King of England.  But every single person needs, and deserves, "down time" - when one isn't on display.  Please, paparazzi of the world, let Kate (and the entire Royal family) be normal people some of the time.  Vacations are vacations - breaks from the real world.  Let Kate have a true vacation, please.

Squirrels and Crows

It's almost midnight and I can't get to sleep. Oh, well. Lovey is curled up at the foot of my bed, while Nedi is almost up against the pillow. Lovey is sleeping; Nedi is bathing. I walked Tessa again today, and also gave Dhisana her medications. (The reason I didn't see Dhisana yesterday was because she was once again at the vet's, having a checkup and chest X-rays.) Lynn left a note saying that Tessa had up-chucked and not touched her breakfast, so I offered her her meal both before and after we walked, but she did not want anything to do with it. Then I loved on Lilly and made much of her, since she is now the eldest cat in residence. Then I went in and loved and played with Lyra; and, finally, I loved, played with, and medicated little Dhisana. She looks and acts much better, but she still sneezes and has a little bit of a runny nose. Thank goodness Lynn took her to the vet's three weeks ago - otherwise, she wouldn't be with us.
So, the BCS championship game will pit Auburn against the Oregon Ducks. I think I'll be rooting for the Ducks. My Broncos and Redskins lost, Favre got hurt and removed from the game on the third play today, - but Troy Polamalu saved the day. I cheer for number 43 on the Steelers team, as well as for Maurkice Pouncey (a Gator last year). I also cheered this evening when Big Ben got a bloody nose from Ngata. So I was cheering for the Ravens, and for the Steelers' center and safety. It was weird. And since Troy made the big play that allowed the Steelers to win, I guess the final score was OK with me. But I was extremely delighted to see Philip Rivers and his Charger buddies lose to the Oakland Raiders! Yahoo!!
The other afternoon, I was standing and chatting with Bernie, a neighbor in Githens Acres, when she called my attention to a crow following a squirrel. It seems she's had a family of three crows visit her backyard every afternoon since August. She also has a large squirrel population, as well as other birds, as she has several bird feeders and one peanut feeder especially for the squirrels.
The squirrels will sit at the feeder and eat their fill, then they will grab a nut and go bury it for later eating - you know, the thing that squirrels have done for time out of mind. Anyway, this crow family each picks one squirrel each day and follows it on the ground at a range of three inches to two feet behind. Once the squirrel finds the right spot, digs the hole, places the peanut inside, and then covers it up, the crow walks over and eats the nut. We watched a crow follow a squirrel for 10 minutes on Friday afternoon - the squirrel wove it's way in and out of the chain link fence, down a side of the yard, and then crossed the road to plant the nut beside the Silver Lake Irrigation ditch. Of course, the crow was following right on this squirrels' tail - literally - and it very happily ate the nut. Since Bernie provides nuts for the squirrels year-round, at least these guys won't miss what the crows are feasting on once the weather gets worse!