Throw Back Thursday

April 2011

Wordless Wednesday

Funny Friends

Last May, a robin built her nest under our deck, and three little eggs were hatched.

One seriously concerned bulldog would sniff through the cracks of the deck multiple times per day, and pawed and barked and fussed at them so much that I finally had to cover the area above them with plywood until they moved out. One of the baby birds, a cute little female, took a curious liking to the silly bulldog, and all last summer they would "play" together. The bird would fly to one end of the yard, land upon the fence, and sit in wait for Lily to chase her. The bulldog would charge, then the robin would fly to the other end of the yard, land upon the fence, and wait some more. I tried to get photos of them playing together, but it was so difficult to get them both in the same frame, so I gave up. This game continued for 5 to 10 minutes, multiple times per day, until fall came and the snows fell, and the bulldog and I kind of forgot all about the little robin.

 Fast forward to May 2014. It had been very cold outside, and I didn't really bother to go out much, but on the first warm day of May, I noticed a bird nest on a drain pipe near the upper part of our deck. I also noticed that the momma bird didn't fly away when I let Lily outside on her own, even though Lily would often sit right under the nest. Lily also has never barked at the nest, which is much different than the reaction to birds she had last year. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was the same female bird that was born here last spring! She has some interesting grey/whitish spots on her underbelly and tail feathers so she is fairly easy to identify. Sometimes I hear a screech and look outside, and they are playing their chase game just like last year. We (the humans) have learned that if we go outside quietly, and move slowly, she will also allow us to get fairly close to the nest. She will sit contentedly in her little home while we barbecue and is not bothered when we eat at the outside table. Her nest is up fairly high so I can't see directly into it, so have no idea how many eggs are there, but am thinking I need to get  a stool and take a peak.

I think it's pretty amazing how friends can come in all shapes and sizes. 

Throw Back Thursday

It's been 20 years. I can't believe it. May 14, 1994 one of the best friends I have ever had on this earth was born.  She came into my heart when I had learned that I had a seriously LOW chance of ever conceiving a child of my own. I was severely depressed and to help fill the void, Bill bought me an English bulldog puppy for my birthday. Tigra was named for a comic book cat, because she had those lovely brindle stripes and a cat like personality. She was a special dog who was very sensitive to emotions, and was exactly what I needed at an emotionally fragile time.  She was a dog, but she was so much more, and fortunately JB was born before Tigra passed away. Even then, I didn't know if I would survive her loss, and I think of her often. She will sometimes visit me in my dreams, and we play chase and she runs around crazy with a bucket on her head before she turns into an orange striped butterfly and flutters off. Happy Birthday, Tie-Tie, I miss you.

Jazz Mass 2014