Just dropped in

Last night, we discovered the reason for the large concentration of bird poo in one particular area on the deck:

Though it's not entirely this guy's fault. There's a sibling and at least one parental unit who I'm sure contributed to the mess.

This little poo machine fell out of his nest onto the deck. Or, more probably, was pushed. Feathers in? Check. Wings are flapping? Check. Get the heck out of the nest and fly away, little guy. And please, go crap right on the deck (which is exactly what he did right before I took this picture; you just can't see the white spot of goo until his wee little tail from this angle). 

He was followed shortly by a sibling who landed smack on the table and left this little gift, too:

I don't like shell in my egg. Actually, I don't like yolk either.

I was a little concerned for their safety as they staggered and waddled around, flapping their itty bitty little wings. I didn't particularly want to get involved in any sort of rescue, mostly because I figured I would muff the whole thing and a potentially survivable situation would turn into avian murder, so I was really hoping they would be okay. On their own. Quickly. 

And apparently they were. They continued to take relatively small tumbles down from the deck onto the patio and then the ground and before long, were hopping through the grass behind a grown-up bird (I'm assuming the one that had just pushed them out of the nest) and before long, they were gone. I'm pretty sure this is what's referred to as fledging and it was pretty darned cool to see it up close. I guess some birds fledge before they are ready to fly (where the heck do they go??) but these little guys seemed quite capable of at least short bursts of flight as they tried desperately to get away from me. 

More of a hop here. Note the little pile of poo in the bottom right corner. 

I used to really dislike birds. I think they're pretty awesome now. And in this case, I'm happy about a few things: 1) they survived; 2) we got to watch the major life change that is leaving the nest; and 3) they will stop carpet bombing my deck from their nest. Awesome. 

Angry Hands

I love the phrase jazz hands. I don't use it often in conversation but whenever I hear someone else use it, it makes me laugh. A lot.

I have a friend who does a particularly good version of Jazz Hands. While skating. I need to get her to teach me. 

But there are other ways we can fling our hands around at strangers. A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine was involved in a road rage incident. This particular friend (and every time she tells it, I laugh out loud like I do at jazz hands: this is SO unlike her) flipped a DOUBLE birdie at the other lady. The other lady - and I use lady 'cause I'm nice (really, what kind of lady follows someone around for 10 minutes and then gets out of her car and yells? Okay, maybe a lady who has been flipped off with the double birdie. I digress.) wasn't particularly nice and my friend was actually trying to assume responsibility and apologize and this woman wasn't having any part of it. The birds flew the coop.

So today, following a lovely Memorial Day parade on a record-setting hot day (in which some of us were participating in at least partially polyester uniforms; there was lots of sweating involved), we sought refuge at Chili's (after P and his friend, whose birthday is today, decided that by golly, they wanted Chili's for lunch). The road rage story was told. Again. (I still laughed.)

And upon leaving the restaurant, two of the three vehicles our group was occupying apparently had an almost incident (with each other) in the parking lot. And the Angry Hands were released! We followed each other onto the highway afterwards - Angry Hands waving at each other! Parents with children in the car, many of the parents in uniform, no less: Angry Hands!!

Smile for the birdie, kids!

Love

I was thinking tonight about how loving one person can make you love someone else more. I have a friend whom I just adore. She is brilliant, funny, self-deprecating, kind, funny, generous, gentle, and amazing. And did I say funny? The woman makes me laugh even when she is currently in a hole darker than most of us will experience. I think that sort of perspective is a rare gift.

This particular friend has some children that I also just adore. I am glad they are a part of my life and I love it when they say my name. We haven't always seen eye to eye and sometimes my name is being followed by a complaint of some sort. But I LOVE these kids. I get excited about their successes and feel sad if they are sad. I am happy just to see them.

And I was thinking tonight that part of why I love these kids so much is that I just love their mom. I think loving her makes me love them more. I'm pretty sure I would love them anyway - they *are* pretty awesome kids. But there's something about having such a strong friendship with their mother that makes them more special.

Love is good.