Bird Update

We have five baby birds on our balcony. They hatched last week. We were not pleased with their parents' choice to build a nest in our flower pot, but we are happy to keep them safe for the next few weeks. The parents are very busy flying back and forth feeding their new chicks. They don't like the cat, but neither does our cat like them. Zephyr watches the birds for hours while making an occasional lounge for at the window. It's really a lose-lose situation for both parties.

Edwards Fam

JoLee and I took a trip out to CA a few months ago and visited her old track-mate, Kristen, who now has three kids. After hanging out with them at their house, we went out for sushi and ice cream. We had a great time, but sorry, Kristen and Cory, your mugs did not make this post. Your three kids stole the show.

I can't remember what inspired this jumping contest, but it lasted for some time. Perhaps it was the popsicles.

Here's Rachel in one of her more contemplative moments.

Blake invited me in after filling up the pool, but I declined. (I've always been suspicious of those kiddie pools.)

Baby Ellie, who judging by the age of this picture, probably does not look like this anymore.

We all piled onto the couch to look at our pictures.

Beauty Masks

JoLee and I just watched a show called the The Human Face in which they explained exactly what makes a face beautiful. Scientists have developed a mask whereby they can quantify beauty. They contend that all beautiful faces fit into the mask perfectly. After the show we downloaded the mask from beautyanalysis.com to see how well we matched up.

 

Not surprisingly, JoLee matched up rather well.

 

I, on the other hand, found out I am a freek of nature. Did I mention that the show said it was more important for men to have sense of humor than to be beautiful?

Four Wheeling With Toby

Last month I took a business trip out to Utah. My old pal, Toby, was kind enough to put me up for the week in his mansion and show me around some of his hills. Here's a taste of my very busy week in Utah.



Toby has spent countless hours restoring this Land Cruiser. Needles to say, it's awesome.

Toby, like his father, makes everything an adventure, including driving out of his driveway.

To everyone's utter amazement, Kai found a buried treasure left by Jeremiah Johnson. The treasure contained some of Jeremiah's most precious possessions including Tick Tacs and Skittles. How they survived years of being buried under a large purple rock is beyond me.

Sinus Surgery

Recently I had surgery to correct a deviated septum. It's taken six weeks, but I think I've fully recovered. That first week was really tough, as the doctor put splints in my nose that made me talk like a goof. I decided I wouldn't shave until I went back to work. I'm so glad it's over and I can breath again normally.

For the Birds

Two weeks ago a Carolina Wren decided to start building a nest in one of our flower pots located on our balcony. The flower pot is on the other side of our bedroom window. We awoke to the bustling activity of the birds building their new nest and the perfectly still gaze of our cat watching her next conquest. Zephyr hasn't been this interested in anything since she saw Eight Below on DVD last winter.

Carolina Wrens are small (about 5 inches long) non-migratory birds that primarily inhabit the southern states. They often build their nests in odd places like mail boxes, car bumpers, and broken tail lights. In our case they chose to nest in a flower pot.


We tried to discourage the birds by letting our cat have free access to the balcony. We figured they had neglected the three most important rules of real estate (i.e. location, location, location), and that they would be better off finding a new home. Unfortunately, within a few days we discovered an egg. For four days thereafter, we discovered a new egg every morning.


Needless to say, we have now locked our cat out, which she very vocally objects to throughout the day. She has settled on waiting and watching the bird nest from our bed for hours at a time.


We're expecting the birds to hatch soon. They will spend about two weeks in the nest before flying away. We're hoping that all the eggs hatch so that we will have five beautiful new wrens to watch.