Who goes there??

I was trying to snap a quick photo of the cardinal day before yesterday, but a couple of these grackles seemed to think the feeder was for them alone. This one seemed to be warning evey thing else to stay away. Even the one on the ground. And soon as they notice me, they were both gone!

I managed to keep the cats inside today, did not let them out till after dark. (I am just saying the cardinals lasted another day.) That probably only happened cause we were gone a big part of the day. Roger had a couple things to do this morn...then we were going to Sarah's house. But I decided to sew just a line or two or three before we went.

I came up about two hours before we had to be there..grabbed my camera and out the door we went. Roger had left the Rav4 out by the sidewalk rather than put it in the garage since he knew we would be leaving shortly. He was a bit ahead of me...about the time I got in he made the announcement that the car wouldn't start. Neither of us know what to think...we have never had a minute's worth of problems from it.

He tries again and then gets out and looks under the hood...nothing obvious. I try...no luck. Of course the windows are down just a little bit and there is a chance of rain. I came in and snatched trash bags, we cut them open, open the doors, and sort of wrap the plastic trash bags over the open part of the window....that involved Roger coming in and getting duct tape, the handy man's secret weapon.

We get them taped in place, and get in the truck and head on to Sarah's...we have probably killed half and hour or 45 minutes by this time. We go our usual route, only at the last sets of railroad tracks cars are backed way back and everyone is turning around and heading a different route. So we do, too...we go to the next way we might be able to get through...no luck there...the train is all the way down there.

So we go an even longer route and on the third try we make it through...not sure how much time we spent doing that...but we still made it in time to spend a few minutes with Sarah before she left...and stayed for a bit after she got back. Came home, and decided it was just the battery with the Rav4...it is fixed and running fine.

I tried to catch up on some of the inside work tonight...haven't spend much time on here other than to text my daughter and to compose a couple emails. Now it is time to close and maybe watch a bit of TV or to read..not sure which.

Hard to see but look anyway

These are hard to see, but click and take a look anyway. The top photo is a birds nest....a cardinal's nest, in fact. And below is a not so good photo of one the pair of cardinals that have the nest.
The other day, one of the cats was wanting in...I opened the door to let it in and heard this chirp, chirp, chirp from a bird. I opened the door wider and there on the swing sat a cardinal. I thought it odd, but didn't really think anything farther. But later that day or the next day, I heard it again. It was fussing cause Mama Cat was laying in a chair out there. So, then I investigated farther.

It would not leave even with me stepping out there. Just kept flitting around in the smoke tree and dogwood...then I spotted the nest. It is level with the roof, or very close to that height...about 3-4 ft. from the edge of the roof. I have no idea why they built there...I am both happy but at the same time kind of on edge because of my kitties.

Mama Cat and Cougar are not so totally into hunting though they do show some interest, I think Bubbie is more so than they are, but Puss Puss is another story. She is a dedicated hunter...anything that moves is not safe....whether it is a bug, butterfly, spider, or bird. I have seen her catch all those things.

Yesterday I heard her meowing and meowing. Well, she will go down in the basement and 'catch' some of my dirty socks from the clothes hamper and carry them around and meow and meow. Usually she brings them up here and I find them laying in the middle of the floor. I am not sure if she thinks she has caught something or if she is wishing she had a kitty.

I figured that that was what she was doing this time...so I started out by looking down in the basement. She wasn't there. So I started to look through the rest of the house and happened to glance out the kitchen door and there she was at the storm door, with a present for me....a dead robin she had caught. So, I am really hoping the cardinal family survives. I so wish it was not the nature of cats to hunt...but it is their nature and I have to accept it.

**************
Roger is really starting to feel better. Maybe by this time next week, this will be just a memory. Tomorrow morn he goes to the chiropractor , then we head to Sarah's house to watch Lorelei for a while. Such a hard job, but someone's got to do it;) If I had had to go of the morn, Roger would have cancelled his appointment...seeing her is like a dose of medicine for whatever ails us.

Another update/Lorelei post

I don't know when I will be back to regular blogging...somehow or other I am having a hard time getting back to it. When I have time to blog, I seem to have blogger's block...but when I am out doing things, there are always things that pop into my mind, but by the time I get time to sit down, I don't remember how I was going to say what I wanted to say.

It is never just one thing that happens here...Roger was doing some painting and was in a tight cramped space and he 'sprained' his neck...that is what the chiropractor said. He has been hurt at various times in his life, but this had had the most intense pain he has ever felt. He has been to Doc twice with this and has improved, but I think he has a ways to go. He is supposed to not do anything for at least a week.

And there are other things, too, but won't go into any more details. Instead I will tell you a thing or two Lorelei has done. Last night, I was reading and didn't get on the computer till later...I had a message from Sarah telling that when she put Lorelei down for the night, that as she closed the door, Lorelei yelled 'Bye!' ( I couldn't help but wonder if she blew her mom a kiss also--which she does now)

The other night her dad came in with some chips...when Lorelei seen him with them she says 'OH. Yeah!' She is just so funny.

I almost forgot...Otto got out of their yard over the weekend. Let me explain...the regular door to go in the garage is in the fenced in part of their yard...and they had forgot and left it open and the overhead door was open also. So, he gets out and is gone...he wasn't gone long before they realized it. They each got in their own car and started to search...stopped and ask people and no one had seen him.

Then Sarah is at a stop sign and hears his toenails on the sidewalk...she gets out and opens her back door and he jumps in the back with Lorelei. Lorelei in turn is so excited, she yells Oddie Doddie, and keeps saying it over and over and over on the way home...which wasn't that far, but was across one major, busy road.

Have I mentioned she has dancing feet...I honestly can't remember. Anyway, I will leave you with a couple of her and her dancing feet. The first video was when she was about done with dancing feet, but the second is out of this world. She impressed her Papaw....oh, that is another thing. She has been saying dad and mom mom and even Mamaw for a while...which she sometimes calls me Mamaw and sometimes calls me Nana. Even though she has known who Papaw was for so long...since just a few months old...she could not say his name...would hardly even attempt it.

Last week while she was here, she said it, yelled it actually. And Sarah said she said Papaw all the way home...over and over and over.

Now, back to the good stuff, here she is with her dancing feet!


And here is Dancing feet out of control!