What's going on in Amy's head

Making it official

2009-02-27T18:10:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted for years, so I'm sure any visitors here know the blog is done. Just wanted to let everyone know, though, that the car crash didn't do me in. I've just been putting my creative efforts into the Grits to Glitz podcast. Catch up with me and Bay at http://www.gritstoglitz.com!

Ouch.

2006-08-24T20:31:00.000-07:00

Before:

After:

The lady driving the Ford Taurus in the foreground turned left in front of me. I stood on the brakes, but there was no way to avoid her. Thank goodness, no one was hurt physically. There was a two year old toddler in that Taurus -- thank goodness for car seats!

It's up to the insurance companies now. We'll see what they say.

I know what I have to say: Ouch. I wish that hadn't happened.

Ready for prime time?

2006-07-21T08:13:00.000-07:00

If my writing efforts have been slacking off lately, it's because I've been concentrating my efforts in the audio realm. My sister Bay and I have been working on our entry into the growing world of podcasting with Grits to Glitz, our take on life in Tennessee vs. Las Vegas. Bay and I enjoy making each other laugh, and heaven knows we have plenty to talk about. I've spent most of my life in the South, but fate has taken me to Sin City. While I miss the cuisine, the friendly smiles, the mountains, the twisty roads, the cardinals, and so many other features of my southern home, I miss my sister more than any of those. Our podcast is a reflection of the things we talk about anyway -- TV, food, people, traffic, and just the general goings on in our lives.

If you'd like to subscribe via iTunes, check us out here, or if you'd like to see us at Podshow, we're right here. Be sure to listen for our contest in episode two and give us a call!

Embarrassment

2006-07-05T17:56:00.000-07:00

So here I sit, happily babbling away about hummingbirds and orioles and wheels on the PT Cruiser. I'm feeling pretty safe in the knowledge that the only people who will ever view my words of wisdom are my sister, maybe some of her friends, and the dozen or so each day who wander in looking for bird gestation periods. (That post is on June 2, for those of you who fall into that category.) I've gotten pretty comfortable around here; if it were an apartment, I'm sure I'd have dirty dishes in the sink.

I check my page statistics pretty regularly, looking to see how people got here. Today, amongst the Google searches for bird information, I found someone who had wandered in from a link on my favorite podcast's web site.

True, I wrote a blog post about The Strip Podcast a few weeks ago. Since I had heard this particular podcaster mention Google Alerts, I was pretty sure he'd find my mention sooner or later. What I didn't anticipate was that my humble blog would be listed on the roster of Friends of the Strip. I'm honored!

I'm also red-faced because that link came along just as I put a "What the heck, I'll show everyone my goofy bulldog dating video" post on the blog. I feel like someone caught me with dirty dishes in the sink.

I've discovered, though, that embarrassment has less power over me as the years go by. So what if people think I'm weird? I am weird, thankyouverymuch, and I'm having a ball being weird. How boring it must be to be normal and dignified and proper.

I have to admit, though, the dog dating video was particularly silly.

No birds in this blog post

2006-06-25T19:13:00.000-07:00

Weird, isn't it? Things have slowed down in the backyard birds department, so let's see what else has been going on.

I was in Washington, DC, last week presenting a paper at a conference. It gave me the chance to release a few Where's George dollars in our nation's capitol. The happy result was that I quickly added the District of Columbia to the list of states where my bills have been tracked. Now there's only Delaware standing in the way of my 50 State Bingo.

I just posted a video of Leon the bulldog on YouTube. Let's see if I can link to it here.

This is a video Paul and I made in the summer of 2005 just to try out some new editing software before the 48 Hour Film Project. (Hence the silly transitions.) To be honest, I never really planned to make it publicly available, but I came across it today and thought oh, what the heck. Enjoy!

Orioles in da 'hood

2006-06-11T18:18:00.000-07:00

I promised more pictures, and I'm finally able to deliver. These hooded orioles are determined not to be photographed, especially the male. My routine for the past week or so has been as follows. I sit at my breakfast nook overlooking the patio, typing away at my computer and watching the hummingbird feeder. The camera is a few feet away on a tripod, aimed directly at the feeder. At the first glimpse of an oriole, I leap up, dash to the camera, and watch as the oriole flies away.

On a couple of occasions I've been able to sneak to the camera without alerting the female to my presence. I didn't realize until I looked at these pictures that she has a bit of a crossed beak. Poor thing looks a little frazzled, too. I wonder if she's sitting on a nest or feeding babies. I wonder if I'll see juveniles at my feeder. Anyway, note that in this picture the female is demonstrating how an oriole drinks from a feeder that's not designed for an oriole. I was surprised that their beaks would fit into those tiny holes, but maybe it's just their tongue that has to get in there.

I've only been able to get one picture of the male at the feeder. As you can see in the image at the top of this post, the oriole feeder is backlit and difficult to photograph. If he'll keep coming to the hummingbird feeder, though, I'll keep the camera on the tripod in an effort to get a better picture.

What iPods are good for

2006-06-05T14:53:00.000-07:00

I got an iPod a few months ago because I was intrigued by the world of podcasts. At that time there was a big brouhaha brewing over some statements Steve Wynn purportedly made about the entertainment choices at competitors' establishments. Wynn made the comments on a podcast called The Strip, so I went in search of the original interview, curious to see whether there was anything to this story. As it turned out, Wynn's comments didn't sound at all judgmental when heard in context. He was simply addressing the business of entertainment on the Las Vegas strip.

What I had stumbled on, though, was the wonderful world of podcasting. I had heard about the phenomenon, but I wasn't an early adopter. I had been aware of iPods for a while -- I first heard about them several years ago when fellow MINI owners were talking about hooking them up to their car stereos. I had always thought of them as fancy Walkmans, though, so I was pretty sure they wouldn't be something I'd be too interested in.

I was wrong.

There are podcasts out there that cover just about any conceivable topic. The Strip, for instance, covers news and entertainment in Las Vegas. The real appeal of this particular podcast is that the two hosts really know their stuff. Miles is a producer at a local TV station, so he gets the inside scoop on the big stories. Steve is a successful freelance journalist, writing for the likes of Newsweek, USA Today, and publications of that ilk. (Nice ilk!) In addition to the aforementioned Steve Wynn interview, they've landed interviews with Dennis Miller, Johnny Mathis, Howie Mandel, Hal Prince, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Franco Dragone -- real legends in the entertainment industry. This ain't no "Hey, we got us a computer, so let's do a podcast" operation. These guys are the real deal.

If you have an iPod and an interest in Las Vegas, I highly recommend The Strip podcast. The latest news to break on the podcast: Andrew Lloyd Webber didn't know that the show opening soon at the Venetian will be Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular. Sir Andrew was under the impression that the show would be Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera. Just goes to show you, Steve and Miles have a better handle on Las Vegas entertainment than the showmakers themselves!

And if you check it out and like it as much as I do, be sure to vote for them at Podcast Alley. I'm having a blast watching their votes come in this month, catapulting them over lesser podcasts. I love it when the good guys win!

Bird gestation periods and other stuff

2006-06-02T16:16:00.000-07:00

My post about "What brings you here?" actually brought more people looking for bird gestation periods. Google is sending people by the dozens who are looking for "hummingbird gestation period," "cardinal gestation period," "house wren gestation period," and so on. To those who have come here for that information, let me offer these notes.

The black-chinned hummingbird gestation (incubation) period is about two weeks.
From what I've been able to find on the Internet, cardinal eggs hatch after 11 to 13 days, house wrens hatch after 13 or 14 days.
I've found it more productive to search for "incubation period" than "gestation period." Like I said below, I made the same mistake myself when I first wrote about the hummingbirds in my yard, so please don't think I'm criticizing! Just learning from my own mistakes.
A great source for information about wild birds is Cornell's All About Birds web site.

In other bird news, I just bought a pair of hummingbird houses from Dan and Diane True. They came in the mail today. I haven't yet put them up, but I have high hopes. I think there will have to be a negotiation with Paul about where to locate these nest platforms. I want to install one under the patio roof, next to a supporting column that blocks the wind. That just happens to be right over where our grill lives, though, so a hummingbird nest would curtail our grilling activities. Of course, we could move the grill, but Paul's a little set in his ways. We shall see if he goes for this.

Along with the hummingbird houses, I also bought the Trues' hummingbird DVD. Amazing! It's fascinating to watch the nest building process and there's even video of a mother hummingbird laying an egg. I highly recommend the video to all hummingbird lovers.

In yet more bird news, the hooded oriole I wrote about back on April 17 has decided to hang around. In the last week I've seen both the male and a female on the hummingbird feeder. They've decided this is really an oriole feeder, except that the perches are too close to the feeding ports. They solve that problem by leaning around the bottle and drinking from the feeding port on the other side. While I applaud their ingenuity, I've decided to buy an oriole feeder just for them...and, of course, any friends and family they might have in the neighborhood.

While I wait for the feeder to be delivered, I've bought some oranges and have attempted to make them available to the orioles. My first attempt was to put a cut orange on a table on the patio. I watched the female oriole hang off the hummingbird feeder and examine the orange, but she made no attempt to fly to the table and claim her prize. It looked to me as if she were thinking, "Um, yeah. See, I know oranges, and oranges grow on trees. Oranges that are on a flat surface are rotten and have fallen off the tree. Get a clue."

So I got a clue. I have now tied an orange to that column I mentioned earlier. It's very near the hummingbird feeder, so the orioles can't miss it. I decided not to tie the orange to a tree because my trees seem to all be covered with ants. There wouldn't be any orange left for the orioles if the ants got there first. If the orioles turn their beaks up at the orange I've affixed to my house, I'm just going to eat the rest of the oranges myself and let the birds wait for the feeder. (That's not too terribly heartless of me since the feeder is scheduled to be delivered tomorrow.) In the meantime, they don't seem to mind using the hummingbird feeder. The hummers mind, but the orioles don't.

Where did you come from?

2006-05-20T08:42:00.000-07:00

I started this blog because my sister was writing an article about blogging and I wanted to be able to help her with some of the technical details. After the initial startup, my blog languished. I posted test posts. I posted disjointed ramblings. And then a hummingbird decided to make her nest in a bush in my back yard. I had something to write about! I started making daily posts, and my sister would stop by to see the latest pictures. She told her scrapbooking friends, one of whom is a serious birder who, in turn, told her birding friends. I told the people at the Infotec Eagle Nest web site. And people stopped by to see the hummingbirds.

Now that the nest is empty and gone, I haven't had an awful lot to say. (I still need to write a post about the big Where's George Las Vegas gathering!) But I've noticed from my counter statistics that people are finding my blog from queries at various search engines. I get a lot of hits from people who've searched for "hummingbird web cam" or "hummingbird baby pictures" or other hummingbird-related search phrases. Some people have found me by searching for some unusual hummingbird-related phrases like "wind blows hummingbird out of nest" or "what if mother hummingbird won't stay on nest at night" or "hummingbird gestation period." (I mentioned "gestation period" early on in my nest posts, but I should have said "incubation period." I'm glad I'm not the only one who came up with the wrong terminology.)

Then there are the more puzzling phrases. One person recently searched for "super glue bird beaks." What on earth?! Yep, I joked about super gluing the babies to the nest, so Google helpfully pointed that person to my blog. Giving them the benefit of the doubt, maybe they were looking for information about fixing broken beaks -- I understand it's been done with pet birds.

One person actually searched for "What's going on in Amy's head." Oh, my! It's as if that person were looking for me. With such a specific phrase, they must be looking for me. How did they hear about me? Who told them to search for my blog's name? Why did they come here? I'm so curious! (And flattered!)

Speaking of which, it's always a thrill to see that one of my visitors came from an e-mail link. The way my counter software works, I can see the last ten "referrers," the pages that linked to mine. If the referring page is something like mail.google.com or mail.yahoo.com, then that means someone clicked on a link in an e-mail. So who's writing to whom about me? What are they saying? And should I be flattered or paranoid?

Back to the search phrases. The ones that really get me are the ones that have no connection to my blog. Someone once came here after searching for "little boy webcam." That one makes me shudder. I once mentioned that I thought one of the hummingbirds was a little boy, and I talked up the webcam while it was active. That's how they got here, but I hope they didn't find what they were really looking for. More recently, someone looked for "my sister's head has been blown off." I have no idea what they were looking for, but my web page came up as the second selection for that word combination. My sister was a little startled by that one.

So how did you stumble across my blog? I'm glad you got here and I hope you check back, even though my hummingbird babies are grown and gone.

Tag! I'm it!

2006-05-14T18:14:00.000-07:00

I've never been tagged before, so imagine my surprise when I found myself tagged by the most eloquent birder I know. The assignment is to list the ten most beautiful birds. Gwyn chose to list hers in order of the stories they tell. I think I'll list mine by the stories I have to tell about them.

10. Penguins. Twenty years ago when I lived in Maryland, my then-fiancé, now-husband and I went to the National Zoo in Washington, DC. Among all the exhibits was a wall of letters from visitors. The one letter that stood out in my mind read simply, "The San Diego Zoo has penguins." That comment struck our funny bones and it's been quoted many times over the years. When we recently had the opportunity to go to the San Diego Zoo, we found that they no longer had penguins. I wish I could find that original letter writer just so I could say, "Neener, neener!"

9. Cardinals. Growing up in the south, I've always taken cardinals for granted. Only since I've moved to Las Vegas have I come to really appreciate their beauty. I've seen many a cardinal attack the vicious foe he saw in the rear view mirror of a car parked in the driveway. One found his reflection in the small window in my pantry in Tennessee and he would give it what for at about the same time every afternoon. I miss cardinals and I watch for them whenever I go home.

8. House wren. Our house in Tennessee had an old falling down shed...which eventually completed the process and fell down. While it still stood, though, we used it to store junk. The Christmas tree stand hung on the wall, and its perfectly round well became home to a house wren and her brood one year. I love it when birds come so close and touch our lives. I love being reminded that we're sharing this earth with them.

7. Indigo bunting. When I was little, I remember my mother running to find me wherever it was I was playing in the house. She hustled me to the back room, where there was a large window overlooking the patio and the bird feeder that was there. A brilliant blue bird was on the feeder, and Mama breathlessly told me it was an indigo bunting. More than the bird, I remember Mama's excitement. The treat of seeing such an exotic bird in our own back yard was thrilling, yes, but I don't remember the bird. It's Mama I remember, and how honored I felt that she was sharing this special moment with me.

6. Roadrunners. When I moved to Las Vegas, one of my first trips was to Red Rock Canyon. There in the visitors' center was an exhibit of the animals you might see there. Among the displays was a roadrunner. That's the first time I ever saw one in the flesh, but I remember marveling over the plate in Mama's Audubon book when I was little. I didn't manage to see one at Red Rock that day, but I later became acquainted with the roadrunner who makes his home at my workplace. Our buildings are spread out over several acres, and there's a roadrunner who has decided we humans aren't really all that fast or smart. He gives us a wide berth, but he's pretty sure of his safety.

5. Eastern bluebirds. Driving down the back roads of Tennessee and Georgia, my mother and I used to keep watch for those brilliant flashes of blue near the fencerows by open fields. During one long trip she and I got distracted watching for bluebirds and missed a turn on the Interstate. We ended up going a whole state out of our way. And then there are the dozens of bluebird plates she and I collected rom flea markets and yard sales. Bluebirds always remind of me of Mama and happiness.

4. Black-chinned hummingbird babies. They may not be spectacular, but the babies that grew up in my back yard are dear to my heart. Hummingbirds of all kinds are amazing creatures, and these two are special to me.

1, 2, and 3. It's a three-way tie for first place. My parrots Georgia, Noah, and Kito, listed in the order they joined my flock. Georgia is a green-cheeked conure. She crawled up on my shoulder and cuddled up to my neck the first time I met her in 1997. How could I not bring her home? Noah the African grey was next. I brought him home the day after Thanksgiving in 1998. He's the best talker in the flock and he brightens every day with his words. And there's Kito, who came home with me in 2003. His previous family couldn't keep him because of one child's severe asthma, which was exacerbated by bird dander. Kito is the daredevil of the bunch, hanging upside down by his toenails and doing calisthenics. Every one of them is beautiful in his own way, so I can't possibly put these three in order.

I wish I knew three people to tag, but I just don't have too many correspondents. I'll tag my sister Bay and hope that she can think of more people to pass along the assignment to.

A Sad Ending

2006-04-27T20:17:00.000-07:00

I like happy endings. I know that sad endings are probably more realistic in many stories, but I really want everyone to live happily ever after. My sister Bay wrote a fabulous blog entry about happy endings when one of her real life experiences came to a joyful conclusion. I wish I had a happy ending for my story.

Now, don't panic. The babies, as far as I know, are both fine. Typical siblings, they don't hang out together, so I don't know if I'm seeing brother and sister or if it's just one coming to the feeder. They're wild birds and the world is a dangerous place. They might meet with an unhappy end. That's beyond my control.

What I could have -- should have -- controlled, though, was the disposition of their nest. I spent so much happy time this spring watching that nest. That nest was at the center of an event that I couldn't have asked for, couldn't buy with money. It just happened and it made me happy and I wanted to keep the nest as a memento. That is, of course, after the mama bird used it again this summer. I hoped she would. Since the babies fledged, I've spent a lot of time just gazing at that tiny nest and thinking about what a wonder it was.

I didn't mention it on this blog, but I had talked to some landscapers, a husband and wife team, about removing that bush. It's in an awkward place and it's untidy and when it flowers in the spring it attracts little flying bugs. When the female hummingbird started sitting on the bush, though, I told the landscapers not to remove it. She liked sitting there. Later, I told them the happy news about the nest. I told them that the silly bird had built a nest on a dead branch. I told them that the bush has to stay for good now. I told them. I told them. I said, in so many words, "Now we won't even trim off the dead branches." They knew how important it was to me. While they were working on a neighbor's yard, I offered to show the wife the nest. She was in too much of a rush, but we said we'd look at it later.

We didn't get around to it.

They came today. Things were hectic. The dog was going to the groomer. We left the gate unlocked. We had already walked around the yard with them months ago -- before the nest -- and shown them what we wanted done.

They cut the dead branches off the bush. They cut the nest off. It's gone and thrown away. And I'm broken hearted. It's somewhere out there in a garbage bag in the yard. My husband tried to find it. I've cried.

Silly, I know. It's ridiculous to be so attached to a hummingbird nest. But the thing is...well, it was just a little unexpected blessing in my life. It made me so happy. It gave me hope that the mother would come back again this summer and have another little family there. I made plans to find a shadow box so I could keep it and remember this happy spring.

Tonight the hummingbirds came to the feeder and then zipped away. They're wary because there was so much activity in the yard. They're unsure because the trees and bushes have been trimmed, so many of their perches are gone. I know they'll get used to the changes. I know they'll come back and be comfortable at the feeder again.

What I don't know is whether they'll ever feel comfortable enough to build another home in my back yard.

What to do?

2006-04-19T22:20:00.000-07:00

Wow. It seems so quiet around here these days. I keep wanting to check the webcam, but there's nothing to see at the nest, so I've relocated the camera to a place that's a little more exciting. Hope you guys enjoy the view, too! I'm going to take the camera down in another week or so, but enjoy it in the meantime. I know I'll be checking in now and then!

Update: The camera was offline for much of the day. If you had trouble viewing it on Thursday, give it another try.

I keep hoping that mama hummingbird will come back to the same nest for her second brood this summer. My reading says that they often have a second brood in a summer, and she got such an early start, surely she'll try again. I'm worried, though, that she might find her current nest location less than satisfactory because...well, frankly, because of the darned paparazzi! I mean, the constant intrusion of cameras being thrust into her face -- sheesh! If she's smart, she'll go to Namibia to have her second brood.

Vacancy

2006-04-18T08:31:00.000-07:00

At about 7:30 this morning the second baby left the nest. I have empty nest syndrome already. Thank goodness I'll be seeing the two juveniles at my feeder in coming days.

Sniff! They grow up so fast!

Smart boy!

2006-04-17T21:14:00.000-07:00

Well, Baby #2 has decided to be smart and stay in the nest for another day. Excellent decision! Today was, as the weatherman promised, another very windy day. The wind seems to have died down now, so maybe tomorrow will be a better day for learning to fly. I think I spotted sister flying around today, still a bit uncertain with her skills, but getting better all the time.

I know it's very difficult to see the dark pictures I've put here, but the first shows the mama bird feeding our stalwart nest dweller. The second picture shows him trying out those wings. I'm almost certain he'll take flight tomorrow. It's been such a thrill watching these babies begin their life in my back yard. I hope I get to see them come back for many years.

I think fate must have sensed my disappointment at seeing the babies go, because I did have an unexpected and unusual visitor in the back yard. I first spotted him on the hummingbird feeder, where he was not being too successful at extracting any nectar for himself. I haven't seen him at all since this morning and don't know if it would be worthwhile to buy an oriole feeder, but if I see him once more, I'm buying one. I've never seen an oriole of any kind before. I lived in Baltimore for four years and never saw an oriole there (well, except for Cal Ripken), so it was a real treat to see this hooded oriole checking out the offerings.

Please forgive the grainy pictures. This bird was very skittish, so when I came to the patio door he flew to a nearby palm. When I came closer to the door so I could see him in the palm, he flew further into the palm. I finally had to retreat to the breakfast nook and hide behind the blinds to get a picture of him.

So maybe it's not the end of the world that the babies are fledging. There are other surprises to be found. I'm glad this bright fellow came by to remind me of that.

Stories

2006-04-16T19:50:00.000-07:00

Whew! Busy weekend. There were lots of things going on this weekend, including several hummingbird-related adventures, so let's start at the beginning.

First of all, the boys are back in town. We saw three or four male black-chinned hummingbirds in the yard on Saturday evening. In my reading about black-chinned hummingbird nesting habits, I had learned that the male generally disappears while the female is on the nest and when the chicks are growing. Who knows where they go? They're so territorial, though, it's probably best that they not be around to attract attention to the nest. I haven't seen any males in the last few weeks, but now they're back with a vengeance. The mother still runs them off as well as she can. In fact, it was a convoy of males that we saw her chase across the yard and over the neighbor's wall.

In the midst of the male bashing there was a very frightening moment. The mama bird was dashing around and flew off the feeder and smack into the patio door. My heart stopped. She tumbled to the ground. Her wings were splayed out and she sat still on her stomach in front of the door. I watched her gather her wings in to her side. I noticed what looked like a light colored spot right in the middle of her long, slender beak. I wondered if that light spot indicated where her beak might have bent when she hit the glass. Leon the bulldog took a few tentative steps in her direction, and Paul and I both dived for him. In just a few moments -- probably no more than 20 seconds, our little mother gathered up her wits and flew away. I didn't see her anymore Saturday evening, and I was worried sick that she was dying or that her beak was broken and she wouldn't be able to eat or feed her babies.

Let me quickly say that she was back at work this morning, as if nothing had happened. Thank goodness they're such resilient little creatures. The babies were so close to fledging, I couldn't help but wonder whether they would have been able to learn to fly on their own. Would they have found the feeder? I'm so glad I didn't have to find out the answer to that question.

And, of course, speaking of fledging, we now have one more hummingbird flying around our yard. I believe it's the female who's started flying first. She must have been the first to hatch. I saw her on the webcam this morning, but by 11:00 or so I could only make out one beak on the webcam. I went outside and peeked, and sure enough, one little bird was alone in the nest. I sat on the patio and waited, and after a while here came the mother, flying confidently, and the baby, flying like Woodstock. I wish she hadn't decided to start her flying lessons on such a windy day! We occasionally have these days in Las Vegas -- probably since we don't have weather, as such, like snow or rain or whatever -- when the wind blows at gale force. I saw a weather advisory on TV tonight warning of high winds through Monday at 11:00 a.m. Our new flyer made it through the day without being blown away, at least. I saw her in one of the canary palms in the yard as evening fell. Let's hope the smart one who stayed in the nest stays smart and doesn't try out his wings until the winds have diminished a bit.

The lone baby left in the nest has been doing calisthenics. He's turned around in that nest, stood on the edge, flapped his wings, and chirped his little lungs out. Mama bird comes by and chirps at him as if to say, "OK, buster, now when are you going to get off your lazy butt and fly like your sister, hmm? You want me to feed you your whole life? Not likely!" And then she feeds him a bit. (Pushover.)

I'm betting that by tomorrow night we'll have an empty nest. Sigh.

Easter flight

2006-04-16T14:49:00.000-07:00

Baby #1 has taken flight. I'll try to add pictures as soon as I can, but I've found it impossible to follow her Woodstock-like flight patterns so far. She chose an especially windy day to start flight training, but so far, so good.

I have lots of hummingbird news to write about, but I hope you'll forgive me if I wait until later to record the events of the last couple of days. I have many pictures to download and several stories to tell. In the meantime, though, be sure to watch the webcam, where the one baby remains. He should fly today or tomorrow. Such excitement!

If I had wings...

2006-04-14T10:13:00.000-07:00

I'd try them out, too. Look what I just saw on the webcam.

They'll be flying soon.

I think we have an answer to the boy/girl question

2006-04-13T22:38:00.000-07:00

Take a look at those chin feathers! I do believe we have a little boy there on the left and a little girl there on the right. I think that's going to be a black chin on that black-chinned hummingbird!

Welcome to all the wonderful people from Infotec's eagle nest cam. I was amazed at the number of hits my little hummingbird cam got today! I hope you weren't too disappointed in the quality of my webcam after seeing the great image of the eagles. I hope these stills help make up for the fuzzy webcam.

Hey, look! I spy some green on that little bird! I think this is the first picture that shows any green in the feathers. I usually take the pictures in the late afternoon, so there's no bright sunshine. I'm sure we'll see lots more green soon...when they're coming to the feeder on their own!

More flip-flops than Miami Beach

2006-04-11T21:41:00.000-07:00

OK, now they're just showing off. Beak to tail, then beak to beak, and now they're beak to tail again. Tomorrow I bet they're going to be stacked one on top of the other holding sparklers in their beaks and whistling "Entry of the Gladiators." (Don't recognize the name? Here's a sample of the music. You'll recognize it!)

I've been looking around for better webcam technology, and boy, have I been shamed. Take a look at this eagle nest cam. The subjects themselves are breathtaking, and I have some serious technology envy. I almost got depressed, but then I remembered -- I have a hummingbird nest in my own back yard. I feel better now.

Besides, the eagles would probably wreck that bush.

Twin Beaks

2006-04-10T21:31:00.000-07:00

Good heavens! Where did the babies go? These are practically grown birds. I keep looking at the calendar and realizing how soon it will be when they fly on their own. I asked Paul today whether we could just Super Glue the babies to the nest. OK, I won't do that, but it is tempting.

We interrupt your regularly-scheduled hummingbirds

2006-04-09T11:09:00.000-07:00

To bring you this non-avian news.

My sister is brilliant.

Now, this is something I've known for quite some time, but she's not convinced. It took a writing contest to provide proof.

Miss Snark is a New York literary agent. She runs an anonymous blog. She tells it like it is. Thousands surf in to read her wisdom and learn how to be good little snarklings. She doles out advice on submitting to literary agents, cover letters, publishing, editors, and anything and everything related to the task of getting published.

Miss Snark decided last weekend to hold a little writing contest. She limited entries to 500 words and gave points for using certain words and phrases -- "Bat Segundo," "bunion," "snark," "muddle," and even "Drop everything and give me ten...books!" I pointed out the contest to my brilliant sister with the comment that I was afraid of the judge -- Miss Snark can be quite blunt...no, make that honest. I couldn't take honest criticism of my writing. I wouldn't pass the test.

Like I said, Miss Snark's blog has thousands of readers. As it turns out, 111 of those readers felt up to the challenge. My brilliant sister penned a quick entry and submitted it. Within a week, Miss Snark had reviewed all the entries -- a herculean feat -- and has just posted her selections. My brilliant sister's entry earned an honorable mention! Now, let's review.

This was a competition between serious writers who read Miss Snark's blog.
Miss Snark is a tough cookie with very discerning tastes.
My brilliant sister's entry was written quickly; hers was one of the first submitted.
Her entry was selected by Miss Snark as one of her favorites.
Ergo, my sister is brilliant.

Next step: We must convince her that she needs to write a book and get published and make a bunch of money. Seems like the logical next step to me.

Hey! How'd they do that?!

2006-04-09T11:00:00.000-07:00

When last we visited the nest, the babies were positioned beak to tail, wedged in as tight as they could get. I figured that's how we'd see them until they fledged, since there's no possible way they could jump up, turn around, and reposition themselves beak to beak. Well, I guess I was wrong.

And look! That's a little eye peering back at me! It's nice to know they can now look around and see what's going on in this corner of the world. I imagine they're thinking, "Sheesh, mom! Couldn't you have chosen one of the green branches on this bush instead of a dead branch? And what's with the bulldog? He acts like this bush belongs to him!"

Also, we've decided on names for our little family. After calling the mother bird "Mama Bird" for a few weeks, that morphed into Mama Rose. That would make the duo in the nest Baby June and Louise, right? (And we can always fall back to Baby James and Louis if necessary, right?)

Mama Rose is enjoying her relative freedom these days. She's not at the nest all the time anymore, but she does come by to feed the kids now and then, especially around dusk. She spends much of her time running off interlopers who want to help themselves to her feeder, or just resting on a nearby palm...on the other side of the yard. Mother's day out, right?

That face

2006-04-07T23:47:00.000-07:00

What a face!

It occurred to me today that this is the longest rest a hummingbird will get in its whole life. It's no wonder they're so lethargic. Imagine how much energy they're putting into the simple task of growing.

I am looking forward to their being big enough to get their faces away from the...well, let's say "untidy" edge of that nest. I've read that hummingbirds sometimes reuse the same nest for their second brood in a summer. I hope she cleans it up a bit first! Eww!

Growing

2006-04-06T19:16:00.000-07:00

They're growing like weeds. These hummingbird babies are now big enough that they can't hide their heads in the nest. Those long beaks just won't fit!

Speaking of beaks, take a look at this screen capture from the webcam today. I've discovered that the mother feeds them quite a bit at dusk, so check in between 5:00 and 7:00 Pacific time.

Caterpillars don't have beaks!

2006-04-04T22:09:00.000-07:00

And that, my friends, is a beak! (Click the image to see a larger version.)

I'm still not a very convincing mama bird, I'm afraid. This is as much activity as I could get out of these little birds this afternoon. I moved the branch just a little, and one lazy little beak popped up as if its owner were saying, "Umm, yeah. See, I'm sleeping here. And if you really, really want to stuff something into my crop, I'll let you. But right now I have some resting to do, 'K?"

I continue to fiddle with the webcam in an effort to get a faster refresh rate. I may be moving everything to another computer because now I'm thinking that the computer I have the program running on just isn't fast enough. Purely selfish -- I want to see these babies move! And they're about to be big enough to pop their little spiky heads over the top of that nest!

Why, hello there!

2006-04-04T18:10:00.000-07:00

My heavens! Somehow the word has gotten out about my hummingbird nest! Welcome, hummingbird fans!

The stars of the show seem a little quieter than usual today -- do you suppose they know they're being watched? If you haven't seen mom and the kids yet, do check back now and then. I promise they'll make an appearance sooner or later. I occasionally watch the camera from work and after a few minutes I start worrying that mom has abandoned the kids. Just about the time I get panicky, she's back on the nest, feeding the kids. I'll try to get some good stills this afternoon. I haven't had great success yet, but I promise my next picture will look like birds, not caterpillars.

I'm just so glad y'all are here! Thanks for sharing this fascinating event with me!

Caterpillars?

2006-04-02T19:40:00.000-07:00

I'm going to have to start being more disruptive, I guess. I'm going to have to start making the babies think mom is back to feed them so they'll raise up their heads and show us their beaks! Here's a picture I took earlier today, and I swear it looks like a couple of fuzzy caterpillars have crawled into the nest. They're baby birds, I promise!

If it's daylight, check the webcam. It probably has a better image than this one!

Hooray for the new camera!

2006-04-02T18:01:00.000-07:00

Adjustable focus makes a world of difference! I'm no longer ashamed to point people to the webcam. You can now see the nest! You can see the mother! And you can, if you're watching closely, see the babies move! That's http://www.usturners.com:81 -- tell your friends!

I don't know about you, but I'm going to just sit here and stare at the computer for a few hours and marvel in the beauty of auto iris and backlight compensation.

Oh, and nature. Don't forget nature. It's cool, too.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!! The camera works! The camera works!

That didn't work too well

2006-03-31T18:07:00.000-08:00

I'm going back to the web page format. I got to work today and took a look at the media server and decided it stank. So forget the "mms:" address and go back to http://www.usturners.com:81. I'll try not to change that again -- just trying to get better performance!

I've been entertaining the folks at work by showing them how "my" hummingbird feeds the babies. Hang around a few minutes and see if you can catch her in action!

New webcam stuff and the latest pictures

2006-03-30T22:18:00.000-08:00

First of all, I'm trying a new webcam protocol. In an effort to provide a better picture, I'm trying out the Windows Media Encoder. This method requires the the viewer to have Windows Media Player, which I understand is available for both Windows and Mac platforms. The link is mms://www.usturners.com:81. Note the "mms" at the beginning instead of http. This link should open up your Windows Media Player and start buffering the streaming video coming from my computer. Please let me know if it doesn't work for you. I'm still trying to find the best way to share my little birds with the world. The quest for a good camera continues. Until I find a good camera, though, I'm afraid the picture will be out of focus.

Speaking of focus, here are the badly focused pictures taken today. Both babies are happily squirming, and I swear I can already tell they've grown. Here's a picture that shows just a hint of baby fuzz.

And here's a picture of a tiny yellow beak -- see it there at the top right of that black blob? The blob is the head, and the yellow attachment is a beak. As always, you can click on the picture to see a larger version. I promise I'll get some good pictures someday! Really I will! I just never have the time to take a good picture. When the mother leaves the nest, I zip in, snap three or four fast shots, and then run away within a minute.

Stay tuned! It's going to get better from here on!

And then there were two

2006-03-28T21:04:00.000-08:00

Well, apparently I miscalculated. When I came home from work today I took a quick peek and there are now two little black aliens in the hummingbird nest. They have arrived!

We should now have about three weeks of baby watching before they take wing and start coming to the feeder on their own. I can't wait to watch their stubby little beaks grow. I wonder if I'll be able to tell whether they're male or female. I wonder if the mother will raise another brood before the end of the summer. I bet she will, and I hope she likes her current accommodations. I hear they sometimes re-use the same nest.

The webcam continues to be a little problematic. If you come to the webcam and find the picture is too dark, check back in a bit. The camera has an automatic iris that isn't too smart. During the brightest part of the day, it closes up the iris and makes the picture too dark. Some of the best images are early in the morning, 6:00 to 7:30 a.m., then again around 4:00 to 5:30 p.m., Pacific time, when the sunlight is fading.

I'm still looking at ways of getting a better live picture out on the web. I love these little birds and I want to share them as much as possible!

The webcam is online

2006-03-28T09:16:00.000-08:00

A quick note for those who want to view the hummingbird webcam but have run into the "Offline" message -- it's not offline! Just click your browser's Reload button. I think the camera goes to sleep if no one has viewed it in a while.

Enjoy!

HOLD THE PRESSES!!!!

2006-03-27T13:56:00.000-08:00

After that last post I went and checked on the progress of the DVD. It's still churning away.

Then I went and checked on the nest. We have a blessed event!!!!!!! These pictures don't show much except a black blob, so please try to imagine this tiny, knobby, hairy, black blob wiggling around in the bottom of a tiny nest the size of a Coke bottle cap. I'm elated! I'm sorry about the rotten pictures, but I won't be taking anymore for a little while. I must leave the nest alone so I don't scare the mother away.

The second egg should hatch on Wednesday, according to my research. The articles say the mother generally skips a day between laying her two eggs, so the second should hatch two days after the first. I can't wait to bring you pictures of these two as they mature into big, mean hummingbirds!

Lights, camera, action

2006-03-27T13:09:00.000-08:00

We continue to await news from the hummingbird nest, but I'm certain it will be coming any moment now. I've tried to improve the webcam accessibility, but I'm afraid I've lost quality in the attempt. Still, everyone ought to be able to view the camera now at http://www.usturners.com:81. Please let me know if it doesn't work for you. My fingers are crossed that it will now work for any browser, PC or Mac, even if the frame rate isn't too good.

And as I type this, my other computer is whirring away upstairs, churning out a final copy of the video we made for the International Documentary Challenge. We ended up going to the Little A'Le'Inn in Rachel, Nevada, and talking to Pat Travis, the proprietor. She was a wonderful personality and we're really proud of the resulting video. I've put a copy of the video here for the time being, although I may remove it soon. Check it out while you have the chance!

Documenting

2006-03-23T21:52:00.000-08:00

Well, the documentary business is going very, very slowly. Our assigned genre was character study. Ick. That means we have to find a character. We have to find someone who's interesting right now -- we can't rely on something they did long ago that was interesting. So, OK, this is Las Vegas, right? There must be a million interesting people! We called about half of them today and they're so interesting (or so busy) they can't talk to us. We do have a lead on someone who does something extraordinary, but I'm not going to jinx it by saying anything right now. Just wish me luck.

In the meantime, I did have the chance to take a few pictures of the hummingbird nest today. I watched the star on her webcam today, and she was doing something a little different and new. She would leave the nest, but when she returned she would perch on the twig beside the nest and look in. Ooh! Was something going on in there?! I had to find out. In the late afternoon I sneaked a few pictures. There are still two eggs, no chicks. It's exciting to know the little ones will be hatching soon -- almost certainly within the next week.

The picture at the top of this post shows a little bit of the camera setup. That's a green fence post on the left, and you can see the nest at the bottom right -- click on any of the images to see a much larger version. And I'm attaching a real close-up of the nest. It's amazing to think of how long it took her to gather up all those tiny spiderwebs and fibers.

Oh, and if you're still reading, you might be interested in this article. It's full of detailed information about black-chinned hummingbirds and their nests.

Quick nest cam update

2006-03-22T06:28:00.000-08:00

Y'all are so nice! No one has written to me to say "It's ridiculous of you to ask us to do all that stuff just to see your crummy camera." If I were someone else trying to look at this hummingbird nest, that's exactly what I would have said.

I've been trying for the last two nights to put in a different video delivery system and failing miserably. I'd like to be able to tell people to just go to a web page to view streaming video instead of jumping through all the hoops in my last post. (Besides, I can't see the camera from work because the firewall at work won't let me use the ports that are being used by my current software!) I've found the right software, but I can't seem to get the proper video card, USB connector, or whatever to get the RCA connector on my camera to talk to my PC. Last night's effort to plug in a USB converter was thwarted when I took the thing out of the box and found that the installation CD was scratched. One would think the manufacturer's web site would have a driver, but no such luck. Their tech support page said "Sorry! This page is still under construction." Oh. Hmm. Yeah. OK. Thanks. The thing is going back to the store today. And yes, I'll tell them about the scratched CD. The package had evidence of being opened, so maybe the previous purchaser didn't tell them.

Tonight at 7:00 I will receive in e-mail a topic for a documentary. My husband and I will have until Monday evening, March 27, to finish the four to eight-minute documentary and send it off to be judged. So, as you might imagine, I'll be pretty busy between tonight and next Monday. With luck, maybe my topic will be nature, and I'll be able to document this little backyard miracle as part of the film. Here are the details about the Documentary Challenge, if you're curious.

Anyway, the reason I bring this up is because I probably won't have time to work on the nest cam in the next few days. I'm still planning to get it up and going, though, so stay tuned!

Ready for her close-up

2006-03-19T20:21:00.000-08:00

I couldn't take it. Before my head exploded, I had to go get a camera and put my hummingbird on the tube. This evening we waited for her to take her last trip to the feeder and my husband and I zipped in with a camera on a stake. If you want to keep track of the nest with me over the coming weeks, here are the long, involved, overly-complicated steps you must take.

Go to http://www.usturners.com:81 -- yes, that's port 81. I can't be normal and just give a simple address like usturners.com
I know the site will work with Internet Explorer and that it won't work with Firefox. I'm not sure whether it works with AOL's browser. Bay, can you enlighten me?
You'll have to download and install the video viewing software when you go to the web site the first time. This is because I'm using a lousy video capture card that doesn't serve the images directly to the browser. Sorry about that, folks! It's a one-time deal, though.
The software always prompts me to change my screen resolution. I like to keep my monitor on high resolution, but the software requires 1024 x 768.
If you've actually gotten through all these steps, you can log in with the user name nest and the password nest. Use the button with a key on it to log in.
Unless I'm mistaken, you'll only be able to view live surveillance, not remote playback. The playback feature is only available from the local network, I believe.

I hope you guys will enjoy watching this as much as I will!

Now we sit and wait

2006-03-18T16:37:00.000-08:00

This is torture. Today is Saturday. I'm home. There's a hummingbird nest just feet from my door, and I can't go out there and stare at it! I wouldn't want to scare her away, of course. So I stand at the patio door and wait for her to pop out for a bite to eat. Then, of course, I worry that she's away from her nest and that her eggs will get cold. I know she knows what she's doing, but I can't help but worry. Is she a first time mother?

I have to confess, too, that I'm busily thinking about how I could get a weatherproof video camera out there and attach it to the web so I can keep an eye on the happenings at the nest. So far I've resisted going to Fry's, but my resolve is weakening.

I took the above picture from about 12 feet away with my telephoto lens straining as hard as it would go. See the photo below for a comparison of the size of the nest to the size of the bush. I'm done visiting for today. I feel like a kid at Christmas, though. Come on!!!! Hurry up and hatch!!!!!!!!!!

A bird in the hand

2006-03-17T19:48:00.000-08:00

Remember that hummingbird I talked about in my last post? That vicious female who was guarding the bush in my back yard? That bush is about six feet away from the patio where the feeder hangs. That bush is the first stop of Leon the bulldog every morning. And that bush is now home to a couple of tiny miracles in the making.

When I was in high school, a friend of my mother's pointed out the nest of a ruby throated hummingbird to me. It was maybe 20 feet up in a pine tree, and the only way you could know there was a hummingbird nest up there was to follow the path of the mother and note where she stopped. So when I saw that this female was guarding the bush right here behind my house, I hardly dared hope she would make her nest there. I've looked in the bush two or three times over the last few days, but I didn't spot the nest until this morning. I was late to work because I had to stop and take pictures, then I had to send them to my sister, then I had to call my sister on the way to work and insist that she check her e-mail immediately.

I know the gestation period will be about two weeks, but I don't know when she laid these eggs. She was spending a lot of time on top of the bush last Sunday. Surely she hadn't laid the eggs yet. She wouldn't have left them alone that long. Oh! And do you suppose she was all fluffed up because she was so pregnant?

By the way, I haven't seen a male around here yet, but I was obviously wrong about her not having a mate. Now, where's this deadbeat dad?

Tired of the hummingbirds yet?

2006-03-12T12:20:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm not.

Here are some of the latest pictures. First of all, there's a new picture of a couple of birds at the feeder. The picture was taken Friday night. The newcomer is fluffed up, either because she's trying to look like a big, bad, mean hummingbird or because it's stinkin' cold in Las Vegas. I'm pretty sure both birds are female black-chinned hummingbirds.

I'm starting to think this may be the last time I see two birds on the feeder at the same time, though. One of the girls has decided that this feeder is hers and hers alone. She's staked out a spot on a bush near the patio and is dedicated to running off any intruders with the audacity to think they might get a sip of nectar from the feeder. As far as I can tell, she doesn't have a mate, so maybe she's just grumpy. The problem for me, though, is that I'd like to see a variety of hummingbirds in the yard. I've put up another feeder in the side yard and I'm thinking about adding another one in the other side yard. She can't guard them all at the same time.

Today's high is supposed to get all the way up to 53, but by Thursday the highs should be back to normal, close to 70. I can't wait.

Besides the hummingbirds, the only other big news is that I won a t-shirt by answering a trivia question at The Strip podcast. Anyone who's interested in the behind the scenes workings of the Las Vegas entertainment industry would appreciate this podcast. It hit the news recently when Steve Wynn made some comments about the performance of several Broadway shows that have made their way to Las Vegas. Taken out of context, it sounded like Wynn was trashing the competition, but listening to the whole interview, I think he was just making a reasonable evaluation of the business.

Two at a time

2006-03-08T20:57:00.000-08:00

Now, here's an unusual occurrence. Two hummingbirds within inches of each other, and there's no battle. Sorry about the devilish eyes -- I had to use a flash because the light was fading fast. To be honest, I kind of hoped the flash would help illuminate some color on the birds besides green.

Are those two females? I know the one on the right is a female black-chinned hummingbird, but who's that on the left? A biologist looked at the pictures from my last post and her opinion was that the one with dark feathers under her chin is probably an Anna's female. So does tonight's picture show two females, one Anna's and one black-chinned?

The weather has been a bit cool the last few days, and this weekend is supposed to be especially cold, with highs around 50. The norm for this time of year is about 70. I'm afraid I jinxed all of Las Vegas by mentioning Spring in my last post. Oops. Sorry about that, y'all.

Colorful Las Vegas visitors

2006-03-05T20:10:00.000-08:00

My weekend was spent peering out the back door. That's where the hummingbird feeder is. Now, I was surprised back in January when the hummingbirds started coming back to Las Vegas. Silly things should have stayed in Mexico! However, I got used to the black-chinned hummingbirds pretty quickly. I'd seen them all last summer, so it was nice that they remembered me and came back.

But now there are newcomers. I came home a little bit earlier than usual one afternoon last week and got a good look at something that was decidedly not a black-chinned hummingbird. This male had color all over its head, not just a little dark purple band under his chin. My impression was that his whole head was bright rose. An Anna's hummingbird, perhaps? Well, I still don't know! I spent the weekend standing at the patio door with a camera on a tripod, trying to get a picture of that colorful male. I never saw him again. In fact, I never saw a male black-chinned hummingbird this weekend. The girls have run off the boys!

Well, no, that's not exactly true. I haven't seen the boys at the feeder, but I had the thrill of watching a male hummingbird display in my very own backyard! Yes, a male flasher on my patio! A female was perched in the bush just behind my patio, and I saw a streak plummet down in front of her, swoop in a sharp arc at the bottom of his dive, and zip straight back up. At the same time, I heard a loud "Chrip!" at the bottom of the arc, followed by several "chip, chip, chip, chip" squeaks as he climbed back toward the sky. I was sitting on the patio, so I couldn't see how high he went, but a few seconds later he repeated the performance. Wow! I don't know about his girl perched in the bush, but I know I was quite impressed with his avian studliness.

The two pictures at the top of this post were taken on Saturday. I don't know what type of female hummingbird this is -- all the females are green and white. I do like these pictures, though. The close-up of her head even shows pollen on her beak, and you can see her little tongue sticking out at the end of her beak as if she's saying "Nyeah! I dare you to figure out what kind of hummingbird I am!"

On Sunday I saw another female at the feeder, but this girl was different. She had dark feathers under her chin. Logic would say this must be a black-chinned hummingbird, but I don't think those females have black chins. Do Costa's females have dark chins? I need a hummingbird expert to tell me what I've got here! To be honest, though, I don't really care. I'm just glad they're here! I hope they stay all summer.

Oh, and a weather report -- spring is almost here!

A cobweb site

2006-02-18T17:20:00.000-08:00

I'm afraid my blog has become a bit of a cobweb site. I really must endeavor to write more, if only for my own enjoyment. It's nice to look back and see what I wrote before, what was important to me even months ago.

I was just looking at another blog and saw some little weather images the author had included. Considering that I live in a place with unusual weather, I thought it might be cool to track that, too, so here's the first installment. February in Vegas -- not bad.

OK, so catching up since I last posted -- there's been a lot going on, really. The big happenings in my personal life:

I bought a Pontiac Solstice, which I love. I've been a fan of beautiful cars since my first boyfriend drove me around in his '69 Chevelle and taught me to appreciate the beauty of classic GM products. (He had no patience for Mustangs, but he truly coveted Corvettes.) Anyway, the Solstice is a real eye catcher, and they caught my eye last spring. Paul and I went to a local dealer a few months ago after a commercial made us think they had one in the showroom. They didn't. As soon as I saw one on the street, we were back at the dealer. I planned to order one, but some Internet searching and a little looking around led me to a Solstice that someone had ordered but didn't accept when it came in. He'd had to buy something while he waited. The hardest part was trading in the MINI, which I dearly loved.
My sister came to town for a week at the end of January, beginning of February. She came ostensibly because of the Craft and Hobby Association (CHA) convention being held here, but we got in plenty of visiting and sightseeing and just plain ol' hanging out with each other, which was wonderful. She's the real writer of the family, and I highly recommend you check out her blog for the details, even if you don't know either of us. She's a wonderful storyteller, and even a monorail trip (or two...with gorgeous security guards, lost cell phones, wrong way departures, and so on) can become a fascinating adventure when she tells the tale.
I bought a new purse and wallet -- Louis Vuitton. I feel so chic! Thank goodness for eBay bargains and especially thank goodness for My Poupette, a web site that educates buyers about the huge number of counterfeit items that are out there. I appreciate being able to look at the My Poupette Recommended Sellers' items with the confidence of knowing that the items are guaranteed to be authentic.
I finally got classic Cragar wheels for Paul's PT Cruiser. He's been wanting Cragar wheels ever since he got that car, and they really do fit it well. There are lots of "almost Cragar" chrome mag wheels out there, but that little blue Cragar name plate looks so nice!
The hummingbirds have returned to my back patio. Silly birds! They came back on January 21. It still gets down to freezing at night here. Shouldn't they have hung out in Mexico a while longer? There's a good picture of one of the early arrivals here -- you guessed it -- on my sister's blog.
OK, that's all the personal stuff. Now, at work I've been getting more responsibility and more people to manage. My head is spinning a little bit from all the new systems I'm having to learn, but I'm also proud they have confidence in me to handle all the new responsibility. I've now had my job for over a year. I had my first evaluation and got a nice merit raise. All is well with my career, and I'm so happy to have found a job at a good place. Good place, good people, good work, good benefits, good pay -- I think I'll stay if they'll keep me.

Well, that's enough of an update for now. If I were a good blogger, each of these events would have been a separate post. I'll endeavor to do better...but I've said that before.

There goes another year

2005-12-31T08:39:00.000-08:00

My first full year in Las Vegas. I already feel like a local since everyone here is from somewhere else. In Tennessee you can live there for ten years and still be "the new folks," but here we're all the new folks.

Living here is not so bad, really, as long as you stay away from the strip...or the "resort corridor," as they're fond of saying on the news.

The highway near my house is going to be under construction for the next two or three years. Starting next week, the exit I use is going to be under construction for several months. Thank goodness the streets around here are all perpindicular to each other. It's no problem to find an alternate route.

Almost one year at my current job. I like it there. They treat me well.

Tennessee is still home, though, and it always will be. I'm sticking it out here only until we're ready to go home.

Real estate mogul in the making

2005-10-09T20:31:00.000-07:00

If this blog is to be true to its title, "What's going on in Amy's head," then I should discuss the plans Paul and I have for becoming land barons.

See, we were looking at renting a cabin in the Smokies when we go home for Christmas. The prices aren't really that bad, compared to prices for a hotel room in Knoxville. With a cabin, though, we'll have a fireplace and a kitchen and a hot tub and it will be just us and the mountains...and the people in the cabin ten feet away, of course, but we can pretend they're not there, right? So we were looking at the listings online and one of the web pages had a link labeled something like "Own your very own cabin!" and I thought, "Hmm." We're still making payments on our old house in Tennessee. It's sitting there full of junk, costing us money. If we sold that house and bought a house in the Smokies for a comparable price, we could continue making those payments we're already making, but those payments would be subsidised by people who rent the cabin. Hmm, indeed.

We're still a long way away from buying a cabin. Step one: Sell the old house. That could certainly take some time. We're talking about auctioning the house and contents just to get it over and done with. We're going home next weekend. It'll be the first time I've been in the Tennessee house since last Christmas. I wonder how many of the treasure I've collected will still be calling me to take them to Las Vegas with me. If I can let go of those old things and that old house, though, maybe I can make it to the next part of my life. It's just a temporary move away from Tennessee. The thought of owning a cabin in the Smokies is appealing on another level besides the monetary one. It's a foothold in Tennessee -- home. We will go home again. It may be a few years, but we're Tennesseeans and we'll be going back again.

Are we getting too old?

2005-10-06T19:32:00.000-07:00

I started to entitle this post "Are we getting old?" but I think the answer to that question is just too clear. Yes, we are. We are getting older all the time. I, for one, have no use for today's music, which means I'm not nearly as cool as my own mother was. She would listen to my music and would even form opinions about which songs she liked and which she didn't. Granted, I was none too cool even then, so I probably had an old person's taste. No hard rock. I wanted things I could sing along to.

But anyway, yes, we're getting old. (And we sometimes ramble.) It's almost inevitable, although a few people get out of it by dying young -- not much of an option. But are we getting too old? Too old for what? There's been a theme running through my friends' conversations lately. Several of them have started saying "I haven't accomplished what I thought I would by now." It's true of me, too. I was an overachiever in school, so everyone expected me to be super successful. Didn't happen. I'm comfortable, yes, but I'm not filthy rich. The truth of the matter is that I don't want to do what it takes to get filthy rich. I'm smart enough to see ways of getting there, but my life gets in the way. I'm too busy living my life to stop and do what it takes to make that kind of money. I'm not heartless enough to step on others to get there. I'm comfortable where I am.

Am I too old to play? Oh, I hope not. At this writing I have a rubber chicken antenna topper on my MINI out in the garage. I contend that one cannot be old and have a rubber chicken on one's antenna. I hope that when I have even more gray hairs than I have now, I will still see the humor in a rubber chicken on my antenna. And that I'll still be able to get in and out of the MINI.

Am I too old to achieve? Not at all. I've finally realized I'm just not cut out to be a writer. I'll have to figure out something else I want to achieve. I know someone who is a born writer, though. She writes beautifully. I've begged her...heck, everyone who's read what she's written has begged her to write a book. She writes things that people want to read. When she wants to be funny, she writes things that will literally make you laugh out loud. (People use the acronym "LOL" far too much. They're not really laughing out loud most of the time. It's a real accomplishment when the written word makes someone laugh out loud.) When she writes poignant pieces, she'll make the hardest heart break. She's a writer. And she's worried that it's too late. She's almost forty. (Yep, that's right. She's washed up and she's not even forty yet.)

Too old? I think not.

Be Nice Or Leave

2005-09-06T22:07:00.000-07:00

I'm worried sick about Dr. Bob. I know I haven't written anything here in ages, and obviously there's been a lot going on. New Orleans washed away. I have a lot of connections to New Orleans, actually. Uncle Norman and Aunt Dolores used to live there, and I visited them when my cousins were babies. Mama met Daddy there. I've worked there and played there.

My closest connection to modern day New Orleans, though, is Dr. Bob, the artist of Be Nice Or Leave fame. A few pieces of news have appeared about him. The AP reported that his studio bore the spray painted greeting "Looters will be shot. Dr. Bob" after Katrina passed through. The most recent news, from a less than reputable source on the Internet, is that Dr. Bob was beaten by the New Orleans Police, who mistook him for a looter. I can imagine him with his long hair and probably a gun in his hand, and I can see how the police might have gotten the wrong impression. If he was beaten, though, where is he? Is the story even true? This kind of tragedy breeds legends, and this might be one. I get the feeling it will be a long time before we find out for sure.

Business as usual

2005-07-13T22:29:00.000-07:00

One of the things that strikes me about really good blogs is how the authors seem to always have something important to say. Great minds have great thoughts, it seems. With me, each day is pretty much like the previous. Sleep, eat, work, surf, sleep. And sometimes even when something really interesting is going on, I look at a blank blog entry and think, "I can't write about this. It's going to come out sounding stupid." Well, here goes. If it sounds stupid, please don't tell me.

A few weeks ago Paul and I heard about a film competition that's coming to Las Vegas, the 48 Hour Film Project. It works like this: on a Friday evening at about 7:00, participants draw a film genre from a hat. All teams have a character, a prop, and a line of dialogue that must appear in their films. And then you have 48 hours to make a film -- to write, shoot, score, and edit a four to seven minute film. It's pretty amazing what some people have done in 48 hours. This guy made an audience award winning film all by himself, and he even chose to make his a musical.

We've put together a pretty impressive team just by sending out word that we're looking for creative people. The thing that will set the winners apart from the losers will be that elusive creative spark that envisions an entertaining story. We have the actors and musicians and editors. We have the professional cameras and lights and microphones. What we'll be hoping for will be the luck of coming up with a good idea. We have until August 5 to try to capture that spark. Wish us luck!

A hero

2005-07-08T06:14:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite web sites is Where's George, a site that lets you track dollar bills as they make their way from your hands to the rest of the world. A couple of days ago I received a notification on a bill that inspired me to write this note.
******
Here's a link to our bill: http://www.wheresgeorge.com/report.php?key=7310bc047565daa8f607154c0e2afb03

First of all, I want you to know that I never write to the people who find my bills. I've got thousands of them floating around out there, so I'd be awfully busy if I wrote a message every time someone found one. I couldn't help myself, though, when I saw the note you left on this bill. What a thrill to know that one of my Georges found its way to a member of the Thunderbirds! I have my Where's George account set up to notify me whenever someone finds one of my bills and enters a note. I just get the beginning of the message, though, so your note said something like "Got it from Nellis Air Force Base Dining...." It wasn't until I logged on to read the whole message that I found out the truly exciting part. The Thunderbirds! Wow!

Today was difficult. I can't say that it gave me flashbacks of 9/11, but there were similarities: Waking up and hearing the news on TV. Searching for numbers -- how many were killed by this hatred? And the one syllable question that won't stop echoing in my head: Why? I don't suppose I'll ever understand the why of this senseless killing; I've been trying to wrap my brain around it for almost four years, and it still eludes me.

I tell you these thoughts, though, because I want to thank you and your team members for giving us all the intangible gift of inspiration and morale. It's easy for us to feel despair when we see evil take the lives of innocents, but it's comforting to witness what our country is capable of -- the skill of those who defend us, the precision of the machines they command. I don't know if you're a pilot or a member of the support team, but you are important to our country. You're an American who makes me proud to say I'm an American.

If you read my Where's George profile, you saw that I promised you wouldn't receive junk mail messages. I won't write to you again. I don't want to be a pest. I just thought for a long time about this message and felt it was important to write it...especially today. I'm so proud one of my dollar bills made it into the hands of someone who is so important to our country. In this one week I've gone from the pride of celebrating America's independence to the sorrow of seeing terror reach out to bring suffering to those who did nothing wrong. In the middle of this, this one little piece of paper gave me a connection to you, one person who is part of the greatest power on earth. Thank you for all you do.

"Just Amy"

The pool experience

2005-07-02T17:56:00.000-07:00

When I was a little girl growing up in Social Circle, GA, there were four pools that I spent considerable time in. The primary one was attached to the Bertha Upshaw Clubhouse, now the Blue Willow Inn. My sisters and I walked the four blocks or so from our house to the pool almost every day. I remember the smell of chlorine and how it turned the blonde girls' hair a shocking green. I remember the taste of Fritos and Fresca -- why I chose to like a diet soda at such a tender age, I'll never know. I didn't drink it because it was low in calories, I drank it because it tasted good to me. Weird kid.

The second pool was at my friend Angie's house. Her family was well off, and I remember marveling at their many toys, from minibikes to a trampoline. Their pool was indoors, with a motorized roof that opened to let the sun in. In Angie's pool I could practice diving, secure in the knowledge that she was about as adept as I. She wouldn't laugh at my inadvertent bellyflops.

Then there was the pool at Fairington Golf and Tennis Club near Atlanta. Mama worked as the secretary for the director of food services there, and I spent one summer taking tennis lessons (and finding out I was really bad at tennis) and splashing in the pool for hours. I loved the deep end and joyfully leaping off the high diving board when Mama wasn't watching. She wouldn't have allowed me if she were around to watch.

And finally, there was the pool that belonged to the Conways. Mr. Conway was a pilot for Delta and had the most beautiful toothy smile. They had a lot of kids -- seven, maybe? -- so their pool was perpetually full of children of all ages, invited by whichever Conway child was closest in age. I was older when I swam in the Conways' pool, and I remember wearing my first grown up bikini and being self conscious about whether the boys were looking. Mrs. Conway assured me they were, and then I think Mama "lost" the bikini.

So now here I am thirty or so years later. I haven't spent much time in pools since my childhood. We took a trip to Edisto Island over a decade ago, so I swam in the ocean then. We went on a cruise in 2002, and I got a swimsuit for that trip. Aside from that, though, I've not had the opportunity (or the inclination) to do much swimming. When we started looking for a house in Las Vegas, though, one of the first ones we saw had a pool. I was sold. We needed a pool. A pool in Vegas was just about the coolest thing I could imagine. We looked at plenty of houses without a pool, but the one that appealed to us the most had a pool and a spa and a sprawling quarter acre lot -- almost unheard of in Las Vegas.

The pool is just as cool as I thought it would be. The temperature today is well over the century mark, somewhere just shy of 110, according to the thermometer on the patio. I spent about 45 minutes in the pool today, just floating around and almost dozing off. The water is as warm as bathwater, and I'm getting a little bit of a tan, something else that's eluded me for a few decades. Paul and I like to turn on the spa on weekend nights and gaze at the stars. (We can locate Orion and the Big Dipper, but the beacon from the Luxor is in a much more predictable location.)

It was a difficult decision to pick up and move from my Tennessee home to the big city of Las Vegas, but I've recaptured one joy from my youth: I can swim in my pool. I wouldn't be caught dead in a bikini and don't care whether any boys are looking. And not even Angie is here to see my bellyflops.

Cosmo's home!

2005-06-21T22:22:00.000-07:00

I put off posting this because I didn't want to tell the big secret of the day before my sister got a chance to tell it. It occurred to me, though, that no one is reading my blog, according to the counter, so it doesn't matter what I say here. So here it is: Cosmo is home! Bay will be telling the whole story in her blog, so I'll just add a little link here to the most recent installment in the story. She hasn't written the conclusion yet, but I'm sure she will tonight.

What with all the worrying about Cosmo, I got to thinking about how many times birds have touched my life. One of my earliest memories is hearing an owl in the woods behind our house in Decatur, Georgia. My mother showed me the magic of birds in our back yard later when we moved to Social Circle -- I still remember her excitement when an indigo bunting came to our feeder. When I got older I got George, a mynah bird. After George, there was Georgia, a green-cheeked conure. Then Noah, an African grey. Then Kito, another African grey. One of my last gifts from Mama is a figurine of a bluebird.

They're beautiful creatures, and my life would be emptier without them.

Cosmo

2005-06-20T22:49:00.000-07:00

I spent the last weekend concentrating on what was happening a continent away. My sister's Amazon parrot Cosmo escaped last Friday. They knew where he was for a couple of days, but he hasn't been seen since late Saturday night. At times like this I start trying to think of solutions. How can we find him? Would a megaphone help? Do they have pictures of him posted? If someone finds him, will they be able to find his home?

I hate being so far away and so unable to help.

My, how time flies

2005-06-19T13:48:00.000-07:00

I'm guilty. I'm one of the millions who created a blog, edited it for a while, then got busy doing other stuff and just let it sit here gathering dust and giving bloggers a bad reputation.

So what have I been up to? Well, the job I talked about in January is going strong. I'll be out of my probationary period in mid-July, at which time I'll be allowed to start taking leave. WOOHOO!!!! I haven't taken any vacation since March 2004. I'm tired. I want a vacation. Speaking of which...

We've scheduled a cruise for this November. Our last cruise was in October 2002 on Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas. I hadn't really thought myself a cruise-type person, but I was wrong. We still talk about what a great time we had. It's wonderful to wake up each day and see the ocean outside your window or a new adventure just waiting for you to explore. Last time it was the western Caribbean (and yes, we picked a bad month for that itinerary, what with hurricane season, but it still turned out well); this time we'll be seeing the Mexican Riviera on NCL's Star. Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta -- names I remember from the Love Boat.

What else? Just off the top of my head, here are some things that have happened since last I wrote: We hosted the Where's George gathering in Las Vegas, my niece Emily came to visit, my sister had several articles and layouts published in a popular scrapbooking magazine, and we went to visit dear friends in San Diego. Just sitting here trying to think up this list, I'm realizing how many things have happened that I should have written about. Perhaps I'll do a better job from now on...but I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you.

Conspicuous consumers

2005-01-09T19:17:00.000-08:00

Setting up this new house has been a spending spree. Two new recliners, new patio furniture, new bed, new computer desk, new washer and dryer, new dishwasher, new laptop, and the most recent purchase, a new red leather sofa and chair. Our belongings from Tennessee will soon arrive, thank goodness. Maybe we'll be able to slow down the buying a little bit and just start enjoying the things we've already bought.

Oh, wait. We'll need new end tables, new night stands, new lamps, new paint.... Thank goodness for the new job!

2005-01-07T17:41:00.000-08:00

Snow in Vegas! Just enough to cover the grass. I had to capture it in a digital image, even if it was just the crummy camera in my cell phone. My coworkers and I spent much of the day running back and forth to the windows. Las Vegas proper is in a valley, so lots more snow accumulated in the surrounding mountains.

Got a job!

2005-01-04T21:35:00.000-08:00

I've been working as a contractor for a good while, but today I landed a great job with one of the best companies in town! Thank heaven for the stability and security, and the benefits are wonderful. Leave! What a concept!

2005-01-03T18:09:00.000-08:00

I'm just testing out adding a picture to my blog. This is Healium, my 1959 Austin-Healey Sprite and star of my Where's George profile.

So far, so good

2005-01-02T17:33:00.000-08:00

2005 is going pretty well so far. We didn't celebrate in the spa; we drove to an empty lot just southwest of the strip and lined up with dozens of other cars to watch the fireworks. It was a good way to see in the new year as a local.

The most notable outing on Saturday was a trip to see the movie Sideways at the Orleans movie theatre. Excellent flick. We got our tickets at Fandango for the first time. I've been aware of the ticket service for a while, but I've never gotten around to using it. It was really nice to be able to skip the line at the ticket counter.

Our major activity today was furniture shopping. We looked at leather couches, entertainment centers, coffee tables, and night stands, and we bought nothing. Now, that's my kind of shopping trip.

What are you doing New Year's Eve?

2004-12-31T10:14:00.000-08:00

Here I am on a quiet Friday, my first New Year's Eve as a resident of Las Vegas. 300,000 people are supposed to be on the strip tonight, and I'm going to give them a wide berth. Our New Year's Eve celebrations have always been out of the ordinary. We prefer a private party to a mass of screaming people.

The fireworks on the strip will be cancelled if the winds are blowing over 10 m.p.h., and the weatherman says that's very likely, on top of the rain that may be falling. Maybe it will be a better idea for us to heat up the spa and sip champagne to see in the new year. The one major difference between this year's celebration and last year's is that I'll be beside my husband, the whole reason we moved to Las Vegas. I like that tradition and I'd like it to continue for the rest of our lives.

Link of the day: The official Las Vegas web site.

Hello, world

2004-12-29T17:35:00.000-08:00

Blogging. What a concept. This is my first attempt at entering into the blogging world. Heaven only knows if I'll have anything worthwhile to say, but here we go.