Nope. We get red headed woodpeckers and, I think, piliated woodpeckers around here, but these birds I'm seeing are quite different. They are flocking, they look like finches or grosbeaks, about the size of robins. I still haven't found them in my field guide or online. I'm looking right now. Very mysterious.

He did at one time try to suppress the images of all the caskets arriving home. But locally in the US they are just like in NB, flags are at half-mast quite often, there is always coverage of casualties from the state.

True, but they're BACK! Hopefully that is the point, there may be consequences for speaking out, but you can't keep people quiet forever. Incredibly, you can keep them quiet long enough to get re-elected, more's the pity.

I'm getting taarrrrrrrrrrrdd

Kiwi

I'm intrigued by these flocking mystery birds ... yesterday whilst a dug up a pic of that woodpecker, I spent about an hour on the cornell bird site...I had the windows open, and the bird feeder is about 12 feet away... I started to play the birdcalls from the site, screwin with the birds outside... I started some sort of "chat" with a Carolina Chicadee... Adorable birds but their song can get on yer nerves!

I saw what looked to be a cardinal (is that possible, I wonder) in my side hedge yesterday when I was leaving to go to work. An all-red bird, anyway, with distinctive black markings. I immediately thought cardinal, but am, of course, not a bird expert. My dad, after he retired, did a lot of birdwatching, and had hundreds of "bird" books, so I got some second-hand bird knowledge from him. Not a lot, tho.

Sorry about all the politicizing.

We're told to expect a huge snow storm this coming Monday. It may cause them to cancel the Boston Marathon. That sure seems strange, eh? I can't remember when that's ever had to be cancelled because of snow! I am DESPERATE, I tell you, for spring! DESPERATE.

I have developed this weird thing called cubital tunnel syndrome. NOT carpal tunnel, like *normal* people get who are on the computer all the time. Nope, nothing *normal* for ole' Ella! Carpal tunnel sydrome, I understand, affects the thumb, forefingers and the palm directly under. Mine - it feels like pins & needles ALL THE FREAKING TIME - affects my little finger and ring finger and up the outside of my palm. It's not numb, and it's not painful, exactly - just this 24-hour a day pins & needles thing going on. May have to go for physical therapy if I can't get it under control by just remembering NOT to ever, ever put any weight on that (left) elbow, which is more difficult than I would've thought. Seems I prop it on the window ledge (?) when I'm driving, or on the arm rest on the door, which is as hard as a rock, and not perfectly positioned for the length of my arm, apparently. I've also caught myself leaning on that elbow somehow when I AM on the computer, and when I do, I get this little electric jolt from my elbow up to my hand.

I mean, how kewl is THAT? (Not) DH expressed his concern very sincerely, and then made a little joke....I am quite well known in our little circles for doing everything differently from anyone else. My house is furnished very eclectically....and I have always rather conspicuously avoided having anything in it that might show up in somebody else's house. I have about all the *stuff* I need at this point in time - all that I can cram into our space, anyway - but for most of my adult life, I haunted antique stores, auctions, estate sales, art galleries, etc., and the results, I really have to say, are nice. I love oriental rugs, and have them everywhere - even <gulp> on the hardwood floor in the kitchen. And plants. And old stuff mixed with new stuff. And we have DH's paintings on the walls and my sculpture pieces scattered on stands here, there and everywhere (even the bathrooms....) and those are all one-of-a-kind, of course (even the C-grades; DH labels all his paintings A+, A, B+, B...well, you get the idea. The A's & B's always get sold, so, like the cobbler's kids who go without shoes, we are the artist's family who get stuck with the B- and C grade paintings. Like I said, I rather pride myself on being *different*... and so, when I told DH about the cubital whatever, whatever, He said, "Jeeze. And how far and wide did you have to search to come up with THAT???"

DS called on Easter and chatted for a half hour or so. Lord, how I love that boy! SO glad he's flying home for a week at the end of June to spend his birthday with the family!

No word yet on elder DD, but we spoke on the phone last night and she's in good spirits, as always. Went back to work yesterday, in fact - just worked with a few group therapy sessions and came home, but even so, I think it's really important to her not to give in to poor health, and function as normally as possible under the circumstances.

Has anyone heard from Cowp...um...Peach? I'm wondering how her DS is doing?

Have a great day, all!

Ella

Cool! I spent quite a bit of time on the cornell site too. I'm still puzzled. The closest I can come is the Snow Bunting. But that and an Alaskan variation called McKay's Bunting are both lacking the red marking on the neck. I'll have to pull off a photo from the video I took (not that it's very good, but it's closer than the photo I took on my still camera).

I think so. I think they are more common further south, but I've seen a few here in Maine. My stepfather is the avid birder in our family. I asked him what he thought of my mystery bird the other night, but I think I'll send him a picture and get him "on the trail". I only have 1 bird book; he has a dozen probably.
Better that than motel art. I have a few original paintings from a friend and one that my grandmother did, and I used to pick up local/folk art when I travelled, not that I've done much travelling. I would rather have "eclectic" than any other kind of taste. Although probably my taste would be described more as "neglectic".
Yes, he's feeling better; they hope he will be discharged from the hospital in a couple of days at the most.

I'm starving. Later kiddies.

Kiwi

I am back and so spacey I don't know what to say. I left as soon as LCP returned from her own college town. She'll be there til Sunday and he should certainly be out of the hospital before then. I hate feeling like the 3rd wheel to my son's romance. Much of my difficulty with LCP may be her youth. She just doesn't get normal but am I? Was I at 19? Nope. However, she arrived (from out-of-town) wearing her typical teeny tiny skirt and kitten heels. I asked if she had other shoes and she did not. She didn't have time to get them as she just came from work? What the **** would that mean? She's been planning this for at least a 24 hour period. When she curls up in the comfy chair in her little skirt, one has a great chance of seeing her scanty undies. So when I put her on the bus on Sunday, I told DS she needed to be covered up. I didn't say she was an exhibitionist. I pretended she would be cold. I didn't say she would probably be raped on the bus if she sticks her little bottom out in the aisle like that. I asked a nurse if I could buy a hospital blanket and she smiled a fake leave-me-alone smile and said, "Not that I know of." So I took one and felt bad about it but would have felt worse leaving her on an overnight bus ride unclothed.

See how frivilous my thoughts are? MY SON is healing nicely. His still has one tube in his chest but they're turning off the pump that sucks stuff out of his chest and letting it drain naturally. The idea is to get the lung to inflate to the top of chest cavity and I hope they managed that. I don't know. Yesterday, there was still air.

My cats are happy to see me.

I love the Kiwi comment, too. While in a motel, I watched some comic tell about his aunt catching him having sex with a girl and asking him what he'll say when St. Peter stands next to him watching his whole life replayed. "I'll say, 'Watch this .. here comes the good part.'"

How old is that picture of Bagz? Too cute.

what are you talking about!!!! that was taken last month.you must mean the picture of kiwonkers!!!! now that was taken i think she tole me--two hundred years ago.

I think it's you in fourth grade. You starred in Alice in Wonderland. That's the teacup the Mad Hatter handed you.

What's a fair price to have somebody wash the outside of a vinyl house?

Ok this is crap. I am home and no one is posting. Remember when I had Thursday off and everyone posted Friday through Wednesday? Stop this. It is rude.

No one cleaned my house while I was away although the bad cat did make some changes. I have flushed/thrown out the changes.

I am sorting through my stunned brain trying to find something to say that isn't whiney or *****y or just plain depressed. How about the sweet little man (not local . retired military perhaps) who showed up and wanted to take care of my lawn for $35. I jumped at it and he did a wonderful job. Now he wants to do the overgrown back yard for $20 (which is great) and wash the house for $50. Is $50 good? I think I could do it myself but not do a good job.

Hiya Cowp - or Peach (?)

Sorry that I seem to be the only one around today. I still like YOU, tho....

Hope your DS is doing better, glad he'll be out of hosp. soon.

$50 - at least hereabouts - is EXTREMELY cheap for washing down your house. And, if your experience with this man is that he does good work, I would certainly jump at that. But that's just MY opinion. Maybe some of the others would know better.

You may (or may not) find this amusing. If you do, great - I hope it makes you laugh. If not, delete it and pretend I didn't send it.

http://www.glumbert.com/media/irack

Have a great day,

Ella

AACK!!!! Good one Ellabella!
Anynews on DD? How's your cubital thingie...is that something that corporate cube dwellers get? Speaking of Cube dwelling... Do you know the favorite meat of a corporate cubist is?
Why "cube steak" a course I made that one up!!! I doooo amuse myself!

Peachie: so glad DS is recouping... the dress of LCP sounds like she might be auditioning for the PussyCat Dolls.... seems like thats what a fair amount of the childruns are wearin these days... I dare not share what I would see when we would get Emergency Calls to the various nefarious nightclubs back in Joisey... no unnahweah!exposed breastasis! hopefully she will grow out of that stage of dress.

I concur with a Mooooo : 50 bucks is a bahgain! especially if mr handydandy already has shown quality workmenship.

Must goooooo...and um doooo somethin important

Peach, I'll let you in on a secret about young, scantily clad girls --- some of them are totally oblivious to the fact that they're scantily clad, and some have absolutely no clue as to the effect that has on others -- especially those of the opposite sex ---- and some are totally aware of the effect and enjoy the attention. I have a feeling that lcp is of the first persuasion..... anyway, I'd give her the benefit of the doubt.

........and I can't remember if it's supposed to be effect or affect in the previous statement......... who was an english major around here? ...... not me ....

My life continues to spiral out of control....... don't even want to go into it..... and this stuff about attracting the life you want with positive thought is b*llsh*t, Oprah ..........I certainly couldn't have thought up this life in a million years.........and so how is your day?

What's a fair price to pay for mowing of a huge lawn? Arm and a leg? Peach, send your lawn mowing man to me UPS overnight shipping. This place is a jungle.

I KNOW that I sound really biased and prolly politically incorrect - especially on THIS website - but summer, despite evidence to the contrary, IS coming to Boston, and all the young women will be prancing about on their lunch hours dressed very much as Cowp describes....and far, far worse. I really and truly thought that I'd seen it all - I mean, I DO have three nubile young daughters; okay, all well over nineteen, and dressing WAY more conservatively nowadays, but I can recall some pretty stressful mother-daughter moments ....."You are NOT leaving MY house in that get-up!!!!!!" (After which, they would leave quite properly dressed, but typically toting a backpack that undoubtedly contained the forbidden clothing... )

ANYWAY, to get back to what I started out saying...these young girls seem to want to show as much as they possibly can without getting arrested. I've accepted that. What I really Can't figure out is the ones who are really, really overweight, and wear those little midriff or halter tops with numerous rolls of flesh exposed. And the teeny little short skirts with even MORE flesh protruding at the thighs. The little skinny ones are bad enough, but the heavier girls - in my probably twisted and unhealthy opinion (after all, it's a free country: I suppose they can show as much as they WANT to show) well, I just can't figure THEM out at all. I mean, here I am just struggling to feel comfortable in a pair of Bermuda shorts, fahgoodness' sake!

Maybe it's me. Maybe I have a distorted body image or something. Or am prudishly modest because of some forgotten childhood trauma.

I don't know.

Coffee break's over! Back on your heads!!!!

Ella