Pesky Sparrows

I came home Friday from work and it was still daylight and there was quite a bit of bird activity in the back yard. It donned on me that I should check our bluebird house. I got very excited that there was this twig hanging out of the opening and brought it down from the tree. Every time I've checked before it's been empty and there's just been dirt and occasionally a random feather. When I opened it, I was shocked. This huge nest was inside:

There were no eggs or creatures in there but I was just fascinated. I did some searching on the internet and unfortunately this picture almost matches perfectly the kind of nests house sparrows build when they take over bluebird houses. Plus, I have seen sparrows around a lot lately.

Apparently, the house sparrow (HOSP) is quite invasive and is a non-native species. People who want to attract bluebirds are quite adamant about ridding boxes of these nests....I think I even read on one of the websites: "It is better to not have a box at all then to let the house sparrow reproduce in one." It seems that they are the bluebirds' biggest competitors and will attack adult bluebirds. There are a lot of people who are quite protective of bluebirds! Since it's non-native, there are no laws preventing people from removing (or even destroying) the nests, eggs or birds themselves. I don't think I could actually ever kill a bird but I felt better knowing there were no eggs that I was harming. I went ahead and removed this nest because I read that the sparrows can nest other places just fine so they don't even need the houses, they just like to evict the bluebirds. Well, I have one daddy sparrow that's going to be livid that I removed his wonderful creation -- I'll have to check probably a couple more times that they don't come back. But the nest itself came out in one piece so Derek is taking it to his class for "show and tell."

Internet pictures show that bluebird nests are not this tall - only 1-4 inches, and with no 'tunnel'. This one went all the way to the top. There wasn't as much "trash" used in the nest as one might expect with the sparrow, mostly twigs, feathers, some dryer lint/pillow stuffing and one teeny fragment of cloth.

Also, notice how the mouth of the nest is at the top and actually is like a tunnel....the picture below is the nest from the back and you can see where the eggs might have been at the bottom of the nest.

While the sparrows might not be as happy, I'm hoping it's not too late for bluebirds to use the box...come on over bluebirds, the inn is vacant!

April Showers...

You know the saying, April showers bring May flowers....but what do April SNOW showers bring? I guess we'll have to wait and see after our strange Tuesday night snow flurry. Very weird! So far it only brought frozen fingers. Tuesday after work I came home to help Derek finish painting one wall and our kitchen. It's turned out great (I'm waiting for daylight over the weekend to try and snap some pics) - but as we ended I was cleaning out the bucket outside, scrubbing and rinsing it as my poor little fingers became numb with the cold. The snow had stopped a bit but dang if it still wasn't SUPER freezing outside. I got the bucket clean but had to run inside and defrost my fingers in front of a heater because I literally could not stand the pain anymore and I was starting to drop things as my fingers were too numb from the cold. I suppose that it hurt like heck meant they weren't technically frostbitten, but it sure felt like it!! Mental Note = no more painting in freezing weather if you're going to have to run the hose over your fingers in freezing temperatures!

An Auntie at Easter Time

One of my joys in life is being auntie to some wonderful nieces and nephews. I feel so privileged just to be an observer in their lives and watch them grow and embrace life. This last weekend at a family birthday/Easter celebration, I got to spend some more blessed time with Aubrey, Garrett and Siena. I hope that they will always know how much Auntie 'M loves each of them! Here they are:

The three munchkies...Aubrey, Siena, and Garrett

Getting ready for an Easter Egg hunt in Grandma's garden

This last picture I like because it shows my newest upcoming niece (in Staci's tummy at the top of the pic) - Lil' Firecracker is expected to make her appearance in July -- not even born and I love her so much already!

A Twin Birthday

One of the best parts of being a twin is always having a birthday buddy. This year, Nicole and I took advantage of Disney's free admission on your birthday - when we got our tickets, we each got a birthday button and everyone around the park would say "Happy Birthday" - how fun!!!

Time to "find Nemo"

Waiting to ride "Big Thunder" - I have fond memories of this roller coaster because I think it was the first major one I rode!

Waiting in line at Pirates of the Caribbean we saw these baby ducklings - how small, fuzzy, and adorable!!!

Riding Small World - Nicole called Aubrey and Garrett so they could hear the song!

To end the evening, Nicole and I met up with my folks at Downtown Disney for a dessert to top off the day of fun!

Tehachapi News

It was fun to see my wonderful husband get mentioned in our local newspaper -- he is an awesome, dedicated teacher and his kids are lucky to have him!!!!

Check out the link: http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/ViewPost/96272

Monarch Caterpillars

This morning (Sunday) I ran down to Casa Romantica with Launa to see what's changed in the gardens. Here's a little baby caterpillar that will turn into a beautiful Monarch butterfly.

Here's one that's bigger and fatter! They really were striking to see!

Launa pointed out a trellis the Casa has put up for the caterpillars to hang and form the
chrysallis

Here's one that's attaching himself to the lattice, hanging upside down...

Next step is the chrysallis - these are beautiful light green with shimmering gold on them that looks like glitter...

Then there's the brown stage and you can kind of see the outline of folded butterfly wings...

Finally they fly away!

Oso Creek Trail

This weekend was another fun two days learning about plants and how to care for them at the Garden Study School. Friday was a "field trip" at the Oso Creek Trail and community centers in Mission Viejo. What a lovely place!

"Oso" means bear

Spring "Snain"

"Snain" is my word for the wierd snow/rain combo we sometimes get in Tehachapi. I'm sure it has a more formal term, but I like saying 'snain' just 'cause it's fun to say! Well, to "celebrate" spring, apparently the Tehachapi mountains wanted to give a final send-off to winter with a brief snow storm yesterday. It was largely rain, but mid morning there were some nice sized snowflakes and some even stuck to the ground and roof. This is why we 'locals' wait just a bit longer to start full gardening for the season - but I think overall I can probably start pulling out my hummingbird feeder and watch for their return. :)

What's Under Your Couch?

A bit of spring cleaning -- Michelyn shampoo-ed the sofa while Derek cleaned up the garage. I think there were two green peanut M&M's, a poker chip, pistachio shell and several other unidentifiable objects...let us not even mention the amount of dog hair and dust bunnies I swept up as we moved the couch sections away from the wall! No money unfortunately!!! So tonight we're hanging out in the blue room while we wait for it all to dry. I think it took me about 2 hours but will be well worth it!

Wii

OK...Derek and I figure that we are pretty well caught up to date with electronics! This weekend we got ourselves an early combined birthday gift and splurged for a Wii...competition will be fast and furious in the Devine household!

We played bowling for a while and then moved on to tennis. Of course in real life, I barely am able to make contact between racket and ball. Unfortunately, the same still seems to be true for the virtual world. For some reason I do better when I'm serving, but it's still so sad to see my little Mii fall flat on her face after swinging the racket spasmodically!

And apparently you know that you live a very sedentary lifestyle when just a few games of Wii tennis makes your right arm sore for the whole next day!

San Joaquin Kit Fox

Tuesday night I went to a monthly meeting of the Tehachapi Mountains Birding Club -- just to do something interesting to me and nurture my nature interest :) They had a speaker about these cute little foxes that are endangered but inhabit the Bakersfield area. So many of the pictures they showed were actually right around my office building and where I drive/go to stores on lunch breaks. Of course, now I look for little foxes everywhere but none spotted so far!!! Apparently these little guys don't go up into the hills of Tehachapi (we have only grey foxes up here, so I learned) but aren't they just too cute!...and apparently when they're studying them and trapping them for research (they release them afterward), they bait them chicken and of all things hot dogs!

Spring is on It's Way!

This morning was a BEAUTIFUL drive to work. The hills between Tehachapi and Bakersfield have been very green with the rain and snow in the last weeks. And now...the reward...blankets of orange flowers nestled on the green hillsides. I think they may be poppies but driving by them at 70mph, I'm not entirely sure. I didn't actually take this picture, I found it on the internet - but it's very much like what I saw!!!

I've also noticed my own plants at home "waking up" with little shoots of new growth. I'm very excited for the gardening season to arrive! Yay for Spring!