The Goose grapevine told me that Ms. Bluejay's eggs hatched!

I missed her yesterday. It was a grey day, emotionally, and I didn't feel like rejoicing with Ms. Bluejay at her precious babies. She doesn't see another thing, these days. It is amazing that she used to be so vain. She keeps a little mirror on the side of the nest to primp herself, these days, but nothing like the old days, where she was constantly primping and polishing herself. Mr. Bluejay is happy that she has calmed down some. I actually think that I saw a feather out of place the other day. Not like her at all, to be focused on anything but her plumage and their placement. Growth indeed. Now she is a mommy and I hear her singing about it all the time. It is a pretty song, but I wasn't in the mood, yesterday.

Ms. Bluejay and Mr. Bluejay castigated me on my childrearing.

If I had strokes, like yours, not that I don't; I certainly wouldn't have let my young run around with anything but a racquet in their hands. How do you expect them to fly, if you don't show them how to swing? You have shoulder sockets, like a bird, but your mind is intensely human and inane, I am sorry to say. I had no retort for the 2 of them. I knew that they were right.
Bird, mustn't leave the nest without having flapped their wings a certain number of times and their mother counts. I would be just ready to leave the nest, having served my shoulder 1000000 times. They start from birth and I didn't start till 14. I am not raising them to be bluejays, I told the two, in their polywollydoodle mood. Well, you should have. They huffed, as they flew away.

Yesterday, was a tickertape parade in the courtyard.

The polynoses came down in confetti like fashion. The animals were applauding and watching and so was I. It was unusual that I didn't hear the flutes jamming. Then, again, I didn't make my rounds to the pillars where the angel flutes are. So they may have been jamming and the sound was muffled by the applause. Mrs. Bluejay must have laid her eggs, because she was singing loudly, when I got my coffee. There will be a tickertape parade today. The angels are celebrating my having laid such beautiful eggs, she sang. I don't think that is what the commotion was about, but it was encouraging to her, after her labors, at laying a beautiful nest, to be encouraged with this.
I love how the Bluejay family has no humility at all. The sparrows, you would never know that they were laying. But it is a part of the Bluejay motto to brag at every turn. Being good stewards, they call it. I love watching it. They are so proud and beautiful. God humored her with the tickertape, yesterday. I was giggling at the interaction.

Polywolydoodle Lunch!

Nosey bunch of birds we have. They are always showing off, what better control they have of their circumstances, than I have. The robin families were having a picnic and they were startled by me staring at them. They don’t mind being glanced at but they refuse to be stared at. My loss, for sure. I sat their thinking what did I do and Ms. Bluejay got me back big time. She came up right behind me to cast a large shadow which startled me as well. See! She said, that is how it feels to them. I am sorry. She nearly lost her twig, from laughing at me. Then she began to flit around to show me her swift reflexes. She had nearly caught the twig in the air. I will be “bird donned” if I will let you make me lose a well chosen twig for my birdlings. I was apologetic, but lest I think that she was just “butter beaked” this morning. She came back and chose another one right in front of me and flew it away to her nest with a flit of her tail. I hope that you have learned your lesson about scaring my friends the robins. I had.


So the Blackbirds took it in hand to introduce me to the ropes as to why the robins are so touchy about me watching them. Ms. Blackbird said, watch me. I am not going to catch that moth, but watch me stalk him. The moth traversed up over the building and the Blackbird made her presence very known to the moth. That is what the robins think that you are doing. Pop Blackbird schooled us that even though you ain’t got timeliness which is something that can keep you out of our troops, he says you’s a good person. If there can be said to be one. Anyways, we’s allowed to tell you stuff. When we is doin our routines, we stays focused on Pop and pop only. It ain’t that we don’t sees you lookin, but the robins, they ain’t got the same kind of routines we’s got, you see. So you is startl’n dem every time you look at dem." I understand, I answered. Very happy for the schoolin on that. Ms Bluejay just criticizes and she doesn’t tell me the ropes, she thinks that there is some sort of secret that the birds ain’t supposed to tell humans, is that right?
No, said Ms. Blackbird, its just that she likes to keep one up on you and then she flew away.

The birds are very nosey and they try to know everything about people, but they only give some information about themselves. I am not sure why.

The Tigger tree was swaying in the breeze and the tulips were dancing the 3rd of their daily shows. I caught them while I enjoyed my lunch.

The Heat has come upon us, seemingly early. An Easter Day observation

The April flowers are blooming and flourishing. The April showers came in March and the April flowers are such a comfort. Sunday was so hot and beautiful, I was delighted to see the beauty of the Spring sky and landscape. It looked like the horses were all looking for refuge from the heat. Their noses were breathing in the cool from the grass and standing as still as they could. I thought that the cows would be doing likewise. I was surprised that they were in the field playing tag. They had a race across the field and were playing freeze tag when all the other creatures were seeking refuge from the heat. I was giggling that they have no concept that their size should keep them from being so gregarious. The whole lot of them were running and romping in the field like my younguns.

Mixed Doubles Ayay and Janie. Something is always going on at Freedom Park!

We were walking through the park and just caught the finals of the MCTC's. Mixed Couple Triple Classics the b-mail didn't get to me. I just happened to get there, in time for the finals. There had been loads of couples entered over the weeks, but the Easter finals are held at Freedom Park and Each duck couple has to complete a simultaneous landing on the water, with some sort of decorative choreography. The cardinals seemed to host the event and as I was walking, I was aware of the silence as each couple prepared their routine. They were practiced, synchronized and ready for the event. The thrill of the competition. It is evident that ducks have feminine choreographers. I couldn't tell, if the males, just do this to entertain the females or if henpecked was a part of their species.
They were certainly henpecked, both husbands. They would perform their part or else! Ayay and her husband went first and perform a flawless routine and landed nearly silently on the pond with perfect v ripples directly behind them. (Points are deducted for squawks or peeps or swirls instead of ripples on the water.) I can't decifer the grading system. I only know that Ayay, got a perfect score.
Then, it was Janie's turn. I was admiring the humility of Ayay and her husband when Janie and her hubbie started their decent. I heard a slight peep as a fly flew right up her nose as she was looking at her husband and plotting their course.
I always admire how the birds synchronize. They are often giving me a talking to about why I and my husband can't ever seem to synchronize and get to the same place at the same time. I thought, initially that they were just teasing me about what is our usual interaction.
It was a competition.

The fly in Janie's nose cost her about a 10th of a second and they were not exactly as simultanious as AYAY. She also got something off for the little peep that she made when the fly went up her nose. Those are the breaks of competition. I gave her a big applause because, by that point I realized that it was a tourney and that they were performing for us.

The other couple gloated, and they had every right to gloat, they had won the duck's most prestigious competition of the year, the Easter Sunday, MCTC's.

One Turtledove and an impudent sparrow.

I never thought that there could be an impudent sparrow. Ordinarily, they are so humble a creature. This one was afraid and did a dive as though he was threatening me. Mr. Turtledove schooled him on the QT.
She is our friend. I am glad that he knows that I am a friend. He must be part of Ms. Robins Bmail list. I never had met him before, but he was sitting on the limb, just as shocked by the behavior of little sparrow as I was.
Don’t you shoot me, little sparrow swooped and squawked. I just love looking at their little personalities. I wouldn’t shoot you little bird, unless’n I was hungry and I ain’t hungry. I don’t know if he and I will never be friends. He is just too impudent. Will we ever get over this younger generation of birds. Thankfully the stately Mr. turtledove was there to improve my thought of birds this morning or I would have been angry.

The Dixie Ducks and the Buzzy Bees!

Mr. Ant was carrying a find that was more than twice his size. I was giggling at the fact that he could hardly carry it. I am not on a fast and now that you’ve stopped eating bugs that means there’s more for me. I nearly died laughing that he would be so impudent with me.
Ms. Wasp was buzzing around the courtyard, simply taking in the sights. The entire bug community had marked me as on the bird’s side, until I swore off eating bugs this morning. They were afraid of me and now they are friends. I guess that is what the bees came to the front to tell me the other day and I hadn’t the time to listen. They do a lot of singing about this and that. I humor them, when I can, since I don’t speak, yellowjack. I knew it was something urgent, but that joke about the cookies and cream in my coffee this morning had made it to the grapevine a lot earlier than I had thought.


Yesterday, the bumblebee family were buzzing around the entrance as we made that turn to go into work. Whatzzzzzzzup, they buzzed. I really smiled that they were so considerate and polite to us in the morning. Almost as kind as the bees at the Patterson farm that we met while we were strawberry picking. In NY the bees are very unkind and defensive. They absolutely never give a greeting. I was shocked to see that the Patterson Farm bees were actually curious to see what the children were doing and had no intention, at all of stinging them. They had their full of strawberry blooms all day long and are especially friendly to children. They seem to have a bumble choir that greet the children with songs at the water fountain.

We welcome you to our strawberries,
We hope that you have fun,
The sweetness of our strawberries,
Are joys for everyone.

Ez and I heard them, but the NC children seem to be used to this gracious welcome from the bees. We were still standing there listening to the tunes that they were singing, when everyone else had gone to lunch.


It looked like among the flowers, Ms. Dandy-lion was perfectly crocheted in circles, in the flower bed. I am sure that the caretaker won’t have it. He always checks for weeds. I don’t know why such a beautiful leaf structure, should be considered a weed. The flower is not so pretty as the pansies and the hyacinths, for sure. But, I do wish that I could crochet a circle as perfect as the Ms Dandy’s leaves.

We have patches of tulips and hyacinths as well as the pansies to delight us, outside. They are getting along prodigiously. This is quite unlike last year when the smoking hyacinths gossiped and chatted about the ivy and Mr. Tree’s short acquaintance. As I recall, it was the talk of the courtyard. She had gotten all the way up to the branches, before they all ridiculed her to shame. She thought that she was going to the top of the garden with him and she died of a broken heart. Sad year it was for Ms. Ivy and the hyacinths just laughed her to scorn.



Today the Duck chicks met me at the entrance. I was so delighted to see them. They were like the Dixie chicks. Evidently it was morning practice for them for the Easter concert. They are doing a special Easter Sunday Song for service. It was a pretty song, in quack, although, I couldn’t make out the words. I was sure that it was God glorifying.
They were quite a trio and Ma Duck had trained them well to take Holy Week to practice their parts. Daisy Duck doesn’t like taking the lower harmony. She thinks that she is supposed to be a soprano, but she keeps cracking. I won’t be pigeonholed, she said, pardon the pun. Pigeonholed or Gooseholed, it really doesn’t matter, You are supposed to hit that low note and It doesn’t sound Quacky unless you do. I love to watch the sisters argue. It is familiar fondness that sisters can’t seem to find the note, no matter what we do.