One Class Down!

One class down, 10 more to go..... Yep, I've completed one class and started another in my Master's program. Yeah! Only 19 more months!

This second class is fun - I made paper, casted objects from that paper, painted, drew, sketched - wow! I've discovered that I'm not so fond of the sketching but I loved everything else. Next month we are creating sculptures and masks. And yes, I'm actually learning something from all this!

When I got home, Steve had a surprise for me. Check out the vanity in our bedroom. We have a strange set up where the sink to the master bath is in our bedroom. I've been trying to figure out how to make it less bathroomy while still keeping the essential sink. I'm thinking it's turning out well! The rest of the bedroom is pretty, too, but the bed wasn't made when I took the pictures!

The kids and I are off to Albequerque this week for my Grandma's memorial service. She passed away several months ago but the service was postponed until we could come. It'll be nice to see everyone, but, once again, the circumstances could be better.

A Fun Change of Plans

I should have been getting ready for a HUGE yard sale today. But, I wasn't! I was playing with hummingbirds! So much fun!! My friend, Julia, called me this morning and asked if a graduate student could come and trap and band hummingbirds at our house as they hadn't had any luck at hers. Of course I said yes! What a fabulous experience! Claire set a simple trap made from light netting and a string and as the hummingbirds flew in to take a drink she slowly lowered the netting around them. It was interesting watching the little birds try to process this new development at their watering hole!

The hummingbird trap

Once the birds were in the net, Claire gently caught them in her hand and placed them in a small bag. In the bag, the birds could buzz their wings but couldn't really fly. The bag was just to keep the birds safe until Claire was ready to band their legs.

Can you even imagine the size of the bands necessary to use on a hummingbird? Teensy weensy! Before banding the birds, Claire weighed and measured them and checked for the amount of fat on their bodies. Their skin is see through! The fat shows up as yellow under the skin of the hummingbird. Very cool! I think she may have also recorded several other things but I'm not sure what else she was looking for. After that she'd place a tiny numbered band around the ankle of the bird and then released it.

Checking out the feathers

Dylan releasing a juvenile male Calliope hummingbird.

When you handle a hummingbird, you are supposed to lay it on its back because it confuses them. Sounds mean doesn't it! When you are ready to release the hummer you put it in this position as well and then when it realizes it's free, off it goes! Steve, Dylan and Lyndsi were as intrigued by the whole show as I was!

After a couple of hours at our house, I took Julia and Claire to a hummingbird nest some of my friends had found a couple of weeks ago. The eggs have hatched and Claire was hoping to band the babies. As it turns out, the babies were too little to be handled so we just watched the mama feed and warm them. The babies couldn't have been more than an inch and a half long and that mama shoved her beak right down their throats to give them their lunches! Baby hummingbirds look like big black maggots with a few feathers but boy were they cute! Did you know that hummingbirds eat insects as well as nectar and they feed their babies primarily insects? Something I learned today!

It's hard to see but there's a mama humming bird on her nest. If you look real closely, you can see her long beak sticking up in the air.

Unfortuately, I never got the whole story out of Claire as to what she was looking for. It has something to do with the migratory path of female Calliope hummingbirds and Claire will be back to this area to check again in a couple of weeks. I'm so glad she was so kind as to allow us to hang out with her today!

Look What Steve's Been Doing For Me!

He has taken off the popcorn ceiling, removed the dirty carpet, texturized and painted the ceiling, painted the walls and will be replacing the floor, putting in a new vanity and sink and remaking my bedroom into something I may never want to leave! We've never even painted the master bedroom in any house we've lived in so this is so much fun! Our room is unique in that the sink from the bathroom is in the bedroom. Rather than make our bedroom look so bathroomy, I bought a beautiful vessel sink and vanity. I hope it all turns out as pretty as I think it will!

Guess I should get a little sleep before the yard sale tomorrow. Yes, it's still on, despite my day of fun. I just won't be as organized or as rested as I was hoping I'd be!

Fourth of July Weekend

....started early this year! We had a surprise visit from the Bartletts on Thursday evening. Brett, Heather, Tatum and Evan used to live in Okanogan but moved away 5 years ago. We have remained friends and have enjoyed seeing each other several times over the last few years.

Dylan and his buddy, Max were eagerly awaiting Evan's arrival as all three are the same age and have very similar interests. They have a good time together.

Lyndsi loves hanging out with the big girls, Tatum and Aidan O'Connor. Aidan lives in Okanogan and she and Tatum have remained friends through the years. The two middle schoolers graciously allow Lyndsi to follow them around.

Brett and Heather are always fun guests to host and we look forward to their visits.

So, why, you may be asking, did I say this was a surprise visit? I was expecting them on Friday! No worries - This family comes prepared! They brought a lovely salmon, caught the day before, and a dinner suggestion and we had a fabulous meal complete with wine. Yum!

Grudge Croquet

You haven't played croquet until you've played by Dennis' rules! Grudge Croquet is an annual Fourth of July tradition at the O'Connor home. Only the most competitive and skilled dare play this game! Dennis is a master at setting traps and a stickler for rule following. Balls are thrown across the yard due to cheating. Nope - I don't play. I tried one year and decided I just don't have the drive necessary to be a grudge croquet player! This year's winner was Jeff Cheeseman - Congratulations to him!

Dennis sits alone - watching for that wayward soul who might think it's profitable to cheat!

In addition to croquet, Dennis and Julia prepare food that we all supplement and we eat to our hearts' content. Before heading home we were also treated with a "safe and sane" fireworks display. The kids love it all!

Again this year, our neighbors, the Baums, lit fireworks after we returned home. The kids and Brett B. watched as Steve and I took care of poor

Coco

Unfortunately, our cute bunny became ill while we were enjoying our evening. We came home to find him lethargic and dehydrated. He was a mess and and had also made a mess on our bedroom floor so while I attended to him, Steve cleaned up the floor.

Bunnies develop problems quickly and Coco passed away sometime between 4 and 7 this morning. I don't know if he ate something he shouldn't have or if the noise of fireworks created stress on his system. Whatever it was took its toll on the little guy. I checked on him throughout the night and even got him to drink water so I was pretty upset to find him this morning. Needless to say, the kids were also upset. Dylan was devestated. He and I shared lots of teary moments today. I'm such a sucker for animals!

This was Coco the day we brought him home.

High Flying

What form!

Look real closely and you'll see something flying through the air as she leaps off the high dive. Yep - that's Lyndsi at age 6!