Monday, June 20, 2011

Jazzman has the Blues (birds that is)


Yes, for the first time in 8 summers, the bluebird house has a pair of blues in it, and they appear to be nesting! This is exciting stuff for the birdwatchers in our house (including the cats). About two weeks ago we noticed a pair of blues hangin' around the house, and soon it appeared they were nesting. Of course, as with every year, a raccoon disturbed the nest and we thought it was all over...

Jazzman was depressed, he loves the blues, and we feared we'd go another year without the joy of watching a family develop. But...not to be dissuaded, the blues came back, and started nesting again! Jazzman was on top of the world! Blues are back! Yippeee! (O.K. he would never say yippee, I just had to add that).

Then came the phone call, after school on my last day. "Nerdy Mimi, if the blues are nesting and we are to protect them from predators, I need you go pick up some things for me on your way home." Me, "Well, I'm at a country club having a glass of wine with my friends, if I leave at 6:00, will that be soon enough?" Jazzman, "You know, we have to fix this before dark, so there is no danger of the raccoon getting at the nest again, or I'm pretty sure we won't get another chance." Me, "O.K. I'm leaving now, I'll call you when I'm at the store to find out what you need."

And, off I went to purchase ducting, connectors, and sheet metal. Yeah, so we could wrap it around the post, spray it with lithium grease (won't dissolve in the rain or heat) and make sure no predator could get up that post.

Home with supplies, putting things together, getting the space aged looking post all ready for the blues to come home to roost. Jazzman was happy, I was happy, and the blues were happy! It's a win-win for sure.

Then, after a couple of weeks of relative ease, the raccoon decided to make an attempt at the blues' nest. In the morning, Jazzman noticed this, and sent me off to get more lithium grease spray. The raccoon left behind some telltale footprints, but luckily did not make it to the top. Jazzman got out the spray and liberally coated it again, and so far it seems to be working.

But really, that's just the beginning, because now that the blues are in, Jazzman is "on it." He has his binoculars at the ready, checks out the house repeatedly, worries about other birds being too close, and reads all sorts of things on the internet that we should do to make them more comfortable. Just yesterday he spotted a "predator" (a cat under the lilac bush) and I had to run out and chase him off, so the mamma blue would come back home. Seriously, this is intense business!

This intensity about things that are vulnerable, is one of the things I really love about Jazzman. He would never hurt a fly, if he could get it outside before he had to kill it because it was driving him crazy. He checks on those blues a million times a day, shares stories with me about his observations, and when he's at work, it's my job to do a couple of checks each day to let him know the status of the blues. If I don't then he worries that something happened to them.

Yesterday, we put out some meal worms (Gordon and blues have the same diet, go figure) and we didn't know if the birds were going to eat them. Jazzman suggested setting up a "worm cam" so we could watch and see what happened. And you know what, right away I got to thinking about how I could make that happen! Seriously, Jazzman and his blues have me entertained and enlightened..who could ask for anything more?

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Lizards are interesting...seriously!


So, this year, after hosting "Oreo" the traveling class pet guinea pig, my students (remember, they were in first grade) wanted a class pet. When I was offered a "free" gecko, I jumped at the chance, I mean I hate lizards, I can't possibly think about touching them, they eat crickets live, and they look like something prehistoric. Sure...get a gecko...good idea!

Well, the gecko was free, but his habitat was not and after about $100 out of my pocket, I had the gecko housed, and ready for display in the classroom. The students loved him, named him Gordon and they loved to watch him eat live crickets, and sleep. These are really the only two things he did. Well, and get HUGE!

I guess I was following all the rules and feeding him right, because by spring break, when I had to bring him home, I thought he should have a check up at the Vet. Dr. M, my vet was thrilled to see him! I mean by this time I was able to hold him, wasn't creeped out by his lizard-ness, and really kinda felt fond of the little guy! Seriously, I LIKE him! Dr. M told me that "He's the healthiest gecko I've ever seen in my practice!" Yeah..I so rock gecko land!

Of course I had a ton of questions because when he came home, he got a new and improved (donated this time) habitat. Out of the 10 gallon tank into the 30 gallon tank, complete with things to climb, rocks to bask on, and a little tunnel so he can rest in the shade. He got a thermometer (digital of all things) so I can better monitor the temperature in his habitat, and he's a very "fixed up" little guy.

I had to do all this because Jazzman was so into the "Big G" or "Dorko" as he calls him, that he was doing all this research and telling me I was not a good gecko mother. After I took Gordon to the vet, Jazzman had to back off a little bit, because if the Vet thinks I'm a good mother, what's Jazzman gonna say? But he still keeps me apprised of the things he learns online, and he's got me convinced, next time I change his substrate (that's sand for you non lizard people) I should change it to a slate/with sand in the cracks, combination.

This lizard is nocturnal, so he sleeps all day and does his action things at night. Once the heat lamp is off, he's on a Roll! Seriously, he climbs, he jumps, he hunts, he poops..he does it all at night. And, as weird as this may be, it is very entertaining to watch. There's something about watching a lizard launch himself into the air, then plop down and do it all over again that is fascinating...seriously! So we got out the red light flashlight, and now, at night, we sit and watch Gordon do his thing! It may sound nerdy (O.K. it's totally nerdy) but if you were here, you'd be watching too. C'mon...you know you would!

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Summer Inspiration


Funny how, just two days after I was finished with the busiest, hardest, most stressful year of school, and I was back at it, working on building my little cottage business. I started by pairing down the product line for the canine bakery. It seems that biscotti for dogs doesn't sell well in this area, so it's no longer going to be on the shelves. On the other hand those popular shaped treats and the pretzels are back in full force!

While the baking was happening, I got inspired to make some things from the zillions of pairs of blue jeans I've collected over the years. I made some aprons, placemats, and a couple of cute purses. I decided to make some jean jewelry, which I'll work on this week. It was fun to create things, and feel productive. I've pretty much run out of jeans, so now I've got the call out to friends to give up their old jeans, upon which I'll make a donation to a charity. Otherwise there are always the work jeans at Goodwill, for $1.50 each.



Of course with all this creativity, the yard and garden have kinda gotten overlooked, so I promise, on the next day it's not raining, I'll get out and pull those weeds and mow that grass! Really...I will!

It is also hummingbird season here. The hummers came back to feed on May 17th, and now they've had their babies, so every day, outside the kitchen window it's like a jet fighter display of skilled maneuverability. Just so you know, those little hummers can EAT! I'm keeping track of the gallons of sugar water I cook up, just for my own pleasure...so I know how much it costs to keep hummingbirds in sugar water and I can better plan my budget next year!

I guess it's time to clean the house now....or maybe I'll just read a book.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Almost Summer

Well, it's almost summer! I made it through a year of first grade, relatively unscathed! With one teacher work day left (officially) and some moving to another new classroom to do, I imagine I'll be at work a couple more days than required. I plan to be ready to get started in my room in the fall, so I don't have to spend three weeks ramping up.

Of course I recently learned that, while moving to 6th grade is a good thing, I'll probably be teaching Science and Math. It's not that I can't do this. I know a few things about both of these and am still pretty adept at pre-Algebra, so it's likely that I'll be just fine, teaching the content. The truth, though, is that I LOVE Language Arts and History, so I was hoping those were the subjects I'd be teaching. The good news is I'll be team teaching with Davis, who I taught with at the Jr. High! I guess we all learn to take the bumps in the road in stride eventually!

The days of school were quite hectic! The kids were pretty much ready to be done after Field Day, which was the hottest day of the year! It was 90+ in the shade, and we got to spend the whole day outside. The kids had fun, but of course I was a rule breaker because I decided that I wasn't going to keep score and read off the winners after the day was over. The kids just played hard, did their best and we went with the motto, "If you had fun, you won!"

Some of the kids cried on the last day, some of them wanted to stay, and lots of them asked for my phone number. I decided to give it to them, and just see how many of them call me and ask me to come over to play this summer! If they have a pool, it's a good bet that I'll show up for some swimming. I even felt a little teary eyed! I will miss their enthusiasm, their hugs, and their boundless energy.

Now...with summer stretching ahead, it's time to think of all the projects I have to get done. Of course there is working on the problems in the math book, reading and creating units in the science book, and putting together materials to make those subject interesting to me and to the kids. At home there are fences to mend and apply waterproofing, a deck to waterproof, paint to touch up, cabinets to clean, and of course the yard and garden to take care of. I also want to get some sewing done, and set up a booth at Local Roots to sell my re-purposed aprons.

Then there are the travel plans. I trip to Iowa to see Taylor's crew, then on to Kansas to spend time with Whitney, helping her decorate her new abode. On the return it's back to Iowa for a couple of days, then home to meet Whitney's flight, so she and Faith can spend time in Ohio. The month of July is going to be pretty busy! I think I'm going to search out a little wading pool for the backyard for the granddaughters...too bad I've never built that in ground pool I was intending too!

I hope your summer is peaceful and fun, and all you want it to be. I will post some pix and stories here...maybe find my funny bone again, and make sure I have time to do all the things I love.