bluebirds are my favorite

My favorite birds have always been bluebirds. Maybe that affection was passed down to me from my mother and my grandmother. I remember having bluebird houses in our yard, and being picked up by Daddy to peek in and see the wide mouths of the hungry babies. Following that tradition, we have a bluebird house as well. This means that my boys are learning to favor bluebirds, too. I struggled to find a nursery idea for baby {s}, but when I saw a bluebird crib bedding set by Susan Turner Baby, I knew it was perfect. It still makes me smile, and so does this picture that was painted by my friend for the nursery.

Yesterday {K}'s mom found a bluebird egg in their yard. It seems that another type of bird tossed the eggs out and claimed the nest as its own. {p} didn't understand why we couldn't hatch it anyway. He wanted to keep holding it in his hand in case a baby hatched out. He took the egg to school today... one more thing to share in a long line of "things to share" that he has already taken to school this year.

And if you need some happiness today, this is for you:

lucky weekend!

First the hummingbird nest, and then the discovery that {K}'s dad's old 35mm lenses fit my SLR. The difficulty is that everything has to be done manually. No autofocus, no automatic settings... nothing. Just me and the little dials on the lens. It's frustrating, but at the same time, exciting. It's neat to look at some of these images and know that I controlled everything - the lighting, the focus, the depth of field. Needless to say, I have a lot of underexposed, overexposed, and unfocused shots. But every so often I'd get the hang of it and get something I was happy with.

I like that {p} is out of focus here. I did get some good shots where both he and the bubbles were in focus, but I like the look of the bubbles being the main focus of this one. And, if you click on the picture, you can see the reflection of our house in the bubbles... mainly the biggest bubble near the left.

hummingbird nest

If I ever needed a zoom lens, it was today! My mother-in-law discovered a hummingbird nest in the fork of a dogwood branch. The nest is about 15 feet off of the ground, and extremely hard to spot. It appears that the nest is still under construction... lots of zooming back and forth with bits and pieces in the beak. I can't wait to keep watching, and see how this progresses.

I read up a little just to know what all was involved in this tiny nest. Smaller than a golfball, the nest is made using spider web silk! Imagine that! And, the outside is covered with small pieces of lichen. If what I read is correct, mama hummingbird will lay two tiny white eggs.

My grandmother, Sweet Pea, would've loved this. I can't help but think that she was there today, peeking over my shoulder as I climbed to the tip top of the ladder and took these pictures.

playing around with the camera

Nice weather lately. Well, not in the mornings. The mornings have been cold, but the afternoons have been really nice. Lots of time outside for the boys and their faithful dog!

{s} wasn't supposed to have this Coke, but he snuck it out of the fridge in the garage. Cute photo opportunity, so I let him keep drinking.




And this is Dasher, probably trying to lick the Coke off of {s}'s face. He didn't want any part of her slobber. Can't say that I blame him.

questions...

I swiped this from Where the Wild Things Are. I discovered her blog via a comment on PW's photography blog. She's a mama to boys, too, so I can definitely understand how she came up with her blog title. Anyway, for lack of anything better to blog about at the moment (actually, I could blog about a few things, but this seems to be the one that requires the least amount of thought!), I thought I'd just steal someone else's.

1) Do you like blue cheese? I wouldn't just eat a hunk of it plain, but I do enjoy it in foods.
2) Have you ever smoked heroin? Um, NO. I've never smoked anything, not even once.
3) Do you own a gun? I personally do not own one... but if someone came into our house I guarantee you they would be shot.
4) Your favorite song? I always have a hard time with this question. I like "More" by Matthew West, "Held" by Natalie Grant... for something sentimental I like "Me and You" by Kenny Chesney. I really like that song that's in the new Macbook Air commercial, whatever it is. I listen to a few different types of music, but I have to credit my friend over at A Wink and A Smile with having the best taste in music ever. I don't know where she comes up with all of her music, but I'd like a copy of everything on her Ipod.
5) Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? No, I don't get nervous. If someone is watching my children I see it as a chance to relax and read a book!
6) What do you think about hot dogs? They're best when cooked on a grill, and a little crispy on the outside.
7) Favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night, sung by John Berry... Emmanuel sung by Jennifer Nettles... and I also like O Come All Ye Faithful sung by Sara Evans. I mean, there are my favorites no matter who sings them, but I happen to really, really like the versions mentioned above.
8) Can you do push ups? The girly kind.
9) What's your favorite piece of jewelry? Other than my wedding ring, the diamond necklace that was my Sweet Pea's.
10) Favorite hobby? taking pictures
11) Do you have A.D.D.? nope
12) What's one trait that you hate about yourself? I'm not a happy person when I don't get what I want.
13) Middle name? I like my middle name, but in an effort to retain a little anonymity, I'm not sharing.
14) Name three thoughts at this exact moment? This is taking longer than I thought, I think AI need to wash some clothes, and I don't know why Geico chose to use a lizard in their commercials.
15)Name three things you bought yesterday? I only bought one thing yesterday, and it was an online course in Photoshop Elements.
16) Name three drinks you regularly drink. Dr. Pepper, Dr. Pepper, and water.
17) Current worry right now? Worry is my middle name. The current thought going through my head is what can I do about the mosquitoes that are going to be very bad this summer.
18) Current hate right now? Nothing.
1 9) Where would you like to go? I don't know... to bed? To Disney World? Sandestin? Calypso's at Orange Beach for some grouper fingers? I don't enjoy travelling far away from home, so I don't have any dream trips. Except maybe I would like to go back to Greece and England. As long as I could get there without flying or getting on a boat.
20) Name three people who will complete this? not tagging anyone!
21) Do you own slippers? Yes, but I do not wear them regularly.
22) What shirt are you wearing? a brown t-shirt
23) Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? never have
24) Can you whistle? Yes, but my husband cannot
25) Favorite color?(s) green, yellow, brown,
26) What songs do you sing in the shower? None,
27) Would you be a pirate? I don't think I would.
28) Favorite girl's name(s)? Seeing as how I've never had the opportunity to use a girly name... I'm not sure. We picked Lauren Faith if {s} had been a girl, but I don't know if I would chose that name again for a girl if given the opportunity. I like Olivia. And I really like my name, so I might use it as a middle name.
29) Favorite boy's name(s)? Other than the 2 I have already used for my boys, I like Wynn.
30) What's in your pocket right now? nothing
31) Last thing that made you laugh? Robin Williams on Americal Idol tonight.
32) Worst injury you've ever had? I have never really had any bad injuries, but one time {K} hit me in the ankle with a horsehoe, and it hurt for a very, very, very long time.
33) Do you love where you live? Absolutely!
34)How many TVs do you have in your house? 3
35) Who is your loudest friend? My friend Jennifer. I think she would say the same thing about herself, so I shouldn't get in any trouble for that one!
36) How many dogs do you have? one - Dasher, an adorable collie
37) Does someone have a crush on you? I do hope that my husband still falls into this category.
38) What is your favorite book? Oh... books. I read a lot of them and I don't know if I could pick a favorite. As for classics, I've always liked Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. As for fluffy chic lit, I like the Shopoholic books, and I also like anything by Mary Kay Andrews.
39) What is your favorite Candy? chocolate, anything with chocolate!
40) Favorite Sports Team? out of loyalty, I guess I should say The Braves.
41) What song do you want played at your funeral? I don't really want to think about this.
42) What were you doing 12 AM last night? reading
43) What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? I was at my parents' house with the boys, and I thought - "It is SO nice to sleep late!!!!!!!"
44) Not sure where this question went ????
45) What's your favorite cereal? Smart Start
46) What did you dream about last night? I dreamed that a friend of mine was telling me that she was happy again, and it was a wonderful dream. I want her to have JOY in her life again.
47) Do you snore? if I choose to believe what others tell me, the answer is yes
48) Can you drink from the other side of the glass? You're supposed to do this when you have the hiccups, but it is very confusing.
49) Favorite movie? Not a big movie buff. I can't really think of one.
50) Have you ever been in trouble with the law? No. The only interaction I've had with "the law" was when I got a speeding ticket several months ago. It was the first time I'd ever been pulled over.


Whew. That was very time consuming. In retrospect, it would have been much easier to come up with an original blog idea!