Post-Christmas Wrap-Up

Michelle and I continue to work all the time.  The rest of the time we spend with the kids.  Doesn't leave room for much else.

Bryce and Lucy are completely recovered from their surgeries.

My surgery was successful and my nose is now fully functional.

My daughter wanted very much to see Yogi Bear.  We went.  Before it was over she was asking to be taken home.  It was that bad.

On the 19th the female Baltimore Oriole again visited our birdbath.

On the 20th a Pine Siskin joined the American Goldfinches at our feeders.

On the evening of the 21st I took the kids to the Shangri La Botanical Gardens in Orange to see the Christmas lights.  It was a warm night and a pleasant stroll, but coming at the end of a long day it completely wore Bryce out.  He was asleep on the ride home.

Christmas morning brought another cold front accompanied by an invasion of American Robins.  Whenever you have flocks of robins you can also expect flocks of Cedar Waxwings, so yes, we have lots of both.  The kids opened presents and threw tantrums.  Then we went to the Elegante Hotel for a truly gluttonous Christmas dinner.

On the 26th I saw a Winter Wren along the edge of the pond.  This is only the second time I've seen one near our house, and in approximately the same spot where I had the first one. A Gray Catbird was also in the area.

We still have no hummingbirds.

I am still awaiting Purple Finch.

Michelle and I have each received subpoenas to testify in court against our neighbor, who is spending the holidays in jail awaiting trial for being a demented pervert.  Which is what he is.  His trial date is scheduled for January 3rd.  Happy New Year!

Another Hospital Blog

I'm writing this from my comfy adjustable bed in Baptist Hospital in Beaumont while listening to Tom Russell songs on my iPhone.

Yesterday morning I had nasal surgery (thanks to Dr. Parks and his crack medical team). They held me overnight, and now it's Wednesday morning and soon they'll discharge me and I can go home. Everything went well, except for one tense moment last night when my IV connection came apart and I bled all over my blanket before the nurse arrived. Aside from that one little incident and the dry mouth after surgery it's been just swell. Had Cable TV and diet coke. No worries.

"well the devil rides a cubist horse
The devil he's got angles
But God is an expressionist
He's got the devil strangled..."

Criminology,
Tom Russell

Some Recent Bird Sightings in Hardin County

Winter is here, at least as far as the local bird population is concerned. This weekend I did some looking around our yard, and observed most of the usual suspects. We haven't had any hummingbirds lately, but we do get a few each winter, and as an expression of optimism I'm keeping the feeders filled.  Recent sightings of note:

I was pushing the kids on the swings in our backyard when an Osprey flew over on 11/25.

A mixed species flock that wandered by on 11/27 included 2 Blue-headed Vireos.

A Brown Creeper in an oak in our front yard on 11/28 was bird #141 for our yard list.

On Saturday (12/11) an adult female Baltimore Oriole visited our birdbath. An immature female spent last winter in our neighborhood, and I wonder if this might not be the same bird returning for a second season.

On Sunday, 12/12, we saw a small flock of American Pipits in the Walmart parking lot in Lumberton - not a species I would usually find noteworthy, but not one I usually associate with asphalt either.