New Visitor!

So, Cora and I bought some bird seed the other day.  Are you just as disappointed in the packaging as I am?  I planted the stuff and all that came up was plants!  I know, huh?  ANNOYING!  The government should totally crack down on this false advertising!  I never saw ONE feather!

So, given that we did not sprout song birds in the back yard, we decided to try to feed it to the birds that already frequent our yard.  If you recall, we had a red winged black bird visit a few weeks ago. Pretty cool.  This new seed we bought was a different kind than we usually get.  We usually get the Niger Thistle seed and whatever bland bird mix we can find.  This time, however, we found some seed mix with peanuts, dried fruit, and BIG sunflower seeds.  We have only seen, until today, the normal mix of sparrows and finches.

Then, this afternoon, when I got home with Chloe, I had gotten her her hot milk and supplied her with a small amount of gold fish crackers and was just getting into washing the dishes, when I looked out the window longingly toward the chairs that sit out there in our oasis of a yard.  It was then that i saw a bird I have never seen before.  It looked like a calico cat, except, of course, it was a bird.  I quickly got my camera and zoomed in for a picture so I might have a hope of identifying it.

Well, I took some time tonight, between giving Chloe a bath and putting her to bed (Cora outfitted her in pajamas), and figured out what bird I had seen!  It is a Black-headed Grosbeak!  I know!  You're thrilled, huh?  I don't blame you!

Like I said, I've never seen this type of bird in the back yard, so I am anxious to see what other birds this new feed brings in.

You can see a description of the bird and some pictures here.

I continue to teach at Waphi.  We recently had a Senior Prank happen.  For those of us it did not affect, it was clever.  For those of us it did, well, it was clever, but the guilty parties apparently still had to be punished.  At least they get to walk in graduation.

Get this!  The seniors BOUGHT a llama and some chickens, then somehow gained access to the school and  left the llama and chickens there to traumatize the poor custodian.  The llama was seen wandering the cafeteria in a cellphone video that was sent to the local TV station.  I thought it was hilarious, but I have learned to keep my personal opinions to myself.

I've known this particular custodian for over a decade.  He's a good guy, despite his fear of spiders.  When he and I both worked at the same mill in the late 1990s, I found out about his fear of spiders when he let out a girlish scream after finding a black-widow spider in some wood blocks we were supposed top cut up.  When break time came, he left.  I stayed behind and drew a rather convincing looking black widow spider on a board her was likely to cut.  When I was done, I placed it spider-drawing down and left.

When we came back we began cutting as normal.  Back to back.  Each piece of wood we picked up had to have a complete 360 degree inspection before we cut out the knots.  All of a sudden a blood curdling scream pierced my ear plugs.  I turned in time to see a piece of wood hurtling through time and space at a crazy speed.  I went after it and pointed out the fact that he had just overreacted to a DRAWING of a spider.  I have remembered that scene for years simply because I thought it was SO hilarious!  Apparently his reaction to the llama was similar.

You can't really blame him, it WAS Monday morning.

I am five school days away from the end.  I cannot wait!  It's just a matter of time before the kids in my classes become someone else's problem!
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