Friday, May 17, 2013

When Bluebirds Attack

1.  We have a bluebird couple living in our bluebird house, in spite of the Willie Factor.  The male bluebird sees his reflection in the kitchen window and spends the entire day attacking the screen.  So far he hasn't busted the screen, but it is now covered in bird poop. I did manage to snap a picture of him through the window, preparing to launch into it.  There are 7 little blue eggs in the bluebird house.  I hope they will be okay with Willie around.
2.  The other day I burst out laughing at Cort, who was mad because I carried him into his room to get dressed (he was taking so long, and we were in a hurry).  He stomped his feet and actually beat his tiny chest with his fists.  I couldn't help it - he was like a miniature Tarzan throwing a fit.  He got even madder when I laughed, "MOM I WANTED TO WALK! THIS IS NOT FUNNY!  STOP BEING FUNNY MOM" which only made me laugh harder.  Talk about a parenting FAIL.

3.  We've had some evenings lately where it's been balmy and cool with a strong breeze.  It feels just like the beach.  This makes me happy - I love the ocean.  If I close my eyes, I can pretend I am there - only missing the delicious sea salt smell and the sound of the waves.

4.  In answer to last week's bouncy house dilemma, I let them go through, but I went crazy with the disinfecting wipes before we drove home. 

5.  If someone randomly handed you $500 and told you to go buy something you'd been wanting for a really long time, what would you buy?  I'd get a generator.  Not very exciting, but practical no doubt.  I still remember with horror the 8 days we had no power last summer when it was 100* outside.  Hoping we don't ever repeat that! 

Linked with Random Friday at A Rural Journal.

48 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Lisa, Beautiful blue bird. The story of Cort has me chuckling this a.m.!!! Hope you all enjoy the weekend.

Anonymous said...

p.s. when I've had a problem with birds at the windows, I tape a piece of "curling" ribbon and when the breeze blows/moves it, it scares the birds away.

The Cranky said...

What a cheeky little bluebird! I've no idea what I would do if someone handed me $500...get a new monitor perhaps?

Buttons Thoughts said...

Oh Lisa I hope the crazy Bluebirds will be OK. I am laughing out loud thinking of your kids doing what makes Mom's laugh it is so hard not too. You are a great Mom.
$500 Wow I am sure I would probably buy something for a certain Mother I know who could use it. I honestly have everything I need. We do not have a generator either but we do not get those hot hot days you do. B

Unknown said...

A balmy breeze sounds wonderful. The beach is such a great place to visit.

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

I've seen one of those fits (or two or three) with a couple of my grandsons. It is so hard not to laugh, but sometimes I can't help it. 500 bucks? Wow...probably go straight to the bank with it..I'm dreaming of dh's retirement.

Lynn said...

I'd adopt an old dog from the SPCA with my 500, I don't know how you couldn't laugh at Tarzan, his comments back are priceless. I hope the eggs do okay in spite of Mad Willie.

Monkeywrangler said...

A great post today Lisa! I can just envision Cort's hissy fit! And I hope the bluebirds make it past the kitty-reaper.

Your idea of a genny is a good one. But $500 won't buy you much of one, unless you get lucky. Try haunting Craigslist locally for them, and try to buy the biggest capacity one you can. It will run more stuff, and not get overloaded/bogged down if you have some high-draw items.

Vic303

Nancy said...

We have a male cardinal that does the whole glass-bashing thing every spring. He's quit for now. We hang a pie-pan on a chain in front of the window to deter him.

Cort is a hoot. He's a manly man! :)

Anonymous said...

No attacking blue birds at our house. I can say we have doggy drama between my Boston Terrier and J's cow dog. Huffing, puffing, growling and hair standing up, the cow dog is less dramatic.

Gail Dixon said...

Oh, I do hope the bluebirds survive and thrive. You had me laughing along with you as I imagined your little boy pitching his little fit. Too cute!

mail4rosey said...

We had 21 days without electricity the last year I spent in Palm Beach. 3 hurricanes in a row (yep, in a row) slammed the area. The last one took off part of my roof just before a house sale. -_-

LOL at your little Tarzan. Been there...and laughed too. :)

Anonymous said...

You would be a wise woman to get that generator. I never want to be without one!

Love the 'parent fail' moment. Made me laugh out loud. LOL

Sandra said...

Poor Bluebird thinking he is being stalked by another bird. What stress ;) I like the ribbon idea posted by someone else.

have a great weekend!

Sonya @ Under the Desert Sky said...

LOL, poor Cort! I would've laughed if I were you, too! A cute image.

I can totally understand why you'd choose to buy a generator.

Tina Fariss Barbour said...

Oh, I would have laughed at Cort's little fit, too. I laughed just reading about i!

We would love a generator, too. We were lucky last summer, but seeing what was going on around us made us think about it. Larry wants a big one, though--expensive. Don't think we'll be getting one any time soon.

Sharon Wagner said...

Laughing is never a fail!

TexWisGirl said...

mini tarzan. awww...

:)

Dawn said...

Haha...you sound like me with the disinfecting wipes!

I'd buy new wheels for my bike:)

Happy weekend to you!

Chatty Crone said...

I think a generator on a barn is a great idea. And mom Cort wants to walk himself he wants to be big - darn they grow too fast. I LOVE the sounds of the sea too. sandie

Debby@Just Breathe said...

If I had been faced with that moment in the bouncy house I would have probably let them through also. I would by myself a cruising bicycle.
Have a nice weekend.

Snap said...

Great post. The Cort story was wonderful. What fun to have the bluebird house so close -- although Dad sounds a little hyper (his first kids????!!!!!!!). ... What's wrong with a generator? Sounds like a good idea to me! I want to stay cool! Happy 5 Day!

Mary said...

Wow, no power that long in 100 degree weather, i'd get a generator too. :)

Ginny Hartzler said...

So you have named him Willy? Have you tried a big cardboard owl or something? Birds crash against our big living room window a lot, sometimes we find them under it dazed. I hope he will be O.K. I for sure have something to SAY about the Cort incident. So many people, including my own family, do the counting. They start from one and say "When I get to three, you had better be ready!!!" And of course the child never is, and the parents start the counting all over again!!!! So they do not carry out what they say they will, and the child knows that counting is meaningless, and the parents give empty threats. PLEASE don't stop your parenting style. This is what we used to do. Give him about two chances, then just pick him up. He will KNOW that your words are not empty threats, and you follow through and mean what you say. Bravo!! Phil has been wanting to get a generator for years because of losing power in the storms. Not what I would get!

Anonymous said...

Poor bluebirds. Hope they make it through raising their babies. I hate when I have to laugh at my son/students for such funny things.

Valerie Boersma said...

Cort made me laugh too! They are just so cute at that age!

With $500 I'd get a good air conditioner for our upstairs! I dread those insanely hot days of summer!

(I want to hear more about the group you joined-I'm going to try to jot you a few lines this weekend!!! And have a great weekend at that!!) :)

Our Neck of the Woods said...

Oh man, I had to laugh at #2. I couldn't have held it together either! And I'm with you on the generator. Not a fun purchase, but definitely a necessity.

Maggid said...

I LOVE that you practice thinking what you'll do when your greater good arrives. It's Sure to Happen - and now you're ready - it will work out super.

(thank you for noticing - thank you for visiting - thank you for sharing)
-g-

Lexie Loo, Lily, Liam & Dylan Too said...

I love evenings like that! Perfect!

Angie said...

I have so many parenting fails on a daily basis that it is ridiculous!

I too love the ocean. We are planning a trip for July and I seriously CANNOT wait :)

A generator is a good investment. I would probably be very immature though and buy something stupid or take a trip. It's just my nature :)

jp@A Green Ridge said...

baby Girl, put out your other hand...a generator to run your house would run between $1500-2000, assuming it was 8-12k...sorry to the bearer of bad news! ...:)JP

Eat To Live said...

So funny Cort beating his chest like Tarzan. I would have been laughing too.

Anonymous said...

'Stop being funny mom...' I'd have had a hard time not laughing too...

Sunnybrook Farm said...

We have a bluebird nesting near the garden in a box on the spring house. I put up sticks in the garden so that they can perch and spend more time looking for bugs over the plants. They really like to lite on the sticks and hunt.
There was a breeze the other day while I was in the garden and I guess it was the temperature or something but it reminded me of being at the beach, it felt really good!

Sally said...

I would have laughed too, that cute little Cort!!

You're very smart about a generator, Lisa. I hope you don't go through that again, but it sure would be nice for ya'll in case.

Hope you've had a good week. I've been lazy in blogging this week, but I'll see you sooner than later.

xoxo

Michelle said...

I would have bought the generator too!!!!!

Bruce Clark said...

$500 in my hand I would send my wife on a mini vacation to visit friends in Cape May. Interesting shot of the bluebird.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

We had the same problem last year with a Bluebird during mating season... It hasn't happened this year --nor did it happen the many years before last year. SO--I don't know why it sometimes happens... The male Bluebird about drove us crazy pecking on our glass in our sliding glass door.. I even put up a big picture of a hawk --but even that didn't stop him.... It finally stopped once their babies had fledged. Hope it doesn't happen this year!!!!!

Funny about your little Tarzan!!!!! cute!

Hugs,
Betsy

Tweedles -- that's me said...

The blue bird is beautiful...
I think its scary when the birds hit the windows---
And bird poop everywhere?? silly birds!
love
tweedles

Linda said...

Wish you had video of little Cort! So funny!

You can get decals to show poor Willie where the glass is. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=9089+20769+13244&pcatid=13244

Debra at HOMESPUN: http://www.thehomespun.com said...

Ah funny little bluebird / so pretty!

With 500.00 extra, I'd tear up the old carpet on my stairs and get new, or get some sort of runner.

Latane Barton said...

Hey, I am with you with the generator. It is no fun being without power in any kind of weather.

Marie said...

A generator is a must have!
I hope the blue birds are okay...nature is funny!
Your little Tarzan sounds so cute!
I Love feeling a good breeze thru my hair...ahhhhhhh.:)

Arti said...

It is so hot and humid here in Mumbai. The temperature is almost 40 degree celcius... I would like some cool breeze coming my way now!! Have a nice day Lisa :)

Vision By Mila said...

If someone would hand me that money right now I'd go buy the armchair matching our sofa that my husband wants, but I plan to get that anyway as soon as I save the money. But I wouldn't mind if someone offered that amount..

you-wee because said...

Cute little portrait of this beautiful bird! In Germany the bluebird is known as "Huettensaenger", literally translated into "cottage singer".

Regards from Germany, Uwe.

An Apel a Day said...

Oh Cort. I laugh when my kids act like that as well.

We had a bird attach our downstairs window when I was little. My sister and I shared a room down there. Whenever we turned the music on it would bang it's beak on the window. I scared me so much because I didn't know what it was.

Lin said...

We bought a generator last summer too--we had a power outage for days and I had to drive my refrigerator contents to my mom's house...and then go retrieve it a day later. Ugh. What a PAIN! I don't care about lights or anything, but I just don't want to lose the frig stuff again.