Baby Bird and Little Blocks

 

Late yesterday Boris was on the lawn, paying much attention to a bird nest that had blown out of a tree. I wandered over, and it felt heavy, but sometimes nests do have a base of dirt and mud. Lots of white wool fleece inside, feathers and soft moss.  I left him, then a minute later huge squawking, and a baby bird trying so hard to hide, as the nest was slowly being untangled. A rescue, and brought it inside. I couldn’t identify it, and rang our local bird rescue lady, Dawn.

She arrived, and was so excited. This was a  Shining cuckoo chick, the first she had rescued. Altough there had been adult birds, not a baby.  So after a photo shoot, off they went, and today she is taking it with her to Massey University in Palmerston North, where you can study   with  a 5 year course for a Bachelor of Veterinary Science. The wee chick will get the once-over to make sure all is well and Dawn will give it heaps of TLC, and  round the clock feeding, until it is old enough to survive out in the open once again.

 

This is courtesy of the Internet , both the data and photo.

Shining cuckoos are brood parasites, laying their eggs singly in nests of grey warblers (mainland) and Chatham Island warblers. Eggs are laid mostly in November, after which the adult cuckoos take no further part in breeding. Young cuckoos are dependent on their foster-parents for several weeks after fledging.

The tiny Grey Warbler feeding the much larger Shining Cuckoo chick.

The 150 Canadian  Women Blocks are progressing, I am a long way behind, but finding all  the information about these amazing women so humbling, and interesting.

A few more are finished,some of the group have chosen to use blue fabrics, others a variety of colours, and when I reach the #75, might switch to blues and greens.

We have rain, it is cold, the fire is lit, and this is our summer time. The family finally arrived in Vancouver, after an almost 3 hour delay on the runway with an engineering fault on the plane!!! 5Celsius over there, and one more flight to Kelowna.  A very long day or night!!!

Quotation of the day, author unknown

“ Electronic communication across

oceans and countries

gives us all that sense that

we are still so close to each other”

Greetings from Jean

Do not turn your back when working !!

 

The Birthday Celebrations continued, with the most delightful evening out, a yummy meal, at Bulls, and here we are. Thank you so much Jeanette, this was Hugh’s  birthday present , but we all enjoyed it so very much.

Jeanette, Kaz, Ralph, Hugh , then  I am on the very right. All prettied up!!!  Look carefully, as you might not recognise me further down the page!!!

Jeanette left for home the next morning, a long 6 hour drive with extra time for stops along the way. It was so good to talk to her after she arrived safely back in Auckland. I am hoping she will have a short flight for her next visit and a longer stay down here.

Property maintenance was on the list, so out came the weed-eater, or weed-whacker, or whipper-snipper, depending where you live. Long grass in difficult places was quickly down to ground level, and all is looking great.Then the fence railings, a bit grimy, so out came the water-blaster. Hugh cannot manage to stand for very long, so I donned gloves and a hat, and started. I didn’t know he had the camera ready!!!

Next time, I will NEVER turn my back!!!

 

It looks so shiny and clean.

One of my blog friends, Joanne, has  very interesting words today.

  She found a blog a while ago called “ word365”  when you choose a word to use through the year, to turn to, to use  and to be guided by.

  I gave  my own choices much serious consideration, and after weighing up so many possibilities,  decided on “ Keep”.

I will keep hope in my heart, keep family and friends close in my thoughts, and try so hard to keep only what I need,  I will only keep positive thoughts, and keep on giving thanks for so  much goodness and happiness  in my life every day.

Finally, I thank each one of you who sent Hugh a birthday greeting . He was so thrilled and really appreciated and enjoyed every one. 80,  there are so many good reasons to celebrate, to be thankful, and to keep on living each day as a bonus, never to be taken for granted.

And , finally, again, thank you all for loving and caring messages and words for me, I am keeping well, new tablets are working so far, and I am so happy to have my feet on the floor at home  every morning.

Quotation of the day , from Omar Khayyam

“ Be happy for this moment .

This moment is your life”

Greetings from Jean.