Tuesday, 19 March 2013

Magpies

A while ago I posted a picture taken from my kitchen window and somebody spotted a nest in the large cherry tree in our back garden. Nobody could work out what creature had built the nest.


Here it is again (click to enlarge):


In the past three of weeks or so, we have observed a couple of magpies very busy building a nest in another tree, which sits directly in front of our window:


Curiosity led me to google and I found out quite a bit about the nesting habits of magpies. The monogamous couples build large nests in tall trees and mate by the end of March. We'll keep watching them and perhaps we'll manage to witness the display that precedes the actual mating! Then we'll keep an eye on the large clutch (up to 8 eggs), and if lucky, we'll be able to see the fledglings leave the nest...

I also concluded that the nest in the cherry tree was definitely built by the same couple of magpies. The one they're building now will not be visible at all, as they chose an evergreen tree. Next year we'll probably miss their nest building efforts, as both the nearest tall trees have been used up.

We find bird watching quite fascinating and will invest in two pairs of binoculars. Our old eyes are not up to the job...

A couple of googled images:



There are superstitions attached to these birds. If you see one, it signals sorrow and you should greet them loudly: "Good morning, Mr Magpie!" Apparently it wards off the bad omen. Seeing two signals mirth, so we're OK!

Magpies are not terribly common in the US and only one of the subspecies, pica hudsonia, is found in some western states:




Monday, 18 March 2013

An apple a day...

We had a lively discussion about handling food the other day and apples were mentioned. They seem perfect for carving and the results can be quite impressive!




Sunday, 17 March 2013

We're all Irish today

Happy St Patrick's Day!


One nice way to celebrate is to present a mixed bag of Irish goodies.

We'll start with some rare footage of Mrsgunka's and Pallottine's early efforts:



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View_From_Here sent me some jokes the other day. Here's one of them:

Paddy was driving down the street in a sweat because he had an important meeting and couldn't find a parking place. Looking up to heaven he said, "Lord take pity on me. If you find me a parking place I will go to Mass every Sunday for the rest of me life and give up me Irish Whiskey!"

Miraculously, a parking place appeared.

Paddy looked up again and said, "Never mind, I found one."

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Some fine Irish humour:




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Fun music:



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Finally, an item sent in by MrsG:


Saturday, 16 March 2013

Out of the mouths of children



A woman was driving with her three young children one warm summer evening when a woman in the convertible ahead stood up and waved. She was stark naked! As she was reeling from the shock, the woman heard her 4-year-old shout from the back seat, 'Mom, that lady isn't wearing a seat belt!'

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A woman was trying hard to get the ketchup out of the jar. During her struggle the phone rang so she asked her 4-year-old daughter to answer the phone. 'Mommy can't come to the phone to talk to you right now. She's hitting the bottle.'

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While working for an organization that delivers lunches to the elderly, a woman used to take her 5-year-old son on her afternoon rounds. He was unfailingly intrigued by the various appliances of old age, particularly the canes, walkers and wheelchairs. One day the woman found the little boy staring at a pair of false teeth soaking in a glass. As she braced herself for the inevitable barrage of questions, the boy merely turned and whispered, 'The tooth fairy will never believe this!'

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A little girl had just finished her first week of school. 'I'm just wasting my time,' she said to her mother. 'I can't read, I can't write, and they won't let me talk!'


Friday, 15 March 2013

A very quick post

I'm feeling a little bit delicate today. We had a very good time with friends yesterday: Great food and perhaps too many of the usual conversation lubricants on the side...