The Birds

I really enjoy my walks with Jackson to the pond to feed the ducks, but not being a fan of birds bigger than a finch, our walk sometimes turns into a brisk jog.  The first day I saw the heron, I broke into a cold sweat and took pictures of it, hiding behind the trees like a paparazzo, then sneaked back out to the main path and headed home.  Luckily though that time, it was on the island about 100 feet away.  The next time we saw it, the heron had relocated to the ducklings' spot which is about 15 feet from the edge of the path.  This was incredibly frightening, but we were already half-way around the pond, so I had to be brave for Jackson and finish the walk.

Once, the coots must have been able to smell our bread bag as we approached, because they waddled out onto shore with their jelly-looking white and black webbed feet.  Again, a cold sweat set in and my hands could barely grip the bag to open it.  I tried to control my breathing and once I caught a bit of the bread, I ripped off what I could and threw it in the water so they went back to their zone and we stayed in ours.

But this week, nature came knocking on our doorstep--our back doorstep to be exact.  Thursday morning I looked out to admire our backyard and flowerbed when I saw a hefty pigeon prancing around our patio.  I thought this was strange since birds usually keep their distance from our back door, but then I realised what all of the fuss was about:  this pigeon was comforting its dead friend!

Cue the cold sweat and the shock and horror.  I started screaming and running through the house, hoping that I hadn't seen what I knew I did.  I looked again.  The pigeon was still there, not moving--dead.  Jackson thought I was acting odd, but he just laughed it off and continued playing in his Little Tikes garden centre.

I knew that I didn't have it in me to take care of the situation out back, so I called Lee to warn him of what would await his arrival when he got home from work.  I assumed he wouldn't want to deal with the death, therefore I had already planned on paying a local handyman to dispose of the problem for us.  To my surprise, Lee said that he would take care of it.  My hero!  So I closed the curtains and we didn't venture into the backyard at all that day.

Needless to say, the backyard is all cleared up now.  Life goes on.

Playing in his pool sans water

Jackson's new favourite toy--an inflatable rattle

Three types of birds in one shot:  mallards, black-headed gulls, and coots

Jackson 'gets' bird watching now and enjoys looking at the ducks

Nope, not teeth in there; just a Babybel

He's rediscovered an old toy and likes dancing around in his door bouncer

Developmental updates:  Jackson is getting in position to crawl now, he just needs to coordinate his knees and hands.  A couple of times this week, Jackson looked like he was waving so I think this will become a more regular occurrence once he gets the hang of it.  In public, Jackson is getting more vocal--not nearly as vocal as he is at home, but he is a lot more confident speaking in front of groups.  He is rolling his arms more and more and sometimes slaps his hands together inadvertently, so clapping may be starting soon, too.  Jackson's new favourite food is lasagne.  He still likes to play on his own sometimes and he talks to himself while he plays.

If you see Sammie Miles Davis, Jr. and Bella, give them my love.