Swallow-ing

Did you have a nice weekend?  I hope so.  My weekend included several unusual adventures.  Most notably, a pair of barn swallows moved into one of the eaves on our front porch.  A pair visited us a couple of years ago and built a nest in the exact same spot ~ perched in the corner above our front door.  It was fascinating to watch them assemble their mud nest, keep watch over their eggs, and then feed their babies. 

This weekend the current pair of swallows laid a mud foundation for the nest they were planning to construct over our front door.  While I was pleased to see the swallows back again, discovering their blueprints for our front porch was bitter-sweet.  I'm all for experiencing nature close to home, but these things are messy!   I'm pretty sure that regularly cleaning bird droppings from our front door is NOT a hobby I want to re-visit in my current condition.  So I made an executive decision.  The birds can stay, but not directly over our front door.  The only problem is how to explain that to our new avian friends.

I read online that swallows will sometimes take up residence in a location you select.  All you have to do is build a little next box and place the prime real estate in a prime location at the same time you knock down the old nest.  My resourceful hubby got to work.

He sawed.  He measured.  And finally, he glued the nest together with wood glue.

The nest box is now sitting in another, much more desirable, corner of our porch.  We left it a bit dusty so the birds would find the barn-i-ness they are looking for. Then I spread some bird seed on the nearby ledges.  I wanted to be neighborly, afterall.

I hope the darling swallows aren't too terribly offended that we disassembled the start of their first nest.  The spot we've made for them really does have a lot to offer.  Now that everything is in position  and our For Rent sign has officially been hung, all we can do is wait.

Everybody loves pumpkin!

Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving. This 8-month old Siberian tiger cub did!

Pretty Peaches

We've now had our two new kitties all of three weeks. They are so much fun! And they clearly have so much fun, too. This morning I found an assortment of things they had batted around the house overnight ~ my keys, my watch, a pen, and one of my toddler's socks.




You've already met Bunny, so let me introduce her sister Peaches. Even though Bunny warmed up to her new surroundings faster, there are so many reasons I am so attached to Peaches. To some extent, she's the underdog of the house. She's the kitty we all wanted to settle in perfectly, but for a while it was questionable whether she would make it. And so she quickly became my little "project" as I worked to coax her out from under the bed.




Now she's definitely out and about more. Once you get to know her she's just as loving as her sister. I think she's so beautiful, with her sleek physique and exotic markings. And, as an added bonus, she cracks me up every time she enters the room. She usually comes bounding in. So much so that more often than not she has to regain her footing once she comes to a standstill. I laugh every time because her entrance is so "Kramer-esque."

Bundle of Love

I am currently holding a bundle of love in my lap. As I mentioned before, our holidays included the addition of two new cuddly companions at our house. Meet Bunny:


Bunny has to be the softest, sweetest, cuddliest cat I've ever known. She will actually wrap her little paws around your neck, tuck her nose under your chin, and give you a tight hug. I must admit ~ I was a bit alarmed the first time she did this!

Bunny's sister is equally great. Unfortunately her favorite hangouts are dark and cozy, making picture-taking rather difficult. I promise to introduce her soon.

Another Holiday, Another Parade

Happy New Year, everyone!

We now have three parades saved on our DVR for my toddler's viewing pleasure. She really loves parades - the music, the costumes, and now the floats! But our favorite part of the Rose Bowl Parade, hands down, were these guys:


You can read about them here.

It turns out that these aren't the only furry creatures we're celebrating today. We decided to start the New Year by adding two new members to our family. We now have two gray tortoiseshell kitties settling in at our house! As soon as they get better acclimated I'll be sure to share pictures.

We found our feline friends on petfinder.com. I love this site! But my advice is to view with CAUTION. You just might want to adopt every cuddly friend you see like I did!