Baby Hummingbird's Brother

On Sunday, the baby hummingbird's brother decided that he was done being in the nest too.  So, maybe I took the little one to Liberty prematurely but I live in a construction zone with stray cats at every turn.  I hope he is better there. 

Goodness, his brother is cute!  He has set up camp outside my door so I have to be crazy careful about where I am walking. 

He calls for his mom every once in a while, which is a short cheep that is really high pitched.  Usually once you hear that noise, his mom comes around to feed him but she is very skittish.  This morning I was able to catch both of them!

I have been spending an obscene amount of time watching out for this little hummingbird.  He is just so cute, I want to see what he is going to do next.  Who needs television when you have baby hummingbirds?

Also in good news, I have a REFRIGERATOR!!!  I was able to buy groceries yesterday then put them in a fridge and this morning, I made myself a sandwich and ate a yogurt for breakfast!! I know this sounds weird but just try living without a refrigerator in your home for 6 months.

Baby Hummingbird Rescue Mission

Last week sometime, I noticed the hummingbird nest under the patio at castle house with two baby humming birds in it.  We had noticed the mom coming around but it wasn't until I saw a lot of bird poo in a concentrated area that I put the two together.  Of course, I have been crazy for the babies from the first moment I saw them. 

When I came home from work yesterday, one of the babies was sitting on the ground on the patio.  it is a miracle that I saw him!  I freaked out, called the Wazny house and forced Matt into helping in the rescue.  He put the little guy back into the nest (after making sure that this was okay but is was because apparently hummingbirds don't have a sense of smell... learn something new everyday).  Not even two minutes later, the little bugger was on the ground again.  He was smaller than his brother so we started thinking that there just wasn't room for the two of them in the nest any more.  True to my reaction in most emergencies, my brain stopped working so I had to call Layla to remember the name of the bird sanctuary where she volunteers.  Then Matt put him in a little box I had and I drove out to Scottsdale to drop the little guy at Liberty Wildlife. 

When I got out of the car there was a jack rabbit hopping through the parking lot and despite me thinking that I was suddenly Snow White, he did not become my friend but hopped off to nature.  I took the baby to the window and filled out some paperwork when something caught my eye.  I looked down and not an inch from my foot was a three foot long snake.  I looked at the guy who had just taken my baby hummingbird but I couldn't form words and he had to ask what was wrong.  Finally I gained control of my body and said "there's a snake!" and leaped back.  He comes out to see and says "at least it isn't a rattler but that is the biggest one I've ever seen."  Of course he knew the type of snake it was but I was too much in hysterics to remember.  Mind you I was still in a very girly dress and shoes from work so I am sure this was a sight to be seen!

These pictures don't begin to describe how cute this little guy was.  You can see the pen in the background of this picture for scale.  Needless to say, it was an eventful day!

Words to ponder

"Most children's books end quickly, shortly after the point at which wisdom is gained, for the activities of the wise are simply less interesting to contemplate than those of the unwise."

From Pleasure and Genre: Speculations on the Characteristics of Children's Fiction by Perry Nodelman

I have been reading for my summer course, "Children and YA Literature in a Multicultural Society" and I cannot seem to get over this quote.  I think this explains the reason that I love to read, I feel a sense of kinship :)

Update

It is a fact that I have been slacking in the blog world.  In my defense, the end of my spring semester crept up on me with two 20 page papers due and then everyone in my life decided to have major events happen. 

Right now, I cannot believe that it is June.  Didn't I just move back to Phoenix?  Wasn't it just the holidays?  Where did the nice weather go? (it is supposed to be 107 degrees today.)  I start my summer course on Monday, Children's and YA Literature in a Multicultural Society.  I am really excited for this course.  It requires an intense amount of reading but this reading is of children's books, which I love to read anyway.  I have already been to the library and come home with an arm load of books from the children's section.  I think this is going to be a fun class.

My friend Sandra moved back to Canada.  It happened so fast and I just talked to her this week for the first time since she left.  I am still in denial that she is gone.  But this opened up a chance for me to work in the Art Research Library at the Museum for a couple days a week to keep the place going and give me some great experience.  Unfortunately I wasn't able to train with Sandra for more than an afternoon, so the first couple of weeks I wanted to cry a couple times a day when I worked up there.  This week I feel like I was able to help in a significant way and it is make me less nervous about going in every day.  I have a feeling with this work to do and the summer class that this summer is going to fly by. 

I was able to take a couple of trips in between my semesters so I will blog about those each at a later date. But now on to some random pictures that I haven't shared yet.

Here are a couple pictures of little Reese when I went to visit the last time in April.  She gets cuter by the minute!

Sandra and I went to the Carnegie Library to see Jana Bommersbach speak about The Trunk Murderess, which was named One Book AZ this year.  The library was amazing both for its building and its history.  Jana was wearing Winnie's key to the mental hospital on a necklace that day, so I took a couple stalker pictures.  If you look closely you can see it :)

Lani and I are pretty amazing at making banners, garland, pennants... whatever you call them, we are good at it!

Last but not least, Charlotte turned 1!!!!  Since I have returned to Phoenix, I have been part of the Wazny family.  They have graciously let me live in the back of their home and welcomed me in as Aunt Lindsey.  I was so honored to be a part of Charlotte's first birthday party!  She started walking on her birthday and hasn't stopped since.  She is so smart and beautiful, and she always knows the moment when you need a hug.  I still cannot believe that she turned one...

Ok well, that should hold you over for a little while.  More to come soon!