Yes, another Lowe's Build n Grow for us. I took the boys yesterday for the "See it Grow Planter". And, other than needing some help fudging one side on because the predrilled holes did not line up (which he noticed himself), T-bone did the whole thing without a bit of help. E-man did just about all of his hammering (the last bit it always hard). Two proud and happy boys who didn't even want to go!

T-bone and I spent the morning at Los Angeles National Cemetery with a bunch of other boy and girl scouts so the kids could put a flag at each grave for their Memorial Day events tomorrow. A fabulous lesson in how people working together can accomplish a huge task in very little time (30 minutes!). The rain did help everyone move faster, but I had actually taken an umbrella. For once!

E-man took a snooze in the afternoon, and T-bone and I went to the Playa Vista library and then on a walk around the parks and along Bluff Creek, and managed to do some of the discussion requirements he has left for his Wolf badge. Getting T-bone to discuss is like pulling teeth, but it worked! Birds for me: lots and lots of red-winged blackbirds, common grackle, raven, lesser goldfinch, singing common yellowthroats, a flyby egret, mourning doves, house finches, coots, mallards, Anna's hummingbird. Exciting for T-bone: the utility boxes, the construction, the dog park, the missing and replaced fence rails, the dumpster. The usual!

Cooper the Hawk

Here he is, Cooper, our resident neighborhood hawk. He's a Cooper's Hawk, to be precise, but we are just so clever around here he is named Cooper.

Pete got this photo and several others the other morning--yesterday?--after we left for school. Cooper was looking and looking, this way and that, and there were no birds or squirrels in sight, and the outdoor cats (several frequent our yard since our kitty stays in!) were slinking for cover.

E-man and I recently saw Cooper sitting on our power pole, calling. We both thought it was pretty cool, though it made me glad I'm not a rat!

What's up in the yard?

gWell, it has finally stopped raining and there is no more standing water in the yard. Finally. We have radishes and carrots up and still alive. They were underwater for about 2 days, but seem to be fine, even if they haven't grown in a week.

The peach tree and lavender are both blooming. I need to cut the lavender back again, it takes just forever and I put it off, making it all worse. Of course. We haven't seen a hummer today, but they love the lavender too. If I can just get it cut back it will bloom even more.

And of course, the lesser goldfinches are everywhere. They eat the niger, they eat the sunflower chips, they eat dandelion seeds, they are hungry, beautiful, singing little guys. I'm hoping to get some good pics of our other birds, but they are so much more skittish.

We need to do some more planting, but the ground is so saturated that we can't plant anything right now. And the ground is so saturated that with the last storm one of our downspouts sent water into the garage instead of the lawn. We'll see how long it takes to dry out!

Finches and more finches

Oooh...my first entry. And how exciting it is.

Anyway, T-bone and I chose this bird feeder when we were up in San Jose for the holidays. It took me a month to get it up, but they like it. It is usually covered in Lesser Goldfinches and House Finches, except when the Coopers Hawk is around. The Mourning Doves and White-Crowned Sparrows enjoy everything that falls. 

Our chubby squirrel (wonder why?) likes it too, but he is so funny to watch it's OK.

The boys counted seven birds on it at once. Or one chubby squirrel.