They Grow So Fast, Don't They?

Although somewhat blurry, here are our little bird buddies... spawn of Stepladder Bird and her husband "Ergo Bird" - hence named for the ability to do whatever Stepladder Bird does only seconds after she does it. She feeds the birds... leaves... he feeds the bird... then leaves. She comes back... he comes back... she swoops my bike... he swoops my bike. Sigh!
You can clearly see they are getting much bigger and sprouting feathery bodies.
They are making lots of noise, too. Our cockatiel, Sunshine, seems to love singing back to them.

They seem to only have one mode at this point... that is "feed me cos my mouth is open". This is a rare shot when they aren't open mouthed. Cute, aren't they!

Awww..... Aren't They The CUTEST!

Poor Stepladder Bird. She has people who want to take pictures of her babies!
All I know is that they are constantly hungry and very wiggly. This makes picture taking VERY hard. These are from my mother-in-law!
Mom and Dad Stepladder Bird take turns bringing baby birds food. They seem to tolerate us fairly well. Except when I want to grill and when I want to move my bike.
To date, we have seen 3 baby Stepladder Birds. My Father In Law CLAIMS to have seen baby number 4. I'm not totally convinced. But, they are still TOTALLY cute!


The neighborhood feral cats think Old Country Buffet is our carport. I fear for their safety. But, what can we do? If we move them, Mom and Dad abandon them. If we don't, we either get eyeless feral cats... or we get no more baby birds. ADORABLE!!!

Stepladder Bird: A Unwavering Mommy

Poor Stepladder Bird. She has been out there and protects her eggs (and therefore our stepladder) fiercely. She hated the idea of my moving my bike SOoooooo strongly that I got swooped at. She hated the idea of my grilling for my Mother In Law's birthday that she hissed and gave a guttural rumble when I went out to cook. I won the grilling thing.. she took off briefly to watch me from a nearby tree. But I didn't win with the bike... she didn't hurt me. But there was no way the bike was going to be moved without bloodshed.

I decided to find out exactly how many days this is going to happen. The Gestation period is 40 days. Then about 2 weeks before they take flight. I personally am beginning to wish the neighborhood feral cat would stop hovering. I want to see baby birds hatch and get a start in life. The situation is not great... but poor birds!

Rick Riordan: IS He The Next JK Rowling?

Ever since JK finished the Harry Potter series with Deathly Hallows, everyone has been wondering which author will meet or even exceed her popularity. At one point in time, I would have ventured to guess Jenny Nimmo was the heir apparent. Her Charlie Bones series was not only entertaining, but very much a Harry Potter fan type of book. The main character, Charlie, is a boy who, as he is growing to become a young man, has to struggle with learning new skills (in his case, talking to people in photographs/objects/memories), while solving a major mystery based upon the book, find his father, and try to stop whatever evil plot his grandmother and her sisters have planned. I personally enjoyed the books, but I found them to be rather systematic. All the books, by the end, tended to blend together.

My next future J.K. candidate would have been the Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage. They are a great blend of magic, family, mystery, and adventure. However, as much as I love the series, Angie Sage is a talented author in her own right. She is different enough from J.K. that she isn't the next J.K Rowling... more like others are the next Angie Sage! I will keep buying Septimus books as long as Angie Sage cranks them out.

Which brings me to Rick Riordan. Different critics are touting him as the new wannabe J.K. Rowling. And WITH GOOD reason! He is an author from Texas who writes about a young boy (named Percy Jackson) who finds out that his father was an Olympian God. Suddenly, his life is turned around and he is at Camp Half-Blood, a camp for demigods in training. Like Harry, he is being forced to learn a whole new way of life while struggling to be a teenager with normal problems. Percy mets friends, enemies, people who want him to succeed and those who want him to fail. Like Harry, he has problems that exist in both worlds and he tries to come to grips with how the effect his life in both worlds. Unlike Harry, who is fairly likable from the start, Percy is a little less than likable at the beginning because he seems to not fit in anywhere and you learn that he keeps getting kicked out of schools because of his ADHD problems. So, my question is: IS Rick Riordan the J.K. Rowling wannabe that people think he could be? My feeling is a resounding "No". Mr. Riordan is a talented author. Not unlike the Jennifer Scales series (Alongi and Alongi-Davidson) or even Pullman's Northern Lights/Subtle Knife, Amber Spyglass series, we have a protagonist who we can learn to like, even admire, for their adventures. He is a great author in his own right and does not have to stand in anyones shadow. If Mr. Riordan is a success, and his books currently are, it is not because he is J.K in waiting. It is because he figured out what kids want to read. And for me, anything that gets them wanting to read is a plus in my book!

I Have Two Predictions... It Will Be A Guy... And His Name Shall Be "David"!

Like the guy in the Washington Post this morning, American Idol's final two isn't getting me as excited as it normally would. I mean... after Carly left, there wasn't much doubt in my mind that we'd likely see dueling David's. Yes, Syesha COULD have pulled off an upset and knocked Lil' David out. Stoner Jason could have decided to actually look interested in singing and "wooo-ed" America. Didn't happen. As I said in my title line... I only have two predictions for the final. The winner will be a male... and he will be named David. I actually will take it one more step. He will have dark hair, too! And the teenage girls... alright... all the swooning women in the audience will scream and scream and scream when the winner sings. And then, our new Idol shall be crowned. Go, David!

Who do I really expect to win? Cook all the way. In this likely event, I hope AI is smart enough to have security both of Lil' David and his father Jeff. Jeff might decide to take his "hostility" out on the poor judges... using that broken Coke glass/bottle he smuggled in. And, keep him away from his son for at least 48 hours. That is how long I expect it will take for a record producer to sign him. Either way, both Davids should have good careers. At least one album will be made for both. Even Brooke, Carly, and Michael Johns got that!!!

Good luck to both David contestants in their run for the Idol glory. Oh, and let us wish Big Brown good luck at the Belmont. Go Brown!

Dumb Bird HAS 4 Eggs

My father in law went to go see if Stupid Bird has eggs. She has 4 blue eggs, according to him. I think he should have stayed away... but at least now we know.

Uhhhoh... Stupid Bird IS Nesting?

Oh, No! Our resident stepladder bird appears to nest sitting. Upon going out to get my bike on Friday, she was highly aggressive. This morning, she appears to be stepladder sitting and doesn't want to move for any reason. So, every time we want something out there, we have to shoo her away from the nest BRIEFLY to get our things. This morning, I thought I'd move my bike... however, I don't want to cause trauma to our nesting mother. I will wait until a nice peaceful time when she appear a little more friendly to move it out of her way. I mean, it will be raining tomorrow, so I don't expect to ride. So, I'll sneak it out tomorrow.

By the way, Happy Mother's Day to all my blog parents. I gave Jane a Mother's Day card, as I said I would try to do on Substitute Parent's Day. I think I may have not done a good job. She appeared to be "happy" with the card. But, she didn't get emotional in the least. Oh, well. I guess it wasn't as touching a sentiment as I thought!