Animal Maintenance Day�

2002-05-04

It was animal maintenance day today. Cleaned out the tadpole jar. Did some extra loving on and playing with the cats. Cleaned out the hummingbird feeder. Set birdfood out in the feeders.

It may be important to feed the birds this year. The hills aren't green. We've been living in this house for seven years. This is the first year that the hills didn't get green at all. There will be very little food for the birds in the hills this year. I keep hearing the baby birds in the trees, cheeping for attention whenever a parent comes back to feed them. It's going to be a lean year for them.

The goldfinches are back. Eating the sunflower leaves again. Husband and I were out there late yesterday afternoon, talking. The finches landed in the sunflowers and started to peck at the leaves. I couldn't believe they came while we were talking. Most of the time they startle when I turn the page of my book.

I'm very proud of myself. All of the nepenthes that I got from California Carnivores have at least one trap thats grown since I got them. The plants arrived at my door in good shape. The only question being could I keep them alive. I can't grow houseplants to save my life, but I do OK with stuff outside. I put them in the atrium. For a while I thought that one was going to die, but it's doing much better now. A lot of leaves died, but the new growth looks healthy.

The nasturtiums are in full bloom. In the late afternoon, the time I'm out there most often, the garden is aflame with them.

And Now. . . off to that experiment I call dinner. Tonight's experiment involves chicken, cherries, filo dought and cayene pepper. Not all at the same time..

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