I read it!

On the one hand, I was like, "Well, snakes gotta eat too. And it's not like all birds are vegetarians."

But, of course, if I had been there I totally would've been broom-wacking. My allegiance, apparently, goes up the warm blooded scale.

I read it too. I'm sorry Liese.

Reminds me of a similar scene in Prodigal Summer.

Good news: e-cigs seem to be an effective method to keep me from smoking! Bad news: I already killed the disposable one I got and am jonesing hard-core!

On the one hand, I was like, "Well, snakes gotta eat too.

Ack. That's all I need to know. Poor birds. We came home from buying a new mattress today to find a dead baby bird on our porch (how? we still can't figure out how it got there), and when I read that askye's hummingbird survived, I felt like there was a good avian balance. Poor phoebes.

Oh Liese, I'm sorry, how traumatic.

On the one hand, I was like, "Well, snakes gotta eat too. And it's not like all birds are vegetarians."

These aren't, even. I totally have been watching mighty hunting sagas all day, and you don't see me rushing out to defend the moths.

Which is why I didn't kill the snake. I tried not to hurt him at first, but then I whacked at him trying to get him to let loose of the third chick. He was fine, though, as far as I can tell. But I still have him trapped, I think, and I need to decide what to do with him. He's a benevolent snake, in general terms, obviously I'd rather have him than a rattler. But I think I need to kill him or seriously relocate him, because he knows where the nest is now. And I should probably decide and do it before the SO gets home, because it'll be upsetting to him.

And the mother phoebe is sitting on the nest tonight, but not in her normal spot. Which worries me. I don't know if maybe I didn't damage the nest during the dislodging of the snake. But I rather suspect that maybe the last chick is dead in the nest. I didn't want to disturb her tonight, but I'll need to check in the morning. I thought I'd seen them bringing bugs to the nest still afterward, and I know it was alive for a while anyway, but I don't know.

I mean, I fished out a dead sparrow from the garden pond the other day, and while it was a bummer, I wasn't unduly upset. But these are "our" phoebes. They moved in shortly after we did, and we've shared space for four years. As far as I know, this mother is a second generation mother, and she's not afraid of me at all. So I "know" them. I talk to her every night. And I feel like I let them down.

I'd like to say I wouldn't normally be so upset. And maybe if I hadn't seen it happening, if I'd been in New Mexico and came home to find the empty nest, that would be true. But I am upset, and I already didn't have any coping skills left.

You all should have seen me, though. I was a whirling dust devil of angry. Mama bear would have stepped quietly backward. Heh. I killed the predator that was eating my tadpoles one year, too, so apparently it's a thing.

I read it and it was awful. I'm so sorry Liese, that's awfully traumatic!

I feel old--I left my friends birthday party at 11pm.

Anyway, thanks everybody, and I'm mostly good, if upset. I watched some stupid movies for a while, and now I'm watching a How It's Made marathon which is seriously zen.

Oh! And today the SO hit the REI annual sale and scored me an awesome new backpack. So I'm looking forward to playing with that when he gets home tomorrow.

Oh! And today the SO hit the REI annual sale and scored me an awesome new backpack.

Cool color too.

Before Emmett started high school we took him to REI to get a REAL backpack instead of the crap, somewhat disposable ones we'd been getting once a year with characters on them etc.

And, holy smokes, it makes such a huge difference. It's just much easier on his back, it's not splitting at the seams after 9 months, and he's carrying a lot of stuff back and forth between both houses. It was a classic case of "invest the money in quality and it pays for itself."

I know, nice, right? Feminine but not too girly. Backpacks really are one of the things where it's worth spending the money. I have an old "youth" external frame one, but I don't like how it feels, and it's getting out of usefulness. This one is specifically for women, and the REI store had a short female worker try on the different sizes for me. They'll custom fit it for me when I get back there, too.

Well, in this morning's bird news, the last chick is still alive! But apparently her little adventure out of the nest has sparked some premature fledging desire. This morning I couldn't find her, and she was actually outside of the nest sitting on the speaker. I tried to move her, which was a dumb idea, because she leapt out of the nest two more times. Third time was a charm as I was able to get her calmer and I think she stayed put, plus dad was right there with a snack. But we're going to have to keep an eye out, I think. She can flutter, but not really fly yet. I may rearrange the stuff on the deck so she has a softer landing spot if she does take a plunge.

So continuing adventures in rural-land, I guess.