Pictures of Birdwatching and Christmas

I promised some pictures in my last post. Here they are!

Frost pursues the marsh Wren into a thicket. His feet are in the brambles and he is making a sucking lip cheeping sound "as a way to call the bird like Granny does." The bird does not emerge.

A little flock of golden crowned sparrows was so bold as to come right to our feet. We threw cookie crumbs for them but they thought we were attacking. Later, they returned and ate them. This is the one and only time I have managed a decent picture of a wild bird with my point and shoot camera.

Here the boys stalk the marsh Wren from the bullrushes into the long grass. "He is in there" said Frost. Wren was caught up in the urgency of the situation but crept along with a loud narrative which would have warned any bird to lie low.

I was so busy roasting the lamb that I forgot to take pictures on Christmas day. This photo was taken the day after - of a gift the kids were given by their aunt. It was a "cookie decorating kit" with a box of snickerdoodle cookies, a tub of candy and a tub of frosting. I told the kids they could eat "the candy on their cookie, not from the tub." Foolish me. That simply created an incentive for Frost to load his cookie up with an unchewable load. Here is the picture of what kids do with sugar if they are not restrained.

Finally, the only Christmas Day picture worth sharing is giving me problems. Its a movie of the boys just after they opened the scooters they were given by Granny. These are the best gifts of the season. We have done many rides around the block and to the coffee shop. Since this wobbly start, Wren has learned to scoot and steer and can now move under his own steam all the way to the coffee shop at adult walking speed or above. He has had a few spills but is more afraid of his hair getting stuck in his helmet (as happened today) than accidents.