MiT book, the last words

I finally have all the text more or less finished and laid out for my Rock Star senior's book. At least one of the pages will be tricky—one line of text will be split on 2 different ends of the sheet, and will have to line up after folding. I also started trimming the end sheets. I'll sleep on the words before I start printing them, which probably won't be until Saturday at this point. Just as well, gives me a couple of days to think them over a bit more.

The Bird Brains Saga

First of all, it seems that there's a 2nd male hanging around the happy couple. An usurper? Maybe.

Activities have kicked up. They were busy all afternoon today, unlike yesterday, when they had a siesta during the hot afternoon. Or at least I didn't see them at all. More soft downy stuff arrived today, with both the male and the female checking out the nest.

Here's the expectant father on the right, and the mommy-to-be in the nest, with her butt up in the air:



And a close up of the female; she seems to be taking it on a test drive, sitting it at various postions:



I've been rather torn on the subject of these birds. On the one hand, I think it's pretty cool to be able to see them—they are right outside the window; also, my nieces are coming for a visit, and I think they would really enjoy them. On the other hand, people are talking about the mess and the aggressive behavior. After talking it over with the Good Prince, we've decided to let nature take its course—they put the nest there, and there it shall stay.

White Flowers

Lest you think that my garden is all garish pink and magenta (which from previous pictures, it would appear that way), I have some white flowers to show today. Spring Dawn, a nice climber; it usually has a nice scent, but I don't seem to be able to smell it this year:



Pyracantha. Looks like there will be plenty of berries this winter! I keep hoping it will attract cedar waxwings, but I haven't seen them yet in all these years.



Ahhh, the mock orange! For some reason, it blooms just on one side of the bush (it's always been this way), but fortunately, it's the side I stand when I water my veggies. Mmmmm...it's a lovely smell.



Alright, I have to throw this in. It's a great iris, with the deep purple and golden orange. It didn't bloom for a couple of years after I moved them, so I'm glad to have them back this year.