Two mornings while Izzy and Brooke were here I got out my heart-shaped waffle maker [which I hadn't used in many moons] and made waffles for breakfast. I drank Rosie Lee blend [a hearty black tea] from Tea and Sympathy with my waffle, but the girls aren't into tea at this point in their lives. Izzy and I went into a Teavana store at the mall earlier in her stay and she tried a tea sample and declared she didn't like tea. Hopefully that will change when she gets older.
Brooke liked her tea-themed coloring book, and she and Izzy colored while watching TV.
~ Below is Brooke's picture ~
On Wednesday I took them to the pediatric clinic where their Aunt Lori [my daughter] works, and afterwards we had lunch with her. They liked the chipmunks in the clinic lobby.
[Izzy, Lori and Brooke]
Brooke went home on Wednesday afternoon. On Thursday, my girlfriend came over for part of the day and the three of us went to an antique mall.
[Izzy]
We took Izzy home on Friday afternoon, but before we left we noticed a baby bird on the floor of our front porch. Though it tried, it couldn't get higher than a couple of feet off the ground, and its little beak was open as if it wanted to be fed. It made the most pitiful sounds. We were careful not to touch it so its parents wouldn't abandon it.
When we returned home in early evening it was still on our porch, but had made its way to the opposite side. I noticed a bright red male cardinal keeping a very close eye on the little bird, and decided it was the father. I laid a piece of bread near the baby bird, but it didn't seem to know it was supposed to pick it up. The father did, however. Below is a zoomed in photo of the father perched on our lamp post. Eventually he got brave enough to perch on our porch swing right next to the flower planter.
The baby bird managed to get itself up to the top of the flower planter where it perched until nighttime. After dark its father must have taken it to safety [or at least I'm hoping that's what happened], because on Saturday morning neither one were anywhere to be found. Research stated male cardinals share the duties of parenthood, and they instinctively care for the mother and babies until they are safely out of the nest and able to find food on their own. It was a fun, unexpected lesson in nature.
The house was very quiet over the weekend without Izzy and Brooke, but Landon [Izzy's 7 year old brother] will be coming for a couple of days this Friday, so things will soon be hopping with activity again.
