Silence is ...

GOLDEN purple!

Yesterday morning Justin was outside working in the yard with Morgan and the Raiger was playing quietly in the playroom. As a mom you start to learn (eventually) that sometimes silence (while thoroughly enjoyed) is not always golden. I got an inkling when she was just being "too" quiet in there and I decided to go check on things. This is what I found-- purple mouthed, tongued, and teethed Raiger. She was a sport about it and I told her what great blog material she was and she (being the well behaved daughter that she is (ha! ha!)) posed quite nicely and opened her mouth on cue for the camera! Her lip is healing quickly and thankfully the markers are non-toxic as I'm sure some of the ink entered her bloodstream if not through her saliva than through the laceration in her upper lip that is almost completely healed. What a little squirrel she is.

While the purple squirrel was napping on Friday I had a little time to myself on the patio. I'm always eager to see what I can find in the treetops and I was very delighted to see a pair of Great Crested Flycatchers. I'm not sure how many, if any, of y'all are bird enthusiasts but these little guys (while not extremely rare) are seldom seen in your backyard. I spotted them in the Dogwood and was so excited that I called Justin on his cell phone. Thankfully he is equally enthralled with these type things! Unfortunately (for me), he keeps our Sibley's guide in his truck (archaeology can take you places most don't go so he's much more likely to need it than me!) so I had to take a good mental image and wait for him to get home before I could actually confirm what it was that I saw. The one I saw didn't have his/her "crest" tufted up like this but he/she was beautiful nonetheless! Special treats like the Flycatchers makes me anxious for my husband to build a platform feeder. We've had one at every house and have yet to put one out here. If any of y'all enjoy birds (and don't have cats that eat them) I highly recommend you get (or build) a platform feeder you are sure to attract the greatest variety of birds... and well, squirrels too... but that's why you should have dogs instead of cats! :) Justin makes ours out of plywood and drills holes in the corners (covered with wire mesh) to drain water and places it on a galvanized pipe "stand". They are really easy to make and I guarantee you'll see lots of birds on them. Ours was always frequented by Red-headed Woodpeckers in Tallahassee. They are some feisty birds and always made for good entertainment when others would join them for a meal!


While I'm on a "nature" note I will share this quick (40 second) video with you. If any of y'all were reading last summer, you'll remember the snake Justin introduced to Morgan. Justin has never been one to fear anything in nature (well, besides snakes that are poisonous) and has instilled in his children to enjoy God's creation. This morning we were walking in the back door when he spotted an Anole in the fern. He quickly snatched it up was showing it to the girls. Paiger is much more reserved around "lizards" and bugs than Morgan so he thought it would be a good opportunity to show it to her. You must watch below to see what happened. We didn't think it was funny at first. The Anole doesn't have teeth and didn't hurt her. He scared her because he latched on to her finger but it just barely pinched her and didn't harm her at all. After watching the video over and over I can't help but laugh. We thought we'd show her just how harmless these little creatures are and now I'm certain we've scarred her for life. Watch and enjoy and please know she wasn't hurt at all... and if she had been I most certainly wouldn't have posted it on the blog. I make myself sick at the end as I snap at Justin as if it was his fault the Anole got her... remember what I said in my 100 post... I think I know best on most occasions... well, here ya' go... you can hear it first hand! Something I'm not particularly proud of!

after she got "bit" she walked around with her "wounded finger" in the air... milking it for all it was worth... needless to say, it got lots of kisses

As for my sore throat... still have it! I have finally resorted to drugs. I tried the tea and honey and salt water gargle... you name it, I've pretty much tried it. Today I started a z-pack and I'm hoping it will do the trick. Thank you all for your suggestions!