Saturday, August 6, 2011

Summer of the birds

It seems that everywhere I turn this summer I find baby birds.
We had a bittersweet ending to our chimney swift saga. For three weeks, we lived with four little birds hidden away in our fireplace, behind our wooden screen, after their nest fell from the chimney. Even the thin plywood barrier didn't muffle the round-the-clock squawking. It sounded like we were living with wildlife in our living room. Fortunately, the parents went above and beyond and performed dive-bomb type swoops down our chimney and into our fireplace to feed their babies.

From the beginning, three of the babies were heartier than the 4th. The scrawny bird was never allowed into the nest and never seemed very healthy. After initially discovering the birds and moving them back in their fallen nest, we left them alone. We did sneak a peek every few days though.

These photos are each about two days apart, starting with the morning after we found them.









See the three birds together on the fallen nest and the 4th bird outside of the nest.




This was the first bird to leave the nest and cling to the wall. These birds have an amazing ability to grip onto the bricks.








Here, three birds are on the wall and are higher up each time we peek.








Below is our last view of the birds before they disappeared too high up into the chimney for us to see. We still hear them, but they've officially left the nest! The woman at the animal rescue told us that when their wings got long enough to cross they were old enough to fly. Sadly, the fourth little guy didn't make it. It was amazing that it hung on for so long in it's strange living conditions.





As soon as the chimney swifts left the nest, almost to the day, I found this baby bird in the middle of the road. He was looking up at me, as if saying, 'help!'. I used my hat to push him to the side of the road.



Friday, August 5, 2011

Tammy Pescatelli and Luca Palanca, Meadville's Biggest Celebs

One of the more exciting things to happen to me last winter was the premiere of A Stand Up Mother, a reality show about a stand up comedienne who moves from Los Angeles to Meadville (Conneaut Lake's neighboring town) with her husband and young son. Unfortunately, the show only lasted for two episodes.
Tammy Pescatelli, the stand-up mother, is married to Luca Palanca, also a stand-up comic. Imagine my excitement when I saw a flyer advertising Luca's Meadville show. Two nights only! With a special guest each night.
Bob and I went to the show tonight, and I was not disappointed. Not only was Tammy the special guest, but we ran into the couple in the parking lot after the hysterical show. And, good news, she told us that six more episodes of her show were just edited - something to look forward to this winter!





Thursday, August 4, 2011

Surfing? In Erie?

We didn't believe it. And after visiting, we still not sure we believe it.



We're told that people actually surf here, between Beach 10 and Beach 11 on Presque Isle. The kids have been anxious to visit for weeks. The water really couldn't have been calmer, yet we're told waves can get as high as 10 feet.



We visited the local board shop and found out that the larger waves are mostly in the fall and spring. Since the 'waves' are wind driven, they're not nearly as powerful as ocean waves. But, people do really surf.



Without waves large enough to even body surf, the kids played in the water a bit before we made it out ahead of the storm.


























Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Jamestown Pioneer Days

We go to Pioneer Days almost every year. Like every other time, we spent a pleasant afternoon talking to the various re-enactors.

President Lincoln was even there!
























You wouldn't see this in California! They're raffling off over fifty guns!