Flying Solo

As I looked out my kitchen window yesterday, I noticed a baby bird in the grass, under the big ole’ pine tree in our backyard. It appeared to have fallen out of its nest. While I looked on, its parents, a pair of common grackles, flew in and fed it. Then mama bird, or papa bird, moved back a few feet and called out. The baby bird hopped up in response, flapping its little wings. I watched in amazement at this family effort to teach the fledgling the basics of flight.

The baby grackle wasn’t the only one unfolding its wings yesterday. Earlier this week Lola announced out of the blue that she wanted her training wheels removed from her bike. She was ready to ride without them. Dressed in full-on protective gear, we set out to teach our girl how to ride. She didn’t realize it, but she caught on within seconds. Turning her bike was a little tricky though, and our little perfectionist was ready to quit when she didn’t get it right on her first try.

I remember my first bike ride. It was my sixth birthday and when I entered the living room there was a shiny red bicycle waiting for me. A friend taught me how to ride it that same day. She held on to my saddle for a minute or two and then let go. That was all there was to it. I can still picture the look of surprise on my mother’s face when I raced by. I had told Lola about this a few weeks ago, and I suspect that’s where her desire came from. But her experience wasn’t as rewarding as she thought it would be.

“I thought dad would hold on for two minutes and then it would be perfect,” she said to me, tears rolling down her cheeks.



Poor kid, blessed with her parents’ perfectionist genes. I don’t know why her first solo ride disappointed her so much she wanted to give up; it looked just about perfect to me. With a little prodding she was willing to get back on her bike and give a few more tries. And lo and behold, she did it. Racing up and down the street, she gave us a big grin. We still have to work a little bit on her right turn, but she mastered the basics yesterday.

When we returned to the house, I walked into the backyard to see how the baby grackle was getting along. He was nowhere to be found. I guess he mastered the basics, too.

Of Porcupines And Salty Cars

The Reverend B. and his lovely wife and daughter were in the neighborhood this week, and since we haven’t seen them in over three years, we went to visit them, of course. He is not really a reverend; we call him that because he married us. And they weren't really in the neighborhood either; we met them in Wilderness State Park in the lower peninsula of Michigan, well over four hours away. But it is a lot closer than Seattle so we happily crossed the scary bridge and ventured downstate to spend the night in a cabin with no electricity and no plumbing. We felt right at home. We could have done without the Washington weather, though.

Outside the cabin, next to the outhouse, was a strange rectangular box, about two and a half feet high, with swinging doors on one end but no cover. It looked like a small hockey rink that could hold one car. We all wondered what it was. On the way back home, when we dropped off the key at the park’s headquarters, Ryan asked about it. It turned out to be a porcupine protection box. The creatures come out in the spring and are attracted to the salt on the undercarriage of parked cars. They can do quite a bit of damage we were told. We just laughed and drove away.

But then the car maintenance light suddenly came on.

Followed by the cruise control failing.

The left headlight no longer works.

Neither does the right rear light. 

Coincidences? We don’t think so. We made it home safely despite the car slowly coming undone. But we are not laughing anymore. @#$%^&* porcupines! 

Animal Planet LIVE

It’s Memorial Day weekend and we have all gathered at my parents-in-law’s house. The long, snowy winter has added some extra inches to the water level in the lake but it’s still a long way off from what it once was.

As usual Lola and her cousin L. were hunting for frogs down by the water. Despite the very loud croaking we hear at night, there were not that many frogs to be found yet, just dozens of ticks.

At long last the girls came back with one frog, a lovely green specimen.



What they also found was a garter snake. It was a decent sized one, about three feet long. After it was admired by all, the girls took their temporary pets around the house while the adults remained behind on the back deck to relax a little, enjoy the sun, and watch Ryan and his brother put the dock in the water.

Queue blood-curdling scream. The adults jumped up as one and ran to the front of the house, trying not to scrape their bare feet on the gravel path, fully expecting to find massive amounts of blood. Fortunately none of the children were injured. The same could not be said for the frog, however.

It seems the snake and the frog met, and the snake did not play nice.

It took the snake about ten minutes to devour the frog in its entirety. After recovering from her initial shock and horror, it was she who let out the ear-piercing scream, Lola returned to the scene of the carnage, curious and fascinated although still very upset.



“Thanks for the free lunch. See ya..!” And off it went, full belly and all, back into the woods.

Summer Evening At The Ball Park

Yesterday was the Rangers’ first baseball game of the season and they played well. Sadly they lost. But Miss Lola got a hit without having to use the tee. Proud parents of course, but the slugger herself was not impressed.

“I have done it before.”

Must be her number. It was hot, the mosquitoes were atrocious, but the smell of brats on the grill and the crack of the bat hitting the ball made for a perfect summer evening.

Kitchen Progress Report

Two years ago, when we bought this house, we started on the kitchen as our first project. It didn't go quite as fast as anticipated. In fact, after we ripped out the dropped ceiling, painted the walls and the kitchen cabinets, and learned a valuable lesson in the process (never again will we paint cabinets!), things came to a complete standstill. We replaced the refrigerator and the dishwasher last year but that was about it.

Two weeks ago we decided it was time to finish this project. Light fixtures were swapped out, outlet covers renewed, a new stove brought in, and for the finishing touch, the floor was redone. The eighties brown polyester paint-stained carpet was ripped out and replaced with lovely old-fashioned black and white tile. It fits the house perfectly. Behold our new floor. (Please ignore the mess. Just look at the blocks, mesmerizing aren't they? And the pretty orange fridge.)



Of course there is a downside to having a nice floor, isn't there always? No longer can I just sweep crumbs and such from the counter top onto the floor and call it a day. I actually have to bring the mop out on a regular basis. A small price to pay, I say. Happy weekend!

Of Aliens And Citizens

I have a new job! And a fun one, too. The technical college in the area, together with a local literacy organization and a nonprofit agency of the diocese, has received a federal grant to assist permanent residents in becoming US citizens. They need a coordinator to market the program, keep track of the applicant progress data, and run quarterly reports for the government. Who better for the job than your friendly resident alien? Thankfully, the college thought so too.

And so I make the trek south three days a week. It’s a great program and I really enjoy being part of it. Permanent residents who are interested in becoming citizens are offered assistance with filing the naturalization application, English language and US civics classes, and the possibility to practice citizenship interviews, all free of charge. As the coordinator who navigates between the three partners and the applicants, I hope to meet many interesting people on this road to citizenship.

Spring Thoughts

My living room window is covered in peck marks, made by a robin that wanted to come in last Friday. All day long she flew up in the air and knocked on my window. There is a Dutch children’s song about just that: “Little robin flies into the window, peck, peck, peck. Let me in, let me in.” It was highly amusing. When I wondered on Facebook if I should let her in, someone suggested she wanted to let me out.

It’s so unusual to walk outside and be enveloped in warm air. We went from freezing temperatures to high seventies and eighties practically overnight. I love it, don’t get me wrong, but the transition is rather sudden. But oh, how glorious to go out barefoot. Alas, tomorrow the temperature drops again.

Every day on my way to work I notice the trees are a little greener than the day before. There is a subtle hint of green on the branches right now, which I am sure will be more pronounced tomorrow. Our lilac literally burst into leaves yesterday. It is full of buds, ready to become gorgeous and fragrant purple flowers.

The mini crocuses I planted last fall have come up and they look so lovely. There are flowering daffodils by the side of the house that I did not plant. They just showed up. The rhubarb is pushing its way out, and the catnip is going strong. Ryan and Lola have cleaned up the Lily-of-the-Valley beds.

It is finally spring.

The Rookie

She was reluctant at first when I asked her if she wanted to sign up for summer baseball here in town. But then one day she hit the ball just right during t-ball in gym class. That felt so good, she wanted more. There are not enough kids to form a t-ball team but she was welcome to join the coach pitch team. And so she did.

She is the youngest by far, throws like a girl, and is easily distracted (“What’s that on my shoe?”) but she’s doing it. She did not let that baseball that hit her square in the forehead on day one deter her either. Good girl!

The Green House

Yesterday was the very first proper spring day up north, and our first order of business, after finally enjoying some coffee outside, was fixing the roof of the green house. Being veterans at this, we completed the task in no time, and without any arguments. Once the green house was cleaned, all 400 plants were moved from my dining room into their new home. Just a few more weeks, and we can plant them outside.

I promised you pictures, didn't I? I found them but then I got distracted by life. So here they are. Most are from last year when the green house was built. Some are from yesterday, to show off our ginormous tomato plants. Seriously, they are flowering already.

Our starting point:



To escape from eight little girls running around the house, it was the day of Lola’s birthday party, Ryan spent the day replacing the windows in the potting shed by bigger ones.





Next up, the roof:







So far, that was easy. And now for the fun part, putting up the acrylic plates. Gliding them into place was a major pain but we got it done and we’re still married.

And for the finishing touch, lobelia.

A few shots from inside:





That was last year. This was yesterday. The black-eyed Susans, started from seed, on their way to the green house.





Everything is back in place. And the dining room looks almost normal again.