Morning Yoga

Still quite limber for a girl who'll be thirteen this August, Fiona practices her yoga in the garden every fine morning. This particular position is a favorite of hers, one she likes to follow up with a good long stretch and a snack of raw, unprocessed ornamental grasses.

Recipe For Disaster

You can't believe everything you read on the safety seal of your mayonnaise jar. Let me save you all a lot of disappointment by telling you now that a shatterproof jar, while it is indeed convenient, does NOT, in fact, make a great salad.

Something Pretty

I don't know about you, but all that avian activity has worn me out. Let's kick back with a couple more relaxing, ain't-that-purdy shots of spring flowers. Here's the durable, dependable, poisonous-but-lovely lily-of-the-valley. It's been blooming for weeks now, and when the flowers fade they'll be replaced by bright red berries, which will contrast nicely with the by-then-yellowed foliage. As perennials go, it has quite a long showtime.

Thanks to my Canon's indispensable Vari-Angle display screen (still can't understand why THAT was discontinued) the sweet pink and yellow insides of these low-growing darlin's are revealed to living things that happen to be more than two inches tall.

Make Way for Ducklings

In this case, make way for just one duckling, the only one observed so far this season along the route I usually take. The duck and her lone young'un were grazing and splashing in the same spot yesterday and today, followed all the while by two drakes who would try time and again to get close, only to have the mama lower her head and charge at one or the other until they backed off. (As you can see here in this video.) But after a bit, they'd be trying again. Drakes don't care what mama don't allow, gonna follow 'round mama anyhow...

Spring Migration

The migratory path of the plastic garden flamingo (flamingus suburbanus petroleumus) begins here, in a dark cave in Garagistan, where they have hibernated peacefully all through the long, cold winter. The unique position of the cave's only opening admits no light until the earth's axis tilts just so, and the first rays of the spring sun shine through it and awaken the salmon-colored slumberers from their seasonal nap. As their eyes become accustomed to the crepuscular light and they survey their surroundings, they experience an urge to undertake a migratory journey, spurred on by the slowly dawning realization that they are sharing this cave with a cat. And, they are...birds. So it is they ready themselves for their yearly trek, which will take them many thousands of inches away from here. Their journey begins.

Danger Along the Way

"No, Bob! Don't move!! It's quicksand!!!"
The oasis had seemed a welcoming place, as oases are wont to do. Filled with grasses and fruits and not-too-stagnant pools of water, it beckoned to the road-weary three, who fed and refreshed themselves, capering joyously about, just having a bit of fun....when suddenly, disaster struck!

Too late the travelers realized the hidden danger, as Bob made a near-fatal misstep and was quickly sucked into the deathgrip of a quicksand patch! He struggled for just a moment and was up to his feathers before regaining control of his natural reflex to flail about in panicked terror.

Thankfully, his intrepid companions' ridiculously long, thin legs came in quite handy, as they bravely risked their own exquisitely graceful necks to extend him a helping limb, and pull him to safety.

"Bob, you reckless feathersack!" they scolded him when it was clear he was out of danger. "Don't you ever scare us like that again!"

Safe Arrival

Even though they managed to overcome many hurdles and solve many survival-related problems during this time, f. suburbanus remains a none-too-bright species, and upon arriving at their summer home, they managed to get into one last pickle.

Still somewhat disoriented from their short but arduous journey, the trio flocked to the nearest tree and perched awkwardly in its branches, apparently unaware this is inappropriate behavior for waterfowl. It will be a few days before their peabrains adjust to their new surroundings, and they settle in a more suitable location. Such is the lot of the beautiful-but-dim.