The Goings On Over Here

What's been going on? A whole lotta nothin'...Weather is pretty good today so I got out and took some photos:

A couple of weeks ago, we noticed some noise under our deck...what was going on? This was in the making:

It's a little hard to tell, but this is a baby bird beak. Here's a shot from under the deck:

There are two babies in the nest and the parents are not happy to have us bothering their young. See?

Especially when breakfast is ready:

She may look small, but she is mighty. They (the parents) make a lot of noise and dive-bomb our heads. We had a nest earlier this year and were happy when the kids had finally left the nest. Only to be replaced by this one.

We've enlisted the help of our two fearless and furry troops, but they just enjoy playtime by trying the catch the birds when they get dive-bombed (note: the doggies aren't even CLOSE to hurting the birds - they think it's all a big game.)

Then, we noticed all of our trees had leaves that started looking like this:

And then we found the cause:

Yuck! Japanese Beetles. So, we've resorted to a Beetle catcher. It had been up only a couple of hours and had ATLEAST 30 beetles. Again, YUCK, I say.

All of the dark color at the bottom of the bag are beetles - just a solid layer. Yuck.

Here are some of my other plants that are thriving, inspite of the beetle attack.

Have a great Sunday!

Headin' Up North!

Hope everyone has great plans for the 4th of July. We are headed up to the Northern parts of Wisconsin. Usually, we go in August and spend the entire weekend doing lake activities (swimming, skiing, etc.) But, they're forecasting a high of only 70 and that lake water is sure gonna be cold...this girl's not getting in that water.
I haven't posted anything about Michael Jackson - I really don't know what to think. I've been watching all the documentaries and media frenzy. He was talented. "Thriller" was the very first RECORD I owned ( I know, I am dating myself). I would put it on the turntable and sit right next to the speaker - it was really something you could move to. I actually loved it so much that I bought the CD version when it came out. I also remember when he participated in a tribute to Motown and did his first moonwalk across the stage...the crowd went crazy!
But, it is so sad to watch interviews from later in his life. He completely lost his mind. And, was that due to the fact that he was a performer from the age of 6 until he died? Was it because he never really had a childhood? It is just saddening to watch these interviews where he is going into a Las Vegas boutique and talking about all the things he's purchased and then recent reports say his estate is worth far less than he owes. All that work and he couldn't even break even.
Oh well. The guy could sure sing and dance. Did fame get the best of him? Maybe. But, I want to remember him as the guy who rocked with the zombies in "Thriller", "Beat It" in a rival gang fight and told Billie Jean that she certainly was not his lover...

Have a happy 4th and remember those that have give their lives and those that are still fighting for our freedom.