(it's what makes me me)

Okay so you know how we had an owl pellet on our front lawn?

I finally had a chance to show it to our neighbor Dave, who is a wildlife biologist.

“If this is an owl pellet, your owl is 30 feet long.”

Turns out what I found on our lawn is a nest. But not just any nest. It is the nest of

(wait for it)

the bushtit.

Yes, I am 42 years old, and yes, the word “bushtit” did sound hilarious coming from his mouth. I literally thought to myself, “Oh no, he did NOT just say ‘bushtit!’”

I would love to take the nest in to Eva’s class during science to show it to them, but c’mon. Bushtit. There is just no way.

So then I’m chatting with the neighbors about it and Dave brings over a book turned to the page on bushtits. And yup, “bushtit” looks even more hilarious in print.

You already know I have the humor of an eleven year old boy. And bushtit is just too much.

But in all seriousness, their nests are really cool.

They hang “pendant style” like so. Dave calls it “gym sock” style. The bird lays her eggs inside and actually crawls in through the small opening.

Dave believes our nest blew out of a tree before the mama had a chance to lay eggs, because there were no broken shells. (So the eggs didn’t break, and even if they’d “fledged,” there would be broken shells left behind.)

All of this explains why Scott thought our “owl pellet” looked like dryer lint; it probably DOES have dryer lint in it. Suburban birds love dryer lint as a nest ingredient.

Dave even whipped out another bushtit nest (he seriously just had it sitting in his house) and gave it to me to show the kids. (Which might not happen because I can’t say “bushtit” over and over again to a roomful of fifth graders.) This one came from northeastern LA County and had a lot of pine needles in it. And no dryer lint. He did say to “be careful because there might be dead babies inside.”

Bushtit bushtit bushtit!

Look what our neighborhood owl left on our front lawn:

Eva dissected an owl pellet a few years ago at the Wild Animal Park and it had interesting things in it. This one looks like it is mostly feathers. Scott said he thought it looked like a giant ball of dryer lint.

(In case you don’t know, owls eat entire little creatures whole, then regurgitate whatever they can’t digest in a pellet that can be examined to learn what the owls are eating.)

Up close, it’s not as gross as you’d think. The pellet looks kind of dry (like dryer lint!) and has absolutely no odor.

But to take away some of the horror, here’s a picture of Mo:

It’s here!

I wait with a ridiculous amount of anticipation for this moment every year:

2011/.

2010/

2009/

2008/

Doesn’t look like much, but in a few weeks our front yard will be a waving sea of these things.

Spring!

Yes, I do feel slightly guilty for writing this, but I have been relaxing so much during spring break that I am actually physically tired from all the relaxing.  I spa-d so much at Glen Ivy this week that I (literally!) need a nap.  (The late night at Pechanga might have something to do with it, too.)

Good times with good friends and family…ahhhh.

Week one of spring break is down; one more left.  Eva heads off to Astro Camp this week, I am on call for jury duty, and Passover starts. So basically week one was relaxation on steroids, and this week will be Getting Stuff Done.

But first I’m giving myself one more day.  A little napping in the sun with the dog, a little tennis with the neighbors, a quick visit to the Hidden Jungle butterfly exhibit at the Wild Animal Park…it’s all good as they say.

Hope you can put some break in your spring this month too:-)

Jane was doing some art while Eva was at school.  Later I found this casually placed in the garage near.

I was laughing too hard to even think discipline.  But can I seriously let this slide?  It’s so premeditated.

"Eva, look inside."

"Eva is stoopid."

"Eva is not osum (awesome)."
Define irony?

A MEDIUM TOLD ME I have protective angels all around me and my most influential one looks like a garden gnome.  He wants to inspire me to write more.

THE FIRST GUN I EVER FIRED was a Mossberg 590.  We went out to a very  secluded range and shot at rocks for awhile.  I was too busy just trying to hold the thing to aim.  That gun really packs a punch.  It was our anniversary and actually quite a fun day.  My biggest surprise firing a gun is the smell.  I like it; it’s magical.

DAD ALWAYS SAID, “Don’t ask for a tack when what you really want is a pushpin.”  Sometimes precision matters.   Our Destination Imagination team used these to hang cheap cotton bed sheets from a wall to paint as sets.

I TREASURE THE MEMORY  of my (adult) bat mitzvah in December, 2011.  Belinda Singer is a wonderful teacher and congregant at Temple Adat Shalom.  She created these beautiful shema sculptures cast from metal.  This religious art is incredibly inspiring to me.

YOU MAY ALSO NOTICE MY:

This is why they call this course The Oaks.

I’ve gotten into golfing lately. I’m having a fantastic time! I am taking a women’s golf clinic at Redhawk, which is a great little break in the day. (I sneak over there on Tuesday mornings, plus I hit their driving range when I can.)

I’ve wanted to learn golf for a long time, but I was always scared off by what seemed like prohibitive cost. I am cheap! Fortunately, I am in Golf Central and there are so many choices at every price point that I can be an incredibly frugal golfer and still have fun.

My two secret weapons are:

1) City of Temecula Parks & Rec classes at Redhawk. These are taught by a fabulous pro, Steve Adamiak. There are classes for couples, women (“ladies” in GolfLand), and kids. Enrollment size tends to be small, so it’s really more like a “semi-private clinic.” If I were to just walk into Redhawk or any other golf club and book lessons with their best pro, it would cost me a lot more than $50 for four weeks! (And that $50 includes borrowed clubs if you don’t own them yet.)

Plus, now that I feel really comfortable at Redhawk, I can pop in to shoot a bucket of balls at their driving range for $5 (small bucket) or $8 (large bucket.) They also have a big putting green which is free (bring your own ball.) I was thinking of buying one of those putting matts like agents have in the movies, but I don’t know where I’d put it and it just seems easier to slip away to Redhawk when I have some spare minutes. Plus if I keep my putter in the car: makes a great weapon! Just in case.

2) My main #1 big frugal golf secret, though, is Lawrence Welk! Yup, the champagne cork-popping bandleader built a timeshare resort in Escondido which has two golf courses. One (The Fountains) is a normal course for people who actually know how to play golf, but their Oaks course is a beginner’s dream.

Twelve dollars, people! Where on earth are you going to find eighteen holes for $12? Yes, it is a par three course, and that is perfect for the beginner.

Plus, The Oaks is a friendly, low-pressure way to learn the game of golf without worrying that people are going to laugh at your confusion or lack of skill. It’s not crowded so you don’t feel time pressure of people waiting behind you.

Stop and take a picture or two. Nobody is behind you.

I took Eva to play her first game of golf the other day. They charged only $10 for a child and she was able to rent clubs for $12. That is an amazing deal! We had a great time. She was disappointed that I didn’t let her drive the cart (the most fun part of golf.)

Her rental clubs included a very cool driver.

After we finished the eighteenth hole (skipping several along the way), we headed over to the pro shop. Here’s another secret: Lawrence Welk Escondido has a GREAT pro shop! They also put out generously discounted sale racks all the time. My new favorite line of golf wear is the EP line. They have a good assortment plus they had a sample sale a few weeks ago where I scored a beautiful golf sweater.

Eva had to check out the spinning rack of visor pins. My girls never find their names on those racks; “Eva” and “Jane” are just too unusual. (I never find “Juliet” either, though always find “Julie.”)

The Welk demographics are clear when you look at the names on these visor pins. Sadie, Bubbie, Grandpa, Al, Roy, Wilma. Welk even has “Jane,” confirming my suspicion that Jane definitely has an old-lady name. Usually the closest Eva can find to “Eva” is “Evan,” but this time the closest was “Effie.”