Spring is Here (a photo adventure outside my home)

I took out the garbage today (that is not the best way to start telling this)…

SPRING IS HERE!!!! (much better) How do I know? There were about 20-25 Robins hanging out around my building today… Being the shutterbug that I am, I ran outside to catch some photos of them. (click on any photo to get a larger image).

I caught (well photographed) them on the ground…

With worms…

In flight…

In the trees….

And to my surprise, the Robins were not the only bird that caught my eye! Walking around with my camera to my eye photographing the Robins I heard “tap tap tita tita tita tap” I immediately followed the sound. By scanning the tress (killing my neck in the process) I was able to find the woodpecker that was the source of the sound.

I did not expect when I woke up this morning that I would be grabbing my camera and getting some great pictures. I also did not expect to see not only the Robins that drew me out of the house, but also the cutest woodpecker I’ve ever seen. I’m not normally very impulsive, I normally just make a plan for my day and stick to it… But I am always amazed, when I do act on my impulsis how much fun I have. Spring is here!!!

Very Sad News…

The heat in my apartment couldn’t be controlled this week (the valve for the hot water is stuck open) and my apartment got up to 82 degrees!!!! On top of being hot, sweaty, and irritated, I have some very sad news to report.

the heat killed my fish

I came home Tuesday night to find all but one of them (my tough betta Xerxes) no longer swimming. As I took them out of the tank, I realized that the water was warm to the touch (my fish can’t handle that kind of heat! my poor babies). By the next night, Xerxes had also been taken by the heat…

Casualties of the 2008 Heat wave

2 Cory Cats (the Hunchbacks)
2 Golden Platies (the Spartans)
1 Mickey Mouse Platy (Mickey)
1 Betta (Xerxes)

Rest in peace my friends… I will miss you.

(for those of you who don’t know, yes I am sad about my fish, no I didn’t cry, no I’m not one of those crazy fish ladies who think of my fish as people, I’ll just miss being able to watch them swim, and untill the heat is fixed, they can never be replaced)