We Have Eggs!

So, after realizing that the loverbirds were here to stay, I did a little research on them. Here is what I found:

Mating Habits:

All doves in general follow similar courtship patterns. The males coo loudly, displaying before the females. At a more advanced stage of courtship the movements seem more like a bowing to the female. These displays sometimes go on for days, followed by nest building.

Nests are placed in shrubs and trees, relatively low. Doves prefer areas with tall hedges and thickets to woodlands. The male chooses the nesting site and gathers twigs, roots and other materials, which are set in place by the female.

These birds are monogamous and tend to mate for life. There are usually two eggs in each clutch, elliptical in shape and white, with a faint bluish tinge. Male and female share incubating duties for about 2 weeks after which the chicks are hatched nearly naked. These birds are altricial. The young can fly when they are three weeks old.

So, basically, these birds are too precious for words. They mate for life. The male chooses the nest. They share nesting duties.

That means, this male bird literally choose the PRETTIEST location for his love to build a nest. He then gathered the materials needed while she set up home. This knowledge made me feel even more guilty that I destroyed their first home. Andrew and I both agree that these doves are the bird version of us. Their "marriage" is too sweet, and I love how diligently this male sought out the most beautiful home for his love.

Today, I noticed that the female was not leaving the nest as much. She was not getting startled by me coming and going. I figured that she probably had laid her eggs. When I got back from Wal-Mart, I tried to not scare her off of her nest, but it was just too much commotion for her. I took this opportunity to see what was going on.

Sure enough, there are now eggs in this nest! True to research, my love birds are the proud parents to two eggs. I hope I get to see the babies before I move. It sounds like I should... they only incubate for two weeks or so. Then it takes another 3 weeks for them to fly. It would be cool if I were here for that as well.

It is funny that I now tiptoe around these birds so I don't disturb them. I felt really bad when I scared her off of the nest. I took that opportunity to water the plant; however, I had to do so quickly because she kept flying by. I might need to invest in protective head gear for that task!

Anyway...

She is now nestled safely back on her nest. I think she looks precious all snuggled in protecting her babies.

She doesn't rest easily though... her little head popped up when she heard the camera click. The daddy was on the ground eating, but he is now in protective mode on the shed roof.

What good parents! If only some human parents would be this mindful and protective of their young...



Busted!

Remember last night's blog?

I thought that removing the nest would deter the loverbirds from living in my hanging plant. I thought wrong. When I arrived home from clinic this morning, I caught one nestled into the plant. I snapped a picture with my phone. It didn't turn out to well, but I was glad I had proof.

Then, while I was working on homework, I heard Theodore going crazy. I looked up to see what had gotten him so worked up. This is what I saw...

Yep, right there in broad daylight... the culprit. Sadly, when I tried to open the door to take a better picture, she flew away.

Before too much longer, Theodore was causing a ruckus again. I looked out, and this time, the loverbirds were together... eyeballing their home. Once again, after the picture was taken, they flew away.

Then, about 10 minutes later, the commotion began again.

Hilarious, right?

Both of them. Caught.

There is no denying the fact that I have two turtle doves living in my plant.

You know what? This makes me laugh really, really hard. Sure, they are killing my plant on that side, but these things are so persistent. How can I tell them no now?

People pay big bucks for fake flower arrangements with birds in them. I literally have the real thing.

So, each time I look outside, they're back. Right now, they're both nestled in... and Theodore is freaking out. It's pretty amusing.

I just wish that they weren't so skittish... this is what I get every time I try to take a better picture.

So, I am now embracing the turtle doves. Do you think they will accompany me to New York?



I'm Infested!!

Remember this plant from several blogs ago? It didn't look so sad then, did it? When I returned from the weekend with Andrew, I noticed that it was VERY lopsided. I couldn't figure it out, so I turned it just in case it was getting more sun on that one side. It didn't really come out of it, and I was very perplexed as to why.

Well, this morning, I walked out the door, and two turtle doves went flying out of the plant. I thought that I was seeing things, and then I talked myself into believing that they were only flying by. I couldn't fathom them actually nesting in my hanging plant.

But...

... I took it down this evening to prune it in hopes of sprucing it up some. I was met with a little surprise.

Yep, sure enough, I have two turtle doves nesting in my potted plant. Add that to the two robins that flare their tail feathers at me every time I walk out the door. You would think that I lived in the middle of nowhere instead of the middle of town.

Sadly, this nest was promptly removed. A nest by my light is something I can embrace. A nest that is killing my potted plant, not so much. I do feel a little guilty about demolishing their home, but they took it a step too far.

So, I've had a possum take up residence under my car and shed, two robins nest on my porch, two turtle doves nest in my potted plant, two bunnies that have returned since the possum was captured, and an owl in my bradford pear tree... and he calls to his lover each night, so I end up with two owls in my tree by night's end.

Wildlife has taken over... and most of the time, I absolutely love it. Andrew laughs because my life is already so much like the movie Enchanted, and when things like this happen, it further confirms the fact that the writers documented my every day life.

Now... if only I could get them to help with housework...



It's absolute craziness when...

... I can buy THIS many potatoes and onions at Aldi's for the price of a few potatoes and two onions at Wal-Mart or Schnucks.

Do I need this many? Not really, but I was already at Aldi's and they don't sell individual produce items. They were such a good buy that I didn't feel like driving across town for a more expensive option. So... guess who is going to be making a LOT of potato dishes throughout the next week? Yep, that's me. Luckily, I'm going to be able to share some with a friend from school. That makes the purchase even better.

I just think it's a bit outrageous that larger chain stores can charge so much more for less quantity. If quality was jeapordized, I would understand, but I swear food at Aldi's is just the same, if not better, than name brand items.

I also find it funny that Andrew is now on board with Aldi's. He's probably more conscious of his shopping than I am now. In fact, he even challenged one of his friends in New York to shop there. His friend didn't believe that his grocery bill could be cut by so much. So, he went shopping, purchased everything he would need for about a month, and left with only $70 out of pocket. He's now a believer as well.

So... I challenge you to do the same! See if it makes as big of a difference in your monthly shopping bills.... GO!



One Dolla, One Dolla!

Soo... I mentioned that we came across a very exciting find at the mall the other day. We were waltzing along, and I was being a little pitiful about not getting a cheaply made, but adorable old lady purse when  Andrew spotted a store. He suggested that we go in it... I reluctantly agreed because of my pitiful state. The store was called Glitter.

We walked in, a sales associate asked if we would like a basket, I declined. I ventured over to the shiny necklaces that caught my attention. I started oohing and ahhing over them... and then I noticed a sign.

All accessories $1. My first reaction was "no way!" followed by "are they serious?!" and then repeated those for the next several minutes. Sure enough, it was the real deal. Andrew immediately searched out a basket in preparation for what was to come.

Andrew put me on a budget- smart man. He also suggested that I look at the big, gaudy rings for a project that I've been working towards for the past two years. I did just that. Here's what we left with...

Four necklace AND earrings sets. Yes, each necklace came with a matching earring set. This was such a hard decision to make.

11 bling-bling rings. I am very, very excited about this find. Andrew surprises me with what he pays attention to, especially when it comes to my crazy crafting ideas. I've been collecting brooches for this project for a while now, and when he saw these rings, he knew that they would work just as well... and they were an absolute steal! He's pretty cute : )

I also got this earring set for graduation. I really like the colors in this set. Luckily, I have a necklace at home that matches these earrings perfectly. What an inexpensive way to accessorize for graduation!

What a fun, fun store. I could have spent the entire afternoon in there. Good thing I was on a budget... and good thing I have a husband who didn't mind waiting on me while I bounced back and forth between jewelry sets.



It's a Nest!

So, after my post the other day, I discovered something very sad... a storm blew away all of the nesting items on my porch. I then left for Kentucky for the weekend, and when I came back yesterday, there was still nothing on my porch. I thought my chances of seeing something cool were gone. Then, I got home from extern and school today, and I was met with a nest! Yes, this awesome nest was built in a day.

I am pretty excited to have something to cover this horribly ugly light up. Like the streamers? Look closely- there are shoe strings hanging down.

Close-up of the nest. See if you spot these items... zip ties, duct tape, carpet backing, shoe strings, live grass, and twigs (duh).

I am excited to see if eggs will be in here soon. I had to use the camera to see inside the nest. Nothing yet, but I'll keep checking!

This bird is pretty creative. Actually, there are two birds working on this nest. As far as I can tell, they are robins. I came eye to eye with one of them... I feared for the safety of my eyeball at this encounter. Why they chose the light RIGHT next to my door I'll never know... I would think I would like more privacy than that. Oh well, I believe we can co-exist.

Since these pictures were take two hours ago, a muddy layer has been added to the top. Interesting.

God's creations amaze me... what a fun way to pass time!



Kentucky Weekend

Andrew and I met in Kentucky this weekend. We had so much fun together. We didn't do a whole lot of exploring, but we really enjoyed just spending time together.

Andrew typed up "Abby Friendly" directions before I left. He's pretty sweet like that! I love how they start out with, "Don't be nervous..." because he knew that I was a little (ok, a lot) worried about driving that distance on my own. My sense of direction is not that great. I'm proud to say that I made it safely... and without problems.

On Saturday, we went to the mall for a little bit. I will blog more about this experience tomorrow (or sometime this week). I am pretty excited about what we found while we were there. After the mall, we had a lunch date at Red Lobster. When we finished lunch, it started to pour, so we decided to go to Wal-Mart to purchase Tangled (and rent some other movies), and then we headed back to the hotel to cuddle up together and spend the rainy afternoon watching movies.

Since I had planned on warmer weather, I only brought shorts and a t-shirt to lounge in. When it's cool and rainy outside, I think I get chilled right down to my bones. Anyway, Andrew wrapped me up like a cacoon while he fixed dinner. I was toasty warm in no time.

Andrew made a pretty awesome italian chicken dish for our dinner. We really enjoy staying at the Homewood Suites because we can cook our own meals at them. I am especially thankful to have a husband who can cook!

The only problem this weekend? The hotel staff here didn't leave ducks like the one in Ithaca. So, Andrew made one for me each day! Again, he's pretty sweet like that!

Before we left this morning, we listened to the podcast of the sermon that I posted last weekend. It was so nice to hear God's message while with Andrew. I really look forward to when I can sit next to him in church every Sunday, and we can spend our time growing together through God's word.

It's not too much longer now : ) We have two weekends apart, one together, another weekend apart, and then it's graduation. It is such a shorter amount of time now, but it's still hard to think about the time that we'll still have apart.

Anyway, it was a fantastic weekend (just much too short!)... my batteries have been recharged. Once again, I'm thanking God for giving me such an amazing husband who makes my world complete when we're together.



Nesting

Something is nesting on my front porch. At first, the activity wasn't very suspicious, but now it's blatantly obvious. Check out what's been happening behind my back lately...

First of all, don't mind the dirty house. It's going to get scrubbed soon. This was the first sign of activity, however, I thought that the wind is what cause the grass and twigs to get caught in the spider webs. This happened after the big storm we had this week.

The past two days have brought even more strangeness. First of all, notice the zip ties? Those were in a bucket beside the porch. Now, they are strung all across the porch in front of the door. I did not do this. Notice the other nesting type material? Again, I did not do this.

The tip off? The start of a nest in the back corner of my porch.

Here are just some more materials that have been gathered. It's quite and interesting conglomeration. I have a little bit of carpet backing, some wool looking stuff, zip ties, twigs, grass, and I'm sure others items as well.

This morning, as I was walking out my front door, I noticed a bird flying away with two zip ties in its mouth? The culprit? Possibly...

Anyway, I can't bring myself to clean it off. Sure, it looks a little trashy, BUT I kind of what to see what is going to be created! Stay tuned, if it turns out to be cool, I will post again : )



Wish List

This is easy, just click this link:

http://www.etsy.com/people/zafirenia

and go to town!

More specifically, I would like these items:

I would love this to wear at graduation.

So fun!

This one definitely caught my eye.

Adore the color scheme!

Perfect.

Cute, cute, cute.

Great color choices!

Very fun!

This seller on Etsy knows how to craft! Please check out her page... her work is beautiful. If she sold matching earring sets, I'd definitely be in trouble with Andrew!!



An Absolute Must!

This morning, I attended my home church. I have a very hard time going to church without Andrew- my spiritual leader. Today's sermon made me miss my husband even more than I already do, but it blessed my life in so many ways. I am so thankful to have a husband who lives by what this sermon teaches.

If you think you have marriage all figured out, or if you feel like something is missing from your marriage, please listen to this sermon. You won't be disappointed- it's worth it.

Visit this link: http://feeds.feedburner.com/tbcsermonpodcast and listen to the sermon from April 3, 2011. It is worth your time. It is definitely a message that I believe every couple needs to hear- and implement!