Bluebirds Getting Bigger

When Gale and JD got here a week ago Sunday we checked and we had 4 four bald chicks. We wanted to check yesterday but it was raining and cool here. Today was warm and sunny so we checked and I now have 4 chicks with gray feathers and white specks. This is probably day 9 after hatching, so they are about half grown.

I was surprised that they only moved a tiny bit as I remove the nest to take the pictures. I guess they just stay still until their parents return to feed them. The chicks poop a lot. The edges of the box bottom (not the nest) had piles of poop in them. I guess that's my job as monitor to clean up after each brood. I'm hoping they have a couple more broods this year.

A Real Hidden Treasure

Yates Mill

Just a few miles from my house is Historic Yates Mill County Park. Yates Mill is part of the Wake County park system. As a citizen of Wake County I can say we have a real winner here. The park opened in 2006. The mill dates back to 1756 and the visitors center does a great job of explaining the function and history of the mill. The Mill is on the National register of historic places. It still operates on weekends and grinds corn. I signed up for a "Technical Tour" of the mill that happens this June. Looking forward to that. I'll be sure to post and share the pictures I get of the inside and the workings of the mill.

The park is a good place to spend a couple hours, especially on a near perfect day like today. Nice trails and walk ways. Super friendly staff. Gale and JD enjoyed the park as much as I did.

Gourds..

Mary and Marvin Johnson Gourd Museum

Gale, JD and I stopped Mary and Marvin Johnson Gourd Museum. The museum opened in 1965 and was moved to the Municipal Building in Angier in 2006 after the Johnson's pasted away. Somehow Gale found out about this place. We were on our way to a produce stand in Willow Spring so we stopped and signed the guest book. It's in the Angier Municipal Building along with the library.

Hey, Cut me some slack. I'm on vacation trying to entertain them. You try it sometime.

A Day at the Zoo

NC Zoo

Trip to the NC Zoo in Asheboro, NC. Gale, JD and I got there just before noon and stayed until 5. We saw all of 'North America' but only about half of 'Africa.' Gale really likes flowers and they were having the annual Orchid show at the Africa Pavilion I say we saw a 100 varieties of Orchids. I liked the bronze sculptures scattered though out the Zoo. I really liked they way the zoo put real thought into some really fun areas for kids. Big kids (like me) got to enjoy those areas too.

We had a great time, and the ride on the tram from Africa back to North America as we were leaving was very much welcome, as was the soft serve ice cream!

Spring has Sprung

Been awhile since I blogged. I can't believe it's almost May. Not a lot going on with me. I put a Bluebrid box up and I'm happy to say it attacked a nice pair of Bluebirds. Here is the male:

Handsome fellow I say. He has a cute mate. Here she is checking out the box. The box has a hinged front to allow easy monitoring.

Bluebirds will not abandon there nest and will put up with some human interference, so I took a picture of the nest. I was very pleased to find 4 pale blue eggs. 4-7 is normal.

I look forward to hearing the chirps of baby Bluebirds in a couple weeks! Hopefully I'll keep you all posted.

Why I like wide screen

So I've had my Wii for a couple weeks. I've been using the Wii Fit regular. I'm 56 now. :-(
While I'm not using the Wii to work out I've found a handy use for it. The Wii console comes with built in Wi-Fi access so I hooked that up. That allows you to get a news and weather channels on your Wii Menu, along with shopping. So I went into Wii Shop Channel and looked around and found that for 500 points ($5) I could by Opera browser.
Took a bit to get used to using the Wii remote as a pointer/mouse but after a while I got the hang of it. It supports Flash so that means I can watch YouTube videos on my TV. Better than that I can now watch basketball and browse the Internet at the same time. Who says I can't multitask?

Wii gets Fit

Last August when I visited Wales and stayed with Bob and Julie I got to play with a Nintedo Wii. I enjoyed it enough that I started thinking about getting one. Anyone that knows me knows it takes me awhile to 'get around TUIT'. Bob had told me he wanted to get something called the Wii Fit that allows the Wii to work you out.

Well I had a chance over Christmas to actually try out a Wii Fit at Wally's and Carol's house. In about 30 seconds their Wii Fit told me I was obese. In another 30 seconds it told me I was 'age 58' - well I'm only 51! Damm computers are just a bit too smart sometimes.

My Wii system was delivered today. I got a Wii controller and Wii Fit from the internet retailer after not being able to find them locally. My Wii Fit was just a quick as Wally's to let me know I was obese with a BMI (Body Mass Index) of 30. Mine was a bit closer on my age - it said I was 57. Gurr.

I'm going to keep at it and use the Wii Fit along with my running and shoot for a BMI in the low 20s (that's at least 30 lbs, or 2+ stones for my UK readers). I hope to at least perform the balance test at or a little below my age. Don't laugh until you let it size you up. You can check out the Wii Fit at the Nintendo site.