Crowmaste!

 

Well, although Memorial Day promises to offer a little respite, I think this little Pacific Northwesterner is ready for the hellish firescape of "summer"

No, no we do not prefer the sun. It burns us. Yes, yes, I also sparkle. It's like a sparkly fire that ends in a glitter ash. 

Allan gets annoyed when I refer to any part of May as "summer," since it is unequivocally spring, but I claim that hereabouts May is traditionally more summery than June and September combined, so while it's pretty solidly in the "spring" category on a calendar, let's just call it what it is: less smokey summer. 

May is also Andrew's birth month, so it's really all about him right now.

 Andrew officially became middle aged over the weekend. Well, technically on Monday but nobody wanted to wait that long to acknowledge it.

To celebrate, Allan wrapped some presents in her ineffably chaotic way, she ornamented a card that I had found on etsy (featuring The Nargull!), and we all did cake for breakfast!

Then we went back out to see some herons at the Ballard Locks. 

But it wasn't just herons out there. First thing we saw was a group of crows surrounding a bald eagle who had landed to muck about the tidal flats. 

Then we turned in the other direction and saw... 

Fairy-gulls! Or actually regular gulls stalking a handful of seals and attempting to steal their fish. 

The seals were fairly chill about the experience. The gulls were not. They were shrieking and flapping at each other and generally being quite rowdy about the whole thing!

Gulls really just don't share from my limited observations. Meanwhile a handful of crows happily hopped along the adjacent rocks, munching on small snails and possibly seaweed 

We probably could have watched all day but the wee little herons were calling so enticingly. 

Itty bitty dino birds got all grown up. Hard to see, but they are currently like miniature herons popping their heads out of the nest to grab some food before dipping back down again. 

Soon they'll be big and ready to disappear in plain sight along various ponds and rivers. 

So cool. 

Before our auspicious Sunday celebration, another fete was thrown. The West Seattle Bee Garden had their annual Bee Festival. Allan attended in full bee garb (a Pikachu dress with black leggings) and made multiple rounds of all the tables before settling in at the lecture area. 

We now have endless jars of honey, a poster of all the native bees in the neighborhood and countless more swag items that weren't exactly free but were definitely educational. 

And of course we have invaluable information about the sordid mating habits of our local honeybees! A win!

As exciting as that weekend was, the rest of the week was a bit mellower. Still got out a fair bit.

Saw some starlings. 

Not the only avian villain out and about. Ms. Cowbird, our regional femme fatale was remarkably bold in foraging a few feet from us. 

The Clyde to her Bonnie exhibited a bit more caution, albeit with plenty of ecstatically strange cowbird noises. 

"No, I didn't kill all my siblings... just the really weak ones." 

Speaking of cute littles with an oversized blood lust...

The House Sparrow mafia continues to patrol the pond. Nobody really pays them much mind, though. They really are pretty small and generally harmless if you aren't a chickadee or a bluebird. Pretty sure a towhee or a song sparrow would eat them whole. 

And, of course, not so much villains to us, but they will definitely eat some bird eggs, themselves...

Our sweet little baes are out in force. I'm wondering if some are youngsters, but it's hard to get a glimpse of their mouths. This bro is just one of our friends, though. No questions there. 

Crowmaste! The crow in me bows to the crow in you. 

But it's not just birds out and about. Bees and bunnies and far more visible these days as well!

All plucky prey for our local predators. Including several cats, whom the crows are unleashing Jihad upon. Also, an Osprey, who makes quite an exceptional noise. 

And another day there was a red hawk being absolutely set upon by crow-baes!

Somebody has no fear.

And all manner of shiny ultraviolet feathers!

Aaaaanyways...

We are now moving full throttle into the next Andrew-rite-of-passage: Colonoscopy prep! Allan and I will be his escort on Tuesday and in the meantime, making family dinner has gotten a wee bit boring. 

So far, creative meal hits include but are not limited to: 

* Mashed potatoes

* Rice and cheese in flour tortillas

* Mashed potatoes and rice and cheese

* Fried Matza

* Cheese tortellini with no sauce

* An entire half loaf of sourdough

* Somewhat plain ramen.  

Today's "clear liquid diet" mostly comprises of apple juice and coffee, but that's a step up from the evening drink of "five million gallons of poop juice" which I'm curious about but also a bit horrified by, all told. 

Wish the birthday boy some luck! And I'll take a little fortune in any passing wishes just for kicks!

Happy Memorial Day!