Whoopee!!

There is nothing in our year that animates us like the arrival of the martins. The martin house was here when we bought the house. It sat on a clothesline post. Much closer to the ground that has always been advised. Eventually we moved it just a bit to the side of the garden straight in back of our house on a longer pole.

The wonderful thing about martins is that they fly here from Brazil!!! We lived a few years in Brazil and it always is a special thing to us that the martins come here from Brazil and fly from here back to Brazil after a few months.

Evidently the martins imprint the location of where they were born in order to come back to this particular place. Whenever there has been some crazy weather south of us we are afraid that they might not be able to make it.

We await the scouts (about three or four martins come early and then go back to say that the coast is clear to the others) and the arrival of the rest occurs about a week or so later. Whoopee and double whoopee.

One of the reasons I love living in our house is the arrival of these annual visitors. They are so fabulous... and they swoop down on the bugs - mosquitoes, etc, for their food and then go back and feed the mama birds in the house.

I can't help it. I've fallen in love with them over the years. Whoopee!

oops

Well, I got called away as I was typing the last blog, so time has passed. It turns out that the LAST FALL wasn't really the LAST FALL, but the penultimate fall. I have had another since then. I lost my balance fell over, hit my arm on the arm of a director's chair that George had brought out for me to sit on, and then tucked and rolled into the grass. Oh, my, I do have a magnificent bruise on my right upper arm.

The newspaper published a warning that most older people die or are seriously disabled by falls. I take this to mean that my lifelong training in falling is very good. I am not JUST NOW falling, but have had a long time to hone my skills.

To me, falling is an Olympic Sport. I better not get too proud of myself, however, but try to be as careful as possible.

I am presently in training to become a long distance walker. I have special shoes, walking sticks, etc. My distances are not so great yet. I am breaking in my shoes, getting a rhythm to the walking sticks, and I'm aiming at about 15 miles at a crack. Wish me luck, although I think I will need more than luck. Prayer would be good!!!

A New Goal