Memorial

I didn't post much last week, but that wasn't for lack of stuff going on.  Among other things, we took a boat ride to the 9/11 memorial.

It was lovely day with lots of tourists.  I was afraid it would be more somber, but it was easy enough to take in.  I suppose it'll be a different story once the museum opens. 

The Survivor Tree was the only tree with leaves. 

And then a sunny ride back up the Hudson.  

 Excuse the doofy faces.  They're smart guys.  Really. 

Shorts Weather

Bunny Happened

All sorts of pictures of Easter bedhead, zero pictures of darling Easter outfit.

Regrettable, but authentic, I think.

Second Easter

I started getting excited and scheming for Finley's first Easter a month or so ago.  It took me a little while to realize that he's been through this Easter business before . . .

Oy. Well, this is going to be his first Easter Bunny Easter, so you can cut me a little slack.

No, the bunny isn't drunk.  I have plenty of matching buttons too.  I guess I thought the mismatching buttons would make him more loveable?  But yeah, he looks drunk.  Maybe the Easter Bunny will fix it for me when he (she?) drops by. 

A little interior action for you.

I respectfully ripped this off from disdressed via craftgossip.com via google image search for "Easter basket."  I didn't use a pattern which, if you're me, makes things go a lot faster.  

Besides the wonky eyes, I put the ears on backwards.  That was sort of intentional because I thought it looked better at the time, but now I just think it makes the poor guy look more drunk.  I also made the darn thing too big--as long as he uses this basket, Finley will have very successful Easters.

Nature, City Style

City kids get a bad rap for being ignorant about nature.  I don't say this because they're actually nature prodigies; to the contrary, it's because country kids can be pretty bad at nature too.

Or maybe my experience is biased and I was simply a special kind of country kid?

I saw a blue jay for the first time in my life last week.  I legitimately freaked out about it, too.  What the heck is that bird? I said to Finley, who was, thankfully, the only person around to witness as I tripped over the furniture to grab the camera.  Look at that thing!  It's crazy!

I took many, many pictures before it flew away and before I could make it to the computer to research my incredible find.

Dur.  Blue Jay.  I thought I'd seen all kinds of Blue Jays while I was growing up, but I was wrong.  I'm curious what it is I actually saw back in the western United States. Maybe Pinyon Jays?  Or maybe they were Stellar's Jays or Western Scrub Jays?  Any hometown peeps care to enlighten me?

Anyway, this brings me back to my point, which is, regardless of coast, I'm a little dense when it comes to the natural world outside my door.

Additional case in point: one time my incredibly accomplished veterinarian of an aunt took me to the Bronx Zoo and gave me a bit of a narrated tour.  She talked to me about Polar Bears, pointed out a small furry critter that is a close relative to the elephant, showed me some cool Asian deer and at this point in the tour I freaked out, because ohmygodwhatisthatoverthere?

Friends, it was a Cardinal. 

Also, one time in college I saw opossums walking down the street and wigged out about that.

Gah!  I should be embarrassed right?  I am a nature imbecile.

I'm taking steps to do better by my city kid.  The vicious cycle stops here. 

This is his new favorite perch.

I have a little bird identification book that's already helped me identify our resident house sparrows (Most common bird ever.  Yup, clueless).  Also, the Field Guide to the Natural World of New York City is on order.  We may have to take a field trip or two, but by all accounts there's plenty to see--skunks, coyotes, deer, and yes, opossums too. 

Also, there be ducks in these parts.  Those I have no trouble identifying, thankyouverymuch.