PARTY TIME FOR A SEVEN-YEAR-OLD GIRL

Centennial Park in Woodburn erupted in energy today as Naomi and a bunch of friends and relatives showed up to celebrate her seventh birthday.

 

The non-adult attendees.

One of the non-adult attendees chose not to participate in the group shot.

Tim pushes Tyler on the swing.

Backflip flight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCuLzyUzXas&feature=youtu.be

 

 

Backflip flight on video.

More swingers.

Altitude.

Intensity.



Band Aid on hand punctured by playground bark.





The crowd.

Naomi opens gifts.

Tim eats and holds Tyler.

Individually decorated birthday cupcakes.

Final moments at the party.

Debra and I were at the party, but we mostly stayed in the shadows.

MOSTLY ABOUT GIRLS

The relationship between Makiah and Naomi has always been great!

 

They were born the same year and have enjoyed being cousins ever since spending their first Christmas together.

 

This weekend Naomi is having a party to celebrate her 7th birthday.  She asked Debra and I to bring Makiah with us. 

 

The party is tomorrow, but the two wasted no time getting into the party mood.

 

While the rest of the family ate dinner at the table, Makiah and Naomi chose to do it alone on the front lawn.

Dinner included eating tacos and making goofy faces. 

Makiah helps Tyler get on the trampoline.

Jumpfest.

Cake break.

Monkey-like characteristics.

Friday ends with a late-nighter in front of a movie.

The relationship began during their first Christmas together.

DO HUMMINGBIRDS HAVE PERSONALITIES?

If I could go back in time to elementary school, this would be my science fair project:

 

 

TITLE:

 

Hummingbirds

 

 

HYPOTHESIS:  Hummingbirds have personalities.

 

 



 

 

 

QUESTIONS:

 

1.   Do hummingbirds express the emotion of fear in the presence of a closely placed camera?

 

2.   Do hummingbirds chirp louder than they hum?

 

3.   Do hummingbirds do impersonations of other animals?

 

4.   If a bug lands on a hummingbird feeder, will a hummingbird pass on the nectar and eat the bug?

 



 

 

MATERIALS:

 

Camera

Tripod

Hummingbird feeder

Bug

 

 

BACKGROUND RESEARCH:

 

None.

 

 

PROCEDURE:

 

Mount a camera on a tripod and place it approximately 6 to 8 inches from a hummingbird feeder.  Step away from the camera while video recording and return after a few minutes to scientifically evaluate the recording.

 

 

 

 



 

 

RESULTS:

 

1.   Hummingbirds are not afraid of closely placed cameras.

 

2.   Hummingbirds chirp louder than they hum.

 

3.   Hummingbirds can do impersonations of crickets.

 

4.   Hummingbirds would rather drink nectar than eat bugs.

 

 

CONCLUSION:

 

Hummingbirds have personalities.

 

 

To view eighty seconds of scientific video proof, click "play" tab below:

 

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INYznKihjPE

 

 

 

 



THE TRANSFORMATION FROM UGLY TO BEAUTIFUL (Part 1 of 2)

I have a vision.

Now that our patio is done and our planter boxes have been built, I am looking forward to one more project.  We have one last spot that needs attention. 

It's ugly. 

It is a 12 ft x 15 ft section of dirt at the end of the patio that is not landscaped. The dirt is covered with spill-over cement from the patio that was recently poured and with scattered bark from previous landscaping.  At this point only Debra's dog, Koda, has found this section of our yard to be useful.

But I have a vision.

Beyond the patio, ugly.

Beside the house are four pier blocks (only two can be seen here) which will have a foundational role in the completion of our back yard.

Close up of a pier block.

The four pier blocks will be buried where the arrows point, with only the steel brackets extending above ground.

Upon the pier blocks an eight-foot cube will be constructed using 4x4 posts and 2x6 boards.

Lattice will cover the structure.

A glider bench and two end tables will sit here.

A flagstone path to the glider bench will be placed here.

The vine along the fence will eventually cover the lattice, providing privacy and overhead shade.

But for now, it's just ugly.

BUILDING BOXES

Debra's dog, Koda, ate some leaves from one of our trumpet vines the other day and got sick.  Not only did the little canine suffer from nausea and vomiting, but he became lethargic and Debra became concerned.  A brief google search revealed that trumpet vines are among the most toxic plants for animals.

Therefore, I was dispatched to protect our three trumpet vines from the dog.  Or to protect the dog from the trumpet vines.  One of those.

So, I stopped by The Home Depot and picked up seventeen eight-foot long pressure-treated 2x4's, one box of deck screws, a few lag screws, and got to work in my role as Protector.

The completion of the project resulted in three benefits: (1) Koda can't get to the leaves anymore, (2) humans can't trip over the base of the trumpet vines, and (3) it looks better.



Cutting lengths for boxes.

Assembling the boxes with deck screws.

Since the boxes had to be wrapped around existing posts and trumpet vines, I had to build them in two parts:  A three-sided part and a one-sided part.

Wrapping the two parts together.

Once each box was properly placed, I secured them to the posts with lag screws, which were recessed into the boxes to provide aesthetic pleasure to any would-be box-watchers.



Before and after (View 1).

Before and after (View 2).

Before and after (View 3).

Before, during and after (View 4).

The third and final box, before and after (View 1).

Third box, before and after (View 2).  Now that the project is done, the boxes actually draw attention to the beauty of the flowers instead of to the ugliness of the cement base.