Rapt

So there is a pair of Peregrine Falcons that has been nesting on top of the library at UMass Amherst for 11 years.  That's commitment!  Some people there have set up a webcam because they have baby chicks.  Go here to see:

http://www.library.umass.edu/falcons

So I'm watching the little babies, sleeping, grooming, sleeping a little more.  Then I go away because there's only so much watching I can do of ugly (sorry, but it's true) little baby birds sleeping.  You've heard "they're so ugly they're cute," right?  Well, in this case it's true.  They just look so darn vulnerable.

I come back in a while and lo, Mama is there!  Mostly just blocking the babies from the wind.  Awwww.  A tweet informs me that I missed lunchtime by about an hour.  I am bummed.  It would be interesting to see little baby falcons being fed worms!

I go back to work.  Periodically, I check on them and they are mostly just huddling.  Boring for Mama, but necessary and maybe birds don't mind just sitting and staring at a wall.  Every once in a while Mama shakes and does something to the babies that I can't see because she has her back to the camera.  Rude.  (Kidding!  I love animals and think whatever they do -- well, mostly -- is the jam.  Because it's naychur.)  She's grooming them or something.

I notice something that looks like a clump of feathers that I hadn't noticed earlier.  Hmm, I think, did Mama lose some feathers?  That's a lot of feathers.  That looks like a... wing.  Is that a wing?  No.  I don't see anything else.  Must be feathers.

I go back to work.  Checking on them again in a little while, I see movement!  Mama is doing something!  The babies are up and interested!

She's in the corner, doing... something...  Oh, she's going to feed them!  She's going to feed them... CHUNKS OF BIRD.  That was in fact a wing!  Fortunately I just finished eating my sandwich so I'm okay.  And she is behind the babies so I don't see the carcass, just little downy babies vying for chunks.  So she is considerate of weak human constitutions, keeping that away from the camera. Thanks, Mama!

Then I start to worry because two of the babies are getting all of the bird bits.  The middle one is just ignored and jostled.  Feed the middle one, Mama!  Don't let the pushy ones get everything!  Nature is tough, y'all.

Then I notice that the piggy one seems to be sort of full so the middle one gets his chance.  THEN the piggy one moves from the right (my right) to the middle, FACING THE CAMERA, and just sort of lolls on the other two.  What up, dude?  Don't food-block your brethren!

I just went and looked again, just in time to see Mama downing a bird FOOT.  Nature is gross, y'all.

There's a clumping sound now, too, so guess what?  It is either raining or snowing or hailing up there!  As if the wind wasn't enough!  They seem to be pretty protected where they are, though, so that's good.  The babies are huddled and sleeping and Mama is protecting them and staring moodily into the distance.

Okay, that's my update for now.  I will watch them until something bad happens and then no more.  I keep worrying that one of the babies is going to get blown away when Mama goes to get food (WHOLE BIRDS, Y'ALL, I FORGOT THESE ARE FREAKING FALCONS) or something.  They are superior predators, I know, but these are baaaabbbies.  Scrawny little ugly baaaabbies.

What a World

I've been gone a while and Blogger went and changed on me!  I hope I can figure this out.

So last week was pretty awful.  I don't understand what people are thinking these days.  I made the comment a couple of months ago that I don't really like people and my mom was surprised.  But all of the senseless violence...  I worry about it and occasionally rant about it.

And then sometimes I come across something that makes me happy to be here.  Here's a pretty amazing thing - an astronaut wringing out a wet washcloth in space - amazing because, you know, he's IN SPACE, and then that becomes downright astounding when you realize that you can sit at home and WATCH THE SPACEMAN.  FROM YOUR HOME.
 

You Know You're Out of Shape When...

your muscles are sore the day following a rousing game of... bowling.

To be fair, it was a game and a half.  I mean, I'm not such a wimp that one game will take me down!

Sigh.

Downton Awesome

I'm just now joining the Downton Abbey craze, but I am loving it.  Some of the story lines seem a little unlikely to me, but it's fun to watch.  I love period pieces, and Dame Maggie Smith is so freakin' good.

Faves!

New favorite song:



I think the video is goofy, but the song itself is perfect.


New favorite TV show (American): Modern Family











I finally got on the bandwagon, after much resistance, and though the show is inconsistent, the characters are so likeable that I had to get on board.


New favorite TV show (British):











I love Sherlock (the real Sherlock, of course), I often love British TV, and I am a fan of Martin Freeman. Now I am also a fan of Benedict Cumberbatch, who usually makes an excellent Sherlock and has one of the best names I've ever heard. (And his voice, sigh. Alan Rickman without the mush.) I have a few quibbles with some things they've done, but overall, a really well-done and absorbing show.

A World of YES

Christmas in ... January!

It's been a while!

Today I decided to organize my office so I pulled out all of these bags I had under my desk. I have a biggish, U-shaped desk, and under one corner I had been putting tote bags that I got at conferences and bags I used to bring things to work, like Target bags or the nice little paper ones with handles that some retailers use. I thought, "I might need these, you never know!" Well, the corner had become stuffed full. So today I thought, "Hello, nice little mouse neighborhood! Here come the bulldozers!"¹ and started cleaning them out.

I found a big tote bag I had gotten at a conference in *cough ahem* June. And it was full. of. stuff. This was like Christmas all over again, only with geeky stuff. So fun! I now am the proud owner of several new pens, highlighters, sticky note pads, bookmarks, flashlights, keychains, and what-have-you. Have I ever mentioned my fondness for free stuff? It may be a keychain that I wouldn't pay for in a million years, but y'all, it was free. You don't pass up free sh*t.

So here's a shout-out to all you procrastinators out there! It's totally worth the wait! If you go to any kind of a work-related conference, I recommend leaving all of the little free stuff sitting around for at least a month or two (I realize my more-than-6-month hiatus is pretty hardcore), you will appreciate it so much more.

¹ No mice were harmed during the course of this project. There were no mice.