And... we're back

My apologies for not being in touch lately. Life's craziness got in the way, but now I'm back in action.

Here's what I've got planned for the next few weeks:

• Energy Bits review 
• Arbonne Fit Kit review
• Vapur antibottle review 
• Injinji yoga toe socks review
• Conscious Box review
• Oiselle apparel review
• Gardening updates
• Running progress alert

I'm working on getting some giveaways too, so stay tuned. :)

Back-post 9/27/10: cecropia moth caterpillar

While walking around after a picnic at Keystone State Park, I spotted this colorful caterpillar (who strikingly resembles the famous caterpillar in the children's book The Very Hungry Caterpillar) in the gravel path. I had no idea what kind of winged creature this could become, but I used a stick to move him from the middle of the path to the wooded area nearby.

Because I am not an entomologist, I consulted my favorite entomologist and nature-loving friends to determine what kind of caterpillar I had fallen in love with.

Evidently, this is a cecropia caterpillar. My entomologist friend told me that they cecropias are the largest moth in North America and that this poor guy probably got dislodged from its host plant. I was also informed that I was quite lucky to spot this fella. It made me smile for like a week, knowing that I had seen a really rare natural sight.

Back-post 4/10/11: dance of the American woodcock

Today my boyfriend and I took a ride around Linn Run State Park. It's a wonderful park. He was scoping out the terrain for a Jeep meet-up, but then we saw a strange little bird. My boyfriend pulled over so we could take a picture and then I took this video of his cute little waddle/walk/dance.

I was giggling quietly the whole time. This little American woodcock looked like it was moving to the beat of music we couldn't hear.

Back-post 5/15/11: attempted rescue

Brandon and Ethel napping
peacefully as I begin
my rescue attempt

Remember the fallen robin's nest?

I watched it to see if mama bird would return. When she didn't, I called the Wildlife Rescue Center to ask what to do. They said to bring in the birds.

I couldn't just let Brandon and Ethel starve.

I got a little box to put the nest in and, using my gardening gloves, carefully placed the nest in the box.

The box wasn't big enough for Brandon, though. As you can see in this second photo, he is attempting to escape while Ethel screeches in confusion.

Ethel shrieks while Brandon attempts to escape
(Note bird mess below where their nest was perched.)

At this point, I didn't really know what to do. I wasn't prepared to deal with a little bird flying (or trying to fly) at me. I knew they were almost fledglings (scraggly little downy feathers and no tail, huge feet), but Brandon was not about to let me put him in a box.

I went inside and tried to collect myself. I had to think about what to do next. When I looked out on the porch, here is what I saw:

"Oh, great," I thought. "He's called in back-up."Brandon, next to the box (clearly dedicated to his cause), an adult robin perched on the porch railing (presumably the mother), and another random bird facing the adult robin on the porch railing.

I put my rescue attempt on hold. I wanted to see how things would progress.

I waited (impatiently) inside, looking out the windows onto my porch every few minutes to monitor the situation. Eventually, Brandon moseyed his way across my porch.

Brandon hopping around on my porch

Then he jumped off the porch.

I shrieked and ran outside to look for him.

I found him, unharmed (thankfully), in the grass behind my house. He hopped away from me as I tried to take his photo.

Once I got a picture of him (clearly at this point I was just out to chronicle the entire ordeal), I scooped him up--still wearing my gardening gloves, mind you--and returned his wiggly little bird self to his nest so he could be with his sister.

Days later, both Ethel and Brandon left the nest. Sometimes I swear that Brandon stops by just to see how I'm doing.

Brandon, the escape artist

Back-post 5/11/11: hummingbird feeder

I always wanted to see if I could coerce a hummingbird to visit my porch. It seems that all it took was the right feeder, a lot of red ribbon, and some (boiled) sweetened water.

I had seen a few of these little guys fluttering around the feeder, but wasn't sure I'd be able to capture a photo. This one is taken through a screen and a window with my tiny little digital camera. Despite the layers of my house in the way, I was delighted with the picture!

And because I love it so much, here is the only other photo I got... I love that their wings are a total blur. I can only imagine how much energy they expend keeping themselves in the air, darting around the way they do.

Back-post, 5/14/11: fallen robin's nest

Meet Brandon and Ethel. They are the baby robins whose nest fell from its perch onto my porch. The nest was reused from a family of robins last year. When it fell, I had no idea what to do. I was very upset because only a week prior I had discovered two dead red-winged blackbirds in my mulch (they had run into one of my front porch windows). And a week before that one of the baby robins from this very nest had fallen/been pushed from the nest.

I was crestfallen to discover their nest upside down on my back porch one day after work. I called a friend who knows a lot about wildlife to ask what I ought to do. She suggested turning over the nest with cardboard and my gardening gloves.

I carefully slid a flattened box underneath the nest and righted it. Staring up at me were these two sweet babies, who I promptly named Brandon and Ethel. Brandon is the one with head peeking out in this photo.

Back-post, 6/8/11: starling in the cupboard

Today, we found a bird under my kitchen sink. What is a bird doing under my sink, you ask? I suspect he came in through a hole (formerly for a pipe?). After some investigation with a flashlight, we determined that the hole leads to the basement. How the bird got into the basement remains a mystery, but the bird was freed shortly after the filming of this video. We attempted to catch him in a box, but he was happy to just fly at my screen door until we opened it. Sadly, this was not captured on film (though I'll forever have the image in my head!).