Flickered out

Two weeks ago I was unloading my Pickup Truck with tail gate down & Big door open as wife was exiting through the small door of the gerge & started to yell my name.
I heard all this flapping sound & I knew immediately what was going on. A hen rooster was flying from the front to the back and crashed into the fence, not once but twice before it got airborne.
  Never thought we would ever see more deer around here than the endangered Ringneck, so we were quite surprised.
 At any rate, we were thrilled when a pair of Flicker wood peckers took up residence right out side our sliding door in perfect view. We watched daily as the parents took turns guarding their brood of between 5-8 according to my research.  They were cleaning the nest often so imho there were chicks.

More research indicated that they lay the second largest eggs in the woodpecker family, only the Pileated lay larger.
All this changed as we continued to view the ariel attacks by a couple of European starlings. Once I watched 1 bird for over 20 minutes for his/her chance to evict the current residents.The attacks were often & persistent before they finally lost their home & family to the marauding blacks!

Ashes

Well I finally have my mothers ashes installed and connected to the necklace that my little sister supplied the entire family.  I have to thank my wife for filling the mini urn as I was just not up for the task.

   I also wonder where in the hell these ashes keep coming from.  At any rate I placed them right next to the ash tray in my p.u. truck.  Right next to the mini rosary that we rec'd from the St Anthony's magazine.  This way she will be in the lot whilst I go in and gamble at the dice table and my wife can be with her, doing her crochet work.  I also have my mom to thank for my quitting the smokes. Love to all

Thank you Kathy