Allison,

I love hearing about your bird experiences! That can count as a joy dot for me...lots of joy dots if I would have been there too!

Another joy dot is celebrating my youngest daughter's 18th birthday this weekend!

I saw some beautiful red tulips, with very different flowers...almost wasn't sure it was a tulip. And our neighbor's forsythia is blooming.

Yummy yams for dinner, with cinnamon...I love my yams!

Colette

: *Biggest one: I got to handle a
: peregrine falcon on Saturday! I
: volunteer with an organization
: that has educational raptors. MOst
: of the work I do is monitoring
: hawk and owl nests, but I also
: help out at educational booths. I
: have handled a few of the birds,
: recently mostly small ones. They
: are doing monthly raptor handling
: classes and I signed up for the
: one on Saturday. The falcon has a
: partial amputation of one wing.
: Falcons are restless and flap a
: lot. She is really beautiful. She
: has bright yellow feet and the
: skin around her eyes is yellow
: too. It was so cool to have this
: falcon looking at me - I could see
: her eyes focusing. (I had been
: told she looks at her handler from
: time to time for reassurance.)
: It's also cool when you have a
: raptor perched on your arm (you
: wear a leather glove for
: protection) and they puff up and
: shake out all their feathers. This
: is called rousing, and it's a sign
: that the bird is relaxed. She did
: that several times.

: *I also visited my two owl nests.
: Both moms were doing well.
: Yesterday we had horrible wind, so
: I hope they are still all right. I
: probably won't get to check again
: until next weekend.

: *got to take a nap yesterday
: afternoon, after doing errands in
: the gale storm winds. Or at least,
: we got to try to take a nap. I
: think my golden retriever, Lucy,
: was a little freaked out, because
: she climbed on top of me, which
: she usually doesn't do when I'm
: lying on the bed. (If we are on
: the couch, she will do this)

: *yummy stir fry for dinner. I tried
: something called ginger paste that
: I got at a world food market. It
: smelled wonderful! It turned out I
: should have used more, but it was
: worth it just for the aroma.

: *while I was at Target yesterday, I
: saw sweaters that were just what I
: was looking for for the summer.
: The store was not crowded, so I
: looked at clothes, which I usually
: don't do there. I ended up with a
: little black sweater, a little
: white sweater, a cute top, and a v
: neck cardigan in gorgeous blues
: and greens. Felt very spring-like.
: (I had gone to get new underpants,
: and I bought 2 packs, so I am also
: very happy to have a full drawer
: of new underwear - I got rid of
: all the ones that were too small
: and now I won't run out of the
: comfortable ones during the week
: and have to wear uncomfortable
: ones.)

: *I have a piece of left over lasagna
: for my pre workout snack today.

: *I have some ideas to try for my next
: batch of yam cakes.

: *I am working on incorporating some
: joint mobility and yoga into my
: exercise and I am excited about
: it. It's always fun to try new
: things.

: Allison