NEW NEIGHBOR

There has been a bird nest wedged for some years between a downspout and the eaves of our porch. It has survived winter after winter and each spring a pair of birds freshen it up and reuse it. They are often different species and this year I think it's robins (but what do I know). The mother (I assume) sat on the eggs with breaks to get food. Now there are three hatchlings, growing with amazing speed, poking themselves out while waiting for dinner.

I took this through a less-than-clean window with bad lighting. Still, we enjoy seeing their progress day to day. The nest is somewhat hidden, protecting the chicks from the neighborhood hawks.             

THE TULIP HOUSE

The wonderful family in yesterday's post lives not far from us. As mentioned, they grow thousands of tulips around their house and distribute them to the community. The location is no secret - it is in the newspaper article about them I cited. This photo can't show the whole effect. The house is on a corner with gardens wrapping all around. They would make a better neighbor than Mr. Rogers.              

Cammo

Back home at last. I was sitting on our front steps yesterday afternoon while Ellie was doing something we will see tomorrow. A monarch butterfly flitted by and settled in the fallen leaves. We don't get many of these in our area. If I hadn't noticed it in the air I probably would not have seen it among the browns and oranges.          

CORRECTION: Mrs. C, the house lepidopterist, botanist and grammarian, looked this up and informs me that this is not a monarch butterfly. It's called a comma, oddly enough. I'd be a mess without her.

Minor Disaster

We awoke yesterday morning to find a miniature geyser erupting in front of our house. Mrs. C went out first and found that a water main had broken. The repair crew said they would be shutting off our service soon so we both ran through the shower. By the time I threw on some clothes and ran downstairs the main valve had been shut off and the best of the show was over.

The water company crew knew what they were doing. After pumping out the flooded area they replaced a section of pipe, filled the hole and had our service restored by mid-afternoon.                   

Christmas At The Crowes'

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To borrow from the Bard, what is so rare as a day in June? A white Christmas in St. Louis, almost. I can't remember the last one. So this is chez nous, and we've put some our favorite decorations out front! And remember, friends, this post was brought to you by Taittinger La Francaise, the official champagne of the Crowe family (not that we pony up for it very often).

A merry and peaceful Christmas to all of our friends around the world. Let's all hope that the coming year is, at the very least, amusing.

- Bob and Carolyn, Emily and Brian (and Killian and Gizmo) and Andy and Claire (and Weasel)