Category: hobbies

House Finch Nesting in Our Artificial Christmas Tree!

A couple days ago, Sena found a bird’s nest in our front porch artificial Christmas tree. The small nest is made from the clippings of Sena’s ornamental grasses. It has 4 small eggs, which are white with dark specks.

We could hear a bird singing while we were sitting in the house and it always sounded close by. We could see it flitting around but we couldn’t identify it. We thought it might be nesting in our magnolia tree at first but Sena couldn’t find one.

I’ve scared a bird a couple of times lately and it always seemed to be flying off our front porch from somewhere. I never thought to peek in the little fake Christmas tree sitting in a big pot.

So, I got the critter cam out. It hasn’t been getting any use since we solved the problem of our yard drain grate lids popping off by having them screwed down last year. We never did find out what flipped the lids.

Anyway, Sena suggested moving the pot with the tree around to face the front of the porch and set up the critter cam facing the tree. Both the tree and the camera on a tripod are somewhat sheltered from the wind behind one of the columns.

Moving the tree confused the bird a little because it had a little trouble finding it at first. We got a good enough video to identify it as a female house finch. We don’t know when she laid the eggs, but they take a couple of weeks to incubate.

We had been trying to keep birds off our porch by setting out a couple of fake snakes. The birds ignored them. And I guess they don’t mind nesting in fake trees, either.

The nest is probably in a fairly safe spot on the porch. Crows and other predatory birds fly around, but might be less likely to see it from the air. Maybe we should get a fake dog.

We’ll try to keep our intrusions to a minimum, because it tends to tip off big, hungry birds. On the other hand, we would like to get enough footage to make short videos of the progress of the nestlings.

Still Working on That Shower Juggle!

I’ve been working on that shower juggle pattern for a year now. Progress is slow but a couple of days ago, I noticed it got better when I held my arms pretty rigidly within the pane of glass. You can still tell I tend to morph between a half shower and a full shower.

It’s also called a circle juggle because that’s sort of what it looks like.

I can do on average about 5-7 throws before I start dropping balls on my head. I notice also that as long as I stay in the pane and focus on the arc throw at the top of the arc, I can juggle the shower with pretty much any set of juggling balls.

I think the Svengoolie T-shirt gives me good luck.

The Demonic Shrilling Chicken Rematch

Remember that Shrilling Chicken I tried to juggle a few days ago? Well, I got my revenge for the sore finger it gave me. This is the message to chickens who peck me.

Chicken, meet your juggler!

This time, I put on gloves along with my usual safety goggles to prevent further injuries from the satanic cluck-meister.

I guess I taught that bird a lesson.

Jim Updates His Workout and Adds a Step Counter!

Since we added the step platform, I’ve been wondering how to count steps when I use it because for some reason my smartphone step counter won’t count steps when I try to use it on the platform.

Sena got a handy step counter and it works! It works if you have it in your pocket or wear it on neck with a lanyard.

I usually practice juggling patterns as a warm up to exercising. I’m still working on the shower pattern. Progress is slow.

My exercise routine takes a half hour. Following that I sit for mindfulness meditation for 30 minutes. We are still using our anti-Peloton exercise bike. I do one leg stands for a minute on each leg. I still do floor yoga, body weight squats, planks, and dumbbells. I still count my own steps on the platform: 50 steps alternating right and left leg four times (200 steps). The counter number varies between 170-200 or so.

As a review, a recently published study found that climbing 5 flights of stairs (approximately 50 steps) was associated with a lower risk of ASCVD types independent of disease susceptibility (Song et al, see reference below). There was a threshold effect of stair climbing in the study, meaning the benefit was lost if you went over a certain number of “floors.” Going over 15 or 20 didn’t gain much for subjects. A flight was 10 stair steps.

Step up!

Reference:

Song Z, Wan L, Wang W, Li Y, Zhao Y, Zhuang Z, Dong X, Xiao W, Huang N, Xu M, Clarke R, Qi L, Huang T, Daily stair climbing, disease susceptibility, and risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease: A prospective cohort study, Atherosclerosis (2023)

Civil or Uncivil Bird Society

We caught sight of several birds engaged in the usual interactions with each other and their prey (in the case of the hawk). Call it civil or uncivil society, it’s natural no matter how you see it.

I’m going to call it a Red-tailed Hawk that caught a gray squirrel and had a tough time managing to eat it or even carry it up a tree.

We saw a male Cardinal nip a sparrow who was dining a little too close to him on a tree. I’m going to go out on a limb and guess it was a White-throated Sparrow.

We a Black-capped Chickadee flitting around and a couple of wild turkeys trudging through the snow. The turkeys seemed to be almost encouraging each other at times.

Music Credit for video:

Call to Adventure – Comedy by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1300022

Artist: http://incompetech.com/

Woodpeckers Coming Out of the Woodwork After the Snowstorms!

We have not seen any birds in our backyard since the arctic blast began this past week or so—until a couple of days ago.

We saw a Red-Bellied Woodpecker, a Downy woodpecker, and a White-Breasted Nuthatch. Hardly a flock, but interesting anyway.

We had a little trouble deciding whether we saw a White-Breasted Nuthatch or a Black-Capped Chickadee. But there were a few clues. The bird was climbing down the side of a tree. Chickadees don’t do that. It didn’t have a black throat patch, either. And it had a chestnut undertail.

The downy Woodpecker had a stubby little bill and it was smaller than a Hairy Woodpecker.

That reminded Sena of the time about twelve years ago when she went to a lot of trouble looking for our camera. She caught a shot of a Pileated Woodpecker in our backyard while I was at work. She thought I wouldn’t believe her unless she had a snapshot to prove it. I’m glad I didn’t bet on it.

Partners in Juggling Crime Breaking the Internet Again!

We are breaking the internet again as partners in juggling crime. It turns out the 2-person 6 ball juggling pattern has 3 variations:

The 1, 2 Pass: Both partners make two right hand throws, then pass to the partner on the third throw. Always throw from the right side to your partner’s left.

The 1 Pass: You pass after every other throw.

Pass: You pass on every right-hand throw. You could call it pass, pass, fast!

The Pass variation is really difficult, although some jugglers make it look easy. We mainly look funny, but we’re just getting started!

We include a slow-motion clip for each variation.

Still Practicing the Shower Juggle!

I’m still practicing the shower juggle pattern. I’m comparing how I did in April with how I’m doing now. No doubt, my form is wonky and I still can do only 3-5 throws.

But I think juggling with the big plastic balls is easier when it comes to the shower. I can’t figure why, unless it’s the more uniform spherical shape and evenly distributed weight.

It’s definitely not my form.

The Santa Hat Juggling Duo Breaks the Internet!

Are we having any fun? You bet! We donned our Santa hats and did the 2-person 6 ball juggling until we fell over.

This is a fun pattern because, even when you mess up, it’s hilarious. When we count out loud, it sort of helps keep us in sync—but not always.

The last part of the video, we did the count sort of sotto voce as we moved from the toss and pass phase to finish with a cascade. This is in stark contrast to what we usually do, which is to keep tossing and passing until the inevitable drops happen.

As always, after the second right hand toss in the cascade, we pass from our right hand to the left hand of the partner. The count is “One, Two, Pass!”

As least that’s the plan. Often, we get line drives to the head, chest or the wrong hand. This is why safety goggles are handy. Ball collisions are frequent, which crack us up.

You know, juggling is often a one-person hobby or show. When you get two persons in the act, it’s ordinary juggling for two, which is a blast.

Then you’re having fun!

Watch for Jim and Sena Juggling in Santa Hats!

Announcing the upcoming not-to-be-missed, one of a kind, holiday extravaganza never before witnessed holiday extravaganza—Jim and Sena juggling in Santa Hats!

We’ve been rehearsing for this (or at least trying to) and one of the greatest challenges was laughing so hard we could barely stand up, let alone juggle.

There’s something hilarious about juggling balls colliding with each other.