I debated titling this post 'survivor' but decided to go with the obvious and talk about the less obvious. First of all happy Friday to everyone and TGIF to one and all! At least here in southern California it was a glorious week spring weather-wise - even verging on too hot - and a very busy week to say the least otherwise!

I know, I know, I know...... girl couldn't help it peeps. If the images I swiped courtesy of Fox weren't bad enough, suffice it to say my kids will be mortified when they see I've actually posted about American Idol but hey, this is MY blog so whatevs. Now that we're down to the final 12 (was that a long and painful enough road or what), I can see some

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!  Today is the day where many of us, Irish or not, wear green, and consequently, a great day to post about teaching our kids how to live ‘green.’

I have been reading “Grow Your Own Tree Hugger: 101 Activities to Teach Your Child How to Live Green” by Wendy Rosenoff, and it got me thinking about how impressionable children are and how crucial it is to teach them important concepts from a young age.  How to take good care of our planet and ourselves seems like one of these important concepts.

So aside from a book like Rosenoff’s

Hark! The shrill call of black-bellied whistling tree duck outside! I dash to our front door. I open it. Then I open our screen door. I lean outside, I look around. There...above our mighty live oaks in our front yard (their favorite roost)....I spy five in flight, circling over Ninth Street! I look around some more. There's a sixth, perched atop the branches of an oak across the street. They're back, our neighborhood tree ducks!
End of

Just sighted: a male black-chinned hummingbird at our kitchen feeder!
Let the season begin!