Damn Bird.

Sorry.
I had to.

I have been on Team Bird for years.
Last summer, I told you about my obsession with the birds trying to make nests in the rafters of my building's walkways - here and here.

I checked on the tiniest little egg in our building's gate (a hummingbird maybe?) daily for almost a week, until it was viciously removed disappeared.

Last month, I even shared a pic of the birds that had the longest lasting next this year.
They lasted over a week before the maintenance guy found them.
Unheard of.
But due to the construction, the maintenance guy didn't do any work on our floor for a week.
I had such hope for this little baby.
But in the end, it wasn't even the maintenance guy, it was my downstairs neighbor.
He didn't care that the egg was probably just about to hatch.
He just took it down and threw it all away.
Peace out embryo.

I was really rooting for that bird.

All of the birds.

I have been taking pics of the birds all spring and summer.
Waiting for the right time to figure out how to post about them.
I mean, how many nest fails can I document.

A lot.
Apparently.

So, you see.
This is where the drama happens.

About two weeks ago, I noticed a couple of twigs hanging out of my dryer vent.
Also, I noticed some birds sitting on the railing outside my front door every morning, but nowhere for them to nest.
I know you know where this is going.

Sidenote: I moved into my condo almost 7 years ago. The dryer ducts had just been cleaned, and they should be cleaned every two years.
I have never had mine cleaned.
I called the guy last year to come out and do it, but he asked me to call him back and I forgot.
Whoops.

Anyway, where were we?
Oh yes.
Twigs.

Then last Friday or something as I was waiting for the elevator with my neighbor, he mentioned that him and another neighbor saw what looked like a bird coming out of my dryer vent.
I was like GREAT.
I need to have that cleaned anyway.

Monday, driving to work, I hear a news report about Robert DeNiro's house practically burning down from a dryer vent story.
GOT IT.

Monday, after work, my other neighbor, the second witness to the bird sitch, who also happens to be the nest destroyer. Crusher of bird dreams, also mentioned the bird sighting. But that they had seen my dryer being used later that day, and air was flowing no problem.

Soo....yeah.
Still needed to call the duct guy, but no serious urgency.

Tuesday I posted this on Instagram, with the caption that I needed to do laundry.

Which I didn't do.
THANKFULLY.


Wednesday morning I woke up to a horrific stench.
Coming from what I thought was possibly the plumbing in my bathroom.
But it wasn't.
I ran the shower.
Cleaned the toilet.
Wiped down the sink.
The stench was still quite potent.

I used my sniffer, and ended up in front of my washer/dryer.
Checked the washer for moldy clothes.
Nope.

Opened the dryer door.
Boom.
Yep.
Something died in there.

GROSS.
I Yelped dryer duct cleaners ASAP.
Thankfully, a very nice duct cleaner was my second call.
(First call was very rude. Thanks, but no thanks rude guy.)
And he would be out the next day.

Today.

A full 80 degree day later.

My house was LOVELY last night.
Swoonworthy, really.
But, I digress.

I think he was a bit skeptical of my dead bird theory at first.
Until he approached the dryer.
He removed the ductwork, which reeked.
But we didn't really inspect it.
And we decided it needed to be replaced all together.
He cleaned the vent thoroughly, and no bird guts were found.

I was DYING (har! har!) to know IF there was ACTUALLY a dead bird in there.
But I didn't want to seem like a total loon.
He ended up checking for me by emptying the duct in the parking lot.
So I came down, and told him I needed to take a picture of it.
He thought that was hilarious.
I was on a blogger's mission.

Also.
I was relieved.
The source was eliminated.
And decomp city was history.

The damn bird wasn't even one of the doves I have been rooting for in the first place.
So I think I am still on team-build-a-nest-on-our-fire-alarm-but-not-in-my-dryer-vent.
Doves, I have your back.
And baby, you got back. Which is great. Because you can't fit in my dryer vent.

But, sparrows, you are so DEAD TO ME.

Literally.
And figuratively.

PS one KA giveaway is going on, up in heeee-yah. Chickity Check It.

10 on 10: May 2012 - The I Almost Forgot Edition.

10 photos over 10 hours.

Remembered to do this mid-morning.

No big girl camera this month.

But it's pretty amazing what the iPhone can catch.

Enjoy!

Linking up here:

10 on 10: April 2012

After a crazy dry winter, 

spring has sprung and April Showers are doing their best to bring May Flowers.
But not on my back deck.
I don't do plants.
I have a palm out front.
Which I haven't watered in two months.
Which reminds me...

Lent is over, and I'm back on the Keurig. 

I'm suddenly so excited to arrive at work.

Speaking of work...

all of my favorite office supplies ready for a busy day's work...

Kinda broke Konnie the Konica.

It started with a simple paper jam.

Turned into a drawer that wouldn't close.

Called in coworker Derrick for back up.

Unscrewing the entire left side.

Reassembling, and wedging a screwdriver in to get the drawer shut again.

MacGuyver style.

And paper unjammed.

MOD struck again.

Greeted by the cone head at lunch.

ONE.

MORE. 

DAY. 

All in a day's work. 

ALMOST have 2011 in the books. 

Almost.

Peace out office.

Hello super cute umbrella,

and drizzly evening.
Favorite.
x2.

This is her third (or fourth?) attempt at a nest up there

(this year)

so far, two (or three) cracked eggs on the pavement below.

I'm rooting for her.  
But she is picking a rough spot.
I've been taking pics of her plight all season.
Blog post needed?
Maybe.

Off to the gym.

Don't wait to hydrate.

Evening Schnoodle pick up & slumber party. 

Suture removal at 8am tomorrow! 

Linky delinky over here: 

Insta Friday: Bird Update and a Few Randoms Edition

I was quiet on the Insta this week.

After last weeks uber-boring-but-you-guys-were-too-kind-and-said-it-wasnt post...I tried to be a bit more selective with my artsy shots.

More artsy.
Less fartsy.

And a few birds.

These little guys got relocated across the walkway....from above the Emergency Exit sign...to above the fire alarm.

I don't think it was their first choice.

But they are really good at making a house nest a home.

I think their motto is, home is where your heart egg is.

Because, despite the first attempt above the fire alarm not being successful, they tried and tried again.

Doesn't she look so happy? So proud of the little home she built?

Unfortunately, their little messes REALLY don't help them stay incognito. And the maintenance guy evicted them, again.

Boo. Hiss.

I consoled myself with a cuppa tea. In my new mug. That I got at the tea salon on Saturday.
Which reminds me, my blogiversary is coming up...fun blogiversary announcement, coming SOON. :)
I am kinda excited about it. And hope you are, or at least will be, too! 

And, lastly,

I hung out with the kidlets on Sunday AM. It was a small crowd.
And we did a lot of coloring.
And by we, I really mean we. I colored too.
And this cutie-pie hogged the aqua crayon the whole time.
Seriously. My color pages needed some aqua love.
And it wasn't gonna happen.
At least she has good taste.

Thanks for a fun week on the bloggity blog! See you all Monday!

Linking up with Jeannett over here:

The Birds are Back in Town...for now.

I got a lot of positive feedback from THIS POST.

And many condolences when I reported back that the awesome little nest only lasted only a week.

SO SAD.

But, I have news for you...

I have a couple of new neighbors.

The birds are back.

Well, maybe not the same birds...

But these guys are "nesting" in a common spot.

And I usually discover them because they are messy.

This time was no exception.

This was one of the messiest  encounters I have had.

These birds were building on prime real estate. Right above the Emergency Exit light.

When I happened upon them, I think they were in the throes of building their new home...
I don't think they were quite ready for visitors. 

But, I  was able to capture a shot of one of the homeowners.

I have been away from my place since I saw them over the weekend...so I'm not sure of the fate of these guys.

They don't have the appropriate permits, and their construction zone wasn't exactly "flying under the radar," so the on-site maintenance guy may have brought in a demo crew.

And on Monday, when our construction workers arrived, they may have been enlightened to the fact that all was not peaceful and good in the hood.

But, at least for a day, they got to enjoy their quaint little love shack.

Linking these little guys up with Heather:


And sad news, this nest is gone...but these guys aren't discouraged. A little update to come on Friday. :)

Owl-ventures in Kite Flying

You know that time between getting settled in for fireworks...and then it getting dark enough for fireworks to start?

It's like that same time between getting home from the Halloween Parade at school, and waiting for it to get dark enough to Trick-or-Treat.

It is nearly impossible to get through patiently.

Thankfully, Cost Plus had a sale on kites last week. I scored a super fun Owl kite for $4!

And thankfully, we were set up in the windiest city on the Peninsula for fireworks, Foster City.

And not so thankfully, or thankfully, depending on how you look at it, it was quite a calm night out in the FC.

Not ideal kite flying weather.

But um, chants from the crowd "fly that kite. fly that kite. fly that kite", which may be better known as peer pressure.

And the most adorable four and eight year olds requesting that the kite be flown, meant, the kite would be flown.

Eventually the cute kids were bored with the lack of flight.
And the people around us were getting a little sick of an owl and its tail flapping into their faces.
So the kite was retired without fulfilling its destiny.
Until next time....

A Stumbled Upon Treasure

I have been running.

A bit.

Lately.

Nike has rejected me from their Half-Marathon in October.

But I am still trying to win a spot.

I won't tell you how. Because I don't want to decrease my chances.

But basically, I have to run.

Often.

The other night, on my way out, I was leaving my building through the side gate, when I put my hand into the box covering the handle (it's a weird security feature), and actually grabbed some twigs as well.

I thought someone was just being funny leaving garbage in the box.

But instead, I peeked inside, and found a little bird nest.

Actually, it was only little because I think a little bird made it.  The nest itself was pretty intense.

And, even better...
Inside the nest...was an itty bitty egg.

It may be the smallest egg I have ever seen. It actually looks exactly like a Cadbury Mini Egg. (Yum.)

On my way back from my run, I ran upstairs and grabbed my camera, and took these pictures (which was difficult because I couldn't really get a good shot inside the box with the bulky lens).

I hope the little guy makes it. But I don't think he will.

 Almost every spring I find the birds building their nests above the fire alarms, and in the rafters of the walkways. Once I notice the nests (because of the obnoxious amount of twigs, and dirt scattered on the ground them), it's less than a week before I see egg splattered all over the ground below.

And I also suspect our building management gets rid of them when they discover them.

I'm always rooting for the little guys. I debated putting a little sign on the gate "Shhh..baby bird sleeping." - but I don't want to draw attention to my little friend. Hopefully, he or she can come into the world peacefully before anybody else notices...

Obviously, my building is SO cute, now that there are birds all up on it!

<

Put A Bird On It Giveaway Winner

First off, thanks to everybody for entering! And for the retweets! Woo!
The giveaway was very fun to host, and I wish I could give all of you a little birds nest.

There were 17 entries in the contest (woo hoo) - which gave you a 5.88% chance of winning.
Not to shabby!

I used the Random Number Generator - and here is the result:

Which means

..

....

..........

...............

......................

..........................

...............................

My dear friend EMILY!!!

I actually still call her EMJ.

She is working on her own nesting, since she is currently pregnant with what may be the best dressed little girl in the world.

Arriving in July! 

Head on over to her little corner of the internet, and say hello, or tell her congrats!

Emily - the birds will be hand delivered to you on Sunday - unless I see you sooner!!! Love ya, and CONGRATULATIONS! :) 

Thanks again to everyone who entered!!!

I have another giveaway up my sleeve in a few weeks. 

You wont want to miss it!

GIVEAWAY: A Bird on the Blog is Worth Two in the Nest

This past weekend I did some serious shopping.
It was pouring rain. I picked up my sister, and a coffee, and an almond croissant from my new favorite coffee shop, Kaffeehaus. And we headed to Burlingame. It is starting to become a routine. Weather included.

She picked up her favorite coffee at The Produce Stand.

Yes, we can't get coffee at the same place. #CoffeeSnobs

And then we stormed the doors of Anthropologie when it opened for the day.

I may have gotten some latte bowls.

And this adorable mug.

And maybe this cute sweater.

And then back in San Mateo, we hit up a cute little boutique, nestled between our favorite yogurt shop and local toy store.

As we were checking out my sister called me to come over and see the cutest display. Two colorful birds in a little wire nest. They were called Tweets. They were like little twitter birds, come to life!

We started laughing because they also had little tags, reading "I LOVE YOU" and "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" and "Best Friends".

My sister and I saw the Best Friends one and immediately thought of our mom:

One day, our mom insisted she had her own Twitter account.

When I called her bluff, I asked what her username was - to which she replied, confidently, "Twitter."

Right. My mom is claiming to be @twitter.

Ellen and Cindy, who's mom is our mom's BFF - have named their mom @twitter2.

They are peas in a pod. Or birds in a nest. Kinda like these guys.

So - speaking of Twitter...

Yesterday, on the first day of {SPRING} Twitter became 5 years old!

Who knew it had been around since 2006?!? Not I.

Although, I saw a link where you can look up your own twitter birthday - mine is December 26, 2007. I have had a Twitter for over three years? Again, who knew?

I love me some Twitter.

#ilovemesomehashtags

I ended up picking up a blue pair of Tweet-Birds for myself. I had really wanted to mix and match colors - but the shop owner wouldn't let me. As I was walking out, I thought, why don't I buy a second set in another color - and then give away one nest!

So I hooked myself up with two sets of blue and yellow birds. One for me. one for you.

I wasn't sure when I would give them away - but since we are celebrating Twitter and all (You are celebrating right? You were out late last night at Twitter's birthday party? You missed curfew? Bummer.) - I thought, why not now?

In this case, the early late bird gets the worm!

Happy {Belated} Birthday Twitter!

And who doesn't like birds? I mean birds make everything cute. Right?



err...right.

Would you like your own set of birds?

(teacup and party hats not included) 

All you need to do is leave a comment. And you are entered! Contest is open to twitterers and non-twitterers alike! These guys are CUTE!

You can get a second entry by tweeting (or retweeting) about this giveaway - just leave me a comment saying that you did so!

That is it!

Enter before 5pm PDT on Thursday - and I will announce the #WINNER on Friday morning!

#nowgoputabirdonit