Wednesday, April 28, 2010

If you come visit, use the back door

I made you all a couple of little amateur video clips for your viewing pleasure one of which is accompanied by music that will lull you to sleep and make you think you're watching a nature show. Don't worry, I didn't narrate. Check them out at the end of the blog post.

We have a new porch guest that I assume will be taking up residence soon. This lovely lady literally spent more than 12 hours Monday working on her nest right outside our front door, and was back at it finishing up the next morning. She went shopping for materials in my gardens all day long, and brought mud along to hold it all together. I always leave some prime nesting materials around when I clean up in spring, instead of throwing it all out. ("Ooooh, that would be great for lining a nest - I need to leave some of that out! The chickadees can gather up our dog's fur, so I'll spread that around"....etc).

It was so cool last year to watch the cardinals' nest outside the bedroom and to hold hours-old baby cardinals in my hand. It was phenomenal to watch baby blue jays learning to fly in the backyard last summer and enjoy a brief moment of a baby sitting next to me on the swing. I am sure it is those same two blue jay siblings that still stick together and come around to the same tree even now. So this year will be a new experience with a momma robin right beside the door we always use and by the porch lights that are always on. Unfortunately, knowing what I've heard about robins, our lives might be in danger!

I exaggerate....but I don't relish me, my family, or guests being dive-bombed when we're coming and going. So I'll warn everyone I know about momma robin if you value your head...steer clear!....mmmmm.....except for those pesky sales people that come a-knocking. No....I've got my tripod set up inside the door to film the baby robins....but I just might get some great comedic shots of sales people running from our house. This could be all good.

Here's what Dad was doing while Mom was working her little heart out. Why DO Dads seem to have more fun?
(The Picasa 'embed' feature does not seem to be working for the videos. You will be linked to my albums instead of viewing directly here - sorry)

Here's Momma. Stay tuned for the eggs and babies!

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Not to be sneezed at

Have you been sneezing a lot these last few weeks? Itchy, watery eyes? Miserable?

Welcome to the world of the allergy sufferer. These past few weeks in this part of Canada,  spring has sprung very early and even some who have not had allergies before are suddenly reacting to the pollen in the air.

I've had springtime allergies for years but the symptoms have lessened over time so that I don't suffer for long anymore. But I learned something on Facebook about relief from nasal congestion in general.

Yes, Facebook. It can be inciteful sometimes to read responses to people's status postings - when they are telling their world that they don't feel well - an advice column, you might say. It was there that I learned about the neti pot (Thank you Robin!).
I had never heard of a neti pot and Robin even provided a web link. I will always try something once if someone recommends something they have found to work. I was intrigued because I am a tea lover, and Wikipedia (the source of all knowledge) illustrates with a picture of a lovely ceramic 'teapot'.

So I decided I needed to get a neti pot to try for myself.

Now I knew that I couldn't expect too much in the way of style, being as I was purchasing the neti pot at Shoppers Drug Mart in the pharmacy department. Fine bone china was unlikely to be found within the cardboard box, nor did I expect to find ceramic. I guess I just thought it would at least be pretty.....maybe even elegant.
Mmmmmm. No. Not elegant.
Not even close to elegant.












But if you think that's not pretty, wait until you try it! The instructions really should state to use it in private where no one can watch. This device is, after all, a nasal irrigation system.

Now I have always hated the feeling of sucking in water through the nose when swimming, so when I was all ready to pour the solution from the neti pot through my nasal passage, I was gripped with a fear of drowning. The instructions said not to be alarmed if the solution also came out of the mouth (sound tasty?), so I was pretty sure if you have one nostril taking in fluid, the second one draining the fluid, and your mouth also exuding fluid (let snot call this fluid anything but fluid).....I'm pretty sure you can't breathe. I was pleasantly surprised I did not require any emergency assistance, and very stunned that there is actually an opening between both nostril passages to allow fluid to flow in one and out the other. Who knew?

Amazing the connection between nose, mouth and throat. It reminds me of an event that happened many years ago that I still laugh about....sort of. We went on a holiday to Florida with relatives and while there, visited with some aunts (unrelated to me). One of these aunts was very pretty and proper -  lovely hair, obviously wore the finest of makeup, jewellery, clothing........but she was wearing pantyhose under her shorts - did I say we were in the hot, humid state of Florida? [I was somewhat fixated with the pantyhose -never seen that done. Perhaps because it was prior to spray-on tan products.]

Anyways, my husband decided it would be absolutely hilarious to take the cellophane wrapper from the candy he just ate....roll it up into a long 'stick'...and........ quickly.insert it up my nostril. (Isn't that just hilarious?????) I was impressed. Please kids, do not try this at home. Let me tell you, the nostril is a very sensitive piece of apparatus. When it itches in your sinus cavities, you can't scratch there. And when something scratchy hits the sinus cavities, your eye waters uncontrollably. Then everyone thinks that you're crying as you are bent over, clasping your face and dabbing your eyes.

Problem was, in addition to this incessant, horrible irritation in the sinus cavity, the 'pantyhose aunt' was trying to figure out what was wrong and how to help me. The more she spoke, the more I keeled over in laughter while 'crying', clutching my face and desperately wanting to sneeze away the irritation. She believed from what she had gathered from the others, that the wrapper had gone up my nose and come out my eye. She wouldn't drop it. The more she was concerned about the wrapper having come out my eye, the closer I came to collapsing in exhaustion from laughing. The others egged her on by assuring her that yes, it had come out my eye. Poor woman. She mustn't have passed biology in school. I could never be that stupid.

Although....I guess I just confessed that I thought a neti pot could drown me.

I wonder if pantyhose under shorts could be stylish?