Hiding?

I almost never see Red Winged Blackbirds in my yard, but this male has come in search of something........he has spent a lot of time at the outside window sill looking at himself and singing his heart out. If he was looking for a mate there was a lovely female red winged blackbird nearby. (see extra) 

I had a wonderful Happy Birthday? We had a delicious cheesecake with our son and his family(inc Ellie). We had a great time with Ellie as the entertainment....she doesn't know she is the entertainment.....she just says and does the funniest things.

If you are tired of Little Miss Ellie stories, stop right here. Today she did three things I found amazing for a 3 year: 
First, Ellie came into the kitchen area and saw that the dog had dripped water across the floor. She went to the towel drawer and got a towel and then spent a long time cleaning it completely up. Second, Ellie went into the bathroom and saw the toilet paper was empty. She went and got a new roll, took the empty roll off, put the new roll on AND threw the old tube away. Third, Ellie crawled in my bed and cuddled this morning for awhile, after awhile, she said, "GG, I got some blood on the bed. We need to clean it up." It was only a tiny drop of blood. (she has these tiny bloody nose at night) Ellie helped me take the sheets to be washed in cold water. 

I don't any of my grandchildren ever noticed the toilet paper was low until they needed it and then they would yell, "Grandma, we are out of toilet paper would you get one for me." And that blood would never have been reported.  I added an extra photo of Ellie on the upstairs deck. (I couldn't help myself)