Mostly about Sparrow Hawks and holly hocks... except the holly hock part

We had a visit from the neighborhood sparrow hawk. He swooped in like he owned the place and scattered all of the little birds like chaff in the wind. Then, realizing dinner was gone, he stalked around a bit, kicking random pieces of dirt and muttering to himself. I think he'll be back as we have lots of birds living on the "you-provide-food-we-provide-the-entertainment" plan. 

It was also Lucy's 2nd birthday on Friday. We invited over a small host of friends and had lots of cake, cupcakes, coffee and candy - with some carrots on the side. We are the kind of family that doesn't want to spoil our girls and teach them that there are entitlements. We don't own the Taj Mahal, but we are happy and thankful for what the good Lord provides. So that being said, we only got her a small kitchen, a potty training chair, a dish set for the kitchen, a few Toys-r-us specials, those few outfits she couldn't do without, a watering can... well anyway not very much. And all over her friends did the same, a small bike, (thanks grandma Kathy) a baby, a tea set, lots of crayons and coloring books, chalk, and so on. So, as you can tell we are keeping to our guidelines and not giving her anything that is not part of the absolute necessities of childhood. ;-)  She was grateful and muttered a quick "ya-ya" which for those of you who don't speak her language means thank you. Then she pointed to the next present and said "Prize!" (we are working on that)