So nice to hear from you Nina. We've missed you. I remember your situation clearly. And am so very sorry about your loss. You've actually been on my mind several times. (even though I don't really know you.)
Tammy

Oh Nina, I am so sorry for your loss. I often think about you and was praying for Gary. You are right....he is with you. I for one have really missed you. Aren't you glad I have my bluebird situation under control so I don't have to e-mail you 50 times?

Take care, we all love you!

Karen

NINA!!!!! I am SO glad to see you! I am very sorry for your loss, but Gary will be there whenever you need him.
Please start posting again, we so enjoy "talking" to you!

Hi Nina, I'm so happy to see you and so very sad for your loss. Hope you'll stick around, it's good to have you back.

Anita

Hey there,good to see you on the forum.It was so good talking to you a few weeks ago.My blues hatched today,thank God for wren guards.I know lots of friends are going to be happy to see you here.Love ya,Jane

Hey Nina girl, SO HAPPY to see you posting here today! Really happy to hear how well yours and Gary's blues are doing, too. ((((HUGS))))

Hey, Nina!!!! What a thrill to see a thread with your name!! You've been on my mind constantly and I'm glad to hear that Gary is making sure you have plenty of birds to keep you busy, along with the rest of your menagerie. I'm so jealous of your orioles--always have been, and me living less than an hour from Baltimore with not an oriole to speak of.
Love ya, honey.
Kathy

awww thank you ALL! it's good to BE back! and thank you so much for your kind words and prayers for gary. he fought this disease tooth and nail but for whatever reason, God needed him in heaven. i'm guessing He needed another deck built. ;)

LOL kathy! YOU don't have orioles because WE have all of them! :p amazing how it took us years to get them to come to the yard and now they are here every minute of every day. on the days i am at work, when i come home to empty jelly feeders, i swear they are lined up and waiting for me. the orchard orioles even squawk about it.

jane, it was so nice to talk to you, too!

(((HUGS))) everybody, i'm off to peoria for a dog show. simon is gonna strut his stuff. :D xoxo

Hope he wins a prize.My blues hatched yesterday.Yippee.

I don't know you that well Nina but welcome back. I'm sorry to hear about your losses. You are a shining example that we all must carry on. I'm glad because your birds need you.
Sincerely,
Cathy

TA DAA! simon won TWO first place ribbons. i'm gonna have to take him down a notch, he's getting a little too uppity now. have you ever tried to take a corgi down a notch? it ain't easy, their legs are only 2" long!

got home late yesterday, 7 p.m., wanted to do a quick check to see if my bluebird momma had added anything to the nest. she is building with NOTHING but pine needles. i put my finger down inside to see if the cup was complete so i would know when to expect eggs. i have not checked for 3 days other than opening the box and taking a peek.

imagine my surprise when i felt AN EGG!!! :O there is hardly any NEST there! so i got my little mirror out. well, there wasn't AN egg...THERE WERE 3 EGGS!!! i rushed around and made a sparrow spooker and got that up and when i came home today, i checked and yep, FOUR EGGS! she was sneaky!!

i have to tell you guys, they set gary's headstone at the cemetery on saturday. when i went to see it after they finished, as soon as i got out of my truck and started walking toward gary's grave, i heard a bluebird, looked up and saw a male sitting on the wire that goes almost directly over gary's grave. i was there for almost 30 minutes and he stayed the whole time, flitting around from place to place, never out of my sight and singing the whole time. i took it as a sign from gary that he approved of my design. :)

Congrats on the eggage, Nina! Reminds me of one of my current tree swallow nests--the nest is so skimpy that the eggs are actually resting on the floor of the nestbox!
I'm not surprised that you got kudos from Gary via Mr. Blue--kind of reminds me of your mom and the hummingbird. That man will never be very far from you if he has anything to say about it!
High-five to Simon for his victories, and you just let him have his uppities, if it's all the same--he's earned them! By the way, I got myself a huge jar of grape jelly yesterday and I'm going to try and lure some of those Orioles back to the neighborhood. Hope you can spare a few.
Kathy

yes kathy, it's VERY much like my mom and the hummie!

sometimes i have to look for signs from gary, sometimes i have to downright WILL one to come to me but many, many times, like the bluebird at the cemetery, they are so obvious. that's when it makes me really smile. :)

hmmmm, i dunno...if you promise to take care of the orioles, i might spare 2 or 3. Lord knows, i have enough to go around!

Yes, Nina, I'd be happy with 2 or 3--shoot, I'd be happy with 1!!! I can't seem to find my Oriole feeder and am thinking of getting a new one. What are you using? I have a small wooden contraption with spikes on the sides for orange halves and a tiny jelly cup in the middle--the only problem is when I tried using this last year the durn bees and wasps would take a dive in the jelly and end up becoming goop themselves. Any suggestions?
Kathy