Birds and Ballet

So, for my first post in well over a month, I will tell about the 2 most important "B's" in our life as a family right now. 

The first is the birdfeeder that Simon received for a Christmas present.  That birdfeeder is home to regular "songbird feed."  Soon after, we received from my grandparents another birdfeeder, that holds oiled black sunflower seeds, and a suet feeder.  The birds are now at our house!  We watch them everyday, from the time we wake up in the morning until the birds themselves go to bed at night.  We have now 11 different varieties (not counting the Kestrel that is perched high in the trees by the road at times, waiting to spot a mouse)!  We have counted into the 20's many times as we watch them at the feeders.  We watch the Blue Jays come in pairs, the Juncos and Sparrows come in families, and the Flicker come alone.  We watch the Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers peck at the suet, now totally able to tell the difference between the 2 woodpeckers that look so much alike.  We watch until we can tell whether it is a male or a female we see, waiting for the glimpse of the rod spot on the nape.  We watch the Nuthatch eat upside down every time it lands on the feeder.  We wait for the House Finches  and Doves that come more often now, and we wait anxiously for the Cardinal to return.  We LOVE watching birds, and it is so fun to hear Simon holler to us that he has spotted a new bird.  It is always Simon.  He is watching all of the time.  Twas the perfect gift for him.

The other, newer, "B" is for the "Barefoot Book of Ballet Stories."  What a fabulous book!  It contains a handful of the most well-known ballet stories, and my children (and I) are enchanted!  We have learned about Russian ballets (Swan Lake being the favorite), a Polish ballet (Coppelia), and the Greek ballet that is so different from the others (Daphnis and Chloe).  The illustrations are amazing, the stories are captivating, and we are entranced.  We look up the countries where they were written, we dance to Swan Lake music, and we read them again and again, sitting on the couch for hours. 

We are loving the "B's."