There has been so much going on around here that I can't even think of where to begin ... but Babies have been popping up all over and not just critter ones either... we have added a new baby to our family! He is our first grandchild , a sweet lil angel and perfect in every way !

 Making this world a better place for future generations seems more urgent than ever as I hold this tiny innocent life in my arms, and I wonder what this world will be like when he grows up. I will share my love of our earth and all of it's wonderous forms of living beings with him , and try to teach him how to care for and protect it. ()  ...  But if we want to leave any kind of earth (worth living on) for our grandchildren or thier children, then more humans will have to change the way we are treating our earth.

 The recent hurricane Dolly that just hit our area is a fresh reminder of how the earth is fighting back. I know hurricanes aren't new but scientists say that their patterns of frequentness and severity are increasing due to the effects of global warming that we humans have been inflicting on our planet.

 Hurricane Dolly left alot of damage when it made landfall on South Padre Island. Our home is located about 40 miles from there and even though it had began to weaken as it passed over it still seemed to shake the whole town with it's strong winds as it rumbled through. Giant raindrops were being slung in every dirrection. I watched the rain hurl around in circles like twisters all around a car that was parked in the driveway, and up and down the road. The winds and rains blew like that off and on for two days. The Bush administration declared 15 Texan counties as disaster areas, ours being included. And the state health department is warning people of stinging fire ants, snakes, and tarantulas in the flood waters.  Here is a news story on Hurricane Polly. 

 below are some photos I shot:

 Just before the Hurricane...

Geese in wind

car in the rain

flooded field

flooded street at one end of our block

flooded street at other end of our block

 And I have noticed alot of displaced insects and reptiles, (frogs, snakes, lizzards, spiders, ants, and bees), around here too but so far I am lucky to say that there are no major damages around the habitat, and I ventured a couple of blocks over to the wild Parakeets' nest ( of 100+) , and they seemed to be ok... well,  aside from maybe being a little shook up and disgruntled , and hey , I would be too if I had just been through a storm like that blowing around in 50 mph winds while hanging 30 feet up in the air, with only mere twigs to rely on for protection !

 Seems they really have built the "Ultimate Birds Nest". They build and add on to this nest daily, re-desighning it constantly. Here is a pile of bird-nesting materials they have discarded along their way.

Peeking out at me from one of the nests' entrances...

I will try to get some new videos posted soon. I have uploaded this one below of new flycatcher babies that have been hanging out in the foilage over the habitat, if you would like to check it out . 

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 The wild berry vine has draped itself over some young poplar trees next to the huischi and created a little wooded hide-away under the shade of the blueberry canopy, and some parent birds, (Flycatchers, Mockingbirds, Orioles, and Great Kissgades) have been leading their youngins to this spot and dropping them off, leaving them alone to explore the vegetations in saftey.

 The babies listen for mom to arrive with berries or insects ... and then they greet her with open beaks. The parents make repeated trips to and fro checking on their safty through out the day. And when evening comes mom leads them back home to roost for the night. It's sort of like a "mini-daycare center" for the birds! ( ) ...    see photos below:

Mom feeding baby flycatchers

Great kissgade

 Baby Orioles hanging in the Huischi tree

Happy and Safe Nature Journies to you all !

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