We had baby birds born on our screened porch...

... which was NOT the ideal place for a nest, but that's where the silly parents built it.

After driving the dog crazy for weeks of nest building... and sneaking in through the doggie flap Carl installed in the screen door... the parents tended their eggs without bothering us too much.

But, once the babies hatched, we had several days of random pooping, learning to fly, and Weimaraner torturing to contend with. We counted five babies, each learning to fly at a different pace. They've all left the nest now, only a few days of flight school. Mom and Dad seem to be vacationing in Europe, and taking a Caribbean cruise since the kids left home... we haven't seen them.

Aren't they adorable?




This is Bobhead.













Fuzzhead and Emily.





























They left us lots of poop to clean up. Sigh. Fun never comes free, does it?

Gas prices are giving me heartburn...

... and what a wakeup call to see it in a color coded snapshot of the country. I cannot believe how high the prices are out in California, nor how low they are in Texas. Virginia looks pretty good, until you zoom in closer, and see that NoVA is pretty high. And what the heck is going on in Rockville? Yowza... red all over the place. Have to remember to tell Carl not to fill up over there.

Check out the tool... it's not a bad site for comparing stations, without having to go driving around, wasting gas, to do so.

Provided by GasBuddy.com

Click here to add this map to your website.

And now, for the best prices in the DC area.

Lowest Gas Prices in the Washington DC

Washington DC Gas Prices provided by GasBuddy.com

And the averages for Virginia, over time.

Price Trends for Virginia

Virginia Gas Prices Provided by GasBuddy.com