I {heart} the Internet

So I had always figured that I'd invented the term "proto-crowing," well, seeing as how I came up with it all by myself.

But for some reason (avoiding grading probably), I decided tonight to Google the term. First surprise: my post from this morning was already catalogued in Google! Second and bigger surprise: someone else has already used the term online (2006): http://cluck.dreamhosters.com/?p=86 Interesting, too, that Cluck described it in the same terms: "squeaky, scratchy . . ."

So does this make me a plagiarist? Bahahahahahahahaha! Both parts of my sabbatical project come together! And on the same day that I resubmitted my paperwork!

This must be a sign . . .

The Defeat of Denial

Subtle signs were there: the lengthening legs, the increasing amount of white in the feathers, the pitch of the tail, the time Sami jumped Baby in a mating stance (okay, that one's not so subtle). Since Sami's only a couple of months old, I figured I had at least another good month and a half of living in denial (until the crowing would start).

But this morning, among Esme's scratchy announcement, Fleck's high-volume blast, Daisy's in-between call, and Sleepy's weird hen-crow, there it was, unmistakable: Sami was proto-crowing (my term for the sound baby roos make when first learning to crow).

Proto-crowing is indescribable--a hilarious scratch-squeak that you have to laugh at. I tried to get Sami on video with my new camera phone, but he--yes, I said "he"!-- wouldn't cooperate until the moment I shut it off. Well, there will be other opportunities . . . lots of opportunities. . . .

Better Blogger?

Well, I got out there today and took some more pics, but they mostly turned out crappy. The one exception, this is me and Daisy, Sami's dad, squinting into the sun. Not a bad pic when you consider that I took it while holding the camera. Oh, and there's a blurry pic of Sami flapping her wings:





Here are some photos from 02 Nov., Sami's 7-week birthday. (Incidentally, Baby laid her first post-Sami egg on the 1st, and she's been cranking them out every since.) You can see that Sami is rapidly catching up to Baby in size. . . .

Bad Blogger

Well, October flew right by--I'm way behind on posting! In fact, I'm having a heck of a time even remembering how to do this. But here we go: the month in quick review! Here are some October shots:

By far my fave, this one is from 12 October, almost a month ago.



Here are some nice family pics from 05 October: