Homeschooler Savvy

The Baby Baltimore Oriole that fell out of his nest.

This post could also be called: Barry the bumped out Baltimore (Oriole) Bird; or Oliver, the Ooops I fell Out Oriole.

A pair of Baltimore Oriole's built a beautiful teardrop shaped nest in our pecan tree. As the days progressed we soon heard chriping sounds comming from the nest.  One day we were walking through the front yard to the house and I noticed the two parent Orioles fussing about something near the ground so I went for a look.  It was a baby Oriole, not enough feathers to fly. 

Since we have 3 dogs I decided I could not put him on a bush (shrub) safely, and the nest was obviously not working properly - it was also too high for me to reach.  Of course Dirt Dude was flapping around begging to keep him. 

I picked the baby up (the parents really started to fuss) and we put him in a container.  I searched the internet for what to feed baby Orioles, they are mainly insect eaters, some grain.  In an emergency you can soak and mash up dog food to feed to them.  I raided the dog's food and boiled the kettle.  Made myself a cup of hot tea and poured some hot water over 5 pellets of dog food for the bird and began mashing. 

I noticed that the parents were still fussing around outside, I assume they were looking for their baby. Since there was still the chance that they might look after Barry if we put him back out there I began to think how I could rig up a fake nest in the trees. 

Then the light bulb went on (must have been the cuppa tea).  I dumped out a bunch of magazines from a basket I had, lined the bottom with dried cut grass and took out a rope.  I tied the basket to a low branch on the pecan tree (out of dog reach) and we placed Barry inside. 

Sure enough the parents were clicking, whistling and generally acting very agitated once they heard their baby chirping.

I sat and watched out of sight, to make sure they were going to look after him.  The Orioles are very very careful about approaching their babies totally out of sight, so it was quite difficult for me to see them actually hopping into the basket.  I did however, see them catching small moths and other insects and flying in the direction of the basket.  Finally I saw the mother fly into the basket with food.  Hooray!  We checked on Barry that afternoon and morning and night from then on. 

Barry - the first day - FEED ME.....

The parents would scold us whenever we got close, so we kept the viewing times to quick glimpses and a photo. 

He started to really fluff out. 

One of the cutest things I saw was one morning there was Barry, and right next to him was a mother size depression in the grass. 

Now I know where the Mohawk hair do design came from............. 

It only took about 5 days for him to fully feather out (mohawk and all) and fly off.  About four days after Barry flew out of the nest the entire Baltimore Oriole family left.  Talk about empty nest syndrome!  Perhaps next year......

Aussie Kim

Ag Kim Kam - Agricultural scenes from the Mississippi Delta

What's the action down on the farm now?  It's all go, go, go at the moment, until the rain inturrupts that is.  The last of the soybeans are being planted.  Baby cotton is emerging.  The first of the baby corn cobs can be found, and the wheat is ready for harvest.  Rain is good or bad depending on if you have already harvested your wheat or not.  Enjoy the Kim Kam photos.

A beautiful wheat crop in the Mississippi Delta, June 2008.

Wheat being harvested Mississippi Delta, June 2008.

 

Baby cotton, Mississippi Delta, June 2008

Slightly bigger baby cotton, Mississippi Delta, June 2008.

 

Corn, verandah view, Mississippi Delta, June 2008.

Poison Ivy Identification (or, We're off to Summer Camp)

Poison Ivy is endemic in the Mississippi Delta.  It's just here and in your face (or on your legs, hands....), most of the year.  As a community service, here are some photos from the many poison ivy plants emerging or leafing back out within a 2 minute walk of our house. 

Here is THE rule:  Leaves of 3 let it be, Leaves of 5 let it thrive

Here are some other rules: 

Leaves of 3 let it be, leaves of 4, give me more

Leaves of 3 let it be, leaves of 5, you can jive

OR, more to the point :  Leaves of 3, You'd better flee!!!!

Not everyone is allergic to poison ivy, some people have not been exposed to it, and others just never developed allergies to it.  I never really knew what poison ivy was (growing up in Australia where it does not exist), except for THE famous camp song by Spike Jones (Hello Mother, Hello Father) .....

Hello Mother, Hello Father lyrics

Spike Jones

Hello muddah, hello faddah, Here I am at Camp Granada. Camp is very entertaining, And they say we'll have some fun if it stops raining!   I went hiking with Joe Spivey, He developed poison ivy. You remember Lennard Skinard, He got tomain poisoning last night after dinner!       All the counselors hate the waiters, And the lake has alligators! And the head coach wants no sissies, So he reads to us from something called 'Ulysses'.   No, I don't want this should scare ya, But my bunkmate has malaria! You remember Jeffrey Hardy, They're about to organize a searching party! Take me home, oh muddah, faddah. Take me home, I hate Granada. Don't leave me out in the forest, Where I might get eaten by a bear!     Take me home, I promise I will not make noise, Or mess the house with other boys, Oh please don't make me stay; I've been here one whole day!     Dearest faddah, darling muddah, How's my precious little bruddah? Let me come home if you miss me; I would even let Aunt Bertha hug and kiss me!     Wait a minute; it stopped hailing. Guys are swimming, guys are sailing. Playing baseball, gee that's bettah. Muddah, faddah, kindly disregard this letter! When we get into poison ivy by accident, suspect we may have been near poison ivy, or breakout in a rash, we take a shower with Tecnu Skin Cleanser 32 Ounce. This adheres to the poison when you lather it on your skin and poison and all goes down the drain with it when you wash it off.  It's also not a bad idea to squirt some in the washing machine with your contaminated clothing.  You can get it in small quantities from some of the drug stores, or walmart, but for some reason the bottles seem really small.  Way too small for Mississippi anyhow - I get the bulk size online. Often, poison ivy is transfered all over your body by scratching the first spot where you got some, getting the poison on your fingers and then scratching somewhere else.  Another way to get poison ivy is from patting your pets after they have been rolling in the stuff (usually doesn't affect them!).  Happy Camping! Aussie Kim

Mississippi Delta Agricultural Snapshot (Kim Cam)

Everyone wants their kids to be more aware of the world around them (right?). 

Well here are some questions you can ask, regardless of where they live.  These questions are particularly good when you sit down to a meal.  Remember: if you eat, thank a farmer!  If you wear cotton underpants: thank a cotton farmer! 

Toast: When do farmers plant wheat? (Winter or early spring); When do they harvest?  (Summer)

Vegetable oil: What plants does this oil come from? (Soybeans is a common one) )When do farmers plant soybeans?  (Spring)

Popcorn: When do farmers plant corn? (Spring).  Is popcorn a different sort of corn from corn on the cob? (Yes).  How big does corn get?  (7-8 feet)

Cotton clothing: When do farmers plant cotton? (Spring)

When is rice planted? (Spring)

These dates are generalizations on the planting windows (best times to plant) for crops.  Normal crop planting dates depend on the temperatures and rainfall for each region. 

What follows here is what's happening down on the farm in the Mississippi Delta right now.  This year is very different from normal as we are surrounded by corn, soybeans, corn, more corn and the occasional rice and cotton crop and more corn.  Normally, here in the Mississippi Delta it is wall to wall cotton.  The price for corn and soybeans are at record highs, the price for cotton is quite ordinary.  Consequently, Spring in the Delta is looking a bit different this year.  For the first time I have ever seen it, we are surrounded by corn rather than cotton.

This is going to be similar to living in a one story neighborhood and then suddenly getting high rise around you. 

If you drive through the country on a regular basis, make it a habit to ask your kids what the crops are on the sides of the roads, you'd be amazed at how quickly they pick this up!   Of course, you can do the same if you live in the city - ask they similar questions about the action going on outside the car as you drive along.

Whats the action this week?  Well, if you haven't planted your corn yet it's just about too late - corn ranges from 1-4 feet. This is going to make a dramatic difference to the view around here!!! 

Most of the soybeans are planted and up already.

Cotton planting is underway and there is even baby cotton up in some places.

Rice planting is underway (note the different planter boxes behind the tractors - these indicate the two crops).

"What about the winter crops?" I hear you ask.... Yes, yes, it is coming close to that time of year!  The wheat harvest.  The wheat is starting to turn color.  Seems like it was only a couple of weeks ago it was looking lush and green.  Hopefully this should help those countries having food riots at the moment !!!!

Stay tuned for the next Kim Cam snapshots of the Mississippi Delta....