SURROUNDING MYSELF WITH LIFE!

Jonathan and Rose, the two frogs (probably green Frogs but not sure) appear to be thriving in my kitchen. I think they like where they are now better than the classroom, which was dim in their corner. Now, joining them and bringing new life to my home are a pair of mourning doves who have chosen my bathroom window sill to raise their young!

This is not the first time this has happened. In fact, my Stuy Town apartment on the 4th floor appears to be featured in some recommended list of short-term residences for local birds. I've had them on my kitchen windowsill, on my living room windowsill, and twice before here in the bathroom. The bathroom is the trickiest, because the shower is inches away and very noisy. What I've done in the past and will probably do here is hang a towel over the window when I shower. I don't want to cover them completely because watching this process is wonderful!

It begins with a flutter of wings, and some coo-coo-ing. Then they fly off, but each time they visit, a few twigs and branches remain...and somehow, remarkably, in a few days there is a nest, intricately woven and perched on the metal bar that holds my window open. It's not a big space, and I know it will be cramped during the few times that the male and female birds are both present. Somehow they manage to squeeze in, though it typically causes some damage to the screen over time.

Today, the female bird is sitting calmly, but it seems too soon for eggs, since the nest as of last night was barely begun. So she may just be hanging out, getting a feel for the place.

Stay tuned!

Also, I wanted to share that on a recent trip to the Rockaways with Phil and two other science guys (Richie, great botanist and beetle collector) and Charles (pres of the NY Shell Club), I picked up a very interesting specimen. It's a piece of driftwood that is bored full of holes...and it turns out that the creature who did the boring is still in place, though hard to photograph. It's a TEREDO, a Naval Shipworm, and I'm attaching a Google photo that shows what it looks like and what it does. It's not actually a worm but a small mollusk, and has a shell over the head part only.

Here is my photo of the actual specimen, though I wish I could get closer and sharper. 

You can see what looks like a white shell in the centermost hole.

This is a great example to remind me that you need to LOOK CLOSELY at everything you pick up!