The abandoned swallows nests were pulled down today. Bug spray was applied to neutralize any bird mites. Measurements were take for a "bird slide" in order to discourage a new colony from nesting next spring. As much as I love birds, the constant rain of bird droppings was a bit much. Not to mention the unmelodic chirp of swallows outside my bedroom window. Meanwhile, "Marina" the pigeon (so named by the granddaughter) sits on her nest on my balcony. We're waiting for baby birds. This is not a great photo, but if you look in the shadows, you'll see the nest.
Our outing today included a thorough exploration of the shops in Ventura Harbor Village, and a stop at the
Channel Islands National Park visitor center. We watched a 20-minute movie about the place and looked at the exhibits. I feel a bit faint when I realize how close I live to all that beauty.
And of course, there was the beach.
The granddaughter had a rather bizarre bathing suit malfunction. After returning home, she discovered that a good 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of sand filtered its way through the lining of her suit and is now lodged between the swimming suit lining and the suit itself. I raised two beach loving daughters, and don't recall running across a suit like this one. Yes, some girls' and women's suits do have the weird little not fully sewn down crotch lining that can fill up with sand like a pocket, but in this suit the lining is a full lining and it's completely attached from the top to the bottom of the suit. It's just not impermeable. The only way to release the sand will be to snip the lining out. Clothes. So many of them are more trouble than they're worth.
The conversation today mostly revolved around sea creatures. My favorite part of the day was the silent time I spent watching the girl play. She's 10. She has a brother and a sister, but she lost herself in herself--in her imagination and the "work" of her play. It's a lovely thing how serious children are about playing. How totally they concentrate on it and don't need direction.
