Prolix R Us, empty nest, full nest

I read in somebody's blog the other day that I write so much here that "good luck trying to find ..." something she was looking for in an old post - though I do have a search engine on the sidebar.

I know she didn't mean it in a snide way but I feel embarrassed. Caught in the act of being a nascent empty nester, looking for a change of direction after 23 years of being a mother.

I'm glad my kids are growing up well, and I'm proud of the people they are becoming. But parenting older kids is primarily a spectator sport. You know, by all means sit down in front of the tv with a bowl of popcorn and root like crazy for your favorite team - but it won't much influence the outcome.

Speaking of nests, a friend passed along this lovely link to the site where people post fantastic pictures of the red-tailed hawks nesting on a luxury apartment building across from Central Park in New York City. There's also info about the whole hawk-watching project and its history.

The picture that's up today shows a satisfying solution to the squirrel problem.

According to The Daily News:

In December, the board of a co-op apartment building at Fifth Ave. and 74th St., whose tenants include actress Mary Tyler Moore and CNN anchor Paula Zahn, removed the hawks' huge nest from a 12th-story ledge, calling it a hazard.

The board later bowed to public outrage and pressure from the city and environmentalists, and restored a row of anti-pigeon spikes that the hawks had used to anchor their nest.

Pale Male and Lola immediately rebuilt their nest.

Since 2001 they've produced seven baby birds, four of which survived.

"Lola appears to be turning the eggs every half hour or so. Pale Male had two sittings today between noon and sunset. He roosted in the Pilgrim Hill Pin Oak tonight," says an entry posted last Sunday.

Technorati Tags: Birds, City, Kids, Environment