It’s been a busy few weeks at The Hotel Careyfornia. Lots of visitors…lots of great meals and very little sleep. If you’re thinking of visiting Southern California, make your reservations soon; as we’re getting quite full for the summer, LOL! I’m getting great use out of my new camera. Here are some shots from the past two weeks:
No, I WILL NOT fix your computer! LOL Click above for video
We were driving home from the Hollywood Sign last night when the Twitterverse exploded with the news. I was with these guys on 9/11 and the year after in NYC. We all watched the President’s speech together last night. Now THAT’S what I call “mission accomplished” GW!
While much of America digs out from record snowfall from a storm that originated as 6 days of rare rain here in California; we ended up having a pretty beautiful Christmas Day. I am very glad that I did not fly anywhere for the holidays. The rain we had most of last week was complete with mudslides, hail and the now obligatory double rainbow. The week of crazy weather didn’t phase Santa however, and the kids in our family (including me) had a wonderful Christmas. It was certainly better than last Christmas, when 2 of us ended up in the emergency room and 9 of us came down with the stomach flu! Here are some images and videos from the week, including my favorite Christmas present:
If you’d like to know the story behind this, click here!Thanks Lisa & Joel!
For those of you unfamiliar with Ms. Grandin’s work, I highly recommend the movie, which is available on HBO On Demand in the U.S. There are also several clips on YouTube. I’ve been a fan of Temple Grandin for quite some time. Her insights into autism are truly ground breaking. I also encourage anyone with an autistic relative to take the time (3 hours) to watch her fascinating C-Span interview:
…brings us together with our dogs by making us understand that in essence dogs feel the same things that we as humans do. Grandin is a person with autism and acutely understands how dogs make us human. She tells us that dogs share the same basic emotions that we as humans do. They feel joy, sorrow, fear, happiness and unhappiness. This book teaches dog owners how to best set up their dogs to live a full and happy life.
In the touching book, the sentimental author shows us how she thinks like an animal in that she pictures words not as letters but in pictures and thus can relate to dogs on their level. It is intriguing and awe inspiring to read how she looks at the world and learns how she believes we should relate to our dogs. It is a fascinating read full of insight and great tips on how to keep your dog a happy one. Anyone who loves dogs will enjoy this book thoroughly. There isn’t a book like it anywhere that’s for sure. Read more…
So congratulations to Temple Grandin. I’m sure this Emmy will will expose her important work to many more people around the world. See? Hollywood ain’t so bad! Here are a few more photos from the week:
Great photobomb Cole!!And I didn’t even have to use this:
A friend of the family sent me this the other day:
“Despite the premise of the 1980s animated film series, “All Dogs Go to Heaven,” many fundamental Christians believe that their pets have no souls. When the end of days finally arrives and Jesus returns to earth to gather up his saints, all of the believers’ beloved cats and dogs will be left behind to starve and face the apocalypse alone. So, what is a devoted pet owner and firm believer in the Rapture to do? Hire an official blasphemer and card-carrying atheist, who has been thoroughly vetted as a profane sinner with no chance of salvation according to Mark 3:29, of course! A company called Eternal Earth-Bound Pets, USA has gathered a motley crew of about 100 reprobates in 22 states, who are also animal lovers, and will rescue pets abandoned after theRapture for a small, non-refundable fee of $110.
Eternal Earth-Bound Pets is the brainchild of Bart Centre, 61, a retired resident of New Hampshire, who apparently became bored working part-time at the local Home Depot and decided to try something different. Why not make a buck off of the crazy Christian fundamentalists waiting for the Rapture to occur? Centre’s sales pitch, inscribed on t-shirts, coffee mugs, bumper stickers and the like says it all: “The next best thing to pet salvation in a post rapture world.”
“If you love your pets,” says Centre, “I can’t understand how you could not consider this.”
“You’ve committed your life to Jesus. You know you’re saved. But when the Rapture comes what’s to become of your loving pets who are left behind? Eternal Earth-Bound Pets takes that burden off your mind. We are a group of dedicated animal lovers, and atheists. Each Eternal Earth-Bound Pet representative is a confirmed atheist, and as such will still be here on Earth after you’ve received your reward. Our network of animal activists are committed to step in when you step up to Jesus.”
Centre assures potential clients that he screens all pet rescuers to make sure they are indeed atheists and have no plans “to meet the Lord in the air” when the second coming arrives.” Read more…
Man! I wish I would have thought of that! It’s a perfect example making money off of fundamental Christianity run amok! As the website states:
“Once you pay your fee of $110, the rapture pet rescue contract is good for 10 years. If the rapture doesn’t come by that time, too bad. What if blasphemous loved ones are left behind and are able to care for the pets — Will they receive a refund? No. How long will it take for the atheist pet rescuers to arrive? Fluffy and Rocky will be rescued, as soon as possible, considering there will be widespread destruction and chaos”:
“Naturally, we must anticipate that there will be widespread chaos and confusion immediately following the Rapture that could impact travel times. Thus, we are targeting a maximum of between 18- 24 hours from realization of the Rapture, to animal rescue.” Read more…
Love it! And seeing how the current “Rapture Index” of 173 is close to the all time high of 182, time’s a ticking. As a card carrying atheist heathen, I’m glad to know that Chazz and I will face the rapture hand in paw.
This is a great piece on fundamentalism…Christianity has its flaws but at least I’m able to criticize the current criminal pope without fear of a fatwa!
UPDATE: The creator and co-owner of the website “Eternal Earth-Bound Pets” that I refer to here, just wrote me with the following comments regarding the article I quoted. I had a discussion with some Facebook friends about whether the company has actually collected revenue for their services, and Mr. Centre has confirmed that fact.A true Atheist American success story!
Carey,
Thank you for your discussion of my post rapture pet rescue business.
Just to correct two small errors:
1)We do not have “a motley crew of about 100 reprobates” rescuers in 22 states.At the time the article was written we hat 26 rescuers in 22 states, and one-hundred paying rapture believing clients.As of this writing, we have added 3 additional rescuers and have just under 200 clients under contract for our post rapture pet rescue service.
2) As for being “motley” and/ or “reprobates,” actually all our rescuers are gainfully employed, have families, love pets, and have no criminal record per our criminal back ground checks.All are financially solvent as confirmed by credit checks also conducted on all our rescuers.
Speaking of heathens…I went to church yesterday! No, it wasn’t to pay my respects to a cosmic Jewish zombie, and no I didn’t burst into flames upon entry. I went for Tressa’s First Communion. I was there to support her and her family who I love very much. As I’ve stated in this space before, going to church does bring back some fond memories of the more ritualistic things I actually used to enjoy about Catholicism. (I was never molested by a priest…guess I wasn’t cute enough.) A few times yesterday, I found myself reciting rote responses from memory and my cousin leaned over and said “It never quite leaves you, does it?” How true! (Though I must admit, I felt a little queasy when they asked us to pray for the current Pedo Pusher Pope. In my opinion that slimeball should rot in jail!) At any rate, it was a beautiful day and Tressa looked so pretty! She had a really great time, as the photos in the slideshow below should attest; and in the end that’s what’s most important!
The event went off without a hitch, save for me forgetting the exchange of the rings before I pronounced them husband and wife. Minor detail. Since I was busy performing the ceremony, there’s no viral video of the event. (I’m usually the one video recording and snapping photos at family events. I did threaten to attach a “preacher cam” around my neck prior to the ceremony, but in the end opted for decorum. LOL.)
The wedding was at Heisler Park in Laguna Beach and the whole thing took about 5 minutes. I was warned to keep it short, as I have a tendency to be loquacious. Even so, I did manage to work in a slight jab at Sarah Palin, by explaining to the assembled guests that because of the groom’s upper Midwest vernacular, if he said “You betcha” instead of “I do“, it was NOT a nod to Caribou Barbie. I also managed to give Apple some free advertising by pulling out my iPod Touch for the official part of the ceremony, joking “There’s an app for that” and hoping apple would give me a free iPad once they got wind of iVows.
I also threatened to sing “A Whole New World” from Aladdin…in Italian and quoted from “Rent” and La Boheme. The reception was on Lake Mission Viejo and afterward the newlyweds checked into The Hotel Careyfornia for a 2 hour nap before their 5 AM flight to Cancun. Today everyone is resting after a whirlwind few days. I’m readying for the next wave of guests next weekend and then I’m off to Chicago for a week. Congratulations to Darlene & Gary! Thanks for asking me to marry you!
Lisa, Joel and the boys moved into their new house over the weekend and our family gathered to celebrate. The house is in Dove Canyon, but it might as well be called Hummingbird Canyon. There were about 20 of the little buzzers lined up at the feeders to drink (as evidenced by this photo that Lisa sent last night). They were really aggressive too, and didn’t seem to be scared of people at all. They were no doubt celebrating the long overdue demise of the ridiculously gas guzzling Hummer. (I had no idea how culpable Arnold Schwarzenegger was in the destruction of our planet. What a hummer bummer! Fascinating read though!) I got pretty close to take these photos. I’m still learning how to use my new little camera, but I’m pleased with the results thus far:
There are actually four hummingbirds in this photo!
Hummingbirds are part of the Trochilidae family found only in the Americas. They are unknown in the Eastern Hemisphere. With 343 species, hummingbirds make up the Western Hemisphere’s second largest family of birds.
The most astonishing quality of hummingbirds is their ability to broadcast color. Hummingbirds radiate like hot coals in the sun. The color that reaches your eye is created by pigment, which absorbs some colors and rejects others. Like soap bubbles, hummingbird’s color comes from iridescence, not pigment. It winks on and off, depending on the light source and the angle of the viewer. This allows hummingbirds to flash colors or hide them which is useful for males who want to impress females or threaten other males.
Hummingbirds are built for power and dazzle, hummingbirds are little more than flight muscles covered with feathers. 30% of a hummingbird’s weight consists of flight muscles.
Hummingbirds require lots of energy. They have the fastest wing beats of any bird and their hearts beat up to 1,260 beats per minute.
A Hummingbird’s flight speed can average 25-30 mph, and can dive up to 60 mph.
In their non stop quest for fuel, Hummingbirds may visit 1,000 flower per day. For protein, hummingbirds eat spiders and strain gnats from mid-air. They will pull insects out of spiderwebs including the spider itself. Sapsucker holes are a double treat, netting both insects and sap!
The hummingbird’s tiny brain, 4.2% of its body weight, is proportionately the largest in the bird kingdom.
Many species that migrate to the U.S. travel impressive distances. Many ruby-throats make a 2,000 mile journey between Canada and Panama. The trip includes a non-stop, 500 mile flight over the Gulf of Mexico.
Hummingbirds are very territorial and will aggressively protect nectar sources especially when migrating. It is important to have several feeders, out of sight of each other, to prevent one hummingbird from dominating your feeders.
Hummingbirds have a unique way of keeping warm or conserving their energy – at night, or any time they cannot get enough food to fuel themselves – they go into torpor – a state in which their metabolic rate is only one-fifteenth that of normal sleep.
A hummingbird can rotate each of its wings in a circle, allowing them to be the only bird which can fly forwards, backwards, up, down, sideways or sit in sheer space. To hover, hummingbirds move their wings forward and backward in a repeated figure eight, much like the arms of a swimmer treading water. Hummingbirds can move instantaneously in any direction, start from its perch at full speed, and doesn’t necessarily slow up to land. Hummingbirds can even fly short distances upside down, a trick rollover they employ when being attacked by another bird.
Hummingbirds have weak feet and are more at ease using their wings even to shift in the nest or on a perch.
Hummingbirds do not mate for life – the female raises the young on her own. The male hummingbird is not involved with raising the young. The female does all the work of raising her young alone! Females will lay a clutch of only two white eggs and will produce only one brood per season. The hatchlings will remain in the nest for three weeks.
Hummingbirds can live a decade or more in the wild.
I’m still out of town and very busy this week, but here are the rest of the weekend photos:
T’was the night before Christmas, and down in the kitchen. Little Andy was running, soon his head would need stitchin’. The stockings were hung by the chimney with nails, In hopes that dog Sadie would not them inhale. Cole & Tressa were bundled all snug in their beds, While Lulu was hurling and needing some meds. So off to the hospital again we did race, And we whistled and shouted and picked up the pace. Dear Tommy and Andy and Tressa and Cole, We hope you like Christmas…it sure takes a toll!
Well, boys will be boys, and this afternoon while 5 year old Andy was running around playing with all of his cousins, he slipped and hit his forehead on the edge of a chair. It was a pretty deep cut, but luckily very straight. He took his 10 stitches like a trooper, and was back home in time for a traditional Italian Christmas Eve dinner with pasta, turkey, ham, mashed potatoes and lots of other delicious food. After the gift exchange, we headed back to Dar’s to await the kids in the morning for even more presents. As soon as we got home, Grandma got very sick to her stomach and was throwing up for an hour. (No, she didn’t get run over by a reindeer!) So, back to the emergency room! I wonder if they have a 2 for 1 special? She’s currently on an IV now to help with her nausea and replenish her fluids. Still waiting for a doctor. It’s going to be a long night! Merry Christmas everyone!
UPDATE: Grandma was released from the hospital late on Christmas Day. I drove her to Dar’s house so she could open her presents and see the kids, and then drove her back home for some much needed rest in her own bed. She’s still weak, but on the mend. Thanks to everyone for their concern! She must be feeling a little better, because when she heard my poem she rolled her eyes and gave me the raised eyebrow!
UPDATE II: I have come down with the stomach flu, as have 8 of my cousins. We’ve all been puking our guts out the past two days. It truly was the gift that kept on giving this Christmas. I hope to be all better by Wednesday when I head up to Pacifica for our annual GLY NYE.
What a brave little guy he was!
I always marvel at the Hollywood sign on a clear day. Even though it took me 2 1/2 hours to drive the 60 miles to my cousin’s house, I listened to Christmas Carols and was in a good mood.
I took this from my sunroof going 70 mph down the 5 freeway. This is just past Disneyland.
As I pulled onto Jennifer’s street, this is what I saw
Kenny, Tressa and Tommy
No Italian Christmas is complete without pasta and meatballs!
Before Grandma got sick :(
The kid’s table!
Apparently he didn’t get his two front teeth for Christmas…but he does look like Harry Potter now!
T’was the night before Christmas…
Buster, the one eyed horndog and Roxy…waiting for Santa
It was a busy weekend at The Hotel Careyfornia. Since Ryan and Chazz are out of town, Claudio and I decided to spend some “quality time” together. It rained all day Saturday though, and the traffic was a nightmare. No one knows what to do in L.A. when it rains, as witnessed by this truck that got stuck in my driveway yesterday morning. So we just ordered Chinese food and watched movies all night. It was nice. Today was beautiful, and after an alleged Lady Gaga sighting, we walked to Tender Greens for lunch and then I drove down to my aunt’s for our pre-Christmas spaghetti dinner. ‘Tis the season!
Andy entertained us with some Christmas Carols…which you can hear better after Grandma stops talking about her pills! LOL
Update: Despite yesterday’s incredible news, which I still encourage everyone to read below, my beloved Uncle George passed away peacefully this morning, with none of the extraordinary, damaging measures that he had to endure for the past week. I fully believe that is the way he wanted it. He made the most of his last night with us, and it rivaled the best of our family parties…and we throw good parties! Had he survived, his quality of life would have changed drastically and he wouldn’t have liked that. He fought until the end and surrendered on his own terms, enjoying time with his family. I’m so glad that I began making videos of his stories lately. He was the best story teller I ever knew, and I will always look back at these videos fondly and remember a life well lived. As I left the hospital last night to take my aunt home, I told him I loved him and he grabbed my hand and said “I love you too Care.”
Click Play, Above Right. “Now don’t forget, this is going on Internet.” “That’s all right!”
Uncle George remembered so much about his life and loved to share his memories. When I told him that I wanted to start recording him on video, he laughed, but I think he really liked the idea. The first story told in the above video is actually pretty funny. It involves a drunken train conductor and some young girls hitting on my uncle (who was even a stud back then) when he worked in a hotel after coming home from the war. The second story involves my aunt scouting for Nazi & Japanese war planes in Iron Mountain, Michigan (of all places) during WWII when she was in high school. The third story is a retelling of a joke they used to play on their (less favorite) nephew.
What a roller coaster of a day…from the time I took my aunt home on Sunday night and Lisa stayed the night with him wiping tears from his face, to when he extubated himself and started talking, saying it was the happiest day of his life, to twelve hours later when he died.
I posted the following blog at 2 AM this morning, a few hours before my uncle passed away:
Regular readers of this space know of my fondness for my Uncle George. You’ve watched him celebrate his 79th, 80th and 81st birthdays with me; laughed at the stories he told on his 60th wedding anniversary to his 82 year old “cougar” of a wife, my “Aunty LuLu“; and listened as he regaled me with stories of the “old days” that always ended with a hearty laugh. At 81, he’s far more fit than I am. In fact, he still works as an usher at the Angel’s baseball stadium, a job he loves. My aunt and uncle spent several weeks in Michigan over the summer while I was in Italy, and while there my uncle contracted a mild case of pneumonia. When they came back, he had lost a little weight, but since he’s strong as an ox, he didn’t let it affect him much and he continued to work around the house and go to his job at the ball park.
When I went to their house for my regular spaghetti dinner a week ago Thursday, he said he was feeling much better and even gave me an inhaler for my asthma that had been prescribed to him for his pneumonia, which he said he no longer needed. We all laughed and remarked that it was pretty sad that I was sharing medicine with my 81 year old uncle, because HE didn’t need it and I did! I didn’t take a photo that evening (like I usually do), as I remember thinking he still looked a little thin.
Fast forward to last Tuesday. My uncle was working the Angel’s game, but asked his boss if he could leave early in the 7th inning. As he went to leave, he collapsed and fell backwards hitting his head. As it turns out, there was a nurse waking by in the stadium. She immediately began giving my uncle CPR until the paramedics arrived. They determined he had gone into cardiac arrest due to a fatal arrhythmia, and shocked him back to life with a defibrillator. He was taken by ambulance to University of California, Irvine Medical Center where he went into cardiac arrest a second time and was paddled again.
Sunset from the hospital window
When I arrived at the hospital Wednesday, on my way to San Diego for a business trip, things didn’t look good. He was hooked up to a ventilator that was breathing for him, and his blood pressure was dangerously low. An angiogram revealed that a bypass he had more than 20 years ago was nearly completely blocked, and his heart was only pumping at about 15% capacity. Though there’s not much they can do about the heart problems at his age, they were hoping to wean him off the medicine so he could breathe on his own. And the waiting began. We all tried to keep a positive attitude and make the best out of a bad situation by laughing and letting him hear us laugh.
I was even able to get quite a bit of work done Friday afternoon
Back on the chain gang
The kids never went in, but they were a welcome distraction!
By Friday we all had to wear scrubs while visiting due to the possibility of infection. Also, he was beginning to develop pneumonia again. I stayed with my aunt, and as each day wore on, my uncle looked sadder and sadder. Because he was intubated (had a tube down his throat breathing for him), he couldn’t speak. Things culminated this morning as his medicine wore off and it became increasingly clear that he did not want to be there. It finally got so bad, that the doctor asked the family leave for two hours, and that’s when something remarkable happened…
Auntie holding Uncle’s hand…
When everyone was out of the room and the doctors thought he was sufficiently restrained and sedated, my uncle proceeded to pull the tube all the way out of his throat! Alarms sounded and the family was called back to the hospital. I had actually taken Tommy & Andy to see the movie “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs“, and by the time I arrived back at the hospital, my uncle was sitting up in bed, talking and breathing on his own with no IV or additional medicine! This is one really strong man! His first words to me were, “Now that you’re back, we can start the party!” I pulled out the inhaler he had given me the week before and he laughed! Obviously his heart is still very sick and my aunt understands that; but it was so nice, after a week of interminable waiting and hoping, that we were able to talk to him and laugh with him tonight. He’s still sharp as a tack, and as we left he was trying to get out of bed to close the blinds (a definite no no!). We’re taking it one day at a time from here, but I think my aunt will be able to sleep well tonight!
Earlier today while he was still intubated
Enjoying a little 3D normalcy with the boys
We called him “Doctor Doom & Gloom” but the comments on Facebook are trending in his favor (in the looks department at least)! He had nothing on my uncle though:
Move over Doc…you could have never competed with this!
Laughing, smiling and breathing again! After a stressful week filled with a literal Nurse Ratched, lots of Diet Coke, gallons of hand sanitizer and more than a few tears, a family gathers around its patriarch.
One of my favorite photos of me and my uncle, taken on his 80th birthday last year
Today, September 2nd, is Claudio’s birthday, as I am sure many of you know. I wanted to get more ideas about his new professorial life and, bingo, found some delightful quotes at RatemyProfessor.com. Here are some highlights, in my view…
“He is very knowledgeable in the subject matter, and even if he is sometimes slightly unclear with his initial explanations,…”
“His accent can be amusing at times, but in a good way. He is perfectly comprehensible.”
“Dr. P. is a world class professor.”
“One of the best professor [sic] I have ever taken in my life.” (lovely insinuating were it not for the obvious sign of poor grammar…my favorite quote in the group)
“This man is helpful, knowledgable [sic] and is willing to help you in whatever way possible.” (Do tell, Dr. World Class!)
“He really knows what he is talking about,…” (Ha! This one had me rolling on the ground)
Happy birthday to you, old friend!
I am looking forward to seeing you all in a few days! Luisao, any chance you can plan a last minute trip to SoCal this weekend?! Claudao, nao se preocupe que vamos falar mal de voce esse final de semana, com aquele carinho de sempre.
Abracos, m
From: Carey Anthony
Wed, Sep 2, 2009 at 11:18 PM
To: Marcelo
Cc: The GLY Gang
Many of you don’t remember that back in the early 90′s, before the Internet or ratemyprofessor.com, I used to collect Claudio’s evaluations from when he was a T.A at University of Illinois, because he spent summers in Brazil. My all time favorite went something like this:
Q: Did you learn a lot in Professor P’s class?
A: I didn’t learn a thing. I was too busy looking at his dreamy eyes!
15 years later, the eyes are more cloudy than dreamy and we won’t talk about the hair…
I was looking through my old diaries last night, and found this and sent it to Claudio. He wrote this in my calendar in 1991: “Birthday of the nicest Brazilian ever”. I’m sure Marcelo might have something to say about that my dear!
His reply:
From: Claudio
Wed, Sep 2, 2009 at 9:23 AM
To: Carey Anthony
THANK YOU!!!!
The scheduler was funny! To imagine you still had hair to cut… good times!! :) Ugh, Vicious!!
From: Carey Anthony
Wed, Sep 2, 2009 at 9:39 AM
To: Claudio
Ugh! You want to talk about hair!!?? Be careful darling. It may be YOUR birthday, but my old calendars hold lots of other secrets as well. Feliz Anniversario
The weatherfinally broke today. It was a little cooler with a touch of humidity in the air. We needed a break! Saturday it was 105° F (41° C) when Lisa & the kids and I took Aunty Lulu & Uncle George out for ice cream:
The fires did make for amazing sunsets all last week:
Whenever I need to smile I’ll just look at this picture of Buster!
Joel and I went to see District 9 over the weekend and we both enjoyed the movie. It was about 1/2 hour too long, but entertaining. Kind of a cross between Close Encounters and The Fly! There were a lot of blatant racial parallels that I won’t go into now. As someone who has been to Johannesburg though, it was a sadly appropriate setting for that movie.
The fires are far enough away that my home isn’t in any danger, but they’re still too close for comfort:
On the way home last night this is what I saw from the car. I’m surprised there weren’t more accidents on the freeway from people looking. It was an amazing sight to see:
The air today was an eerie, quiet yellow making the sky look like Dijon mustard. About 6:00 tonight I went up to my roof and shot this photo.
After taking this, I went back inside with my mask!
And finally, I got some very sad news today from Margie:
From: Margie Sent: Tuesday, September 01, 2009 6:34 AM To: Carey Subject: Daisy
I had to have Daisy put down today. I am very sad. She fell off the bed & broke whatever was misplaced in her back. When I picked her up she immediately lost her bowels & her head started rolling to the side. When I took her outside she tried to stand but could not. Later I will pick her up – couldn’t bear to be with her when they put her down – and bury her on the farm. Can’t stop crying every time I think about it, so I’m going to try not to think about it.
I’ve got a bunch of good friends flying in for the weekend starting Thursday. It’s going to be non stop. We’re going to the Hollywood Bowl for my 44th birthday Sunday. I’ll try to post as I have time. Have a good week everyone!
ON THE LIGHTER SIDE “The state of California is $30 billion in debt, and there’s no way we can pay it back, so what we’ve decided to do is set it on fire and collect the insurance.” – Jimmy Kimmel
OK, let me rephrase that. I 
Lisa, Joel and the boys moved into their new house over the weekend and our family gathered to celebrate. The house is in Dove Canyon, but it might as well be called Hummingbird Canyon. There were about 20 of the little buzzers lined up at the feeders to drink (as evidenced by 
