Over the hump

Okay, we (finally) have a complaint about Mayo!

Not really, but we've been watching two cactus wrens build a nest in a paloverde tree in front of the Mayo Clinic hospital when Sandy is getting her radiation treatment, right where we park. We drive in and they flit in and out, industriously carrying twigs and growing the structure.

Granted, it's not in a cactus, where a proper cactus wren nest ought to be, and it's not a thing of beauty, incorporating pieces of gauze from (?) and tissues we learned were nabbed from the box at the valet stand in front of the hospital. But, they worked hard at it and it had a certain ... character.

We arrived this morning and the nest was gone. The birdies still bringing twigs and straws to the same paloverde tree, but there was nothing there ... nada.

I suppose there might have been a health hazard from some of the construction materials, and a marvel of architecture it was not, but we feel sympathy for the bird couple that worked so hard and so long. My hope and expectation is that they will rebuild ... and be allowed to be successful in their parenting efforts. They've sure tried hard enough!

Oh, and us? Sandy had number 13 of her scheduled 20 today, so we're at hump day on the week and well over the hump on the program! We wandered off to the Promenade mall (after lunch at the Village Inn on Free-Pie Wednesday) and safely parked among the BMWs, Mercedes, Lexus (Lexi?), Jaguars, Chryslers, etc. Nordstrom's Rack was our goal ... lotsa stuff in there, including what seemed an unusual number of guys shopping for clothes. It did occur to me that the clientele looked a little different than we're used to seeing at Walmart, as did the parking lot. Rain off and on through the afternoon and some wind. Cool day in Phoenix and we hope that moisture lasts till the clouds drift over Silver City! tv