Sophia's first hours

Ok, ok, I know I have been missing for awhile, but here is the reason. My new 'nieta' Sophia was born mid morning June 3rd, by caesarian, with me translating for mom in the operating room until I started to pass out due to the heat and not eating and being awakened at 3:00 in the morning and, here is the key piece of information, seeing the size of the needle being used for the spinal injection. So I missed the actual birth, but papa was there and we were all together in the recovery room when Sophie was brought out to mom all bathed and swaddled and ready for hugs and kisses.

She is very sweet, weighed 7 1/2 lbs, was 19 3/4" long and in very good health at birth. So good in fact that they allowed all to go home mid day Saturday, just two days old. So far it is eat and sleep, eat and sleep, but she is starting to look around her a lot more and the challenge is to keep her 2 1/2 year old sister from poking her in inappropriate places. She loves to kiss her though, so that's good! And Jennifer her 8 year old sister is getting a crash course in diapering and taking care of the two year old, Katie.

In all the traveling back and forth around southern Mississippi I am continually surprised by coming across scenes like this camel. In the same location I enjoyed seeing the llama and alpacas in the water, below.

And a family I visit in Bogalusa have had a peacock adopt them, and he is in full dress calling for a mate.

About two weeks ago I was visiting Marina when all of a sudden a truck pulled up at the end of the driveway and asked if we had seen any peacocks. We explained that, yes, there were two that normally stayed around this house, but were nowhere to be seen at the moment. It seems that the peacocks had escaped from the local park not far away, and the park officials had sent off for two pea hens to accompany the two males; in the meantime the males had escaped. Last week at least one of the males had made it back to the park. Here's hoping the other one will make his way back as well, because as the park workers said, there is no way to sneak up and catch a peacock!