50 Things to Do This Summer (and some updates)

The girls and I have been working on a list of the "50 Things We'd Like To Do This Summer". I doubt we'll get to the entire list by the end of "summer", but since every day of the year is technically summer for us (or rather, it's probably more accurate to say that every day of the year is school for us), we have plenty of time to get it done. We've actually done several things already, even though we don't yet have a full 50 things on the list to do. A few of the activities are ones we've done before, but most of them are things we've never done. Does anyone have any suggestions to fill those last 8 spots?

Also, just a quick update on a couple of things. First, we've heard the big baby scrub jay calling way up in the tall bushes next to our house. The mother and father yell at us when we get too close to the bush, so we know he's up there, and that makes us all feel much better because that means he can fly now and is safe from the prowling cats down below. We actually thought we caught sight of him this afternoon when we got home, but when I went to get my camera and came back out, I realized it wasn't him at all. It was a baby dove who is just learning to fly as well. It actually was pretty clumsy and got its wings stuck in the branches. He had to wiggle and flap around a bit to free them before he was sitting comfortably.

When I came inside, I called the Wildlife Center about the other baby. She repeatedly said "He's still with us here." and at first I thought she meant he wasn't dead (which made me happy), but as the conversation progressed, I realized that she meant that he really needed help, as in he's *still* here with us. It makes sense that many of the 'struggling' animals people bring in are probably well enough to release within a couple of hours, or even a day after they arrive.

She said he had a swollen and bruised right eye that they have been treating. He was a little underweight and also a little dehydrated when we brought him in. They also suspected that he had an upper-respiratory infection based on their full exam of him. They're treating him for that as well and feeding him and giving him extra water. They thanked me again for bringing him in. He certainly would not have survived on his own, even without the cats around. She said I could call back in another week to see how he's doing, so we'll see how he's doing then.

And lastly, a little update about the map challenge. I finally got an email response this morning from the guy who runs the St. Valentine's Day Massacre map contest. He said they have me on the list of people to send the information to in December for the challenge. Yay! He also asked me if I wanted to be in on the Fireworks Rally they have in summer, so I decided to give that one a shot first. It's a shorter version of the big one in the wintertime, and I'm really curious to see what it's like. We'll see how I do!