Predator at Grandma's house

Yesterday as I worked on my computer in the study, I heard a big ol' thwack on the window in the living room.

I'm fairly used to such sounds, as birds often — for some crazy reason — bang into the windows throughout my house, usually leaving feather-dusted imprints of their wings and more on the glass as proof of their poor navigational skills.

This time, though, the intensity of the thwack seemed doubled. So I got up to see if a bird had been bonked lifeless and might be dying (or dead) on the ground below the window.

Sure enough, I saw a baby bird lying spread eagle, face down, just below the window.

My first thought: Shoot! Now I have to go out in the cold, pick up that bird and throw it in the garbage so the dogs don't get it.

I then noticed that just beyond the obviously dead bird was a bigger bird, stumbling about as if stunned.

It was this guy:

I've no doubt he had been chasing the smaller bird, hoping for an easy feast, when they both banged into my window.

I watched for a few seconds as the hawk gathered his wits. Then he stood there, staring back at me. He looked from me to the dead bird, back and forth, back and forth.

I ran to get my camera, quickly returned (he was still there!) and snapped several shots of him.

Though I was just a few feet from the guy, separated only by glass, the predator seemed unafraid of me and my movements.

Now, I've seen hawks in our yard several times, but Jim — as much a bird lover as I am — has lamented his lack of hawk sightings. So I quickly put down my camera, ran to get my iPhone, then called Jim at work for a FaceTime chat so he could see the hawk.

(Yes, such things are important enough to interrupt Jim at work. He agreed without hesitation.)

When I returned to the window, the hawk was still there, oblivious to my scrambling about.

I held up the phone to the window. Naturally, Jim couldn't see the hawk very well. (FaceTime needs a zoom function!)

As I turned the phone about trying to provide a better angle, calling out to Jim to Look right there!, that darn hawk swiftly rose from the ground, swooped over to the dead bird below me, snatched it up in his claws, then soared fast as could be over the fence and off into the wild blue yonder, all in the blink of an eye.

Gah! The nerve of that thing!

My first thought: Oh, that poor baby bird.

My second thought: At least I no longer have to go pick it up and throw it away.

Such is the nature of nature, I suppose. The predator had served his purpose. (The least of which was serving as blog fodder for today's post.)

My final thought: Jim has yet to see a hawk in our yard.

Today's question:

What wild animal do you wish you could see up close?

20 ways grandparents can model a healthy relationship

My husband and I celebrated our thirty-second First Kiss Anniversary on Sunday. Yes, thirty-two years ago, PawDad and I smooched for the very first time, sealing forever our fate as parents, grandparents and more.

We've always marked the day in a small but special way. This year it was simply skipping church to go out to breakfast together.

In light of our celebration, I considered that one of the best things grandparents can do for grandchildren — and parents can do for their children, regardless of the child's age — is to model a positive personal relationship with their partners.

How can grandmothers do that, though, when time with grandkids is typically focused on the kids?

Here are 20 ways you can do both — be a fun and interesting grandma to the kids while nurturing your relationship with their grandpa. At the same time. Together.

1. Make breakfast together — Grandma, Grandpa and the grandkids.

2. Play an outdoor game that requires teams — Grandma and Grandpa on one team, grandkids on another.

3. Play a board game using the same team approach.

4. Take a family bike ride.

5. Spread a blanket in the yard for some night-time stargazing as a family.

6. Wear matching No. 1 Grandpa and No. 1 Grandma T-shirts on the same day. (Okay, I must admit that this one might make me — and Jim ... and our adult kids — gag. But some grandparents do get into this. Which is cute.)

7. Hold hands while taking a walk around the block — or through the mall — with the grandkids.

8. Play Wii games together.

9. Go ice skating.

10. Or roller skating.

11. Have a dance party in the living room, playing songs you enjoyed when first dating. Don't hold back on showing the kids your best dance moves.

12. Create a video together to email or text to long-distance grandchildren.

13. Roast marshmallows by the outdoor fire pit or indoor fireplace.

14. Perform a musical number for the kids, playing instruments, singing or both. Kids love performing for Grandma and Grandpa; this gives them a turn at being in the audience.

15. Take a break from pushing swings and such at the park to hang out together on a blanket while the kids play.

16. Share photo albums from the early years.

17. Better yet, share your wedding album.

18. And if it's your thing, take the kids to church with you…and sit by Grandpa.

19. Have a movie night featuring Grandma and Grandpa’s favorite movie — and your favorite movie snacks.

20. Create a fort for the grandkids then surprise them when they arrive.

Today's question:

What memories do you have of your grandparents expressing love for each other?

Time to change, plus time for the GRAND Social

Ah, Daylight Savings Time. It's not much fun the first couple days as we struggle to wake up get used to the change.

Perhaps the following will make it a little easier:

♪ Sha na na na na na na na. Sha na na na na. ♫

Okay, maybe not easier, but definitely cheesier. And cheese is good, right?

The GRAND Social is good, too. Thank you for joining me!

How it works:

• All grandparent bloggers are invited to add a link. You don't have to blog specifically about grandparenting, but you must be a grandparent who blogs.

• To link up, copy the direct URL to the specific post — new or old — that you want to share, not the link to your blog's home page. Then click the blue "Click here to enter" text below and follow the directions to add your post and graphic to the list.

• You can add up to three posts, but no duplicates, please, and none you have promoted on a previous GRAND Social linky.

• No contests, giveaways, or Etsy sites, please.

• Adding a mention at the bottom of your linked posts, such as This post has been linked to the GRAND Social linky, is appreciated. Or, you can post the GRAND Social button using the following code:

<a href="/" target="_blank"><img src="http://grandmasbriefs.squarespace.com/storage/GRANDsocialbutton.jpg " alt="Grandma’sBriefs.com" width="125" height="125" /></a>

• The GRAND Social linky is open for new posts through Wednesday evening, so please come back to see those added after your first visit.

• If you're not a blogger, you have the pleasure of being a reader. All bloggers who link up would be honored to have you all — bloggers and readers — visit, read and comment, even if it's just "Hey, stopping by from the GRAND Social."

• Looking for another grandparent linky? Be sure to visit Connie's Grandparent's Say It Saturday Link Party each Saturday.

Thank you for participating in the GRAND Social!

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Photo replay: Desert sunset

It's been bone-chillingly cold at my place all weekend. The low temps and high winds have made me long to visit my grandsons in the desert. Not just because Bubby and Mac warm my heart, though, but also because chilly evenings there look like the photo below, which I took from their back yard in January.

It was colder during my January visit than any other time I've been to the desert, yet it was still far more colorful and warm than the whistling, windy, white weather here at home the last couple days.

Best wishes to you for a warm, cozy, and colorful Sunday!

What I learned this week: Apple slicers cut perfect home fries

We're never too old to learn something new, be it tangible or intangible. This week I learned something super handy of a super tangible sort.

My lesson? I learned that apple slicers are great for cutting home fries! Especially if you don't have one of those nifty kitchen gadgets made specifically for slicing up fries.

French fries, according to myriad medical and nutritional experts, are oh-so bad for you. But they're oh-so good to the taste buds. Making (and baking) fries at home cuts down a smidgen on the awfulness of the tater treats, but cutting the potatoes for home fries is a pain in the patootie, whether using regular potatoes or the healthier sweet ones.

That is, until I realized this past week that an apple slicer creates perfect home fries. Here's how:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Figuring one potato per person plus an extra, scrub them clean or peel them — though it's the peels that make them "home" fries, if you ask me.

Next, pull out your handy dandy apple slicer, then carefully cut through the potato just as you might an apple.

Viola! French fries!

Slice the center piece, the one where an apple core would be, in half length-wise to make all your home fries about the same size.

To complete the home fries process, sparingly slather (oxymoron?) the potato slices with light mayo, sprinkle with pepper and seasoned salt, then place on a baking sheet coated with non-stick spray.

Bake for 30 minutes or until tender, flipping the potatoes halfway through.

Pull them out of the oven, and there you have it — home fries. Perfectly cut. With an apple corer.

See? You're never too old to learn something new.

This post linked to Grandparents Say It Saturday.

Today's question:

What did you learn this past week?