How To Bond with Sheridan

One Saturday morning, Guy and were looking out into the backyard (probably discussing the many things that need to be done out there) when this very striking bird flew into the apricot/plum tree. We called to Sheridan to come and see (he's been very into birds for the last couple of years), but by the time he got downstairs, the bird had flown off. Naturally he asked what kind of bird it was, and naturally, I didn't have the faintest idea. He fetched his bird guide book and started trying to find a picture of the mystery bird based on my description. After a couple of misses, I described the bird again, he got very excited, and turned in his book to a picture of a Western Tanager--

This was the bird Guy and I had caught a glimpse of. Sheridan was pretty excited and said that it's kind of rare to see one of these birds because they're so "secretive" (only he pronounced this word with the emphasis on the second syllable which changes the meaning significantly). I actually saw the bird again (or maybe another western tanager because it seemed smaller) later that day, and, thanks to Sheridan, knew what to call it.

*Note: This "secretive" bird has not been seen again by anyone in this house. It's too bad because it is a beautiful bird.

The same day as the bird identification, I found some white flowers growing (of all places) in the grass around the trash cans. I thought they were striking, but couldn't identify them, so pulled out a good specimen and showed Sheridan (he's recently been getting interested in plants, naming every bloom he sees as monocot or dicot). We started in my Garden Plants A-Z book, and, knowing that it grew from some kind of a bulb, decided that it was probably a member of the Hyacinth family. So Sheridan then got online and began searching the genuses listed in the Hyacinthacea family. It took a little time (Sheridan was engrossed and I started cooking dinner), but Sheridan found Ornithogalum umbellatum, the Common Star of Bethlehem, which matched our specimen.

It was a fun little treasure hunt. I was impressed (again) with my son, and he was beaming.

**A note on the Star of Bethlehem. I think it's a very pretty little Spring bloomer, but through further Googling I've learned that many people consider it a highly-invasive weed. In addition to that, the plants are poisonous. SO, I think I'll wait until next Spring (they've all died back completely now), see how many come up and where, and then decide if I should take steps to rid my yard of them or not.