1). 一早起来，漱口洗脸后，就下楼来到小院，想趁机看会书。图书馆借的书已经有好几个多月了，这是第四次续借，已经被某人讥笑，你这书看了两年了，所以很有紧迫感。
小院一如往常的宁静，只是二月了，一只蜂鸟妈妈又来筑巢了，进进出出的，衔着草、细枝飞来飞去。其实上个星期就注意到了，一定是同一只鸟，见她侦查地形，上上下下地飞。只是很疑惑，她放在枝繁叶茂的牛油果树不筑，挑了这么一个晃晃悠悠，貌似弱不禁风的细藤条来筑巢。说起蜂鸟来后院，筑巢生娃，我的感情是复杂的，除了欣喜，还有别样的心情。过去一两年，蜂鸟宝宝已经有两三次遇难了，去年我都想砍了牛油果树了，不忍心看生命在我眼前陨落。另外，有了鸟妈妈在我后院筑巢，我进进出出都小心翼翼，大气不敢出的，有时却也不方便了。
下面的图片，第一张是鸟妈妈第一天筑的巢，第二张是第二天的进程，第三天的(2／12加上)。鸟妈妈真是个了不起的工程建筑师。
2). 快过年了，想着下个星期会比较忙，今早看了几页书后，就前去看望了国内朋友的一个小孩，她在附近的一所大学念书。随后带着她去吃了个饭，又带她去购物，买了一大堆东西的，帮她拎上楼，后来又急着赶着送她去一个地方排练。等一切忙完，已经下午两三点了。
看到别人家的小孩，情不自禁对比起自己的小孩，别人家小孩的长处，自己女儿的不同。想起了自己女儿的四年大学，也是一个人，要面对繁重的功课压力，或许连这样轻松的周末都不曾有；想起她开始的一两年每次离家要掉眼泪，不愿回学校；想起她现在也是一个人，生活在不同城市，没有车，每个周末也要步行去买菜，风里雨里，大包小包的，一定也很重很辛苦。
但是孩子有她自己的路，更有她的命，我只有记挂在心里，默默为她祝福。
Sitting in the backyard in a quiet Sunday morning, I was reading FDR, a small prints book with 532 pages that I borrowed from the library months ago and have since renewed four times. Out of the bed and still in my pajama, I put on a warm jacket and socks, enjoying the reading and the crisp air.
In a corner next to the wall, a hummingbird was building her nest in the fork of a dangling slender vine. It was her second day. As she hummed back and forth, busy with collecting materials for her nest, her vibrating wings and occasional chirping sounds distracted me from time to time. I took out the camera, but the distance and dim light deterred me from taking clear pictures. When I was just about to give up, a few wild green-yellow parrots flew by overhead noisily. When one of them landed atop a tall pine tree in the neighbor's backyard, my lens was ready for the moment.
As I continued my reading into a new chapter, around 9:35 am, a helicopter roared right above the rooftop. When I had my camera zoomed, it flew out of slight. After a few failed attempts, I stepped out the front door, looked up to the direction of buzzing sounds. There, against the blue sky, a white flying helicopter was hovering low. I took a few shots and then turned back to the yard. Minutes later, a man was broadcasting loud from a speaker in the distance, but with the noisy helicopter nearby, the muffled sounds, loud as they were, were indiscernible. I rushed out the door again, only to catch the last two words—“sheriff department”. Looking around, I did not spot anything abnormal. Confounded, I walked a few steps more towards the green lawn. Less than 50 yards away, a patrolling police car was slowly driving by, and upon sighting me, it paused a few seconds, long enough to see me up and down, a middle-aged woman in pajama pants and a big camera in hand. I stood there, and saw the neighbor, a young mother holding a little baby at the doorstep. She looked just as puzzled as I was. We asked each other about the message from the loud speaker, and she said she heard just as little. Then the same police car turned around towards our street. Inside sat two police officers. I approached the car gingerly, asking them what was happening? The policeman told me that they were looking for someone whose name was xxx, and upon my further inquiries, told me that they were looking for a female Korean. I shook my head, signaling that I did not know anything or see anybody suspicious around. The policeman slightly nodded his head, and the car rolled on. I then turned to the neighbor, telling her what I was told, laughing away jokingly that I was not the woman they were after.
The helicopter circled far and near for another 5 to 10 minutes before it disappeared completely. It must be searching for the same suspect pursued by the patrolling police.
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