Today's Musing

No photos today, but I needed to post something here, I've been so bad about keeping up with this blog. On the bird front, we have a bluebird sitting on five beautiful blue eggs now after an unusual beginning. She built one nest, but then apparently changed her mind and abandoned it, so I cleaned out the house. Papa kept guarding the house however, so eventually she returned, and before I realized it had laid five little eggs. And in the "wren house", after winning out over the chickadees, the little wren hardly ever showed up, or at least I seldom saw her. And again, she apparently laid some eggs...I have no idea how many because it's difficult to see into this little house. But she is currently also sitting on eggs and I see both her and the female bluebird peeking out the doorway occasionally to get a breath of air in this heat. We're close to 90F today and are supposed to get up to 93 or better tomorrow. Summer just couldn't wait.
Otherwise, I'm fighting an infestation of ants in my house. I battled them last year and thought I had won out, but they're back again now. I cleaned my kitchen counter and cupboards good today...at least where I keep food, and sprayed bug barrier all around everywhere I could think to spray. We have a professional man coming soon (I hope) to spray around the foundation, but I'm not sure when. If he doesn't come soon, I may have to be committed....I'm going crazy!!!!!!

New on the bird front

Not a great photo, but I had to take it through the window which isn't very clean right now. This is a little old birdhouse Roy built from some scrap lumber some years ago. He hung it at the corner of the garage this year just to see if it would attract any birds. First a wren showed some interest yesterday and began carrying in tiny bits of nesting materials. She was well on her way to getting a nest built when a pair of chickadees appeared with some interest of their own in the house. Today they began going into the house, bringing out the nesting material the wren had brought in, in preparation for building a nest of their own. The wren has not given up so far. She waits patiently until the chickdee(s) leave, then brings in another beak full of materials. Roy said to just let them work it out on their own, but it's hard for me not to go out and protect the little wren's interest! I love the chickadees, but I was hoping to get to watch a wren raise a family. We'll see who wins out eventually.

Spring is here...finally

It was a long time coming, but it came with a vengeance. The terrible tornado systems that devastated the midwest and then the south came through here leaving some damage, but not the horrific tolls it took elsewhere, thank goodness. We had no tornadoes in our immediate vicinity, fortunately, and in our neighborhood we only had some good rain out of it.
But my bluebirds began building a nest in the birdhouse yesterday, the hummingbirds are back at the feeder outside my window, the other summer birds are busy checking out the menu in the feeders further out, and the resident lizards are sunning themselves on the paved areas just outside the sunroom doors. Oh, and the neighborhood rabbits are loving the quickly thickening grass in the backyard, and the side yard, and possibly the front yard, too....I haven't looked out there.
Lovely to have the wildlife again, I miss them in the winter.

We have had more than enough snow already this winter, as have many areas of the country. Add to that the back to back blizzards we had last winter, and you'd think I would find nothing beautiful in a coating of snow. But sometimes you are given a small gift of beauty, and that's how I felt when I saw this lonely leaf lying in the driveway as I went out to get the paper one morning recently. Nothing earth shattering, just a spent leaf from a neighbor's tree. But I was struck with the perfection of its frosting of snow that gave it one last moment of glory.