Nesting Season

 For the last few years a wren has managed to get in the greenhouse to build  a nest in one of the hanging baskets. I was hoping  they  would find a better place this year because once I discover the nest I can't, in good conscience, water the plant for fear of destroying the nest. We've lost several very nice geraniums  thanks to the little wrens.  So far, there have been no signs of nest building in the hanging baskets.

We know  that nest building has been going on because  several times a day we see a  wren perched on the  privacy fence around the deck with leaves, pine straw or strands of moss in her mouth. We've tried to get a picture of her but any movement near the door or  window spooks her and she flits away, sometimes under the earth boxes, sometimes she lands and scurries under the barbecue grill.  But we couldn't figure out where she was  building the nest- until Mr. G discovered it yesterday.He refused to tell me where it was, said I'd have to find it myself, I couldn't miss it.

When I went outside this morning to check on the greenhouse I looked all around but saw nothing. But as I went to open the kitchen door, there it was! We keep a couple of brooms just outside the kitchen door  under the eave, in the  corner formed where the house meets the privacy fence.

The brooms are used to sweep the deck.  With the brooms is an old self-wringing twist mop with a thick yarn head. I haven't used it in ages since I got the steam mop, but keep it around for wiping down the siding on the house, etc.

The wren saw the potential in that nice yarn  mophead and  got to work. Here is what I saw when I looked at if from another angle.  I saw that all those  leaves, moss strands and other bits and pieces the wren had been gathering  went into making a nice soft place to lay her eggs. I just hope the mop stays dry in the rain.  It's  pretty safe under the eave but if wind blows rain against the house  all her  hard work may be for naught.

 I do hope it all works out, and that her eggs when she lays them,  will hatch out little babies , and that she can keep them safe. We have to be careful now when we let the dogs out that they don't try to go after her. Now I feel guilty that  I didn't want her in the greenhouse- I do think it would haven better  and safer for  mother and babies inside, out of the rain and away from the dogs. Then again, maybe she is  very smart and the mop nest is a diversion.  She may be hoping that while I'm watching what goes on at the mop, she is watching for her chance to get back in the greenhouse and claim a hanging basket.

Winter Bird watching

Another cold but sunny day.   The  birds have been emptying out the bird feeders almost as quickly as I can refill them.  Agatha and Victoria enjoy sitting in the sun as it streams through the  storm door in the morning  and watching  the activity at the feeder. Sometimes they are joined by Patches, the cat, but she has gotten lazy in her old age and opts to sleep most of the time.  Patches is over 20, as near as we can tell- we've had her so long that we can't remember exactly how long she's lived with us!

Things get  loud when a cat or a squirrel wanders into view.  The dogs   take to   barking and running up and down the hall as though they expect the the squirrels and cats  to storm the barricades and launch an attack.  But this morning it was pretty quiet and peaceful and they  had only Carolina chickadees, sparrows,  house finches a tufted titmouse or two and a few cardinals to watch. Sometimes we have a more varied assortment of birds who  stop at the feeders. It may have something to do with the   seed mixes we buy and use.  This week  for instance, we've had more cardinals, but the bird seed we just bought has a lot more sunflower seeds in it than the previous mix, and the cardinals  do seem to love those sunflower seeds. When we  have  birdseed with a fair amount of cracked corn in it, we see a lot of mourning doves under the feeders.

For the last few years, come spring,  a house wren makes a nest in one of the hanging baskets in the greenhouse.  I'm anxious to see  whether that happens again this year.  It  wreaks havoc on the plants in the baskets, but  it is exciting to watch the parent birds fly in and out with materials to line the nest, then later  flitting in and out to  feed the babies when the eggs hatch, and finally  watching the  little ones stumble about on the   greenhouse benches as they learn to  fly before leaving  the nest and the  greenhouse for the last time.  I often wonder whether the little ones who hatched here are the ones who return to nest, but  have no idea.This is one of the little fledglings from last April.  Maybe he or she will come back for a visit this spring.  I hope so!