Tag: spring

Spring House Guests

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Three robin’s eggs in a nest on top of my back porch light. This is the second time since we’ve lived in this house that a robin has nested in that exact spot. The last time it didn’t end well for the robin chicks.

Robin’s Nest Flickr Album

I took these photos using my Samsung smartphone standing on a step ladder inside the house with my arm sneaking around the top of the patio door. I could not see the screen when I snapped the shots. Two of the photos I adjusted afterwards to enhance the visibility and vibrancy of the eggs (which were hidden in shadow inside the nest).

Porthos is lounging in the background (on the step watching me taking the photo above).

Wildflower Garden Update

20160609_055708Last fall, we had some landscaping done on the east and north sides of the house. The south side just had some fill dirt graded against the foundation and a cherry try planted between the apple tree and the fence. We also removed the bothersome mulberry terry from the corner of the fenced backyard.

I attempted to grow sunflowers last summer with limited success.  This year, I decided I wanted a wildflower garden to give bees and hopefully hummingbirds something to enjoy.  I bought a bag of wildflower seed, raked the fill dirt to loosen it and even it out and liberally sprinkled the seed along the entire south wall of the house.  A few weeks later, I’m starting to see blooms, thanks in no small part to nearly ten inches of rain we received in May.

Continue reading “Wildflower Garden Update”

Circle of Life

I solved the mystery of the missing robin’s nest once my husband woke up.  I asked him if the nest was intact before he fell asleep.  He replied that as far as he knew, the nest was there until the early morning hours.  Once he was dressed, he walked out into the back yard and spotted the empty nest in the middle of the lower half of our yard.  Quite a ways away from the upper patio and the back porch light.  Here are some photos to give you an idea:

Empty Robin's Nest Far From Porch Light
Empty Robin’s Nest Far From Porch Light

Continue reading “Circle of Life”

Bye Bye Birdies

Gone. Vanished.Gone.

Vanished.

Barely left a trace behind.

To say I was shocked this morning would be an understatement.  Just last night Terry and I witnessed Mother Robin feeding her babies from the edge of her nest (see other posts for the actual nest since there’s little to no trace of it this morning above our porch light).

I’m worried now that Continue reading “Bye Bye Birdies”

Hatching and Hatched

Yesterday I reported that my back porchlight housed a squatter. A robin’s nest rests atop it complete with Mother Robin and her eggs.  Later in the evening, I checked the nest and the robin had flown off to find her own dinner.

I managed to get a blurry shot of the nest’s contents.  I had to do this while standing on a chair, hiding inside the house and leaning out with just my smartphone hovering over the nest.  I couldn’t see the screen and snapped a couple of photos to pick the best to show here.

Mother Robin took a brief break. Continue reading “Hatching and Hatched”