We're Expecting!

HAHAHA!!! Gotcha!! Bet you thought something serious was going down here at the hacienda... Good grief, what kind of girl do you think I am?!?

No, really, new life is always something to rejoice about at my house. I remember last summer when we had some rather snitty Mockingbird parents that were highly offended that we chose to use our inflatable pool in the backyard (heaven forbid) because it came within a country mile of their nest. I don't remember if we actually saw the babies in the nest, but I do remember a plump youngster who was probably the last of his graduating class to learn how to fly. He hung out on our backporch for the better part of a day or two. I wanted so desperately to put him back in the nest so he could have a "do-over," but I knew that if I touched him and he had my scent, the mother would have nothing to do with him. (Women can be so testy...)

This year the birds have gotten smart. They have upgraded from nesting in our vertical twigs young trees and are now nesting in tiny box-like places at the top of some brick columns where the roof goes over the porch. Whomever said that animals were dumb obviously didn't know birds. These nests are completely inaccessible to any land-locked creature. The only possible intruders to these penthouses are other birds (highly unlikely), nosy homeowners (such as yours truly), and the occasional bug or spider. Most of my spiders are gargantuan and terrifying big enough and predatory enough that they prefer to be on the ground or along the walls near where the bugs hang out. Their cozy little nests stay dry and warm in the unpredictable Central Texas spring weather.

After careful searching, I have discerned that we are awaiting five baby finches, Cannin's Finches to be exact. The parents look like a scrappy sort, but they have the most amazing song! It sort of reminds me of how judgmental we can be of the way people look, especially those claiming to be musicians. Then they go and open their mouths or pick up an instrument and everyone's jaws drop and we all stand there, astounded that such amazing things just came out of something that looks like that!

But I digress. It really touched my heart today, looking out my kitchen window at John and Marsha Finch (hey, they've become part of my everyday interactions -- they're completely personified to me already). Marsha sits dutifully on her eggs all.day.long. You know her birdie butt's gotta be tired. And while John gets to flit and flut all over the neighborhood, hanging out with his birdie buddies, I watched him come back to her and "feed her" some lunch, Chinese takeout and watermelon or some such pregnancy combo, I'm sure. As I stood there watching him take such sweet care of his mate, I must've moved or something because John caught me voyeurizing his loving display, and he copped a 'tude about it! He was immediately defensive of Marsha, and he turned around, moving his head this way and that, trying to size me up, thinking, "I could take her! She may be 500 times my size, but I could whip her ass!" It was so awesome.

And I guess there's a housing boom in the bird community as well, because I noticed today that John and Marsha now have neighbors. Rex and Chyna Mockingbird have moved in two columns down, and they are some gnarly thrashers from what I can tell. They are the obnoxious, punk rock neighbors -- their nest is being constructed of these massive twigs that won't even fit down in the box-like area, and they have thorns all over them because they are from some mesquite trees! Man! Poor Chyna's gonna have some serious hemorhhoid action from warming those puppies... And heaven forbid they use the other two nests from last year that I left up in the trees that were previously occupied by the other mockingbird families. Guess everyone wants a new ride these days...

Keeping up with the "Joneses" is a nice distraction from everything else going on these days. Hopefully the cigars will be coming out soon for John and Marsha! I'll keep you posted!