"Just Like The Seeds In The Birdfeeder, So Are The Days of Our Nests..."

By a showing of hands, how many of you had the theme song of "Days of Our Lives" ticking in the back of your minds just a second ago?!? Man, I crack myself up... Hahaha!

John and Marsha are sticking pretty close to home these days. I don't think I've seen Marsha rise once from her post. I saw John and his father-in-law having an early morning conversation over at the birdfeeder just before he and the wife hit the sky after the Easter weekend. Apparently they had wanted to be here for the hatching but could only take so long off of work. So, they left the expectant couple with well-wishes and got going around sunrise.

Chyna has apparently been crashing at some other nest, because she has been completely absent from the construction zone that is their nest. Apparently Rex has been guilt-tripped into finishing the home improvement project before Chyna is on nest-rest, as he has been working his tailfeathers off to finish the nest and have an end to Chyna's constant nagging. As I walked out on the porch the other day to water my garden, he stopped his construction to wait impatiently on the fence, as if to say, "Hey, lady, can't you see I'm tryin' to work here?!?"

Luke and Laura are keeping things close to the vest. Apparently Laura's nesting instinct must've kicked in at some point, because the string of partiers and fly-bys are dwindling. There is little ruckus going on on the front porch these days, except the rare times Luke is allowed to hang out at the birdbath with a few buddies. And even though I have dark solar screens on the windows here in the office, any time I am typing on the computer and one of them is at the birdbath, they hop around and cock their heads like they know I'm talking about them and are trying to size me up. Maybe I shouldn't be using their real names, due to Internet security reasons... I'll take it into consideration...

Join me again soon for another installment of my birdie saga! Until then, be tweet!

Don't Be Such A Titmouse!

He he he, the "Beavis" in me just has to come out every now and then...

I have discovered, after working in the front yard this morning, that we have yet more birds nesting with us! This family must be really well-to-do if the height of their penthouse view is any indicator. Also, the exclusivity of the front porch is a strong argument, as there are almost no other places that could possibly house any nests. Luke and Laura Titmouse (I can't quite discern what specific breed they are, but they are tufted like a titmouse, although their beaks are longer and their coloration is mainly grey) obviously like to entertain. They have wild, swinging parties at the birdbath below their nest, as evidenced by the birds swooping and bathing around my front porch and flowerbed.



John and Marsha watched cautiously from a distance today as the kids and I planted our garden this morning. I think they understand that we're not going to mess with them, but John is still keeping a watchful eye on us, telling Marsha to just "calm down, he's got everything under control!"

Rex and Chyna were nowhere to be found, undoubtedly sleeping off last night's partying or something. Their crazy, unkempt nest has huge twigs and long strands of St. Augustine runners hanging down. They are starting to be a blight on the neighborhood, and I, as the President of the Birdie Homeowner's Association, may have to issue a citation for them to maintain their home a little better.

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!