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🐣 My latest simple pleasure 🐦


I hope you've been able to rediscover some simple pleasures during the pandemic. Here’s mine:

Last Friday, a very nice day, I spent a lot of time outside doing little clean-up chores in my backyard - raking, picking up twigs and branches that had come down from the neighbor's tree over the winter, etc. I cleaned a few twigs off a shelf I attached to the wood fence to hold my radio that I use when I'm outside.

On Saturday, another nice day, I discovered that a bird had built a nest on that shelf - in one day! Okay, maybe Mr. Bird helped, but whatever. Obviously, the twigs I'd cleared away the day before were just the beginnings of that nest.

At first I didn't know what kind of bird it was, but naturally I kept an eye on things. Yesterday I found out that it's a robin. Later that day I discovered one egg in the nest (Mama Robin was elsewhere when I looked). I didn't check today since we finally had a much-needed wet, rainy day.

What amazes me most is that this shelf-based nest is only about three feet off the ground. I’d have thought she’d have chosen something higher. Needless to say, I’ve been very careful when entering and exiting my fenced backyard and taking extra care to shut the gate quietly, as well as giving Mrs. Robin a wide berth as I head to the patio area. The really fun part has been sharing my new lodger with my grandchildren via text and photos.

And hey, we're in for several nice days coming up the rest of this week! 🌞

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I happened to discover a baby rabbit in my yard tonight when I went out to my porch at sundown. While I constantly have rabbits in my yard during all the warm months, this was the first baby I have encountered in 15 years of living here. Cute lil' critter it was, very timid, trying to hide in some tall grass right near where I sit.

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This is exactly what I like to hear. We notice the little things that go on all around us. With more time spent at home we get time to actually see these kinds of things.

We have lots of rabbits around here. Cute little buggers! They like to spend the winter under the evergreen bushes in my front yard. I don't mind them except when they bolt out if I happen to walk by - they startle me, but I suppose I've startled them so...fair play, I guess. 🐰

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Oh my gosh! I remember going to the park once and seeing an entire rabbit family pop up from the bushes. Two adults and two babies.😍

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I'm a bit concerned for its survival because there are a couple of stray cats roaming the neighborhood and it looked so alone. I'm going to maintain an awareness of it whenever I go out into the yard.

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Thank you, db!👍

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It is surprising they'd build their nest only 3' from the ground. Not much in the way of safety for their younguns, you'd think.

I'm very happy to report that the heatwave here has broken! It was truly miserable for several days, and I'm truly appreciative that it's cooled off to reasonable temps now. Did make me aware that I *must* get some kind of AC soon because I'm not going to tolerate that kind of misery when it comes again.

Other than that, I'm very much enjoying living where I am now. It's so quiet and peaceful. Soon I'll be getting some tomato plants (one beefsteak variety for slicing and sandwiches, one sweet cherry variety for snacking) and planting them. I love watching plants grow, and there's just nothing like homegrown tomatoes. Maybe I'll try a few herbs too.

I've made good use of the pool. It feels delicious diving in, cold enough to give you a slight gasp at first, but then within a minute feels like the perfect combo of refreshing and soothing.

There are two farm stands nearby and I love going to them and looking at or buying farm-fresh veggies and fruits. One is in a sort of valley with a creek running through it and rolling hills. It's like a hidden world unto itself I never had any idea existed here. I love the whole experience of going there, whether or not I find anything I need.

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The three feet from the ground thing really surprised me. I've been thinking about putting a water dish or some such thing out for Mrs Robin. Tomorrow should be nicer than today's rainy weather, so I plan to look for some kind of container I can use. Mrs Neighbor has a birdbath and I may approach her and ask to borrow it for a while, at least until the egg(s) hatch and the babies are launched. I'm sort of anxious to see if there's more than the one egg I saw on Sunday. I have to say this is a nice distraction to have while I'm cooped up at home.

So glad and relieved to hear that your heatwave has skedaddled! I've read that farmers' markets around here will be allowed to open, although their opening may be delayed a week or two so they can instigate safe distancing procedures.

I have plans for improvements to my backyard that I'd like to do this summer, but the unknown is whether I can get the supplies I need. I have several ideas bouncing around in my head and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I can figure it all out.

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It doesn't seem like a very good survival tactic, does it? Ah well, somehow enough of them survive anyway. I'm sure they'd appreciate a dish of water. If you've got a metal (not aluminium) or glass pie pan, that would work well.

Nature's always a pleasurable and welcome distraction, isn't it? Even more so when we're cooped up because of lockdowns or weather, or whatever the reason. My bet is there will be another egg, maybe two.

That heatwave was something else. Just miserable.

Not surprised your farmer's market will be allowed to open, since ours were never closed (although I haven't been to any since lockdown). Glad to hear it, both for your sake and the sake of the farmers.

Can you not get to a Home Depot or similar there? Here home improvement types of places have been open all along, although their hours are short.

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True, I can probably get to the local home improvement store. I'm just a bit concerned about the social distancing thing. I'm not totally convinced that folks around here are taking the proper precautions. I'm thinking that wearing a face mask is the best we can do. My impression is that gloves don't really help that much. It's more about not touching your face while shopping and washing your hands or using hand sanitizer immediately after leaving the store.

I'll probably venture out in a couple of days. I just want to make sure I get everything I need in one trip, if possible. I spend time figuring things out in my head beforehand, deciding different approaches about how to accomplish what I want to do. I need to check again, but I think my local home improvement stores has special hours for vulnerable folks, so that's when I want to do my shopping.

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Do Not put a bird bath CLOSER to the nest. DO NOT even put a water dish out. The bird selected the spot. DO NOT alter her choice. A bird bath brings predators CLOSER to her nest, so does a drinking dish.. They aren't pussies like humans, they know how to survive. They don't come in from the rain. DO NOT baby them and think you are helping them. They'll get by without your "help". Just sit back and enjoy them being there. THINK LIKE A BIRD not as a human when making decisions on helping a bird out.

Enjoy your day

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Keep me posted! What a great story. Every year when it gets warm I have one single spider that makes a web in the corner by the door on my balcony. Never bugs me at all, and he keeps all the bugs and wasps from getting in my house when I have to leave the window and door open cause it gets so hot.

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I don't like spiders in my house, but I'll tolerate them in the cellar since I know they keep the other bug critters at bay. When they invade my bathroom? I draw the line, especially when they drop down on a web thread and appear over my shoulder while I'm looking in the mirror. THAT episode was too much! Otherwise, I'm fine.

Mosquitoes, earwigs, water bugs, crickets, Asian beetles, etc? Be gone! Especially mosquitoes!

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He’s a good boy and he stays outside. That would freak me right out! I always try to shoe them outside without killing them. If anything does get it chances are my cat will stomp it out .

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I have an old basket ball goal that no one uses at my house. I would have torn it down 15 years ago but some birds nest inside the top of the pipe every year. Its funny because I built a shed close to it so it looks out of place and people ask me all the time why I don’t get rid of it.

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It has been a few days now and I haven't had a chance to check the nest again until today. Every time I look out my window, Mrs Robin is there. But today I decided I had to go get the extension cord I'd left out a couple of days ago. The outlet where it was plugged in is quite near the nest, but I decided I'd quietly go into my yard and start picking up the cord, and would just yank it from the outlet the "wrong" way - by the cord rather than grabbing the plug itself. I guess I got a little too close and Mrs Robin flew out of the next to a nearby tree. I quickly pulled the cord the proper way, and while there I took a very quick peek into the nest. There are 4 eggs.

I looked it up and it takes about two weeks for eggs to hatch (yes, it has been too long since grade school science class). I also learned that Mrs Robin builds the nest all by herself. And I learned that she will use this nest only once, even though robins typically have two to three broods per season. Also, robins generally avoid birdhouses, but will take advantage of nesting platforms under eaves, etc.

After hatching, it takes about two weeks for babies to learn to fly and leave the nest. For now, I figure my backyard is off-limits for about the next three weeks or so. I'm happy to allow Mrs Robin to raise her chicks in peace, so I'll avoid any unnecessary backyard activities.

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We have baby robins today! I haven't seen them yet, but Mr Neighbor was out in his backyard, saw Mama Robin poking around for food, so he peeked through the cracks in the fence and saw one little chick's beak poking up, begging for food. 🐣

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In our last house we always had morning doves nesting on the shelf above our front door. You had to close the door very quietly.

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Last year Mr & Mrs Neighbor had pigeons nesting in the eaves of their house. Those buggers are noisier than you might think. And it seems like they're always cooing, which sounds more like some sort of gurgling sound. And when they take off, the flapping of their wings is loud enough to startle you. They didn't return to their house this year...yet.

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I once had two house finches build nests and lay eggs in potted ferns on my porch. I taped off the little porch and put up signs instructing callers to use the back door, because birds will abandon nests if they get too much human interference. I called the birds "Lucy" and "Ethel", BTW, and would occasionally marvel at them from a distance or through a window.

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Nice story. I've had birds try to build their nests on top of my porch light. Over several days I kept tearing down the beginnings of the nest. I was afraid it would be a fire hazard - this was before I had the cooler florescent light bulbs. If I'd had those, I wouldn't have cared if they nested there.

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