when m21 was a little boy, nothing made him happier then a bird's nest in his back yard, a big lizard sunning on his windowsill, or polliwogs growing in the little stream in the canyon behind his house. and you know what? not much has changed over the years! the natural world, particularly in m21's unnatural urban neighborhood, fascinates him still, and makes our inner little boy smile with delight. when the flock of wild parrots residing in our 'hood raucously lands in the pear tree out front, m21 stops whatever he's doing to watch the colorful (and loud) explosion; same thing when local gang of raccoons is out for a stroll at 2 in the morning, we stop to watch (from a distance & after putting mona inside, of course- those things are big and a little bit scary. m21 isn't quite unconvinced they don't pack saturday night specials inside their fur coats).
lately, m21 has been entertained by a pair of bluebirds building nest about 15 feet from his bedroom window. 'bell' and 'boy' as we call them, are industrious parents, building their nest with non-stop activity. they aren't shy about scolding us when we get too close for comfort either! they don't divebomb like the mocking birds we had last year, rather they like to verbally let us know to keep away, with loud chicken-like clucking sounds. their scolding seems to work, as we haven't seen any squirrels in their tree since they moved in, and they told the squirrels to get the heck out. richard, of course, thought the bluebird/squirrel wars were particularly entertaining, though i doubt he was rooting for the bluebirds to win like m21, rather he just wanted to get outside and kill them all... even knowing that they are permanently out of reach doesn't stop rich, and the minute he hears a rustle in the tree, he is at at the window like a rocket, watching another episode of 'kitty krack tv' (kind of like his dad and VH1's "i love new york 8"- he just can't turn away).
the nest is hidden in a thatch of morning glory vine, so we can't see it to know if there is an egg yet, but mom & dad are still hanging out, so we figure that's a good sign (the vine is great camouflage, btw- see if you can spot boy in the picture). no kids yet, as visible or not, we're sure we'll know when they arrive- nature probably won't be as cool at 4 in the morning with hungry chicks begging to be fed, but the noise will be only temporary, and m21 will be rooting for bell & boy to successfully raise their chicks to adulthood, and hopefully come back again next year!
