All Creatures Great and Small

When we moved into this house in 2006, I hated it. Yes, I had agreed on the floor plan with Jim and we liked it. But the neighborhood was barren. No trees, no hills. Half of the houses weren't even built yet so we had a lot of land out here. My dream neighborhood has lots of large, mature trees with tons of shade. Squirrels, birds, and other little critters flitter and scamper by as I sit in my kitchen and gaze out the back window.

But not here. Here the sun shines all day long. There are no trees from which to shield its glare. It's like crossing the desert just to check the mail. (Because someone in their infinite wisdom decided to put all the mailboxes on ONE side of the street. So half of us have to cross the street to get our mail.....grrrrr) I miss our house in Little Rock that had a huge backyard filled with 3 large trees, infinite numbers of squirrels (owing to one of the trees being a large oak), birds of all kinds, and two chipmunks. I've even prayed that God would have two huge trees sprout up across the street and we'd be known all around for having a miracle occur! (yes, I really prayed that. No, it hasn't happened.....yet)

One day, a few months after we moved in, God surprised me!

A robin had made a nest underneath the eave of our house on the gutter downspout! We could watch from our front window as the mother bird fed her babies. The girls loved it! Oh who am I kidding? *I* loved it! Even in our vast expanse of flat, treeless land, God had blessed us! Nature was just outside our very front door.

Well, it's happened again. A couple of weeks ago, I saw a bird in our backyard gathering sticks. And it was heading towards the kids' playset!!! I wondered if I should shoo it away, but then decided that if I didn't give the bird a home, who would? There are no trees in this neighborhood.

Here is momma bird sitting on our fence. She's smack dab in the middle of the picture. 

Here she is walking across the playset beam. This is how she lands and enters the nest every time. 

Now she's sitting on the nest. You can see her tail feathers in this photo.









Then, just yesterday, I got brave enough to go up and look in. BABIES! I thought I had a picture of the eggs, but I can't find it on my camera or my phone. But they've hatched now! On a sad note, there were 4 babies but one is at the bottom of the nest not moving. :(  I don't know how that happens but I figure it's just nature taking its course.

My main goal now is to keep our pesky dog, Harper, away from the babies when they get pushed out of the nest and try to learn to fly. I'd feel horrible if she ended up killing one. Maybe I'll even be able to get some video of the little birds trying to fly. They always scare me when they're that little. Geez, now not only do I have 3 kids and a dog to worry about, but I have 3 birds as well! Once a mother, always a mother, I guess!