Bird Book, Bird Nests, and Cozy Reading

 Last weekend was perfect reading weather. Storms raged over our area making this the wettest rainy season on record. After feeding the animals I decided to take a break from packing and brew a pot of tea for my husband and myself. He settled down to watch a show about chefs and I settled down to read this beautiful book The Bluebird Effect* by Julie Zickerfoose while I sipped tea from this cup by Pip *. I found this tea / coffee cup in a shop on the Oregon coast during a short get-away with my husband. I will always remember that precious time when I see this cup. The cup and the book seem meant to be together to me.

 This is one of many illustrations by the author . " And each chapter is illustrated with Zickfoose's stunning watercolor paintings and drawings. Not just individual tales about the trials and triumphs of raising birds, The Bluebird Effect mixes humor, natural history, and memoir to give readers an intimate story of a life lived among wild birds."  Quoted from the flyleaf of the book. The book is quietly stunning and a good read, especially on a rainy day .

This is one of my favorite coffee cups. I know, it could be used for tea, but I prefer to drink coffee from it and as an extra treat I add real heavy whipping cream. This cup and saucer set by Furnival is a gift from one of my husband's sisters. She especially loves books and I wish we had more time to simply discuss books, authors, illustrators... maybe one day.

 It is still raining off and on , I slosh through mud to do my chores every day. My lambs look like they're wearing boots . No respectable lamb wastes a day lounging under cover when they can be jumping, leaping, and running.When my chores are done though, I am eager to escape the mud and rain and settle down with a hot cuppa and a good book.

" I live for the moment when my gaze meets a bird's - that exchange of awareness of the "who" in each of us, the spark of understanding leaping from the bright bead of its eye to mine. ~ It's that spark gleaming in the cupped hand of my own experience that I want to bring to you. I want to tell you their stories." Julie Zickafoose (  book introduction)

I have been missing my Tea Time Tuesday celebrations and hope they're still being hosted by these gracious ladies ~Bernideen's TeaTime Blog * , Rose Chintz Cottage * , Antiques and Teacups *, and Martha *.

Empty Nest

An empty nest found on my herb garden path a week ago . It must have been blown down by the very quick and short storm that blew through here. No more baby birds, no more parent birds. A nest that fulfilled a need and no longer required. An empty nest.

Bird Drama

 It's that time of year again when birds are courting , mating, nesting, and raising their young. There is so much excitement and drama anywhere there are birds that it is hard to get any yard work done for all the distraction this causes me. This bird house is home to a pair of chickadees. Their young have not hatched out yet but soon, very soon. Last year this location was used by chickadees and juncos , they seemed to take turns raising their families in it but I think the juncos moved on to ...

... this bird house nearby, above my sheep shelter .

 Yes, it is now home to a pair of Oregon Juncos. If you look very closely at the bottom left of this elaborate house you will see the pair of juncos chose to build a nest on the porch ! I think they prefer open air housing. Mama Junco's head can barely be seen over the horizontal branch, but she is there faithfully sitting on her eggs.

 This is one of 4 robin's nests in our trailer shed . We have another in our hay shed. I am glad the robins are able to safely raise their young here now. For years we watched the robins lose their eggs and young to crows but when we built this shed to protect our travel trailer we discovered the robins  also found it to be a safe haven.

This bird house is actually 3 houses in one structure and sits in front of our porch .This is part of my view when I sip my coffee in the morning while I watch the birds .There is a family of chickadees living in it , not the bird you see in the picture . Maybe this bird is considering living in the triplex , wouldn't that be interesting porch entertainment ? It could provide a lot of bird drama .

These are but a few of the many places I have observed birds nesting here at Cedar Pond . What is most fascinating is watching the bird drama as each tiny area around our home seems to have its' own bird community , its' own birdy squabbles, its' own bird beauty. Oh , I almost forgot, its' own bird comedy . The show begins before sunrise and ends after sunset , but not really. If you sit on the porch in the evening you can hear the owls in the woods and if the moon is bright enough you can see the bats silently flying about snatching mosquitos from over the wet grasses and the pond. Bird drama , better than anything on T.V. !

Spot on Sun Room ( Bird's Nests )

~~~Our sun-room is a small room that is full of my bird's nests, and geraniums spending the winter in more agreeable climate, the assorted house plants and one very, very noisy bird. Here is a bird's nest in the chandelier in our sun room.~~~"Most birds build a new nest each year.Some that have more than one brood each season will build a new nest for each brood." Peterson's Field Guides' WESTERN BIRD"S NESTS~~Another bird nest in our sun room displayed by the field guide to bird's nests.( below) "Exact time of year when each species nests is not given, principally because it is impossible to be accurate. Not only does nesting time vary from south to north and from sea level to mountaintop, in the range of some species, but it varies greatly in the same species in the same geographic location. External factors such as rainfall, temperature, water levels, amount of snowfall, and similar phenomena may influence time of nesting from year to year." Peterson Field Guides WESTERN BIRD"S NESTS ( book displayed below) ~Even MORE bird's nests...I have bird's nests in the plants and trees in my sun room. I found the book identifying bird's nests ( above ) in an antique store. I still have not identified all my bird's nests, but it is fun trying. By the way, all bird's nests except one , were collected well after nesting season and most of the eggs in the nests are from my Zebra finches and doves, and a few eggs are from my tiny bantam hens. "Even during breeding season the place where an adult bird is discovered is not necessarily the place where it's nest is located." Peterson Field Guide ~This little fairy (below)is in her own nest, and I placed her in a big pot with a fig tree and there are a few bird's nests in the pot and in the fig tree.

~Here is a close up of the little fairy in her nest. ~

~Here is another nest in an IKEA candle lantern. In the spring I hang this lantern on my porch. "The nest itself is described in detail ( in book) Materials will vary with availability. For some species this has been noted, but readers should bear in mind that Spanish Moss would no more be available to a bird in Montana than spruce needles would be to a bird in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. The basic structure of of the nest of most species is so uniformly true to type that even though materials used may vary, the format generally does not. An American Robin nest in Washington or Oregon with mosses built into it still looks very much like a Robin's nest in Arkansas with mud and grasses predominating." (fr. above mentioned guide book) ~I placed this nest in a small fig tree in my sun room. There are some very long, coarse hairs ( I think horse hairs ) in this nest, and some fishing line ! "Birds, like people, often display individual traits that defy rules. There is much truth in the old saying "Birds never read the books." Consequently , we find a maverick Northern Oriole near a fishing lake that has built its hanging nest of monofiliament fishline;" Peterson Field Guide ~This nest too has some fish line. We don't live too close to any body of water used for fishing...but there are a lot of fishermen in the area. "a White-necked Raven that used barbed wire for the foundation of it's nest on an old piece of farm machinery; a Great Crested Flycatcher that substituted cellophane for snake- skins; a Solitary Vireo near a campsite that constructed the outer part of it's basket like nest from facial tissues and paper napkins." Peterson Field Guide ~Why am I blogging about bird's nests in the fall ? Well, I have had to bring my geraniums into the sun room for the winter and now I have to rearrange my bird nests, and also, this is the time of year I add more nests to my collection. The birds are done nesting. As I clean things up and move the nests around I take time to look closely at the nests. I am still amazed at the intricate structures birds build using only their beaks and feet. How do they weave the materials into such perfect little baskets and hollows for their eggs and to rear young ?Some of the nests I have are composed of feathers, wool from my sheep, yarn, dog hairs that look suspiciously like yellow Lab fur. ~~~"If a bird's nest chance to be before thee in the way in any tree, or on the ground, whether they be young ones, or eggs, and the dam sitting upon the young or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young;/ But thou shalt in any wise let the dam go, and take the young to thee; that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest prolong thy days." This quote is supposed to be from the Bible but I have not found the source yet. However, I found it interesting,. K.B.