Feathers and Fuzz

one woman's cure for the empty-nester blues

Eastern Phoebe Nest – Happier Than a Pig in Mud

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Shortly after I bought this house, I arranged to have it painted.  I couldn’t believe the transformation.  Everything looked so fresh, and new, and stunning!  Soon thereafter, I opened the front door to find mud splattered EVERYWHERE.

“Where did this mess come from?!” I remarked out loud.

A friend who happened to be with me responded:  “Probably a Phoebe.”

“What’s a Phoebe?!” I asked.

A simple head-turn unveiled the answer.

I’ve gotten over the mud splatters now.  The Eastern Phoebe is a frequent-nester on this house (literally) and a delight to watch.  I do what I can to encourage nest-building someplace other than over the front door (mainly by providing platforms to facilitate easier nest construction) but, like all the other creatures around here, the Phoebe’s final decisions outweigh my preferences.

In coming posts I will share with you a time-lapse video of an Eastern Phoebe nest being built, pictures of the mouth-gaping nestlings, and at least one video of the fledged-youngsters being fed by a bewildered dad.

Raccoon Conquers Bucket Challenge

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This is the first video in the “Raccoon Challenge Series”.

After weeks of human-vs-raccoon battles at one of the bird feeding stations, the human lost.  Perhaps this human did not take defeat very well.  If Rocky was going to eat the bird food, then Rocky was going to work for her supper!

I’m not sure what God meant when he gave mankind dominion over the animals.  I tried “outsmarting” the mammals on this property.

I am woman.  Hear me roar!

Apparently, they didn’t hear me.  Quite the opposite, the mammals outsmarted me at every turn.  I prefer not to conclude that I am stupid, so this instead is my solace:  Maybe “dominion” is something like parenting … taking responsibility for establishing a peaceful balance.  The mammals on this property now have their very own feeding station.  Human and mammals co-exist in peace.  Win-win.