I’ve been watching a pair of Phoebes raise their family on a support beam under our deck. The nest is a sturdy one and was also used last year; possibly by the same birds. Made from mud and moss and quite a few hairs from our dogs, it’s a cozy place out of the wind, rain, and sun. The pool pump, which is nearby, adds a soothing rhythmic hum and subtle vibrations.

Last year they raised two broods of babies. One day when I went out to get a photo of the first batch, I walked up near the nest and said hello babies! in a very soft voice, raised my camera to my eye, and WHOOSH, with a huge flutter of wings they all flew out of the nest, bumping their heads on the underside of the deck as they went. I felt awful. But, they must have been ready, right? No harm done. The parents were waiting to watch over them as they flew into the woods. It must not have bothered the parents too much as they went on to raise another brood in quick succession.

A few weeks ago this year’s first brood of babies hatched.

The parents were kept busy catching bugs to feed them. I love watching them swoop out of the trees to catch their quarry in their beaks. Can you see the bug sticking out of his/her beak?

They grew and became very demanding.

I’ve been checking a few times each day to see if they’ve “flown the coop,” as they’ve been fully fledged for over a week now. For the past two days two of them have been huddled on the edge of their nest and they peer down at me with big baby doe eyes. I always talk softly to them so they can get used to the sound of my voice without scaring them. I thought for certain yesterday when I started Johnny up (his summer place is under the deck) that they would startle and finally flee the nest. But, no, they held firm.

An anxious parent kept watch nearby. I could tell they were trying to coax the kids out of the nest, but it wasn’t working. Nothing like a child that doesn’t want to leave the comforts and safety of home.

This morning I thought for certain they would be gone. They really didn’t fit in the nest anymore. I took my camera just in case ... yes, still there. The parents were trying to lure me away from the nest, chattering noisily. Or were they trying to coax them to fly? I said good morning, kids, are you still here? I raised my camera, clicked the shutter and here’s the pic.

One second later, this baby was gone! See how it’s little wings are slightly spread? Well, that baby took off like it had been flying its whole life and landed on the clothesline next to its parent. The parents went wild, flying around the baby and chattering like crazy. They flew into the woods. I turned around to look at the other baby and it looked at me as if to say you ain’t takin’ my picture! and followed its nest-mate. Only one remained and it looked very confused and lost. A few minutes ago I went out to check and the last one is gone too. No more Phoebe beebees. Mr. & Mrs. Phoebe are officially empty-nesters now.

Even without my “help,” they would have left today. They were ready. I feel like an enabler here! Mr. & Mrs. Phoebe, I hope your babies live a good life. You were great parents. Please come back and raise the next crop soon!

Our house in Colorado is being taken over by birds. First, there is this ghostly impression on the sliding glass door where a bird obviously flew into it. Can you see it, the wings spread wide? It’s like it imprinted the house with its spirit. It looks like a hawk to me, or maybe it was a grackle. There was a twin print to this one on another door right next to this one, but it was more faint. Same bird, or one just like it. Very strange ...

This sweet dove has built a wispy nest under the eave of the sunroom in back. She picked a smart place for her nest, out of the wind and rain. We didn’t disturb her; let her have her babies.

We also discovered that a woodpecker—a flicker probably—had made several nice holes in our stucco board on the outside of our house. One was the size of a grapefruit and a starling had started to nest inside it. The hole went all the way through the stucco board, the foam, and finally the wood. They tell us it happens all the time and the repairs are simple. Still, it’s just one more thing.

Now if only the birds could pool all their money together and buy the house, it would be a perfect fit.

Does anyone out there remember Perri? It was a movie that Walt Disney did, maybe in the early sixties or late fifties that featured real animals, and followed the life of a squirrel: Perri. A wonderful film that I believe has finally been released to DVD.

This little squirrel was checking out the new bird feeder off my deck. I liked the way the background came out (all those trees leafing out!).

I love birds of all kinds, and we certainly have many different varieties that frequent our yard and woods surrounding the house. One of my all-time favorites is the Goldfinch. Not only are they beautiful to look at, but their little chirpy peeps are soothing to the ears. I didn’t even know we had them around. I didn’t see them last year. Since the bears have not been around I thought it was safe to hang a finch feeder on the back deck and see what happened. Filled to the brim with tempting thistle seed, it didn’t take long to attract an audience.

I heard them before I actually saw them. I looked out and could see them sitting in the trees like bright yellow ornaments.
chew-eee chew-eee 
Soon they decided it was safe to come and get something to eat.

Yesterday morning I looked out and saw a bright blue bird, and on further inspection saw that it was an Indigo Bunting! Gorgeous little blue bird! It was dark and dreary, so I couldn’t get a good pic of him. But, I happen to have a photo that I took of one at our cabin in Colorado, so I’ll share that one instead. Same bird; different location. They are rare in Colorado, but not here. I hope to see him again.

The calendar says that spring has arrived. I think not. Our grass has greened up some with the drenching inch of rain we got yesterday, but the thermometer hovers at a chilly 39 degrees. The forsythia hedge in front of our house was ablaze with bloom this time last year when we moved in. As you can see by the photo above, the buds are there—and have been for the past week or so—but they are reluctant to pop. I can certainly understand why. It feels more like winter than it does spring.

They say another rough storm for us on Sunday with howling wind and torrential rains, then snow overnight. What? Don’t do that, I have to catch a plane to Las Vegas on Monday. Stop it—enough already! I have the pool scheduled for opening in one month. This kind of weather was not quite what I was expecting.

I didn’t expect to see the bears in my back yard last night at 7:30 p.m. either. After not seeing them for over a week I had grown lax about looking out first before letting the dogs out. Not a good plan. Two seconds after I let Daisy out she started barking furiously. That could only mean one thing: bears. I looked out to see a bear clinging to the big oak tree. Daisy was squatting to pee and barking. I called her and she came running in. I could see two other bears in the woods, so it was Ursa. I ran for the camera, but of course I was too late.

Somehow it seems normal to have bears in the yard. How strange is that? Last year when we moved here I had no expectations that we would see and come in contact with bears so often. And, I would never have thought I’d actually enjoy having bears in my yard. I would have freaked out! Now they are part of our wildlife family. I worry about them when they are not around. Silly, isn’t it?

I didn’t expect our house in Colorado to to still be on the market nearly one year later. It’s such a lovely house. I cant imagine why it’s still sitting there unsold! Very disappointing and worrisome. While we are still burdened with it, we can’t make any of the small upgrades we so want to do to this house. Please send some positive house-selling vibes our way.

As for my expectations of Las Vegas ... well ... I’m trying not to have any preconceived notions in my head about what it’s really like. I DO expect the weather to be warm and sunny (the weather map says so). I DO expect to have a great time. I DO expect to blog every day from there and bring a little Vegas to all of you. It’s Lynne—Live from Las Vegas!

I also expect spring isn’t too far away. At least I’d like to think so.