Back yard musings

on June 19, 2008 at 10:51 AM, updated June 19, 2008 at 10:59 AM

Yes this is a "Digging in the Dirt" blog. But sometimes there is more than just that with backyard gardens.

Part of the reason I garden is its connection with nature -- and with six bird houses in my back yard there is plenty of opportunity for that. At last count, five of the six are currently in use -- to say nothing of the robin parents raising a brood on the ample sill of my bathroom window and the recent dove family that roosted in my trumpet vine at the top of the backyard fence.

What gets funny is that often I have to delay a garden project at some location because the birsd parents get too distraught if I get too close.

One recent Sunday in the backyard was a hoot.

Nervous Nelly cat had decided to venture forth in the backyard enclosure, and decided to sharpen her claws on the trumpet vine trunk within. All chaos broke loose as suddenly two doves flew out of the leaves on the top of the fence and trumpet vine, with one of them falling to the ground on the outside of the enclosure and flopping around like it was severely injured.

The terrified cat hurtled itself into the house and was not seen for two hours.

I was distressed one of the birds was apparently injured and then realized it was mama pretending injury to lure a possible predator away from a nest. So I looked up at where they had fled from, and sure enough there was a single baby dove, cute as could be, looking down at me and tipping its head back and forth in wonderment.

Mama and dad flew to a nearly tree. And soon the baby took flight and joined them. A long and very steady and very successful first flgith it made. Impressive.

Right after that I tried to weed a bed up next to the house and realized two robins seemed overly concerned. Looking up, there I saw the nest on the bathroom indowsill. Three blue eggs were in it. The grass and the weeds in the flower bed are doing well these days as the babies grow up. For me to venture near it just causes too much concern with the parents. Thankfully the bathroom is a spare one as it is off limit inside as well.

That same day, the love-struck house wren deconstructed his nest in one of the bird houses. I'm not sure if this is the same solitary house wren that returns to my yard every year, but finding a mate is excruciating for him each year.

Male house wrens build the nests and then spend all day calling from tree to tree in hopes of luring an interested female who inspects the nest, decides to settle in with him or not, and then redecorates the nest is the answer is yes.

He is still out there calling. But on this Sunday, toward late afternoon, he went nuts and deconstructed part of his nest in a feverish display of energy.

Out would come a feather, or a twig or agrass which he's deposited on my garden. All within a few feet of where I was sitting, Then he stopped and resumed his calling. Had a female stopped by and complained, I wondered. What a mystery he

In years past a cardinal family raised two young INSIDE my enclosure, which meant the cat was forbidden to go out. The cardinals got very comfortable with me being out there, however. And one day I got the rare treat of watching the two babies leave the nest under much verbal pressure and luring by the two parents.

There was the time a setting sun caught a minuscule web structure alive with hundreds of tiny spiders hatching, Tiny tiny tiny spiders. There was another when three crows were attacking a hawk, and the hawk nearly hit my roof before it could get airborne as the crows dove at it. A mallard duck family waddled by once.

They say, in that old cliche, to take time to smell the roses (that grow in our gardens, right?). Well, also take time to observe the wonders of the natural world out there and provide food, shelter and a place for it to raise families.