One minute you're just sitting there...

...looking really blue, holding onto your squirmy thing, minding your own business...

...and the next minute a titmouse comes flying out of nowhere, trying to grab your lunch order!

Honestly, this isn't something I ever expected to see since the titmice are usually very easy-going birds, not inclined to behave badly.  So, as my lens was focused on Monsieur, trying to get a nice shot of him with his catch, the titmouse hurled itself into the frame, allowing me to get exactly two shots.  Neither technically great, but this one was just too funny to pass up as today's choice of a blip.  Monsieur, btw, managed to keep hold of his treat and promptly took it into the nest box to feed his youngsters.

In other bluebird news, I rigged up a "sparrow guard" for the nest box, which should deter the house sparrows from killing the babies.  I am posting a picture of the set up in Extra - basically, it's two pieces of 8-pound fishing line, weighted with a little ring of metal, and attached to the roof of the box with push pins.  Madame immediately tried to remove the push pins with her beak, but gave up after about three minutes and never gave the set up a second look.  (Whew) The two lines hang on either side of the entrance and will apparently spook the sparrows but not interfere with the bluebirds.  Gotta love Google.

Still chilly today with the added "bonus" of gusty winds.  At least the sun is out, but one still needs to have a fleece and sweater to be comfortable (and pants, of course).

Hubs and his partners are meeting at the house today, hammering out some of the details of the new business venture - progress is being made!

I've ordered another 2,000 mealworms scheduled to be delivered later this week.  Although the bluebirds seem to like them fairly well, the titmice are positively mad about them and appear out of nowhere the minute I put them out.  Rather grisly to watch them eat them since they don't chuck them down whole but instead pull them apart and eat them in "dainty" bites.  Nature...gotta love it.

Happy Monday, people.
Debbi

Late News:  After posting this, I checked in on the chickadee box in the front garden just in time to see a House Sparrow stick his head in the box.  Screaming like a banshee, I ran outside and scared him off.  Then ran back inside where I rigged up another sparrow guard and quickly installed it on the chickadee house.  After first checking to make sure the nestlings were still alive - whew.  People, it's not easy being a bird-mom!