Teamwork

Every summer we have a male Northern House Wren who sets up territory on our property.  Most years he attracts two females for Round 1 of nesting and then another 2 (and on rare occasions 3) females for Round 2.  He fills up as many nest cavities as possible with sticks to entice the females.  Once a female has decided on a box, she will usually remove the excess sticks from the box and then make a little soft area for the eggs using grass, animal hair, moss, etc.  It is rare that I see both adults working cooperatively on a nest as the male is usually guarding all the boxes against rival males which leaves no time to help.  So when I noticed both wrens working on this box this morning, I had to grab some photos.  I love that each of them has a stick in this shot.  Very fun to watch.  

And while the wrens were busy moving sticks, I saw a robin in the yard collecting leaves and maybe some mud - see Extra.  This really is my very favorite time of the year - there is so much going on if one just takes a little time to stay still and observe.

And in addition to the birds, I am seeing more insects now too.  I found a lovely green caterpillar on my honeysuckle and initially thought it might be a snowberry clearwing moth cat, but learned that it is another type of moth.  Thirty minutes later, I tried to find it again and had no luck - their coloring is so cryptic.  Oh, heck, I will put a shot of it in Extra, too. I also found what I believe is a Winter Firefly in the garden, a new species for me.  Time to get the macro lens out.

I got my little rose tattoo refreshed last night - only took about 20 minutes and now looks like new.  It still has the protective seal on it so no pictures yet.  

xoxo
Debbi