"Mom? Mom? MOM!!!!"

Just when I was feeling kind of crummy and sad, the yard came alive with little Downy Woodpeckers. They were careening around the yard, landing in flower pots, on the patio umbrella, on the deck table, and eventually on the clothesline. Honestly, it was impossible not to smile watching these little birds exploring the great big world of our back yard.

This little female was trying to work up her nerve to hop down to the suet feeder that hangs from the clothesline, where Mom was waiting, calling to her. This little gal was chattering non-stop, making that little chipping noise that only the babies make. She had the dickens of a time with the clothesline, as you can see here. If you want to see the whole sequence of shots, and a few others, I've posted a public album on Facebook, HERE. It will give you a pretty good picture of what was going on in the yard today...

I'm aware that this is very similar to my blip of the Hairy Woodpecker baby several days ago, but this is the image that won me over today.

I also took the maro lens out for a spin in the yard and posted 4 insect/dragon/butterfly shots starting HERE on Flickr.

Tomorrow is the Open House so the house is spotless and my goal is to keep it that way until the OH is over tomorrow afternoon. I am really hoping that the turnout is good. The weather is wonderful which could work for or against us, depending on how many people want to get out and play versus look for a new home. Well, this isn't something I have ANY control over (much to my irritation) so I must just let it unfold and hope for the best.

Thanks for sending my little Yellow Warbler to the Spotlight page yesterday - that was a lovely surprise!

I hope you are all having a good weekend.

Debbi