Loose ends

7/19/12

The last of this year’s bluebirds have fledged!  Yay!  I was worried that this last batch would get killed by the heat, but they’re gone (see the dirty empty nest!) and no dead babies left behind.  Now, if the last of the tree swallows would make it out, I’d breathe a big sigh of relief.  

Messy bed!

Each time I take out an old nest, I'm amazed again that 3-5 bluebird babies could have lived there.  The floor is just too small.  I'm going to play with the design of these boxes this fall and see if I can modify them to provide more room.  If we're going to continue to get these hot summers, I'll feel much better about the bird babies if they have a bit more space.




I’ve learned a lot this summer about the birds, but it’s just made me worry more!  I noticed that one of the finches at the deck feeder seemed very brave about having me come out on the deck.  The other birds would scatter, but this one would just keep on eating.  A few days ago, I noticed that the skin around his eyes was featherless and red (see the picture – if you click on it, it will enlarge), so now I’m worried that he’s blind!  I haven’t seen him in a couple days, which is also worrisome.  And now I’m concerned that his condition is something contagious and the other birds will get it!  I’ve gotten various pieces of advice from removing the feeders to trying to catch the sick one for treatment.  I’m not sure a wild finch would survive the trauma of being caught and treated, but I might dump the remaining seed and sanitize the feeders.   Hmmmm…

 With the drought we’ve had, the last thing my plants need is to be eaten by bugs, but I think that’s what’s happening to my flowers.  Doesn’t look good!  At least the berry shrubs are still doing well.  I don’t like gardening and don’t want to worry about this stuff!  


And look at this monster eating my primrose!  You can see the damage on the other picture pretty well.  That stick-like stalk should have lots of leaves.  You can see the nubbins left after being chewed...

Poor primrose...  They get blown over by the wind, peed on and trampled by the dogs, and eaten by things.  I think I may just dig them up and plant more large rocks.  That's truly low maintenance!