Just in the neighborhood...

  A while back, I bought a birdhouse from from a senior citizens' group that was having a garage sale as a fund raiser.  I was oddly drawn to this particular house even though others were much prettier and much better constructed.  After questioning, I found that the house had been made by an elderly gentleman and his seven year old grandson had painted it.  This bit of news made me love the birdhouse all the more.  It is not every day that you can get your hands on such a special piece of yard art!  Once we got the thing home, Mark helped me to poke it on top of the rose arbor.  There it sat for the entire summer, then on through the fall and even winter.  I did not expect any visitors at those time so this did not bother me.  Now that spring is here, I was elated to see two little visitors investigating the house.

  A pair of chickadees darted in and out of the tiny doorway of the house.  For two days, they did nothing more than check the surroundings and the interior of the house.  Then, on the third day, I noticed that the birds were bringing twigs and straws into the house. The sweet little pair had decided that this would be their home.  For the past three mornings, I have watched the birds as they worked.  Not wanting to scare them, I kept my distance and let them build in peace.

  This afternoon, I took a hike through the garden and under the arbor.  I could hear scratching inside the birdhouse but did not see the birds. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a fluttering of wings.  Uh, oh!  That bird was a bit large to be a chickadee!  I stood still and stared into the rose vines.  Sure enough, a much larger bird was bustling about just a few inches from the house.  Well, my goodness!  A pair of mockingbirds was making a nest just behind the birdhouse!  In fact, the side of the nest actually butted up against the back of the house.  Well, that is interesting!  I have never seen two families of birds build right next door to each other!  I wonder how this is going to work?  Will the birds become enemies or will they both raise their broods side by side? This, my friends, should prove to be quite interesting!  I will be carefully watching the outcome of this birdie neighborhood with adjoining nests!